5/17/2014
Sprint Source
World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series Champ Pittman Makes Clean Sweep of Williams Grove Speedway
Earns fifth win of ’14, captures Morgan Cup for ‘The Greatest Show on Dirt’
MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — May 17, 2014 — Daryn Pittman swept the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car weekend at Williams Grove Speedway after another commanding performance Saturday night.
Pittman held off Don Kreitz Jr. and Lucas Wolfe in the 30-lap A-main to bring his Great Clips car to victory lane for the second time in as many days and claim the Morgan Cup for the Outlaws.
“It doesn’t get any better than that,” said Pittman, a native of Owasso, Okla. “I’m just speechless. This is a big weekend for this team. These guys, this is something they’ve dreamed about for a long time and I’m just a lucky guy to get to drive this thing.”
Pittman ran most of the night on the bottom of the racetrack, holding off challenges from Kreitz and Wolfe on the high side. He credited his crew chief Kale Kahne and the strong competition behind him for the decision to make it work in that line.
“[After the heat race] I ran the top in two and thought I’m really good up there,” Pittman said. “Kale kind of questioned it like I don’t know you want to give up the bottom. And I ran in the Dash and he told me I wasn’t gaining, I was probably losing ground if anything up there. I pretty much made up my mind I was going to run on the bottom and make them go around me on the outside until somebody showed me something different.”
On Friday, much like his win on Saturday, Pittman dominated the 25-lap A-main from the pole position, leading every lap and holding off fierce competition at the same time. It was the first Williams Grove win for his No. 9 team and crew chief Kale Kahne.
“This is just an incredible weekend to win two of these in a row and go back to back,” Pittman said. “I know I’ve never done that so I’m just really happy. I just couldn’t be happier with where I am with my life and the team I’m driving for and what we’ve got going on.”
Pittman’s win Saturday also secured the Morgan Cup for the Outlaws for another year. The Morgan Cup, named in honor of the late Morgan Hughes, former track owner of Williams Grove Speedway, is awarded to the Outlaws or Pennsylvania Posse for a win during the designated event. The Outlaws have won the Cup every year since its inception.
Pittman, starting from the pole position on Saturday night, was joined on the front row by Kreitz in his Sharman Builders/Schannauer Heating & Plumbing car. The two led the field to the green followed by Donny Schatz and Wolfe in row two.
Early on, Pittman jumped out to a strong lead as the three cars behind battled for position. Wolfe got around Schatz in the opening laps.
Kreitz, in second, ran on the bottom as Wolfe looked for a good line on the high side of the track. He finally found it on lap five, taking the second position just out of turn two.
Wolfe then began reeling in Pittman. With Pittman stuck to the bottom of the track though, Wolfe struggled to find a way around. By lap 15 Kreitz began to catch Wolfe. A lap later Kreitz took the second place spot back.
Lapped traffic ultimately helped seal the deal for Pittman in the closing laps. As Kreitz and Wolfe battled with each other and around other cars, Pittman was able to get the room he needed to take the checkered flag and win the Morgan Cup.
“We’ve got to congratulate Daryn,” said second place finishing Kreitz. “Those guys just kicked our butt tonight. We did the best we could – sorry I let the Posse fans down but second is a good run for us and it’s all we had.”
Kreitz said he looks forward to meeting the Outlaws again when they return to Williams Grove for the Summer Nationals in July.
Wolfe, a Mechanicsburg, Pa., native who piloted his Zemco Equipment car to a third place finish, said he is proud of the work his team did to make up ground between Friday and Saturday and put him in position to win against Pittman and Kreitz. Ultimately, he said, he just was not able to make the top work to take advantage of the looks he had against Pittman.
“Early in the race I was kind of able to run through the middle about a lane up on Donny there and I was able to carry enough speed to make the wing work a little bit,” Wolfe said. “Once that went away I really struggled to get off four. I was able to make up a lot of ground in one and two, but I just struggled a lot when the lap cars came in. That’s how the racing is - you have to be on your toes every lap… It’s always good to end the night on the front stretch here at Williams Grove and we’ll just keep working on it.”
The World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series returns to the track on Sunday at Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, N.Y. followed by the NAPA Auto Parts Outlaw Classic at New Egypt Speedway in New Egypt, N.J. on Tuesday. The Outlaws wrap up the week at The Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C. for the Circle K/NOS Energy Drink Outlaw Showdown on Friday.
WILLIAMS GROVE SPEEDWAY NOTES: Daryn Pittman started first in the Dash on both days – 0 were inverted on Friday while eight were inverted on Saturday. He won both races from the pole position and led every lap in both events… The Morgan Cup returns to North Carolina for the fourth straight year. Since its creation, the Pennsylvania Posse has never won the Cup... Daryn Pittman, Don Kreitz Jr. and Lucas Wolfe all won their heat races tonight.
SEASON WINNERS: Daryn Pittman – 5 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 14, Calistoga Speedway on April 6 and Devil’s Bowl Speedway on April 19, Williams Grove Speedway on May 16 and May 17);David Gravel – 3 (Merced Speedway on March 28, Eldora Speedway on May 3, and Wilmot Raceway on May 9);Donny Schatz – 3 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 15, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 6 and Devil’s Bowl Speedway on April 19); Brad Sweet – 3 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 14, Tucson International Raceway on March 8 and Calistoga Speedway on April 5); Kerry Madsen – 2 (Stockton Dirt track on March 22 and El Paso Speedway Park on April 15); Paul McMahan – 2 (The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 5, Tri-State Speedway on May 10); Joey Saldana – 2 (Perris Auto Speedway on April 12 and Salina Highbanks on April 25); Rico Abreu – 1 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 15); Christopher Bell – 1 (Jacksonville Speedway on May 7);Cody Darrah – 1 (Kings Speedway on April 11); Steve Kinser – 1 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 16);Stevie Smith – 1 (Lincoln Speedway on May 14); Shane Stewart – 1 (Eldora Speedway on May 2) ; Sammy Swindell – 1 (Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 on April 26).
Submitted By: Admin Account
