Mike Provenzano ends barn burner for final night at La Salle; champions honored

By: Betty Glynn

La Salle, IL – The final night of racing typically produces twists, turns and hard charging disputes. Saturday night at La Salle Speedway the drivers were up for the challenge and gave a full house exactly what they were hoping for on Fan Appreciation Night.

To get things rolling, the Late Models and the Modifieds put their best lap in the books. Mike Provenzano posted the fastest Late Model lap with a time of 13.120. Nathan Balensiefen traveled the quickest lap of 14.604 for the Modifieds.

Eighteen Late’s were in the pits with two heats determining their feature grid. First heat pole sitter, Mike Provenzano took the point after a battle with Bret Sievert but it didn’t come easy. Sievert took the lead just before a last lap caution slowed the pace and put him back behind Mike Provenzano. For the restart, it was apparent a showdown was on tap. At the checkers, Mike Provenzano was first but Rich Bell was right there with him leaving Sievert in third and Mike Glynn fourth.

Jeff Small, the pole sitter of the second heat, was commander of the race all the way to the checkers. Todd Alexander finished second ahead of Jeff’s brother Jon Small and Terry Knutti.

With twenty five laps ahead, no one could have foreseen Lake Knutti flipping his ride before a lap could be scored. Luckily the driver exited the car on his own. Once the green flag was hanging, Mike Provenzano was in charge with Sievert in second over current champion Lil’ John Provenzano. After a restart of Lap 4, a three wide battle for the lead between the three ended when Bell took the low line and started challenging Lil’ John who was in second. 

Bell took over the point during Lap 9 with Lil’ John now in second. Mike Provenzano fell back to third. Bell was flying but Lil’ John was fast on a lower line. Bell’s high run was fast and furious until he moved down in front of Lil’ John who was still charging hard on the bottom during Lap 14. The front runners tangled with Lil’ John ending the powerful run in a spin. After the restart, Bell moved his machine back to the high line on the point with Mike Provenzano second, Sievert third and Glynn running fourth as high on the track as he could run.

Early in the evening, Scott Schmitt took on the exhausting task of changing his engine in the pit area. Completing the job just as the feature cars were rolling around to take the green. His efforts paid off as he charged his power plant up the pack for a top six run.

Just after the flagman signaled one lap to go, Mike Provenzano hit the gas even harder in his lower line run. As he and Bell headed off the turn four corner, it was Bell ahead but by the time the duo crossed the finish line Mike Provenzano beat him by a nose.

Bell took home the runner up finish over Sievert, Glynn, Jamie McHugh, Schmitt, Keith Piano, Terry Knutti, Todd Alexander, Lil John Provenzano, Nathan Disney, Ed Williams, Randy Manos, and Brian Lock.

Nathan Balensiefen was on fire in the Open Wheel Modified class scoring the fastest lap, first heat and main event victories for the division. Like Mike Provenzano, Balensiefen finished third in the over all points but swept the last nights competition.

Balensiefen started the twenty lap feature on the pole next to Brad Stewart over Phil Line and Travis Kohler. He shot to the lead as soon as the green light signaled the start with Brad Stewart chasing him from a high line. With only a few laps in the books Stewart took the chase into a side by side battle.

A final lap caution brought the pack back into nose to tail for a single file start but didn’t change the final finish. At the line, Balensiefen picked up the victory for a second week in a row. Stewart and Vince Cooper were side by side at the line with Stewart edging his nose across the line in second. Justin McCoy took home an impressive third place over Tim Loomis, Travis Kohler, Derrick Doerr, Matt Gremminger, Jeramie Johnson, Tom Knippenberg, Austin Hewitt, first time racer Nick Lueth and Phil Line.

Balensiefen beat out Stewart, Line and Kohler in the first heat. Johnson won the second heat contest in front of Loomis, Allen Line and Ken Fischer.

Street Stock points champion Roger Rickels was at the top of his game for the final night of action. He took home the first of three heat races and then outran the competition to enter victory lane for the feature.

Rickels beat Jake Miller, Jamie Balensiefen and Nick Sell for the first heat. The second heat was won by Kevin Snowberger over Mike McKinney, Randy Lucas and Rick Koltveit. Brandon Maciejewski won the final heat with Tim Provenzano, Duane Peterson and Ande Bivens behind him.

The start of the Street’s main event started a bit rocky after Duane Brown and John Hogue tangled off turn four ending with Hogue flipping in front of the grand stands. Once back to green, the first several laps were filled with exciting side by side action between Rickels, Maciejewski and Kevin Snowberger. Rickels never gave up the lead no matter how hard Maciejewski tried to take it away.

Side by side at the line, Rickels narrowly crossed the line first. Maciejewski claimed second in front of Provenzano, McKinney, Snowberger, Keith Lucas, Randy Lucas, Justin Rutledge, Nick Sell, and Ande Bivens.

Phil Burdette worked his way up to the front of the 4 Cylinder feature contest to claim the victory over JR Brown, Steve Phillips, Allen Provenzano, Danger Williams, Jon Provenzano, Jerry Legner, Brandon Mallory, Rick Wagner and Freddie Thatcher.

JR Brown and Phillips won their heat races.

Lil’ John Provenzano, the Late Model track champion, was honored as he calls it quits on top after forty years of racing. Bell was second in points over John’s son Mike Provenzano.

Vince Cooper continued his points domination with his fourth Open Wheel Modified track championship. Phil Line took runner up ahead of Balensifen in the points challenge.

After a great season, Roger Rickels earned the Street Stock points championship over Brandon Maciejewski and Mike Hughes. Hughes finished third two years in a row.

After finishing second in points in 2009 Phil Burdette did what he needed to end this season differently. He won the 4 Cylinder Hornet divisional championship over JR Brown and Jerry Legner.

The only remaining event left for the year is the September 26^th Bill Waite Jr. Memorial Outlaw Spring Car Race. The 800 horsepower winged outlaw sprint cars will compete on that Sunday for $3,000 to win. The even is being put together in honor of Bill an avid racer who was killed on Interstate 80 while assisting a stranded motorist in 2008.

In addition the UMP Modifieds will battle for $800 to win and the UMP Hornets for $300.  

Any information regarding the event should be directed to PACE Promotions: 630-279-3006; IRA Series: 815-759-9269 and the IRA Series website: www.irsprints.com. other questions and comments: e-mail address at pace85@att.net.

La Salle Speedway Scoreboard Results 08/28/10 

UMP Late Models 18 Cars

Qualifying: Mike Provenzano 13.120

Heat 1: Mike Provenzano, Rich Bell, Bret Sievert, Mike Glynn

Heat 2: Jeff Small, Todd Alexander, Jon Small, Terry Knutti

Feature: Mike Provenzano, Rich Bell, Bret Sievert, Mike Gllynn, Jamie McHugh, Scott Schmitt,  Keith Piano, Terry Knutti, Todd Alexander, Lil’ John Provenzano, Nathan Disney, Ed Williams, Randy Manos, Brian Lock, Jon Small, Jeff Small, Lake Knutti, Mark Larson

UMP Moldifieds 18 Cars

Qualifying: Nathan Balensiefen 14.604

Heat 1: Nathan Balensiefen, Brad Stewart, Phil Line, Travis Kohler

Heat 2: Jeramie Johnson, Tim Loomis, Allen Line, Ken Fischer

Feature: Nathan Balensiefen, Brad Stewart, Vince Cooper, Justin McCoy, Tim Loomis, Travis Kohler, Derrick Doerr, Matt Gremminger, Jeramie Johnson, Tom Knippenberg, Austin Hewitt, Nick Lueth, Phil Line, Ken Fischer, Scott Hauge, Mike Marden, David Wagner

UMP Street Stock 24 Cars

Heat 1: Roger Rickels, Jake Miller, Jamie Balensiefen, Nick Sell

Heat 2: Kevin Snowberger, Mike McKinney, Randy Lucas, Rick Koltveit

Heat 3: Brandon Maciejewski, Tim Provenzano, Duane Peterson, Ande Bivens

Feature: Roger Rickels, Brandon Maciejewski, Tim Provenzano, Mike McKinney, Kevin Snowberger, Keith Lucas, Randy Lucas, Justin Rutledge, Nick Sell, Ande Bivens, Justin Hamm, Duane Peterson, Jake Miller, Jamie Balensiefen, Don Koltveit, Rick Koltveit, Ben Gallentine, Andrew Schwarko, Duane Brown, Tom Alexander, John Hogue, Steve Schwemlein

UMP 4 Cylinder Hornets 14 Cars

Heat 1: Phil Burdette, Andrew Schwarko, JR Brown, Camron Poci

Heat 2: Rick Zifko, DJ Kilanowski, Dennis Polak, Erik Grosch

Feature: Andrew Schwarko, Rick Zifko, JR Brown, Eric Grosch, Loren Westerhold, Camron Poci, Mike Gossett, Greg Joewest, Mark Sutton, Marquis Hoover, Freddy Thatcher, Paul Smith, Josh Trahon, Dustin Forbes, Phil Burdette, Jerry Legner, DJ Kilanowski, Dennis Polak, Charles Greensly

Lil’ John Provenzano schools the young guns for championship

By: Betty Glynn

La Salle, IL – Saturday night at La Salle Speedway the temps were sizzling and the racing was even hotter. The UMP Late Model division championship was up for grabs between three very talented drivers – it was obvious early that it would be a hard fought battle to the finish line.

The story could have been ripped from a Hollywood script as the heated action was so well played it seemed more created than reality. Prior to the evenings first event, Lil’ John Provenzano and his son Mike were tied for the points championship both holding two season victories to earn 446 points. Rich Bell, who scored three victories, was eleven points behind the pair.

Bell showed up with his program ready for action. He kicked off the night by closing the gap a little with the second fastest lap to collect two points and than won the fast heat for an additional ten points. 

