Salina Report

All Star Sprint Results - Salina KS - Wed 8/18/99

Saldana Evens the Score for the All Stars - By David Smith, Jr.
SALINA, KS (August. 18) - In the first outlaw sprint race in the tracks' 
history, Brownsburg, Indiana driver Joey Saldana found the top groove before 
anyone else and held off several mid race challenges to win the second night 
of the fifth annual Thunder Through the Plains tour race as the O'Reilly Auto 
Parts National Championship Racing Association Outlaw Sprint Series and the 
All Star Circuit of Champions visited Salina Speedway Wednesday night.

The largest crowd in the tracks history saw Paul McMahan and Kelly Kinser 
on the front row of the thirty lap feature with McMahan putting his 
Stealth/Gaerte sprinter into the lead as the green flag waved. Fourth 
starting Danny Wood, Saldana, fifth starting Kasey Kahne and current NCRA 
points leader Gary Wright all gave chase on the dry slick three eights mile 
oval running the bottom of the track. Saldana and his Fisher-Chevrolet 
powered Steve Mox owned sprinter tried the top groove and found it to his 
liking and began to make his run for the lead from his third starting 
position and passed Kinser for second on lap seven then begin to close in on 
the leader as McMahan began to enter lapped traffic. Behind him sixth 
starting Wright was making his way to the front, moving his F&J 
Construction/CompUSA sprinter into third by lap ten making it a three car 
battle for the lead. McMahan held off repeated attempts by Saldana for 
several laps before finally relinquishing the lead on lap twelve when Saldana 
moved his Stealth sprinter around the leader on the back stretch.

It stayed a three car battle throughout the race's midway point while 
behind them, Kahne, Kinser, fourteenth starting Rodney Duncan and Wood all 
waged battle for position. At the half way point Dean Jacobs was up to eighth 
from his thirteenth starting spot and was also battling with the second group 
of cars. Back up front Saldana was still working his way through traffic with 
ten laps to go allowing McMahan and Wright to cut his lead down to two car 
lengths. McMahan was on the leader's bumper and was looking to retake the 
lead before the night's first caution flag waved on lap twenty-six when Jimmy 
Lambert Jr. spun to a stop in turn four. One lap after the restart the 
night's second and final caution waved when John Blurton spun in turn two.

The final restart saw a clear track for Saldana allowing him to run the 
cushion and opening up a comfortable lead and he led the rest of the way 
unchallenged to win his sixth All Star feature of the season, the fifty-third 
of his series career. McMahan and his Warren Johnson owned sprinter held on 
for second, six car lengths behind at the finish. Wright kept his 
Maxim/Salina sprinter home a close third with the Maxim/Don Ott powered 
sprinter of Kahne finishing fourth. Dean.Jacobs continued to pass cars late 
and ended up bringing his Junior Holbrook Eagle/Gaerte sprinter home for a 
fifth place finish.

Wright set a new track record in qualifying, earning the Red Devil Brakes 
fast time of the night with a 14.255. Heat races for the thirty car field 
were won by Greg Wilson, John Bankston, Steven King and Danny Smith. Kenny 
Jacobs led wire to wire the four lap Commercial Truck and Trailer Dash while 
Kahne led wire to wire the twelve lap United Expressline B feature. Kinser, 
Shane Carson and John Blurton also transferred to the feature event. 

Time Trials - 1) 9 Gary Wright 14.255   2) 23k Kasey Kahne 14.285  3) 21w 
Danny Wood 14.345  4) 17 Joey Saldana 14.349  5) 4k Kelly Kinser 14.427 6) U2 
Paul McMahan 14.465  7) 6 Kenny Jacobs 14.500  8) 51 Jarrod Hull 14.506  9) 
23s Frankie Kerr 14.543  10) 66 Aaron Berryhill 14.552  11) 9s Shane Stewart 
14.572  12) 3 Mike Goodman 14.580   13) 8 Dean Jacobs 14.585  14) 22 Rodney 
Duncan 14.673 15) 28 Brian Paulus 14.918 16) 49 John Blurton 14.978  17) 20 
Brian Ellenburger 15.022  18) 18 Brian Carlson   19) 29n Larry Neighbors    
20) 93 Jimmy Lambert Jr   21) 12s Shane Carson   22) 63 Greg Wilson   23) 8b 
John Bankston  24) 88 Steven King   25) 92 Danny Smith   26) 7 Jason Sides 
15.421  27) 45x C.J.Johson 15.604  28) 92j J.R Topper 15.717  29) 61 Earnest 
Jennings 16.062  30) 6s Shelby Steenson 16.065

COMMERCIAL TRUCK & TRAILER DASH - 1, Kenny Jacobs. 
UNITED EXPRESSLINE HEAT 1 (8 laps) - Greg Wilson, Dean Jacobs, Gary Wright, 
Brian Ellenberger, Frankie Kerr, Kelly Kinser, Shane Carson, Earnest 
Jennings. 
SOUTHWEST EXPRESSLINE HEAT 2 (8 Laps) - John Burton, Aaron Berryhill, Paul 
McMahan, Rodney Duncan, Jason Sides, Kasey Kahne, Shelby Steenson, Brian 
Carlson. 
UNITED SPECIALTIES HEAT 3 (8 laps) - Steve King, Shane Stewart, Kenny Jacobs, 
Larry Neighbors, Danny Wood, C.J. Johnson, Brian Paulus. 
SOUTHWEST GLASS HEAT 4 (8 laps) - Danny Smith, Jimmy Lambert, Joey Saldana, 
Mike Goodman, Jerrod Hull, John Blurton, J.R. Topper. 
UNITED EXPRESSLINE B MAIN (12 laps) - 1, Kasey Kahne. 2, Kelly Kinser. 3, 
Shane Carson. 4, John Blurton. 5, Brian Carlson. 6, J.R. Topper. 7, Earnest 
Jennings. 8, Shelby Steenson. 9, C.J. Johnson. 
A FEATURE (30 laps) - 1, Joey Saldana. 2, Paul McMahan. 3, Gary Wright. 4, 
Kasey Kahne. 5, Dean Jacobs. 6, Rodney Duncan. 7, Danny Wood. 8, Kenny 
Jacobs. 9, Kelly Kinser. 10, Frankie Kerr. 11, Jerrod Hull. 12, Mike Goodman. 
13, Shane Stewart. 14, Aaron Berryhill. 15, Danny Smith. 16, Jimmy Lambert. 
17, Greg Wilson. 18, Brian Ellenberger. 19, Shane Carson. 20, Larry 
Neighbors. 21, John Blurton. 22, Steve King. 23, Jason Sides. 24, John Burton.