J.D. Byrider

Columbus-area residents have another option for purchasing used cars now that a new J.D. Byrider location is open at 3700 W. Broad St. in Columbus.

J.D. Byrider offers quality used cars and a 24-month/24,000-mile warranty.   This new  22,000-square-foot location continues with that model offering used car sales, financing, a service department and a customer service center.

The new location will be operated by Managing Partner Brent Measles, who formerly managed the J.D. Byrider location on South Hamilton Road and employs 20 people.

“In today’s economy, there are many people in our city who have faced difficulty in obtaining financing for a car,” said Measles. “J.D. Byrider offers reliable cars with a warranty and exceptional customer service to people who may have faced credit challenges in their past. More than ever, our customers need good, reliable transportation, and we hope to provide that to the residents of Columbus.”

Stop by and see us if you are in the area and learn more about J.D. Byrider. When we say “good cars for people that need credit,” it’s not just a slogan.  It’s a promise.

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Some say Tony Stewart is the greatest driver of his generation. No doubt he’s become the most versatile.

Wednesday night at Ohsweken Speedway in Ontario, Tony fought off charging Sammy Swindell to capture the first World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series victory of his career in front of a huge crowd.

Stewart is no stranger to the World of Outlaws. He’s won three championships as a car owner in the series to go with his driving titles in the NASCAR Cup ranks and the Indy Racing League. However, for a native of Indiana who as a kid idolized legendary World of Outlaws racers like Steve Kinser and Doug Wolfgang, winning with the Outlaws fulfills a dream.

“Wow, this is big,” said Stewart, of Rushville, Ind. “I saw Sammy dive below me once and that was one too many. We had such an awesome car tonight and I still just can’t believe we won this thing. I grew up watching a lot of these guys like Kinser and Wolfgang. My career path didn’t take me into a lot of winged sprint car racing but it’s certainly something I enjoy. This just isn’t something that Kasey (Kahne) and I do for the heck of it. We’re passionate about putting together great teams and winning races.”

Stewart had a strong car throughout the night. He was fifth quick in qualifying out of 31 cars, then won his heat race and started the 30-lap A-main from the third position. The front row consisted of young guns Sam Hafertepe Jr. and Brad Sweet, who led early before Stewart found a quicker line around the slick track and passed Sweet on Lap 9. Stewart’s Office Depot/Mobil 1/Coke car ran away from the field quickly until Swindell mounted a charge in the Big Game Treestands machine. Swindell tried to play spoiler but the native of Germantown, Tenn., native didn’t have enough to catch Stewart.

“Tony was really good tonight,” said Swindell, a four-time winner this season. “I had to follow him getting through (turns) 3 and 4 but I was able to get through 1 and 2 better. I got to him a couple of times just to let him know I was there. I just wasn’t able to get past him. Momentum was key here tonight and if someone broke your momentum, it took forever to get it back.”

Chad Kemenah looked strong early, setting the pace in qualifying, but his car developed a mechanical issue before the start of the dash. Mechanical woes also affected Craig Dollansky as his car experienced trouble right after the traditional World of Outlaws four-wide parade lap.

Series points leader Jason Meyers raced his way to a third-place finish and extended his points lead over Donny Schatz to 24 markers. Early front runner Sweet, who continues to fill in for injured Joey Saldana, faded to fourth with three-time Ohsweken Speedway winner Jason Sides rounding out the Top 5.

Stewart and Outlaws car at Las Vegas in March, 2011.

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Grand Opening Event August 5th and Tony Stewart to Visit August 18!

Louisville-area residents have another option for purchasing used cars now that a new J.D. Byrider location is open at 6600 Dixie Highway in Louisville! The 16,500-square-foot location employs 20 people and offers used car sales, financing, a service department and a customer service center.

A grand opening event for the public is planned for August 5th that will include an on-site radio broadcast with WKRD’s “The Afternoon Underdogs” from 3-7 p.m., and on August 17th, representatives from the Metro Chamber of Commerce Greater Louisville Inc. and the mayor’s office will visit the store to celebrate its opening.

As an added bonus, Tony Stewart will visit the dealership on August 18th from 5-7 p.m. to sign autographs for anyone who visits the store (one autograph per person).

The new company-owned dealership in Louisville is operated by Managing Partner Lee Becton, best known for playing football at Notre Dame from 1991-94, earning MVP honors at the Cotton Bowl.