Just after qualifying, Lil’ John was already sweating the events and their outcome. “I qualified so bad I think it’s over,” he told before the heat contest.

Something changed after strapping on his helmet because the forty year veteran seemed out of sorts prior to the race but must not have been ready to go down without a fight. The soon to be retiree quickly filed in behind his son while Bell and Bret Sievert held the lead from the front row. During the final lap, the Provenzano pair made contact with the father holding on tight to grab third. Bell won the heat over Sievert, and Keith Piano was fourth.

Ed Williams took the helm from the pole of the second heat and never looked back. Terry Knutti scored second in front of Mark Larson and Lake Knutti.

With both heat races in, the stage was set. Lil’ John was now a mere five points ahead of Bell who was posted at the top of the main event grid next to Sievert. The points leader was on the inside of row two with Piano as his partner. Mike Provenzano took his spot on the third row with Jason Jaggers on the outside.

The front runners set a quick pace as soon as the green was signaled. Unfortunately, their momentum continued to get halted as Lap 1 turned into a marathon. During the attempts of scoring more than one lap, Lil’ John charged his way into second around Sievert but without a lap scored he was working hard and getting no where.

“The third time I passed him (Bret Sievert) was the hardest,” Lil John explained. Sievert went higher on the track in second while Lil’ John chose a lower groove. By the third circuit Sievert was off his pace falling back a few spots.

Bell started to pull away and distance himself using lapped traffic. Fourteen of the twenty starters were still powered up for a restart of the eleventh lap. Three laps later, Lil’ John showed his veteran skills and positioned himself on the tail of the leader. The next lap he challenged his own power plant by remaining heavy enough on the gas to bring his ride up to the door of Bell. They charged side by side for another two laps but Lil’ John was a force to reckon with.

“I knew I needed to run within two spots of Bell,” Lil’ John said. “I had no idea I would win this race because earlier my car was terrible. I put the three wheel brakes on and actually had to slow to go faster. I decided I was either going to be a hero or a zero at the end.”

With three laps remaining, there was one amazing battle underway at the front. Lil’ John was on the point, his son on his back bumper running in nearly the same groove while Bell moved to the highside. On the last turn of the last circuit, Bell was flying high in an attempt to steal Lil’ John’s thunder away on the outside but nothing was going to keep him from crossing the finish line first. Bell rammed hard into the outside of Lil’ John just before the finish line and never let off the gas. As the pair crossed the finish line smoke was flying and sheet metal bending as they flew under the flag stand. Bell stayed heavy on the gas and the duo finally came to a stop joined together after the turn one corner.

Nothing could change the fact that the old man schooled the kids on Saturday night en route to his final La Salle Speedway track title. Bell’s ride crossed the line as the runner up ahead of Mike, Piano, Jason Jaggers, Mike Glynn, Jon Small, Jeff Small, Mark Larson, Gary Hunt, Bobby Morgan Jr., Randy Manos, Todd Alexander and Terry Knutti.

Twenty two UMP Modifieds signed in with Steven Brooks posting the quickest lap. Travis Kohler, Vince Cooper and Derrick Doerr won their heat events. For the feature line up, Kohler earned the pole with Nathan Balensiefen on the outside of him. Brooks and Phil Line were behind them in row two.

Kohler and Balensiefen wasted little time going side by side for the first two laps with Kohler taking the point with four laps scored. Balensiefen used the inside line to grab the lead on Lap 8.

The event felt caution plagued but when the green was illuminated the racing was worth the wait. It seemed as though every lap that was hot and heavy with dicey racing throughout the field, a yellow was necessary.

Balensiefen was the man in charge winning the event over Phil Line, Cooper, Kohler, Brooks, Tim Loomis, Derrick Doerr, Matt Gremminger, Tom Knippenberg, Don Cole, Billy Tuckwell, Kevin Thompson, Mike Marden, Scott Hauge and Austin Hewitt.

Jamie Balensiefen, like his brother Nathan in the Modifieds, was on the front row outside of the Street Stock main event. He quickly charged to the lead with Mike Hughes in second over Brandon Maciejewski.

Jamie used the majority of the track surface with his car nearly sideways in the turns for much of the race. No matter how hard Maciejewski powered up he was unable to truly challengethe leader. It was a great race of cat and mouse but Maciejewski could not get around the leader. Jamie swept the division by winning both the heat and the feature trophy. Maciejewski took second over a strong run by Mike McKinney, Kevin Snowberger, Roger Rickels, Jake Miller, Randy Lucas, Tim Provenzano, Steven Schwemlein, and Nick Sell.

Phil Burdette won the Hornet division over Rick Zifko, Jerry Legner, Dennis Polak, JR Brown, DJ Kilanowski, Freddy Thatcher, Dustin Forbes, #29, Aaron Sutton, and Mark Sutton.

Legner and Burdette won the heats.

Next Saturday night, the Hanks 4×4 event will top the schedule. Racing will continue on August 28^th when the champions are honored for Fan Appreciation Night.

La Salle Speedway Scoreboard Results

UMP Late Models – 20 Cars

Qualifying: Bret Sievert 13.199

Heat #1: Rich Bell, Bret Sievert, John Provenzano, Keith Piano

Heat #2: Ed Williams Sr., Terry Knutti, Mark Larson, Lake Knutti  

Feature: Lil’ John Provenzano, Rich Bell, Mike Provenzano, Keith Piano, Jason Jaggers, Mik Glynn, Jon Small, Jeff Small, Mark Larson, Gary Hunt, Bobby Morgan Jr., Randy Manos, Todd Alexander, Terry Knutti, Bret Sievert, Lake Knutti, Ed Williams Sr., Joe Fratt, Jimmy Partipilo, Billy Weistart

UMP Modifieds – 22 Cars

Qualifying: Steven Brooks 14.605

Heat #1: Travis Kohler, Nathan Balensiefen, Steven Brooks, Phil Line

Heat #2: Vince Cooper, Matthew Gremminger, Don Cole, Mike Marden

Heat #3: Derrick Doerr, Billy Tuckwell, Kevin Thompson, Austin Hewitt

Feature: Nathan Balensiefen, Phil Line, Vince Cooper, Travis Kohler, Steven Brooks, Tim Loomis, Derrick Doerr, Matt Gremminger, Tom Knippenberg, Don Cole, Billy Tuckwell, Kevin Thompson, Mike Marden, Scott Hauge, Austin Hewitt, Kevin Hughes, Dale Lueth, Justin McCoy, DJ Werkmeister, Derrick Line, Allen Line, Ken Fischer

UMP Street Stocks – 17 Cars

Heat #1: Mike Hughes, Brandon Maciejewski, Roger Rickels, Jake Miller

Heat #2: Jamie Balensiefen, Kevin Snowberger, Mike McKinney, Tim Provenzano

Feature: Jamie Balensiefen, Brandon Maciejewski, Mike McKinney, Kevin Snowberger, Roger Rickels, Jake Miller, Randy Lucas, Tim Provenzano, Steve Schwemlein, Nick Sell, Ande Bivens, John Hogue, Andrew Schwarko, Ben Gallentine, Mike Hughes, Wayne Huffman, Justin Hamm

UMP Hornets – 13 Cars

Heat #1: Jerry Legner, Rick Zifko, DJ Kilanowski, Dennis Polak

Heat #2: Phil Burdette, JR Brown, Freddy Thatcher, Mark Sutton

Feature: Phil Burdette, Rick Zifko, Jerry Legner, Dennis Polak, JR Brown, DJ Kilanowski, Freddy Thatcher, Dustin Forbes, #29, Aaron Sutton, Mark Sutton

By: Betty Glynn

La Salle, IL – Lil’ John Provenzano is a legend in his own rite. He has been there and done that. In the spring, he declared he is officially done.

After forty years of a hobby that became a way of life, he is ready to sit back and enjoy his family and their racing endeavors. Without question, the Provenzano family tree has an abundance of speed enthusiasts one of whom is currently Lil’ John’s leading challenger.

Prior to the season’s start, his biggest fan and supporter started spreading the word of his future plans. His daughter Crystal Provenzano Broyles sent an electronic message with plenty of words but three nearly jumped off the page “Dad is retiring”. Reading those words several times before truly absorbing what it said. I found myself thinking about many of occasions where the veteran racer wheeled his way through lapped traffic and across the finish line first but refused to acknowledge his own accomplishments. In fact, he was often speaking of how tough the competition was.

The 2010 season has been a year to remember for a man who is a husband, father, and grandfather ahead of being a racecar driver. It is a family affair in the pit area of the Provenzano’s. Those who aren’t pitside have their own cheering section in the bleachers. All in all a true racing family with a legend at the top.

John has two sons that race Street Stock regular Tim and the La Salle Speedway 2009 Late Model Track Champion Mike. Like their father they can wheel a car around the high banks.

Sometimes we have more than one favorite to root for throughout the night but for the Provenzano’s it is even toughter. It can’t be easy to have a father and son duo competing for the checkers. This season the pair has finished nose to tail often and stole positions from each other in barn burning style.

Lil’ John, a two time La Salle champ, and Mike are officially tied going into the last points race this Saturday. If that weren’t enough pressure, they have other talent that is ready to step in and steal the Provenzano show away.

That competitor is Rich Bell who has been consistent all season winning three feature events while the Provenzano’s each earned two trophies a piece. The only other two racers to have won during the nine regular season races is Scott Schmitt and Bret Sievert.

The Provenzano boys are sitting on top with 446 points with Bell a mere 11 points behind them. The pressure is on and one thing for sure is all three front runners will have every bolt tightened and their machines prepped for action. The points system is very simple, drivers earn points for each event they compete in. To kick things off, the fastest two qualifiers can add a couple points in their favor, the top four fast heat finishers earn more points than any other heats top four finishers. The feature is the place to score the most points. One bad feature finish can truly separate a champion from a runner up.

