SPRINTFREAK'S TRAVELS May 2, 1999
Well boys and girls, the sprintfreak is back
with another column after missing last week
due to work committments. It has been a great
couple of weeks and hopefully this week's
column will make up for missing last week!
Let's get to it!
News...
Well, it didn't take Jeff Shepard long to
make up his mind about which team he wanted
to drive for, Shepard chose to go with the
Zemco #1 and won right out of the box for the
Zemco team. This combination could prove
deadly over the next couple of months. It
will be interesting to see if the Zemco team
will let Jeff travel as much as he would like
to, we'll have to wait and see on that one?
I have heard from a very reliable person that Dale Blaney will make his return to racing this coming weekend with the All-stars. Dale will run at the Grove on Friday, Lincoln on Saturday, and Sharon on Sunday. I can't wait! I know Dale is ready! He wants to prove that he is still a great sprintcar driver and that it was just a bad situation that has kept him down the past two seasons. Also on a sidenote, there are a lot of rumors flying around about Dale wanting to race late models with the Hav-a-tampa series or run modifieds with the DIRT series, this has been taken out of context as are most rumors. What Dale actually said was, IF he could not land a solid sprintcar ride with a team that could give him a chance to win every night then he would be interested in those other options! So lets clear that one up right now!
Kevin Gobrecht had a great start to his World of Outlaw career in Tulsa with a fourth place finish, but since then has cooled off a bit. Look for Kevin to be strong when the Outlaws head back east! Kevin will know the tracks and have a bit more confidence!
I was at Jamie Mckinney's race shop this afternoon and it looks like everything is a go for Jamie's second season in the sprintcars starting next weekend. Because of Jamie's job he has been unable to race yet this year, but by the looks of things the Momentum Motorsports team is ready to go for '99. Jamie has a brand new J&J chassis and a fresh Hine Racing Equipment powerplant under the hood and the teams plans are to jump around this season. On Fridays and Saturdays the team will skip around to different tracks and hit some of the bigger shows and on Sundays they will concentrate on Sharon Speeway since it is only about ten miles from home! Good Luck!
As I told you before, watch out for Jimmy Hawley! Jimmy is off to a great start in '99. Jimmy has already picked up 3 wins and has not finished out of the top four to my knowledge! Pretty impressive!
Another driver to keep an eye on is Gary Edwards. Gary drives the bright green #61 on the Western Pa./Ohio circuit. Gary has been knocking on the door several times already in '99, and that first win of the year might just be around the corner. Gary is a veteran sprintcar driver with a smooth driving style, and it won't be too long before Gary finds victory lane!
The results of the poll questions from my
last column have been tabulated and they are:
The driver who most deserves a full-time ride
with the World of Outlaws is...
Jeff Shepard!
The voting was close
between Jeff and Joey Saldana with Shepard
just beating out the Indiana hotshoe!
The best car owner...
Karl Kinser!
In a run away, Karl
dominated the voting! Others who recieved
votes were Guy Forbrook, Al Hamilton, and
Dennis Roth.
Results:
World of Outlaws Tulsa 4.23.99:
1) D. Lasoski 83
2) M. Kinser 5m
3) S. Smith 19
4) K. Gobrecht 93
5) G. Wright 9
45 sprinters
Devils Bowl 4.24.99:
1st feature
1) D. Lasoski 83
2) G. Wright 9
3) M. Kinser 5m
4) J. Herrera 1bk
5) S. Swindell 1
42 cars
2nd feature
1) S. Swindell 1
2) A. Hilenburg 2
3) M. Kinser 5m
4) S. Kinser 11
5) J. Herrera 1bk
32 cars
Knoxville 4.30.99:
1) D. Lasoski 83
2) J. Herrera 1bk
3) S. Smith 19
4) M. Kinser 5m
5) S. Kinser 11
47 cars
Knoxville 5.1.99:
1) S. Swindell 1
2) D. Lasoski 83
3) J. Herrera 1bk
4) T. Walker 35
5) T. Shaffer 11h
44 cars
Points
1) Lasoski 2157
2) M. Kinser 2135
3) S. Kinser 2077
4) Herrera 2022
5) S. Swindell 2001
All-stars:
Eldora 4.23.99:
1) J. Haudenschild 22
2) J. Nier 00
3) K. Kahne 23
4) D. Jacobs 8h
5) B. Paulus 28
33 sprinters
K-C 5.1.99:
1) K. Jacobs 6
2) D. Jacobs 8h
3) K. Kinser 4k
4) R. Duncan 22
5) P. McMahan u2
41 cars
Points
1) K. Jacobs 423
2) D. Jacobs 414
3) D. Smith 382
4) R. Duncan 369
5) J. Hull 327
Williams Grove 4.30.99:
1) P.J. Chesson 76
2) K. Kauffman 7
3) C. Eash 17e
4) J. Shepard 1
5) D. Kreitz 69k
33 cars
Lernerville 4.30.99:
1) E. Lynch Jr. 2L
2) R. Duncan 22
3) T. Preston 36
4) J. Hawley cIII
5) C. Rankin 77
Lincoln 5.1.99:
1) F. Rahmer 77
2) J. Shepard 1
3) D. Kreitz 69k
4) T. Gracey 25
5) C. Eash 17e
29 cars
Port Royal 5.1.99:
1) L. DeWease 461
2) K. Kauffman 7
3) T. Shaffer 88
4) S. Keen 53
5) D. Hahn 2h
22 cars
Mercer 5.1.99:
1) J. Hawley cIII
2) T. Burns 7c
3) B. Felmlee 6
4) G. Edwards 61
5) G. McCann 18
21 cars
Challenger 5.1.99:
1) R. Engle 55
2) S. Preister 11x
3) D. Stimeling 30
4) P. Mott 5m
5) J. Weaver 7
18 cars
Sharon 5.2.99:
1) R. Spithaler 56
2) J. Larson 47
3) G. Edwards 61
4) J. Brauer 63
5) M. Kekich 5k
17 cars
This week's poll questions are:
1) Who is the best local sprintcar driver in
Ohio?
a. Mark Keagen 92
b. Chad Kemenah 15
c. Rodney Duncan 22
d. Jarod Larson 47
e. Jim Nier 00
Choose any of these drivers or anyone else
you feel is the best!
2) Who is the best local driver in Pa.?
a. Fred Rahmer 77
b. Ed Lynch Jr. 2L
c. Cris Eash 17e
d. Jeff Shepard 1
e. Jimmy Hawley cIII
Choose any of these drivers or anyone else
you feel is the best!
You can e-mail your answers to
sprintfreak@hotmail.com
The results will be posted in my next column.
Well, thats about it for this week. Next week
the sprintfreak will be off to Lincoln
Speedway for the All-star show on Saturday
and then back home to the Sharon Speedway for
the All-star show on Sunday. Lets pray for
good weather and great racing! Until next
week, happy sprintcar racing!
