Perris report 97-02-14

Blaney Disqualification Gives Kinser Victory By Richard Day LAKE PERRIS, CA (February 14) - Valentines Day, usually one of the most heart-warming days of the year, was definitely heartbreaking for Dave Blaney. While "The Buckeye Bullet" was being congratulated for what he thought was his first feature victory as a car owner, Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series officials discovered the muffler on his #10 Vivarin J&J was broken. So Blaney, the series' 1995 champion, was disqualified and Mark Kinser was declared the winner of the Pennzoil World of Outlaws' Preliminary Feature at Perris Auto Speedway. The races were televised live on TNN: The Nashville Network during its TNN Motor Madness program. The disqualification ruined an otherwise perfect evening for "The Buckeye Bullet." He raced to victory from inside the third row in the First Heat Race, then earned the right to start the feature on the pole by winning the Vivarin Dash from inside the front row. "We started a little better and got a good jump," Blaney said after winning the First Heat. "The car was going pretty good. We'd have been in good shape no matter what. "We started (the race) early today, but I think as the night goes it will get easier and easier (on tires). It's shiny in some spots, so I don't think tires are going to be a factor. "This is a good race track. We raced here last fall and it made for good racing so, hopefully, we can be at the front of the big race." Blaney was at the front in the "big race," but it wasn't easy. He and Kinser, the defending World of Outlaws champion, raced wheel-to-wheel down the front straightaway as the green flag fell in the evening's main event. Mark surged ahead with a high move in turn one. Blaney caught him on the back straightaway, and took the high line through the fourth corner to regain first place. Kinser regained the lead early in the second lap, threading his #5M Wirtgen Maxim between Blaney and the inside berm in turn one for the pass. As Mark raced away from the field, his cousin, Second Heat Race winner Steve Kinser, raced into fourth place from outside the fifth row. As Perris' semi-banked, half-mile oval started taking rubber, the racing surface became stickier, allowing the cars to execute daring moves. The battle for sixth place between Channellock Fast-Time Award winner Jac Haudenschild and Stevie Smith raged as the leaders entered lapped traffic six laps into the race. As Blaney narrowed the gap in lapped traffic, Third Heat Race winner Andy Hillenburg joined the battle for the lead. He drove his #2 STP J&J past Blaney for the runner-up deep in the third corner during lap 14, and was sandwiched between Mark and Blaney as the leaders raced nose-to-tail through lapped traffic midway through the feature. "The Buckeye Bullet" regained the runner-up spot with a low move through turn four late in the 19th lap. Steve Kinser joined the battle for the lead with 10 laps remaining and no more than six car-lengths separated the top four cars until lap 24. Blaney took the lead with a high move through the fourth corner with five laps remaining and was two car-lengths ahead when he took the checkered flag. All 24 cars finished the caution-free feature race. Following Blaney's disqualification, Hillenburg was awarded second place. Completing the top 10 in the Preliminary Feature were Steve Kinser, Danny Lasoski, Sammy Swindell, Haudenschild, Smith, Greg Hodnett, 14th-starting Jeff Swindell and Randy Hannagan. Pat Bourke, the 34th-fastest qualifier in the 44-car field, came on strong when the feature races started. He finishing second in "C," and racing into fourth place from the back of the pack in the "B" to claim the final transfer spot in the evening's main event. WoO 1997 Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series Wings Over Perris Perris Auto Speedway, Lake Perris, CA Friday, February 14, Preliminary Program Qualifications: 1. Jac Haudenschild, Elden 22, 15.035; 2. Mark Kinser, Kinser 5M, 15.275; 3. Randy Hannagan, TRH Racing 1x, 15.295; 4. Joe Gaerte, Gaerte 3G, 15.305; 5. Dave Blaney, Hylton/ Blaney 10, 15.371; 6. Danny Lasoski, Wahlie 1W, 15.375; 7. Andy Hillenburg, Hillenburg 2, 15.429; 8. Greg Hodnett, Helm 11H, 15.433; 