No matter the outcome on Saturday, it has been an exciting time watching the torch pass from father to son with wheel to wheel action.

The showdown starts with qualifying at 6:30pm and racing at 7:30pm.

La Salle Speedway Points Standings

UMP Late Models

Position Driver Points

1 Mike Provenzano 446

1 Lil John Provenzano 446

3 Rich Bell 435

4 Keith Piano 369

5 Scott Schmitt 284

6 Travis Mahoney 290

7 Aaron Schmidt 264

8 Mike Glynn 242

9 Jeff Small 235

10 Jon Small 235

UMP Modifieds

Position Driver Points

1 Vince Cooper 504

2 Phil Line 475

3 Nathan Balensiefen 434

4 Dale Lueth 366

5 Brad Stewart 338

6 Steven Brooks 338

7 Travis Kohler 291

8 Tom Knippenberg 285

9 Tim Loomis 278

10 Matt Gremminger 256

UMP Street Stocks

Position Driver Points

1 Roger Rickels 524

2 Brandon Maciejewski 489

3 Mike Hughes 450

4 Randy Lucas 398

5 Steve Lewis 380

6 Nick Sell 358

6 Jamie Balensiefen 358

7 Tim Provenzano 348

8 Kevin Snowberger 342

9 Mike McKinney 341

10 Jake Miller 300

UMP 4 Cylinders

Position Driver Points

1 Phil Burdette 514

2 JR Brown 481

3 Jerry Legner 436

4 Rick Zifko 401

5 Andrew Schwarko 320

6 Mark Sutton Sr. 244

7 Asa Robart 231

8 Freddie Thatcher 228

9 Aaron Sutton 228

10 DJ Kilanowski 202

Sievert charges to victory; Father and Son in points chase countdown

By: Betty Glynn

 La Salle, IL – Late Model driver Bret Sievert started his night off with the second fastest qualifying run out of twenty two drivers on Saturday night at La Salle Speedway. Being second wasn’t good enough for the Wisconsin racer though.

The fastest eleven qualifiers took center stage for the first of two heat contests. Former track champion, Ryan Dauber, scored the quickest lap with a time of 13.342 to earn the pole of the fast heat.

By the completion of the first lap Sievert had charged his way into the lead with Dauber close behind. Sievert won the heat over Dauber, Rich Bell, and Lil’ John Provenzano.

Scott Schmitt hit the gas hard to move his way up from the back of the second heat to victory lane. He pulled away from his ten competitors to win over Gary Hunt, Jimmy Partipilo and Ed Williams.

With only one points night remaining next week, there is the chase of all chases happening in the Late Model division. Lil’John Provenzano has been a regular in the dirt track world for forty years. His son on the other hand is just starting to make a name for himself. The veteran racer announced before the season started that he is retiring at the completion of the 2010 season.

The father and son duo have found themselves door to door quite often but being in a championship title race is what they face right now. They have been within two points of one another for several races and at the completion of this week the pair remained the same. Although Mike dropped out of the heat contest and John earned two points, Mike passed John late in the feature to gain those two points back from his father who was suffering with a bad bought of the flu. Mike still sits on top by a mere two point spread.

Next week’s race will determine which Provenzano will wear the crown.

Sievert and Dauber hosted the front row feature grid over Bell and Lil’ John. Keith Piano and Bill Weistart Jr. were in row three. The fast and furious group struggled to get the ball rolling with numerous complete restarts until track officials decided a double file restart had been tried and failed.

Sievert shot to the lead during the first scored lap out with Dauber, Bell and Lil’ John following. Travis Mahoney found his world upside down after rolling off of turn two following contact during the fifth lap. Dauber managed to work his way up to the door of Sievert and passed him during Lap 9 but Sievert grabbed the lead back and pulled away for several laps.

Sievert took the checkers from a high line run leaving Dauber in second. Mike Provenzano stole third from his father during the final lap. Lil’ John took fourth in front of Bell, Schmitt, Piano, Jon Small, Gary Hunt, Mike Glynn, Williams, Jimmy Partipilo and Terry Knutti.

Ottawa racer Dale Lueth traveled the quickest lap in the Modified division and took the checkers for the first heat contest. Nathan Balensiefen took second over Travis Kohler and Milo Veloz. Defending track champion, Vince Cooper, won the second heat ahead of Steve Brooks, Matthew Gremminger and Austin Hewitt.

Lueth used a high line in the twenty lap feature with Veloz running low. Veloz stole the lead during the second lap out and never looked back. At times, Veloz created some significant real estate between himself and Balensiefen while Cooper and Lueth battled back and forth.

When the checkers dropped it was Veloz making a grand return to victory lane over Balensiefen, Cooper, Brooks, Lueth, Phil Line, Tom Knippenberg, Tim Loomis, Travis Kohler, Don Cole, Jeramie Johnson, Kevin Hughes, Kevin Thompson and Austin Hewitt.

Jamie Balensiefen was a force to be reckoned with in the Street Stock feature race. It was a great showing for the speedsters in the division. To kick the race off a three wide battle for second gave a taste of what was yet to come. Kevin Snowberger started on the pole and took command early while Balensiefen had to work up from a fourth place start.

He led every lap until a challenge from Balensiefen off the turn two corner of Lap 12 put Balensiefen into the lead. But not for long as Snowberger took the point back before the lap was scored. While they diced it up back and forth, Brandon Maciejewski was hard charging up the pack from a fourteenth place start.

During the final circuit, Balensiefen knew it was now or never and charged hard to challenge the leader with Maciejewski joining the fun. As they crossed the finish line it was Balesiefen stealing the show and capturing the checkers. Snowberger crossed second but contact between the trio sent Maciejewski across the finish line backwards.

Mike Hughes finished fourth over Roger Rickels, Aaron Near, Mike McKinney, Randy Lucas, Steven Schwemlein, Keith Lucas and Nick Sell.

Snowberger and Hughes each won their heats.

A showdown in the 4 Cylinder Hornet class between standout drivers JR Brown and Phil Burdette ended with Burdette as the victor. With a late race caution a green, white checkers finish was how it would end. The field was put the pack back together for a final showdown.

Burdette won the event with a great challenge by Brown who finished second. Dennis Pollak took third over Rick Zifko, Tyler Griswald, #25, DJ Kilanowski, Mark Sutton, Dustin Forbes, Aaron Sutton, Cameron Pocci, Freddie Thatcher and Andrew Schwarko.

Burdette and Pollak won their heat races.

La Salle Speedway Scoreboard Results

UMP Late Models – 22 Cars

Qualifying: Ryan Dauber 13.342

Heat #1: Bret Sievert, Ryan Dauber, Rich Bell, John Provenzano

Heat #2: Scott Schmitt, Gary Hunt, Jim Partipilo, Ed Williams

Feature: Bret Sievert, Ryan Dauber, Mike Provenzano, John Provenzano, Rich Bell, Scott Schmitt, Keith Piano, Jon Small, Gary Hunt, Mike Glynn, Ed Williams, Jim Partipilo, Terry Knutti, Todd Alexander, Brian Lock, Lake Knutti, Josh Jones, Jeff Small, Travis Mahoney, Billy Weistart Jr., Bill Dauber

UMP Modifieds – 21 Cars

Qualifying: Dale Lueth 14.667

Heat #1: Dale Lueth, Nathan Balensiefen, Travis Kohler, Milow Veloz

Heat #2: Vince Cooper, Steve Brooke, Matthew Gremminger, Austin Hewitt

Feature: Milo Veloz, Nathan Balensiefen, Vince Cooper, Steve Brooks, Dale Lueth, Phil Line, Tom Knippenberg, Tim Loomis, Travis Kohler, Don Cole, Jeramie Johnson, Kevin Hughes, Kevin Thompson, Austin Hewitt, Scott Hauge, Matthew Gremminger, Brad Stewart, Allen Line, David Wagner, Derrick Doerr, Ken Fischer

UMP Street Stocks – 18 Cars

Heat #1: Kevin Snowberger, Roger Rickels, Aaron Near, Randy Lucas

Heat #2: Mike Hughes, Jamie Balensiefen, Jake Miller, Steven Schweimlein

Feature: Jamie Balensiefen, Kevin Snowberger, Brandon Maciejewski, Mike Huhges, Roger Rickels, Aaron Near, Mike McKinney, Randy Lucas, Steven Schwemlein, Keith Lucas, Nick Sell, Jake Miller, Ande Bivens, John Hogue, Don Koltveit, Ben Gallentine, Tim Provenzano

UMP Hornets – 17 Cars

Heat #1: Phil Burdette, JR Brown, Rick Zifko, Donnie Cole

Heat #2: Dennis Pllak, Andrew Schwarko, Jerry Legner, Tyler Griswold

Feature: Phil Burdette, JR Brown, Dennis Pollak, Rick Zifko, Tyler Griswald, #25, DJ Kilanowski, Mark Sutton, Dustin Forbes, Aaron Sutton, Cameron Pocci, Freddie Thatcher, Andrew Schwarko, Corey Joe West, Paul Smith, Donnie Cole, Jerry Legner

Bell hangs tough at La Salle; Australian racer competes

By: Betty Glynn

La Salle, IL – Rich Bell is no stranger to the La Salle Speedway’s victory circle. In fact, he has become a regular visitor of the coveted zone in the UMP Late Model class. Saturday night the Sheffield racer made a valiant return after the race leader succumbed to a mishap with a lapped machine just over half way thru the race.

Twenty Lates’s made a lap around the track full throttle with Bret Sievert scoring the fastest time of 13.105. Lil’ John Provenzano was second quick. The ten fastest racers filled the first heat contest with Lil’ John coming out on top. He led all ten laps as Bell finished second in front of Sievert, and Mike Provenzano.

