Canandaigua report 98-06-04

'Dude' Relieves Pressure With Canandaigua Victory By Richard Day CANANDAIGUA, NY (June 4) - Danny Lasoski felt like the odd man out before the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series' New York Tour finale at Canandaigua Speedway Thursday. He found the way to get in the in-crowd is to visit victory lane. "I feel like a 1,000-pound weight is off my shoulders," Lasoski said after beating Dale Blaney under the checkered flag. "I was told earlier today that I was the only driver in the top 10 who hadn't won a race. We did everything we could to straighten that out tonight." With Jac Haudenschild's shoulder injury keeping him from maintaining a top-10 ranking, Blaney is actually the only driver in the top 10 who hasn't won a main event this season. Only once in the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series' first 20 years (1979) has every driver in the top 10 won at least one "A" Feature. Tyler Walker and Greg Hodnett passed him in the point standings as Haudenschild missed his second event in as many nights. Lasoski is the 11th driver to win a main event during the World of Outlaws' 20th Anniversary Season. Winning for the ninth time in his career tied Lasoski with Tim Green for 15th place on the all-time victory list. "The Dude" received his third Vivarin Fast-Time Award of the year for pacing the qualifying session with a 14.980-second lap. He followed Blaney, Donny Schatz and Mark Kinser across the finish line in the Channellock Dash for the right to start the 25-lap "A" Feature outside the second row. After Craig Dollansky spun in turn one on the original start, Blaney and Schatz raced wheel-to-wheel down the front stretch as the green flag fell in the "A" Feature. Dale steered the #93 Amoco J&J in front of the 1997 World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year in the second corner to take the lead. "The Dude" passed Schatz for second with a low move in turn three late in the third lap. Schatz and Kinser exchanged third place the next time around. Lasoski had the front wing on the #83 Beef Packers Eagle just inches from Blaney's rear bumper when they entered lapped traffic six laps into the race. Dale stayed in the high groove while "The Dude" raced on the inside of the semi-banked, 1/2-mile oval before they switched lines during the eighth lap. Blaney and Lasoski often raced side-by-side in the corners, but Dale had more momentum and maintained the lead. Blaney returned to the high groove midway through the race, and Lasoski passed him for the lead deep in turn four late in lap 14. Dale regained first place seconds later, however, taking the high line around "The Dude" in the second corner. Lasoski was challenging Blaney for the lead when Lee Sanders collided with Walker and spun in turn four late in the 18th lap. "The Dude" continued battling Dale until executing the winning pass deep in turn four late in the 21st lap. No more than a car-length separated the leaders when they caught the backmarkers again with three laps remaining. Stevie Smith was trying to pass Schatz for third place early in lap 24 when he hit the berm between the first and second corners and stopped with a flat tire and a broken shock absorber. The late caution set up a two-lap dash to the checkered flag. Blaney raced wheel-to-wheel with Lasoski through turn one as the race resumed, but "The Dude" maintained the lead and opened a 10-car-length advantage before taking the checkered flag. "Dale ran a great race," Lasoski said. "He ran me really hard and clean the whole time. "I can't say enough about this crew. Jimmy Carr, Brian Brown and Mark Ellis have worked really hard, and this Beef Packers car has been up front a lot this year. We just haven't been able to win until now. I can't say enough about Dennis Roth. He gives me the best equipment, and lets me do what I love for a living. "We have the first one out of the way, and that takes a lot of the pressure off. When we started the season, we planned on winning a few races, and it gets tough when you're running night- in and night-out and not coming out on top. We'll go on down the road to Springfield (Illinois State Fair