WOO: Swindell Runs 'Classic' Race at Eldora
14 April 1998
By Richard DayROSSBURG, OH - With all due respect to Williams Grove Speedway's Channellock Spring Classic, Eldora Speedway owner Earl Baltes might consider naming his first Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series of the year the Channellock April Classic.
After all, Sammy Swindell has driven his #1 Channellock Stealth to victory at Eldora the last three Aprils.
"The Channellock Stealth was really working tonight," Sammy said. "We were able to get a good start and our momentum up.
"I want to dedicate this to John Buchna from Channellock. He and his wife had a little girl this week and he told me to win one for her."
The defending World of Outlaws champion started the "A" Feature on the front row next to Preliminary Feature and Channellock Dash winner Joey Saldana. They raced side-by-side down the front straightaway and into the first corner as the green flag fell. Sammy surged ahead in turn two and never relinquished the lead to claim his first victory of the season. The $10,000 victory pushed Swindell into fourth place in the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series point standings.
Swindell was building a comfortable advantage during the second lap when Dale Blaney allowed the #93 Amoco J&J to hit the retaining wall in turn two. The crash brought out the caution flag and put the Rookie of the Year candidate in the pit area.
Sammy raced away from the field as the green flag replaced the yellow and opened a half-straightaway advantage within two laps. He was a full straightaway ahead of his closest pursuers when he entered lapped traffic seven laps into the race.
Stevie Smith exchanged second place with Saldana twice before steering his #19 Ingersoll-Rand sprinter deep into the first corner to end the battle early in lap nine. Then Jac Haudenschild and Steve Kinser passed Saldana with low moves in turn two early in the 10th and 12th laps. Their progress was slowed when a mechanical malfunction in the #75 Mopar Schnee forced Craig Dollansky to stop on the back straightaway during the 13th lap.
Swindell immediately started rebuilding his advantage and Kinser challenged "The Wild Child" for third place as the race resumed. Sammy was more than a straightaway ahead of Smith midway through the 30-lap race. Haudenschild took over second place with an inside move in turn four late in the 15th lap.
"The Wild Child" was catching Swindell with 10 laps remaining when he crashed into the third-corner retaining wall. The impact broke the front axle on the #22 Pennzoil Maxim and ended Haudenschild's run for the lead.
"I was just trying to run some good, clean conservative laps," Swindell said. "You can run this place too hard and it can bite you. We hit the wall last night and bent a couple of things up, and I think that's what might have happened to Jac tonight."
Although engine problems plagued the #5M Wirtgen Maxim for the second straight night, Mark Kinser raced into sixth place from the rear of the field during the first 20 laps. After Steve Kinser and Saldana exchanged third during the 22nd and 23rd laps, Mark took the low line into the second corner to pass Saldana for fifth early in the 26th lap. The next time around, Mark used a high move in turn one to pass Danny Lasoski for fourth, then passed Steve deep in the fourth corner to claim third place.
Smith was unable to challenge Swindell for the lead and was racing out of turn two when Sammy took the checkered flag.
"I was glad to see Joey win last night," Swindell said. "He had a fast car and ran a great race.
"We survived this weekend. We have some other guys working on the car. We're still looking for someone (a crew chief), but we're going to take our time and find the right person.
"I have to thank the Lord for a safe weekend for everyone. Hopefully, we can come back here in June and do it again."
Mark's third-place finish gave him a 15-point advantage over cousin Steve in their battle for first place in the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series point standings. Steve finished fourth, ahead of Eldora's new single-lap record holder Andy Hillenburg, Lasoski, Joe Gaerte, 23rd-starting Johnny Herrera, Saldana and Tyler Walker.
