Every goal was met and crossed off except one – a Goodyear Knoxville Nationals title.

“Out of all the goals we’ve set in sprint car racing, we’ve achieved them all except for winning the Knoxville Nationals,” he said.

Meyers is one step closer to that dream after he recorded an emphatic victory on Thursday on the second qualifying night of the 52nd annual Goodyear Knoxville Nationals at Knoxville Raceway. Driving for longtime family friend Tom Tarlton, Meyers led the final 18 laps in his return to the famed half mile.

“This gives me one more opportunity to go out there and do it,” he said. “We’ve got a great car. I think we’ve got a great shot at it.”

Meyers, who started third, passed polesitter Mark Dobmeier for the lead on the restart on lap eight. Meyers then outlasted a late charge from Tim Shaffer, who started 15th and worked the bottom to within a couple car lengths of the leader in the closing laps.

“When you can hit the bottom here and nail it, I don’t care how good you hit the top, the bottom will be faster,” Shaffer said.

Kraig Kinser won a late-race battle with Stevie Smith to earn the final spot on the podium.

“I’ll take third,” Kinser said. “I’ll take it any day. I really feel like we accomplished what we set to do here. This is really great for me.”

Smith finished fourth and Lance Dewease rounded out the top five. While those drivers made their way to the front, that wasn’t the place to be early on.

Sammy Swindell was forced to the pits on lap five while running fourth after his U-joint broke, relegating him to a 23rd-place finish.

Three laps later, second-running Greg Hodnett brought out the first caution after stopping in turn four. Hodnett went to the work area and was able to continue, but he placed 11th after restarting at the back.

Fast qualifier Ian Madsen spun exiting turn two on the restart while running ninth. Danny Lasoski flipped after crashing into Madsen, who finished 16    th after making repairs. Lasoski’s night was finished and he was credited with 22nd.

Dusty Zomer’s left rear tire expired with 10 laps remaining while he was running 10th. He placed 21st after the incident.

Dobmeier faded in the closing laps to finish sixth with Jason Johnson seventh, 21st-starter Tim Kaeding eighth, Brian Brown ninth and 17    th-starter Johnny Herrera rounded out the top 10.

“Getting a win at Knoxville is so big, but it’s only a prelim night,” Larson said after winning the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series event. “It’s going to be tough for sure, but tonight gave me a lot of confidence going into Saturday.”

Larson took the checkered flags for the first time at the famed half mile around 1 a.m. to complete the weather-delayed opener in the biggest weekend in sprint car racing. Night Two of qualifying is Thursday with Opening Ceremonies scheduled for 8 p.m.

On Wednesday, a vicious storm blanketed the area with rain, wind and lightning around 4:20 p.m. The facility was under a severe thunderstorm warning during the storm, which lasted more than an hour before tractors began to work the soggy grounds. Cars first touched the track around 9 p.m. – approximately two hours late.

The weather also set up for a fast track and conditions that made it tough to pass most of the night. Eight of the top 10 qualifiers failed to advance out of the heats and it didn’t get any easier in the 25-lap main event.

Polesitter Davey Heskin dominated the first half of the race before the first caution on lap 14 for Mike Reinke, who stopped in turn four. At the same time the caution waved, second-running Randy Hannagan went up in smoke on the frontstretch after a fitting broke. His car caught fire under caution and had to be extinguished in the work area to cap Hannagan’s night.

Jason Sides utilized a near-perfect slide job on Heskin for the lead in turn two on the restart and Larson slid Heskin for the runner-up position in turn four. The trio entered traffic in a tight battle with seven laps remaining and a lap later, Sides’ left rear tire exploded in turn two. He spun around and ended up tipping over, which gave Larson the lead.

Sides was able to continue, but stopped in turn four with four laps remaining to set up another late restart. This time Brian Paulus was on Larson’s tail after narrowly passing Heskin on the previous lap. However, Paulus slowed dramatically while running second as he was facing the white flag and eventually brought out the final caution, which set up a green-white-checkered finish.

Larson sailed to the lead on the restart and Heskin held off Donny Schatz for second place after the duo traded slide jobs in the closing laps.

“I was just lucky to get back by Schatz,” Heskin said.

Schatz, the defending Goodyear Knoxville Nationals champion and the winner in five of the last six events, joked about being the elder of the podium finishers and praised Larson for the big win.

“This kid’s got a lot of talent in everything he drives,” Schatz said. “It’s good to see the younger guys come up.”

The Federated Auto Parts Ironman 55 main event will be contested as part of the program during the World of Outlaws appearance at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 on Saturday, Oct. 13. Ticket holders for the October show will get to watch two feature programs for their admission.

Kerry Madsen won his fourth dash of the season to earn the pole for the famed event with fellow Australian James McFadden on the outside of the front row.

Kraig Kinser established quick time in qualifying to open the night, and Craig Dollansky, Dale Blaney and Donny Schatz each claimed a heat race.

“I’m not very loud of any kind; I stay pretty even,” he said. “Obviously I’m usually this way on a terrible night and on the best of nights I stay pretty calm, but I’ll be pretty happy. I might do a bit of screaming in the helmet, but I’ll try to keep it pretty cool for right now.”

After many near wins during the last five seasons as an Outlaws driver and overcoming a gamut of mechanical woes this year, Wolfe had arguably the best car in Friday’s main event. He charged from his seventh starting position to the top three within the first 10 laps and took the lead before the midpoint. However, it wasn’t without drama.

