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World of Outlaws head for bullring competition at Ocean Speedway this Friday night

By Gary Thomas

Watsonville, CA – October 13, 2008…Bullring mania will be on tap this Friday night October 17 when the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series invade the Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, CA for the first time since 2002. The evening of competition will mark the beginning of a California double-header in which the series will make its way down to the Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare the following night.

The Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaw Sprint Series stars should be at their best on the tight quarter-mile bullring as traffic will come into play on countless occasions, forcing competitors to be on their heels lap after lap. It will mark the fourth time that the word’s best sprint car drivers have competed at the track after holding events there in 2000, ’01 & ’02. Those races were won respectively by Joey Saldana, Andy Hillenburg and Brad Furr, with Mark Kinser setting the track record of 10.049 during the first visit in ’00.

Leading the way for the local talent will be two-time and current Ocean Speedway track champion Brent Kaeding from nearby Campbell. The 13-time King of California started off the year slowly by his standards, but has picked up the pace rapidly and drove to four victories in his last four Ocean Speedway Wright One 360 Series starts, including a big win at the 48^th running of the Johnny Key Classic in late August. Kaeding also had a great showing at the 55^th Gold Cup in Chico where he raced his Al’s Roofing Supply No. 69 to a third place finish on his prelim night and a fourth place result during the 40 lap finale on Saturday.

Another driver coming into the Ocean Speedway with momentum on his side is two-time and current King of California Jonathan Allard of Chico. The 32 year-old driver recently picked up his first career Fall Nationals title at Silver Dollar Speedway with a thrilling charge from the 13^th starting position aboard his Williams Motorsports No. 0. Like Kaeding, Allard also had a very solid showing at the Gold Cup in Chico where he was the top local driver by finishing runner-up during his prelim main event and came back to score a very strong third place finish on Saturday night. Earlier this year he wrapped up his second King of California title, becoming just the third driver in GSC history to win multiple championships.

Los Angeles racer Tyler Walker has had a strong season at the Ocean Speedway and is sure to be a contender while driving the NMI Industrial Contractors No. 24. The always exciting driver captured a pair of Golden State Challenge Series victories at the Watsonville based track this season and came back last month to dominate a California Civil War Series event at the speedway, en route to leading all 30 laps to pick up the win. Walker also made one appearance with the Wright One 360 Series at Ocean Speedway this year and brought home a third place finish in the main event. He has put together a very solid season overall and also finished runner-up in the Golden State Challenge Series points, tallying five wins with the club.

Former King of California Tim Kaeding has had another great season and will look for a good showing when the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Series convenes at the Ocean Speedway on Friday. The locally based San Jose driver led the Golden State Challenge Series in the win category by scoring six wins this year, with three of those since rejoining the Roth Motorsports team in Mid-July. Included in those victories this season was his second career Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial win in May, as well as a third place finish at the Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup in Skagit during the month of June. The 30 year-old racer hasn’t found victory lane at Ocean Speedway yet this year, but has always been strong at the track and his previous two starts netted podium finishes after starting in the fifth row each time.

Other locals sure to be in the thick of things will include Campbell’s Bud Kaeding, Scotts Valley’s Evan Suggs, Los Gatos’ Jason Statler, Easton’s Tommy Tarlton and Fremont’s Shane Golobic. Ocean Speedway regulars Bud Kaeding, Statler and Suggs have all picked up Wright One Series wins this season and ran top five in points at the track as well, with Statler finishing third and Suggs & Kaeding tying for fourth.

Young Golobic has put together a good season, which includes making the Gold Cup Saturday night main event in Chico and a Golden State Challenge Series victory at Ocean Speedway in May, where he just missed out on a clean sweep by finishing second in his heat race. Tarlton comes into the event with momentum on his side after runner-up finishes at the track during the Johnny Key Classic, the Civil War Series event last month and is also coming off an impressive $4,000 win at the Kings Speedway less than a few weekends ago.

The Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Series is coming down to its final handful of races and two-time defending champion Donny Schatz is in position to join Steve Kinser & Sammy Swindell as just the third driver in WOO history to win three driving titles. The Fargo, ND racer has had another outstanding year and has claimed 20 overall wins this season aboard the Tony Stewart Racing, Armor All No. 15, which includes claiming his third straight win at the Knoxville Nationals, joining Kinser as only the second driver to win the event on three consecutive occasions. If he were to win the WOO championship this season, Schatz would also join Kinser as just the second driver in history to win the Outlaw title three straight times.

Clovis, CA’s Jason Meyers will look for redemption following his last California visit, which left him with much disappointment after being taken out by a spun lapped car while leading the main event at the 55^th Gold Cup Race of Champions. “Hotfoot” will have extra motivation at the Ocean Speedway as GLR Investments, one of the main supporters of Meyers’ No. 14 racing team, will be the presenting sponsor of the event on Friday. Earlier this season Meyers made a visit to Watsonville during a Golden State Challenge event and proceeded to win his heat race, the dash and lead all 30 laps in the feature to pick up his 12^th career series victory. The defending Trophy Cup champ comes into the Ocean Speedway sitting second in World of Outlaw points with eight wins with the series.

The inaugural World of Outlaw event in Watsonville was captured by Brownsburg, IN’s Joey Saldana, who at the time was driving the Hemsaw No. 17 sprinter, but this time around will return to the quarter-mile bullring aboard the potent Kasey Kahne Racing, Budweiser sponsored No. 9 machine. “The Brownsburg Bullet” comes into the Ocean Speedway sitting third in WOO points with five wins, but has had a handful of other possible victories cut short by bad luck, including cutting a tire while sitting out front at the Kings Royal in July at Eldora.

Twenty-time World of Outlaw champ Steve Kinser has won at a large amount of the tracks that the series visits, but has yet to find victory lane at the Ocean Speedway and will be looking to change that on Friday. The Bloomington, IN driver currently ranks fourth in WOO points and has raced his Q-Oils No. 11 to six main event wins this season. Fellow veteran driver Jac Haudenschild has seen resurgence this season while driving the Carnahan Motorsports No. R19. “The Wild Child” recently scored his third career Gold Cup Race of Champions victory and is always at his best on tight-bullrings, much like the one seen at Ocean Speedway.

Other top World of Outlaw Sprint Series drivers expected on Friday night include former California driver Paul McMahan who now resides in Nashville, TN; as well as Findlay, Ohio’s Chad Kemenah; St. Mary’s NSW, Aust’s Kerry Madsen; Terry McCarl of Altoona, Iowa; Owasso, OK’s Daryn Pittman, Bloomington, IN’s Kraig Kinser and more.

The front and back gates will both open at noon this Friday at the Ocean Speedway with tickets being $45 at the front gate. Qualifying is expected to get underway around 6pm with racing to follow. The Ocean Speedway is located on the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds in Watsonville, California. For more info on the track visit http://www.oceanspeedway.com

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Tony Veneziano, World of Outlaws PR Director

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Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Preview: Ocean Speedway

Watsonville, CA— October 14, 2008—The Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series returns to Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, California on Friday, October 17 for the first time since 2002. Three different drivers have been victorious at the ¼-mile in the three races that the series has contested at the track. Joey Saldana is the only current World of Outlaws driver that has won at Ocean Speedway, taking the checkered flag first in the series inaugural visit to the track in 2000.

Just three drivers have competed in all three of the series stops at the track. Along with Saldana, 20-time World of Outlaws champion Steve Kinser and two-time defending series champion Donny Schatz have raced at the track a trio of times.

Kinser enters the event this weekend with 549 career A-Feature wins with the World of Outlaws and is closing in on 100 career wins in the state of California. He has 98 victories in the Golden State dating back to 1978, including preliminary feature wins. He has won six times this season and just moved into the third spot in points. He picked up a Top-10 finish in his last start at Ocean Speedway in 2002.