“In today’s economy, there are many people in our city who have faced difficulty in obtaining financing for a car,” said Becton. “J.D. Byrider offers reliable cars with a warranty and exceptional customer service to people who may have faced credit challenges in their past. More than ever, our customers need good, reliable transportation, and we hope to provide that to the residents of Louisville.”

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Knoxville Franchisee, Corporate Office Thank Community for Assistance after May Fire

On May 7, a fire caused major damage to the J.D. Byrider dealership at 8413 Kingston Pike in Knoxville. However, due to significant efforts by Knoxville-area fire personnel, there were no injuries to employees and the building was salvageable.

To thank the community for their assistance during and after the fire, Knoxville franchise owner Vince Keller donated $1,000 to local charitable organization FISH Hospitality Pantries, and J.D. Byrider’s corporate office is matching the gift for a total donation of $2,000.

Each month, FISH Hospitality Pantries – a non-profit, all-volunteer organization – provides food packages to more than 11,000 families in four Knoxville locations and more than 2,000 families from locations in Claiborne County and Knox County.

“The local community has been extremely helpful during the past month as we have worked to get back in business,” said Keller. “Donating to such a worthy organization is the least we could do to thank Knoxville and area fire personnel for the work they put into saving our store.”

“We are grateful no one was seriously injured during the fire and a portion of the dealership was saved,” said J.D. Byrider CEO Steve Wedding. “Knoxville has been a great community for business, and we are proud to give a donation to FISH Hospitality Pantries to thank the community for their assistance.”

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Area franchisee, corporate office giving matching donations.

J.D. Byrider is joining with its Tuscaloosa franchisee to donate to area organizations providing assistance to members of the community affected by the recent tornado outbreak.

Tuscaloosa franchisees Steve and Jeanne Locklear, who own the J.D. Byrider location at 3109 Greensboro Ave., as well as the Locklear Chrysler Jeep Dodge dealership at 550 Skyland Blvd., donated $1,500 to Holy Spirit Catholic Church and $1,000 to The Salvation Army of Tuscaloosa. J.D. Byrider’s corporate office is matching each for a total donation of $5,000.

“Although our business was destroyed, we feel extremely lucky to have survived the disaster,” said Steve Locklear. “By donating to two organizations that are assisting with food, housing, financial support and other daily needs, we hope to help others in our community get a sense of normalcy back to their lives.” In addition to the cash donation, the Locklears gave a courtesy van – the vehicle used to shuttle people to work or home when their car was being serviced – to The Salvation Army.

“We are devastated to see the destruction and loss of life caused by the April 27 tornadoes,” said J.D. Byrider CEO Steve Wedding. “We are proud to stand with the Locklears in the rebuilding of the city of Tuscaloosa while caring for the needs of those who have been affected by this natural disaster.”

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Carmel-based J.D. Byrider, the largest used-car franchisor in the nation, has been acquired by a San Francisco-area private-equity firm, the company announced earlier this month.

Terms of the deal with Altamont Capital Partners were not disclosed.

J.D. Byrider, incorporated as Byrider Franchising Inc., consists of 127 franchised and company-owned dealerships in 30 states. The company has annual corporate revenue of about $175 million and systemwide sales of $740 million. It has 562 corporate employees, including 313 in Indiana.

Byrider’s sales have remained flat during the economic downturn, and Altamont’s purchase gives Byrider access to the cash it needs to grow, said Steven E. Wedding, who has been named CEO as part of the deal.

Wedding, former president of franchising, replaces James. F. DeVoe Jr. as company leader. DeVoe will remain involved as a board director and as a consultant. The company’s headquarters will remain in Carmel, Wedding said.

DeVoe became CEO in 2006 after his father, James F. DeVoe, who founded the company in 1989, died at the age of 62 in a small-plane crash in Melbourne, Fla. The senior DeVoe’s death had no influence on the decision to sell the company, Wedding said. “We needed that capital; that was the missing ingredient,” he said. “It was not a result of Jim DeVoe’s passing.”

Plans call for Byrider this year to open two company-owned dealerships and 17 franchised locations, giving the company a total of 146 stores, 131 of which would be franchise-operated.

