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DANE RUDOLPH AND THE OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE CAR RECORD 6TH PLACE IN MAJOR NASCAR LATE MODEL RACE
New South Wales driver, Dane Rudolph, has finished 6th in NASCAR’s Mason Dixon 500 at Virginia’s South Boston Speedway.. 
South Boston, Virginia. USA. 17/10/09:
Following on from his outstanding 15th at the legendary Martinsville Speedway two weeks earlier, Dane and his Outback Steakhouse sponsored car were in form for the 250 lap Mason Dixon 500. 44 cars tried to qualify for the 36 car grid, including all the usual suspects that make up the cream of NASCAR’s Whelen All American Series.
At a pre-event test held on the previous Tuesday, Rudolph recorded a fantastic best lap time of 15:63 in warm sunny conditions. Rain then set in for the next few days, at one stage threatening a postponement of the event. But the rain didn’t materialise being replaced with an overcast sky and cold conditions with a top of 8 degrees recorded for qualifying day. Having recorded 6 front rows at his previous 6 visits to the track, including 5 poles, expectations were high. However the cold conditions caught out Dane and the team with a best lap time of only 15:78 being recorded. This left a feeling of déjà vu as Dane once again missed the automatic inclusion in the main race by two spots and two one hundredths of a second and would once again see him start a heat race on the pole.
The heat race proved a formality as Dane drove a conservative race to record a second place finish. This would place him 19 on the grid for the main race.
Within 4 laps of the main race start, it was evident that many of the competitors were playing for keeps with a significant shunt at turn 3 involving quite a few cars. Quite a number of caution periods ensued with Dane once again managing to dodge plenty of bullets, and pass quite a few seasoned competitors. The race has a compulsory pit stop at lap 200 enabling teams to refuel, fit two new tyres to the right side of the car and service any other components requiring attention during the 15 minute period. At this stop Dane held position 9. The remaining 50 laps provided some of the closest cut and thrust racing with Dane moving up the order, back down and then back up to finish 6th.
Dane said, “What a race! This was the most intense race I’ve run in the USA. I’d like to thank Outback for their support for these two events. The car was fantastic and a real credit to the team”. Team Owner, H.C. Sellers added, “This performance by Dane shows that Dane is ready to move up. Many good drivers have tried and failed to qualify for this and the Martinsville event. For Dane to not only qualify but finish both events as strongly as he has really shows us that he can make it in NASCAR”.
This was to be Dane’s last Late Model event for 2009, but his strong results may mean a start at South Carolina’s Myrtle Beach 400 next month. A decision will be made on this event next week.
Dane and his support team are busy working on his 2010 programme which is dependent on sponsorship support.
TOP 15 FINISH FOR RUDOLPH AT NASCAR’S LATE MODEL MARTINSVILLE RACE
New South Wales driver, Dane Rudolph, has finished 15th in NASCAR’s Bailey 300 at the legendary Martinsville Speedway in the 85 strong field of the best Late Model cars and drivers America can offer..
Martinsville, Virginia. USA. 04/10/09: 
The Baileys 300 has been known for many years as the ‘Daytona’ of NASCAR Late Model Stock Car racing. This year’s event was no different with 85 entries vying for the 42 lap feature race including recently crowned national champion, Phillip Morris, and a host of state, regional and track champions. The format of the event is that each car runs two individual qualifying laps with the fastest 22 automatically gaining entry to the feature race. The remaining field must race in one of four 25 lap heat races with the top five finishers from these heat races completing the field for the 200 lap $25,000 feature race.
Before qualifying, Dane in the Outback Steakhouse Chevrolet, had run some competitive practice times in the top ten. However his qualifying efforts did not reflect his recent form as he recorded only the tenth fastest time up to his run as the 35th car. This left 50 cars yet to run and a good chance that he 
wouldn’t make the 22 car automatic entry to the feature race. Tense times ensued as more cars completed their run and with only two cars remaining Dane was still in the top 22. But both of the last two cars eclipsed Dane’s time, including the Pole winner relegating him to 24th. This would mean that he would start on the pole for the second heat race. Not the pole he was looking for but still a positive result. To show how competitive this form of racing is, 15th through 54th qualifying times were covered by less than one tenth of a second!
Rudolph’s heat race started with Dane gapping the field to establish a healthy lead of 10 car lengths. Of course the inevitable caution eliminated that lead as the mid field runners fought over the elusive fifth position and entry to the feature. On the restart Dane made an uncharacteristic error by missing fourth gear due to a sticking gear selection mechanism. What ensued was a concertina effect resulting in a pile up at turn one. Luckily for Dane the field was re-gridded to reflect the last time they past the start finish line before the crash enabling him to restart on pole. Some damage to Dane’s left side was caused in the crash resulting in the left front guard and door hanging precariously. Over the final few laps this slowed the Outback sponsored car allowing another competitor to pass Dane resulting in a second place finish for the Australian driver. This would place Dane on the 28 starting position for the feature race.
