Barberville,FL — Feb. 2, 2009 — Danny Lasoski has had a lot of success at Volusia Speedway Park, so there was no way he was going to miss the 2008 running of the Alltel DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH. Without a ride for the season opening World of Outlaws event, the 2001 series champion built his own car at his shop in Missouri, loaded it in a small enclosed trailer and towed it south with a pick-up truck.
Only one engine and a few sets of tires forced Lasoski to be conservative most of the week, but in the finale on Feb. 10 he let it all hang out and turned in a dominating performance, leading all 30 laps to pick up the win — all while battling the flu.
Lasoski started on the pole after winning the Crane Cams Dash. He charged down the front straight at the drop of the green. At the same time, Terry McCarl moved into third and began to battle with Craig Dollansky as they kept pace with Lasoski.
After a restart on the third lap, Lasoski began to open a commanding lead in open track, though Dollansky closed in as the pair entered lapped traffic. Two more cautions late in the race bunched the field, with Dollansky making a couple of charges on the high side of the track in an attempt to take the lead. Lasoski would hold off all challengers to score the 81st win of his World of Outlaws career.
“It’s very gratifying to come down here with my own car and win,” said Lasoski. “I couldn’t do it without my friends, Tony Ross at American Compressed Steel and Ron Ditzfeld. They helped pay the way down here. I am very proud of my guys. My dad helped build this car at home and we just had great guys behind us.”
Late in the race, Dollansky tried everything he could to run down Lasoski. He looked to the high side of the track on numerous occasions, but could quite get enough momentum off the fourth turn to make the pass.
The Minnesota native used his runner-up finish to claim the overall Alltel DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH title for the second consecutive season. He finished sixth or better in all six events during the week at the half-mile. Dollansky won the season opener for the World of Outlaws and left the Sunshine State as the leader in the championship standings.
“It’s a total team effort to be the overall champion for the second year in a row,” said Dollansky, who begins 2009 in a car owned by Kasey Kahne. “The crew guys worked so hard for six straight days. It’s really deserving for them to accomplish something like that. I am very proud of our entire team.”
To see who emerges as a star in the Feb. 3-14 running of the Alltel DIRTcar Nationals By UNOH, make sure to reserve your favorite seats in advance at the sweeping half-mile oval. With infield trailer heights limited to 9 feet, 6 inches, there are no bad seats in the grandstands at Volusia Speedway Park, which is only 15 miles inland on State Road 40 from Ormond Beach, Fla.
Take advantage of special ‘Super Ticket’ deals that offer seats for all the events contested by each headline division, including six Sprint Car events (All-Star Circuit of Champions on Feb. 3-5, World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series on Feb. 6-8); eight nights of UMP DIRTcar Modified action (Feb. 3-10); six-nights of Dirt Late Model racing (Feb. 9-14); the and four Advance Auto Parts DIRTcar big-block Modified dates (Feb. 11-14).
To reserve your seats, follow the ticket links at http://www.volusiaspeedwaypark.com, http://www.dirtcarnationals.com or call the Volusia Speedway Park office at 386-985-4402.