Wolfe was leading by a straightaway with less than two laps remaining when the event’s second caution was waved for a spin by Kody Kinser in turn two. That erased Wolfe’s commanding advantage and he chose the inside lane on the double-file restart.

Wolfe powered into the lead, but the final caution came on the restart as Sammy Swindell and Kerry Madsen tangled in turn four. However, once again, Wolfe mastered the restart and drove away to the sizeable victory.

“I was a little bit worried about the double-file restarts from where the track might have got a little bit of rubber laid down, about how it was going to be to get going,” he said. “I felt the bottom was my best bet and obviously that was the wrong decision. I was able to get a good enough start there and obviously it didn’t count anyway because we had an accident.

“(I) certainly was happy to see it go back single file. That was a relief that we didn’t have to do anymore double-file restarts and were able to just finish it right there. I’d had enough; my nerves were about shot. (I was) certainly happy to finally finish a deal off.”

Joey Saldana, who led the first 18 laps after starting on the pole, lost the lead in traffic as Wolfe split him and a car about to be lapped while the trio raced down the backstretch. Saldana then held off Donny Schatz for the runner-up position.

“It’s well deserved,” Saldana said. “The guy’s been knocking on the door and having bad luck.

“He could maneuver through traffic really well. I could get through traffic as long as it went my way, but I couldn’t force the issue. I had to settle for second and I really had nothing for him.”

Both drivers shared a special moment with Wolfe in Victory Lane.

“I can still remember that feeling,” said Schatz as he reminisced about his first Outlaws win. “I’m happy for him. It’s been a long time coming. He should have won one long ago, but I’m sure tonight’s very special for him having to wait that long.”

“Last year we won the thing running through the middle and tonight we were really good right on the top edge of the race track,” Stewart said. “It wasn’t really anything consistent between the nights. It’s just a neat, little race track. It’s a lot of fun. You can race all over the place.

“And what an honor it is to stand here with this group of guys. To win with the World of Outlaws is awesome.”

A year after picking up his first-ever Outlaws win, Stewart dominated in the return to Ohsweken Speedway in front of the largest crowd in the track’s history. He maneuvered from third to first in the opening turn of the dash and held off World of Outlaws championship standings leader Craig Dollansky for his first dash victory of the season.

That earned Stewart the pole for the feature on a track that had started to slick off early in the heat races. The main event was caution free and featured a variety of close calls throughout traffic for Stewart and Dollansky, who stayed within several car lengths the entire race.

“He’s rolling around here good,” said Dollansky, who has recorded a top three in four of his last five events. “He did last year and he did again this year. We were with him and working through lapped traffic. A couple things go a little bit different in lapped traffic, I think we had a shot at the win.”

The duo entered traffic on lap nine, which forced both to move around the track and leave the preferred top groove. Midway through the feature Stewart had to check up as a car slid in front of him exiting turn four, which allowed Dollansky to close to the rear bumper. However, Stewart maintained the position and later held off a late rally from Dollansky, who closed to within two car lengths on the final lap.

“You just had to play when you caught those guys a little bit and make sure you didn’t get to a part of the corner where you just got stuck,” Stewart said. “Just keeping the momentum up was the big thing just to get by those guys.”

Had there been a late caution, Tony Stewart Racing driver Steve Kinser could have played a spoiler role. Kinser charged from 12th to sixth in the first 12 laps and cracked the top five at the midpoint of the feature.

As Kraig Kinser worked past Donny Schatz for third place with five laps remaining, Steve Kinser split the duo and eventually gained third place on the ensuing lap. He finished third to earn a podium for the second consecutive race after starting in the middle of the field.

“We’re making recoveries, but that’s not the way to be doing it,” Kinser said.

Kraig Kinser, who set quick time in qualifying, placed fourth and Schatz was fifth. Cody Darrah ended sixth, Chad Kemenah seventh, Sammy Swindell eighth, Kerry Madsen ninth and Michael Parent charged from last – 24th – to round out the top 10 and earn the KSE Hard Charger Award.

It was his third victory in six races at a quarter-mile track this season and it snapped a 33-race winless streak.

“Last night I was just glad to walk away from it,” Schatz said. “To come back with a victory, it’s the best thing you can ask for. We haven’t won a race in a while. We did everything we could tonight right and got a win, so it feels really good.

“It’s the way our program is built. Any time we get in that gear range we seem to have a little better handle on things – the way the car works, the way the motors run and all that. We really want to work on our big track stuff.”

After winning three of the first 12 World of Outlaws events of the season, Schatz hadn’t found the winner’s circle since April 25. Not only did he end Sunday night in Victory Lane, Schatz did so in style.

He qualified eighth quickest, led all 10 laps to win his heat race and then paced all eight laps of the dash to earn the pole for the feature.

Schatz shot out to the feature lead at the drop of the green flag with Kraig Kinser maintaining a close second. The duo entered traffic on lap eight and Kinser nearly caught a break when Schatz jumped the cushion in turns three and four while trying to lap Jessica Zemken on lap 17.

Schatz held on to the position amid tight traffic, which allowed Craig Dollansky – who drove from sixth to third in the first 15 laps – to join the battle for the lead.

“The track held up pretty well,” Dollansky said. “It definitely got slick as the night wore on. You could race the top. You could race the bottom, especially in (turns) three and four.”

The trio navigated its way through the cluster of cars as Steve Kinser began to edge closer to the front. After starting 12th, Kinser cracked the top five on lap 22 and was up to fourth on lap 25.

