Joey Saldana isn't quite sure what it is about Volunteer Speedway in Bull Gap TN, but every time he has raced at the blazing fast ultra high-banked four-tenths-mile he has been in contention for a win. He extended that streak on Friday as he opened Kasey's King of Bulls Gap Presented By Budweiser on Friday night with a victory.
Saldana picked up his second consecutive win with the World of Outlaws at Volunteer Speedway and the third victory of his career at the track in the event which was co-sanctioned with the All Star Circuit of Champions. Saldana was challenged throughout the race by 20-time World of Outlaws champion Steve Kinser and used a strong restart with five laps remaining to seal the win.
"It feels good to win again," said Saldana. "Track position was key for me tonight. I felt like we had a really good car on the long runs, but not on the restarts. I definitely have to figure out these double file restarts, because they haven’t helped me yet. I almost gave the race away on that one with Steve (Kinser), but I'll take it and we’ll come back tomorrow."
For Saldana the win was his second of 2010 aboard the Budweiser Maxim and he did it with car owner and NASCAR star Kasey Kahne in attendance. In addition to promoting Kasey’s King of Bulls Gap Presented By Budweiser, which was the first race of the Showdown for the Bud Crown four-race mini-series, Kahne also competed on Friday night, fielding a total of four cars.
"It's special anytime for a driver when an owner can see what you accomplish on the race track," noted Saldana. "It's so hard for him with his schedule to be able to make it to our races and see what we do week in and week out, but he understands it. It's nice when he is around to see it and appreciate it to run well. He knows what he is doing for us is paying off. He does a lot behind the scenes to make this deal happen. It's gratifying to run well when he is here."
Saldana led from the pole and jumped out to an early lead, hitting traffic just five laps into the 35-lapper. He withstood five yellow flags and a red flag, leading each time on the restart. Each time there was a double file restart, he chose the low line and had Steve Kinser try a couple of slide jobs heading into turns one and two in a bid for the lead.
"It would have been a shame if we had lost the race, because I felt like we were getting through lapped traffic really good and were moving around good," shared Saldana. "Our car was really good. In sprint car racing anything can happen and we almost gave it away tonight."
Steve Kinser got a strong run on Saldana on a lap-30 double file restart, taking the lead in turns one and two, only to have the a red flag fly before the lap was complete, thus leading to a single file restart by way of World of Outlaws rules, because there was two consecutive caution flags before another lap is completed. Following the final single file restart of the night with five laps to go, Kinser was able to close back in on Saldana with two laps to go, but could not quite get a run on him on the final lap, coming home second in the Bass Pro Shops Maxim.
Saldana began the evening by qualifying eighth-fastest of the 38 cars that timed in. He finished second in his heat race, then won the Dash before heading to the feature.
Brad Sweet qualified the #49 Kasey Kahne Racing with Mike Curb Auto Value Bumper to Bumper Maxim 11th-quickest. He won his heat race, finished 7th in the Dash and wound up fourth in the A-Main.
Paul McMahan finished fifth in the #91 Great Clips Maxim, putting three of the four Kasey Kahne Racing machines entered in the race in the Top-Five. He qualified sixth-fastest, finished second in his heat race and was fourth in the Dash.
Kahne himself opened the night by setting a new track record in qualifying at Volunteer Speedway blistering the old mark by well over a full second in his first 410-sprint car start of 2010. He finished third in his heat race and was sixth in the Dash. Kahne wound up 19th in the feature.
The World of Outlaws wrap up Kasey's King of Bulls Gap Presented By Budweiser on tonight (20th) at Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap. (3/20/2010)(WoO)
