Craig Dollansky and Big Game Treestands #7 team are hot right now. Having won two of the last three events, the team took on the 'Old West' of Dodge City, Kansas as Mother Nature did her best to compete with the professional sprint car team as temperatures sizzled into the 100's for the opener of the Boothill Showdown on Friday.
With 26 competitors assembled at the 3/8-mile track coined Dodge City Raceway Park, Dollansky went out early to qualify and turned a lap of 14.038 seconds, 13th fastest. Missing the heat inversion by one spot put the Elk River, Minnesota driver in a bit of a hole, but only momentarily. In the third heat Dollansky would muscle the Aggressive Hydraulics Maxim from the fifth start spot up to 2nd to secure a spot in the dash. Dollansky continued to battle back as he climbed from tenth up to the 6th position by the completion of the 6-lap dash event.
In the 30-lap feature event, the Karavan Trailers #7 started outside row three and used a great start to move up to fourth by just the second lap. By lap 13 the #7 caught up with Jason Sides as the two battled for third. Dollansky continued to keep pace with Sides and would take the position on lap 21 and quickly reel in Jason Meyers until the first caution came on lap 23. Caught between a Big Game sandwich, 'The Crowd Pleaser' disposed of Meyers on the restart to take the runner-up position and track down teammate Sammy Swindell. Following a red flag with just three laps to go, Dollansky lined up alongside Swindell for the double-file restart as the two drivers raced hard into turn one and down the backstretch where the #7 put a slide job on the #1 to assume the lead on lap 28 and never look back as 'The Crowd Pleaser' raced to his 5th victory of the season.
The victory marked the 9th victory combined this year for Big Game Motorsports of the 25 events and the second time the teammates have finished 1-2.
"What a great night," commented Dollansky. "We started out in a hole and didn't get qualified very well and didn't have the car where we wanted but kept working on it and dug ourselves out of a hole in the heat race and got a pretty good starting spot for the feature out of the dash.
Sammy went to the middle in one and two (on the last restart) and I went to the top and got a run on him coming out of two and was able to slide him going into three. Sammy's been running strong, we've been running strong, and it's always a great team effort when you win. DJ, Luke, and Troy are doing a great job and working hard. Both these Big Game Treestands teams are strong and doing a great job and to come home one and two is something we're very proud of with Tod Quiring who is behind both of these teams and a great guy to have behind us and can't thank him enough."
Racing resumes on Saturday at Dodge City Raceway Park for the finale of the Boothill Showdown.
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- Craig Dollansky Racing on Jul 02, 2011
- Article Date: 7/2/2011 by Reid VanEck