5-27-03 results
"PRESS RELEASE" For Immediate Release May 27, 2003 Contact: Kevin Wright Phone: 518-794-9606 SALDANA & BACHETTI SHINE AS THE OUTLAW INVADE THE VALLEY West Lebanon, NY- A capacity crowd was on hand Tuesday night for the rain-delayed visit by the O'Reilly World of Outlaws. The fans were treated to a great night of racing, which saw track records fall and new winners in victory lane. Joey Saldana, from Brownsburg, Indiana, put on a dominating performance leading flag to flag in the 25-lap O'Reilly World of Outlaws A-main. The 30-lap DIRT modified feature saw Andy Bachetti wheel his COORS LIGHT #21 into victory lane for the first time in 2003. An extra special thanks goes to CARQUEST and Rich Pallai for sponsoring this fantastic night of speed on the high banks. Paul McMahan and Joey Saldana led the Outlaw field down to the start of the 25-lap A-main. There was contact between McMahan and Steve Kinser coming down the frontstretch on the start, but everyone continued on full throttle. The first of three caution flags that slowed the pace of the event came on the very first lap as local driver; Andy Snider made contact with the turn four wall and came to a stop on the frontstretch. Saldana easily pulled away on the restart and set a torrid pace on the point. He caught the back of the field by lap six. The best battle on the track belonged to Steve Kinser and Danny Lasoski. The two veterans raced hard for the third position through much of the race. The caution flag flew for the second time on lap eleven for the disabled racer of Billy Pauch Sr. At the halfway point it was Saldana, McMahan, Lasoski, Kinser and Jason Meyers. Donny Schatz cracked the top five for the first time on lap 14. Saldana encountered lapped traffic again on lap 17 as Lasoski and Kinser continued their little war behind him. Near disaster on lap 21 as Doug Emery spun in front of the leaders. He was able to avoid any contact and continued racing, but the caution flag flew anyway. Kinser came on strong in the final laps of the race as he passed Lasoski for third with three laps remaining and then passed McMahan on the white flag lap to finish second. Saldana was clearly the class of the field as he took home his first career victory at Lebanon Valley. Steve Kinser was second, McMahan third, Lasoski fourth and Schatz rounded out the top five. Danny Lasoski set a new track record Tuesday night in time trials with a time of 16.383. Heat races were won by Jason Meyers, Brian Paulus and Brian Carlson. Paul McMahan and Joey Saldana won the 5-lap Dashes. The DIRT modifieds took center stage after the Outlaws for their 30-lap feature event. Steve Hough and Paul Gilardi led the field down to the initial green flag. The yellow flag flew immediately as Mel Schruffer made hard contact with the turn one wall. The restart saw Gilardi in front with Andy Bachetti right on his bumper. That was a lot of contact back through the pack as everyone was fighting for position. Gilardi closed in on the back of the field by lap ten. The caution lights appeared again just before the halfway point as Hough made hard contact with the turn one wall. Bachetti made his move on the restart and took the lead away. Gilardi appeared to have mechanical problems and dropped from the event handing second over to Matt Quinn. The best race on the track was between the Rifenburg #57 of Corellis and the Budweiser-Gable #1 of Hearn. The two raced hard for the fifth spot through the final half of the event. The final caution of the race came on lap 22 for Rob Pitcher who had a right rear tire go flat. A week after a horrible wreck on the backstretch and Bachetti was unstoppable. He easily cruised home for his first victory of 2003 at Lebanon Valley. Quinn finished second with Stratton third, Marshall fourth and Hearn nipping Corellis at the line for fifth. Heat winners in the DIRT modifieds were Quinn, Hearn and Stratton. end