The strategy for the feature race was to stay out of trouble and finish the event in front of the claimed 20,000 strong crowd. In past years this event has been about survival of the fittest, however from the green flag it seems that all of the competitors had the same strategy with the field of 42 settling down into a single line for a good percentage of the first half of the race. Inevitably some drivers became impatient and the fourth quarter of the first half became a wreckers truck delight with quite a few cars being consigned to the scrap heap. Dane managed to dodge a lot of bullets in this period until the inevitable happened on lap 80 when a gap closed whilst trying to avoid a major shunt just after the start line with the Outback car being slammed against the inside wall. This resulted in damage to the left front and rear suspension of the car as well as bending three wheels. But great work by the Sellers Racing crew had Dane back out on the track without going down a lap. Luckily there is a ten minute caution at 100 laps which enabled the crew to not only complete the necessary service requirements but straighten the car enough for Dane to complete the race as best he could.
Starting the second half in 20th position, Dane overcame the cars shortcomings to push forward. Once again the field ran a sold 67 lap green flag run with patience being shown by the remaining cars. As was shown in the first half this patience doesn’t last too long with a number of crashes giving the safety and cleanup crews plenty of work. At one stage Dane had managed to crack the top 10 before he again became a victim of somebody else’s crash which dropped him to 19th. But a fantastic drive saw Dane recover for an outstanding 15th at the chequer for this rookie driver at Martinsville. Subsequent inspection of the car revealed that the left front suspension had seized and the rear diff housing was bowed like a boomerang further underlining what a great drive Dane had completed.
Dane said, “I was really excited about just trying to qualify for this race. “After qualifying I was worried about the carnage that goes on in the heat races but I just put my head down hit my marks to get into the main event. This was like a full on NASCAR event with a huge crowd but I was so happy to have finished so well, although my car’s going to need more than a buff to get ready for the next race”. Team Owner, H.C. Sellers added, “We’re so happy with how Dane ran today, he really showed that he can compete with the best in this class”. Dane went on to thank the Outback Steakhouse who came on board for this and his next event at South Boston.
Danes next event is the Mason Dixon 500 at South Boston Speedway on October 15-17.
POLE AT SEASON DECIDER FOR RUDOLPH
New South Wales driver, Dane Rudolph, recorded his seventh straight front row start and sixth pole for one of the most important Late Model Season races at Virginia’s Motor Mile Speedway in NASCAR’s Whelen All-American Series.
Radford, Virginia. USA. 12/09/09:
This 150 lap race was to be the decider, for not only the track series, but also the NASCAR National Championship. Points leader Phillip Morris headlined the 31 strong quality field which included all the best drivers from the region, and arguably the best in the country. Pit lane rumours before the race had a number of different scenarios with Morris and his adversary Frank Deiny Jr both calling on team mates and drivers from afar to help them win the track series. Morris had all but won the National Championship but needed a good finish for the National Championship and to finish in front of Deiny to win the track series. The stage was set for a colossal battle.
Qualifying began under a near perfect sky and cooler track conditions. Just prior to Dane’s run, local hot shot Doug Godsey recorded a fantastic time of 15.982. This would be hard to beat but Dane ran an incredible lap in the one at a time two lap runs to record a best of 15.958 seconds for the 4/10ths of a mile track. However finger nails were bitten to the quick as the remaining field ran their laps, but no other driver was fast enough to steal Dane’s thunder.
Dane didn’t want to repeat his start from two events ago and suffer the strong arm of the officials who had judged he had jumped the start, so he played a conservative start. He and Godsey ran side by side for a couple of laps before Dane edged away gaining a strong lead of half the front straight. National Champion Morris then passes Godsey and sets off to catch Dane. The first caution on lap 16 bunched the field decimating Dane’s lead. On the restart Morris puts a huge amount of pressure on Dane, who has had relatively little oval track experience compared to the multiple champion and legendary Late Model driver. However a great move by Morris on lap 30 saw him pass Dane, ending his first laps led for 2009. Morris, Rudolph and Godsey then pulled away from the chasing pack to lead the field by more than a straight, but this game is all about conservation and maximising the restarts on the inevitable caution periods. By lap 60, title protagonist, Deiny was pressuring Godsey and the inevitable incident occurred resulting in a spin for Deiny and a black flag for Godsey. Acrimony between the two continued for a number of laps until Godsey was again black flagged and retired from the race. Another caution on lap 78 again erodes the lead built up by Morris and Rudolph and the restart sees South Boston regular, Wayne Ramsey, dive to the inside of Rudolph relegating him to 3rd. This also allows Davin Scites to attack Dane which he does a few laps latter with a banzai move damaging the rear quarter panel of the unsponsored number 18 ‘Skippy’ car. The hit forced Dane into the save of the night but allows another 4 cars past and relegated him to 9th place. Some of the best racing ensued with multiple position changes and an eventual 8th place finish for Dane. Phillip Morris secured both the track series and National Championship for the third time.
Dane said, “This was the best race I’ve had since being in the States. We really proved tonight that we can run with the best and that our qualifying pace at South Boston was not a single track deal”. Team Owner, H.C. Sellers added, “This goes to show that hard work and dedication can pay off. Dane and the team have achieved a great result tonight and should be proud of their achievement”.
Danes next event is America’s biggest Late Model Stock Car race at the NASCAR Sprint Cup track, Martinsville Speedway, on the 2-4 October where more than 100 drivers will attempt to make the field for the $25,000.00 race.