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Saldana Rallies to Find Victory Lane at Paducah

He picks up his first career win at Paducah International Raceway

PADUCAH, Ky. - April 13, 2012 - Joey Saldana ended Friday's roller-coaster ride with a smile on his face.

The World of Outlaws veteran overcame a self-proclaimed "ugly" heat race to record his second victory of the season and first career at Paducah International Speedway - the Outlaws lone event in the state of Kentucky this season.

"In qualifying we went out and were really good, and then in the heat race we changed everything and were really bad," he said. "Then we went back to the way we were in qualifying for the dash and we were respectable. And then we just worked off that and made our car 100 percent better for the feature, and it showed because when it counted we definitely had the car to pass. We had the speed when it counted and luckily we had enough tire to finish the race."

Saldana, who timed in fifth quick of the 29 cars, dropped from third to fifth in his heat race to snag the second-to-last transfer to the 30-lap main event. However, Saldana's qualifying effort combined with advancing to the feature earned him a spot in the dash. Saldana started fifth and finished fourth, which is where he began the main event.

On the third lap, Saldana made a dicey move to drive between Chad Kemenah and Geoff Dodge. With Kemenah on the bottom and Dodge running the top, all three cars were sliding through turn four when Saldana split the middle to pull into the runner-up position. He then closed on polesitter Danny Smith, who entered lapped traffic around lap 10.

A caution fell on lap 13 when Kemenah stopped in turn three with a flat right rear tire. Smith chose the bottom on the restart and it didn't take long for Saldana to rocket into the lead when the green flag was waved.

Saldana held a slight advantage at the flag stand and Smith drove hard into turn one, sliding up from the middle of the track. However, Saldana's momentum in the high line propelled him into the lead for good as the duo exited turn two.

"The rubber was getting laid down and I thought I could get in the middle there and get the jump on Joey and bring it home, but it didn't work out that way," Smith said after finishing second.

Saldana maintained the lead for the rest of the race and survived the closing laps. He finished with a little more than a one-second advantage as the top six were separated by less than four seconds.

"Racing with the Outlaws, you get a feel for the double-file restarts," Saldana said. "I think (Smith) did the right thing. I had enough experience with it. I got a good start and put myself in position to get the lead. I don't think he did anything wrong. That's just a characteristic of double-file restarts."

Sammy Swindell was arguably the quickest in the final half of the race as he charged from ninth to finish third after a pass on Kerry Madsen on the second-to-last lap.

"It was really hard to get by," Swindell said. "You could pull down, but if you weren't in the right spot there just wasn't any grip. … Maybe a line and a half in the corners, but it was just a line and an eighth down the straights. So you had to be right on it.

"Sometimes track position means a lot. I think if we'd have started up front they wouldn't have seen us, but coming from the fifth row we'll take the third and try to be better next time."

Madsen was fourth with Steve Kinser making a last-lap pass on Tony Stewart Racing teammate Donny Schatz to corral fifth place.

Following Schatz across the line was Geoff Dodge, who placed a career-best seventh. Cody Darrah was eighth, David Gravel ninth and Stevie Smith, who set fast time with a lap of 13.206 seconds, rounded out the top 10.

Kemenah, Gravel and Swindell each claimed heat races, and Jim Moughan won the Last Chance Showdown. Brian Paulus drove from 22nd to 15 th to earn the KSE Hard Charger Award.

Paducah International Raceway Notebook

NOTES - Eleven drivers made their World of Outlaws season debut, including fast qualifier Stevie Smith and Geoff Dodge of Colorado Springs, Colo., who qualified third quick. … Kraig Kinser qualified seventh quick, which snapped a streak of two consecutive quick-time awards and six straight races of qualifying in the top five.

CONTINGENCY WINNERS - MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): Joey Saldana; Comp Cams ($50 certificate): Joey Saldana; Armor All (case of product): Geoff Dodge; STP ($50 cash): Danny Smith; UNOH ($50 cash): Steve Kinser; Gravely Tractors ($50 cash): Cody Darrah; VP Racing Fuel ($50 cash): Stevie Smith; Comp Cams ($50 cash): Kraig Kinser; JE Pistons (set of rings): Lucas Wolfe; Cometic Gasket ($50 cash): Lucas Wolfe; Wix Filters ($50 cash): Craig Dollansky; Superflow ($50 cash): Craig Dollansky; JE Pistons ($50 cash): Craig Dollansky; JE Pistons (set of rings): Terry McCarl; MSD Ignitions ($25 cash): Chad Kemenah.

WINNERS - Donny Schatz - 2 (Silver Dollar Speedway on March 23 and Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19); Tim Kaeding - 2 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 16 and The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 8); Joey Saldana - 2 (Paducah International Raceway on April 13 and Perris Auto Speedway on March 10); Sammy Swindell - 1 (Merced Speedway on March 30); Craig Dollansky - 1 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19); Danny Lasoski - 1 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 18).

TIME TRIALS - Stevie Smith was the fastest qualifier around the 3/8-mile oval with a time of 13.206 seconds to earn five championship points. Also earning points were Kerry Madsen (4 points), Geoff Dodge (3), Danny Smith (2) and Joey Saldana (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 .

