Ryan Smith Scores a Port Royal Win for the Posse

The Pennsylvania Posse claimed victory over the Outlaws Saturday night at Port Royal Speedway as Kunkletown, Pa.-native Ryan Smith scored his first career World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series victory.

After an intense battle with series points leader Donny Schatz that lasted through the second half of the feature, Smith, 26, rolled his car into victory lane to roaring applause from the crowd and chants of 'Posse! Posse! Posse!'

"Yeah, I don't know what to say. We just beat the Outlaws!" said Smith, the 23rd different winner and sixth different first-time winner this season. "It's a team effort. To stand here when the Outlaws are here makes it that much better."

Smith started the feature, the first in a decade for the series at the track, in fourth and quickly took over the third spot from Schatz. After a lap-two caution and restart, Smith battled past Kerry Madsen, who led the first two laps, and set his sights on fellow Posse, Lucas Wolfe. Smith finally caught Wolfe on lap 16. The two drivers were side-by-side down the backstretch, into turns three and four and then onto the front stretch. As they dove into turn one, Smith made his move.

"I knew I had to get him quick," Smith said. "And I got to him there, the first time I got to him and I gave him a slide job."

Smith completed the pass as the two drivers entered onto the backstretch.

As Smith worked to build a lead in his No. 94 The Warko Group car through lapped traffic, Schatz started catching the young driver.

"I felt like I was fading," Smith said. "That win, I could see it, I could taste it and I felt like I was slowing down - and the track got slower in lapped traffic.

Schatz made one last run on Smith with two to go but it was not enough.

"I was watching the flag man there. Where's five to go? Where's five to go? And I didn't see it," Smith said. "Finally saw two to go and was looking for the mirror, waiting for somebody and we brought her home."

Schatz finished second while Daryn Pittman, Kerry Madsen and Cody Darrah rounded out the top-five.

Schatz, who cinched the points for the 2014 World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series championship Saturday night (with a trip to Charlotte for the World Finals, Schatz will be able to claim the title - his sixth career series championship) credited Smith and his team.

"I wish I could have had a chance to make a few more adjustments to the car," said Schatz, who won the last time the series was at the track in 2004. "The guys did a phenomenal job but (Smith) was a little bit better than we were. I got to him and he kept slipping off the bottom of one and two and I thought I'd be able to get by him there. We got in lapped traffic and I just caught one car wrong. I lost my run… I did everything I could and tonight, it wasn't good enough."

Wolfe, who took the qualifying quick time Saturday night, started on the feature pole after winning the dash. Kerry Madsen started on his outside. Madsen took over the lead on the start, holding off Wolfe through the first two laps. When the first and only caution flag of the night flew with two complete, Wolfe got the better restart and took over the lead - which he would hold until lap 17.

As Wolfe and Madsen faded back and the battle for the lead heated up between Smith and Schatz, Pittman was working his way through the field. After starting eighth, he had worked his way into the top-five by lap 20. In the closing laps he got around Madsen and then Wolfe on the bottom.

Pittman, who, unlike his fellow Outlaw competitors, has quite a bit of experience at Port Royal, said the track was in good condition Saturday night.

"I'll tell you what, I had a lot of fun, and I'll be honest, I don't typically have a lot of fun when I come here," said Pittman, the driver of the No. 9 Great Clips car. "This is a tough track for me and I haven't had a lot of success. I raced here a lot over the last four years and just kind of always struggled. That was a really fun A main, we had a really good car and I just could move around wherever."

Larson Marks Racing driver Shane Stewart was the KSE Hard Charger of the night after advancing eight positions in the feature in eighth.

The World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series returns to action and closes out the 2014 season on Nov. 6, 7 and 8 at the World Finals at the Dirt Track at Charlotte.

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