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Dollansky Cruises to Oil City Cup Victory at Castrol Raceway

The points leader paces all 30 laps to claim his seventh Outlaws win of the season

EDMONTON, Alberta - Aug. 24, 2012 - It took Craig Dollansky a while to reach Victory Lane on a chilly Friday, but it didn't take him long to start celebrating.

Dollansky released a loud roar as he climbed onto the back of his sprint car after leading all 30 laps on the opening night of the Sixth annual Oil City Cup at Castrol Raceway. It was his seventh World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series victory of the season and gives him a 35-point advantage in the championship standings.

"It was one of the best cars we've had in a while so it was a lot of fun to drive," he said. "It's fun to be up here with these Canadian fans, getting the win in front of them tonight."

Dollansky, who started the feature on the outside of the front row next to arguably the hottest driver in the country - Donny Schatz - powered to the lead on the opening lap. Kerry Madsen then got around Schatz, who had won four of the previous seven events, for second place at the flag stand on lap nine.

The first 17 laps went cautionless before the second half of the race was slowed because of five cautions, including a red flag with three laps remaining.

Marc Duperron brought out the first caution when he stopped in turn four on lap 18. Dollansky, who chose the outside lane on every double-file restart, rocketed to the lead with Madsen in tow and Schatz a close third.

Cautions occurred when Bill Rose stopped in turn four on lap 22 and when Dennis MacEachern slowed in turns three and four with front end damage on lap 23. Kraig Kinser then came to a stop on the backstretch on the restart.

"The race got a little bit long there with some of the yellow flags, but each restart I felt like we were getting a good restart," Dollansky said.

Dollansky entered traffic on lap 27 before Wheeler Boys flipped after catching the cushion in turn three on the ensuing lap to bring out the red flag.

Joey Saldana and Sam Hafertepe Jr. capitalized on the late restart and both found grip on the bottom to propel them into podium finishes.

Saldana, who entered the event with a series-leading three wins at Castrol Raceway, diced from fourth to the runner-up position in the final three laps.

"I knew if I could get a good run around the bottom, get a run and get back to the cushion, I'd be all right," Saldana said. "I actually wish we could have had a restart there at the end. Craig, I don't think he even knew it was there. I think it would have been in my favor."

Hafertepe Jr. also maneuvered toward the front late in the race and was on Saldana's heels during the closing laps.

"The top was going away enough to where I felt like some guys were getting runs on me down low," Hafertepe Jr. said. "I ran down there a few laps in a row and it felt really good. A lot of guys hadn't caught on to it in front of the pack and we were able to get by a few guys."

Cody Darrah passed Madsen for fourth place at the flag stand as they took the checkered flag. Sammy Swindell finished sixth and Chad Kemenah was seventh. Schatz dropped from third to eighth on last restart with Travis Rilat ending ninth. Lucas Wolfe drove from 19th to round out the top 10 and earn the KSE Hard Charger Award.

The Sixth annual Oil City Cup concludes today - Saturday - with the $12,000-to-win feature. The front gate is scheduled to open at 4 p.m. with hot laps around 6:45 p.m.

Oil City Cup Night 1 Notebook

NOTES - Sammy Swindell established a new track record and his series-leading ninth quick time during qualifying. … Sam Hafertepe Jr. claimed his second heat race win, Steve Kinser his 14th and Kerry Madsen his eighth of the season. … Donny Schatz won his series-leading fifth dash of the season.

WINNERS - Sammy Swindell - 9 (River Cities Speedway on Aug. 17, Autodrome Granby on July 27, Eldora Speedway on July 14, Lakeside Speedway on June 30, Red River Valley Speedway on June 16, Eldora Speedway on May 5, Knoxville Raceway on April 28, Missouri State Fair Speedway on April 20 and Merced Speedway on March 30); Craig Dollansky - 7 (Castrol Raceway on Aug. 24, Lebanon Valley Speedway on July 22, Lernerville Speedway on July 17, I-96 Speedway on June 2, Hagerstown Speedway on May 20, Tri-State Speedway on April 21 and Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19); Donny Schatz - 7 (Nodak Speedway on Aug. 19, Junction Motor Speedway on Aug. 14, Knoxville Raceway on Aug. 11, Cornwall Motor Speedway on July 29, Farmer City Raceway on April 25, Silver Dollar Speedway on March 23 and Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19); Joey Saldana - 5 (Autodrome Drummond on July 28, Eldora Speedway on July 13, The Dirt Track at Charlotte on May 25, Paducah International Raceway on April 13 and Perris Auto Speedway on March 10); Kraig Kinser - 4 (Beaver Dam Raceway on July 7, Dodge City Raceway Park on June 23, River Cities Speedway on June 15 and Kokomo Speedway on June 5); Tim Kaeding - 3 (Cedar Lake Speedway on July 6, Thunderbowl Raceway on March 16 and The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 8); Steve Kinser - 3 (Dodge City Raceway Park on June 22, Orange County Fair Speedway on May 19 and Williams Grove Speedway on May 12); Kerry Madsen - 3 (Limaland Motorsports Park on July 11, Belleville High Banks on June 29 and Knoxville Raceway on June 9); Chad Kemenah - 2 (Lawrenceburg Speedway on May 28 and Eldora Speedway on May 4); Tony Stewart - 2 (Ohsweken Speedway on July 31 and Lernerville Speedway on July 17); Cody Darrah - 1 (Williams Grove Speedway on July 21); Danny Dietrich - 1 (Lincoln Speedway on May 10); Mark Dobmeier - 1 (Huset's Speedway on July 3); Danny Lasoski - 1 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 18); Paul McMahan - 1 (Rolling Wheels Raceway Park on May 16); Fred Rahmer - 1 (Williams Grove Speedway on May 11); Brad Sweet - 1 (Clay County Fairgrounds on June 8) and Lucas Wolfe - 1 (Bloomington Speedway on Aug. 3).

TIME TRIALS - Sammy Swindell was the fastest qualifier around the 3/8-mile oval with a new track record time of 12.491 seconds to earn five championship points. Also earning points were Joey Saldana (4 points), Donny Schatz (3), Craig Dollansky (2) and Chad Kemenah (1).

WE'RE ONLINE - Make sure to check out WorldofOutlaws.com for the latest news and results, plus exclusive driver interviews, video and pictures. Also listen to every event live at DIRTVision.com .

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