WOO: Stevie Smith Dominates State Fair Feature
10 May 1998
By Richard DaySEDALIA, MO- The battle for first place in the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series point standings got even tighter Friday when Stevie Smith led all 30 laps in the "A" Feature at State Fair Motor Speedway.
The $7,000 victory, Smith's third in the last four races, pushed him to within 14 points of leader Steve Kinser. He was only nine points behind Mark Kinser when the World of Outlaws headed to Tri-City Speedway in Granite City, IL, Saturday.
"I can't say enough about Devon Deluzio and my dad (Steve Smith)," Stevie said. "They've worked so hard and given me a great race car. We were able to run just about anywhere on the race track tonight and again, that just shows how well my guys have the car working.
"We're just going to try to keep things the way they have been. If we can do that, I think we'll be OK."
Smith's #19 Ingersoll-Rand sprinter was the class of the field in the main event, running flawlessly through the flag-to- flag race following a first-lap crash. Just seconds after Smith and Channellock Dash winner Jac Haudenschild took the green flag, Jeff Swindell and Andy Hillenburg collided in the fourth corner. Lance Blevins, Hillenburg's cousin, was also involved, but was able to restart with Andy. The #104+ Octane Boost J&J suffered severe rear-end damage, keeping Jeff from restarting the race.
Haudenschild burst into the lead from the pole as the green flag replaced the yellow, only to have Smith pass him with a low move into turn four late in the opening lap. Stevie opened a 15- car-length advantage within five laps as Steve Kinser battled Sammy Swindell for third place.
Swindell passed Haudenschild for second as Smith entered lapped traffic two laps later. Vivarin Fast-Time Award winner Mark Kinser also took turns with Danny Lasoski in fifth place during the action-packed seventh lap.
Steve Kinser steered his #11 Quaker State Maxim deep into the first corner to pass Haudenschild for third place the next time around. Mark exchanged sixth place with Second Racing Champions Heat Race winner Johnny Herrera during the race's middle stages, then passed Haudenschild for fifth early in lap 18.
Craig Dollansky was running 10th the next time around when he allowed the #75 Mopar Schnee to turn completely around between turns one and two. The Rookie of the Year candidate didn't bring out the caution flag, but lost six positions in the incident.
Haudenschild starting making his way back toward the front during the 20th lap, driving the #22 Pennzoil Maxim into the high groove in turn two to pass Mark Kinser. He battled Lasoski for fourth place during the final nine laps. Not only did Jac lose his battle with "The Dude," he lost the war when he was disqualified and credited with 24th place for losing his muffler.
Swindell caught Smith in dense lapped traffic late in the 25th lap. He steered his #1 Channellock Stealth deep in the first corner and raced wheel-to-wheel with Stevie into turn two the next time around, but was unable to surge ahead. Smith was 1 1/2 car-lengths ahead of Sammy when he took the checkered flag.
"I figured somebody would be close behind me," Smith said. "Traffic was pretty tough, but this Ingersoll-Rand car has been working really good lately."
Steve Kinser finished third to increase his advantage over cousin Mark to five points in their battle for the lead in the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series point standings. Lasoski finished in fourth place, ahead of Mark Kinser, Herrera, Dale Blaney, 13th-starting Donny Schatz, Third Racing Champions Heat Race winner Tyler Walker and Greg Hodnett.
Twelve drivers recorded qualifying laps faster than the record Sammy Swindell set last April 13th. The fastest of the fast was Mark Kinser, whose 16.711-second run lowered the qualifying standard by .570 seconds.
For the first time this season, all eight of the fastest drivers in time trials qualified for the Channellock Dash.
