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At A Glance: Gearing Up for a Busy World of Outlaws Summer

The series heads back to I-96 Speedway and then travels on to 34 Raceway and Beaver Dam Raceway

CONCORD, N.C. - June 22, 2015 - The summer swing for the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series is ready to get underway as the series faces two grueling months ahead and some of the biggest events on the schedule.

Since the start of the season in February, 37 events have been run. By the end of August the Outlaws will add nearly 30 more completed events. In a 91 race season, that marks a substantial portion of the schedule in a relatively short period of time.

Staying competitive through the heat of the season and that swing is a challenge for drivers and teams, rookies and veterans. How they overcome is part of the strategy to being competitive night in and night out and making sure they are in contention for wins and championships.

"The biggest challenge is just staying healthy and getting rest and being prepared and mentally focused," David Gravel said. "A lot of late nights, a lot of big races coming up - the Month of Money. You want to be prepared and have your team as strong as you can for that the next month, month and a half. There's a lot of things but just being prepared mentally is a big thing for sure."

2013 series champion Daryn Pittman agrees. He said the challenge gets ratcheted up when you're struggling as a team.

"It's easy to do when you're running well, which we have the last couple of years," Pittman said. "But we're definitely struggling right now. It's hard to show up and know you've got to find speed to contend for a win."

On the flip side, the challenge is just as intense for the crew chiefs, the car chiefs and the tire specialists who work behind the scenes to get cars ready and where they need to go. The hours of work after the race and on days off means little down time. Just like for drivers, it's about staying healthy and keeping motivated Gravel said.

Even the rising temperatures come into play as the summer heat takes its toll.

Another challenge, Kraig Kinser said, is balancing work and travel while still getting everything done.

"It's not always possible to do everything you'd like to be doing to the car in between times and just checking stuff," Kinser said. "It's a challenge to do everything you need to do day in and day out, especially when you start racing night after night."

And though the son of 20-time Outlaws champion Steve Kinser said he's used to the travel having grown up around the sport, the advantage is minimal, if it all.

"I'm used to it but there are a lot of good drivers out here who have been doing it for a long time who are also used to it," Kinser said. "They've got good cars and good crews and then you add in the local guys who are there with you for three or four races and they've got their stuff geared up and ready to go. It's tough for everybody. Competition is tough and you've just got to be prepared for it."

In their downtime Kinser and Gravel said it is important to find things that get their minds off of racing. Getting home, getting sleep, watching SportsCenter and playing golf are all things they do to rest.

Pittman is among a select group of drivers who has his family on the road with him during the summer months. That, he said, is a big help as the season grinds along.

"There's no doubt it's good to go back to the motorhome and your kids don't care how you run," Pittman said. "It's easy to be in a really, really bad mood and walk back in and (my daughter Taylor will) make a joke, or say something to me that puts it all in perspective. If nothing else, it gets my mind off of racing for a little bit - and makes me have a fresh mindset that life is good."

While the nightly racing at track is certainly the most visible part of the competition, all of the other variables are just as important.

"If it was easy, everybody would be doing it," Pittman said. "That's what it's all about, fighting through it and knowing that it's a long year and you can turn it around at any point."

See Pittman, Kinser, Gravel and all of the series competitors compete this week as the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series return to action at I-96 Speedway to makeup a previously rain-postponed event on Wednesday, June 24. The series then heads to 34 Raceway and Beaver Dam Raceway. To find out more information and to learn how to buy tickets to each event, visit http://www.WoOSprint.com.

ABOUT THE TRACKS
I-96 SPEEDWAY is a semi-banked, 3/8-mile oval. The track record of 13.985 seconds was established by David Gravel on May 31, 2014. For more event information, visit http://woosprint.com/i-96-speedway.

Previous A-Feature Winners
2014 - Donny Schatz on May 31
2013 - Paul McMahan on June 1
2012 - Craig Dollansky on June 2
2011 - Jason Sides on May 30
2010 - Jason Meyers on May 22
2009 - Jason Meyers on May 30
2008 - Steve Kinser on July 25
2007 - Craig Dollansky on July 27
2005 - Steve Kinser on June 9
2004 - Steve Kinser on Sept. 24
1997 - Steve Kinser on June 15, Stevie Smith on Oct. 7
1996 - Sammy Swindell on July 22
1995 - Joey Saldana on July 24

34 RACEWAY is a high-banked, 3/8-mile oval. The track record of 12.250 seconds was established by Steve Kinser on July 30, 2008. For more event information, visit http://woosprint.com/34-raceway.

