Daryn Pittman Has More Momentum Than Any Outlaw
Daryn Pittman Has More Momentum Than Any Outlaw
With three wins to his credit since the beginning of August, Daryn Pittman became the winningest World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series in that span.
Daryn Pittman found his way to the lead on lap 35 of 40 and held it for the final five circuits on the second of two nights for the World of Outlaws at Skagit Speedway in Alger, Washington, on Saturday. It was the No. 9's second win in a week. That also meant this weekend's winners perfectly mirrored last week's, with Shane Stewart winning Friday and Pittman finding victory Saturday each time.
It's taken a while for Pittman to regain his past magic in his race car. His first win came in early August, which was unexpectedly late for the 2014 season champion. These two recent wins bring his season total to three, making him the winningest driver since the beginning of August. Stewart and Donny Schatz both have two wins in the same time span.
"I'm not sure I've ever had more fun driving this race car," Pittman said from Victory Lane. "It's fast every time it hits the track."
The "Ragin Cajun" Jason Johnson was dominant in the 34 laps prior after starting on the pole. With well-spaced cautions -- including an open red on lap 15 -- and strong restarts, Johnson was able to keep the rest of the field at bay. Meanwhile, Pittman struggled on restarts but was fastest on long green flag runs.
"Man, I can't say enough about this Great Clips team. I messed up early and kept losing spots on those restarts," Pittman said.
On lap 35, Johnson got held up in traffic on the backstretch. Pittman saw it as his opportunity, and he used a slingshot move to get around Johnson .
Once Johnson lost the lead he immediately had to deal with more challenges. David Gravel immediately began knocking on his door. Gravel took second from Johnson on lap 38.
Gravel's race ended better than it started with the driver struggling for the first six trips around the 3/10th-mile track.
"We were able to really charge at the end," Gravel said. "First through sixth was a hell of a battle and a lot of fun as a race car driver. Just happy to end the race on a good note."
Johnson fell one more position as Sweet stole the final spot on the podium.
Schatz rounded out the top five and claimed his 50th top five finish.
Top 10 Finishers
1. Daryn Pittman
2. David Gravel
3. Brad Sweet
4. Jason Johnson
5. Donny Schatz
6. Shane Stewart
7. Sheldon Haudenschild
8. Jason Sides
9. Paul McMahan
10. Logan Schuchart
It's taken a while for Pittman to regain his past magic in his race car. His first win came in early August, which was unexpectedly late for the 2014 season champion. These two recent wins bring his season total to three, making him the winningest driver since the beginning of August. Stewart and Donny Schatz both have two wins in the same time span.
"I'm not sure I've ever had more fun driving this race car," Pittman said from Victory Lane. "It's fast every time it hits the track."
The "Ragin Cajun" Jason Johnson was dominant in the 34 laps prior after starting on the pole. With well-spaced cautions -- including an open red on lap 15 -- and strong restarts, Johnson was able to keep the rest of the field at bay. Meanwhile, Pittman struggled on restarts but was fastest on long green flag runs.
"Man, I can't say enough about this Great Clips team. I messed up early and kept losing spots on those restarts," Pittman said.
On lap 35, Johnson got held up in traffic on the backstretch. Pittman saw it as his opportunity, and he used a slingshot move to get around Johnson .
Once Johnson lost the lead he immediately had to deal with more challenges. David Gravel immediately began knocking on his door. Gravel took second from Johnson on lap 38.
Gravel's race ended better than it started with the driver struggling for the first six trips around the 3/10th-mile track.
"We were able to really charge at the end," Gravel said. "First through sixth was a hell of a battle and a lot of fun as a race car driver. Just happy to end the race on a good note."
Johnson fell one more position as Sweet stole the final spot on the podium.
Schatz rounded out the top five and claimed his 50th top five finish.
Top 10 Finishers
1. Daryn Pittman
2. David Gravel
3. Brad Sweet
4. Jason Johnson
5. Donny Schatz
6. Shane Stewart
7. Sheldon Haudenschild
8. Jason Sides
9. Paul McMahan
10. Logan Schuchart