{"id":7919,"date":"2020-03-29T01:08:29","date_gmt":"2020-03-29T05:08:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonmotorsport.com\/?p=7919"},"modified":"2022-08-07T14:43:00","modified_gmt":"2022-08-07T18:43:00","slug":"pittman-2008-kings-royal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2020\/03\/29\/pittman-2008-kings-royal\/","title":{"rendered":"Daryn Pittman looks back at 2008 Kings Royal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our Next Stop in our Racing Re-Watch series<\/a><\/strong> takes us back to an old Kings Royal <\/strong>at Eldora Speedway. <\/em><\/p>\n

As the marquee event on the track\u2019s schedule and one of the crown jewels of the World of Outlaws slate every year, it\u2019s a big deal to win it.<\/em><\/p>\n

We visited with the winner of the 2008 Kings Royal, Daryn Pittman<\/strong>, to talk about one exciting night in Rossburg, Ohio.<\/em><\/p>\n

Daryn Pittman looks back at 2008 Kings Royal<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When he looked back at the 40-lap main event that saw himself earn one of his biggest victories in his life, Daryn Pittman <\/strong>insists that the race was won on the first lap.<\/p>\n

Although it took a sequence of events even before the main event started to happen, the 2008 Kings Royal played right into Pittman\u2019s<\/a> hands.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think I had watched that race in at least 10 years,\u201d Pittman said. \u201cIt was fun to re-visit one of the biggest wins of my career.\u201d<\/p>\n

The broadcast for the racing that night was on Speed TV \u2013 the old network dedicated to exclusively motorsports \u2013 and it opened up with plenty of fireworks.<\/p>\n

Six-time Kings Royal winner Steve Kinser <\/strong>was dismayed by the series\u2019 decision to allow Donny Schatz <\/strong>an extra qualifying lap after a car had failed to exit the track prior to his first attempt.<\/p>\n

The second chance at a lap improved Schatz\u2019 time from 23rd<\/sup> on the board to sixth, bumping Kinser down a crucial spot.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remembered when the broadcast came on, him being upset,\u201d Pittman said. \u201cI didn\u2019t remember the incident at all as to why they were so mad.\u201d<\/p>\n

After series officials made their ruling and Kinser got in the face of one, he\u2019d walk away.<\/p>\n

But, that meant packing up his entire trailer, re-loading the car, and threatening to forfeit one of the biggest events of the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe only reason that that was even feasible was because the Kings Royal was a show-up points race,\u201d Pittman said. \u201cHe was upset that his chances of winning were extremely, slim-to-none, at that point. It was one of the rare instances that you could see somebody of his stature threaten to load up and go home.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Joey Saldana and Steve Kinser race against each other. Photo by Jim Fisher<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It certainly wasn\u2019t something that anyone was used to seeing, but Kinser was serious.<\/p>\n

He and his crew had the No. 11 Quaker State car completely loaded into the semi with, before taking the time to reevaluate the situation.<\/p>\n

Pittman commended him for the passion.<\/p>\n

\u201cSteve\u2019s always kind of been that way \u2013 super intense \u2013 since I (was) racing with him,\u201d Pittman said. \u201cYou see him fly off the handle and just completely lose it on things. Just 10 or 15 minutes later, after he\u2019s got time to re-think it, he changes tune pretty quickly. I always kind of respected that about him, his competitive pride, and how emotional he gets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schatz moving up on the board didn\u2019t make much of a difference for Pittman, but it slated him on the outside of Heat No. 4.<\/p>\n

Pittman and Titan Racing USA<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Oklahoma native would have the advantage starting on the outside in his No. 21 Titan Racing car \u2013 the same he had been racing in for nearly a decade.<\/p>\n

Pittman began his stint with the team in 2001, strictly racing in Australia for the first part of it.<\/p>\n

\"Daryn
Daryn Pittman runs a lap during the 2008 Kings Royal weekend at Eldora. Photo by Mike Campbell<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The team made the move to the United States, but only lasted a handful of years before going out of business.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was the last year that I had ran that car,\u201d Pittman said. \u201cWe had a terrible year going but ended up winning the Kings Royal, so. I got let go right before the start of the 2009 season and the team didn\u2019t continue for more than four or five months.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019d have to beat the No. 83 of Shane Stewart <\/strong>at the start to secure the first-place position.<\/p>\n

\"Daryn
Daryn Pittman smiles in victory lane after a win at Volusia Speedway Park. Photo courtesy DB3 Imaging \/\/ World of Outlaws<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Coincidently, Stewart was racing in the same Roth Motorsports car that Pittman drives today.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m one of many that have been in the 83 car,\u201d Pittman said. \u201cIt\u2019s always been a staple out on the tour at the big races. It\u2019s just had some different drivers in it. I didn\u2019t really remember that Shane was in it at the time. He was actually, I think, just a little quicker than me in our heat race and started catching me towards the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pittman held off Stewart to win the heat race and would start from the pole position in the dash.<\/p>\n

The Sequence that won Pittman a Kings Royal<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Pittman\u2019s dash performance wasn\u2019t promising for fans of his.<\/p>\n

