Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Stenhouse Jr.-Wood Racing hires Joey Saldana to drive in World of Outlaws series

39th Annual DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH

BARBERVILLE, FL - FEBRUARY 07: Joey Saldana, driver of the #9 Budweiser Dodge, prepares to race the World of Outlaws 39th Annual DIRTcar Nationals by UNOH at Volusia Speedway Park on February 7, 2010 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for Kasey Kahne Racing)

Rusty Jarrett

Stenhouse Jr. - Wood Racing, a new team in the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series co-owned by Ricky Stenhouse Jr., has hired Joey Saldana to drive for it in 2017.

Saldana, a 99-time winner in the series, will drive the No. 17 Elk Grove Ford/Roth Investments car.

“I’m amazed, blessed and honored. I honestly thought my career could be over. I didn’t think an opportunity like this was going to come my way,” Saldana said in a press release. “I’m grateful for Dennis Roth coming on board and being the final piece in the puzzle to make this team all come together. Ricky (Stenhouse Jr.) and Matt (Wood) have put a great team together and I couldn’t be more anxious to get to Florida in February.”

The team, which will be led by crew chief Tyler Swank, will operate out of Saldana’s Brownsburg, Indiana, shop.

The team operation was originally intended to be built around Bryan Clauson, who died Aug. 7 from injuries sustained in a crash at Belleville High-Banks Speedway in Belleville, Kansas.

“After Bryan’s tragic crash we all kind of just laid low,” Stenhouse Jr. said in a press release. “A few weeks ago an opportunity came up to have a partnership with Matt, Dennis Roth, Richard (Marshall of Priority Aviation) and myself. With Joey driving the car, it was something I felt I couldn’t pass up. With leadership from Tyler (Swank) and Joey’s experience, everyone on this team is ready to compete. I have a lot of passion for sprint car racing and I miss driving, but I feel being an owner of this type of a World of Outlaws team will make me feel more a part of the sport.”

Saldana’s debut with the team will be in February at the DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park located in Barberville, Florida.

Follow @DanielMcFadin