Eldora Speedway Preliminary, 1999-04-02

'King' Wins Eldora Prelim, Regains Points Lead By Richard Day

ROSSBURG, OH (April 2) - Steve Kinser took Travis Whitney to school and regained the points lead in the process Friday when the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series opened a double-feature event at Eldora Speedway.

"The King of the Outlaws" passed the young rookie before and after a ninth-lap restart and led the final 12 laps for his first Preliminary Feature victory of the season. The $5,000 victory pushed Kinser one point ahead of Danny Lasoski in their battle for first place in the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series point standings.

"Experience played a big part tonight," Steve said. "Me, Andy (Hillenburg) and the rest of the guys running in the top five have a lot more laps around this place than Travis does. But he did a great job out there and I congratulate him.

"I hated to see that caution come out after I got the lead, but I thought I had a shot on the restart. I knew it would be tough to pass once he got his momentum up."

Kinser won the First NAPA Auto Parts Heat Race, while Whitney won the fourth. Whitney, the 12th-fastest qualifier in the 37-car field, started the Channellock Dash on the pole, but Andy Hillenburg earned the right to start the Preliminary Feature on the pole by winning the five-lap race. "The King of the Outlaws" finished fourth in the dash and started the feature outside the second row.

Whitney and Hillenburg raced wheel-to-wheel down the front straightaway as the green flag fell in the Preliminary Feature and Whitney drove his family's #7S Aamco Transmissions Maxim into the lead in the second corner.

Whitney was .9 seconds ahead of Hillenburg when he entered lapped traffic six laps into the 20-lap feature. Hillenburg was closing in on the leader when Kinser passed him for second place deep in turn one early in the eighth lap.

"The King of the Outlaws" used a similar move in the same spot to pass Whitney for the lead the next time around, only to have Tim Shaffer stop the #11H Vivarin Maxim in the second corner with a flat right rear tire.

Kinser chased Whitney down the front stretch before taking the lead again low in turn two as the green flag replaced the yellow. Whitney was trying to regain first place midway through the race when he jumped the cushion in turn one, allowing Hillenburg, Vivarin Fast- Time Award winner Joey Saldana and Sammy Swindell to pass him.

Johnny Herrera passed Whitney for sixth place with a low move in the first corner early in lap 14.

Swindell, who has won Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series races at Eldora Speedway the last three Aprils, steered his #1 Channellock Stealth into the low groove between turns one and two to pass Saldana for third place one lap later.

Jeff Swindell, who replaced Tim Allison at the rear of the Preliminary Feature lineup, stopped the #104+ Octane Boost J&J on the front stretch during lap 16. Herrera challenged Saldana for fourth place during the final four laps, but was unable to drive the #1BK Networks Eagle past him.

Kinser was .6 seconds ahead of Hillenburg when he took the checkered flag.

"The cushion was really tough tonight," Kinser explained. "You had to lean on it, but if you missed it just a little bit it would really toss you around. My car started getting a little loose the last five laps, but we managed to hold on.

"It's still a little early to think about the points, and I keep saying I'm not going to get into a points race. It seems like I've been getting into them since 1978, so we'll just keep on trying to win races and let the points take care of themselves."

Swindell and Saldana earned the final two automatic starting positions in Saturday's Channellock Dash by finishing third and fourth. Completing the top 10 were Herrera, Stevie Smith, Mark Kinser, Frankie Kerr, Whitney and Jac Haudenschild, who was making his 1999 Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series debut.

Lasoski won the "B" Feauture and drove the #83 Beef Packers Eagle into 15th place in the evening's main event.

Saldana received his first Vivarin Fast-Time Award of the season for pacing the qualifying session with a 13.178-second, 136.591- m.p.h., lap around "The World's Fastest Half-Mile." WoO

1999 Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series Eldora Speedway, Rossburg, OH Friday, April 2, Preliminary Program

