Volusia Results 2-10-00

VOLUSIA SPEEDWAY PARK ALL STAR SPRINT RESULTS FEBRUARY 10, 2000 - 29th Winternationals

By Wayne Kindness

BARBERVILLE, FLA. - Danny Lasoski drew much of the attention before the All Star Circuit of Champion sprint cars took to the half-mile Volusia Speedway Park Thursday night, and ended up with all the attention at the end of the feature event. The veteran driver from Dover, Mo., brought a radical-looking race car to the opening event of the 29th annual Winternationals at VSP and took home the winner's share of the purse after the 20-lap main event. Not only did Lasoski's car attract attention for its appearance, but also for the name across the wing - Tony Stewart Racing. NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year Tony Stewart, part owner of the No. 20 sprinter along with Connie and Vern Massey, was in Lasoski's pits helping prepare the race car. In the feature, Lasoski started sixth, quickly worked his way toward the front and took the lead on lap 17. He moved away from Paul McMahan to race his Eagle Chassis under the checkered flag by several car lengths over McMahan, a transplanted Californian living in Bristol, Ind. James Chesson of Far Hills, NJ, finished third ahead of Billy Pauch of Frenchtown, NJ, and Joey Saldana of Brownsburg, Ind. "We brought a new Jerry Russell Eagle here and decided to do something different," Lasoski said of his Chevrolet powered race car which featured a slightly different alignment of frame bars in a sport which has kept the same basic design for its cars for decades. "It's Jerry's new Millennium Eagle," Lasoski said. "It's basically the same car, but we did a little modification." McMahan started on the pole of the 24-car field, but saw Minnesota's Craig Dollansky surge into the lead on the first lap from the outside of the front row. Dollansky quickly opened a sizable lead. However, that was short-lived as he lost his left rear wheel entering the third turn on the seventh lap and slowly overturned. He was not injured. McMahan, in the United Expresslines Eagle Chassis, took over the lead and was able to keep a challenging Lasoski at bay until the final stages of the race. Lasoski, running the low groove, passed McMahan for the lead when the latter slipped close to the guard rail while running the high line in the turns. Chesson, who started fifth, dropped back at the start of the race, but charged back and passed Pauch for third on lap 11. Pauch started eighth and was in fifth by the second lap. He passed Saldana for third on the eighth lap, but lost the spot when Chesson overtook him. Completing the top 10 were Rodney Duncan, Keith Kauffman, Todd Shaffer, Greg Hodnett and Frankie Kerr. After the race Lasoski thanked his crew chief Jimmy Carr for preparing the car and explained why the car drew so much attention. "Eagle built the car to fit (the All Stars') 1,200-pound weight rule," he said. "We had to trim some of the body (after the car was inspected), but we made the roll cage bigger for safety." Lasoski thanked his car's sponsors: American Compressed Steel, Durst Motorplex, Tom Johnson Camping, Matco Tools, Wesmar Race Engines, Eagle Chassis and Hoosier Tires. McMahan was disappointed in not being able to hold on to the lead, but thought Lasoski did a good job running the bottom of the track. "I want to thank United Expresslines for giving me a great car tonight," McMahan said. "We qualified well and that gave us a good shot. Everybody says you have to run Hoosiers here, but we showed them the (Goodyear) Eagles can run, too." Chesson was pleased with his third-place finish. "We're real glad to finish third," he said. "We made some changes this year and came down here with high hopes." Lasoski set a new track record in time trials with a 13.633 mark, erasing