All Star Circuit of Champions: Dollansky Victorious at Volusia

Entering last night's event there were a lot of unknowns for Craig Dollansky. He was beginning the 2010 season with a new team, car, and even the Goodyear Tires on his car were new to him. Some drivers may be daunted by a scenario like this, but Dollansky adapted very quickly as he picked up the victory in OReilly All Star Circuit of Champions action at Volusia Speedway Park.

After setting quick time, Dollansky would begin the night on the pole position with Jason Sides to his right. On the drop of the Green Flag Dollansky would take the lead on Lap 1 coming out of the second turn. Behind him Joey Saldana was on the move as he picked up four positions, moving from his eighth place starting position to fourth in just one circuit of the track. When the dust settled after the first lap the top-five were Dollansky, Sides, Lucas Wolfe, Saldana and Donny Schatz.

Tonight the track was lightening quick, which made it difficult to pass . On Lap 5, Dollansky would first encounter traffic for the first time which gave Sides an opportunity to close in. The following lap Dollansky was having trouble getting around lapped traffic, which allowed Wolfe to catch the top-two and battle for the top spot. It also allowed Saldana to sneak up on the top-three and steal third from Wolfe.

At this point Saldana was all over Sides for the second position, while Dollansky stretched out his lead. At the half way point the top five were Dollansky, Sides, Saldana, Schatz, and Wolfe. Just one lap later the first caution flag of the race would fly for Doug Esh, who came to a stop in Turn 3.

On the restart, Steve Kinser was on the move as he moved his way into the top-five and began pursing his teammate. One of the best battles on the track was between Saldana and Schatz as they sized each other up. When the leaders started to encounter traffic again, Sides was closing in on Dollansky. On Lap 24, Sides caught Dollansky and got on the outside in Turn 1. The duo would run nose-to-tail down the back stretch. On the 26 circuit of the course Sides would beat Dollansky to the line and take the lead.

Two laps later disaster would strike for Sides as first sparks were reported over the radio, then his racecar slowed and came to a stop high in Turn 3 with rear end damage. On the drop of the green Dollansky set sail, while Saldana and Schatz battled, but just before Dollansky could take the checkered flag the Red Flag flew for Tim Kaeding who had flipped exiting Turn 2. This set up a second Green, White, Checkered situation. On this restart, Dollansky powered into the first turn leaving Saldana and Schatz to decide second. When the Checkered Flag flew it would be Dollansky picking up the win with Saldana, Schatz, Kinser, and Stevie Smith just eking his way into the top-five at the end.

Tonight Dollansky collected his sixth career All Star win and his first in All Star Winter Nationals action since 2001 when he won at Volusia. Overall it was the third time in his career that he celebrated a 410 sprint car win in Victory Lane at Volusia.

Next up is a second night of thrilling racing action at Volusia Speedway Park. Thursday, February 4th General Admission for the event is $29 with a Pit Pass running $40. Reserved seats can be purchased on race day for $2 more per seat. This year Volusia is extending a one of a kind chance to get close to the racing action to fans, as they will have unprecedented access throughout the racing program. Every ticket purchased is a FREE Fan Pit Pass. All fans have to do is show their grandstand ticket and sign in to at a table near the pit entrance, and they will be free to visit the pit area at any time during the course of the race night to see the best sprint car drivers in the world, their cars and their crews hard at work.

Winner Craig Dollansky: It was a great team effort with my brand new race team. It is always a team effort when you make it to Victory Lane. I could not be happier for everyone involved. This was our first night running on the Goodyear Tires. Some other teams have tested, but we did not, so we are pretty happy that we could win on our first night with them. It is a great win for everyone who stands behind this team. We have a great support system.

Second Place Joey Saldana: We had a great car and it was really great in lapped traffic. We could really move around. We had a good start, but with an open track like that it is hard to make up any ground especially on a guy like Craig. Put a guy like that up front it is hard to pass them unless lapped traffic comes into play. If we had been in lapped traffic, I think we would have been good enough to win. We have quality cars. I started eighth, so I will take a second and come back tomorrow.

Third Place Donny Schatz: The track was so fast on the restart is about the only time you had a chance to pass unless someone makes a mistake. Some nights you have to deal with that. We had a decent race car, but there were a lot of decent racecars out there tonight. I wish we could have stayed in traffic a little longer. That is where races are won and lost. We saw Jason Sides sneak by in it. We have five more nights of racing to go, so we will keep on plugging away.

OReilly Auto Parts A Main 30 Laps
1. 7 Craig Dollansky (1)
2. 9 Joey Saldana (8)
3. 15 Donny Schatz (3)
4. 11 Steve Kinser (6)
5. 1 Stevie Smith (5)
6. r19 Lucas Wolfe (4)
7. 17 Daryn Pittman (11)
8. 14 Jason Myers (9)
9. 30c Lance Dewease (13)
10. 15h Sam Hafertepe Jr. (17)
11. 24 Terry McCarl (20)
12. 3c Cale Conley (7)
13. 51 Freddie Rahmer (22)
14. 6 Danny Lasoski (12)
15. 83 Tim Shaffer (10)
16. 49 Brad Sweet (14)
17. 6f Bob Felmlee (15)
18. 2b Ben Gregg (24)
19. 83jr Tim Kaeding (23)
20. 7s Jason Sides (2)
21. 91 Cody Darrah (19)
22. 0s Glen Styres (18)
23. 39 Dough Esh (21)
24. 0 Brandon Wimmer (16)

By Kelly Brown Public Relations Director