Mike Glynn went from third to first to claim the second heat race. Gary Hunt took second in front of Jon Small and Eric Rebholz.

Lil’ John and Bell were front row partners over Sievert and Mike Provenzano as Scott Schmitt and Keith Piano took the third row. Lil’ John dashed quick to the lead as Bell gave chase with Sievert close behind. During the third lap out, Piano was on the move when something appeared to break forcing his ride nose first hard into the pit exit turn. Luckily he was able to exit the car unscathed.

On the seventh circuit, Bell was moving to the inside of Lil’ John and seemed to have the momentum he needed to challenge him for the point when a caution was thrown for Lake Knutti. After the restart, Bell stayed right on his tail. A good battle up front for fifth was well underway between Schmitt and tenth place starter Ryan Dauber. Contact between the pair didn’t hold them back. At the beginnning of Lap 13, Lil’ John found himself in trouble with the lapped ride of Bill Dauber. Bill’s night ended in the infield but Lil’ John made a visit showing his frustration by powering into the stopped ride.

With Lil’ John out of the race, Bell took the helm for the restart as Sievert, Mike Provenzano, Ryan Dauber, Schmitt, Glynn, and Weistart filed in behind him. A good race was going for the top seven running positions with most of the machines running the high line.

At the finish, it was Bell staking claim uncontested ahead of Sievert, Ryan Dauber and Mike Provenzano. Mike’s finish may have enabled him to take back the points lead from his father Lil’ John by two points. Schmitt held on for fifth in front of Glynn, Weistart, Travis Mahoney, Aaron Schmidt, Knutti, and Jeff Small.

Australian champion Jamie McHugh is touring the United States racing at various speedways along his journey. He made La Salle one of his stops unfortunately for the Aussie he didn’t have a stellar racing night to add to his resume. He did not finish the event placing him seventeenth overall in the feature.

Steven Brooks topped the twenty six UMP Modified qualifiers. Phil Line took the first heat victory in front of Nathan Balensiefen, Derrick Doerr, and Charlie Harmon. Tim Sorn won the second heat ahead of Kevin Thompson, Jeramie Johnson and David Wagner. The current points leader, Vince Cooper, captured the checkers of the final heat with Michael Mennel, Chad Gray and Scott Hauge behind him. Billy Tuckwell won the semi feature over Bobb Silaggi, Don Cole and Kyle Neels.

Tight racing could be found throughout the twenty car field during the twenty lap feature event. Balensiefen wasted little time from his front row outside start to grab the lead over Line. Several cautions plagued the event but when the green was on, the field was fast and furious with great racing from the front to the tail.

Doerr was running third when eleventh place starter Vince Cooper was making a move for his spot. Contact was made sending Doerr into a spin. The unhappy driver showed his lack of appreciation as he chased down Cooper under yellow. With Doerr out of competition Cooper was now on the back bumper of Balensiefen to give him a run for his money.

Up until the final lap, he did just that challenging the leader in the turns. Balensiefen’s power plant never let up until the checkers. Cooper scored second over Line, Brooks, Sorn, Brad Stewart, Silaggi, Tom Knippenberg, David Wagner and Mennel as the only finishers.

Nineteen UMP Street Stocks made the call for action with Mike McKinney and Kevin Snowberger at the top of the feature grid. Once green, Snowberger jumped to an early lead while a three wide battle was underway for second. McKinney, Maciejewski and Mike Hughes were running three wide until lapped traffic was in the picture.

During Lap 8, Maciejewski and the leader were side by side when the duo came up on another lapped machine. Maciejewski has become pretty good at maneuvering his way thru the slower rides and took the point away for the first and final time.

Maciejewski pulled away from the competition ending the caution free event with the trophy. Snowberger took second in front of McKinney, Roger Rickels, Hughes, Jamie Balensiefen, Tim Provenzano, Aaron Near, Randy Lucas, Keith Lucas, Steve Schwemlein, Justin Hamm, John Hogue, Wayne Huffman, Nick Sell, Ande Bivens, Don Koltveit, Mike McQuilken and Matt Dean.

Third place starter Andrew Schwarko gave it all he had during the UMP Hornet division’s main event. His efforts paid off after taking the lead away from Phil Burdette on the fifth circuit. An elated Schwarko ended as the victor while Rick Zifko held back JR Brown for second in front of Erik Grosch, Loren Westerhold, Camron Poci, Mike Gossett, Greg Joewest, Mark Sutton, Marquis Hoover, Freddy Thatcher and Paul Smith.

Burdette won the first heat over Schwarko, Brown, and Poci. Zifko took the second heat ahead of DJ Kilanowski, Dennis Polak, and Grosch.

La Salle Speedway Scoreboard Results 7/31/10 

UMP Late Models 20 Cars

Qualifying: Bret Sievert 13.105

Heat 1: John Provenzano, Rich Bell, Bret Sievert, Mike Provenzano

Heat 2: Mike Glynn, Gary Hunt, Jon Small, Eric Rebholz

Feature: Rich Bell, Bret Sievert, Ryan Dauber, Mike Provenzano, Scott Schmitt, Mike Glynn, Billy Weistart Jr., Travis Mahoney, Aaron Schmidt, Brian Locke, Jeff Small, Lake Knutti, Jon Small, Eric Rebholz, John Provenzano, Bill Dauber, Jamie McHugh, Gary Hunt, Keith Piano, Ed Williams Sr.

UMP Moldifieds 26 Cars

Qualifying: Steven Brooks 14.508

Heat 1: Phil Line, Nathan Balensiefen, Derrick Doerr, Charlie Harmon

Heat 2: Tim Sorn, Kevin Thompson, Jeramie Johnson, David Wagner

Heat 3: Vince Cooper, Michael Mennel, Chad Gray, Scott Hauge

Semi Feature: Billy Tuckwell, Bob Silaggi, Don Cole, Kyle Neels, Ken Fischer, Mike Marden, Allen Line

Feature: Nathan Balensiefen, Vince Cooper, Phil Line, Steven Brooks, Tim Sorn, Brad Stewart, Bob Silaggi, Tom Knippenberg, David Wagner, Michael Mennel, Charlie Harmon, Matt Gremminger, Jeramie Johnson, Don Cole, Kevin Thompson, Billy Tuckwell, Derrick Doerr, Dale Lueth, Scott Hauge, Chad Gray

UMP Street Stock Special 19 Cars

Heat 1: Mike McKinney, Mike Hughes, Roger Rickels, Jamie Balensiefen

Heat 2: Kevin Snowberger, Brandon Maciejewski, Tim Provenzano, Keith Lucas

Feature: Brandon Maciejewski, Kevin Snowberger, Mike McKinney, Roger Rickels, Mike Hughes, Jamie Balensiefen, Tim Provenzano, Aaron Near, Randy Lucas, Keith Lucas, Steve Schwemlein, Justin Hamm, John Hogue, Wayne Huffman, Nick Sell, Ande Bivens, Don Koltveit, Mike McQuilkien, Matt Dean

UMP 4 Cylinder Hornets 21 Cars

Heat 1: Phil Burdette, Andrew Schwarko, JR Brown, Camron Poci

Heat 2: Rick Zifko, DJ Kilanowski, Dennis Polak, Erik Grosch

Feature: Andrew Schwarko, Rick Zifko, JR Brown, Eric Grosch, Loren Westerhold, Camron Poci, Mike Gossett, Greg Joewest, Mark Sutton, Marquis Hoover, Freddy Thatcher, Paul Smith, Josh Trahon, Dustin Forbes, Phil Burdette, Jerry Legner, DJ Kilanowski, Dennis Polak, Charles Greensly

Maciejewski a true speed racer

By: Betty Glynn

La Salle, IL – Brandon Maciejewski didn’t fare so well in the Street Stock heat race pulling off the track and out of competition early. But the La Salle Speedway Fan Appreciation Night’s attendees got what they paid for and then some for the main event due in part to Maciejewski’s determination and perseverance.

Current point’s leader Roger Rickels and Mike McKinney earned the front row starting spots ahead of Jamie Balensiefen and Tim Provenzano for the feature grid. As the green flag dropped, it was clearly going to be one of the best races of the season for the speedsters. Rickels and McKinney started their racey battle for the point during Lap 5 with McKinney edging in front by a nose until caution collapsed the pace.

For three laps, McKinney worked hard at finding a groove to make the pass again but spun at the turn four tire relinquishing his top running spot. For the restart, it was Rickels, then fifth place starter Mike Hughes, Balensiefen, Steve Lewis, Kevin Snowberger, Wayne Hoffman and the hard charging Maciejewski. Maciejewski had already moved up from nineteenth into the seventh place running position.

On the twelfth circuit, Maciejewski forced a three wide battle for fourth until a yellow brought them back to a single file restart. The pack being nose to tail proved to be an opportunity for him as he quickly moved into third.

Rickels and Hughes were running side by side lap after lap with Rickels continuing to hold the point. A Lap 18 caution stopped their battle after Balensiefen left the track with smoke trailing.

One lap later, as Rickels and Hughes were door to door, Maciejewski took his power to the low side for a trio dance down the back stretch. After a little contact, it was Maciejewski running like Speed Racer taking control. Hughes maintained his run up high on the track but Maciejewski took over and pulled away for the final laps.

Hughes earned his impressive runner up finish ahead of Rickels. McKinney stayed heavy on the gas to finish with a strong fourth place after his restart at the tail of the eighth lap. Lewis crossed in fifth over Jake Miller, Aaron Near, Provenzano, Hoffman, Keith Lucas, and John Hogue.

Maciejewski was fast qualifier. Rickels and McKinney each won their heat races.

