Contact: World Racing Group Tony Veneziano, World of Outlaws PR Director 405-623-1442 * [email protected]

Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Preview: Cactus Classic at Manzanita Speedway Phoenix, AZ- February 26, 2008--By: Tony Veneziano, World of Outlaws PR Director

The Arizona sunshine awaits the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series this weekend, as they will contest the Cactus Classic at the famed Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix on Saturday, March 1. With three events in the books this season, Craig Dollansky is the current series championship point leader by 10 markers over Jason Meyers. Both drivers have finished in the Top-Five of all three races thus far in 2008.

Dollansky is one of just four drivers that finished in the Top-10 in both events at Manzanita last season, along with two-time defending series champion Donny Schatz, Joey Saldana and Justin Henderson. Schatz was victorious last season at the track, as was 2001 series champion Danny Lasoski.

Of the 20 drivers currently competing full-time with the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series, 18 of them competed at the half-mile last year. Kraig Kinser driving for Tony Stewart Racing will make his first start at the track since 2005, while Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award contender Lucas Wolfe will make his first career start at the famed track on March 1.

There have been 10 drivers that have reach Victory Lane with the series at the track dating back to 1978 led by 20-time champion Steve Kinser who has nine A-Feature wins at the half-mile. Five drivers that have won an A-Feature event with the series at the track will be in action on March 1.

2007 Race Recaps: March 3 & October 19:

Donny Schatz became the first repeat winner of the 2007 season, as he was victorious in the Cactus Classic at Manzanita Speedway in the seventh race of the season.

Schatz, the two-time defending Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion and Joey Saldana battled throughout the 30-lap contest. The pair ran side-by-side before a packed grandstand that cheered them on as they battled lap after lap. Schatz came out on top and took home the $10,000 winner's share of the purse.

Schatz used the low side of the track for the majority of the race, with Saldana using the momentum he gained on the high side to stay even with the reigning series champion as the laps wound down.

The race began with second-year driver Justin Henderson in search of his first World of Outlaws win, powering his way around polesitter Paul McMahan on the opening circuit exiting the second turn. He began to pull away before encountering lapped traffic, which helped Schatz close the gap.

On the 13th go-around, Schatz shot to the high side of Henderson and took the lead. The reigning series champion was able to quickly open up a sizeable advantage that was negated by a caution at the halfway mark of the event. He used a strong restart to retain the lead, which led to thrilling battle with Saldana.

Schatz had a very close call late in the race, as the machine of rookie Tony Bruce Jr. lost an engine right in front of him. With Saldana just a few car lengths behind, Schatz kept his line and did not let the heavy smoke interrupt his rhythm.

Saldana finished second, with Brooke Tatnell third, Tim Kaeding fourth and Paul McMahan fifth.

Danny Lasoski's car didn't sound too good when it crossed the finish line last October 19 at Manzanita Speedway, and his tires didn't look too good either, but all that mattered was that it crossed the line first, as he earned his sixth Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-Feature win of the season and second of his career at the storied half-mile.

The 2001 World of Outlaws champion lost a cylinder on lap 11 and nursed the car over the final 19 circuits. He also had a left rear tire that blistered as the laps wound down. For his 80th career World of Outlaws triumph, Lasoski took home $10,000.

Lasoski used a strong restart with four laps to go to cross the line nearly a second-and-a-half ahead of Donny Schatz. Lasoski led twice in the 30-lap event for a total of 24 laps.

The race started with Lasoski winning a drag race with Justin Henderson down the front straight to lead entering the first and second turns. Also on the opening lap, Steve Kinser got around Tony Bruce to take over third, while Jason Solwold used a great start to charge from eighth to fourth on the first lap.

Lasoski opened up about an eight-car length lead on the second lap, with Kinser in tow before the latter spun while running second to bring out the first caution. On the ensuing restart, Solwold dove low under Henderson exiting the fourth turn to move into the runner-up spot.

Solwold began to gain significant ground on Lasoski as the leaders were just about to encounter traffic. On lap ten, the caution flew for Jason Sides, who was running fifth and had mechanical problems that ended his night. Lasoski had an open track ahead of him on the restart and used that to his advantage.

Lasoski used another good restart to stay in front and open a slight lead on Solwold. With traffic looming, Solwold began to close in on Lasoski again. On lap 19, he took the lead with a low move entering the first turn. Solwold quickly pulled away, while Lasoski was held up. All the while, Donny Schatz had worked his way from 13th to the Top Five.

