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Pevely, MO—July 6, 2007--By: Tony Veneziano, WoO Sprint Series PR Director
Zach Chappell recently returned home to Talala, Oklahoma, where he is recovering from an injury sustained to his left knee on Sunday at Cedar Lake Speedway in Wisconsin in a non-racing related pit accident. He visited a surgeon earlier this week and also had an MRI.
Chappell's injury will require surgery that will keep him out of action for a number of weeks. The rookie was third in the battle for the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award and 19th overall in championship points at the time of his injury. He set fast time for the first time in his World of Outlaws career at Lake Ozark Speedway in Missouri in May, and also earned his best career finish with the World of Outlaws at Tri-State (Ind.) Speedway earlier this season, when he finished fifth.
As Chappell continues to recover from the injury, reigning World of Outlaws Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Chad Kemenah will join the Hard 8 Racing team to pilot the car beginning at I-55 Raceway on Saturday, July 7.
"I am very pleased that Chad has accepted my offer to pilot the 8K car," said Jon Kantor, owner of Hard 8 Racing. "I am looking forward to providing Chad, with the opportunity to continue his pursuits with the World of Outlaws, while bringing immediate stability to our team in the wake of Zach's unfortunate and untimely injury."
Kemenah, a native of Findlay, Ohio, who has two career World of Outlaws wins, including one at I-55 Raceway in 2005, will be teamed with renowned sprint car Crew Chief Ray Brooks. Kemenah, who is a four-time All Star Circuit of Champions titlist, had been campaigning his own car for a majority of this season, and to-date has recorded seven Top-10 finishes, including a season-best third-place finish at Paducah International Raceway in Kentucky earlier this season.
"My Crew Chief, Ray Brooks and Zach both agreed that Chad would be the best fit for our team," said Kantor. "I want to continue to field a racing team that is made up of hard working, quality individuals with good character and values and Chad helps us maintain that philosophy."
This is the first season that Hard 8 Racing has been on the road full-time with the World of Outlaws, and they continue to build upon a solid foundation that Kantor and Brooks have established. At the time of Chappell's injury, the team was in the Top-20 in car owner points.
"Quitting or folding up our tents was never an option for us," shared Kantor. "We are not going anywhere."
Kemenah will make his first start for Hard 8 Racing at I-55 Raceway on Saturday, July 7 in the fourth event of the "SuperClean Summer of Money" on ESPN2 for the World of Outlaws. The event will air on ESPN2 on Sunday, July 8 at 11:30 a.m. Eastern, 10:30 a.m. Central.
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