2/9/2015
Craig Dollansky
Ready to Get 2015 Season Underway in Florida
After getting some seat time and speed at the Winter Heat Sprint Car Showdown in Arizona last month, Craig Dollansky and the Destiny Motorsports #7 team are now ready to officially get the 2015 season underway with the World of Outlaws this week in Florida.
The team has assembled the 900+ horsepower sprint cars and made final preparations before the green flag waves on the DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park, which has served as the season opening site for the ‘Greatest Show on Dirt’ each year since 2005. With action beginning on Wednesday for the first of two nights of action with the All-Star Circuit of Champions, ‘The Crowd Pleaser’ shared some thoughts prior to departing for Florida.
**RV: You broke up the off-season a bit by racing in Arizona last month, how important was it to race those events when it’s not part of the normal season? **
CD: With this being a new team it was good to go racing at the Winter Heat in Yuma. We were trying different packages with our car each night and by the final night I was getting comfortable with the progress we were making and the information we gathered that we can build on when we start the Outlaws season this week at Volusia. We still have some work to do but we were good enough with our car to have a shot at winning the final night. As Scott and I continue working together and get our cars under me the way I like them good things will happen. I have a lot of confidence in Scott and his abilities and it won’t take him and I long to get in sync.
RV: What has it been like to have Scott Benic as your crew chief once again?
CD: I have known Scott for a long time; he is a great friend and a great person. I’ve always wanted the opportunity to have him as my crew chief since we raced on and off in the past on a part time basis and achieved some great wins and success. I have a lot of respect for his abilities as a crew chief and his accomplishments. We both have a great deal of passion for this sport and a strong desire to win. I will be giving him everything I got every night we race and I know he will do the same.
RV: What’s one interesting fact that most people don’t know about Destiny Motorsports?
CD: Destiny is the name of Rick’s daughter. Rick and Barb are very committed to build Destiny Motorsports into a championship contending team on the WoO tour. I’m proud to be a part of their team and will be working hard with everyone on the #7 team to accomplish their goals.
RV: You’ve always been one to spend a lot of time each week at the gym and working on your fitness, what benefits does this have when there are many people who say race car drivers aren’t athletes?
CD: Fitness is something I have tried to work on my entire career, I feel it’s important and something I take seriously. With the amount of money it takes for these teams to be prepared for the 90-race season and the effort my team puts forth preparing cars for me, I am going to do all I can to do my part and that includes fitness training. With our type of racing there can be different factors as to how physical fitness shape plays a part. How well your car operates, if a race goes non-stop, and if it’s 100 degrees out are three major factors in how good of shape you need to be in. I would just as soon be prepared for anything!
RV: Some of your longtime sponsors have made the transition to Destiny Motorsports, what is it like to have that support system with this new endeavor in 2015?
CD: Our long time supporters are very important and we are working to bring new marketing partners on board also. It takes a lot of capital to have a championship caliber team and our marketing partners and manufacturers support is a very important part of our team success. Rick and Barb have done the heavy lifting to get the team to this point. Our long time supporters along with new ones were working with to come on board will be very important to keep this team strong and take it to the next level.
RV: What are you looking forward to most about being back full-time on the World of Outlaws tour this season?
CD: Being on the Outlaws tour became a part of me and my family. I felt like a fish out of water last year and am as excited about racing and more motivated than ever this season. My family and I missed the race fans that we typically see each year and we are very happy to be back on tour with Rick and Barb Rogers and our entire Destiny Motorsports team.
Craig Dollansky Racing competes on the World of Outlaws circuit, the premier sprint car series in the world, with great sponsors in MonDak Portables, Aggressive Hydraulics, Rick Rogers Construction, and Dakota Fluid Power. Other supporters of CDR include Maxim Chassis, Parker Engines, Penske Shocks, Champion Oil, DMI, Keizer Wheels, All Pro Cylinder Heads, Snap-on, Schoenfeld Headers, Benic Enterprises, Sander Engineering, Hoosier Tires, Simpson, FibreWorks Composites, Saldana Race Products, All Star Performance, Fuel Safe, FK Rod Ends, Jiffy-Tite, Outerwears, Fel-Pro, CP-Carrillo, KSE Steering Gears, Astro Titanium, Bob's Bike Shop, Randy’s Racing Filters, Justice Brothers Products, R&R Enterprises, Red Devil Brakes, Trent’s Signs & Graphics, Glenn Hepfner Inc., and Racing Optics.
Article Credit: Reid VanEck
Submitted By: Craig Dollansky Racing
