A Lot On The Line When WoO Sprint Car Series Invade Attica Raceway Park

By Brian Liskai

(Attica, OH) There’s always a lot on the line whenever the drivers with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series visit a track with a tough weekly 410 sprint division – pride, money, points, etc. When the series visits Attica Raceway Park on Friday, May 30 for the Kistler Engines Classic it will be no different.

Celebrating its 27th season of racing, Attica Raceway Park not only has a tough weekly 410 sprint division, but the track and it’s business partners are putting up more money and incentives to those local competitors to protect their home turf.

Add to that the interest the race is drawing as this season is the “Salute to the King” as 20-time World of Outlaws champion Steve Kinser has announced this is his last full year with the touring series. Kinser is part of perhaps THE most memorable event in the history of Attica Raceway Park when local star Mark Keegan passed him late in the Ohio Sprint Speedweek finale in 1993 to earn the biggest win of his phenomenal career.

As for the financial incentives? The top prize for the 40-lap feature is $10,000. However, any driver in the top-20 in Attica’s point standings event will be eligible for the following cash and contingency bonuses of over an additional $10,000:

• If any of the drivers in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 410 Sprints top-20 in points can win the May 30th feature they will receive a $2,500 bonus from Attica Raceway Park.

• Additional contingencies are from Kistler Engines, Gressman Powersports and Level Performance. If the driver is in Attica’s top-20 in points and is running one of their engines and wins the race they will receive a $2,000 gift certificate from the winning engine company. Also, All Pro Aluminum Heads is giving a $250 gift certificate if the winner is using All Pro Heads.

• Attica Raceway Park will also give the highest finisher in the A-main in the track’s top-20 in points a $500 bonus. If a driver in the top-20 in points wins the race then the second highest finisher in the top 20 in points will get the $500 bonus.

This will mark the 11th visit of the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series to Attica Raceway Park (3 of the last four scheduled visits were rained out) since the first appearance in 1990. Kinser has 2 series wins (1990 and 1991) at “Ohio’s Finest Racing” speedplant and has four overall victories at the track. Stevie Smith has 1 World of Outlaw win (2005) at Attica and also has 4 overall at the track. Of Joey Saldana’s 6 career wins at Attica, only one is a World of Outlaws victory (2007). Schatz has 2 series wins (2008 and 2011) at Attica. Four time UNOH All Star champion Dale Blaney posted a World of Outlaws win at Attica in 2009 and has 19 career victories at the track including 2 this season.

Other World of Outlaw victors at Attica include Joey Allen (1992); Joe Gaerte (1993), Steve Smith (1994) and Sammy Swindell (1994). Swindell has 4 career wins at Attica.

The World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series season has been one of the most competitive in its history. Coming into Attica’s event defending series champion Daryn Pittman has been on a hot streak, winning four features in a row to grab the World of Outlaws point lead. He has seven series wins for the season piloting the Kasey Kahne Racing #9.

In his second season aboard the Motter Racing #71M, Saldana sits second in the series points with three wins and leads the World of Outlaws with 12 quick time honors. Saldana’s most recent win – May 23rd at the Dirt Track at Charlotte – pulled him to within four points of Pittman for the series title.

Five time series champion Donny Schatz, driving the Tony Stewart Racing #15, has pulled to within 10 points of the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car championship after scoring the win May 26 at Lawrenceburg Speedway. He has four World of Outlaw wins in 2014 and is within two victories of tying for third place on the series’ all-time wins list.

Paul McMahan, in his second year aboard the CJB Motorsports #51, is fourth in the series point standings with a pair of wins. Australian native Kerry Madsen has driven the Keneric Group #29 to fifth in the World of Outlaws points with a pair of victories in 2014.

Kasey Kahne Racing driver Brad Sweet, in his first full season with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series, sits sixth in the points with three series wins with Kinser, aboard the Tony Stewart Racing #11, is 7th in points with one win. Kasey Kahne Racing’s Cody Darrah is eighth in points with a victory with Kraig Kinser 9th and Swindell 10th with one win.

Another notable with the World of Outlaws is David Gravel, who recently took over the reigns of the Roth Motorsports #83 and has posted 3 series wins in the past month. Gravel has lots of laps around Attica due to his years with the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions.

Besides Blaney’s two wins at Attica this season, another four time UNOH All Star champion, Tim Shaffer, scored a victory and now has 13 for his career at the track. Defending track champion Craig Mintz scored his 10th career Attica win a couple of weeks ago and leads the track’s points.

Other tough weekly competitors that will challenge the Outlaws include former track champion Chris Andrews, Caleb Griffith, Travis Philo, Jody Keegan, Brian Lay, Brandon Martin, Chad Kemenah (third on the track’s all-time win list with 20 victories), Byron Reed (6 time track champion who is 2nd on the track’s all-time win list with 29 victories) and a host of regional stars.

There are a limited number of reserved seats still available for the Kistler Engines Classic for $32 (add $2 for credit card purchases). General admission tickets are $30 (no stadium chairs with backs will be allowed) with teens ages 11-15 at $15 and kids 10 and under free. Pit passes are $40. Pit gates will open at 3 p.m. with the main gates opening at 4 p.m. and racing getting underway at 7:45 p.m. The UMP Late Models will also be on the racing card.

For more information go to www.atticaracewaypark.com or call 419-680-5606.