Saldana Sweeps Skagit Speedway Opener with Mopar Power
One of the toughest accomplishments on the World of Outlaws circuit is to sweep an entire racing program. Mopar-powered driver Joey Saldana accomplished the difficult feat for the third consecutive season, setting fast time, winning the first heat race and the Crane Cams Dash and then taking the checkered flag in the 30-lap A-Feature event on Friday, Sept. 4, in the opener at Skagit Speedway in Alger, Wash.
Saldana took the lead from Jason Sides on the fourth lap of the 30-lap event and led the remainder of the race to push his season total of laps led to over 400. The native of Brownsburg, Ind., endured four red flags and three yellows over the course of the race en route to the win.
"It's a great accomplishment," said Saldana, driver of the Mopar-powered Kasey Kahne Racing Budweiser Maxim, of his clean sweep. "It's so tough to do that. Like I've said, on any given night we are as good as anybody, it's just putting the whole thing together through the whole season."
The victory was Saldana's 16th of the season aboard the Budweiser Maxim and the 55th of his World of Outlaws career. "Kasey gives me a bonus when we win up here," quipped Saldana of his triumph in the home state of his team owner Kahne, who also scored a win in his Budweiser Dodge in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday, Sept. 6.
Saldana added a runner-up finish in the Skagit finale on Saturday, Sept. 5, and remains in third-place in the World of Outlaws standings.