9. Sammy Swindell, Swindell 1, 15.450; 10. Steve Kinser, Kinser 11, 15.471; 11. Johnny Herrera, Sonner 47, 15.499; 12. Stevie Smith, Smith 19, 15.538; 13. Lance Blevins, Blevins 21, 15.710; 14. Jeff Swindell, Two Winners 7TW, 15.777; 15. Jim Carr, Williams 0, 15.778; 16. Paul McMahan, Roth 83, 15.822; 17. Tyler Walker, Walker 35, 15.825; 18. Jason Statler, Statler 00, 15.886; 19. Kevin Pylant, Pylant 14P, 15.897; 20. Donny Schatz, Schatz 15, 15.905; 21. Victor Hensley, Hensley 51P, 15.980; 22. Brent Kaeding, Peterson 2M, 16.020; 23. Steve Kent, McMillen 2K, 16.107; 24. Bobby McMahan, Bumgarner 88, 16.132; 25. Brian Coelho, Coelho 5C, 16.248; 26. Brian Hodges, Hodges 31H, 16.317; 27. Gary Giving, Giving 3x, 16.527; 28. Tommy Tarlton, Tarlton 21T, 16.550; 29. Dion Hindi, Hindi 11D, 16.595; 30. Troy Rutherford, Rutherford 11T, 16.656; 31. Rick Ziehl, Ziehl 18Z, 16.745; 32. Marlon Jones, Oswalt 1J, 16.747; 33. Ron Souter, Souter 33, 16.860; 34. Pat Bourke, B&B Excavating 27, 16.934; 35. Sid Blandford, Blandford 31, 16.943; 36. Steve Coelho, Coelho 6C, 17.165; 37. Toni Lutar, Lutar 16, 17.255; 38. Dan Oswalt, Oswalt D1, 17.273; 39. Fred Brownfield, Brownfield 92, 17.300; 40. Todd Bammer, Bammer 18, 17.474; 41. Jim Giardina, Giardina 58, 17.619; 42. Jay Burns, Burns 2J, 17.762; 43. Sean Fenn, Fenn 36, no time; Keith Kauffman, Fauver 5 no time. First Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Dave Blaney, 2. Sammy Swindell, 3. Jac Haudenschild, 4. Lance Blevins, 5. Tyler Walker, 6. Ron Souter, 7. Brian Coelho, 8. Toni Lutar, 9. Dion Hindi, 10. Victor Hensley, 11. Jim Giardina. (first five qualified for the Preliminary Feature) Second Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Steve Kinser, 2. Mark Kinser, 3. Jason Statler, 4. Danny Lasoski, 5. Jeff Swindell, 6. Troy Rutherford, 7. Brent Kaeding, 8. Brian Hodges, 9. Pat Bourke, 10. Dan Oswalt, 11. Jay Burns. (first five qualified for the Preliminary Feature) Third Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Andy Hillenburg, 2. Steve Kent, 3. Johnny Herrera, 4. Kevin Pylant, 5. Randy Hannagan, 6. Jim Carr, 7. Gary Giving, 8. Fred Brownfield, 9. Rick Ziehl, 10. Sid Blandford. DNS - Keith Kauffman. (first five qualified for the Preliminary Feature) Fourth Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Donny Schatz, 2. Stevie Smith, 3. Greg Hodnett, 4. Bobby McMahan, 5. Paul McMahan, 6. Joe Gaerte, 7. Tommy Tarlton, 8. Marlon Jones, 9. Steve Coelho, 10. Todd Bammer. DNS - Sean Fenn. (first five qualified for the Preliminary Feature) Vivarin Dash (five laps): 1. Dave Blaney, 2. Mark Kinser, 3. Andy Hillenburg, 4. Jac Haudenschild, 5. Danny Lasoski, 6. Sammy Swindell, 7. Greg Hodnett, 8. Randy Hannagan. (finish determined the first eight starting positions in the Preliminary Feature) C Feature (10 laps): 1. Toni Lutar, 2. Pat Bourke, 3. Todd Bammer, 4. Fred Brownfield, 5. Steve Coelho ($100); 6. Ron Souter ($80); 7. Dan Oswalt ($60); 8. Sean Fenn ($50); 9. Jim Giardina ($40); 10. Jay Burns ($30); 11. Sid Blandford ($25). DNS - Keith Kauffman. (first four qualified for the "B" Feature) B Feature (12 laps): 1. Brent Kaeding, 2. Joe Gaerte, 3. Jim Carr, 4. Pat Bourke, 5. Victor Hensley ($150); 6. Troy Rutherford ($125); 7. Dion Hindi ($100); 8. Brian Hodges ($75); 9. Todd Bammer ($80); 10. Brian Coelho ($50); 11. Rick Ziehl ($40); 12. Fred Brownfield ($60); 13. Gary Giving ($40); 14. Toni Lutar ($60); 15. Marlon Jones ($40); 16. Tommy Tarlton ($40). (first four qualified for the Preliminary Feature) Preliminary Feature (30 laps): 1. Mark Kinser ($4,500); 2. Andy Hillenburg ($2,500); 3. Steve Kinser ($1,700); 4. Danny Lasoski ($1,500); 5. Sammy Swindell ($1,350); 6. Jac Haudenschild ($1,250); 7. Stevie Smith ($1,200); 8. Greg Hodnett ($1,100); 9. Jeff Swindell ($1,075); 10. Randy Hannagan ($1,050); 11. Johnny Herrera ($1,000); 12. Joe Gaerte ($820); 13. Paul McMahan ($700); 14. Lance Blevins ($630); 15. Steve Kent ($400); 16. Jason Statler ($400); 17. Brent Kaeding ($320); 18. Donny Schatz ($300); 19. Tyler Walker ($300); 20. Bobby McMahan ($300); 21. Kevin Pylant ($300); 22. Pat Bourke ($340); 23. Jim Carr ($320); 24. Dave Blaney ($300). Lap leaders: Dave Blaney 1, Mark Kinser 2-30 Channellock Fast-Time Award winner: Jac Haudenschild WoO