Twenty three UMP Late Models signed in for action with the points battle tight between Lil’ John Provenzano and his son Mike. Coming into the evening, Lil John held the lead by twenty points but after the strong performance by his son there might be a mere six points separating the pair. Four race nights are remaining for the chase with crowns on the line in nearly all the divisions.

For the Late Models, Mike Provenzano got the ball rolling with a qualifying time of 13.165 to earn the pole of the fast heat. The pole was a great place for him to start as he quickly jumped to the lead. He scored the win over an impressive run by Keith Piano. Rich Bell beat Mike Glynn at the line for third.

Pole sitter, John Piccatto, hit head first into the concrete barrier of turn three ending his run up front of the second heat contest. Jon Small went on to outpower his brother Jeff to win the heat. Jimmy Partipilo claimed third over Scott Schoener. Travis Mahoney took advantage of his front row inside start to claim the final heat race. Finishing behind the young gun was Ed Williams Sr., Aaron Schmidt and Todd Alexander.

Mike Provenzano rolled into the pole for the feature grid with Piano on the outside. Bell and Glynn were in row two ahead of Bill Weistart Jr. and Jason Jaggers. Mike Provenzano shot out quick with Bell falling in behind him. Bell quickly chose a high line to run with Mike down lower.

Mike wasted little time pulling away from the pack. Bell was holding on to a steady second place while Lil’ John and Piano were battling for third. By Lap 10, Mike was running the lowest line of the turns to pull away from the field. He looked unstoppable until a caution during Lap 22 positioned the pack directly behind him.

After the flagman signaled the green, Bell shot off to the outside rim and stole the lead. Mike Provenzano took second while his father Lil’ John managed to work his way into a third place finish after starting seventh. Jason Jaggers was third in front of Piano, Weistart, Glynn, Jon Small, Jeff Small, Mahoney, Aaron Schmidt, Ed Williams Sr., and Jim Partipilo.

The UMP Modified division boasted a stacked field with over 26 drivers showing up ready for action. Eric Bruce traveled the fastest lap and won the first heat race over Dale Lueth, Phil Line and Ray Bollinger. Nathan Balensiefen won heat two in front of Derrick Doerr, Tim Loomis, and Geno Hewitt. Former track champion Vince Cooper took home the checkers of the final heat race ahead of Jamie Lomax, Don Cole and Zack Odewalt.

Bruce and Lueth started the main on the front row and put on a great showing running the highside like a roller coaster ride. The two raced as far up the track as their right side tires would allow. Bruce held the point until Bollinger powered hard on the bottom of the track to steal the lead during the ninth lap out.

Bollinger, a former regular at La Salle, made a valiant return to the winners circle. Bruce took second in front of Balensiefen, Cooper, Lueth, Tom Duncan, Lomax, Steven Brooks, Phil Line, Travis Kohler, Charlie Harmon, Kevin Thompson and Tom Knippenberg.

Nineteen UMP 4 Cylinder Hornet cars were in attendance. JR Brown one of the division dominators held the point with Phil Burdette running in second. There have been many races where Burdette was runner up to Brown but it wasn’t happening again. Burdette powered up heavy on the gas to capture the victory stopping Brown’s winning streak.

Brown was runner up over Jerry Legner, DJ Kilanowski, Buddy Boyd, Gabe Schrader, Andrew Schwarko, Rick Zifko, Mark Sutton, and Bryce Garnhart.

Legner and Mudro won the heat races.

La Salle Speedway Scoreboard Results 7/17/10

UMP Late Models 23 Cars

Qualifying: Mike Provenzano 13.165

Heat 1: Mike Provenzano, Keith Piano, Rich Bell, Mike Glynn

Heat 2: Jon Small, Jeff Small, Jimmy Partipilo, Scott Schoener

Heat 3: Travis Mahoney, Ed Williams Sr., Aaron Schmidt, Todd Alexander

Feature: Rich Bell, Mike Provenzano, Lil’ John Provenzano, Jason Jaggers, Keith Piano, Billy Weistart Jr., Mike Glynn, Jon Small, Jeff Small, Travis Mahoney, Aaron Schmidt, Ed Williams Sr., Jimmy Partipilo, Joe Fratt, Todd Alexander, Jim Hagedorn, Lake Knutti, Eric Rebholz, Ed Williams Jr., Scott Langer

UMP Moldifieds 26 Cars

Qualifying: Eric Bruce 14.739

Heat 1: Eric Bruce, Dlae Lueth, Phil Line, Ray Bollinger

Heat 2: Nathan Balensiefen, Derrick Doerr, Tim Loomis, Geno Hewitt

Heat 3: Vince Cooper, Jamie Lomax, Don Cole, Jack Odewalt

Feature: Ray Bollinger, Eric Bruce, Nathan Balensiefen, Vince Cooper, Dale Lueth, Tom Duncan, Jamie Lomax, Steven Brooks, Phil Line, Travis Kohler, Charlie Harmon, Kevin Thompson, Tom Knippenberg, Don Cole, Tim Loomis, Matt Gremminger, Geno Hewitt, AJ Dixon, Zack Odewalt, Derrick Doerr

UMP Street Stock Special 20 Cars

Qualifying: Brandon Maciejewski 15.732

Heat 1: Roger Rickels, Jamie Balensiefen, Mike Hughes, Kevin Snowberger

Heat 2: Mike McKinney, Tim Provenzano, Justin Hamm, Aaron Near

Feature: Brandon Maciejewski, Mike Hughes, Roger Rickels, Mike McKinney, Steve Lewis, Jake Miller, Aaron Near, Tim Provenzano, Wayne Hoffman, Keith Lucas, John Hogue, Randy Lucas, Kevin Snowberger, Nick Sell, Justin Hamm, Jamie Balensiefen, Ande Bivens, Scott Schoener, Matt Henrichs

UMP 4 Cylinder Hornets 19 Cars

Heat 1: Jerry Legner, Shannon Mudro, Cory Jo West, Mark Sutton

Heat 2: JR Brown, Phil Burdette, Rick Zifko, DJ Kilanowski

Feature: Phil Burdette, JR Brown, Jerry Legner, DJ Kilanowski, Buddy Boyd, Gabe Schrader, Andrew Schwarko, Rick Zifko, Mark Sutton, Bryce Garnhart, Asa Robart, Aaron Sutton, Dustin Forbes, Shannon Mudro, Cory Jo West, Butch Helfrich, Johsn Trahan, Josh Garnhart

Regular Racing Program returns to LaSalle Speedway this Saturday night.  Fans will be treated to a special $5.00 general admission price for adults, kids 11 and under are FREE!

Kasey Kahne picks La Salle from You Tube videos; Saldana is King of the bullring

By: Betty Glynn

La Salle, IL – Thursday was a night to remember at La Salle Speedway for Sprint Car enthusiasts and fans of Kasey Kahne. The mild mannered star of NASCAR was front and center for every minute of the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series return to the Illinois Valley’s largest outdoor arena. Absent for just over six years, the fans came out in full force to show their undying support of the Greatest Show on Dirt.

Not only did fans get to rub elbows with the stars they were treated to a pyrotechnic show throughout the night along with some impressively fast speeds by the best Sprint Car talent in the country going nose to nose with a lot at stake.

To kick the evening off, Kahne took the microphone front and center in the grandstands to answer questions that members of the crowd had for him. One young fan stepped forward asking the star about a job.

“Does Kasey Kahne Racing have internships,” Breanna asked. Kahne’s response came out after a short pause while the crowd got a chuckle. “I don’t know, you will have to ask my sister she is in the trailer.”

It was apparent by most of his answers that family is a huge part of his racing endeavors. Throughout the night he mentioned his cousins, a brother and his sister all a part of his program who had a role either with one of his teams or working behind the scenes. A true ‘family affair’ for a racer who started out in dirt and tries to give back to his roots as much as he can. Kahne not only co-promoted the venue topper he is also the car owner for two of the WoO Sprint teams in attendance and fighting for the WoO points title.

Thirty eight year old racer Joey Saldana of Indiana drives the Budweiser #9, much like his boss Kahne, and ended his impressive run from a sixth place start into the victory circle. As the current WoO points leader, he had much to prove to this full house while his boss was watching intently.

“Hoping one of our cars can race well tonight,” Kahne told the crowd early.

Indeed not only did one race well, they both did and it just so happened to be against each other. Saldana took over the point during Lap 21 but not without a fight from team mate Paul McMahan who led the first 21 laps.

Twenty six racers from across the United States checked in for the big event. At least 15 states were represented with racers hailing from as far away as Texas, California, Arizona, and Pennsylvania.

Qualifying, heat races, the dash and the last chance showdown determined the field of twenty five. Pole sitter and fast time holder Jac Haudenschild was fast and furious but his wild ride down the back stretch during the twelfth lap proved too much as he tumbled in horrific fashion hitting the concrete barrier during his end over end crash. Sad considering he was not only fastest qualifier with a time of 10.712 but posted the fastest racing lap as well with a quick lap of 12.018.

Before the next lap could be scored, Sammy Swindell and Chad Kemenah made contact and again rides were flipping down the back stretch bringing out another red. Luckily all three drivers were able to exit their machines on their own. After the second vicious crash, teams were allowed to come out onto the track to make adjustments or refuel. It was a site not normally seen at the Speedway as crew members ran with their equipment to their respective drivers. After a restart of Lap 18, Saldana flew under McMahan but didn’t have enough power to over take him.

Following yet another restart, Saldana powered hard to pass him for the first and final time after a side by side battle that brought the huge crowd to their feet with a roar echoing loud. Prior to the main event, Saldana told the crowd he knew the racing would be good.

“Only been here a few times and never seen the track like this,” Saldana said. “It’s going to be pretty exciting.”