“We just got moving pretty good on the bottom and the middle,” he said. “The track was actually pretty good for the feature. You could move around. You could run the bottom, middle and the top. Once the cushion left it made it to where you could pass. It made a good race out of it then. Everybody could move around on it.”

As Kinser closed in on the front three, Dollansky made contact with the back of Kraig Kinser as they entered turn one with eight laps remaining. Kinser spun around, but kept his car going as Kerry Madsen slid off the track in turn four to force the only caution of the race.

Kinser, who fell to fourth, let Dollansky know his frustration during the caution. Schatz then had a clean restart and Steve Kinser got by Dollansky for the runner-up position on lap 35. Traffic appeared with three laps remaining, but Schatz negotiated the slower cars with ease to record his fourth win of the season.

“I didn’t overdrive anything,” he said. “I’ve got a little pain and thinking about that probably more than anything. Probably not overanalyzing things and trying to stay cool, calm and collected and not spin the tires, so that probably helped us get the win tonight.”

Sammy Swindell finished fourth and fast qualifier Lucas Wolfe ended fifth. Chad Kemenah was sixth, Kraig Kinser seventh, Joey Saldana eighth, Michael Parent ninth and Cody Darrah earned the KSE Hard Charger Award after driving from last – 21st – to round out the top 10.

“Last night, racing Sammy, I think I got beat because he had the experience,” said Saldana, who finished second to veteran Sammy Swindell on Friday at Autodrome Granby. “Tonight, for me, I won the race because just the experience and just seeing where the cars were and being able to know, ‘Hey, I needed to make sure I was on the bottom coming off of (turn) two to get a good run.’ I would say experience definitely helped me tonight.”

Saturday’s event was only the third for the World of Outlaws at the 4/10-mile track, where Craig Dollansky established a new track record in qualifying. Dollansky capped the night by finishing third in a three-way battle for the lead down the stretch of the main event.

“We were close and would have loved to get a win tonight,” he said. “In the grand scheme of things it was a great night for us. It was a fun race. There was a lot going on. (We were) just a couple spots short.”

Dollansky’s success coupled with a crash involving the championship standings leader Steve Kinser pushed Dollansky into the points lead for the first time this season. He now holds a 12-point advantage over Kinser as the top five are separated by only 51 points.

For most of the 35-lap feature, it was Saldana and McFadden in command with the newbie setting the pace. McFadden, the defending World Series Sprintcar champion in Australia, darted from fourth to second in the opening turns and then slid Saldana for the lead in turn three of the opening lap.

“I knew those guys would race hard in the first corner and I just thought I’d be conservative and hit the bottom,” McFadden said. “It worked out for us.”

He set a blistering pace and entered traffic less than a half-dozen laps into the main event. However, a caution on lap 10 bunched the field together and McFadden chose the inside lane on the double-file restart.

Saldana rocketed to the lead by the time they reached the flag stand, but it was erased when Tony Stewart Racing teammates Donny Schatz and Kinser collided while racing for fifth place at the end of the frontstretch. Schatz ended a series of violent flips in the infield and Kinser was unable to continue after sustaining too much damage.

McFadden held onto the top spot on the ensuing restart and Saldana maintained second place within a handful of car lengths during the next dozen laps. The duo entered traffic on lap 15 and Saldana began to reel in McFadden shortly after the midpoint of the feature.

On lap 25, McFadden was trapped in the outside lane in turn two as he tried to lap Etienne Girard. Saldana capitalized and squeezed into the lead as they exited the corner.

“He didn’t really realize the bottom coming off (turn) two,” Saldana said. “He could easily overdrive it and that’s how I got him in lapped traffic. He just kept overdriving (turn) two and I just kept staying patient with my car, got good runs off of (turn) two. Once I got out front I just wanted to make sure I didn’t overdrive it.”

Michael Parent flipped after colliding with Girard in turn two with four laps remaining to set up a late restart. Saldana choose the outside lane and got away clean, with McFadden edging Dollansky at the checkered flag.

“Those guys are my heroes and I’ve grown up watching those guys, so to race wheel to wheel with them and be competitive is a pretty good feeling,” McFadden said.

Kerry Madsen spun in turn three on the final lap while running fourth, which moved Cody Darrah to fourth place and Kraig Kinser to fifth. Kinser earned the KSE Hard Charger Award after starting 13th.

“We’ve kinda been struggling a bit, but we found out we had a car from some of those little skirmishes that we had was a little twisted so our setup wasn’t where it was supposed to be,” he said. “It’s nice to be back in a car that you can just run hard.”

Swindell did just that to dominate for his series-leading eighth feature win of the season in the Outlaws first of six races in Canada this season. He set a blistering pace while claiming the dash and then led all 25 laps of the main event, although it wasn’t decided until the checkered flag.

The fifth-and-final caution of the race came while Swindell was exiting turn four on the final lap, signifying a green-white-checkered finish and erasing nearly a half-a-lap lead.

“I thought well maybe they’d thrown the checkered and I kept looking,” Swindell said. “When I got there it was another yellow, so you have to endure that again. I’ve been bit a few times on that.”

He choose the outside lane and rocketed into a sizeable lead over Joey Saldana, who charged from sixth to second during the first nine laps.

“We chose a pair of 100 tires,” he said. “Sammy had a 200 on the right rear. I would say the longer the race went, the better he got. Early on to get from sixth to second, the 100s got me there and then they fell off at the end.”

