World of Outlaws Ratbag Cup

MARION, IN (June 7) -- After leading the Ratbag Cup standings through the last four TNN: The National Network telecasts of Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series events, Danny "Catfish" Lasoski has received some royal company.

"King of the Outlaws" Steve Kinser, who began the year in the worst possible manner -- only garnering one point in the TNN/WoO opener from Las Vegas Motor Speedway and sitting in last place -- has managed to finish no less than second among fellow Ratbag Cup competitors in all TV events since the first of March, moving him into a tie for first place with Lasoski.

Kinser moved into second place following the TNN's telecast of the preliminary program from The Dirt Track @ Lowe's Motor Speedway (TDT@LMS) May 25th, passing Joey Saldana. Kinser's strong showing during the May 26th telecast added another nine points to his Ratbag tally -- tying him with Lasoski at 38 points. Steve's Saturday night performance was second only to his cousin, Mark Kinser, who won the "A" Feature and added another 10 Ratbag Cup points to his total, placing him in third -- only two points behind "The Catfish" and "The King."

Here are the point standings after five events. Thirteen events remain in the 2001 Ratbag Cup. <pre> Pos. Driver Points 1. (tie) Danny Lasoski 38 1. (tie) Steve Kinser 38 3. Mark Kinser 36 4. Sammy Swindell 31 5. Joey Saldana 30 6. Andy Hillenburg 29 7. Stevie Smith 27 8. Dale Blaney 16 8. (tie) Jac Haudenschild 16 10. Johnny Herrera 10

The Ratbag Cup is a season-long points battle among the top 10 Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series drivers from the 2000 season. Points can only be accrued during the 18 TNN/WoO broadcasts.

Ratbag, an Australian-based software company that developed the smash-hit "Dirt Track Racing: Sprint Cars - The Official Video Game of the World of Outlaws," is putting up a $120,000 prize pool for the competitors this season. The 2001 Ratbag Cup champion will take $25,000 home from the WoO banquet at the season finale in Las Vegas.

The next events for the Ratbag Cup will be Friday and Saturday from Bristol Motor Speedway. Both races will be telecast live, starting at 9 p.m. (EDT).

The next WoO game from Ratbag is due to hit store shelves in October, and will be for the Sony PlayStation2 gaming console.

-WoO