While the pair was battling at the helm, a hard charging Steve Kinser was making some noise as he worked up the pack from fifteenth into third. Kinser is the only La Salle two time WoO winner.  Donny Schatz started eighth and managed to move forward into the fourth place run.

At the checkers, Saldana earned $10,000 for his A Main victory. The final finish order along with their starting spot and pay for the night are as follows: 1) 9-Joey Saldana[6] [$10,000] 2) 91-Paul McMahan[1] [$5,500] 3) 11-Steve Kinser[15] [$3,200] 4) 15-Donny Schatz[8] [$2,800] 5) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[3] [$2,500] 6) 83-Tim Kaeding[18] [$2,300] 7) 7S-Jason Sides[13] [$2,200] 8) 14-Jason Meyers[7] [$2,100] 9) 11K-Kraig Kinser[4] [$2,050] 10) 6-Danny Lasoski[9] [$2,000] 11) 1HRP-Daryn Pittman[12] [$1,500] 12) 17B-Bill Balog[22] [$1,200] 13) 10-Ricky Logan[11] [$1,100] 14) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[17] [$1,050] 15) 1M-Jim Moughan[24] [$1,000] 16) 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski[19] [$900] 17) 4X-Toni Lutar[21] [$800] 18) 2B-Ben Gregg[23] [$800] 19) 7-Craig Dollansky[5] [$800] 20) 1X-Randy Hannagan[10] [$800] 21) 1-Sammy Swindell[14] [$800] 22) 63-Chad Kemenah[16] [$800] 23) R19-Jac Haudenschild[2] [$800] 24) 22-Brian Ellenberger[20] [$800]

Jason Meyers finished eighth in the A Main but scored big with enough points to claim the Budweiser Crown championship. He also took home the first heat race victory over Saldana, Haudenschild, Wolfe, Sides and Kemenah.

Heat two victor was Schatz over Hannagan, Kraig Kinser, Swindell, Pittman and Hafertepe Jr. McMahan won the final heat in front of Lasoski, Dollansky, Kaeding, Steve Kinser and Brian Ellenberger.

During a pre-race one on one interview, I asked Kahne how he came to choose La Salle Speedway for his final leg of the Bud Showdown. He acknowledged he had never been to the track let alone raced on it but he had seen the action via the web which helped play a role in his decision.

“Well, it’s (Speedway) close to Chicago and I heard good things about it,” Kahne said. “I also watched the races posted on You Tube and really thought the racing was exciting it helped me decide to come here.”

When asked what he will do whenever he is no longer a NASCAR racer he answered without hesitation.

“I will probably race more,” Kahne told while laughing. “I really enjoy racing and I know I will race more.”

Another professional driver who still has a passion for dirt was not only in attendance but gave it his all in the UMP Modified class. Kenny Wallace aka the Herminator was more like a dominator winning both the heat and feature events in style. He was unstoppable in the feature event claiming victory over some stout competition.

Fourteen Modified’s competed with Jay Ledford winning the first heat race while Mike Spatola took second over Jeff Curl and Nathan Balensiefen. Wallace staked claim to the second win after a strong battle with Dale Lueth. Phil Line finished third in front of Ray Bollinger.

Wallace shot out of the blocks quick in their main event and was unstoppable carrying the field flag to flag from his outside front row start. Ledford took home second place with Curl, Bollinger, Lueth, Balensiefen, Line and Eric Bruce after him.

Like Kahne, Wallace has some deep roots and friends in dirt track racing and recognizes the importance of supporting the sport they started out in.

“Want to thank all you fans. We are here to help you guys,” Wallace told the crowd. “I could have been at my own track tonight in Macon but we came here to support Kasey, Tony (Stewart) and all you fans.”

Stewart owns the car driven by Steve Kinser who is also an icon in the sprint car world.

Saturday night the Speedway does not have any scheduled races but on July 17^th Fan Appreciation Night returns with a $5 adult admission.

Scoreboard Results

Qualifying

1) R19-Jac Haudenschild 10.712 2) 11K-Kraig Kinser 10.722 3) 91-Paul McMahan 10.775 4) 5W-Lucas Wolfe 10.783 5) 15-Donny Schatz 10.792 6) 7-Craig Dollansky 10.818 7) 14-Jason Meyers 10.877 8) 1X-Randy Hannagan 10.927 9) 10-Ricky Logan 10.954 10) 9-Joey Saldana 10.977 11) 1HRP-Daryn Pittman 10.980 12) 6-Danny Lasoski 10.984 13) 7S-Jason Sides 10.986 14) 1-Sammy Swindell 11.000 15) 11-Steve Kinser 11.007 16) 63-Chad Kemenah 11.010 17) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. 11.028 18) 83-Tim Kaeding 11.031 19) 2B-Ben Gregg 11.042 20) 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski 11.203 21) 22-Brian Ellenberger 11.216 22) 1M-Jim Moughan 11.272 23) 4X-Toni Lutar 11.303 24) 84-Ben Wagoner 11.463 25) 4K-Kris Spritz 11.489 26) 17B-Bill Balog -.—

Heat 1 (10 Laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature)

1) 14-Jason Meyers[2] 2) 9-Joey Saldana[1] 3) R19-Jac Haudenschild[4] 4) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[3] 5) 7S-Jason Sides[5] 6) 63-Chad Kemenah[6] 7) 1M-Jim Moughan[8] 8) 2B-Ben Gregg[7] 9) 4K-Kris Spritz[9]

Heat 2 (10 Laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature)

1) 15-Donny Schatz[3] 2) 1X-Randy Hannagan[2] 3) 11K-Kraig Kinser[4] 4) 1-Sammy Swindell[5] 5) 1HRP-Daryn Pittman[1] 6) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[6] 7) 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski[7] 8) 4X-Toni Lutar[8] 9) 17B-Bill Balog[9]

Heat 3 (10 Laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature)

1) 91-Paul McMahan[4] 2) 6-Danny Lasoski[1] 3) 7-Craig Dollansky[3] 4) 83-Tim Kaeding[6] 5) 11-Steve Kinser[5] 6) 22-Brian Ellenberger[7] 7) 84-Ben Wagoner[8] 8) 10-Ricky Logan[2]

Dash (8 laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature)

1) 91-Paul McMahan[2] 2) R19-Jac Haudenschild[4] 3) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[1] 4) 11K-Kraig Kinser[3] 5) 7-Craig Dollansky[6] 6) 9-Joey Saldana[9] 7) 14-Jason Meyers[7] 8) 15-Donny Schatz[5] 9) 6-Danny Lasoski[10] 10) 1X-Randy Hannagan[8]

 B-main (10 laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature)

1) 10-Ricky Logan[1]  [] 2) 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski[3]  [] 3) 4X-Toni Lutar[5]  [] 4) 17B-Bill Balog[8]  [] 5) 2B-Ben Gregg[2]  [] 6) 1M-Jim Moughan[4]  [] 7) 4K-Kris Spritz[7]  [$200] 8) 84-Ben Wagoner[6]  [$180]

A-main (35 laps) – Starting Position [#]

1) 9-Joey Saldana[6] [$10,000] 2) 91-Paul McMahan[1] [$5,500] 3) 11-Steve Kinser[15] [$3,200] 4) 15-Donny Schatz[8] [$2,800] 5) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[3] [$2,500] 6) 83-Tim Kaeding[18] [$2,300] 7) 7S-Jason Sides[13] [$2,200] 8) 14-Jason Meyers[7] [$2,100] 9) 11K-Kraig Kinser[4] [$2,050] 10) 6-Danny Lasoski[9] [$2,000] 11) 1HRP-Daryn Pittman[12] [$1,500] 12) 17B-Bill Balog[22] [$1,200] 13) 10-Ricky Logan[11] [$1,100] 14) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[17] [$1,050] 15) 1M-Jim Moughan[24] [$1,000] 16) 14AJ-Wayne Modjeski[19] [$900] 17) 4X-Toni Lutar[21] [$800] 18) 2B-Ben Gregg[23] [$800] 19) 7-Craig Dollansky[5] [$800] 20) 1X-Randy Hannagan[10] [$800] 21) 1-Sammy Swindell[14] [$800] 22) 63-Chad Kemenah[16] [$800] 23) R19-Jac Haudenschild[2] [$800] 24) 22-Brian Ellenberger[20] [$800]

Lap Leaders: Paul McMahan 1-21, Joey Saldana 22-35

KSE Hard Charger Award: Steve Kinser

Penske Power Position Award: Toni Lutar

Chizmark-Larson Hard Luck Award: Brian Ellenberger

To order pictures from the event check out the track photographer @

http://dansimpsonphotos.com/

Father knows best; Lil’ John scores again

By: Betty Glynn

La Salle, IL – Two time La Salle Speedway track champion, John Provenzano, led all twenty five laps to claim the UMP Late Model feature victory over his son Mike. The younger Provenzano is the defending track champion but father still knows best.

  The forty year veteran took over the points lead from his son last Saturday night and just keeps staying a step ahead of him. From last weeks efforts he was fourteen points ahead and tallied another 6 point advantage.

 To start the night off right, Lil’ John traveled the fasted qualifying lap with a time of 13.518 over Mike’s 13.662.

 Next up, Lil’ John lined up for the division’s first heat on the inside of Mike and shot to a quick lead. He was unstoppable all the way to the line leaving Mike second in front of Keith Piano and Rich Bell. Ed Williams Jr. rallied to pull away from the pack in the second heat beating Aaron Schmidt, Tim Loomis and Lake Knutti.

 Lil’ John and Mike were again positioned side by side on the front row of the grid for the main event. Piano and Bell took their positions behind the pair. Fifteen of the seventeen cars who signed in were race ready for the green signal. Lil’ John shot to an early lead with Mike staying close on his bumper. The duo ran nose to tail in the same groove on the inside trek.