There were four cautions, including two red flags, during the opening dozen laps to slow the pace of the main event. Donny Schatz stopped on the backstretch while running in the top 10 on the second lap. After a quick pit stop, he restarted last – 24th – and later finished 10th .

Rick Wilson brought out the second caution of the race on lap eight when he stopped in turn four. Three laps later Kerry Madsen spun in turn two while running 10th and fast qualifier Kraig Kinser tipped over in turn three as the caution started to be displayed, prompting the initial red flag of the event.

The second red flag happened after Alain Bergeron crashed into the frontstretch wall on the restart. Bergeron didn’t flip, but the fuel window was reached and all the teams were able to make changes during the red flag.

Swindell quickly sailed to a large lead on each restart while Saldana held off Cody Darrah for the runner-up position. Steve Kinser found grip on the bottom in the closing five laps and rallied to finish third.

“I was terrible at the beginning of the race,” he said. “I was just too tight. When you’re tight you can’t get no speed up going into (turn) one and lose a position every time. I made it all back up at the end, but not a good way to do it starting on the front row.”

“At least it means you’re up there in the points battled and there’s no better place to be than leading the thing,” he said. “That little extra money doesn’t hurt anything, I can tell you that.”

Sandwiched between those signature wins at a home track located a little more than a half hour from where he grew up, Darrah’s life has been a roller coaster.

“It’s awesome to be back home and it’s even better to be on the frontstretch,” Darrah said. “I got my first World of Outlaws win at this race in 2009 back in my dad’s car. It’s been a long road since then. We’ve had struggles.”

Following the 2009 victory – another Summer Nationals event – Darrah was signed by NASCAR notable Kasey Kahne to pilot one of his sprint cars only to be devastated by a car crash on the way to the 2010 season opener.

Darrah returned from a broken leg near the end of the 2010 season for a handful of races before gutting through an up-and-down campaign last year. However, Darrah has found consistency throughout this season and he showcased it on a cool Saturday night in front of a nearly packed facility.

After Friday’s opening round of the Summer Nationals was rained out, Darrah and the rest of the drivers were greeted with a wet track for most of Saturday. There wasn’t much passing and track position was pivotal until the feature.

Darrah qualified 11th quickest of the 45 competitors to make the inversion. He then led all eight laps of his heat race after starting on the outside of the front row. That locked him into the dash, which he also started second after the No. 6 was draw for the dash inversion.

Darrah finished second to Gerard McIntyre, who claimed his first career World of Outlaws dash to earn the pole for the 30-lap feature. It didn’t take long for Darrah to find the lead, which he never relinquished.

By the time the duo crossed the flag stand under the green flag, Darrah had the advantage. He began to pull away only to be slowed on the second lap for the first of seven cautions.

Jason Sides slid by McIntyre for the runner-up position on the restart as Darrah checked out. However, ninth-running Danny Holtgraver got into the wall in turn three on the fifth lap to bring out another caution.

Seventh-running Craig Dollansky spun in turn two on the restart, Fred Rahmer flipped violently down the backstretch on lap six while competing with Sammy Swindell just outside the top 10 and eighth-running Stevie Smith flipped in turn one on that restart to prompt an open red before the feature had completed six green-flag laps.

Dollansky then flipped in turn four on lap 13 and later crashed hard at the end of the backstretch on lap 20 to bring out two more red flags, which erased several car length leads for Darrah, who didn’t mind.

“I really needed the race to play out the way it did without lapped traffic,” he said. “Everything kind of worked in our favor tonight, so I’ll take it.”

The cautions also allowed several cars in the back to make runs toward the front of the field. Lucas Wolfe, World of Outlaws championship standings lead Steve Kinser, Donny Schatz, Cory Haas and Kerry Madsen each made a bid at a top 10 after starting 21st or worse.

Wolfe capitalized on a late rally to finish sixth after starting 22nd, Kinser charged from 23rd to seventh, Schatz ended 11 th after starting 25th, Haas advanced from 21st to 10th and Kerry Madsen earned the KSE Hard Charger Award after maneuvering from 27th to ninth.

Meanwhile, Sides held off Greg Hodnett in a close battle that didn’t decide second place until the checkered flag.

“Our car we kind of set it up for the bottom,” Sides said. “I know that some of the other guys like Hodnett and them got to running pretty good around the top. They were catching us. We’re just happy to be here in second.”

For Hodnett, it was his third podium finish in as many World of Outlaws races at Williams Grove Speedway this season.

“I think we were a little bit faster than Jason,” he said. “He was just wide enough where I couldn’t get by and I didn’t want to crash. We made the best of it.”

The renowned tour’s much-anticipated first appearance of 2012 on SPEED will bring all the excitement, pageantry and hard-core racing of the Firecracker 100 extravaganza to fans across the nation.

Highlights of the two preliminary programs that kicked off the WoO LMS weekend at the four-tenths-mile oval will lead into comprehensive coverage of the headlining Firecracker 100, a crown-jewel event featuring 28 of the country’s top dirt Late Model drivers in a battle for a $30,000 top prize.

Dollansky climbed from his sprint car in Victory Lane, visibly exhausted after a pair of 30-lap, $10,000-to-win features at the 21st annual Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup Presented by GottaRace.com. After he and NASCAR star Tony Stewart split the main event victories, Dollansky was declared the overall champion because he had a higher average finish than Stewart.