Byrider dealerships specialize in selling good cars for people who need credit. The recent economic downturn has created a larger segment of credit-challenged consumers who need reliable transportation, presenting additional opportunities for Byrider, Chief Financial Officer Bill Brunner said. “We believe this is an optimal time [to grow], because there are increasingly more customers who are in this phase of challenged credit,” Brunner said. “Therefore, we feel the prudent way to go is to grow at a moderate pace.”

Byrider began exploring an acquisition in 2008. Plans became serious about 18 months ago. Altamont quickly separated itself from other potential bidders, Wedding said. “When we went out to look for partners, we were looking for a partner who absolutely understood our model,” Wedding said. “And that’s what Altamont is about, investing in management and companies, not come in and try to re-engineer it into another direction.”

Andrea L. DeVoe, who has chaired the company since her husband’s death, said she supports the sale of the company. “We are pleased to be putting the company in the hands of an outstanding management team and new owners who will expand on Jim’s original vision for Byrider and provide career-advancement opportunities for our employees,” she said in a written statement.

Altamont is private-equity firm founded last year by industry veterans from Golden Gate Capital that plans to concentrate on acquisitions between $10 million and $75 million. The Palo Alto-based firm closed its first fund in January with $500 million in capital.

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion and Indiana native, Tony Stewart met, greeted and signed autographs for a few hundred fans at the newest J.D. Byrider dealership in Greenwood, Indiana on Tuesday evening.  The crowd, which included fans of all ages, braved rainy weather conditions to get a chance to have Smoke sign their favorite piece of memorabilia. V.I.P winners of local radio and TV contests also got to enjoy pizza, soft drinks and a few photos with the Columbus, Indiana racing legend.

Also on hand was Northern All Stars dirt late model champ and Franklin, Indiana City Council member, Steve Barnett. Steve is also the winningest driver at the famed Brownstown Speedway in southern Indiana. “It’s always good to get Tony and Steve together”, said Jim England, president of J.D. Byrider Advertising Group. “They have a great dirt track racing history and you can count on some laughs when these two guys start swapping stories. They’re quality people and we’re proud to have had a relationship with them for the past dozen or so years.”

Representatives from the Tony Stewart Foundation, including Tony’s mom, also attended the event to help promote the Foundation’s Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible raffle. Tony will personally present the car to the winner! See our earlier blog.jdbyrider.com post for more details.

WXIN FOX 59 and WRTV6 were also on hand to interview Tony and the event received coverage on local newscasts.

Below are some of the photos from the appearance.  Enjoy!

The J.D. Byrider in Greenwood opened January 25, 1995 and has sold over 8,000 vehicles in the past 16 years. Over that period, the dealership has earned a Sales Satisfaction Rating of 96% and a Service Satisfaction rating of 92%. Those numbers represent a standard that is not only higher than that of the new car industry, but is also higher than the Byrider system-wide average of 95% for Sales and 90% for Service. In our dealership, equipped with 7 service bays, a host of ASE skilled technicians and sales offices that are customer-friendly, we look forward to helping even more people from Greenwood and the surrounding area get the cars and financing they need.

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Chevy Runs Deep, but when it comes to the Chevrolet Camaro, some Chevys run deeper than others.

Such is the case with the new Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible, which one lucky person will receive thanks to the Tony Stewart Foundation. Raffle tickets, priced at only $25 each, are available now only through www.SmokesChevy.com.

Each ticket purchased allows for the chance to win a 2011 Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible, with a presentation by Tony Stewart, the two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion and driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet Impala for Stewart-Haas Racing.

But wait, there’s more. The second and third tickets drawn will be for a 2012 season race package.

The second ticket drawn will be for a VIP race weekend at the NASCAR venue of his or her choice. This package includes two event tickets, autographed memorabilia and an exclusive meet-and-greet with Stewart. The third ticket drawn will be for a VIP race weekend at the famed Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, which includes four event suite tickets and autographed merchandise.

Tickets for the online raffle, conducted by Charity Splits in Joliet, Ill., will be drawn in late October. The Tony Stewart Foundation will use all proceeds to provide monetary grants to organizations that provide programs and services for critically ill or injured children, drivers harmed in motorsports activities and entities dedicated to the protection of various animal species. To date, the Foundation has awarded almost $4 million to assist charitable initiatives for more than 130 organizations throughout the United States.

Visit www.SmokesChevy.com to enter.

To learn more about the Tony Stewart Foundation or to watch a video with Stewart and last year’s raffle winner, please visit www.TonyStewartFoundation.org.