Joey Saldana <\/strong>had been dominating throughout the event. The No. 9 Kasey Kahne Racing car was the class of the field, and, when given the space do so, would be out to a straight-away lead within a lap of the restart.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d go on to finish fourth, but it spelled great fortune for the No. 21 team.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe went from the pole to fourth in the dash,\u201d Pittman said. \u201cI feel like it was sort of a blessing. I either needed to (finish) either second or fourth. The bottom was not even remotely an option and it was tough to pass guys (on the top).\u201d<\/p>\n

When Pittman rolled out for the main event to the outside of P3 starter Dale Blaney<\/strong>, he jumped at an opportunity.<\/p>\n

Although, it was what the second-place starter in Jason Meyers <\/strong>where Pittman took the advantage.<\/p>\n

\u201cRe-watching that race kind of confirmed what I remembered,\u201d Pittman said. \u201cI feel like that race was won for me on the first lap.\u201d<\/p>\n

When he took the green flag, Pittman was already passing Blaney on the outside.<\/p>\n

He would pass Meyers for second before the end of the first lap.<\/p>\n

\u201cJason went into (turn) one, turned off of the cushion and tried to cross back under (Saldana),\u201d Pittman said. \u201cHe lost his speed. It gave me clean air to make a lot of mile an hour off of turn two and I was able to slide (Meyers) in (turns) three and four.\u201d<\/p>\n

If he didn\u2019t make that move, though, Pittman thought that he might have not even had a chance at the win.<\/p>\n

It was that hard to pass under green flag conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy car was great,\u201d Pittman said. \u201cWe just didn\u2019t have raw speed like (Saldana) did. I think me and Meyers were very equal. I think if I didn\u2019t get by Meyers on the first lap, I think I struggle to get by him for the rest of the race and probably don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

With 39 laps to go, Pittman sat in second place.<\/p>\n

The problem was Saldana being able to out-pace the field on restarts.<\/p>\n

It was out of Pittman\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt that point, I really wasn\u2019t worried about Joey,\u201d Pittman said. \u201cI think all of us knew that (Saldana) had the car to beat. There were two things going through my head. We\u2019re either going to A. run second because they\u2019ve got a better car and they\u2019re faster than we are. Or, B. We\u2019re going to get some fortune.<\/p>\n

Saldana proved everyone\u2019s thinking correct.<\/p>\n

He was the fastest car on the track and was able to worry less about lapped traffic because of the amount of cautions throughout the race.<\/p>\n

There were basically resets every time Saldana was getting close to lapped traffic. It was the only thing that was going to keep him from a win\u2026 aside from an accident.<\/p>\n

With 12 laps to go, Saldana slowed to a stop on the track with a flat tire.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has the tendency to run the edge (of the track) right up on the fence,\u201d Pittman said. \u201cI think they claimed that he cut something, but from my memory I swear I remember seeing him hit the fence right out of turn two about three or four laps before he cut the tire.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the restart, it was all Pittman.<\/p>\n

The No. 21 cruised to victory lane over the next 12 laps.<\/p>\n

No one was passing him. It was too difficult to at the front of the pack.<\/p>\n

It’s part of the reason that Pittman thinks the racing at Eldora has gotten better, despite some people’s complaints.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat race track has changed so much since then,” Pittman said. “It\u2019s crazy to go back and watch those races. People complain now because (they don\u2019t like drivers) running around the bottom so much. Watching that video, it was tough to pass. You had to be married to the top. If a guy did get a run behind you it was just too easy to cross back over and maintain that position.”<\/p>\n

Eldora Speedway, 12 years later, has just gotten better.<\/p>\n

“After listening to everybody complain over the years about how it\u2019s changed, I think it\u2019s a better racetrack than what it used to be,” Pittman said.<\/p>\n

Sitting in ninth in the World of Outlaws’ all-time wins list, Pittman has had plenty of victories in his memory.<\/p>\n

Holding 85 first-place feature finishes, he compared the Kings Royal to one of the best wins of his career.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would put the Historical Big One ahead of that for a couple of reasons,” Pittman said. “But, I think the Kings Royal just has more prestige to it. I think when I won the big one, I was still pretty young. It was such a big win for me at an early part of my career where it was a little more unexpected.\u201d<\/p>\n

No matter how any win came about for Pittman, though, make no mistake.<\/p>\n

The 2008 Kings Royal is a special one in the 85.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had quite a few (victories),” Pittman said. “But, this is definitely right up there with the rest.”<\/p>\n

\n

For more Racing Re-Watch articles in our series, please visit our central hub<\/a><\/strong> where you can read about races across different series dating back to the 1960’s.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our Next Stop in our Racing Re-Watch series takes us back to an old Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway. As the marquee event on the track\u2019s schedule and one of the crown jewels of the World of Outlaws slate every year, it\u2019s a big deal to win it. We visited with the winner of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":315,"featured_media":7914,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10,7],"tags":[1357,53,17,569,570,1356,1165,1338,1023,486],"class_list":["post-7919","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dirt","category-more-racing","tag-dale-blaney","tag-dale-earnhardt-inc","tag-daryn-pittman","tag-donny-schatz","tag-eldora-speedway","tag-joey-saldana","tag-kings-royal","tag-racing-re-watches","tag-steve-kinser","tag-world-of-outlaws"],"modified_by":"Matt Jarvis","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7919","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/315"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7919"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7919\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}