P. J. Chesson’s year-old standard of 13.888. The United Expressline heat fell to Brian Ellenberger, the United Specialties heat was won by Kenny Jacobs, the Southwest Expressline heat fell to Frankie Kerr and Terry McCarl captured the United Specialties heat with Greg Hodnett snaring the United Expressline B Main. In the companion United Midwestern Promoters open wheel modified feature, Indiana's Scott Orr survived a series of caution flags in the late laps to win over Michael Smith, Dan Hamstra, Steve Isenberg and Chad Ogle. Time Trials: 1. Danny Lasoski, Massey 20, 13.633 (NTR); 2. James Chesson, Chesson 22, 13.683; 3. Joey Saldana, Ashworth 92, 13.751; 4. Rodney Duncan, Harrison 22d, 13.774; 5. Craig Dollansky, Karavan 7, 13.779; 6. Paul McMahan, Johnson U2, 13.869; 7. Ed Lynch Jr., Lynch 2L, 13.873; 8. Billy Pauch, J&M 55, 13.896; 9. Jerrod Hull, Webb 51, 13.898; 10. Keith Kauffman, Middleswarth 7, 13.922; 11. Kenny Jacobs, Jacobs/Honacker 6, 13.976; 12. Gary Wright, Wright 9, 13.977; 13. John Bankston, Bankston 8, 13.995; 14. Frankie Kerr, Shoff 23s, 14.008; 15. Kasey Kahne, Kahne 23k, 14.050; 16. Mike Hudson, Hudson 1h, 14.052; 17. Greg Hodnett, Zemaitis 1, 14.060; 18. Kelly Kinser, Kinser 4K, 14.060; 19. Todd Shaffer, Beam 88s, 14.072; 20. Terry McCarl, McCarl 3, 14.093; 21. Brian Ellenberger, Ellenberger 20, 14.101; 22. PJ Chesson, Chesson 76, 14.136; 23. Lance Dewease, Harz 88, 14.144; 24. Greg Wilson, Hampshire 63, 14.164; 25. Todd Gracey, Cooper 25, 14.213; 26. Ronald Laney, Laney 52, 14.214; 27. Matt Moro, Moro 2m, 14.372; 29. Ryan Flynn, Flynn F1, 14.317; 29. Raymond Hensley, Miller 1R, 14.592; 30. Paul Weaver, Nickles 31, 14.680; 31. Ricky Logan, Logan 4, 14.748; 32. Terry Babb, Smith 2s, 14.961; 33. Earnest Jennings, Jennings 61, 15.983; 34. Johnny Johnson, Johnson 72J, 17,038; 35. Tom Davies, Davies 44, 20.929, 36. Bruce Robenalt, Robenalt 98, no time. United Expressline Heat Race: 1. Brian Ellenberger, 2. Danny Lasoski, 3. Craig Dollansky, 4. John Bankston, 5. Raymond Hensley, 6. Jerrod Hull 7. Todd Gracey, 9. Earnest Jennings, 9. Greg Hodnett. Southwest Expressline Heat Race: 1. Frankie Kerr, 2. Keith Kauffman, 3. James Chesson, 4. Paul McMahan, 5. Ronald Laney, 6. Johnny Johnson, 7. Kelly Kinser. DNS.- PJ Chesson, Paul Weaver. United Specialties Heat Race: 1. Kenny Jacobs, 2. Todd Shaffer, 3. Lance Dewease, 4. Joey Saldana, S. Kasey Kahne, 6. Ed Lynch Jr., 7. Ricky Logan, 9. Ryan Flynn, 9. Tom Davies. Southwest Glass Heat Race: 1. Terry McCarl, 2. Gary Wright, 3. Billy Pauch, 4. Mike Hudson, 5. Rodney Duncan 6. Terry Babb, 7. Matt Moro. DNS: Greg Wilson Bruce Robenalt. United Expressline B Main: 1. Greg Hodnett, Todd Gracey, 3. Ed Lynch, Jr., 4. Paul Chesson, S. Ricky Logan, 6. Terry Babb, 7. Earnest Jennings, 8. Johnny Johnson, 9. Tom Davies, 10. Matt Moro. DNS: Jerrod Hull, Kelly Kinser Ryan Flynn, Paul Weaver, Bruce Robenalt, All Star Circuit of Champions A Feature (20 laps): 1. Danny Lasoski, Dover, Mo.; 2. Paul McMahan, Bristol, Ind.; 3. James Chesson, Far Hills, NJ; 4. Billy Pauch, Frenchtown, NJ; 5. Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Ind.; 6. Rodney Duncan, Lockbourne, Ohio; 7. Keith Kauffman, Mifflintown, Pa.; 8. Todd Shaffer, Millerstown, Pa.; 9. Greg Hodnett, Arlington, Tenn.; 10. Frankie Kerr, Fremont, Ohio; 11. Kenny Jacobs, Holmesville, Ohio; 12. Ed Lynch Jr., Apollo, Pa.; 13. Gary Wright, Hooks, Texas; 14. Todd Gracey, Brodbecks, Pa.; 15. P.J. Chesson, Far Hills, NJ; 16. Brian Ellenberger, Butler, Pa.; 17. Terry McCarl, Pleasant Hill, Iowa; 18. Lance Dewease, Fayetteville, Pa.; 19. Kasey Kahne, Enumclaw, Wash.; 20. Ronald Laney, Humble, Texas; 21. Ryan Flynn, Chico, Calif.; 22. Mike Hudson, Charlotte, NC; 23. John Bankston, Beaumont, Texas; 24. Craig Dollansky, St. Paul, Minn.