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California has long been the destination for those seeking fortune and fame. This weekend, the Golden State welcomes two of the most decorated racers in short-track history. Tony Stewart Racing’s(TSR) Steve Kinser and Donny Schatz will lead the World of Outlaws (WoO) Sprint Car Series into battle as they embark on a month-long tour of California, beginning with Saturday night’s Mini Gold Cup at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico. The quarter-mile dirt track has been a gold mine over the years for Kinser, who has won 22 WoO races at the track, and Schatz, who was triumphant last September during the annual Gold Cup festivities.

Both drivers are looking to build on their performances in last week’s Las Vegas World of Outlaws Nationals presented by J.D. Byrider.

Kinser has dominated the early portion of the 2011 WoO campaign. He’s raced the TSR No. 11 Bass Pro Shops/J.D. Byrider/Chevy Maxim to victory four times in the first seven A-Features. “The King of the Outlaws” led all 30 laps last Thursday night to claim the finale at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, continuing one of the most successful starts in the 33-year history of the Outlaws. Coincidentally, Kinser’s start to the 1991 season, when he won six of the first seven events, and the 2004 WoO campaign, when he won seven of the first 10 events, each ultimately led to a WoO title.

The 20-time champion began this season by winning the first two events at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla., and then was victorious two weeks later at Pike County Speedway in Magnolia, Miss.

The Bloomington, Ind., native has always been a threat to win an Outlaw race at Silver Dollar, one of California’s most famous dirt tracks. The small layout is notorious for providing some of the best racing annually as the 1,300-pound, 900-plus-horsepower cars battle around the bullring for 40 laps. Three of Kinser’s 22 Silver Dollar Speedway triumphs came in the Outlaws’ first three visits to the track in 1979 and 1980. He earned the first of his 12 Gold Cup Race of Champion crowns in the fall of 1983 and scored his first Mini Gold Cup title in March 1992. Last season, Silver Dollar Speedway was where Kinser feels he let the 2010 WoO championship get away. During the opening-night feature event, he raced into the lead and, one lap later, a right-rear wheel center broke and he crashed out of the event. More trouble followed the next night as he was involved in a late race accident and was scored 19th. Kinser rebounded in the 40-lap finale of the Gold Cup the following night by racing from 18th to finish second. It was his 42nd career top-five finish in 65 starts at the track.

Second has been the best finish for Schatz in the 2011 WoO campaign. The four-time WoO champion and driver of the TSR No. 15 STP/Armor All/Chevy J&J raced from 17th to finish second behind Kinser in the Outlaws’ second event at Volusia on Feb. 12. Last week at Las Vegas, Schatz completed a consistent two nights of action by charging from 12th to third in the 30-lap A-Feature. The finish followed a strong opening night at Las Vegas, which included the Fargo, N.D., racer’s first fast qualifier award of the season, a runner-up finish in the dash and a third-place finish in the A-Feature. In 2009, Schatz had a Kinseresque type of start, winning two races at Volusia and a triumph at Las Vegas, and recent results are indications that the STP team is poised to duplicate its 2010 Chico performance.

Schatz won a thrilling battle over Paul McMahan in the second night of last year’s Gold Cup Race of Champions. The win was his third career victory at the track. His first two came in September 2004, when he led every lap of the preliminary feature and all 40 laps in the Gold Cup Race of Champions event. He has made 30 previous starts at the track and earned five consecutive top-five finishes, including a fifth-place run in last year’s Gold Cup finale.

Through seven of 67 WoO races, Kinser leads the 2011 WoO championship standings with 1,018 points. His four wins and six top-fives have helped him build a 35-point advantage over Joey Saldana in the standings. Schatz, who has three top-five runs, ranks sixth with 925 points, 93 behind Kinser.

For Saturday’s Mini Gold Cup, the pit gates open at 2 p.m. PST, and the grandstands open at 5 p.m. Qualifying is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. For tickets, visit www.silverdollarspeedway.com or call the track at (530) 350-7275.

Race fans unable to attend this weekend’s races can catch all of the action on DIRTVision.com. Fans can listen live as Johnny Gibson, “Voice of the Outlaws,” calls the action as he does at all WoO Sprint Series events on the DIRTVision.com cybercast, as well as on the DIRT Radio Network. Go to www.DIRTVision.com for more information on all the site features, including updated results from each night of racing, as well as a chat room to interact with other race fans.

