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Kings Royal, Saturday, July 15, race report

Blaney Claims $50,000 at Kings Royal By Richard Day ROSSBURG, OH (July 15) -- There's something about big-money races at Eldora Speedway that bring out the best in the Amoco racing team. Team ...

Blaney Claims $50,000 at Kings Royal By Richard Day ROSSBURG, OH (July 15) -- There's something about big-money races at Eldora Speedway that bring out the best in the Amoco racing team. Team owner Dave Blaney, current driver Dale Blaney and the late Kevin Gobrecht won the last three Historical Big One races at "The World's Fastest Half-Mile." Dave also won the Kings Royal in 1993 and 1995. His brother, Dale, won the 17th Annual Kings Royal Saturday. Dale, who was only .18 seconds short of a $12,000 payday in the Eldora Clash Friday, picked up where he left off when the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series returned to Earl Baltes' high-banked, 1/2-mile oval for the third straight day. He restarted in first place when Mark Kinser stopped with a shredded right rear tire with 12 laps remaining and barely held off series points leader Steve Kinser for his second victory of the year. "This is really special," Blaney said. "Mark had a really good car. I'm not sure I had anything for him, but sometimes that's part of racing. We got pretty close there on the last lap, but I don't think I did anything to Steve that he wouldn't do to me. We raced each other pretty clean. I knew it was going to be tough, but I wasn't going to give this one away." Kinser, who has won a record four Kings Royals, hugged Blaney as he approached the steps to the trophy stage. "It took seven or eight laps for my tires to take off again," Steve said. "I didn't need a red (with 12 laps remaining). A yellow wouldn't have hurt, but that red just killed me; the tires cooled off. "On the last lap, I made a run at him and he went to the bottom and blocked me into a lapped car. If I had gone to the top, I'd have had a better chance. I was so far under him, I couldn't turn and keep my momentum going. When I saw that lapped car down there, I knew I wasn't going to get him." Blaney, the 22nd-fastest qualifier in the 48-car field, earned the right to start the 40-lap main event outside the second row by following Joey Saldana, Mark Kinser and Craig Dollansky across the finish line in the CHANNELLOCK Dash. Saldana drove his #17 HEM Saw Eagle into the lead as the green flag fell in the "A" Feature. Dollansky, racing with a badly injured right leg, took the inside line through turns one and two to pass Mark for second place early in the opening lap. The defending Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series champion got by Dollansky two laps later, only to have Rocky Hodges' fourth-corner spin bring out the caution flag and nullify the pass. Kinser steered the #5M Mopar Maxim into the high groove in turns three and four to pass Dollansky three laps after the race resumed. Mark challenged Saldana in the second corner early in lap 11, then raced wheel-to-wheel with him through turns three and four before taking the lead deep in the first corner the next time around. Blaney drove the #93 Amoco Maxim past Dollansky and Saldana during the 15th and 17th laps to move into second place. Mark opened a 4.6-second advantage during the 23rd lap. Debris punctured his right rear tire in the next five laps, however, causing him to stop in turn four. Blaney, whose car is also powered by a Mopar engine, raced away from the field as the green flag replaced the yellow. Shane Stewart hit the wall and flipped in the second corner, however, and crashed into Vivarin Fast-Time Award winner Jeff Shepard. Jac Haudenschild stopped the #22 fetchOmatic.com Maxim in turn two late in the 20th lap, bringing out another caution. Steve Kinser, who started inside the sixth row, restarted in second place but was unable to keep pace with Blaney. He narrowed the gap to .5 seconds in lapped traffic with 1 1/2 laps remaining and caught Blaney between turns one and two early in the final lap. After a lapped car blocked his path to the lead on the back straightaway, "The King of the Outlaws" tried an outside move in the third corner. His #11 Quaker State Maxim bounced off the turn-four wall, however, as Blaney raced to the checkered flag. "Amoco does a great job for us," Blaney said. "The Maxim engine was flawless, the Maxim car was good and I can't say enough about my brother. He gave me an chance to come back and we won this for him." World of Outlaws Gumout Series front-runner Brad Furr raced into third place from outside the 10th row. Saldana finished in fourth place, ahead of Saldana, Danny Lasoski, "B" Feature winner Sammy Swindell, Danny Wood, Mark Kinser, Dollansky and Andy Hillenburg. Engine problems plagued Swindell throughout the program. After two lost power, he borrowed one from Holbrook Motorsports. The defending Kings Royal champion started at the rear and raced into sixth place. The Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series will invade the Terre Haute Action Track Monday, then head to Knoxville Raceway Wednesday, State Fair Motor Speedway Friday and I-55 Raceway Saturday. WoO

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