Tri-City report 96-05-11

Steve Kinser Continues Domination of Tri-City Speedway By Richard Day GRANITE CITY, IL (May 11) - Steve Kinser always looks forward to racing at Bob Wente's Tri-City Speedway. Why shouldn't he; he's won 18 of the 35 events the Skoal Outlaw Series has run there since the series started visiting the semi-banked, 1/2-mile oval in 1979. "The King of the Outlaws" was up to his old tricks Saturday night, passing cousin and World of Outlaws points leader Mark Kinser after a 14th-lap restart and leading the final 16 laps for his fourth victory in a Skoal Outlaw Series "A" Feature this season. Mark, whose engine started faltering midway through the 30-lap main event, finished third and saw his lead in the point standings dwindle to 14 points. The engine in the #5M Wirtgen Maxim was the most powerful in the 29-car field early as Mark came within .145 seconds of breaking the one-lap record he set at Tri-City last May 13th. His 17.180-second qualifying run earned him his seventh EcoWater Quick-Time Award of the year. He also earned the right to start the "A" Feature on the pole by winning the Vivarin Dash. Sammy Swindell, winner of seven World of Outlaws main events at Tri-City, was the second-fastest qualifier in the field. A back- straightaway collision with Lance Blevins during the Second Quaker State Heat Race sent his #1 ChannelLock Gambler barrel-rolling into turn three. Sammy's bad luck continued in the "B" Feature when he suffered a broken fuel pump. After finishing 10th in the "B," Swindell became the first driver in World of Outlaws history to utilize the series' new provisional rule. He started the "A" Feature at the rear of the 25-car field and finished 16th. Mark burst into the lead as the green flag fell in the main event. Steve challenged him in the first corner - they raced wheel-to-wheel into turn two - but he was unable to drive past his cousin. Mark opened a six-car-length advantage during the second lap as Andy Hillenburg started challenging Steve for the runner-up spot. Later in the lap, Dave Blaney took over fourth place, steering the #10 Vivarin J&J between Second Quaker State Heat Race winner Johnny Herrera and the infield in turn four. Mark was 10 car-lengths ahead of his closest pursuers when he entered lapped traffic during the fifth lap. He was forced to take the high line around a pack of backmarkers the next time around, which allowed Steve to narrow the gap. "The Buckeye Bullet," a two-time winner at Tri-City, caught Steve, too, making it a three-car-battle for the lead. Steve threatened to take the lead three times during the eighth, ninth and 10th laps, but Mark was equal to the challenge. Mark increased his advantage during the 11th lap, only to have Steve catch him in dense lapped traffic the next time around. Steve was right behind when Mark cleared the backmarkers late in lap 13. The Kinser cousins were still battling for first place when the #75 Mopar Maxim jumped out of gear early in the 14th lap, forcing Randy Hannagan to stop in the second corner. Then Terry Babb's #3x sprinter lost its right rear tire as the green flag replaced the yellow, forcing another restart. Steve was right on Mark's rear bumper when the race resumed, and steered his #11 Quaker State Maxim deep into the fourth corner to take the lead late in lap 15. He put 10 car-lengths between himself and the rest of the field within three laps, and added five more car-lengths to his advantage when he lapped a pack of backmarkers with 10 laps remaining. Blaney caught Mark during the 22nd lap, and passed him with a high move into the second corner two laps later. "The King of the Outlaws" maintained a comfortable, 15-car-length cushion throughout the final four laps. "We were a little slow at the start of the race," Kinser said in victory lane, "but we got