Steve Kinser, Driver of the No. 11 TSR/Bass Pro Shops/Chevy/J.D. Byrider
Maxim:

The incredible start to 2011 continues for you and the Tony Stewart Racing Bass Pro Shops team. Is this something you think about, or do you just concentrate on the next race?

“We’ve started off the season really well, maybe the best I ever have.
We’ve only had a couple of bad nights, but the other nights have been really good. The Bass Pro Shops guys (crew chief Scott Gerkin, and crewmen Gary DuBois and Mikey Kuemper) have done a great job giving me a fast car every night. It seems like every time we’ve unloaded this year, the car has been on a rail.

“I’ve said it a few times already this year, but those guys working on the car are the real key to why we’ve started off so well. The time they spent working this winter is really paying off. Just look at what happened last week in Las Vegas as an example. We hurt a car the first night and had to bring out a new one for the second night. We went out and set fast time, finished second in the dash and led all 30 laps of the feature. The best thing I can do is keep winning races so they know how much I appreciate all of their hard work.”

Silver Dollar Speedway is one of the premiere tracks in the west. What are your thoughts on racing there heading into this weekend’s Mini Gold Cup?

“Chico is a bit of a bullring, so it will be a challenge. It seems like we are either really good there or not quite so good. I’ve been fortunate to win a lot of races there in my career, but it’s been more than five years (September 2005) since I won a race there. Last year, we had a tough start to the weekend and it probably cost us a shot at being closer to winning the championship. The final night, we really had a good car and, maybe if the race was a few laps longer, we might have gotten (eventual winner) Jason (Meyers). We have another chance this weekend to go out and see if we can get one spot better out there.”

Donny Schatz, Driver of the No. 15 TSR/STP/Armor All/Chevy J&J:

After struggling through the first five nights of the 2011 WoO season, it looks like things turned around in Las Vegas. Would you say the results from Las Vegas are something this team can build on?

“We have high expectations. And it’s no secret we weren’t happy with the way things started this season. The STP team (crew chief Rick Warner and crewmen Steve Swenson and Bob Curtis) worked hard to give me a good racecar in Las Vegas. It was important for us to come out and have some better finishes. Las Vegas has always been a good track for us in the past, and to be able to start the event off by being the fast qualifier was a good start. We moved forward in the dash and got better as the feature went on that first night. That’s what we expect to do every night. The second night, the track was still coming in when we went out to qualify, so we had to come from 12th in the feature. The car was really good, and we worked our way back to the podium. The key now is to continue building on what we learned and keep improving each night.”

This week’s Mini Gold Cup kicks off a five-race run through California. Last year, you returned to victory lane at Silver Dollar Speedway. With that in mind, you have to be excited about getting back to the Golden State.

“We’re always excited to be racing, and happy that we’ll get to run quite a bit in California. When I first started with the Outlaws in 1997, we would spend at least a month racing all around the state. San Jose Speedway, Santa Maria, Hanford, Calistoga and Chico were all tracks we’d race at.

This year, we’re going back to Hanford and Calistoga, so I’m looking forward to that.

“During the second half of last year, we were able to get our short-track program going really well. We made some changes and they really helped us.

In the past, we have been decent in Chico but, last year, we were really good. The first night, we had a problem in our heat race, but every other time we were on the track, we moved forward. We’d certainly like to get our first win of the season this weekend and head to Hanford and Tulare with more momentum. It’s going to be tough. Those California guys are really good on their home turf, so we’ll be in for a battle, that’s for sure.”

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Kinser Collects Fifth Win, Schatz Earns A Pair of Podium Finishes

Winners

Wednesday      Joey Saldana of Kasey Kahne Racing

Thursday         Steve Kinser of Tony Stewart Racing

TSR Results  Wednesday

Donny Schatz (Started 2nd, Finished 3rd)

Steve Kinser (Started 8th, Finished 10th)

Tony Stewart (Started 11th, Finished 24th)

TSR Results Thursday

Steve Kinser (Started 2nd, Finished 1st)

Donny Schatz (Started 12th, Finished 3rd)

Tony Stewart (Started 14th, Finished 10th)

Luck has a way of finding you in Las Vegas. Tony Stewart Racing’s Steve Kinser entered this week’s two-night Las Vegas World of Outlaws (WoO) Nationals presented by J.D. Byrider hoping to continue his incredible start to the 2011 WoO campaign, while his TSR teammate, Donny Schatz, was seeking a change in fortune after struggling in the first five races. The cards turned out in the favor the TSR contingent was aiming for as Kinser raced to victory in Thursday night’s 30-lap A-Feature finale, while Schatz parlayed a strong third-place finish in Wednesday night’s opener with a charge for 12th to third on Thursday night. The wild card of the program was the results of two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Tony Stewart, who jumped in a third TSR entry and raced his way to 10th-place finish in Thursday night’s 30-lap A-Feature finale.