The next stop on the World of Outlaws' trail is Paducah International Raceway. After running a single-program event in Paducah, KY, Friday, the series' fire-breathing, mud-slinging sprint car racing teams are scheduled to run a $40,000 race at West Plains Motor Speedway in West Plains, MO, Saturday. WoO
1998 Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series
Eldora Speedway, Rossburg, OH
Saturday, April 11, Feature Program #8Qualifications: 1. Andy Hillenburg, Hillenburg 2, 12.908 (new one-lap record); 2. Kenny Jacobs, Hughes 94, 12.956; 3. Jeff Shepard, Stewart 4J, 12.960; 4. Steve Kinser, Kinser 11, 12.999; 5. Danny Lasoski, Roth 83, 13.003; 6. Joe Gaerte, Holbrook 8H, 13.064; 7. Tyler Walker, Walker 35, 13.077; 8. Ed Lynch, Jr., Lynch 2L, 13.087; 9. Frankie Kerr, Shoff 23S, 13.109; 10. Butch Schroeder, Gottschalk 17S, 13.152; 11. Randy Kinser, Kinser 14, 13.177; 12. Donny Schatz, Schatz 15, 13.178; 13. Greg Hodnett, Helm 11H, 13.216; 14. Jeff Swindell, Two Winners 104+, 13.239; 15. Dale Blaney, Hylton-Blaney 93, 13.241; 16. Sarah Fisher, Fisher 9F, 13.273; 17. Dean Jacobs, Ashworth 92, 13.304; 18. Lance Blevins, Blevins 21, 13.321; 19. Craig Dollansky, Stanton 75, 13.348; 20. Kevin Huntley, Daugherty 7, 13.387; 21. Brian Paulus, P&P Motorsports 28, 13.388; 22. Johnny Herrera, Sonner 47, 13.414; 23. Keith Kauffman, Johnson U2, 13.425; 24. Mark Kinser, Kinser 5M, 13.464; 25. Jeff Mitrisin, Sereg 5J, 13.500; 26. Brooke Tatnell, RE Technologies 7K, 13.546; 27. Larry Neighbors, Neighbors 29N, 13.591; 28. Judi Bates, Mourer 121, 13.546; 29. Bob Adamson, Adamson 2A, 13.847; 30. Dion Hindi, Hindi 18, 13.873; 31. Dave Freed, Freed 8F, 13.900; 32. Scott Young, Young 1Y, 14.103; 33. Kent Wolters, Wolters 12, 14.407; 34. Chris Simon, 24C Racing 24C, 14.429.
First Racing Champions Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Greg Hodnett, 2. Frankie Kerr, 3. Andy Hillenburg, 4. Danny Lasoski, 5. Dean Jacobs, 6. Brian Paulus, 7. Kent Wolters, 8. Bob Adamson, 9. Jeff Mitrisin. (first four qualified for the "A" Feature)
Second Racing Champions Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Jeff Swindell, 2. Joe Gaerte, 3. Johnny Herrera, 4. Kenny Jacobs, 5. Butch Schroeder, 6. Lance Blevins, 7. Brooke Tatnell, 8. Dion Hindi, 9. Chris Simon. (first four qualified for the "A" Feature)
Third Racing Champions Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Dale Blaney, 2. Jeff Shepard, 3. Tyler Walker, 4. Randy Kinser, 5. Craig Dollansky, 6. Keith Kauffman, 7. Larry Neighbors, 8. Dave Freed. (first four qualified for the "A" Feature)
Fourth Racing Champions Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Sarah Fisher, 2. Donny Schatz, 3. Steve Kinser, 4. Ed Lynch, Jr., 5. Mark Kinser, 6. Kevin Huntley, 7. Scott Young, 8. Judi Bates. (first four qualified for the "A" Feature)
Finishing 1-4 in Friday's Preliminary Feature automatically qualified Joey Saldana, Sammy Swindell, Jac Haudenschild and Stevie Smith for the first four starting positions in the Channellock Dash.
Channellock Dash (five laps): 1. Joey Saldana, 2. Sammy Swindell, 3. Jac Haudenschild, 4. Stevie Smith, 5. Andy Hillenburg, 6. Kenny Jacobs. (finish determined the first six starting positions in the "A" Feature)
B Feature (12 laps): 1. Craig Dollansky, 2. Kevin Huntley, 3. Dean Jacobs, 4. Mark Kinser, 5. Keith Kauffman ($200); 6. Butch Schroeder ($175); 7. Brooke Tatnell ($150); 8. Brian Paulus ($120); 9. Lance Blevins ($90); 10. Larry Neighbors ($80); 11. Scott Young ($100); 12. Dave Freed ($70); 13. Jeff Mitrisin ($50); 14. Judi Bates ($50); 15. Bob Adamson ($50); 16. Kent Wolters ($50); 17. Dion Hindi ($50); 18. Chris Simon ($50). (first four qualified for the "A" Feature)
A Feature (30 laps): 1. Sammy Swindell ($10,000); 2. Stevie Smith ($6,000); 3. Mark Kinser ($3,520); 4. Steve Kinser ($3,200); 5. Andy Hillenburg ($3,000); 6. Danny Lasoski ($2,500); 7. Joe Gaerte ($2,300); 8. Johnny Herrera ($2,200); 9. Joey Saldana ($2,100); 10. Tyler Walker ($2,000); 11. Donny Schatz ($1,500); 12. Kenny Jacobs ($1,400); 13. Jeff Swindell ($1,300); 14. Frankie Kerr ($1,200); 15. Greg Hodnett ($1,000); 16. Ed Lynch, Jr. ($1,000); 17. Kevin Huntley ($820); 18. Jac Haudenschild ($600); 19. Jeff Shepard ($600); 20. Craig Dollansky ($620); 21. Randy Kinser ($600); 22. Dean Jacobs ($620); 23. Sarah Fisher ($600); 24. Dale Blaney ($600).
