Sedalia WoO Results and Stories

Missouri State Fair Speedway 5/5/17
 
Missouri State Fair Speedway
Sedalia, MO
 
WoO
 
32 cars
 
Jason Johnson (5th car out to time) set quick time at 16.154 seconds.  Donny Schatz (2nd car out) was second quick, followed by Jason Sides (9th), Kerry Madsen (12th), Daryn Pittman (7th), Brady Bacon (4th), Joey Saldana (31st), Terry McCarl (10th), Logan Schuchart (8th) and Brad Sweet (30th).  Early pills were a real advantage on the big half-mile that dried quickly.  Josh Baughman suffered issues in hot laps and did not get a time in.
 
The track was re-watered after qualifying.  It took some time to get it run back in.  The re-work resulted in a heavy track for the heats.

Danny Lasoski Heat one (started): 1. J. Johnson 41 (1) 2. Pittman 9 (2) 3. Schuchart 1s (3) 4. Kraig Kinser 11K (4) 5. Sam Hafertepe Jr. 15H (5) / 6. Sheldon Haudenschild 93 (6) 7. Brad Loyet o5 (8) 8. Jacob Allen 1a (7)
 
Eight lap heats saw no movement in the top five after the first lap was run.  The top two finishers went to the Dash, and the top five to the feature.  J. Johnson was strong in this one, winning by over a straightaway.  Kinser ran down Schuchart late, but settled for fourth.  Times in the heats were significantly faster than qualifying, with some of J. Johnson’s laps timing in under the 16-year-old track record of Craig Dollansky (15.670).
 
Heat two (started): 1. Schatz 15 (1) 2. Bacon 99 (2) 3. Sweet 49 (3) 4. Paul McMahan 4 (5) 5. Ian Madsen 18 (4) / 6. Wayne Johnson 2c (7) 7. Aaron Reutzel 87 (6) 8. Clyde Knipp 13 (8)
 
Schatz led the distance.  McMahan used a low move to shoot from row three up to fourth.  Bacon held off Sweet at the line for a Dash spot.  W. Johnson challenged I. Madsen elary for the final transfer.
 
Heat three (started): 1. Saldana 17 (2) 2. Brian Brown 21 (4) 3. Sides 7s (1) 4. David Gravel 5 (3) 5. Shane Stewart 2 (5) / 6. Austin McCarl 17A (6) 7. RJ Johnson 71A (7) 8. Glen Saville 75 (8)
 
Brown made his night by shooting on the high side of one and two when the green fell, getting by Sides for the second Dash spot.  A. McCarl will be back in the TKS Motorsports #2KS at Knoxville Saturday.  Saville hopes to take the wing off and compete with the WAR series at Lucas Oil Speedway Saturday.
 
Heat four (started): 1. K. Madsen 2m (1) 2. T. McCarl 24 (2) 3. Brent Marks 19 (3) 4. Danny Lasoski 33 (4) 5. Greg Wilson w20 (5) / 6. Josh Baughman 17B (8) 7. Tasker Phillips 7w (7) 8. Paul Nienhiser 9x (6)
 
K. Madsen pulled away from the field in strong fashion in the final heat.  He is wrenched by Guy Forbrook, who will join second place and his former driver, T. McCarl in being inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame June 3.  Fourth place Lasoski, who won more races with Forbrook than anyone, is already in.

Glen Saville Dash (started): 1. Pittman (2) 2. Saldana (4) 3. Schatz (5) 4. Bacon (1) 5. K. Madsen (3) 6. Brown (7) 7. J. Johnson (6) 8. T. McCarl (8)
 
An invert of six was drawn for the 6-lapper.  The track started widening and there was movement in this one.  Pittman was able to lead the distance, but lap two saw Saldana grab second from Bacon, and Schatz move from fifth to fourth as he charged by K. Madsen.  Brown would gain a row by passing J. Johnson, and Schatz would make a last lap pass of Bacon for third.
 
B main (started): 1. Haudenschild (1) 2. W. Johnson (6) 3. Reutzel (2) 4. Nienhiser (4) / 5. A. McCarl (3) 6. Phillips (8) 7. Allen (5) 8. Loyet (9) 9. RJ Johnson (7) 10. Saville (11) 11. Baughman (12) 12. Knipp (10)
 
Haudenschild took the early lead in the 12-lapper over Reutzel and Nienhiser.  W. Johnson shot around A. McCarl, who had a rough start for the fourth and final transfer.  The running order would stay that way until the white flag lap, when Saville slowed to bring out a caution.  The 12-lap race became thirteen on the restart.  Reutzel would slow in turn three on the last lap.  Nienhiser checked behind him a bit, allowing W. Johnson to storm around both of them for second.  Though he got a little sideways at the finish line, Nienhiser held on to the final transfer spot.

Donny Schatz A main (started): 1. Schatz (3) 2. Pittman (1) 3. K. Madsen (5) 4. Saldana (2) 5. Brown (6) 6. J. Johnson (7) 7. Sweet (10) 8. Lasoski (15) 9. Gravel (14) 10. Kinser (12) 11. Stewart (18) 12. Schuchart (9) 13. Sides (11) 14. Haudenschild (20) 15. McMahan (13) 16. Bacon (4) 17. W. Johnson (21) 18. T. McCarl (10) 19. Wilson (19) 20. Nienhiser (23) 21. Hafertepe (16) 22. Reutzel (22) 23. I. Madsen (17) DNS – Marks
 
Marks could not fire, and did not start.  Pittman led early in the 25-lapper over Saldana, Schatz and K. Madsen.  Schatz tracked down Saldana and shot by for second on lap eight.  Pittman entered lap traffic a lap later.  K. Madsen was rolling well, and took third from Saldana on the same circuit.  Schatz was working the low side of three and four well, and catching the leader.  He would drive by him on lap 12.  Five laps later, K. Madsen shot by Pittman for second.  Just when it looked like the race would go green to checker, Reutzel blew a left rear tire as the white flag was displayed.  Schatz led K. Madsen, Pittman, Saldana, J. Johnson and Brown back to green.  While Schatz maintained his lead for his third career win in Sedalia, Pittman regained second from K. Madsen.  Brown, who had been strong on the high side, used it to drive around J. Johnson into the top five.
 
Soapbox Time: Those in charge of Missouri sprint car racing will never learn.  I spent much of my life traveling to Missouri for sprint car racing.  Those trips have dwindled in the last several years.  Tracks have closed down, and there are less sprint cars in the state.  Track owners and promoters have eaten their own, and I’ve found Missouri to be the best at this activity.  Tonight’s scheduling is one prime example.  The World of Outlaws were in Sedalia.  That’s been scheduled since early December.  The rest of the region needs to take the night off.  Instead, an hour away in Grain Valley, the WAR sprints and the POWRi midgets were in action.  I’m sure promoters there would say there really isn’t any crossover as far as drivers.  True, we are talking about different classes, but again, the fans are forgotten and split.  The bottom line at both events was affected.  Two sprint car shows, an hour away from each other.  The WoO comes to Pevely, this year Sedalia for the first time in five years, and Lakeside (Kansas) late in the year.  That’s it.  The state needs to rally when the big dogs are in town, not schedule races an hour away.  This doesn’t happen in other areas of the country, and is the sole reason Missouri has lost tracks and race teams in the past.  Hopefully, the region can work together with Lake Ozark’s return, etc., or the dominoes will continue to fall in the “Show-Me” State.