Jason Sides has raced at Little Rock's I-30 Speedway only a few times over the past couple of decades, but as of Tuesday night, he's calling it home.
Sides, who lives in the Memphis suburb of Bartlett, Tenn., led all 40 laps to take an upset victory in the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series event before a capacity crowd at I-30 Speedway.
• Tuesday night’s feature race results from the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series event at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, with finishing position, driver, hometown, starting position in parentheses, laps completed and earnings:
Jason Sides, Bartlett, Tenn. (1), 40, $10,000
David Gravel, Watertown, Conn. (4), 40, $5,500
Daryn Pittman, Owasso, Okla. (3), 40, $3,200
Donny Schatz, Fargo, N.D. (7), 40, $2,800
Brad Sweet, Grass Valley, Calif. (5), 40, $2,500
Brady Bacon, Broken Arrow, Okla. (1), 40, $2,300
Kerry Madsen, Australia (14), 40, $2,200
Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Ind. (9), 20, $2,100
Ian Madsen, Australia (8), 40, $2,050
Shane Stewart, Bixby, Okla. (16), 40, $2,000
Paul McMahan, Nashville, Tenn. (11), 40, $1,500
Bryan Clausen, Noblesville, Ind. (19), 40, $1,200
Carsen Macedo, Lemoore, Calif. (22), 40, $1,100
Greg Wilson, Benton Ridge, Ohio (13), 40, $1,050
Hunter Schuerenberg, Sikeston, Mo. (12), 40, $1,000
Sammy Swindell, Germantown, Tenn. (6), 40, $900
Danny Smith, Chillicothe, Ohio (17), 39, $800
Brandon Hanks, Burlison, Tenn. (20), 39, $800
Aaron Reutzel, Clute, Texas (10), 29), $800
Sam Hafertepe Jr., Sunnyvale, Texas (21), 16, $800
Jason Johnson, Eunice, La. (24), 14, $800
Wayne Johnson, Knoxville, Iowa (18), 14, $800
Joe B. Miller, Millersville, Mo. (15), 10, $800
Jacob Allen, Indianapolis (23), 9, $800
Lap leaders — Sides 1-40. Yellow flags — 5. Red flags — 2.
Top qualifier — Swindell, 11.835 seconds (76.046 mph). Heat winners — Swindell, Gravel, Pittman, Bacon. Dash winner — Bacon. B-Main winner — Clauson.
"Pevely is probably the closest track that we visit regularly," said Sides, referring to Federated Auto Parts Raceway at Pevely, Mo., " but this is our home track now. I love this place."
After taking the checkered flag and clearing post-race inspection, Sides flung his sprinter into the infield, creating a huge dust cloud with several donuts. Afterward in victory lane, he was mobbed by family, friends and fans, both from Little Rock and others who made the trip from Memphis.
"Take all the pictures you want," he said, as fan after fan asked to pose with him in victory lane. "I don't get to do this very often."
Sides, 43, who is in his 13th season as a touring Outlaws regular, earned his 15th career victory in the series, whose schedule typically includes nearly 100 races per year.
But he rarely races at I-30, which was hosting its first Outlaws event since April 1994. He has visited the track off and on in the fall for the annual Short Track Nationals, winning in 2001, but that's been it.
"I ran quite a few races here way back in the day, like 20 years ago," said Sides, who was one of only a handful of drivers at the event who were alive when I-30 hosted its most recent Outlaws event in 1994. "We had a couple wins here on weekly shows, but no ASCS races or anything like that other than the one Short Track Nationals."
Sides started on the outside of the front row and raced past polesitter Brady Bacon of Broken Arrow, Okla., for the lead at the green flag. Sides was able to maintain a healthy advantage throughout the race, despite having to survive restarts after five cautions and two red-flag periods.
His most serious threat came from David Gravel of Watertown, Conn., in the closing laps. Gravel was in fourth place on the race's final restart with 11 laps remaining. He charged past Bacon and Daryn Pittman of Owasso, Okla., into second place and closed to within a car length of Sides with six laps left.
With Sides sticking to a groove near the bottom of the track, Gravel was slamming the cushion on the top. But just as Gravel appeared set to pass Sides as he entered lapped traffic, the upper groove deteriorated just enough to slow the charge.
"I got free, so I slipped a tire and slid through the cushion," said Gravel, who held on for second place. "Obviously, I was giving it my all and overdrove a couple corners, but I was just trying to gain anything I could and came up a little short."
Sides said in the closing laps, he felt like a sitting duck as other drivers behind him were able to test multiple grooves.
"You feel just like that, because the top might be coming back in and the bottom might be going away, but you don't know it," said Sides, who had not led a lap in the first 19 Outlaws features of the season. "I felt good on the bottom, and I never ventured off that. I thought about it a couple times. It [the top groove] looked good, but I wasn't sure, and when you're not sure, you stay where you're running."
Pittman took third, just ahead of Donny Schatz of Fargo, N.D., the seven-time and defending Outlaws champion. Brad Sweet of Grass Valley, Calif., the 2010 Short Track Nationals winner, was fifth. Bacon was sixth and Australian Kerry Madsen was seventh. Rounding out the top 10 were Joey Saldana of Brownsburg, Ind., Ian Madsen of Australia and Shane Stewart of Bixby, Okla.
Sammy Swindell of Germantown, Tenn., a three-time series champion who won previous Outlaws events at I-30 in 1992 and twice in 1981, opened the event by leading time trials with a lap of 11.835 seconds at an average speed of 76.046 mph.
Swindell, 60, then won his heat and appeared headed to a dominant night until he blew his engine on the second lap of the polesitter's dash. The engine was replaced in time for the main event, and Swindell was running in the top five. But on the 17th lap, he jumped the cushion in turn one and flipped his sprinter. The damage was minimal, and he was able to continue after repairs were made during the red-flag period, finishing 16th.
Jason Johnson of Eunice, La., also flipped wildly in turn three early in the main event. Clyde Knipp of California, Mo., also rolled his car in the B-Main. Neither driver was injured.
Sports on 04/28/2016