Flash player is required to view weather conditions. Download

site web  

ROSSBURG — Joey Saldana threw down the challenge to the World of Outlaws drivers Friday, July 11: Catch him if you can.

Saldana slipped past leader Dale Blaney with a slide job on Lap 14 and ran off the next 16 laps to win the Knight Before the Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway.

The win was Saldana's fourth in the past three seasons at Eldora. But Saldana, who pilots a ride for NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Kasey Kahne, knows it won't mean as much if he can't back it up today in the $50,000-to-win Kings Royal.

"(Today) is the second biggest sprint car race in the U.S. When you come here and can run as fast as we did tonight, hopefully, it rolls over into (today)," Saldana said.

Saldana started in the second row with Jason Meyers, and right behind Blaney. For 13 laps, Blaney managed to hold off the pack that included Saldana, Jason Meyers, Steve Kinser and Donny Schatz. But lapped traffic slowed Blaney, and Saldana took advantage.

Meyers, who finished second, nearly pulled off a slide job of his own for the lead on Lap 28 but couldn't carry the momentum to let Saldana get away.

"I can't tell you what I called myself after that," Meyers said. "I just didn't drive across there hard enough. I think we'll definitely have something for him (today)."

Blaney, Schatz and Craig Dollansky rounded out the top five, while Shane Stewart, Jac Haudenschild, Terry McCarl, Stevie Smith and Kenny Jacobs filled out the top 10.

Check, please

As the winner of the first Kings Royal in 1984, how does Steve Kinser plan on celebrating the 25th anniversary? By winning it, of course.

"Yeah, it'd be nice to have the first one and the 25th one. That would mean even more to me right now," said Kinser, who has won a record six Kings Royals and is the only driver to qualify for all 24 features.

Things have changed since that first win. One of them is how the $50,000 winner's prize is presented. In 1984, it was cash in a shoebox.

"I think it might have been in a shoe box, actually. It was just cash back then," Kinser said. "You don't see cash anymore. Those days are over."

Hot laps

Jacobs turned the quickest lap in qualifying at 13.523 seconds (133.107 mph), just ahead of Saldana (13.543) and McCarl (13.588). Sidney's Lee Stark (14.062) was 32nd and Eaton's Ryan Myers (14.318) was 35th out of 40 cars. Myers didn't make it out of the C-Main, while Stark was knocked out of the Last Chance Showdown.

Butch Schroeder won the NRA Sprint Invaders A-Main feature on the undercard.