CONCORD, N.C. – When the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series history books were set straight at the start of this season, one driver was pushed past a milestone threshold.
Saturday night at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, Joey Saldana was retroactively honored for that milestone and finally got to celebrate his 100th Outlaw victory at the same track it happened at three years earlier.
Saldana was presented a 100-win commemorative poster by World of Outlaws CEO Brian Carter during opening ceremonies for the World of Outlaws World Finals presented by Can-Am on Saturday evening. The ceremony was held as a result of the revision of the series’ win list that took place last offseason.
Prior to the revision of records, Saldana was sitting on 99 Outlaw victories, but had previously scored six preliminary-night wins that were never officially tallied in the record books because they came on the first night of a two-day show at the same racing facility.
Now, those wins are included in Saldana’s career total of 105, which ranks seventh all-time.
“Man, this is hard to put into words,” said Saldana when presented with his ‘100 wins’ poster. “I’ve always been trying to be a part of the World of Outlaws, and luckily I was blessed to be a part of it for 18 years. What I learned during that time is that you’re always chasing Donny Schatz or Steve Kinser, and when that happens, often times a lot of things get overlooked.
“To me, winning 100 races is huge,” Saldana added. “My idol was always Doug Wolfgang; I wanted to be like him from the time I was a little kid. To hit the century mark … he was one of the few guys who did that and to have joined him on that list is super special and something that means a lot to me. I’m honored to be here and, considering that I haven’t even been a part of the Outlaws tour for two years, it means a lot.
“I’m proud of what I’ve already accomplished and hope I can add a few more to that number.”
Saldana’s milestone 100th win came at Charlotte during the finale to the 2015 World Finals. He started from the pole that Saturday night and led all 30 laps en route to victory over Shane Stewart.
“At the time, Dan Motter was done after that race,” Saldana recalled. “He committed to me for three years with the 71m car and we did that. Whenever you can win the last race of the season with the World of Outlaws is big – I had done it before with KKR – and it’s just a boon going into the offseason.
“Knowing that was Motter’s last race, my last race with him and to go out how we did by beating Shane Stewart and Donny Schatz to win the thing … it’s pretty special that it was my 100th win, but it was just a very big night to win that particular race at all with how things turned out.”
Carter called it “a point of pride” to be able to recognize Saldana during Saturday’s proceedings.
“I remember Joey from a long time ago; my kids actually took to him in the Volcano Joe’s car,” said Carter. “That car was a big part of his history. We’re proud to have set the history books straight this year and make sure that every driver who won against a full field was recognized as being a World of Outlaws winner. It took a lot of work from Johnny (Gibson, tour announcer), Anthony (Corini, WoO sprint car PR) and our whole team to go back and set the record straight.
“It’s phenomenal to be here with Joey, and even if it’s a few years late, we hope he’ll celebrate that 100th victory proudly with his family here at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.”
