Danny Jackson on the Charge Headed to 'The Beach'
Sauble Speedway to Host ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series Saturday Night, June 27
SAUBLE BEACH ON (6-25-09) - Just like jelly, Danny Jackson's on a role. On the heels of back-to-back victories at Flat Rock Speedway and Mansfield Motorsports Park, the Loveland, Ohio driver is clearly putting a dent on Paul Hahn's stat book.
Next stop: 'the Beach' - Sauble Beach, Ontario to be specific where miles and miles of some of the most pristine white sandy beaches in Canada await summer vacationers from everywhere while the ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series prepares to rumble on the nearby Sauble Speedway quarter-mile oval. The fourth annual Rotella 100 is ready for take-off this Saturday night, June 27.
It's also where Hahn, the defending series champion and current point leader reigns supreme. In three previous starts, Hahn is three-for-three in the win column at Sauble. He's most certainly also eager to establish himself as the all-time ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series winner. Currently, three-time series champion Chad Guinn holds the all-time win mark with 24 victories. Hahn, a two-time series champion, is just one win away with 23. Hahn is also just 115 laps shy of Guinn's all-time lap-leader mark of 1403.
Sauble certainly seems like the perfect venue for Hahn to etch away at those aforementioned milestone marks. There is, however, one major-league obstacle Hahn's never had to deal with in the past at Sauble...........Jackson.
"I'm optimistic about going to a new racetrack," said Jackson, in regards to making his first Sauble appearance.
"I like going to new racetracks," added Jackson, who won at Mansfield last Saturday night.
Jackson, who DNFed with gear failure in the season opener at Toledo, also won at Flat Rock back in May. He somehow, someway managed to hold back one-hundred laps of Hahn to earn the Flat Rock win. Hahn had been nearly unbeatable on his hometown Flat Rock track, much the way he's been at Sauble over the years.
"That's what I understand," Jackson said. "I've heard Paul's been unbeatable at Sauble. But I also heard he was unbeatable at Flat Rock too.
"Actually, I was surprised I held him off the whole time (at Flat Rock). We were way too loose, but we hung in there and got the job done."
Jackson also got the job done last week at Mansfield where he charged from the 10th starting position into the lead on lap 22, and then held off veteran Steve Christman to earn his fifth series victory. But unlike Sauble, Mansfield was a track that Jackson had been to before.
"I like Mansfield. I ran quite a few Pro Cup and late models races there. But I never had anything there that drove like this truck did. We made one adjustment all night and had a rocket ship. We've taken everything we learned with the Pro Cup series and late models and put it toward this truck."
Jackson's DNF in the Toledo opener relegated him to a 15th place finish there while Hahn went on to lead all 100 laps. Headed to Sauble for the fourth race of the season, Hahn leads by 50 points over Jackson, who trails in second.
"We'll just keep chipping away at the points. If I can keep this pace up, we'll be okay. But he's (Hahn) gunna have to slip and we'll have to be there to capitalize."
Trouble is, if you're holding out for Hahn (right) to slip, you may be on a long waiting list. Hahn, in 92 career series starts, has earned 49 top-5 finishes and 66 top-10s, not to mention the championships, the victories and the laps-led.
"You can't take anything away from Paul; he's earned everything he's got. He'll be tough at Sauble; we already know that. Paul unloads and he's fast right off the trailer everywhere. He usually makes a few laps in practice and parks it. We'll need all the practice we can get at Sauble.
"I've heard it's a mini-Martinsville, so brakes are going to be important. We just put new brake ducts on the truck, new brake pads. I'm okay as far as the track being flat. I've spent a lot of time on flat tracks like that.
"I've also heard the fans there are something to be talked about. That's nice to get that kind of support; we're all really looking forward to going.
"I think I can win. Will we be good enough to win?; I don't know. But do I think we can win? I think I can win."
In three previous ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series events at Sauble Speedway, Hahn has won all three. Hahn led 83 of 100 laps in last year's race; however, Nick Gullatta led most of the way in 2007 before giving up the top-spot less than three laps from the finish. Gullatta also owns the one-lap Sauble track record with a time of 15.075 seconds.
Practice for the Rotella 100 ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series race is scheduled from 4:00-4:45 PM ET Saturday, June 27 followed by pole award qualifying at 6:00. The Rotella 100 is scheduled to start at 7:00.
The ARCA Lincoln Welders Truck Series, following the Sauble Speedway event, heads next to Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa on Saturday, July 11 for an ARCA double-header alongside the ARCA RE/MAX Series Prairie Meadows 200.
ARCA: 734-847-6726
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