Joey Saldana Finishes Third with Pass on Last Turn of Last Lap
PERRIS, Calif. – April 16, 2016 – Daryn Pittman dominated Saturday night’s SoCal Showdown at Perris Auto Speedway to claim his second World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series victory of the season. The win came one night after a crash ended his night while he led at Bakersfield Speedway.
“Last night was dumb,” Pittman said of his Bakersfield Speedway run. “I ran over Joey [Saldana] and took ourselves out of contention for a win there and tore up a lot of equipment.”
Pittman, who claimed his first ever series win at Perris, said perseverance is the motto of his No. 9 Great Clips team.
“This car has been so fast and we’re right there in the hunt every night,” Pittman said. “We’ve just got to put it together and that starts with me.
“This track has been really good to me and I got my very first Outlaw win here beating Steve Kinser to the line by I don’t know how close – it was really close. It’s one I’ll never forget so I always enjoy coming here.”
Pittman, who led the feature flag-to-flag, had to contend much of the night with traffic and perhaps more pressing, his Kasey Kahne Racing with Mike Curb teammate Brad Sweet behind him.
The all KKR front row, was in charge early, as Pittman took the lead on the first lap. As he worked his way through lappd traffic, he built up an impressive multi-second lead over Sweet and Shane Stewart.
Sweet held firm in second as Stewart worked to close the gap on the second place position. The two were within a car length of each other much of the night.
With one lap to go, Pittman made contact with Paul McMahan that sent McMahan spinning. The caution flag waved. Pittman later apologized to McMahan in victory lane.
The reset field, with a green-white-checkered finish ahead, looked for one last chance to make a move.
Stewart, looking for the second position, made a bold charge on Sweet through one and two but was not able to get around the No. 49 Razorback Professional Tools car. The move opened the door for fourth-place running Saldana to close the gap with his No. 83 Roth Motorsports car.
“I think Brad had his tires going down a little and Shane had a good racecar so he was trying really hard to get by him and he just used his tires up there or had his tires going down there and missed the rubber going into three,” Saldana said. “That was the only shot I had so I went for it and luckily we were on the front straightaway.”
Saldana completed the pass on the final lap coming off of turn four.
Pittman claimed his second series win of the season – the first driver not named Schatz or Pittman to score a repeat win – and Sweet picked up his tenth podium finish of the season.
“We’re running up front every night and it’s just a good team effort,” Sweet said. “We’ve got momentum on our side and a little bit of luck here and there but the car has been really fast… We’re happy for Daryn and his team. It’s a KKR 1-2. You can’t beat that.”
The World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series returns to action on Monday at USA Raceway in Tucson, Ariz. Tickets remain for the NAPA Wildcat Shootout and are available at http://www.WorldofOutlaws.com/Tickets or by visiting the track box office on the day of the event. Learn more information at http://woosprint.com/usa-raceway.
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Perris Auto Speedway Notebook
RACE NOTES: Daryn Pittman became the third different repeat winner of the 2016 season joining Donny Schatz and Brad Sweet as the only drivers with the distinction. Seven different drivers have stood in victory lane throughout the season… Brad Sweet picked up his 10th podium finish of the year… Donny Schatz got the night’s quick time award, his second of the season.
CONTINGENCY WINNERS – MSD Ignitions ($25 cash): Paul Sides; MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): Daryn Pittman; Penske Shocks ($50 cash): Donny Schatz; JE Pistons ($50 cash): Jason Sides; VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash): Jason Johnson; Edelbrock ($50 cash): Jason Sides; Comp Cams ($50 cash): Paul McMahan; Morton Buildings ($50 cash): Terry McCarl; Cometic Gasket ($50 cash): Terry McCarl; Super Flow ($50 cash): Greg Wilson; Craftsman/Sears ($100 cash): N/A; KSE Racing Products ($100 product certificate): Joey Saldana; Comp Cams ($50 product certificate): Daryn Pittman; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Jacob Allen; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Paul Sides.
SEASON WINNERS: Donny Schatz – 5 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 14, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 4, Stockton Dirt Track on March 18, Stockton Dirt Track on March 19, Silver Dollar Speedway on April 2); Brad Sweet – 5 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 13, Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 14, Cotton Bowl Speedway on Feb. 26, Ocean Speedway on April 1, Bakersfield Speedway on April 15); Daryn Pittman – 2 (Royal Purple Raceway on Feb. 27, Perris Auto Speedway on April 16); David Gravel – 1 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 12); Jason Johnson – 1 (Placerville Speedway on March 24); Joey Saldana – 1 (The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 3); Shane Stewart – 1 (Arizona Speedway on March 6).
World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; Perris Auto Speedway; Perris, Calif.; April 16, 2016.
