Meyers Rolls Into Charlotte Riding Momentum Wave
With the Charlotte area being one of the epicenters of the racing world over the Memorial Day Weekend, another huge crowd is expected on Friday night at the Dirt Track, including many fans, competitors, sponsors and industry insiders that will come over from the NASCAR events across the street at the big track.
Courtesy: WoO Sprint Car Media Relations
Concord, NC-May 27, 2010- Since winning the opener of the World Finals in 2007 at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, Jason Meyers has been on a roll at the state-of-the-art four-tenths-mile, racking up eight consecutive finishes of eighth or better. He has won twice during that span including last season during the World Finals and has six Top-Five performances with five of those being podium finishes.
In his career at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, Meyers has 11 Top-10 finishes in 14 starts and an average finish of 7.1. He looks to build on that this weekend as the World of Outlaws make their first visit of the season to Charlotte for the Circle K Nos Energy Outlaw Showdown on Friday, May 28, which will be broadcast live in SPEED beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern. The race this weekend will be the series only tune-up for the Fourth Annual World Final which will wrap up the 2010 campaign November 4-6.
"We've had a good car there the last couple of years and have learned the race track pretty well," noted Meyers. "It takes a lot of horsepower there and it's a tricky place to get the car to roll around. We're kind of coming into our own over there."
With the Charlotte area being one of the epicenters of the racing world over the Memorial Day Weekend, another huge crowd is expected on Friday night at the Dirt Track, including many fans, competitors, sponsors and industry insiders that will come over from the NASCAR events across the street at the big track. Meyers is looking forward to showcasing his team this weekend at Charlotte, which has been one of the most consistent this season on the World of Outlaws tour as they chase their first title.
"It's an important race for all of us," shared the California native, who pilots the GLR Investments KPC. "There are a lot of people around and eyes in the pit area and it's very important place to try and run well."
The Circle K Nos Energy Outlaw Showdown will be broadcast live on SPEED for the third consecutive year, with Bobby Gerould on the call, Hall of Famer Brad Doty offering expert analysis, while Shane Andrews and Steve Post will be reporting from the pit area. Meyers finished second in the race with the cameras rolling in 2008 and was sixth last year and has won in the past in televised events.
"The TV is a great thing for our sport and a great thing for our sponsors and all of the people on this race car, that's what they are in this for is to get the television time," he stated. "It's a very important weekend to get our car up front and make sure we get DDNi, Elite Landscaping, GLR, MediaTile and all of our partners on camera where they deserve to be."
While he came from 18th to win earlier this season at Las Vegas, Meyers points out that track position often comes into play at Charlotte to be in contention for a win. He won from the pole last year in the opener of the World Finals and came from eighth to finish third in the finale. He also started on the pole when he won at the track in 2007. He charged from 11th to second in the spring race at the track in 2008
"Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't," explained the veteran driver, when asked if starting up front at Charlotte is important. "I think if you are going to win the race, starting in the first three rows is important, because it's just so fast and we don't get a lot of cautions there typically. If you start deep in the field you usually have a tough time getting to the front. It is a place though where you can come up through the field, but if you are going to win I think you need to be in the first three or four rows."
Meyers is looking forward to the next few weeks when the World of Outlaws schedule really begins to pick up. Following the two races this weekend, the series will race three times next week and a total of 10 times in June and 15 times in July. After coming up just 19 points short of winning a title last season, the veteran knows that every night of racing is important from drop of the green flag in hot laps at the beginning of the night until the final checkered flag flies on the main event at the end of the night.
"This absolutely is the time we enjoy most," Meyers said. "The weekend racing gets old. It's still just enough that it messes up your life and keeps it from being normal, but it's a time when you still are really not that busy. We really enjoy the summer months when things get rolling and we are racing three and four times a week. That's what we all kind of grew up doing and what we enjoy doing."
Meyers enters this weekend carrying a two-race win streak, which is the third two-race win streak he has had this season. He is currently second in points, just 14 markers behind Joey Saldana as he chases his first World of Outlaws title. The native of Clovis, California leads the series with six A-Feature wins, recently surpassing becoming just the 12th driver in series history to surpass the 40-win plateau.
Meyers has racked up 16 Top-10 finishes in the first 19 races of the year, with 11 of those being Top-Five performances. He has set quick time twice this season in time trials which is second best on the series and has been among the Top-Five in time trials on seven occasions to earn bonus points in the championship standings. In addition, he is second in laps led on the year in feature events, as he and his team tweak and fine tune on their program.
"You have to try things every night and I don't think there is such a thing as sitting still, because if you are sitting still you are going backwards," he explained. "We're trying things and we have a great package and are building on that now to get ready for the summer."
Coverage of the Circle K Nos Energy Outlaw Showdown live on SPEED begins Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern with Bobby Gerould and Brad Doty on the call with Shane Andrews and Steve Post reporting from the pit area.