Saldana won the inaugural World of Outlaws race at the track in 2000, after trading the lead a couple of times with Tim Shaffer. The native of Brownsburg, Indiana has two podium finishes in three starts at the track. Driving for Kasey Kahne Racing, Saldana has won five times this season. He has seven career wins in California, and is currently fourth in points, just one marker behind Kinser as the battle for the third position.

Donny Schatz finished third in his debut at Ocean Speedway in 2000. He leads the World of Outlaws with 16 A-Feature wins this season as he closes in on his third consecutive series title. He has won six times in his career in California. He has won three times this season on ¼-mile tracks, with the most recent coming at Princeton Speedway on October 4. He also was victorious on Sunday at Hollywood Hills Speedway in New Mexico, and looks to extend his winning streak to three races this weekend.

Jason Meyers, who hails from Clovis, California, has six career Top-10 finishes at Ocean Speedway. He was fourth in the World of Outlaws last visit to the track in 2002. As he chases his first series title, Meyers has nine total wins this season, including one in his home state on the second night of the Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway. He currently leads the series in laps led, Top-Five finishes and fast time honors in qualifying.

Jac Haudenschild has finished fourth and seventh in two career starts at Ocean Speedway. The veteran driver has won four times this season, including on a ¼-mile at Silver Dollar Speedway in California in the finale of the Gold Cup Race of Champions. He has 29 career wins in the Golden State. He was second on Sunday at Hollywood Hills Speedway which helped him move into fifth in the series standings.

Craig Dollansky, who is currently sixth in points, will miss the event as he continues to recover from surgery on his right arm after sustaining a compound fracture on September 19 at Eldora Speedway.

Kerry Madsen, the reigning Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year, will be making his debut at Ocean Speedway on October 17. The native of St. Mary’s, NSW, Australia won his first race in California last season at Perris Auto Speedway. He currently is seventh in points on the strength of 36 Top-10 finishes as he closes in on his first win of 2008.

Chad Kemenah ran strong earlier this season in California during the Gold Cup, picking up a third-place finish on the opening night and also had a Top-10 run in the finale. The 2006 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year has 36 Top-10 finishes in 2008, as he also closes in on his first victory. He is just three points behind Madsen in the standings, as they battle for the seventh spot.

Terry McCarl won at Ocean Speedway back in 1991. He competed three times that season at the ¼-mile and picked up Top-10 finishes in all of those events. He recently won his first race of 2008 at Orange County Fair Speedway in New York and is in the midst of a streak that has seen him pick up four straight Top-Five finishes and eight consecutive Top-10 runs.

Daryn Pittman finished ninth in his second career start at Ocean Speedway in 2002. The native of Owasso, Oklahoma has won four times this season and is solidly in the Top-10 in the series championship standings. He has won four times in his career in California.

Kraig Kinser, who recently picked up his second win of the season, will make his debut at Ocean Speedway this weekend. He has eight career Top-10 finishes in California. He recently moved into the 11^th spot in points, on the strength of 17 Top-10 finishes.

Sam Hafertepe Jr. competed in California for the first time in 2007 as a rookie with the World of Outlaws. The native of Sunnyvale, Texas has racked up 16 Top-10 finishes this season as he chases his first career series win.

Jason Sides, the 2003 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year, will be making his debut at Ocean Speedway on October 17. He has 15 career Top-10 finishes in the Golden State. He has finished in the Top-10 17 times this season as he looks for his first win of the year.

Tony Bruce Jr. also will be visiting Ocean Speedway for the first time. He won earlier this season in his first visit to 34 Raceway in Iowa, as he continues his sophomore season with the World of Outlaws.