A-Main – (30 Laps) – 1. 9-Daryn Pittman [2] [$10,000]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [1]; 3. 83-Joey Saldana [6]; 4. 2-Shane Stewart [3]; 5. 15-Donny Schatz [5]; 6. 5-David Gravel [7]; 7. 82-Dusty Zomer [9]; 8. 41-Jason Johnson [10]; 9. 7S-Jason Sides [4]; 10. 7-Paul McMahan [13]; 11. 41X-Dominic Scelzi [12]; 12. 24-Terry McCarl [8]; 13. 1S-Logan Schuchart [14]; 14. W20-Greg Wilson [17]; 15. 26-Willie Croft [11]; 16. 99T-Skylar Gee [16]; 17. 69-Randy Waitman [18]; 18. 1A-Jacob Allen [15]; 19. 55-Tony Everhart [19]; 20. 7SP-Paul Sides [20]; 21. 22-Bill Andrews [21]. Lap Leaders: Daryn Pittman 1-30. KSE Hard Charger Award: 83-Joey Saldana [+3]
Qualifying – 1. 15-Donny Schatz, 15.607; 2. 83-Joey Saldana, 15.672; 3. 2-Shane Stewart, 15.694; 4. 5-David Gravel, 15.803; 5. 9-Daryn Pittman, 15.829; 6. 49-Brad Sweet, 15.858; 7. 7-Paul McMahan, 15.900; 8. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 15.926; 9. 82-Dusty Zomer, 15.933; 10. 41-Jason Johnson, 16.006; 11. 26-Willie Croft, 16.021; 12. 41X-Dominic Scelzi, 16.054; 13. 7S-Jason Sides, 16.200; 14. 24-Terry McCarl, 16.240; 15. 1A-Jacob Allen, 16.350; 16. 99T-Skylar Gee, 16.595; 17. W20-Greg Wilson, 16.836; 18. 69-Randy Waitman, 17.853; 19. 55-Tony Everhart, 18.118; 20. 7SP-Paul Sides, 18.538; 21. 22-Bill Andrews, 21.046
Heat 1 – (8 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 15-Donny Schatz [1]; 2. 7S-Jason Sides [5]; 3. 5-David Gravel [2]; 4. 41-Jason Johnson [4]; 5. 7-Paul McMahan [3]; 6. 99T-Skylar Gee [6]; 7. 55-Tony Everhart [7]
Heat 2 – (8 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 83-Joey Saldana [1]; 2. 9-Daryn Pittman [2]; 3. 24-Terry McCarl [5]; 4. 26-Willie Croft [4]; 5. 1S-Logan Schuchart [3]; 6. W20-Greg Wilson [6]; 7. 7SP-Paul Sides [7]
Heat 3 – (8 Laps – Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) – 1. 2-Shane Stewart [1]; 2. 49-Brad Sweet [2]; 3. 82-Dusty Zomer [3]; 4. 41X-Dominic Scelzi [4]; 5. 1A-Jacob Allen [5]; 6. 69-Randy Waitman [6]; 7. 22-Bill Andrews [7]
Dash – (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 6 starting positions of A-feature) – 1. 49-Brad Sweet [1]; 2. 9-Daryn Pittman [2]; 3. 2-Shane Stewart [4]; 4. 7S-Jason Sides [3]; 5. 15-Donny Schatz [6]; 6. 83-Joey Saldana [5]
Unofficial World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series Championship Standings
Pos Car Driver Total Diff Wins Top 5’s Top 10’s QT
1 49 Brad Sweet 2253 0 5 14 15 3
2 2 Shane Stewart 2162 -91 1 10 15 0
3 15 Donny Schatz 2150 -103 5 10 14 2
4 9 Daryn Pittman 2126 -127 2 9 12 2
5 83 Joey Saldana 2125 -128 1 8 12 3
6 5 David Gravel 2078 -175 1 7 11 0
7 41 Jason Johnson 2078 -175 1 5 12 2
8 7s Jason Sides 1948 -305 0 0 6 0
9 1S Logan Schuchart 1932 -321 0 1 5 0
10 7 Paul McMahan 1922 -331 0 0 3 0
11 W20 Greg Wilson 1752 -501 0 0 1 0
12 88 Terry McCarl 1682 -571 0 0 1 0
13 1A Jacob Allen 1646 -607 0 1 1 0
14 29 Kerry Madsen 1548 -705 0 2 6 0
15 1 Sammy Swindell 1390 -863 0 2 4 0
16 17W Bryan Clauson 1202 -1051 0 1 5 0
17 41 Dominic Scelzi 1080 -1173 0 1 2 0
18 0 Bud Kaeding 1004 -1249 0 0 2 0
19 88N D.J. Netto 978 -1275 0 0 0 0
20 26 Willie Croft 978 -1275 0 1 2 0
The World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: Bad Boy Buggies (Official Side-by-Side Vehicle), Craftsman (Official Tool), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), Morton Buildings (Official Building), Sears (Official Home Store), The Kenny Wallace Dirt Racing Experience (Official Racing Experience) and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors, including: Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Edelbrock, JE Pistons, KSE Racing Products, MSD, Penske Shocks, and Superflow Dynos; along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Impact Racing Products, Intercomp, Racing Electronics, S&S Volvo and TNT Rescue.