 |
 |
“If we do what we’ve been doing, and compete as hard as we can, and we all stay focused, we will do it. We know that.”
With the WoO schedule so travel intensive, reliability is a priceless commodity. Failures far from home tend to snowball; breakages lead desperate teams to improvise patched-together quick fixes, and the end result is too often what racers call a DNF, or inclusion in the nightly “did not finish” listing.
It’s a worry Saldana does not take lightly, although his Mopar power plants, assembled by Speedway Engines in Indianapolis, have eased his burden. “Our engine program, I would say, is the best one out there, bar none,” Joey declares. “From an engine reliability standpoint, we had no DNFs last year with our Mopar, not one. Now, in the past, I had seasons with the World of Outlaws when I blew up 32 engines. Obviously, I couldn’t ask for a better engine program.”
SALDANA STATS:
• Finished second in the final 2007 World of Outlaws Sprint Series points standings.
•
Earned 12 World of Outlaws Sprint wins in 2007, the second-highest of the series
• Scored a win at one of sprint car racing’s most hallowed events in September 2007 at the “Gold Cup Race of Champions,” held at California’s Chico Raceway
• Led the WoO Sprint Series with 11 Fast Time awards in 2007
• Was one of only three drivers to lead 300 laps of feature racing competition during the 2007 World of Outlaws Sprint season
SERIES:
The World of Outlaws Sprint Series pits the world’s fastest dirt-track cars together in a February-to-November, coast-to-coast tour of the nation’s premier short tracks. Featuring lightweight, winged Sprinters powered by fuel-injected, 410 cid engines, the 2008 WoO season kicks off at the “Alltel DIRTcar Nationals,” a three-night stop at Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park, scheduled for Feb. 8–10. For more info on the World of Outlaws Sprint Series, visit http://www.worldofoutlaws.com/sprint