Previous A-Feature Winners
2014 - Donny Schatz on June 27
2013 - Craig Dollansky on June 7
2009 - Joey Saldana on July 8
2008 - Tony Bruce Jr. on July 30

BEAVER DAM RACEWAY is a high-banked, third-mile oval. The track record of 11.275 seconds was established by Daryn Pittman on July 10, 2001. For more event information, visit http://woosprint.com/beaver-dam-raceway.

Previous A-Feature Winners
2014 - Brad Sweet on June 28
2013 - Craig Dollansky on June 29
2012 - Kraig Kinser on July 7
2011 - Joey Saldana on July 9
2010 - Joey Saldana on July 10
2009 - Danny Lasoski on July 11
2008 - Steve Kinser on Aug. 2
2007 - Jason Solwold on Aug. 3, Daryn Pittman on Sept. 16
2006 - Jac Haudenschild on June 14
2005 - Craig Dollansky on July 6, Daryn Pittman on Sept. 24
2004 - Tim Shaffer on Sept. 25, Steve Kinser on June 12
2003 - Joey Saldana on April 22, Daryn Pittman on Aug. 3
2002 - Donny Schatz on July 10
1998 - Jac Haudenschild on June 17
1997 - Mark Kinser on May 4, Dave Blaney on June 18
1996 - Dave Blaney on May 5

DRIVER INFO
The following World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series drivers maintain websites:
Jacob Allen - Shark1s1a.com
David Gravel - DavidGravel89.com
Jason Johnson - JasonJohnsonRacing.com
Kraig Kinser - KraigKinser.com
Kerry Madsen - KenericRacing.com
Paul McMahan - PaulMcMahanRacing.com
Daryn Pittman - DarynPittman.com
Joey Saldana - JoeySaldanaRacing.com
Donny Schatz - DonnySchatz.com
Logan Schuchart - Shark1s1a.com
Jason Sides - SidesMotorsports.com
Shane Stewart - ShaneStewart.com
Brad Sweet - Bradsweetracing.com
For more driver information, visit: WoOsprint.com

SEASON WINNERS: Donny Schatz - 16 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 14, Stockton Dirt Track on March 21, Silver Dollar Speedway on March 28, Placerville Speedway on April 8, Calistoga Speedway on April 12, Devil's Bowl Speedway on April 26, Eldora Speedway on May 8, Eldora Speedway on May 9, Williams Grove Speedway on May 15, Weedsport Speedway on May 17, The Dirt Track at Charlotte on May 22, Knoxville Raceway on June 13, Huset's Speedway on June 14, Granite City Speedway on June 17, River Cities Speedway on June 19, Dakota State Fair Speedway on June 20); Shane Stewart - 4 (The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 5, Keller Auto Speedway on April 17, Salina Highbanks Speedway on May 1, Crawford County Speedway on June 12); Daryn Pittman - 3 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 13, Antioch Speedway on March 29, New Egypt Speedway on May 19); Rico Abreu - 2 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 14, Stockton Dirt Track on March 22); Paul McMahan - 2 (Perris Auto Speedway on April 18, Tri-State Speedway on May 3); Brad Sweet - 2 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 15, Calistoga Speedway on April 11); Christopher Bell - 1 (Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 on May 2); Dale Blaney - 1 (Attica Raceway Park on May 29); Brian Brown - 1 (USA Raceway on March 7);Greg Hodnett - 1 (Lincoln Speedway on May 13);Tim Kaeding - 1 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 13);Danny Lasoski - 1 (I-80 Speedway on June 5); Terry McCarl - 1 (The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 5); Joey Saldana - 1 (Kokomo Speedway on June 3).

LISTEN LIVE: Listen live to the 'Voice of the Outlaws' Johnny Gibson call all the action from I-96 Speedway, 34 Raceway and Beaver Dam Raceway on the free audio broadcast on http://www.DIRTVision.com.

LIVE ONLINE UPDATES: Check out the Official World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series website at WoOsprint.com for live, interactive text updates of each race. It also includes driver biographies with statistics and pictures, race-by-race stats, detailed track information and race coverage, series news and team press releases.

GET SOCIAL: Follow the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series on Twitter at www.twitter.com/WorldofOutlaws, like it on Facebook at www.facebook.com/WorldofOutlaws, follow on Instagram at @WoOSprint or check out the latest videos on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/WorldofOutlaws.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series heads back to Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan. to makeup an earlier rained out event on Wednesday, July 1. The series then heads to Dodge City (Kan.) Raceway Park for Boot Hill Showdown on the 4th of July Weekend, July 3 and 4.

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