“With all the stuff that went on in the first one, I really just wanted to try to run a conservative race but get us a decent finish out of it to win the overall title,” Dollansky said after earning the $5,000 bonus and talking to the television cameras for the event, which is scheduled to air on SPEED on Saturday, Aug. 11, at 1 p.m. (Eastern).

“That wasn’t easily done. There was a lot going on back there. You definitely had to go into survival mode a little bit.”

Dollansky dominated his heat race, the dash and the first feature, when he had to survive 10 cautions en route to his first career World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series win at Lernerville Speedway. However, all of the drivers who finished in the top 20 were on the lead lap, which determined the inversion for the second feature – the largest in the history of the twin feature format.

That started Dollansky on the outside of the 10th row, while Stewart started on the outside of the front row after being involved in the 10    th-and-final caution with two laps remaining in the first main event.

“We got caught in a crash with like three (laps) to go or whatever and that put us to the back,” said Stewart, who finished 19th. “That actually ended up being a blessing in disguise.”

Polesitter Greg Hodnett took the early lead with Stewart in tow for the first half of the race. As the duo began to encounter traffic, Stewart capitalized on the outside lane and rode the cushion to the lead on the backstretch of lap 17.

He then pulled away until Donny Schatz, who drives for Stewart, found grip on the bottom and quickly disposed of Hodnett for the runner-up position on lap 23. Schatz reeled in Stewart and the two competed nearly side by side before the final caution with five laps remaining after Tim Shaffer hit the frontstretch wall and flipped while running seventh.

Stewart executed a near-perfect restart and Jason Sides maneuvered from fourth to second in turns one and two. Schatz later passed Sides entering turn three on the final lap to secure the runner-up spot.

“I felt like we were good once we could get to clean air,” Stewart said. “It was going to be won in the first lap of the restart for sure.

“It’s hard to win these races. When you come up to Pennsylvania you’ve got the best of both worlds. You’ve got the best touring guys and the best guys from the Posse that run, so it’s a pretty big honor to win one of these things.”

Meanwhile, Dollansky was mired in his own battle in the middle of the pack. He restarted 15th with five laps remaining and had to avoid several sliding cars in the closing laps to hang on to a 16th-place finish. His average finish was 8.5, while Stewart’s was 10th.

“Very special,” Dollansky said. “This is one of the crown jewels of our sport. We’ve been close here a few times, but to finally get it done here tonight, it’s a great accomplishment for our entire team.

“It was a long first race and it didn’t seem any shorter in the second one, although there was a lot less restarts.”

Local favorite Danny Holtgraver earned the KSE Hard Charger Award after working his way from 19th to second in the first feature. Holtgraver drove from 19th to 10th in the second main event.

On a muggy Saturday evening, Swindell was forced to ignore that nightmare while he once again led the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series race in the closing laps.

“We came so close last year and had a great car and a great race going until the very last corner,” he said. “That was in the back of my mind. Once I thought we were losing a left rear tire and I just told myself, ‘Don’t worry about it. Just hit your marks and keep going and whatever happens is going to happen.'”

Swindell erased all doubts and outlasted a late charge from Kerry Madsen to claim the 29th annual Kings Royal – and the $50,000 winnings – in front of a packed facility and television cameras that will broadcast the event on Saturday, July 28, at 2 p.m. (Eastern) on SPEED.

The victory was his 20th career at Eldora Speedway and his third career Kings Royal title, which ties him with Jac Haudenschild for second on the all-time list.

“It would have been nice to be back to back,” Swindell said. “I was just trying to be as conservative as I could; to run hard where I needed to and be careful where I needed to. We pulled it off.”

After qualifying 22nd of the season-high 50 drivers and winning his heat race, Swindell started third in the feature based on the special format. He passed Paul McMahan for the runner-up position on lap seven and then drove into the lead on the restart following the first caution – on lap 11 for Stevie Smith, who came to a stop in turn four.

Tim Kaeding hit the wall in turn two while running fifth on the restart and came to a stop on the frontstretch, bringing out another caution. Swindell chose the inside lane on the double-file restart and rocketed to the lead while Chad Kemenah and Dale Blaney, who restarted second and fourth, respectively, made contact on the ensuing lap.

Kemenah faded and eventually pulled into the pits, while Blaney lost several positions after nearly getting into the wall during the melee. Daryn Pittman closed to the rear of Swindell as a couple of drivers who transferred out of the B Main started to charge prior to the halfway point.

By lap 14, B Main winner Donny Schatz had advanced from 21st to fifth, while 23rd starter Kraig Kinser moved to eighth and 24    th starter Steve Kinser was in 10th.

However, the car on the move was Kerry Madsen. He restarted 11th on lap 11 and advanced to third place as Swindell entered traffic near the halfway mark of the feature. Madsen and Pittman then traded slide jobs in every corner for two straight laps before Madsen held onto the spot on lap 27. Two laps later the final caution waved for debris in turn three and the field was stopped to refuel.

Madsen and Pittman continued their sliders on the restart while Swindell checked out. Madsen again regained the position for good with 10 laps remaining and began chasing Swindell. With five laps remaining Madsen dove to the inside in turn one, pulling up next to Swindell but eventually losing ground exiting turn two.

“I didn’t really try a slide job, I just tried to run the middle and thought I could get a run to do a slide job a lap later and it completely backfired on me,” Madsen said. “I just lost too much ground.”

As the duo entered traffic with three laps remaining, Madsen again began to reel in Swindell. However, a last-ditch slide job in turns three and four ended with Swindell’s momentum carrying him past a sliding Madsen in turn four with the checkered flag in the air.

