Monday, October 18, 2010

Two to Go: Meyers Inches towards title at Tri-State Speedway


Deux, zwei, dos, kaksi: it does not matter what language you say it in. Two may seem like a small number, until you have two items separating you from your goal. In the case of Jason Meyers and Elite Racing, they just have two races to wrap up the 2010 World of Outlaws title. This weekend Meyers crept closer to taking the title home with a top-10 finish at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Indiana.

Meyers started his evening at Tri-State Speedway by recording the 9th quick lap in qualifying. From there, he went on to win the first heat race from the outside pole position in his #14 GLR Investments KPC. That would put Meyers in the dash and secure a top-10 starting spot for the Californian. Meyers would go on to start and finish 7th in the dash, putting him in the 7th position at the beginning of the night's feature event.

Beginning on the 4th row beside Kraig Kinser, Meyers would favor the inside line early in the main event. The inside line seemed problematic for the #14 DDNI KPC as three cars got past it before the first pause in racing action on Lap 5. On the restart, Meyers would be lined up 10th behind title rival Steve Kinser.

When racing resumed, Meyers would start trying out different lines. He first stayed low, gradually moving his line to the high side. While up top, Meyers would gain on 9th place Jason Sides, but could not make the pass. About 15 laps in, the inside line started to pick up steam and Meyers would lose two more positions.

At the halfway point of the 40-lap contest, Meyers was running 12th and moved back into the low groove to try to use it to get under the #63 of Chad Kemenah and Sam Hafertepe Jr. During the long green flag run, Meyers held strong.

With just 3 laps to go, the Yellow Flag would slow the frenzied action on the track. Meyers would restart 12th, but would pick up three positions when Steve Kinser, Chad Kemenah, and Sam Hafertepe Jr. were involved in an incident in Turn 4 with two laps to go. With a green-white checkered start, Meyers would retain the 9th place, finishing one spot in front of fellow title contender Steve Kinser.

Going into the final races of the season Meyers currently holds a 96 point margin over 4-time champion Donny Schatz. Steve Kinser holds the third position just 100 points out. With just two races remaining, Meyers has to finish 21st or better in both races to take the title home to California.

"Right now, we are not just looking for solid finishes in each race," Meyers commented. "We want to end the season winning both the race and title at Charlotte. We have a combination of 24 titles chasing us in the championship, so we cannot lay up. I believe we have a championship caliber team. I just have to go out there and bring home the title for them. Glen (Beaton), Brian (Bloomfield), and Sam (Mathews) have been doing an excellent job with the car this season. We are in very good position right now and are staying focused on the big picture and the ultimate prize, bringing the 2010 World of Outlaws Championship home to California."

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