Skagit report 95-08-26

Blaney Leads All 40 Laps in Skagit Finale By Richard Day ALGER, WA (August 26) - What a difference a year can make. Last August, Dave Blaney battled Jeff Swindell through every turn on Skagit Speedway's 3/10-mile oval before claiming the $8,200 first prize. Saturday night, with $15,000 on the line, "The Buckeye Bullet" was rarely challenged while leading all 40 laps for the victory. "The #10 Vivarin J&J was working well all weekend," Blaney said in victory lane. "We really didn't have to work with it very much." The victory, coupled with Jac Haudenschild's 23rd-place finish, increased Blaney's advantage to 152 points in the Skoal Outlaw Series point standings. That's two fewer points than he earned for winning his 10th World of Outlaws "A" Feature of the season. Blaney, winner of the opening-night Preliminary Feature and Skagit's new one-lap record holder, received the luxury of starting the main event on the pole for scoring the most points in the preliminary programs. He burst into the lead while Steve Kinser passed Andy Hillenburg for the runner-up spot as the green flag fell in the "A" Feature. Blaney opened a four-car-length advantage within three laps as Jac Haudenschild and Danny Lasoski battled for third place. "The Buckeye Bullet" was increasing his advantage when Tom Waggoner's second-corner spin early in the fourth lap brought out the caution flag and tightened the field. Within a lap after the race resumed, Blaney had the #10 Vivarin J&J three car-lengths ahead of his closest pursuers. He had a four- car-length margin when he caught the backmarkers three laps later. Kinser narrowed the gap when Blaney entered dense lapped traffic early in the 12th lap. Kinser was unable to take the lead, however, as "The Buckeye Bullet" raced past Greg Brown and Rick Fauver the next time around. The hydraulic line to the top wing on the #22 Pennzoil Maxim started leaking power steering fluid during the 15th lap. With all of his power steering fluid gone, Haudenschild stopped in turn four two laps later. He restarted at the back of the pack and ran two more laps before coasting into the infield midway through the race. His crew discovered that the steering box rubbed a hole in the line. Greg Hodnett steered the #8TW Kele & Associates Maxim deep into the third corner to pass Lasoski for fourth place as the green flag replaced the yellow. "The Dude" returned the favor the next time around. Hodnett and Lasoski caught Hillenburg three laps later and all three battled for third place as Blaney blew into lapped traffic. "The Buckeye Bullet" opened a full-straightaway advantage with 13 laps remaining, only to have Kinser narrow the gap during the next nine laps as they maneuvered through the backmarkers. Blaney used a quick move around Greg DeCaires and Randy Ridge with two laps remaining to increase his margin to a full straightaway again. "The Buckeye Bullet" lapped up to eighth place, and took the checkered flag with Kinser racing into turn four. While the majority of the teams used 17- and 20-compound right rear tires on their cars, Kenny Woodruff had a 25C on the #10. Blaney ran the rim for most of the race, but the #10 handled well everywhere on the racing surface as he maneuvered through lapped traffic. Hillenburg held off a late change by Hodnett to finish in third place. Rounding out the top 10 in the "A" Feature were Randy Hannagan, Lasoski, Jeff Swindell, Paul McMahan, Stevie Smith and 15th-starting Joe Gaerte. Hannagan accepted his fourth Wells Lamont Hard Charger Award of the year for racing into fifth place from inside the sixth row. Alan Munn drove Bobby Burrow's #1B KLB Construction J&J into 21st place from inside the back row. Two cracked ribs and a sore shoulder suffered in a crash in Friday's "B" Feature kept Burrow out of action. Casey Diemert won the "C" Feature, while "B" Feature winner John McDonald finished the main event in 17th place. The World of Outlaws' Second Annual Wild Wild Northwest Tour is scheduled to climax Tuesday at Riverside Speedway in Cottage Grove, OR. WoO 1995 World of Outlaws/Skoal Outlaw Series Skagit Speedway, Alger, WA Saturday, August 26, Feature Program #55 C Feature (15 laps): 1. Casey Diemert, 2. Glenn Borden Jr., 3. Darren Kennedy, 4. Trevon Wilson, 5. Scott Aumen, 6. Jay Cole, 7. Todd Heikes, 8. Travis Hawthorne ($200); 9. Clint Houston ($175); 10. Pat Kuehn ($150); 11. Kirk Fellers ($125); 12. Jeff Hartjoy ($100). (first seven qualified for the "B" Feature) B Feature (25 laps): 1. John McDonald, 2. Jason Solwold, 3. John Youngquist, 4. Jerry Bundy, 5. Jay Follman ($400); 6. Marc Huson ($375); 7. Darren Kennedy ($400); 8. Trevon Wilson ($375); 9. Wes Gibbs ($300); 10. Mark Ellis ($275); 11. Jay Cole ($300); 12. Travis Cram ($225); 13. Scott Aumen ($250); 14. Casey Diemert ($225); 15. Glenn Borden Jr. ($150); 16. Phil Sivo ($100); 17. Todd Heikes ($150); 18. Todd VonStroberg ($100). (first four qualified for the "A" Feature) A Feature (40 laps): 1. Dave Blaney ($15,000); 2. Steve Kinser ($10,000); 3. Andy Hillenburg ($5,000); 4. Greg Hodnett ($4,000); 5. Randy Hannagan ($3,000); 6. Danny Lasoski ($2,500); 7. Jeff Swindell ($2,000); 8. Paul McMahan ($1,900); 9. Stevie Smith ($1,800); 10. Joe Gaerte ($1,750); 11. Keith Kauffman ($1,600); 12. Steve Beitler ($1,500); 13. Greg DeCaires ($1,300); 14. Randy Ridge ($1,200); 15. Rick Fauver ($1,100); 16. Greg Brown ($1,000); 17. John McDonald ($850); 18. Tom Waggoner ($600); 19. Butch Gilbert ($500); 20. John Youngquist ($550); 21. Alan Munn ($500); 22. Jerry Bundy ($550); 23. Jac Haudenschild ($500); 24. Jason Solwold ($550). Lap leader: Dave Blaney 1-40 Wells Lamont Hard Charger Award: Randy Hannagan WoO*eof