 During the first lap, Mike Glynn hit the brakes to avoid two cars searching for their racing lines and killed the engine in between turns three and four. It didn’t take Lil’ John long to put his power plant on the lowest line to set the pace again. Mike was running right on his tail leaving Piano and Bell to vie for the third place running position with Scott Schmitt and Bill Weistart Jr. battling for fifth.

 Contact between the nose of Mike’s ride and the tail of Lil’ John’s nearly sent his dad sideways. The pair continued to make a challenge for the bottom line when a lapped ride held his ground where they wanted to run. With two laps remaining, Lil’ John helped Lake Knutti out of the way and brought out a caution for the ten cars still competing.

 The showdown between father and son proved to be father claiming the win. Mike took home the second in front of Bell, Schmitt, Piano, Weistart, Jeff Small, Knutti and Schmidt.

 Nathan Balensiefen came out on top for every event in the UMP Modified division. First up, he qualified the fastest lap with a time of 14.925. He then took the checkers of the first heat solo, from the pole, ahead of Brad Stewart, Phil Line, and Travis Kohler. Vince Cooper flew to victory lane solo also from the pole over Charlie Harmon, Joe Adam and Jeramie Johnson. JD Lomax won the final heat leading flag to flag from the front row inside over Tim Loomis, Don Cole and Allen Line.

 Twenty Modifieds made the call for their feature race with Balensiefen as the polesitter next to Stewart. He took an early lead sailing through the circuits without any close competition. The real race was from second on back.

 Lap after lap, the front runners of Stewart, Dale Lueth, Lomax and Cooper diced it up changing their running order often as they battled three and four wide at times. Lueth and Travis Kohler were the brave challengers taking their power to the high line while everyone else stayed down the track. Their powerful run up top seemed to be paying dividends as they moved their way into the runner up positions. A very exciting race was happening way behind the leader until contact was made between Lueth and Kohler leaving Kohler stopped on the track.

 Balensiefen was brought back to the field leading Phil Line, Lueth and Lomax for the final restart. Lueth chose to run back at the top and nearly took second away from Line. Lomax finished fourth over Cooper, Stewart, Harmon, Joe Adam, Steve Brooks, and Derrick Doerr.

 Brandon Maciejewski continued his winning ways in the Street Stock division. He has proved he is a force to reckon with staking claim on the trophy might just be his new past time.

 Saturday night he started front row outside of another young racer, Mike McKinney. They raced side by side to start the events main feature. McKinney managed to race his way up to the door of Maciejewski several times until colliding with a lapped ride. The contact extinguished his chances at victory and sent him pitside for a new tire.

 Maciejewski took the win over Roger Rickels, Mike Hughes, Jake Miller, Jamie Balensiefen, Tim Provenzano, Randy Lucas, Steve Lewis, Aaron Near, McKinney, Nick Sell, Steve Schweimlein and Ande Bivens.

 McKinney took the first heat challenge ahead of Provenzano, Balensiefen, and Mike Hughes. Maciejewski scored heat two in front of Rickels, Sell, and Lucas.

 JR Brown has been making a name for himself in the 4 Cylinder Hornet class this season. He has managed to come out on top as the checkers fall for the third week in a row. He followed Phil Burdette for nearly the entire race until creating a side by side battle in the front.

 The leaders were running at full throttle when Brown made contact with the leader sending him into a near spin. Brown then stole the head of the pack status claiming the trophy. Burdette collected second over Jerry Legner, Andrew Schwarko, Aaron Sutton, Brandon Mallery, Marqus Hoover, Aaron Sutton, #11B, Cory Jo West, Rick Wagner, Josh Trahan, and DJ Kilanowski.

 Burdette beat Brown in their only heat. Wagner got third over Legner.

 This coming Thursday night, the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars will return to the Speedway after a six year hiatus. Nascar star Kasey Kahne will be co-promoting the Showdown of the Bud Crown venue topper. The Modifieds will also be running.

 The July 8^th event will kick off with Kahne meeting fans who purchased advance tickets, which are $29 for adults and $9 for children. Adult tickets increase to $35 on the day of the show. Tickets can be purchased by going to www.worldofoutlaws.com/tickets or by phone during regular business hours at 704-795-7223.

 The weekly racing program will return on July 17^th with the $5 Fan Appreciation Night.

 La Salle Speedway Scoreboard Results

 UMP Late Models – 17 Cars

 Qualifying: John Provenzano 13.518

 Heat #1: Lil’ John Provenzano, Mike Provenzano, Keith Piano, Rich Bell

 Heat #2: Ed Williams Jr., Aaron Schmidt, Tim Loomis, Lake Knutti

 Feature: Lil’ John Provenzano, Mike Provenzano, Rich Bell, Scott Schmitt, Keith Piano, Bill Weistart Jr., Jeff Small, Lake Knutti, Aaron Schmidt, Travis Mahoney, Mike Glynn, Matt Ramer, Randy Manos, John Piccatto, Ed Williams Jr.

Father knows best; Lil’ John scores again

By: Betty Glynn

La Salle, IL – Two time La Salle Speedway track champion, John Provenzano, led all twenty five laps to claim the UMP Late Model feature victory over his son Mike. The younger Provenzano is the defending track champion but father still knows best.

The forty year veteran took over the points lead from his son last Saturday night and just keeps staying a step ahead of him. From last weeks efforts he was fourteen points ahead and tallied another 6 point advantage.

To start the night off right, Lil’ John traveled the fasted qualifying lap with a time of 13.518 over Mike’s 13.662.

Next up, Lil’ John lined up for the division’s first heat on the inside of Mike and shot to a quick lead. He was unstoppable all the way to the line leaving Mike second in front of Keith Piano and Rich Bell. Ed Williams Jr. rallied to pull away from the pack in the second heat beating Aaron Schmidt, Tim Loomis and Lake Knutti.

Lil’ John and Mike were again positioned side by side on the front row of the grid for the main event. Piano and Bell took their positions behind the pair. Fifteen of the seventeen cars who signed in were race ready for the green signal. Lil’ John shot to an early lead with Mike staying close on his bumper. The duo ran nose to tail in the same groove on the inside trek.

During the first lap, Mike Glynn hit the brakes to avoid two cars searching for their racing lines and killed the engine in between turns three and four. It didn’t take Lil’ John long to put his power plant on the lowest line to set the pace again. Mike was running right on his tail leaving Piano and Bell to vie for the third place running position with Scott Schmitt and Bill Weistart Jr. battling for fifth.

Contact between the nose of Mike’s ride and the tail of Lil’ John’s nearly sent his dad sideways. The pair continued to make a challenge for the bottom line when a lapped ride held his ground where they wanted to run. With two laps remaining, Lil’ John helped Lake Knutti out of the way and brought out a caution for the ten cars still competing.

The showdown between father and son proved to be father claiming the win. Mike took home the second in front of Bell, Schmitt, Piano, Weistart, Jeff Small, Knutti and Schmidt.

Nathan Balensiefen came out on top for every event in the UMP Modified division. First up, he qualified the fastest lap with a time of 14.925. He then took the checkers of the first heat solo, from the pole, ahead of Brad Stewart, Phil Line, and Travis Kohler. Vince Cooper flew to victory lane solo also from the pole over Charlie Harmon, Joe Adam and Jeramie Johnson. JD Lomax won the final heat leading flag to flag from the front row inside over Tim Loomis, Don Cole and Allen Line.

Twenty Modifieds made the call for their feature race with Balensiefen as the polesitter next to Stewart. He took an early lead sailing through the circuits without any close competition. The real race was from second on back.

Lap after lap, the front runners of Stewart, Dale Lueth, Lomax and Cooper diced it up changing their running order often as they battled three and four wide at times. Lueth and Travis Kohler were the brave challengers taking their power to the high line while everyone else stayed down the track. Their powerful run up top seemed to be paying dividends as they moved their way into the runner up positions. A very exciting race was happening way behind the leader until contact was made between Lueth and Kohler leaving Kohler stopped on the track.

Balensiefen was brought back to the field leading Phil Line, Lueth and Lomax for the final restart. Lueth chose to run back at the top and nearly took second away from Line. Lomax finished fourth over Cooper, Stewart, Harmon, Joe Adam, Steve Brooks, and Derrick Doerr.

Brandon Maciejewski continued his winning ways in the Street Stock division. He has proved he is a force to reckon with staking claim on the trophy might just be his new past time.

Saturday night he started front row outside of another young racer, Mike McKinney. They raced side by side to start the events main feature. McKinney managed to race his way up to the door of Maciejewski several times until colliding with a lapped ride. The contact extinguished his chances at victory and sent him pitside for a new tire.

Maciejewski took the win over Roger Rickels, Mike Hughes, Jake Miller, Jamie Balensiefen, Tim Provenzano, Randy Lucas, Steve Lewis, Aaron Near, McKinney, Nick Sell, Steve Schweimlein and Ande Bivens.

McKinney took the first heat challenge ahead of Provenzano, Balensiefen, and Mike Hughes. Maciejewski scored heat two in front of Rickels, Sell, and Lucas.

JR Brown has been making a name for himself in the 4 Cylinder Hornet class this season. He has managed to come out on top as the checkers fall for the third week in a row. He followed Phil Burdette for nearly the entire race until creating a side by side battle in the front.

The leaders were running at full throttle when Brown made contact with the leader sending him into a near spin. Brown then stole the head of the pack status claiming the trophy. Burdette collected second over Jerry Legner, Andrew Schwarko, Aaron Sutton, Brandon Mallery, Marqus Hoover, Aaron Sutton, #11B, Cory Jo West, Rick Wagner, Josh Trahan, and DJ Kilanowski.

Burdette beat Brown in their only heat. Wagner got third over Legner.

