World of Outlaws to sanction Western World

World of Outlaws to Sanction Western World By Richard Day PHOENIX, AZ (October 6) - The Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series is pleased to announce it will sanction the 31st Annual Western World Championships at Manzanita Speedway October 23-24. The series is also scheduled to open its 1999 season at the historic semi-banked, 1/2-mile oval February 26-27 and sanction the 32nd Annual Western World Championships next October 22-23. TNN: The Nashville Network will televise the October 22nd races live. Keith Hall will promote all three events, Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series Founder and President Ted Johnson said Tuesday. Johnson couldn't write a better script for the stretch run of the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series' 20th Anniversary Season. Steve Kinser, the winningest driver in series history, is steadily increasing his advantage as he races toward his 15th championship. He leads Mark Kinser by 94 points with nine events remaining on the schedule. "The King of the Outlaws" will be the driver to beat at Manzanita. He has won seven Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series "A" Features there, including the 1996 Western World. He will have plenty of competition waiting for him, however. Thirteen drivers have combined to win the first 59 "A" Features of the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series' 1998 Season. Ten more have been in victory lane following the 19 Preliminary Features. Kinser took the points lead with a second-place finish at Huset's Speedway July 7th. Although he has won only five main events and five Preliminary Features, his 52 top-10 finishes - 38 in the top five - have kept him on top in the point standings during the most competitive season in Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series history. Mark, the defending Western World champion, led the points race early in the year before 24th- and 22nd-place finishes in early July allowed his cousin to pass him. The 1996 Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series champion has won 10 main events and four preliminaries this year. His victory at Williams Grove Speedway on October 2nd pushed him into second place in the point standings. Sammy Swindell, the defending Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series champion, has won seven "A" Features and one Preliminary Feature this year. He has recorded 47 top-10 finishes - including 31 in the top five. Swindell is a two-time winner at Manzanita Speedway. Stevie Smith leads the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series with 13 "A" Feature victories. He took the points lead with a victory in early May, but three blown engines in two nights pushed him into fourth place. Six top-10 finishes in the last seven races have enabled him maintain his fourth-place ranking in the points race. Danny Lasoski joined the Beef Packers team during the off-season. He has won three Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series "A" Features, including the prestigious Amoco Knoxville Nationals. Top-10 finishes in the last 17 races have "The Dude" only 99 points behind Smith in the point standings. Andy Hillenburg, who won races at Rolling Wheels Raceway and Illinois State Fair Speedway within four days in early June, has gone back to the black color scheme he used when he earned Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series Rookie of the Year honors in 1988. Although a shoulder injury put him out of contention for the 1998 Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series championship, Jac Haudenschild has climbed back into seventh place in the standings by recording top- 10 finishes in 14 of the last 15 races, including a victory in the prestigious Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway September 19th. Haudenschild won the series' 1998 season opener at Manzanita. Johnny Herrera has ranked as high as fifth in the standings this season. A disappointing weekend at Hagerstown Speedway on the heels of his Channellock Spring Classic victory at Williams Grove pushed him back into eighth place. Despite changing everything from its sponsor to its crew chief during the off-season, Jeff Swindell has kept the #104+ Octane Boost J&J among the series' top 10. He has won main events at Paducah International Raceway and Southern Oregon Speedway this year. Kenny Woodruff, owner of the winning car in the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series' inaugural race on March 18, 1978, has the #93 Amoco J&J running on all cylinders and rookie Dale Blaney ranks 10th in the point standings. Tyler Walker has driven through peaks and valleys this season. The Manufacturers' Rookie of the Year candidate is 164 points behind Blaney after 59 events. Donny Schatz, the 1997 Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series Rookie of the Year, has put the sophomore jinx myth to rest. He finished fourth at the Amoco Knoxville Nationals and won the first main event of his career at Riverside Speedway August 24th. Craig Dollansky has endured an up-and-down rookie season. He started his own team after Jim Wahlie retired, then drove the #75 Mopar Maxim for 28 events. He left the Mopar team after the Eagle Nationals and has driven several other sprinters since. Larry Neighbors is another rookie racing with the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series during its 20th Anniversary Season. Up Front Phone Cards, a division of Capital Telecommunications, Inc., is sponsoring Lance Blevins this year. The Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series' 20th Anniversary season features 72 events over 102 race dates at 47 facilities in 25 states and more than $10 million in purses, contingencies and point fund awards. WoO