Tony Stewart Racing Sharon, Eldora preview
Tony Stewart Racing's (TSR) Paul McMahan is geared up for a return to Ohio this weekend for World of Outlaws (WoO) Sprint Series action. Friday night, McMahan and company will make their first appearance at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio, since 2005. Saturday, the WoO Sprint Series will make its second appearance of the season at Tony Stewart's Eldora Speedway.
McMahan's last appearance at Sharon Speedway on June 3, 2005, saw him grab a second-place finish at the 3/8-mile oval. Eldora Speedway's half-mile oval was also kind to McMahan last season, as on June 3, 2006, he earned a 10th place A-main finish.
In 25 races this season, McMahan has earned three fast time awards, six top-five finishes and 12 top-10s in WoO Sprint Series competition. He is currently ranked eighth in the series standings with 3,305 points. He trails leader Donny Schatz by 406 markers.
Gates open to the public at Sharon Speedway Friday at 4 p.m. EDT. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Eldora, gates will open at 3 p.m. EDT. Racing will begin at 7:30 p.m.
TSR launched its official Web site earlier this week. For the latest news and information regarding TSR's WoO Sprint Series and USAC Racing teams, log on to www.tonystewartracing.com.
Race fans can listen to all the action from this weekend on the DIRTVision.com cybercast, as well as on the DIRT Radio Network. Visit www.DIRTVision.com for more information on all the features, including updated results from each night of racing, as well as a chat room to interact with other fans listening to the action.
The WoO Sprint Series also returns to television this year with the series' second broadcast on SPEED set for Sunday at 1 p.m. EDT. A total of 20 races will be televised either on SPEED or ESPN2, including the World of Outlaws SuperClean Summer of Money Series. ESPN2 will broadcast eight races from June 17 through August 5. All shows on ESPN2 begin at 12:30 p.m. EDT. For a complete television schedule, or more information regarding the WoO Sprint Series, log on to www.worldofoutlaws.com.
Quotes from Paul McMahan, driver of the No. 20 TSR/Bass Pro Shops/Eagle:
You've found success at Sharon Speedway in past years. What makes the track unique?
"Sharon Speedway has always been an interesting track to race on. The first time I raced there, it was a half-mile track. When the Blaney family bought it a few years ago, they reconfigured it to a racy 3/8-mile. When it was reconfigured, it really made the jump to providing better racing for both the fans and the drivers. It's super wide. You can always count on being able to run three-wide at Sharon. Sometimes it will build a cushion that you can run right up against, or actually run on top of. It's just a neat race track. It's big enough to show the fans the speed that winged cars carry, but it's small enough to produce some really close, exciting racing."
Are you looking forward to returning to Eldora Speedway this weekend?
"Anytime you know you're going to Eldora Speedway you get excited. You always look forward to racing there. The first race there this season went pretty well for us and we're ready to get back on the track on Saturday. We've been told that the last winged sprint car race there saw the cars back on the fence and that's what Eldora's all about -- being on the fence. We're taking a new car to Eldora this weekend and we think it will be extremely fast. After our run at The Dirt Track @ Lowe's Motor Speedway last weekend, we're ready to put Bass Pro Shops and Chevrolet in the winner's circle."
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