Haudenschild finished third – his eighth career Kings Royal top three and first since winning the event in 1998.

“Any time you can get on the podium it’s a good feeling,” he said.

Justin Henderson placed fourth and Kraig Kinser earned the KSE Hard Charger Award after driving from the last starting row to fifth. Pittman ended sixth, Joey Saldana seventh, Schatz eighth and Greg Wilson charged from 22nd to ninth. Steve Kinser rounded out the top 10 after starting last.

On an overcast Friday, Saldana recaptured that magic and feasted en route to the Knight Before the Kings Royal win – his 11th with the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series at the famed half-mile oval.

“Tonight we needed it,” he said. “The last two months we’ve been struggling.

“It definitely makes you feel confident, but you still got to come out here and run all 40 laps and be leading at the end.”

Saldana – a two-time Kings Royal champion – enters Saturday’s 29th annual Kings Royal, which pays $50,000 to win and will be taped by SPEED for a delayed broadcast, as a favorite after a strong performance that began with the 12th quickest time in qualifying of the 48 competitors.

Based on the inversion, Saldana started on the outside of the front row of his heat race. He led all eight laps to lock himself into the dash, which he started on the pole after the No. 8 pill was drawn during the dash inversion.

Once again, Saldana led the entire race to earn his third dash win of the season. It gave him the pole for the 30-lap feature and he took advantage early.

Saldana rocketed to the top spot on the start and built a sizeable advantage as a couple of top-10 cars had issues in the opening dozen laps. Danny Lasoski pulled to the pits under thick smoke while running sixth on lap four and Tim Kaeding brought out the first caution on lap 11 when he stopped in turn two while running eighth.

Saldana chose the outside on the double-file restart – like he did on every restart – and was never seriously challenged. The field was brought back together on lap 12 after a five-car crash on the backstretch, which triggered a couple of random events under caution.

As the lights went out, signaling the green flag the next time by, Sammy Swindell spun to a stop on the frontstretch after his steering wheel apparently came off. Swindell, who was running fourth, had to tag the rear of the field and restarted 17th.

While things were sorting out for Swindell, Kraig Kinser drove to the work area with a flat right rear tire. Kinser would have restarted eighth, but instead had to restart 18th.

The final caution came on lap 14 when Jac Haudenschild spun entering turn one and NASCAR star Tony Stewart, who owns Eldora Speedway, couldn’t avoid the spinning car and slammed into him. Those cautions helped Greg Wilson work his way toward the front and after starting the race 20th, Wilson restarted on the inside of Saldana for the last restart.

“We tightened our car up and tried something a little different, and it was real good,” said Wilson, who earned the KSE Hard Charger Award. “We got our car really, really tight and locked down, and were just able to roll around the bottom.”

Once again, Saldana mastered the cushion and pulled away from Wilson and third-place finisher Dale Blaney.

“Greg was really good on the bottom in (turns) one and two … and you get Joey out in clean air and on that curb that way it is, he’s really good on it,” Blaney said. “We’ll take a third, gladly run third every time with the Outlaws, and look forward to tomorrow.”

In the end, the Australian stood atop the podium at Limaland Motorsports Park after claiming the 40-lap feature, which was filled with slide jobs and close calls at the Ohio Logistics 24th annual Brad Doty Classic Presented by Racing Optics.

It is Madsen’s third World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series feature victory in the last 11 events and he became the seventh different driver to win in the last seven Outlaws races at the tight, quarter-mile track.

“It was pretty intense in the seat,” he said. “Ironically, I thought if we could get out of here with a top 10 I’d be excited. To get a victory is awesome.”

Stevie Smith, who started on the pole by virtue of a dominating dash victory, rocketed to the early feature lead with Sam Hafertepe Jr. in tow. Madsen, who started on the outside of Smith, passed Hafertepe Jr. for the runner-up position around lap five and began to chase down Smith once the duo entered traffic.

Smith’s advantage of nearly half a straightaway was quickly erased and Madsen tried a slide job in turns three and four on lap 18. However, he didn’t have enough speed and Smith maintained the lead. Two laps later, Hafertepe Jr. stopped on the frontstretch with a flat right rear tire while running fourth to bring out a caution a lap before the halfway point.

That’s when things became a little hectic.

“They were really important and they were awfully hard to figure out tonight,” Smith said of the restarts. “It was a tough deal on the restarts. The bottom was still real good. The top was kinda further around and there were guys coming in the middle, so it got really interesting.

“The double-file restarts made it an interesting race. Unfortunately, it gave Kerry an advantage.”

While Smith got through turns one and two with the lead, Madsen through a big slider on Smith in turns three and four. Smith tried to turn underneath Madsen, who had just enough to hold onto the top spot as they raced down the frontstretch.

Smith had a shot at redemption 10 laps later when Jac Haudenschild caused a caution by dramatically slowing in front of the Madsen-Smith battle on the backstretch. Madsen chose the inside lane on the double-file restart and narrowly edged Smith for the lead exiting turn two.

While drivers throughout the field were sliding each other every lap, the battle up front continued to be replayed with restarts after Chad Kemenah flipped in turn four on lap 34. Once again, Madsen choose the inside lane and once again, he held off a side-by-side clash with Smith.

“He was pretty nice,” Madsen said. “If it was two or three feet difference, I would have had to lift and couldn’t clear him. It was as close at it got.”