Qualifications: 1. Joey Saldana, Mox Motorsports 17, 13.178; 2. Mark Kinser, Kinser 5M, 13.223; 3. Tim Shaffer, Helm 11H, 13.357; 4. Sammy Swindell, Swindell 1, 13.361; 5. Frankie Kerr, Shoff 23S, 13.377; 6. Stevie Smith, Smith 19, 13.395; 7. Danny Lasoski, Roth 83, 13.432; 8. Jac Haudenschild, Elden 22, 13.438; 9. Steve Kinser, Kinser 11, 13.482; 10. Johnny Herrera, DOCC Motorsports 1BK, 13.523; 11. Andy Hillenburg, Hillenburg 2, 13.526; 12. Travis Whitney, Whitney 7S, 13.535; 13. Dale Blaney, Hylton/Blaney 93, 13.540; 14. Kenny Jacobs, Ashworth 92J, 13.567; 15. Donny Schatz, Schatz 15, 13.594; 16. Paul McMahan, Johnson U2, 13.639; 17. Brooke Tatnell, Tatnell 7K, 13.650; 18. Joe Gaerte, Holbrook 8H, 13.686; 19. Kevin Huntley, Daughtery 7H, 13.729; 20. Jimmy Stinson, Stinson 84, 13.729; 21. Daryn Pittman, Sonner 47, 13.753; 22. Danny Smith, Ashworth 92, 13.777; 23. Dean Jacobs, Holbrook 8, 13.780; 24. Craig Dollansky, Dollansky 7, 13.786; 25. Tyler Walker, Walker 35, 13.811; 26. Brian Paulus, P&P Motorsports 28, 13.824; 27. Jimmy Carr, Blevins 21, 13.882; 28. Steve Suever, Suever 36S, 14.018; 29. Fred Boso, Javalina Construction 7J, 14.102; 30. Terry McCarl, McCarl 24, 14.123; 31. Tim Allison, Lotz 11x, 14.270; 32. Gerald Cressman, Cressman 56, 14.542; 33. Scott Young, Young 1Y, 14.574; 34. Raymond Shank, Shank 7x, 14.628; 35. Chris Simon, Racing Motors 24C, 14.809; 36. Kent Wolters, Wolters 12, 14.843; 37. Jeff Swindell, Two Winners 104+, 15.699. First NAPA Auto Parts Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Steve Kinser, 2. Joey Saldana, 3. Brooke Tatnell, 4. Tyler Walker, 5. Daryn Pittman, 6. Paul McMahan, 7. Jac Haudenschild, 8. Jeff Swindell, 9. Fred Boso, 10. Scott Young. (first five qualified for the Preliminary Feature) Second NAPA Auto Parts Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Johnny Herrera, 2. Donny Schatz, 3. Mark Kinser, 4. Danny Smith, 5. Joe Gaerte, 6. Danny Lasoski, 7. Brian Paulus, 8. Terry McCarl, 9. Raymond Shank. (first five qualified for the Preliminary Feature) Third NAPA Auto Parts Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Andy Hillenburg, 2. Kenny Jacobs, 3. Tim Shaffer, 4. Stevie Smith, 5. Tim Allison ($150); 6. Dean Jacobs, 7. Kevin Huntley, 8. Jimmy Carr, 9. Chris Simon. (first five qualified for the Preliminary Feature) Fourth NAPA Auto Parts Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Travis Whitney, 2. Dale Blaney, 3. Sammy Swindell, 4. Frankie Kerr, 5. Craig Dollansky, 6. Jimmy Stinson, 7. Steve Suever, 8. Gerald Cressman, 9. Kent Wolters. (first five qualified for the Preliminary Feature) Channellock Dash (five laps): 1. Andy Hillenburg, 2. Travis Whitney, 3. Joey Saldana, 4. Steve Kinser, 5. Johnny Herrera, 6. Sammy Swindell, 7. Tim Shaffer, 8. Mark Kinser. (finish determined the first eight starting positions in the Preliminary Feature) B Feature (12 laps): 1. Danny Lasoski, 2. Jac Haudenschild, 3. Paul McMahan, 4. Kevin Huntley, 5. Jeff Swindell, 6. Dean Jacobs ($125); 7. Jimmy Stinson ($100); 8. Brian Paulus ($75); 9. Jimmy Carr ($60); 10. Fred Boso ($50); 11. Raymond Shank ($40); 12. Gerald Cressman ($40); 13. Steve Suever ($40); 14. Scott Young ($40); 15. Kent Wolters ($40); 16. Chris Simon ($40); 17. Terry McCarl ($40). (first four qualified for the Preliminary Feature) Preliminary Feature (20 laps): 1. Steve Kinser ($5,000); 2. Andy Hillenburg ($2,500); 3. Sammy Swindell ($1,700); 4. Joey Saldana ($1,500); 5. Johnny Herrera ($1,350); 6. Stevie Smith ($1,250); 7. Mark Kinser ($1,200); 8. Frankie Kerr ($1,100); 9. Travis Whitney ($1,075); 10. Jac Haudenschild ($1,070); 11. Dale Blaney ($1,000); 12. Brooke Tatnell ($900); 13. Donny Schatz ($800); 14. Tyler Walker ($700); 15. Danny Lasoski ($620); 16. Paul McMahan ($520); 17. Danny Smith ($400); 18. Kenny Jacobs ($400); 19. Daryn Pittman ($400); 20. Tim Shaffer ($400); 21. Joe Gaerte ($400); 22. Jeff Swindell ($420); 23. Kevin Huntley ($420); 24. Craig Dollansky ($400). DNS - Tim Allison; replaced by Jeff Swindell Lap leaders: Travis Whitney 1-8, Steve Kinser 9-20 Vivarin Fast-Time Award winner: Joey Saldana WoO