1998 Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series State Fair Motor Speedway, Sedalia, MO Friday, May 8, Feature Program #13
Qualifications: 1. Mark Kinser, Kinser 5M, 16.711 (new one- lap record); 2. Steve Kinser, Kinser 11, 16.751; 3. Danny Lasoski, Roth 83, 16.771; 4. Sammy Swindell, Swindell 1, 16.863; 5. Jac Haudenschild, Elden 22, 16.903; 6. Stevie Smith, Smith 19, 16.976; 7. Johnny Herrera, Sonner 47, 17.067; 8. Dale Blaney, Hylton-Blaney 93, 17.095; 9. Tyler Walker, Walker 35, 17.106; 10. Greg Hodnett, Helm 11H, 17.177; 11. Joe Gaerte, Holbrook 8H, 17.226; 12. Andy Hillenburg, Hillenburg 2, 17.276; 13. Donny Schatz, Schatz 15, 17.288; 14. Larry Neighbors, Neighbors 29N, 17.420; 15. Sarah Fisher, Fisher 9F, 17.427; 16. Kevin Whitworth, Whitworth 5K, 17.450; 17. Craig Dollansky, Stanton 75, 17.487; 18. Danny Smith, Brazier 21S, 17.501; 19. Jeff Swindell, Two Winners 104+, 17.548; 20. Dion Hindi, Hindi 18, 17.576; 21. Bryan Grimes, Grimes 6B, 17.640; 22. Lance Blevins, Blevins 21, 17.707; 23. Billy Vielhauer, Vielhauer 12x, 17.985; 24. Brooke Tatnell, RE Technologies 7K, 18.157; 25. Randy Combs, Combs 1C, 18.209; 26. Rusty Potter, Potter 3P, 19.222; 27. Dan Oswalt, Oswalt D1, no time.
First Racing Champions Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Johnny Herrera, 2. Donny Schatz, 3. Sammy Swindell, 4. Jeff Swindell, 5. Mark Kinser, 6. Greg Hodnett, 7. Lance Blevins, 8. Kevin Whitworth, 9. Randy Combs. (first six qualified for the "A" Feature)
Second Racing Champions Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Jac Haudenschild, 2. Larry Neighbors, 3. Craig Dollansky, 4. Joe Gaerte, 5. Dale Blaney, 6. Steve Kinser, 7. Billy Vielhauer, 8. Dion Hindi, 9. Rusty Potter. (first six qualified for the "A" Feature)
Third Racing Champions Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Tyler Walker, 2. Danny Lasoski, 3. Stevie Smith, 4. Danny Smith, 5. Andy Hillenburg, 6. Sarah Fisher, 7. Brooke Tatnell, 8. Bryan Grimes, 9. Dan Oswalt. (first six qualified for the "A" Feature)
Channellock Dash (five laps): 1. Jac Haudenschild, 2. Stevie Smith, 3. Danny Lasoski, 4. Sammy Swindell, 5. Steve Kinser, 6. Mark Kinser, 7. Johnny Herrera, 8. Dale Blaney. (finish determined the first eight starting positions in the "A" Feature)
B Feature (12 laps): 1. Lance Blevins, 2. Brooke Tatnell, 3. Bryan Grimes, 4. Billy Vielhauer, 5. Rusty Potter, 6. Randy Combs, 7. Dion Hindi ($200); 8. Kevin Whitworth ($180); 9. Dan Oswalt ($150). (first six qualified for the "A" Feature)
A Feature (30 laps): 1. Stevie Smith ($7,000); 2. Sammy Swindell ($4,000); 3. Steve Kinser ($3,000); 4. Danny Lasoski ($2,500); 5. Mark Kinser ($2,300); 6. Johnny Herrera ($2,200); 7. Dale Blaney ($2,100); 8. Donny Schatz ($2,000); 9. Tyler Walker ($1,700); 10. Greg Hodnett ($1,600); 11. Joe Gaerte ($1,200); 12. Danny Smith ($1,150); 13. Andy Hillenburg ($1,100); 14. Brooke Tatnell ($1,070); 15. Lance Blevins ($1,020); 16. Craig Dollansky ($700); 17. Larry Neighbors ($600); 18. Randy Combs ($520); 19. Bryan Grimes ($520); 20. Billy Vielhauer ($520); 21. Sarah Fisher ($500); 22. Rusty Potter ($520); 23. Jeff Swindell ($500); 24. Jac Haudenschild ($500).
Lap leader: Stevie Smith 1-30
Vivarin Fast-Time Award winner: Mark Kinser