faster as we burned off some of our fuel." Blaney and Mark finished second and third, respectively. Herrera drove the #47 Casey's General Stores Maxim around Hillenburg early in the final lap to claim fourth place. Rookie of the Year candidate Joey Saldana took over sixth place with a 29th-lap pass of Joe Gaerte. Rounding out the top 10 in the World of Outlaws' 13th main event of the year were Jac Haudenschild, 14th-starting Stevie Smith and Greg Hodnett. WoO 1996 World of Outlaws/Skoal Outlaw Series Tri-City Speedway, Granite City, IL Saturday, May 11, Feature Program #13 Qualifications: 1. Mark Kinser, Kinser 5M, 17.180; 2. Sammy Swindell, Swindell 1, 17.415; 3. Steve Kinser, Kinser 11, 17.503; 4. Andy Hillenburg, Hillenburg 2, 17.608; 5. Johnny Herrera, Sonner 47, 17.706; 6. Joe Gaerte, Gaerte 3G, 17.792; 7. Dave Blaney, Luna 10, 17.806; 8. Joey Saldana, Roth 83, 17.829; 9. Jac Haudenschild, Elden 22, 17.920; 10. Greg Hodnett, Helm 11H, 18.059; 11. Lance Blevins, Blevins 21, 18.132; 12. Jeff Swindell, Two Winners, 7TW, 18.136; 13. Randy Kinser, Kinser 14, 18.178; 14. Van Gurley, Jr., Gurley 3B, 18.217; 15. Stevie Smith, Motter 71M, 18.239; 16. Jeff Shepard, Wahlie 1W, 18.339; 17. Tim Engler, Engler 73, 18.383; 18. Randy Hannagan, Stanton 75, 18.407; 19. Danny Smith, Smith/Bodkins 00, 18.510; 20. Jim Carr, McCarr 7M, 18.548; 21. Brian Paulus, P&P Motorsports 28, 18.910; 22. Tommy Scott, Scott 4S, 19.049; 23. Bobby Hawks, Hawks 5H, 19.099; 24. Kevin Whitworth, Whitworth 11x, 19.161; 25. Wayne Sternbergh, Sternbergh 14S, 19.251; 26. Justin Via, Bye 24V, 19.420; 27. Victor Hensley, Hensley 51x, 19.572; 28. Terry Babb, Babb 3x, 19.651; 29. Jason Dukes, JT Enterprises 99, no time. First Quaker State Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Jeff Shepard, 2. Dave Blaney, 3. Mark Kinser, 4. Andy Hillenburg, 5. Randy Kinser, 6. Greg Hodnett, 7. Danny Smith, 8. Wayne Sternbergh, 9. Tommy Scott, 10. Terry Babb. (first six qualified for the "A" Feature) Second Quaker State Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Johnny Herrera, 2. Tim Engler, 3. Joey Saldana, 4. Van Gurley, Jr., 5. Jason Dukes, 6. Jim Carr, 7. Lance Blevins, 8. Bobby Hawks, 9. Justin Via, 10. Sammy Swindell. (first six qualified for the "A" Feature) Third Quaker State Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Steve Kinser, 2. Stevie Smith, 3. Joe Gaerte, 4. Randy Hannagan, 5. Jac Haudenschild, 6. Jeff Swindell, 7. Kevin Whitworth, 8. Brian Paulus, 9. Victor Hensley. (first six qualified for the "A" Feature) Vivarin Dash (five laps): 1. Mark Kinser, 2. Steve Kinser, 3. Johnny Herrera, 4. Andy Hillenburg, 5. Dave Blaney, 6. Joe Gaerte, 7. Joey Saldana, 8. Jac Haudenschild. (finish determined the first eight starting positions in the "A" Feature) B Feature (12 laps): 1. Lance Blevins, 2. Danny Smith, 3. Tommy Scott, 4. Bobby Hawks, 5. Wayne Sternbergh, 6. Terry Babb, 7. Victor Hensley ($210); 8. Justin Via ($185); 9. Brian Paulus ($160); 10. Sammy Swindell, 11. Kevin Whitworth ($110). (first six qualified for the "A" Feature) A Feature (30 laps): 1. Steve Kinser ($6,010); 2. Dave Blaney ($3,510); 3. Mark Kinser ($2,510); 4. Johnny Herrera ($2,210); 5. Andy Hillenburg ($2,110); 6. Joey Saldana ($2,010); 7. Joe Gaerte ($1,610); 8. Jac Haudenschild ($1,510); 9. Stevie Smith ($1,410); 10. Greg Hodnett ($1,310); 11. Jeff Swindell ($1,160); 12. Lance Blevins ($1,130); 13. Tim Engler ($1,060); 14. Randy Kinser ($1,010); 15. Danny Smith ($730); 16. Sammy Swindell ($530); 17. Bobby Hawks ($430); 18. Jim Carr ($410); 19. Tommy Scott ($430); 20. Wayne Sternbergh ($430); 21. Jason Dukes ($410); 22. Van Gurley, Jr. ($410); 23. Randy Hannagan ($410); 24. Jeff Shepard ($410); 25. Terry Babb ($430). Lap leaders: Mark Kinser 1-14, Steve Kinser 15-30 EcoWater Quick-Time Award winner: Mark Kinser WoO