By TONY VENEZIANO

World of Outlaws

Barberville, FL -- Feb. 3, 2010 -- Danny Lasoski was confident coming to Florida this February that he would have one of the teams to beat in the highly competitive World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series. After a weekend tuneup for the DIRTcar Nationals by University of Northwestern Ohio, Lasoski's confidence level is sky high.

The 2001 series champion from Missouri, Lasoski and several of the World of Outlaws racers got their first chance to race with new Goodyear tires last weekend at Ocala Speedway. By the end of the night, Lasoski had raced his way to Victory Lane, and was pleased with the performance.

"The tires ran very well," said Lasoski, who gets two more nights of racing under his belt Wednesday and Thursday at Volusia Speedway Park before World of Outlaws points start counting on Friday. "Our team did a great job in the off-season gearing up for the change and it showed on the track the other night. We are really looking forward to Volusia, and Lonnie Parsons has set up a championship winning team here."

Sam Hafertepe Jr., a rising star from Sunnyvale, Texas, who is touring again with the World of Outlaws, also turned his first laps of the season last weekend at Ocala and was very pleased with the tires from Goodyear. Hafertepe earned his first career World of Outlaws Top-Five finish in his rookie season of 2007 during the DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park, and he is geared up for the season-opening event at the half-mile.

"It seems to be a pretty good tire," Hafertepe said. "I don't think we'll need to make as many changes as we originally thought we would. We'll probably make a few changes, but after what we learned after last weekend, we'll be able to keep things pretty simple. I am looking forward to racing on them at Volusia."

The DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH opens on Wednesday and Thursday with two events under the O'Reilly All Star Circuit of Champions banner. The World of Outlaws opener is set for Friday with three consecutive nights of racing scheduled to begin the title chase of the nine month, nearly 80-race campaign.

Making a strong start to the season even more paramount is the welcoming of a $55,000 midseason point fund that Goodyear will be distributed following the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup Twins on July 20 at Lernerville Speedway.

To purchase tickets online for the DIRTcar Nationals visit: http://www.DIRTcarNationals.com or call 386-985-4402. Each ticket purchased is also a free fan pit pass.

The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: Armor All (Official Car Care Products), Goodyear Tires (Official Tire), SuperClean (Official Cleaner-Degreaser), VP Racing (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors, Jake's Custom Golf Carts, KSE Race Products, Penske Shocks, Racing Electronics, S&S Volvo; Engine Builder's Challenge participants Don Ott Racing Engines, Kistler Engines, Shaver Specialties and Speedway Engines; and Chassis Builder's Challenge participants J&J Auto Racing, Maxim Racing and XXX Race Company.