Pittman wins Kings Royal tuneup

ROSSBURG - Daryn Pittman, driving for car owner Kasey Kahne, jumped out to the lead at the drop of the green flag and never looked back in dominating Friday night's 30-lap Knight Before The Kings Royal World of Outlaw Craftsman Sprint Car Series main event at Eldora Speedway.

"Hats off to this team. This was a crew chief's race track tonight," Pittman said of the unusually slick surface. "We smoked the fence in turn four around lap five and I was just waiting for someone to drive by."

It never happened. Seven-time and defending World of Outlaw champion Donny Schatz closed to within 10 car lengths during the midway point of the race but could never get any closer.

Pittman, the 2008 Kings Royal winner, pulled away as the duo raced through the lapped cars and eventually won by over six seconds for his fourth career World of Outlaw win at the track.

"I don't think we have ever ran around here this slow," Pittman said. "The track was really slick and it was really technical. I felt like I wasn't setting a very good pace and was really expecting someone to pull up beside at any point."

Schatz settled for second for the second consecutive night but wasn't happy with a decision he made on the set-up of the car.

"It was an OK run," Schatz said. "The nine car (Pittman) was awfully good and we didn't have near the speed he did. I couldn't even get around the lapped cars and he was gone. It was my fault we kept making gains on the car and we tried something really off the wall on the setup and it was the wrong thing to do. It was totally my call so I apologize to my guys for that. Hopefully we will be a little better tomorrow."

Rico Abreu worked his way forward from ninth to finish third for the second night in row.

"Consistent is the best way to describe our run," Abreu said. "This is a really good run for our team. I was able to move my wing back before the guys in front of us and that really helped us. I found a little spot in turn four where I could slide up and find a little moisture and that really helped me passed some cars."

Kraig Kinser used the bottom groove to charge from 11th to finish fourth and Thursday's winner David Gravel drove a consistent race to round out the top five.

Joey Saldana, Dale Blaney, defending Kings Royal winner Shane Stewart, Chad Kemenah and Tim Shaffer completed the top 10.

Heat races were won by Saldana, Schatz, Blaney, Kinser, Pittman and James McFadden. Tasker Phillips won the D-main. Brent Marks won the C-main and Logan Schuchart won the B-main. Saldana and Pittman won the two dash events and started the main event from the front row.

Kings Royal weekend wraps up tonight with the 33rd annual $50,000 to-win main event.

"It was awesome to win this thing back in (2008) and I would really love to win it again," Pittman said. "The key will be to keep up with the track and make the right changes to the car. The track will probably be a lot different and the guys that can make the right changes to their cars are going to be the ones to beat. What you did tonight or last night will have no bearing on tomorrow night."