The final caution was waved on that restart after David Gravel was called for leaving the outside lane too early. However, Madsen was able to avoid being slid and drove to the narrow win.

“I wasn’t really being nice to him,” Smith said after finishing second. “I don’t really have a good excuse; he just did a heck of a job. He won the race. It’s his race. It’s his night and we’re just going to be glad with second and move on to the next one.”

Gravel, who piloted from 13th to third in the first half of the race, rebounded from his late penalty to round out the podium – his sixth top five of the season.

“It was definitely good racing,” he said. “It’s the best in sprint car racing. A lot of the guys you run with up front you can trust. That was a good showing tonight how clean everybody raced, especially up front.”

Greg Wilson picked up the KSE Hard Charger Award after driving from 17th to fourth and Donny Schatz finished fifth. Fast qualifier Craig Dollansky was sixth and Daryn Pittman seventh. Last Chance Showdown winner Sammy Swindell finished eighth, Steve Kinser placed ninth and Tim Shaffer powered from 22nd to 10th.

“Once you get a win in there, hopefully they just keep coming again,” said Kinser, who moved within 71 points of the lead in the championship standings. “And hopefully they come in threes again like they did last month. Hopefully we’ve got two more left in us at least.”

For the second time this season Kinser used a late pass on his father, 20-time World of Outlaws champion and current points leader Steve Kinser, to capture the top spot. Son got around father on the backstretch on lap 24. He then had to fend off Donny Schatz, who closed to within a car length on the final lap.

“The thrill is never going to go away for me, especially being dad,” Kraig Kinser said. “I knew Donny was on a charge, too. He’s definitely one guy you don’t want his car good because he’ll drive around you in a hurry.”

Schatz, who ran sixth for most of the first half of the 40-lap feature, maneuvered his way to third with 15 laps remaining. He then worked on Steve Kinser for several laps before driving by on the outside in turn four with four laps to go. Schatz quickly cut the deficit to the leader, but ran out of laps.

“He was just trying to be cautious and I was going for it; win it or wear it,” Schatz said after his best finish in the last 15 races. “We had a good enough car to get near him, I just couldn’t get around. I gave it my all. It just wasn’t quite good enough.”

For Steve Kinser, who started on the pole and led the first 24 laps, the podium finish ended in some frustration.

“We’re not disappointed, but I felt like it was my race to win tonight and I gave it away,” he said. “I’m proud (Kraig is) doing a good job, but I like to win races also.”

After missing the dash by only one position in his heat race, Kraig Kinser started the feature 11th. He quickly worked his way into the top five within the first three laps, which were stopped three times because of incidents.

Kinser had already climbed to ninth when Bill Warren and Phil Mock got upside down in turn one to bring out a red flag on the second lap.

After a caution was thrown on the restart for David Gravel leaving too early, Kinser capitalized on the fast inside groove to gain two more positions before Kerry Madsen and Sammy Swindell caused the final caution on lap three when the duo crashed in turn two racing for the runner-up position.

Kinser restarted fifth and advanced to third on the restart. On lap 20, he passed Mike Reinke, a local favorite who later pulled to the infield with a dozen laps remaining while running fifth, for second place with a perfect slide job in turn three. Four laps later, Kinser used momentum on the outside lane to power by his father for the lead.

“When you take a charge from that far back, it’s an awesome feeling,” Kraig Kinser said. “We were on. It was just a lot of fun.”

Craig Dollansky was fourth and Cody Darrah finished fifth – his third top five in the last four races. Tim Kaeding picked up the KSE Hard Charger Award after maneuvering from 18th to sixth. Brian Brown was seventh, Lucas Wolfe placed eighth and Swindell rebounded from the early caution to finish ninth. Cap Henry rounded out the top 10.

Sammy Swindell and Kraig Kinser set the tone from the drop of the green flag as lightning descended around the area midway through the main event. The duo battled neck and neck – even side by side at times – with Swindell crossing the finish line first by a car length.

“I seen him drive in there real hard a few times,” he said. “I was hoping that maybe he would see the carrot out there real close and try to run a little hard. I was just running my line and trying to keep up with the race track as it was changing. It’s a lot easier to control the race sometimes when you’re in front.”

It was his series-best sixth victory of the season and it moved him back into the World of Outlaws championship standings lead for the first time since he and Steve Kinser left Orange County Fair Speedway tied for the points lead on May 19.

Kinser, who won the previous two years at Lakeside Speedway, was involved in the first caution of the race. Brian Brown jumped to the early lead only to smack the wall in turn three on the opening lap. Kinser had nowhere to go and collided with Brown’s stalled car, which was compounded when Patrick Stasa slid into the crash.

Brown and Stasa went to the trailer, while Kinser’s team was unable to make the necessary repairs before the race restarted.

His son, Kraig, who entered the event with three World of Outlaws victories in the past eight events, capitalized on the complete restart by pulling into a comfortable lead. In fact, he held nearly a straightaway advantage before the second-and-final caution on lap seven for Donny Schatz, whose car caught on fire.

After parking it in the infield near turn one and hoping out of the car, which was met with fire extinguishers, Schatz climbed back into his race car and his team fixed the problem. Kinser also rejoined the field – six laps down. He finished 14th and is nine points behind Swindell in the championship standings.

Swindell, who won a pair of Outlaws races on pavement at Lakeside Speedway in 1991 and 1992, rocketed by Kraig Kinser for the lead on the restart as bolts of lightning began to appear in the distance off turn four. Kinser maintained a close second – and even pulled side by side with him on lap 12 – but was unable to regain the lead.