Solwold saw his night come to an end on lap 25, as he also lost a right rear tire, giving the lead back to Lasoski. As the car circled under caution, it was very apparent that Lasoski was having some trouble with his engine, by the sounds that were coming off of it.

On the final restart, with just five laps to go, Lasoski pulled away from Henderson, who had his hands full with Schatz battling him for the second position. Schatz would take that position exiting the second turn on lap 26. While Schatz was working on Henderson that gave Lasoski the opportunity he needed to pull away and take the win over the North Dakota native. Henderson matched his career-best finish with a third-place performance. Daryn Pittman was fourth and Joey Saldana fifth.

2007 A-Feature Results Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series; Manzanita Speedway; March 3, 2007

A-main (30 laps) - Starting Position [#] 1) 15-Donny Schatz[3] [$10,000] 2) 9-Joey Saldana[6] [$5,500] 3) 2-Brooke Tatnell[5] [$3,200] 4) 11K-Tim Kaeding[10] [$2,800] 5) 20-Paul McMahan[1] [$2,500] 6) 7S-Jason Sides[7] [$2,300] 7) D1-Justin Henderson[2] [$2,200] 8) R19-Jason Solwold[11] [$2,100] 9) 11-Steve Kinser[14] [$2,050] 10) 7-Craig Dollansky[16] [$2,000] 11) 21-Daryn Pittman[12] [$1,500] 12) 11H-Kerry Madsen[8] [$1,200] 13) 19-Becca Anderson[9] [$1,100] 14) 83-Danny Lasoski[15] [$1,050] 15) 24-Terry McCarl[20] [$1,000] 16) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[25] [$100] 17) 45X-Johnny Herrera[18] [$800] 18) 10C-Jeremy Campbell[19] [$800] 19) 14-Jason Meyers[13] [$800] 20) 5-Dustin Lindquist[24] [$800] 21) 11D-Dion Hindi[17] [$800] 22) 18T-Tony Bruce Jr.[26] [$] 23) 1x-Randy Hannagan[4] [$800] 24) 35-Jac Haudenschild[23] [$800] 25) 8K-Zach Chappell[21] [$800] 26) 18-Brian Carlson[22] [$800]

Lap Leaders: Justin Henderson 1-12; Donny Schatz 13-30 Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series; Manzanita Speedway; Phoenix, AZ; Oct. 19, 2007

A-main (30 laps) - Starting Position [#]

1) 83-Danny Lasoski[1] [$10,000]

2) 15-Donny Schatz[13] [$5,500]

3) D1-Justin Henderson[2] [$3,200]

4) 21-Daryn Pittman[11] [$2,800]

5) 9-Joey Saldana[10] [$2,500]

6) 7-Craig Dollansky[5] [$2,300]

7) 14-Jason Meyers[9] [$2,200]

8) 35-Jac Haudenschild[23] [$2,100]

9) 11H-Kerry Madsen[7] [$2,050]

10) 1HD-Shane Stewart[24] [$2,000]

11) 11-Steve Kinser[4] [$1,500]

12) 18T-Tony Bruce Jr.[3] [$1,200]

13) 6-Tim Shaffer[16] [$1,100]

14) 45X-Johnny Herrera[17] [$1,050]

15) 24-Terry McCarl[18] [$1,000]

16) 8K-Chad Kemenah[19] [$900]

17) 20-Paul McMahan[20] [$800]

18) 1X-Randy Hannagan[21] [$800]

19) 22B-Ben Gregg[14] [$800]

20) 83JR-Brandon Wimmer[12] [$800]

21) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[15] [$800]

22) R19-Jason Solwold[8] [$800]

23) 10C-Jeremy Campbell[22] [$800]

24) 7S-Jason Sides[6] [$800]



Lap Leaders: Danny Lasoski 1-19, 26-30; Jason Solwold 20-25

Previous Winners

2007- Donny Schatz on March 3, Danny Lasoski on October 19

2006- Danny Lasoski on March 3, Daryn Pittman on Oct. 20

2005- Steve Kinser on Oct. 11

2004- Steve Kinser on Feb. 21

1999- Mark Kinser on Feb. 27, Donny Schatz on Oct. 23

1998- Jac Haudenschild on Feb. 21, Tyler Walker on Oct. 24

1997- Sammy Swindell on January 31, Mark Kinser on Nov. 1

1996- Steve Kinser on Oct. 26

1991- Steve Kinser on March 23

1988- Steve Kinser on Feb. 13

1987- Steve Kinser on March 11, Steve Kinser on Oct. 31

1986- Steve Kinser on March 1

1980- Sammy Swindell on June 21

1979- Steve Kinser on Sept. 15, Tim Green on Oct. 13

1978- Lealand McSpadden on Oct. 14

Current Top-10 in Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Points 1. Craig Dollansky 449 2. Jason Meyers 439 3. Donny Schatz 426 4. Joey Saldana 412 5. Terry McCarl 404 6. Lance Dewease 404 7. Tim Kaeding 396 8. Chad Kemenah 382 9. Jac Haudenschild 380 10. Jason Sides 378

What to look for this year at Manzanita Speedway: * Four drivers earned Top-10 finishes in both events at the track last season and all four will be in action this weekend: Craig Dollansky, Justin Henderson, Donny Schatz and Joey Saldana.

