Californian Jason Meyers charged to victory in the World of Outlaws’ Second Annual Las Vegas Super Sprint Classic at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Friday night.
Meyers, who lined up 18th on the grid for the 30-lap main event, took the win ahead of the Tony Stewart Racing pair of Steve Kinser and Donny Schatz – but not before the trio had been engaged in a titanic fight for the lead.
Meyers took the lead from Schatz on the lap 28 and quickly opened a slight gap over the defending champion. On the same lap Kinser battled Schatz to take over the runner-up spot before closing in on the race leader.
Kinser took the lead aboard the Bass Pro Shops Maxim on the low side of turn three, before Meyers battled back exiting turn four to win a drag race down the front straightway aboard the GLR Investments KPC to score the $10,000 triumph by a mere 0.237 seconds.
“I don’t think I have ever won a race from that far back and I don’t know when the last time an Outlaws race was won from that far back,” said Meyers.
“We went out and were trying to get a Top-Five on a night that had kind of gone backwards on us. The guys gave me one heck of a race car and there was a great track tonight. My hat goes off to my team.”
The win was extra special for Meyers, as his team was mourning the loss of his crew chief D.J. Lindsey’s father-in-law Jim Boyd. The Wisconsin native was a fixture at many World of Outlaws events over the years.
“We had a lot going in here tonight with the loss of Jim Boyd, a great friend to the team. We’re going to miss him dearly and this one is for him. We had a lot riding on tonight. D.J.’s wife asked me to go out and win this one tonight and I told her I would do my best. It means a lot and this one is for the entire Boyd family,” said Meyers.
For Kinser, it was his third podium finish of the season in the same number of starts, and in the process he took over the lead in the World of Outlaws championship standings by two markers over his Tony Stewart Racing team-mate Schatz.
Schatz led 26 laps in the Armor All J&J. It was his third finish of fourth or better this season as he chases his fifth series championship. Heading into the Second Annual Las Vegas Super Sprint Classic, the North Dakota native had won two in-a-row at the half-mile.
Jason Sides was fourth with Tim Kaeding rounding out the top five.
The World of Outlaws return to action on Friday, March 5 at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, California for the first of two nights on the high-banked 1/3-mile.