Kinser is off to one his best career starts in WoO competition, winning four of the first seven main events. In his second season driving the TSR No. 11 Bass Pro Shops/J.D. Byrider/ Chevy Maxim, “The King of the Outlaws” is setting a blistering pace. Following Wednesday night’s 10th-place finish, Kinser was determined to be a factor throughout the night on Thursday. He earned his first fast qualifier award of 2011 by turning a lap of 15.119 seconds around the half-mile dirt oval. He finished second in the dash and took advantage of his outside front row starting position in the 30-lap main event by grabbing the lead at the drop of the green. The 20-time WoO champion set a terrific pace in the race, which was only slowed by a pair of late caution flags. In the end, he fought a last lap challenge from Joey Saldana, Wednesday night’s winner, and Schatz, to score his seventh win at the Las Vegas oval and 566th career WoO A-Feature win.

“Any win is a good win, but you always like to be the guy standing here at the end of the night,” admitted Kinser, who added to his point lead with the triumph. “We didn’t have a very good night on Wednesday. We got involved in a couple of crashes and ended up hurting a car, so the Bass Pro Shops crew worked hard all day putting a new one together. It’s a really fast car and this is a great way to thank them. We also wanted to do well for everybody involved with this Tony Stewart Racing team. Tony’s been racing with us and we had some people from J.D. Byrider here. It’s always nice to do well when the people making this all possible are here to enjoy it with you.”

Schatz ventured to Las Vegas looking for a change of luck after scoring only one top-five finish in the season’s first five races. He quickly served notice that the TSR No. 15 STP/Armor All/Chevy J&J was going to be a factor. In Wednesday’s qualifying session, Schatz turned the fastest lap of the night to capture his first fast time award of the season. He would later finish second in the dash and challenged eventual winner Joey Saldana in Wednesday’s 30-lap A-Feature, before eventually finishing third.

Wednesday’s results were building blocks for a strong run on Thursday night for Schatz. An early qualifying slot hindered his chances at a second straight top qualifier award, and he ended up14th overall. The results of qualifying earned Schatz a mid-pack starting position in Thursday’s main event. The four-time WoO champion made one of his patented charges during the first 20 laps of the race. He worked his way up to third and made several bids for second. With three laps to go a caution bunched the field, Schatz restarted third and continued his battle for second with Saldana and Sammy Swindell. On the final restart, he made a final run at Saldana and Kinser, but couldn’t make the low groove work and he followed the duo to the finish line.

“We made some progress and will take a couple top-three runs,” said Schatz.  “I don’t know if we needed the late yellows either night. It seemed like we were closing in on Joey the first night, and tonight I was coming to Steve and Sammy. Maybe the lapped traffic would have played into our favor. It didn’t work out that way, so we’ll take what we got and keep working until we get that first win.”

The mid-week races provided Stewart, who is in town to compete in Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 400, the chance to join his TSR drivers in action with the World of Outlaws for the first time since last July. He was fast behind the wheel of the TSR No. 11 Bass Pro Shops/J.D. Byrider/ Chevy Maxim topping the speed charts in several practice sessions. In Wednesday’s program, he timed in sixth overall, but only completed four laps in the main event after a mechanical problem forced him to end his race prematurely. The following night, he went out extremely early and didn’t quite make the lap he hoped to and ended up 16th fastest. A fifth-place finish in the first heat earned the Columbus, Ind., native the 16th-starting spot in Thursday’s finale. He ran a smooth race, working his way forward to finish 10th.

The results of the Las Vegas World of Outlaws Nationals presented by J.D. Byrider improved Kinser’s lead in the 2011 WoO championship standings. He has 1018 points and leads Saldana by 35 markers. Schatz remains sixth in the standings and trails Kinser by 93 points. The TSR teams will return to action on Saturday, March 12 at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif., for the Mini Gold Cup Race of Champions.

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