“I got on the gas and spun (the tires) a little bit, just enough for Sammy to get an edge and pull back in front of me,” Kinser said. “That was it. I hounded him so hard at the end of the race. He just never really slipped up at all. He’s hard to pass when he gets out front.”

Cody Darrah also took advantage of the restart and worked his way from sixth to third, where he also finished last year at Lakeside Speedway.

“The first stages of that race I screwed up on those starts,” he said. “Then we had a restart where I kind of got everything back together and ended up pulling from sixth to third. I wish we got through lapped traffic a little bit better, but that’s part of it.”

Lucas Wolfe drove from 10th to fourth and Kerry Madsen was fifth. Chad Kemenah earned the KSE Hard Charger Award after maneuvering from 19    th to sixth. Danny Lasoski finished seventh, Craig Dollansky eighth, Tim Kaeding ninth and Schatz rounded out the top 10.

“That was well worth the wait,” he said with a big smile. “The track was awesome, wide open around the cushion.”

Madsen started sixth in the 25-lap feature – only the third ever for the World of Outlaws at the famed high-banked, half-mile oval – but didn’t stay there long. He secured fourth place on the third lap and slid Joey Saldana in turn four for third place on lap six.

Madsen rocketed to the runner-up position on a restart midway through the race before a caution on lap 16 provided a unique opportunity. Polesitter Sammy Swindell, who built a sizeable lead during the first half of the feature, was called for jumping the restart. He was penalized one row and Madsen advanced to the lead.

“As it turned out he went a little early and gave us the preferred line on the restart,” said Madsen, who chose the outside lane for the double-file restart. “It would have been good. I was right on his bumper and I felt like one little bobble and I was going to make a slide-job attempt.

“We caught a break and we took full advantage of it.”

Craig Dollansky, who timed in quickest during qualifying with a lap of 14.407 seconds, restarted second and Swindell third. The duo appeared to touch wheels in turn two on the restart, with Swindell winning the battle for second and Madsen driving into an advantage of half a straightaway.

The drivers entered traffic with five laps remaining, but Madsen was too strong and Swindell was unable to overcome the penalty. He held off Steve Kinser, who maintains the championship points lead, for second place. Swindell declined to comment following the race.

Dollansky finished fourth and Saldana was fifth. Donny Schatz placed sixth, Kraig Kinser seventh, Mark Dobmeier eighth, Bill Rose ninth and Cody Darrah rounded out the top 10. Patrick Stasa earned the KSE Hard Charger Award after charging from 24th to 15th.

Kinser led all 30 laps and held off his father, 20-time World of Outlaws champion Steve Kinser, to record his third win in the past seven events on a day when the temperature climbed into the mid-100s and wind gusts of more than 40 miles per hour bombarded the 3/8-mile track.

“I knew the bottom was going to be tough to beat early,” Kraig Kinser said. “It’s hard sometimes (when) you lead the race. You don’t know whether to get off the bottom and move to the top or move around a little bit. I got lucky lapped cars pushed me up a little bit to get around them and got trucking around the middle there.”

It was his third victory in the past 19 days, which ties the number of Outlaws wins Kinser amassed since 2005 – when he won a career-high seven features. The win was also his 14th career World of Outlaws feature victory, which ties him for 20th all time.

As neat as the statistics are, Kinser is more pleased in whom he beat – his father and car owner.

“The one-two finishes are real nice, especially when I’m in front,” Kraig Kinser said. “This little swing we’ve had has been great with the exception of last night. The car has been there every step of the way.”

As Kraig shot to the lead from his pole position on lap one, Steve Kinser charged from his fifth starting position to the runner-up spot on the opening lap. He maintained second position the entire race, but only closed within a car length shortly after the duo entered traffic on lap eight.

“If someone’s gotta outrun me I’d assume it’d be Kraig,” Steve Kinser said. “Toward the end there wasn’t no place to go, the bottom sort of locked down a little bit. It was hard to pass anybody out in the middle the last six or seven laps.”

Traffic began to play a role in the closing laps as Kraig Kinser lapped up to 12th place, where there was a three-way battle for a top-10 position. Kinser was caught behind the trio sliding each other, which allowed his father to close the gap to within a handful of car lengths. However, it was too little too late.

The win pulled Kraig Kinser to within 107 points of his father, who moved back into the World of Outlaws championship standings lead.

Craig Dollansky drove from seventh to third in the first eight laps and maintained the podium finish to record his 14th top five of the season.

“I definitely felt like we were with them,” said Dollansky, who is only 57 points behind Steve Kinser in the championship standings. “It just took me too long to get into third place.”

Joey Saldana was fourth and Cody Darrah ended fifth. Jason Sides placed sixth, Kerry Madsen seventh, Donny Schatz eighth, Bill Rose ninth and Lucas Wolfe rounded out the top 10.

Sammy Swindell, who set quick time with a lap of 13.462 seconds, brought out the initial caution of the race on the opening lap after contact with Madsen entering turn three. Swindell, who started third, fixed a flat left rear tire and restarted 23rd. He finished 12th and was the last car on the lead lap.

Sixth-starting Chad Kemenah was part of the final caution – also on the first lap – when he spun in turn one to avoid contact with another driver. Steven Richardson slid into Kemenah and flipped, ending both of their races.

After the two quick cautions, the feature went green to checkered with Kraig Kinser in front.