Cedar Lake report 98-07-13

Smith Gets Back on Winning Track at Cedar Lake By Richard Day SOMERSET, WI (July 13) - Stevie Smith's career year got even better Tuesday when he won the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series' "A" Feature at Cedar Lake Speedway. Smith passed Mark Kinser for the lead late in the 10th lap, then held off points leader Steve Kinser to claim the $10,000 first prize. Stevie has won nine main events with almost half of the World of Outlaws' 20th Anniversary season remaining. One more victory will tie his career high, which Smith set in 1993. "This track was as nice as I've ever seen it," Stevie said. "It actually had three racing grooves, and the Ingersoll-Rand car ran well in all of them. Again, it goes back to my crew. They just give me a great car to drive. "We'd be higher in the points if we hadn't had those problems in May, but there's still a lot of races left. We just have to keep finishing up front." Smith has been "up front" more than any other Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series driver this season, with 24 top-five finishes through the first 36 events. Stevie was the second-fastest qualifier in the 29-car field, .031 seconds off Danny Lasoski's 116.590-m.p.h. pace. "The Dude" received his fifth Vivarin Fast-Time Award of the year after circling the high-banked, 3/8-mile oval in 11.579 seconds. Smith won the Second Racing Champions Heat Race, then earned the right to start the 40-lap "A" Feature inside the second row by following Jac Haudenschild and Mark Kinser across the finish line in the Vivarin Dash. Haudenschild drove the #22 Pennzoil Maxim ahead of the field as the green flag fell in the main event, only to have Mark take the lead with a low move through the fourth corner late in the opening lap. Kinser and Haudenschild raced wheel-to-wheel during lap three, but Jac was unable to surge ahead. They were still battling for first place when Brooke Tatnell took his #7K Kele & Associates sprinter for a spin in turn four the next time around. Smith started challenging Haudenschild for second place when the green flag replaced the yellow, and followed the leaders into lapped traffic four laps later. After driving his #19 Ingersoll-Rand Black Bandit by Haudenschild during the ninth lap, Stevie passed Kinser for the lead with a high move into turn four the next time around. Mark kept the #5M Wirtgen Maxim within two car-lengths of Smith in dense traffic during the next four laps. Defending Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series champion Sammy Swindell lost fourth place when he stopped on the front stretch when his #1 Channellock Stealth suffered broken rear end gears early in the 14th lap. He dropped from second to fourth in the point standings when he was scored in 24th place. Steve Kinser caught Haudenschild midway through the race, and steered his #11 Quaker State Maxim into the low groove in turn four to take over third place late in lap 20. "The King of the Outlaws" continued his run toward the front five laps later when he passed Mark with a low move in the third corner. Smith was 20 car-lengths ahead of his closest pursuers when he caught the backmarkers again during the 26th lap. Haudenschild passed Mark for third place with a low move between the first and second corners the next time around. Stevie's comfortable advantage disintegrated late in lap 28 when Craig Dollansky stopped on the front straightaway with mechanical problems. Donny Schatz lost eighth place when his collision with Tatnell on the ensuing restart sent the #15 Parker Stores Gambler into the front-stretch guard rail. Three lapped cars separating him from Steve Kinser allowed Smith to build a comfortable advantage soon after the race resumed. He was 10 car-lengths ahead when he entered lapped traffic again with seven laps remaining. Kinser cut Stevie's advantage in half in dense traffic two laps later, but was unable to challenge