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Written by:
Jim Chiappelli
08/08/2008 - 07:58 AM
Knoxville, Iowa
Saldana has won three times this season at Eldora, including twice with the World of Outlaws to bring his career total at the legendary half-mile to 17. (Photo: World of Outlaws) ยป More Photos
Even in victory lane at Knoxville Raceway Thursday night, Joey Saldana downplayed his accomplishment.
"The 15 car wasn't running tonight, and I usually finish second to it," responded the Brownsburg, Indiana native after climbing from his Kasey Kahne Racing machine.
That self-deprecating comment was in reference to his rival Donny Schatz, who had the evening off after participating in Wednesday's night of qualifying races for Saturday's 48th Annual Super Clean Knoxville Nationals.
Not only has Schatz captured winged sprint car racing's biggest single-day prize here at the Marion County Fairgrounds the past two years, he is the two-time reigning champion of the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series.
Who has fallen just short to Schatz in the last two August classics?
That would be Saldana.
But on this night, Little Joe, whose dad Big Joe won the Nationals in 1970, drove with particular flare, first disposing of early race leader Tyler Walker, then twice holding off a late challenge from Jason Meyers, the latter during a green-white-checkered finish in the 20-lap affair.
"I just want to have a beer tonight," a reserved Saldana said as he savored the moment with a sponsor plug.
Had it not been for a caution with four laps remaining, Meyers might have been the man of the hour. First, he set fast time of the night, (14.99 seconds) then rocketed from the last row of his heat race to a runner-up finish, accumulating the most points on the night.
While running third on lap 16 of the A-Feature, Meyers caught leader Saldana and then-runner-up Billy Alley in traffic, bringing the crowd to its feet as they nearly went three-wide down the front straightaway. A split second after taking the middle line and nosing in front through turns one and two, the caution waved for Terry McCarl's stopped car, which shredded a right rear tire.
Meyers passed Alley on the restart, but ran out of time to catch Saldana, who rode the cushion to victory.
Completing the podium was perennial "360" sprint car winner Gary Wright, who used
Wright, making his first start in a "410" car this season, admits he was "amazed" by his third place result.
"This is an eight-year old motor," he confessed to reporters.
Craig Dollansky finished fifth.
A fairly clean and fast-moving program was interrupted by a frightening wreck that landed Jeff Shepard in a Des Moines hospital.
The incident was eerily similar to Wednesday night's massive pileup at the start of the fourth heat race.
This time the carnage occurred at the start of the B-Feature, and involved at least eight cars, six of which flipped.
Shepard's ride made cage-to-cage contact with another car, and was trapped beneath it in turn one.
It took nearly 30 minutes for rescue workers to carefully remove Shepard from the twisted wreckage on a back-board. Trackside reports were that he was conscious, but disoriented, and that he was wedged in the cockpit by his seat, which, along with the A-Frame was bent but intact.
Late in the A-Feature, Knoxville regular Brian Brown gave spectators another scare. His engine blew near the flagman's stand, then burst into flames entering turn one. Brown's car clipped the inside berm and rolled onto its side. Fortunately, track safety workers were there in an instant, and Brown escaped unharmed.
Heat race winners were Brooke Tatnell, Brown, Josh Schneiderman, Lynton Jeffrey and Rob Chaney.
Jeremy Campbell collected the C-Feature, while Sammy Swindell, who won the Knoxville Nationals 25 years ago, set the second-fastest lap during time trials and drove off with the B-Feature.
Heading into Friday's "Scramble" races, the last chance for competing drivers to earn points, Meyers leads Wednesday night's runner-up Danny Lasoski by eight points. The overall points leader will earn the pole position for Saturday's A-Feature.
SPEED's coverage of The Knoxville Nationals begins Saturday at 10pm ET.
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