This coming Thursday night, the World of Outlaws Sprint Cars will return to the Speedway after a six year hiatus. Nascar star Kasey Kahne will be co-promoting the Showdown of the Bud Crown venue topper. The Modifieds will also be running.

The July 8th event will kick off with Kahne meeting fans who purchased advance tickets, which are $29 for adults and $9 for children. Adult tickets increase to $35 on the day of the show. Tickets can be purchased by going to www.worldofoutlaws.com/tickets or by phone during regular business hours at 704-795-7223.

The weekly racing program will return on July 17th with the $5 Fan Appreciation Night.

La Salle Speedway Scoreboard Results

UMP Late Models – 17 Cars

Qualifying: John Provenzano 13.518

Heat #1: Lil’ John Provenzano, Mike Provenzano, Keith Piano, Rich Bell

Heat #2: Ed Williams Jr., Aaron Schmidt, Tim Loomis, Lake Knutti

Feature: Lil’ John Provenzano, Mike Provenzano, Rich Bell, Scott Schmitt, Keith Piano, Bill Weistart Jr., Jeff Small, Lake Knutti, Aaron Schmidt, Travis Mahoney, Mike Glynn, Matt Ramer, Randy Manos, John Piccatto, Ed Williams Jr.

UMP Modifieds – 20 Cars

Qualifying: Nathan Balensiefen 14.925

Heat #1: Nathan Balensiefen, Brad Stewart, Phil Line, Travis Kohler

Heat #2: Vince Cooper, Charlie Harmon, Joe Adam, Jeramie Johnson

Heat #3: JD Lomax, Tim Loomis, Don Cole, Allen Line

Feature: Nathan Balensiefen, Phil Line, Dale Lueth, JD Lomax, Vince Cooper, Brad Stewart, Charlie Harmon, Joe Adam, Steve Brooks, Derrick Doerr, Jeramie Johnson, Allen Line, Travis Kohler, Tim Loomis, Don Cole, Geno Hewitt, Matthew Gremminger, Scott Hauge, Ken Fischer, Daniel Carson

UMP Street Stocks – 19 Cars

Heat #1: Mike McKinney, Tim Provenzano, Jamie Balensiefen, Mike Hughes

Heat #2: Brandon Maciejewski, Roger Rickels, Nick Sell, Randy Lucas

Feature: Brandon Maciejewski, Roger Rickels, Mike Hughes, Jake Miller, Jamie Balensiefen, Tim Provenzano, Randy Lucas, Steve Lewis, Aaron Near, Mike McKinney, Nick Sell, Steve Schwemlein, Ande Bivens, Matt Hinrichs, Mike McQuilke, Matt Ramer, Alex Thomas, Chris Kilpatrick, John Houge

UMP Hornets – 11 Cars

Heat #1: Phil Burdette, JR Brown, Rick Wagner, Jerry Legner

Feature: JR Brown, Phil Burdette, Jerry Legner, Andrew Schwarko, Aaron Sutton, Brandon Mallery, Marqus Hoorer, Aaron Sutton, #11B, Cory Jo West, Rick Wagner, Josh Trahan, DJ Kilanowski

UMP Modifieds – 20 Cars

Qualifying: Nathan Balensiefen 14.925

Heat #1: Nathan Balensiefen, Brad Stewart, Phil Line, Travis Kohler

Heat #2: Vince Cooper, Charlie Harmon, Joe Adam, Jeramie Johnson

Heat #3: JD Lomax, Tim Loomis, Don Cole, Allen Line

Feature: Nathan Balensiefen, Phil Line, Dale Lueth, JD Lomax, Vince Cooper, Brad Stewart, Charlie Harmon, Joe Adam, Steve Brooks, Derrick Doerr, Jeramie Johnson, Allen Line, Travis Kohler, Tim Loomis, Don Cole, Geno Hewitt, Matthew Gremminger, Scott Hauge, Ken Fischer, Daniel Carson

UMP Street Stocks – 19 Cars

Heat #1: Mike McKinney, Tim Provenzano, Jamie Balensiefen, Mike Hughes

Heat #2: Brandon Maciejewski, Roger Rickels, Nick Sell, Randy Lucas

Feature: Brandon Maciejewski, Roger Rickels, Mike Hughes, Jake Miller, Jamie Balensiefen, Tim Provenzano, Randy Lucas, Steve Lewis, Aaron Near, Mike McKinney, Nick Sell, Steve Schwemlein, Ande Bivens, Matt Hinrichs, Mike McQuilke, Matt Ramer,  Alex Thomas, Chris Kilpatrick, John Houge

UMP Hornets – 11 Cars

Heat #1: Phil Burdette, JR Brown, Rick Wagner, Jerry Legner

Feature: JR Brown, Phil Burdette, Jerry Legner, Andrew Schwarko, Aaron Sutton, Brandon Mallery, Marqus Hoorer, Aaron Sutton, #11B, Cory Jo West, Rick Wagner, Josh Trahan, DJ Kilanowski

CONTACT

World Racing Group

Chris Dolack, VP Media/PR

NASCAR Star Kasey Kahne Crowning Bud Showdown Champion at LaSalle

World of Outlaws Sprint Cars return to LaSalle Speedway July 8 for first time since 2004

LaSALLE, Ill. — July 2, 2010 — When the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series invades LaSalle Speedway on Thursday, July 8, NASCAR superstar Kasey Kahne will be waiting. As co-promoter of Kasey’s King of LaSalle Presented By Budweiser and a huge dirt track racing supporter, he will lead the ceremonies in the Showdown for the Bud Crown finale at a bullring where the Outlaws are returning for the first time since 2004.

Kahne will be racing his NASCAR machine at Chicagoland Speedway later in the week, but given his roots in dirt track racing in the Pacific Northwest it’s only fitting he gears up for that event by promoting the World of Outlaws return to LaSalle, which includes a one-of-a-kind pyrotechnics display that will light the sky throughout the night.

“My dad was involved in sprint car racing so we went to those races a lot and I grew up around it,” said Kahne, a native of Enumclaw, Wash., who fields two full-time World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series teams. “I started racing mini-sprints and then moved on to racing sprint cars. I’ve raced ever since. I try and give back to the World of Outlaws series whenever I can. Fortunately we were able to work out a deal for me to promote a few World of Outlaws events, with LaSalle being the final race in the four-race series.”

Although his schedule as one of NASCAR’s premier drivers is quite hectic, Kahne still makes time for his World of Outlaws teams, which includes the #9 Budweiser car driven by current series points leader Joey Saldana and the #91 Great Clips car driven by Paul McMahan.

“I spend as much time at Kasey Kahne Racing that I can,” he said. “If I’m not racing or at a sponsor function, I’m at the shop. We are based in Mooresville (N.C.) and it allows me more time to spend with the guys. Most of the team is close family so we all grew up together and now we all work together. Unfortunately, I’m not able to be at every race, but I trust the team to do what’s best and win races. Winning 20 races with Joey Saldana and the Bud car last year was pretty special.”

The action at LaSalle Speedway, which is centrally located in northern Illinois and southwest of Chicago, will no doubt be fast and furious. Danny Lasoski won the last World of Outlaws event at the racy high-banked oval in 2004. Other World of Outlaws winners include Tony Stewart Racing’s Steve Kinser (1999 and 1994), Stevie Smith (1998), Mark Kinser (1997), Sammy Swindell (1996) and Dave Blaney (1995).

“The Chicago area has always been a great market for NASCAR and I look forward to seeing the Outlaws at LaSalle,” Kahne said. “We had a great crowd at Sedalia and the fans really showed their support for the World of Outlaws series. I anticipate another good showing at La Salle to wrap up the race for Bud crown.”

Kahne will be focused on his role as promoter on Thursday at LaSalle. For those who have purchased tickets by July 5, he’ll be available for an exclusive Question-and-Answer session. He’ll also be involved in the opening ceremonies and ultimately as the special Showdown for the Bud Crown trophy is presented.

“I really enjoy being there and watching the guys race and supporting them,” Kahne said. “I enjoy racing in Outlaws races too, but this is a competitive series and a lot goes into racing these cars. It is tough to jump in and race once every couple of months. It will nice to be able to sit back and watch the guys do what they do.”

The Showdown championship battle tests drivers on three very different types of tracks. Rounds 1 and 2 were at high-banked Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tenn., and Round 3 was at the big half-mile Missouri State Fair Speedway in Sedalia, Mo.

Jason Meyers is leading the Showdown for the Bud Crown championship, followed by Paul McMahan (-36), Steve Kinser (-39), Donny Schatz (-76) and Danny Lasoski (-102). Joey Saldana won the opening round at Volunteer Speedway, with Meyers winning the second night at Volunteer and Jason Sides capturing the third leg at Missouri State Fair Speedway. Drivers earn points in the Showdown championship during time trials, heat races and the main event, so heading into LaSalle the fight for the crown is wide open. Following Kasey’s King of LaSalle on Thursday night, the top three in points will share a $15,000 bonus.

Thursday night’s event will kick off with Kahne meeting fans who purchased advance tickets, which are only $29 for adults and $9 for children. Adult tickets increase to $35 on the day of the show. Tickets can be purchased by going to http://www.worldofoutlaws.com/tickets or by phone during regular business hours at 704-795-7223.

General camping (no hookups) also is available at LaSalle Speedway on Wednesday and Thursday, making it the perfect destination for those early arrivers to the Chicagoland region for the weekend’s NASCAR event.

For more information on Kasey’s King of LaSalle, visit http://www.WorldofOutlaws.com. For information on LaSalle Speedway, go to http://www.lasallespeedway.com.

For more information on Kasey Kahne, visit http://www.kaseykahne.com and http://www.kaseykahneracing.com.

Chris Dolack

World Racing Group

cdolack@dirtcar.com