Paducah International Raceway Statistical Report; Paducah, Ky.; April 13, 2012

A Main - (30 Laps) - 1. 9-Joey Saldana [4] [$10,000]; 2. 4S-Danny Smith [1] [$5,500]; 3. 1-Sammy Swindell [9] [$3,200]; 4. 29-Kerry Madsen [5] [$2,800]; 5. 11-Steve Kinser [10] [$2,500]; 6. 15-Donny Schatz [6] [$2,300]; 7. 7M-Geoff Dodge [2] [$2,200]; 8. 4-Cody Darrah [14] [$2,100]; 9. 89G-David Gravel [8] [$2,050]; 10. 19-Stevie Smith [7] [$2,000]; 11. 11K-Kraig Kinser [12] [$1,500]; 12. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [11] [$1,200]; 13. 13-Mark Dobmeier [13] [$1,100]; 14. 1M-Jim Moughan [16] [$1,050]; 15. 28-Brian Paulus [22] [$1,000]; 16. 54-Cap Henry [15] [$900]; 17. 7-Craig Dollansky [20] [$800]; 18. 44-A.J. Bruns [21] [$800]; 19. 7S-Jason Sides [18] [$800]; 20. 6-Bill Rose [24] [$800]; 21. 24-Terry McCarl [17] [$800]; 22. 63-Chad Kemenah [3] [$800]; 23. 44W-Austen Wheatley [19] [$800]; 24. 51-Mike Hess [23] [$800]. Lap Leaders: Danny Smith 1-12, Joey Saldana 13-30. KSE Hard Charger Award: 28-Brian Paulus [+7].

Qualifying - 1. 19-Stevie Smith, 13.206; 2. 29-Kerry Madsen, 13.254; 3. 7M-Geoff Dodge, 13.593; 4. 4S-Danny Smith, 13.698; 5. 9-Joey Saldana, 13.857; 6. 5W-Lucas Wolfe, 13.948; 7. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 14.063; 8. 89G-David Gravel, 14.075; 9. 15-Donny Schatz, 14.112; 10. 63-Chad Kemenah, 14.211; 11. 11-Steve Kinser, 14.225; 12. 1-Sammy Swindell, 14.255; 13. 13-Mark Dobmeier, 14.308; 14. 4-Cody Darrah, 14.381; 15. 54-Cap Henry, 14.398; 16. 1M-Jim Moughan, 14.442; 17. 24-Terry McCarl, 14.589; 18. 7S-Jason Sides, 14.605; 19. 44W-Austen Wheatley, 14.619; 20. 7-Craig Dollansky, 14.633; 21. 4K-Kody Kinser, 14.728; 22. 71M-Paul May, 14.880; 23. 51-Mike Hess, 15.146; 24. 44-A.J. Bruns, 15.208; 25. 6-Bill Rose, 15.234; 26. 28-Brian Paulus, 15.277; 27. 66-Alex Shanks, 15.370; 28. 10P-Jim Perricone, 15.764; 29. 4M-John Memmer, 16.412.

Heat 1 - (8 Laps - Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) - 1. 63-Chad Kemenah [1]; 2. 19-Stevie Smith [4]; 3. 11K-Kraig Kinser [2]; 4. 4S-Danny Smith [3]; 5. 13-Mark Dobmeier [5]; 6. 44W-Austen Wheatley [7]; 7. 71M-Paul May [8]; 8. 1M-Jim Moughan [6]; 9. 6-Bill Rose [9]; 10. 10P-Jim Perricone [10].

Heat 2 - (8 Laps - Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) - 1. 89G-David Gravel [2]; 2. 11-Steve Kinser [1]; 3. 29-Kerry Madsen [4]; 4. 7-Craig Dollansky [7]; 5. 9-Joey Saldana [3]; 6. 4-Cody Darrah [5]; 7. 28-Brian Paulus [9]; 8. 4M-John Memmer [10]; 9. 51-Mike Hess [8]; 10. 24-Terry McCarl [6].

Heat 3 - (8 Laps - Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) - 1. 1-Sammy Swindell [1]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [2]; 3. 7M-Geoff Dodge [4]; 4. 5W-Lucas Wolfe [3]; 5. 7S-Jason Sides [6]; 6. 54-Cap Henry [5]; 7. 4K-Kody Kinser [7]; 8. 66-Alex Shanks [9]; 9. 44-A.J. Bruns [8].

Dash - (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature) - 1. 4S-Danny Smith [1]; 2. 7M-Geoff Dodge [2]; 3. 63-Chad Kemenah [8]; 4. 9-Joey Saldana [5]; 5. 29-Kerry Madsen [3]; 6. 15-Donny Schatz [7]; 7. 19-Stevie Smith [4]; 8. 89G-David Gravel [6]; 9. 1-Sammy Swindell [10]; 10. 11-Steve Kinser [9].

B Main - (12 Laps - Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature) - 1. 1M-Jim Moughan [1] [-]; 2. 24-Terry McCarl [2] [-]; 3. 28-Brian Paulus [8] [-]; 4. 44-A.J. Bruns [6] [-]; 5. 51-Mike Hess [5] [-]; 6. 6-Bill Rose [7] [-]; 7. 4M-John Memmer [11] [$200]; 8. 4K-Kody Kinser [3] [$180]; 9. 10P-Jim Perricone [10] [$175]; 10. 66-Alex Shanks [9] [$160]; 11. 71M-Paul May [4] [$150].

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