Chad Hillier picked up a Top-10 run earlier this season in California, on the second night of the Gold Cup at Silver Dollar Speedway finishing seventh. He has five Top-10 finishes in his sophomore season with the World of Outlaws and recently moved into the Top-15 in points.

Lucas Wolfe, the leading contender for the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award, will make his debut at Ocean Speedway this weekend and his first trip to California since 2006. He recently picked up his second runner-up finish of the season as he chases his first career series win.

Paul McMahan has four career Top-10 finishes at Ocean Speedway. He finished fifth with the World of Outlaws at the track in 2001. He has 16 Top-10 finishes this season as he closes in on his first win of the year.

Brooke Tatnell, who continues to fill in for the injured Craig Dollansky will be making his debut at Ocean Speedway this weekend. He has 15 career Top-10 finishes in California.

Previous Winners

Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-Feature winners at Ocean Speedway include:

2002 - Brad Furr on September 3

2001 - Andy Hillenburg on August 29

2000 - Joey Saldana on September 9

What to look for at Ocean Speedway:

*Three drivers have competed in all three series events at the track, Steve Kinser, Joey Saldana and Donny Schatz. The race this weekend will be the series first visit to the track since 2002.

*Joey Saldana is the only current World of Outlaws driver that has led laps and won at the track. He led 28 laps en route to winning the series debut at the track in 2000.

*Jason Meyers, who hails from California, has six career Top-10 finishes at Ocean Speedway. He is currently second in points and has won nine times this year as he chases his first series title.

*Jac Haudenschild won the last World of Outlaws event in California on a ¼-mile with that coming in the $50,000-to win Gold Cup Race of Champions in early September.

*Donny Schatz leads the series with three wins on ¼-mile tracks this season, including the series most recent stop at one on October 4 at Princeton Speedway in Minnesota. He leads the series with 16 A-Feature wins this season, including in the last two races.

*Steve Kinser, the 20-time World of Outlaws champion, is closing in on 100 career wins in the state of California. He has won 98 times in the Golden State during his career.

*Terry McCarl looks to extend his streak of Top-Five and Top-10 finishes at Ocean Speedway. He has picked up Top-Five finishes in four consecutive World of Outlaws events and Top-10’s in eight straight.

*Paul McMahan who grew up racing on the short tracks of his home state of California has four career Top-10 finishes. He finished fifth with the series at the track in 2001.

By the Numbers- Ocean Speedway:

0.25- Miles around Ocean Speedway

3- Drivers that have set fast time with the World of Outlaws at the track; Drivers competing full-time with the World of Outlaws this season that have raced in all three events for the series at the track: Steve Kinser, Joey Saldana and Donny Schatz

4- Drivers that have won a Crane Cams Dash with the series at the track; Drivers that have led laps in A-Feature competition with the series at the track; Drivers that have won on ¼-mile tracks with the series this season

5- Events for the World of Outlaws in California this season

8- Events contested on ¼-mile tracks by the World of Outlaws this season

10.949- Track record set by Mark Kinser on September 9, 2000

12- Drivers that have won heat races at Ocean Speedway with the World of Outlaws

14- Drivers that have won A-Feature events with the World of Outlaws this season

17- Drivers currently competing full-time with the World of Outlaws

28- Laps led by Joey Saldana en route to winning at the track in 2000

Next Up:The final race of the season in the state of California for the World of Outlaws, with a stop at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare on Saturday, October 18.

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Courtesy Tony V:

Meyers Geared Up for Home State Weekend Beginning Friday at Ocean Speedway

Watsonville, CA— October 16, 2008—The last time that the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series competed at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, California was in 2002. The last time that Jason Meyers competed at the track in his home state, prior to this year was in 2003. In preparation for the series return to the always racy ¼-mile for the first time in six seasons, he visited the track back on March 14 to get reacquainted with the tight confines and to find a solid set-up for the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series event on Friday, October 17.