* Steve Kinser, the 20-time World of Outlaws champion has had unparalleled success at the half-mile. He has 22 overall wins, with nine of those being World of Outlaws A-Feature events. In his career at the half-mile, he has 47 Top-Five finishes dating back to 1977.

* Danny Lasoski, the 2001 World of Outlaws champion has won each of the last two seasons at Manzanita Speedway. He scored his first win at the track in 1991 and has 33 Top-10 finishes dating back to 1989.

* Donny Schatz, the two-time defending series champion has won three total events at the half-mile, including an A-Feature last season as well as in 1999

*Craig Dollansky, the current World of Outlaws championship point leader has eight career Top-10 finishes at the track, including six consecutive

* Joey Saldana, who is fourth in points, has 10 Top-10 finishes in his career at the famed track, including five consecutive. He was second and fifth last season at Manzanita.

* Jac Haudenschild has 27 Top-10 finishes in his career at the half-mile. He has won four times, including an A-Feature event with the World of Outlaws in 1998 and also won a couple of Winter Series events at the track

* Justin Henderson has three career Top-10 finishes in just four starts at the track, including a career-best third-place finish last fall. He also led a number of laps last spring at the half-mile.

* Daryn Pittman has seven career Top-10 finishes at Manzanita Speedway, including a win in the fall of 2006 with the World of Outlaws.

* Kraig Kinser, the 2004 World of Outlaws Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year will be making his first start at Manzanita Speedway since 2005. In four career starts at the track, he has two Top-10 finishes.

* Lucas Wolfe, a contender for the 2008 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award will make his first start at Manzanita Speedway this weekend.

By the Numbers- Cactus Classic at Manzanita Speedway 0.25- Miles around the original Manzanita Speedway which was formerly a dog racing track 0.5- Miles around Manzanita Speedway 3- World of Outlaws Champions that have won at the track that will be racing this weekend 4- Drivers that finished in the Top-10 in both events at the track in 2007 5- Drivers that have won at the famed half-mile that will be in action this weekend 9- A-Feature wins with the World of Outlaws for Steve Kinser at the track 10- Drivers that have won a World of Outlaws A-Feature at the track dating back to 1978 15- Cents, the cost of the first Official Souvenir Program at the track on Aug. 25, 1951 15.235- Track record established by Kerry Madsen on March 3, 2007 18- Laps led by Donny Schatz to win at Manzanita Speedway last March 20- World of Outlaws A-Feature events contested at the track to-date 24- Laps led by Danny Lasoski last season when he won at the track; Laps led by Lasoski in 2006 when he won at the half-mile 25- Hours, the length of the first race on the half-mile in 1954 43- Drivers that competed last season with the series at Manzanita Speedway 1951- Year that racing first came to the track on the corner of 35th & Broadway 1954- Year that the half-mile track was added at Manzanita 1978- Year of the first World of Outlaws event at the track 3,923- People that attended the first race at the track in 1951 10,000- Dollars the winner will receive on March 1

Tickets: On Saturday, March 1, Reserved tickets in the main grandstand, sections A-D will be $35 for adults and $15 for children 12-under. Reserved tickets in the bleachers in sections AA-DD will be $32 for adults and $15 for children 12-under. General Admission tickets in the turn one and turn four grandstands will be $30 for adults with children ages 6-12 just $12 and kids 5-under will be admitted free of charge. For ticket information on the Cactus Classic, call 815-344-2023 or visit http://www.slspromotions.com<http://www.slspromotions.com/>.

Next Up: A trip back east to the daunting high banks of Volunteer Speedway in Bulls Gap, Tennessee, where Joey Saldana won a thrilling race last season.

Headquartered in Roanoke, Va., Advance Auto Parts is the second-largest retailer of automotive aftermarket parts, accessories, batteries, and maintenance items in the United States, based on store count and sales. As of October 6, 2007, the company operated 3,228 stores in 40 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The company serves both the do-it-yourself and professional installer markets.