Dollansky And Wallace Romp At Volusia

By Joe Jennings
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Updated: February 16, 2012

Barberville, Fla. – Craig Dollansky and Kenny Wallace came away winners in the UNOH DIRTcar Nationals presented by Summit Racing Equipment at Volusia Speedway Park on Thursday evening. Dollansky swept to victory in the 30-lap UNOH All-Star Circuit of Champions event and for the second night in a row, Wallace romped in the 20-lap DIRTcar UMP modified feature.

Starting eighth, Dollansky moved quickly through the field and caught leader Daryn Pittman on the ninth lap to gain the top spot, one that he held en route to the checkered flag.

“Any time you win from the eighth position, you know you have a good car,” the victor said. “We weren’t as good as we wanted to be last night, but we learned some things, coming back tonight with a different plan. To come out on top with the Big Tree Stand car is awesome.”

Pittman finished second but was frustrated with the outcome. “I felt like we had the car to beat all night and got caught up there while leading,” he said. “The track changed and you look like an idiot if you are the leader and change your line, so I stuck with what was working. Once he got by me, I didn’t have anything for him.”

Danny Lasoski, the previous night’s winner, grabbed third place ahead of Greg Hodnett and Brad Sweet.

Joey Saldana, Cody Darrah, Sammy Swindell, Sam Hafertepe Jr. and Steve Kinser rounded out the top-10 finishers.

NASCAR champion Tony Stewart raced his way into the feature by finishing fourth in the B-main. He ended up 13th.

Another NASCAR champion, Jimmie Johnson, came to Volusia as a guest of Kasey Kahne. Johnson trolled the pits throughout the evening and seemed to be enjoying the visit.

In the modified feature event, Wallace soared to the front early-on and won handily. The Missouri native jumped for joy in victory lane, and toasted the fans with his warm remarks.

“This is a special car and a design that Kenny Schrader won 17 races with last year,” the winner said. “I am so excited I just can’t believe it. This is my seventh year on dirt and to come out here with this new car and win against the two RCR cars, Kenny Schrader and Bart Hartman is quite something. The deal about the UNOH Nationals is that these guys are the best dirt-track racers in the world. For me to win is very satisfying and now I want to make the Daytona 500.”

Michael Long finished second, Ty Dillon third and Schrader fourth.