Dollansky looking for World of Outlaws repeat at Skagit Speedway

DAVID RASBACH

E-Mail

Text Size:

tool goes here

World of Outlaws driver Craig Dollansky earned the nickname "Crowd Pleaser" for his thrilling style of racing, but it is he who is excited to be returning to Skagit Speedway this weekend.

In five career starts at the 3/10-mile clay oval, Dollansky has finished in the top 10 all five times - highlighted, of course, by his Saturday night feature victory when the sprint car series visited the track last year.

"Last year was a great win for our race team," Dollansky said in a phone interview. "(Skagit Speedway owner) Steve Beitler has done a great job of making this a much bigger event. He increased the payout to $25,000 for the winner, and getting that was a great win for us last year."

The A-Main winner on Saturday, Aug. 30, will once again claim $25,000 this year, making the two-night event one of the elite events during the marathon season for the World of Outlaws, which races 89 dates from early February to early November.

But it's the prestige of winning, more than the money, that made last year's win so big for the driver of the No. 2 Woodward/Dollansky Racing Snap-on Tools sprint car.

"Every time you hit the track, you go out to win," Dollansky said. "It doesn't matter how much the payout is, you just want to win. Last year it was a lot of fun racing Joey (Saldana) for the win. The track was in good condition, and we took advantage."

The victory was the last of three World of Outlaws wins he had last season, as he finished seventh in the season point standings with 24 top-five and 48 top-10 finishes. He came within one lap of grabbing a fourth win two days after his win at Skagit Speedway when the series visited Grays Harbor Raceway, as he earned seven top 10 finishes in eight races during the annual Gold Rush Tour of West Coast tracks in late August and early September.

The 2008 season has been even better for Dollansky.

After winning the first race on Feb. 8 at Barberville, Fla., he has gone on to win six more. The seven feature victories are a new season best for him and raise his career total to 28 in 10 seasons.

He enters the Skagit races third in the World of Outlaws point standings, 248 behind leader Donny Schatz, and leading the circuit in laps led with 284. He also has 28 top five finishes and 39 in the top 10.

"It's been a pretty good year for us so far," Dollansky said. "Obviously, we'd like it to be even better, but we won some Speedweek titles, we were third at the Knoxville Nationals and second at (DIRTcar) Nationals. This has been pretty much a whole new team for me, and I've gotten a lot of help from my crew and my wife, and it has paid off for us."

Obviously, Dollansky and his team hope it keeps producing for them this weekend.

"We have been preparing for this race," Dollansky said. "We put together a car similar to the one we used last year for the win. We've been flagged with some motor issues this year, but we think we've got that corralled. We're ready to roll."

That could mean trouble for the rest of the World of Outlaws and the 410 Sprint Series regulars at Skagit Speedway, which is one of the smallest tracks the Outlaws visit.

"It's a small track, but it is perfect," Dollansky said. "The racing is really good - there is a lot of action and some good, hard racing. The track is laid out really well and it is a lot of fun to drive there. I'm excited to get back."

Reach David Rasbach at david.rasbach@bellinghamherald.com or 715-2271.

Enter Keyword(s):	Enter a City:
Select a State:	Select a Category:

Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008

Dollansky looking for World of Outlaws repeat at Skagit Speedway

tool name