Speedway) and try to get the second one Sunday." Schatz's third-place finish is the best of his Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series career. Kinser finished fourth, ahead of Johnny Herrera, Steve Kinser, Sammy Swindell, Jeff Swindell, Joe Gaerte and Andy Hillenburg. Herrera crashed in the First Racing Champions Heat Race, forcing the Casey General Stores team to use its backup car. He made quick work of the "B" Feature, winning from the rear of the field, then passed 19 cars to finish fifth in the main event. After his crew made quick repairs on his #19 Ingersoll-Rand sprinter, Smith passed seven cars in the final two laps to finish in 12th place. WoO 1998 Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series Canandaigua Speedway, Canandaigua, NY Thursday, June 4, Feature Program #24 Qualifications: 1. Danny Lasoski, Roth 83, 14.980; 2. Sammy Swindell, Swindell 1, 15.047; 3. Todd Shaffer, Beam 88, 15.269; 4. Mark Kinser, Kinser 5M, 15.506; 5. Dale Blaney, Hylton-Blaney 93, 15.559; 6. Donny Schatz, Schatz 15, 15.568; 7. Stevie Smith, Smith 19, 15.586; 8. Joe Gaerte, Holbrook 8H, 15.725; 9. Craig Dollansky, Stanton 75, 15.739; 10. Steve Kinser, Kinser 11, 15.747; 11. Jeff Swindell, Two Winners 104+, 15.801; 12. Tyler Walker, Walker 35, 15.827; 13. Johnny Herrera, Sonner 47, 15.891; 14. Danny Smith, Brazier 21S, 16.248; 15. Andy Hillenburg, Hillenburg 2, 16.265; 16. Mike Woodring, Woodring 19W, 16.308; 17. Kevin Gobrecht, Gobrecht 92, 16.342; 18. Dion Hindi, Hindi 18, 16.378; 19. Greg Hodnett, Helm 11H, 16.456; 20. Shawn Keen, Keen 53, 16.468; 21. Bob Bennett, Mickle 3, 16.628; 22. Dan DeCracker, DeCracker 47D, 16.641; 23. Bobby Parrow, Parrow 9, 16.761; 24. Chuck Roan, Roan 22R, 16.976; 25. Len Thompson, Thompson 10, 17.280; 26. Lance Yonge, Yonge 17, 17.464; 27. Bill Coffey, Coffey 13, 17.604; 28. Lee Sanders, Sanders 26, 17.607; 29. Jeff Kanaley, Kanaley 14, 17.763; 30. Rob Dietrick, Dietrick 10D, 17.938; 31. George Suprick, Suprick 87, no time. First Racing Champions Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Steve Kinser, 2. Stevie Smith, 3. Mark Kinser, 4. Danny Lasoski, 5. Greg Hodnett, 6. Mike Woodring, 7. Dan DeCracker, 8. Len Thompson, 9. Lee Sanders, 10. Johnny Herrera. DNS - George Suprick. (first six qualified for the "A" Feature) Second Racing Champions Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Kevin Gobrecht, 2. Jeff Swindell, 3. Dale Blaney, 4. Danny Smith, 5. Joe Gaerte, 6. Sammy Swindell, 7. Shawn Keen, 8. Lance Yonge, 9. Jeff Kanaley, 10. Bobby Parrow. (first six qualified for the "A" Feature) Third Racing Champions Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Andy Hillenburg, 2. Tyler Walker, 3. Donny Schatz, 4. Dion Hindi, 5. Craig Dollansky, 6. Todd Shaffer, 7. Bob Bennett, 8. Chuck Roan, 9. Bill Coffey, 10. Rob Dietrick. (first six qualified for the "A" Feature) Channellock Dash (five laps): 1. Dale Blaney, 2. Donny Schatz, 3. Mark Kinser, 4. Danny Lasoski, 5. Todd Shaffer, 6. Stevie Smith, 7. Sammy Swindell, 8. Joe Gaerte. (finish determined the first eight starting positions in the "A" Feature) B Feature (12 laps): 1. Johnny Herrera, 2. Shawn Keen, 3. Bobby Parrow, 4. Dan DeCracker, 5. Lee Sanders, 6. Lance Yonge, 7. Len Thompson ($200); 8. Rob Dietrick ($180); 9. Bill Coffey ($150); 10. Chuck Roan ($110); 11. Bob Bennett ($90); 12. Jeff Kanaley ($80). DNS - George Suprick. (first six qualified for the "A" Feature) A Feature (25 laps): 1. Danny Lasoski ($7,000); 2. Dale Blaney ($4,000); 3. Donny Schatz ($3,000); 4. Mark Kinser ($2,500); 5. Johnny Herrera ($2,320); 6. Steve Kinser ($2,200); 7. Sammy Swindell ($2,100); 8. Jeff Swindell ($2,000); 9. Joe Gaerte ($1,700); 10. Andy Hillenburg ($1,600); 11. Danny Smith ($1,200); 12. Stevie Smith ($1,150); 13. Craig Dollansky ($1,100); 14. Tyler Walker ($1,050); 15. Greg Hodnett ($1,000); 16. Todd Shaffer ($700); 17. Dion Hindi ($600); 18. Kevin Gobrecht ($500); 19. Dan DeCracker ($520); 20. Bobby Parrow ($520); 21. Shawn Keen ($520); 22. Lee Sanders ($520); 23. Mike Woodring ($500); 24. Lance Yonge ($520). Lap leaders: Dale Blaney 1-13, 15-20; Danny Lasoski 14, 21-25 Vivarin Fast-Time Award winner: Danny Lasoski WoO