Meyers wound up winning that night at Ocean Speedway in his return to the track, leading all 30 laps against a very strong field of cars. That night he was second fastest in time trials, and won a heat race to start on the pole position for the A-Feature. He will look to stay undefeated at the track this season when the World of Outlaws return to the track on Friday.

“It always helps to go back to tracks that you have been and have a good baseline,” said Meyers. “We are looking forward to getting out there. For us, it’s a big event, racing in front of some of our sponsors. We’re looking forward to it and we’re looking forward to running well and hopefully can win in front of our home crowd and sponsors.”

Following a fifth-place finish at Hollywood Hills Speedway in New Mexico on Sunday aboard the GLR Investments KPC, Meyers returned home to Clovis, California and has been gearing up for this weekend’s two home events at Ocean Speedway on Friday and Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare on Saturday. His crew led by veteran crew chief D.J. Lindsey also has had the chance to work out of their own shop for a few days.

“It kind of makes your week a little busier, with all of the sponsor appearances,” Meyers pointed out of racing at his home tracks. “We put just as much pressure on ourselves any other night we go to the race track. We are here to win each and every night. It’s not any different this weekend. We do have the history of having been to those tracks in the past. We were looking forward to it and hopefully have a great weekend.”

Meyers visited Ocean Speedway for the first time in 1997 and finished fourth in that event. He has seven career Top-10 finishes at the ¼-mile. He has raced with the World of Outlaws twice at the track, in 2001 and again in 2002 when he earned a fourth-place finish. In his career, Meyers has 21 wins in his home state over the years and has racked up nearly 150 Top-10 finishes in California. He has won three times this year in the Golden State and all three victories have come on ¼-mile tracks, including his first career win at Ocean Speedway back in March.

“It’s a really racy track when they have it right,” shared Meyers when asked about Ocean Speedway. “John Prentice has taken over the race track and done an awesome job. It can be sticky sometimes and slick other times. It just depends on what they give us. It’s certainly an action packed race track. You have to get your car to roll around there and stay out of trouble, especially in lapped traffic.”

The race at Ocean Speedway will be the penultimate race for the World of Outlaws in the Golden State this season, with Meyers home track of Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare wrapping up the series West Coast events for 2008 on Saturday night. Meyers was victorious with the World of Outlaws at Silver Dollar Speedway on the second night of the Gold Cup Race of Champions last month in his home state and was leading the $50,000 finale before a lapped car took him out. All five of the series events this season in the Golden State will be on trademark California bullrings.

“It’s definitely a different driving style there,” explained the veteran driver of racing on short tracks on the West Coast. “That’s one of the things you learn coming from California to the road is to change your driving style a little bit. That’s where we grew up racing and cut our teeth on. We’re really looking forward to going out there and getting after it.”

With just five races remaining on the 2008 Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series schedule, Meyers finds himself 138 points behind two-time defending series champion Donny Schatz in the standings as he chases his first series title. Meyers currently leads the series in Top-Five finishes (45), as well as laps led (377) and fast time honors in qualifying (13). He has set four new track records in time trials as well this season, which tops the series. The native of Clovis, California also is tied for the series lead with six wins in the Crane Cams Dash which has earned him pole positions in A-Feature events.

The veteran driver has nine overall wins with the World of Outlaws in 2008, with eight of those being A-Feature triumphs, along with one preliminary feature win, and he has won at three of the four tracks remaining on the schedule. He enters this weekend with 26 A-Feature wins in his career with the World of Outlaws, and is just two victories short of moving into the 15^th spot on the all-time win list.

“We just have to keep doing what we are doing and finishing up front,” he said, when asked what it will take to win his first title. “At this point it will probably take some bad luck on Donny’s (Schatz) part. All we can do is control what we can and that is running up front and winning races. We just keep trying to do that and get as many points as we can and try to track him down.”

All tickets for the event at Ocean Speedway on Friday, October 17 will be $45. For ticket information call: (831) 464-1500 ext 222.

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