Lap leader: Sammy Swindell 1-30
Vivarin Fast-Time Award winner: Andy Hillenburg
1998 Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series
Point Standings & Statistics Through April 12th
Pennzoil World of Outlaws Pennzoil World of Outlaws
Driver Point Standings Car Owner Point Standings
1. Mark Kinser . . . . 1,237 1. Karl Kinser 5M . . . 1,237
2. Steve Kinser . . . 1,222 2. Steve Kinser 11 . . . 1,222
3. Stevie Smith . . . 1,196 3. Smith Racing 19 . . . 1,196
4. Sammy Swindell . . 1,180 4. Sammy Swindell 1 . . 1,180
5. Andy Hillenburg . . 1,163 5. Andy Hillenburg 2 . . 1,163
6. Jac Haudenschild . 1,160 6. Jack Elden 22 . . . . 1,160
7. Johnny Herrera . . 1,157 7. Gil Sonner 47 . . . . 1,157
8. Joe Gaerte . . . . 1,153 8. Henry Holbrook Jr. 8H 1,153
9. Jeff Swindell . . . 1,127 9. Two Winners 104+ . . 1,127
10. Danny Lasoski . . . 1,116 10. Dennis Roth 83 . . . 1,116
11. Dale Blaney . . . . 1,103 11. Hylton-Blaney 93 . . 1,103
12. Greg Hodnett . . . 1,102 12. David Helm 11H . . . 1,102
13. Donny Schatz . . . 1,081 13. Danny Schatz 15 . . . 1,081
14. Tyler Walker . . . 1,014 14. Bob Walker 35 . . . . 1,014
15. Craig Dollansky . . . 951 15. Larry Neighbors 29N . . 882
16. Larry Neighbors . . . 882 16. Gary Stanton 75 . . . . 837
17. Terry McCarl . . . . 780 17. Terry McCarl 24 . . . . 780
18. Dion Hindi . . . . . 755 18. Shawkeet Hindi 18 . . . 755
19. Daryn Pittman . . . . 685 19. Dale Pittman 11P . . . 685
20. Lance Blevins . . . . 581 20. Joe Blevins 21 . . . . 581
Pennzoil World of Outlaws Pennzoil World of Outlaws
Driver Earnings "A" Feature Winners
1. Mark Kinser . . . $44,565 1. Mark Kinser . . . . . . . 3
2. Steve Kinser . . $37,300 2. Steve Kinser . . . . . . 2
3. Jac Haudenschild $27,140 3. Sammy Swindell
4. Sammy Swindell . $27,090 (tie) Jac Haudenschild
5. Stevie Smith . . $26,340 (tie) Joe Gaerte . . . . . . 1
6. Joe Gaerte . . . $21,650 Pennzoil World of Outlaws
7. Andy Hillenburg . $21,575 Preliminary Feature Winners
8. Johnny Herrera . $21,290 1. Mark Kinser
9. Danny Lassoski . $20,535 (tie) Steve Kinser
10. Jeff Swindell . . $16,780 (tie) Joey Saldana . . . . . 1
11. Greg Hodnett . . $15,430 Channellock Dash Pole Winners
12. Dale Blaney . . . $14,800 1. Mark Kinser . . . . . . . 3
13. Donny Schatz . . $13,300 (tie) Steve Kinser
14. Tyler Walker . . $11,480 (tie) Sammy Swindell . . . . 2
15. Craig Dollansky . . $8,565 4. Jac Haudenschild
16. Frankie Kerr . . . $7,450 (tie) Johnny Herrera
17. Terry McCarl . . . $5,810 (tie) Terry McCarl . . . . . 1
18. Larry Neighbors . . $4,870 Vivarin Fast-Time Award Winners
19. Brent Kaeding . . . $3,750 1. Mark Kinser . . . . . . . 3
20. Garry Brazier . . . $3,720 2. Jac Haudenschild . . . . 2