him the lead. "I think we're as ready as we'll ever be," Smith said of the big-money races looming ahead. "We feel confident and I'd like to get one of them. Two would be great, but I don't want to get greedy. We'll just have to take them as they come." Andy Hillenburg, who started inside the sixth row, came on strong during the final five laps to claim third place. Mark Kinser finished fourth, ahead of Greg Hodnett, 19th-starting Jeff Swindell, Tyler Walker, Lasoski, Dale Blaney and Johnny Herrera. Haudenschild started losing fuel pressure during lap 39, and lost 10 positions during the final 1 1/2 laps to finish 16th. WoO 1998 Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series Cedar Lake Speedway, Somerset, WI Tuesday, July 13, Feature Program #36 Qualifications: 1. Danny Lasoski, Roth 83, 11.579; 2. Stevie Smith, Smith 19, 11.610; 3. Sammy Swindell, Swindell 1, 11.635; 4. Steve Kinser, Kinser 11, 11.679; 5. Mark Kinser, Kinser 5M, 11.681; 6. Jac Haudenschild, Elden 22, 11.697; 7. Terry McCarl, McCarl 24, 11.710; 8. Tyler Walker, Walker 35, 11.797; 9. Dale Blaney, Hylton-Blaney 93, 11.811; 10. Daryn Pittman, Blevins 21, 11.880; 11. Andy Hillenburg, Hillenburg 2, 11.881; 12. Greg Hodnett, Helm 11H, 11.915; 13. Donny Schatz, Schatz 15, 11.938; 14. Joe Gaerte, Holbrook 8H, 11.941; 15. Johnny Herrera, Sonner 47, 11.951; 16. Craig Dollansky, Gleason 21G, 12.045; 17. Travis Whitney, Whitney 7S, 12.090; 18. Brooke Tatnell, Tatnell 7K, 12.157; 19. Jeff Swindell, Two Winners 104+, 12.197; 20. Terry Chesak, Chesak 29, 12.509; 21. Justin Henderson, Henderson 83H, 12.527; 22. Tony Norem, Sibet 45, 12.570; 23. Jimmy Kouba, Kouba 55, 12.632; 24. Dan Dittrich, Dittrich 4D, 12.786; 25. Joe Symoens, Symoens 96, 12.922; 26. Spike Lempelius, Lempelius 52, 13.022; 27. Todd Hepfner, Hepfner 28, 13.169; 28. Al Hargrave, Hargrave 8, 13.354; 29. Glen Spooner, Spooner 31, 13.606. First Racing Champions Heat Race (10 laps): 1. Steve Kinser, 2. Danny Lasoski, 3. Terry McCarl, 4. Donny Schatz, 5. Craig Dollansky, 6. Jeff Swindell, 7. Daryn Pittman, 8. Al Hargrave, 9. Joe Symoens, 10. Tony Norem. (first six qualified for the "A" Feature) Second Racing Champions Heat Race (10 laps): 1. Stevie Smith, 2. Tyler Walker, 3. Mark Kinser, 4. Andy Hillenburg, 5. Joe Gaerte, 6. Travis Whitney, 7. Jimmy Kouba, 8. Spike Lempelius, 9. Glen Spooner, 10. Terry Chesak. (first six qualified for the "A" Feature) Third Racing Champions Heat Race (10 laps): 1. Jac Haudenschild, 2. Greg Hodnett, 3. Sammy Swindell, 4. Dale Blaney, 5. Brooke Tatnell, 6. Johnny Herrera, 7. Todd Hepfner, 8. Justin Henderson, 9. Dan Dittrich. (first six qualified for the "A" Feature) Channellock Dash (seven laps): 1. Jac Haudenschild, 2. Mark Kinser, 3. Stevie Smith, 4. Steve Kinser, 5. Sammy Swindell, 6. Terry McCarl, 7. Tyler Walker, 8. Danny Lasoski. (finish determined the first eight starting positions in the "A" Feature) B Feature (12 laps): 1. Terry Chesak, 2. Tony Norem, 3. Justin Henderson, 4. Daryn Pittman, 5. Jimmy Kouba, 6. Spike Lempelius, 7. Todd Hepfner ($200); 8. Joe Symoens ($180); 9. Al Hargrave ($150); 10. Dan Dittrich ($110); 11. Glen Spooner ($90). (first six qualified for the "A" Feature) A Feature (40 laps): 1. Stevie Smith ($10,000); 2. Steve Kinser ($5,000); 3. Andy Hillenburg ($3,000); 4. Mark Kinser ($2,500); 5. Greg Hodnett ($2,300); 6. Jeff Swindell ($2,200); 7. Tyler Walker ($2,100); 8. Danny Lasoski ($2,000); 9. Dale Blaney ($1,700); 10. Johnny Herrera ($1,600); 11. Joe Gaerte ($1,200); 12. Travis Whitney ($1,150); 13. Terry McCarl ($1,100); 14. Donny Schatz ($1,050); 15. Craig Dollansky ($1,000); 16. Jac Haudenschild ($700); 17. Justin Henderson ($620); 18. Brooke Tatnell ($500); 19. Tony Norem ($520); 20. Jimmy Kouba ($520); 21. Terry Chesak ($520); 22. Daryn Pittman ($520); 23. Spike Lempelius ($520); 24. Sammy Swindell ($500). Lap leaders: Mark Kinser 1-9, Stevie Smith 10-40 Vivarin Fast-Time Award winner: Danny Lasoski WoO