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WOO: Kinser Passes Herrera to Win Channellock Opener

23 May 1998

By Richard Day

MECHANICSBURG, PA - Mark Kinser spoiled Johnny Herrera's bid to win his second Channellock Spring Classic Preliminary Feature in three years with a late pass Thursday at Williams Grove Speedway.

Kinser raced wheel-to-wheel with Herrera through turns three and four before surging ahead in the low groove with little more than a lap remaining to win his third Preliminary Feature of the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series 20th Anniversary season. The $4,500 victory pushed Mark to within six points of Stevie Smith in their battle for first place in the point standings.

"My crew just watched the track and came up with a plan to run the bottom which is something I don't normally like to do," Kinser said. "I like to get up top and throw some rooster tails, but my crew chief (Karl Kinser) said, 'go to the bottom,' and it was definitely the right call. We were probably a third-place car, but on the last red flag we dropped it down (put more weight) on the left rear and it worked.

"I'm glad to be a part of the Channellock Spring Classic and I hope we can come back and do it again tomorrow on TNN."

Kinser, the two-time defending Channellock Spring Classic champion, was the third-fastest qualifier in the 47-car field. He finished behind Lance Dewease, Herrera, Jac Haudenschild and Sammy Swindell in the Channellock Dash and lined up inside the third row in the 20-lap Preliminary Feature.

Dewease, the 1996 Williams National Open champion, burst ahead of the field in turn four as the green flag fell, only to have Herrera drive the #47 Casey's General Stores Maxim into the low groove between the first and second corners to take the lead.

After challenging Swindell during the second lap, Kinser drove the #5M Wirtgen Maxim into third place on the front stretch early in lap four. Jac Haudenschild used an inside move in turn three to pass Swindell the next time around, but slid out of the low groove and allowed Sammy to regain fourth place in turn four.

Herrera was 1.19 seconds ahead of Dewease late in the eighth lap when a broken left front shock on the #11H Vivarin Eagle caused First Racing Champions Heat Race winner Greg Hodnett to stop in the fourth corner.

The Kinser cousins were on the move during the race's middle stages. Steve Kinser, winner of 21 World of Outlaws "A" Features at Williams Grove, passed Haudenschild for fifth late in the ninth lap, then drove his #11 Quaker State Maxim into the low groove between the first and second corners to pass Swindell for fourth place two laps later. Mark passed Dewease with an inside move in turn two early in lap 10.

Kevin Gobrecht spun in the first corner and collided with Racing Champions Heat Race winners Lance Blevins and Dale Blaney early in the 12th lap. The red flag fell when Gobrecht's and Blaney's cars turned over.

Steve Kinser took over third place as the race resumed, only to have Dewease regain the spot with a back-stetch pass seconds later. The relentless "King of the Outlaws" passed Dewease early in the 15th lap, but stopped on the back straightaway with a broken rear end three laps later.

The caution tightened the field and escalated the battle for the lead. Herrera and Mark raced side-by-side through the fourth corner as the green flag replaced the yellow. Kinser continued battling Johnny around the semi-banked, 1/2-mile oval before executing the winning pass late in the 19th lap.

Herrera took the high line through turns three and four as they headed for the checkered flag but was 1 1/2 car-lengths behind when Mark took the checkered flag.

Swindell and Haudenschild finished third and fourth to claim second-row starting positions in Friday's Channellock Dash. Completing the top 10 were Joe Gaerte, 21st-starting Andy Hillenburg, Cris Eash, Jeff Shepard, Danny Lasoski and Dewease.

Swindell was fortunate to be in the evening's main event at all. His collision with Jeff Shepard during the Second Racing Champions Heat Race sent his #1 Channellock Stealth flipping down the front straightaway. His crew made quick repairs, however, and the defending Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series champion raced back into fifth place to qualify for the Preliminary Feature.

Billy Pauch wasn't nearly as lucky. He suffered a knee injury when he flipped in turn four during the Third Racing Champions Heat Race and was taken to a nearby hospital. Pauch was scheduled to undergo knee surgery Friday.

Tim Shaffer earned the first Vivarin Fast-Time Award of his career by pacing the qualifying session with a 17.944-second lap.

Jeff Swindell passed 10 cars in the "B" Feature to claim the final qualifying position in the evening's main event. His final pass kept Donny Schatz from qualifying for a World of Outlaws feature for the first time this year. WoO

1998 Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series
Channellock Spring Classic
Williams Grove Speedway, Mechanicsburg, PA

Thursday, May 21, Preliminary Program

Qualifications: 1. Tim Shaffer, Apple 12, 17.944; 2. Sammy Swindell, Swindell 1, 17.948; 3. Mark Kinser, Kinser 5M, 17.977; 4. Jac Haudenschild, Elden 22, 18.056; 5. Johnny Herrera, Sonner 47, 18.066; 6. Lance Dewease, Dyer 461, 18.104; 7. Billy Pauch, Zemaitis 1Z, 18.105; 8. Kevin Gobrecht, Gobrecht 92, 18.106; 9. Danny Lasoski, Roth 83, 18.119; 10. Steve Kinser, Kinser 11, 18.133; 11. Sean Michael, Michael 88x, 18.197; 12. Joe Gaerte, Holbrook 8H, 18.222; 13. Stevie Smith, Smith 19, 18.255; 14. Jeff Shepard, Stewart 4L, 18.310; 15. Cris Eash, Eash 17E, 18.340; 16. Mike Wagner, Wagner 55, 18.359; 17. Todd Shaffer, Beam 88, 18.379; 18. Tyler Walker, Walker 35, 18.416; 19. Todd Gracey, Cooper 25, 18.515; 20. Greg Hodnett, Helm 11H, 18.517; 21. Dale Blaney, Hylton-Blaney 93, 18.538; 22. Andy Hillenburg, Hillenburg 2, 18.561; 23. Lance Blevins, Blevins 21, 18.629; 24. Dave Ely, Ely 77E, 18.643; 25. Fred Rahmer, Hamilton 77, 18.666; 26. Johnny Mackison, Jr., Mackison 65, 18.703; 27. Craig Dollansky, Stanton 75, 18.705; 28. Dion Hindi, Hindi 18, 18.737; 29. Len Thompson, Thompson 10, 18.749; 30. Brooke Tatnell, Tatnell 7K, 18.770; 31. Donnie Kreitz, Jr., Kreitz 69, 18.776; 32. Brian Paulus, P&P Motorsports 28, 18.875; 33. Donny Schatz, Schatz 15, 18.890; 34. Danny Smith, Brazier 21S, 18.896; 35. Jeff Swindell, Two Winners 104+, 18.935; 36. Darren Eash, Eash 7E, 18.977; 37. Darryn Pittman, Pittman 11P, 19.049; 38. Brook Weibley, Weibley 32, 19.113; 39. Shawn Keen, Keen 53, 19.255; 40. Randy Wolfe, Wolfe 75W, 19.324; 41. George Suprick, Suprick 87, 19.378; 42. Billy Wilburn, Wilburn 0W, 19.437; 43. Jess Thomas, Thomas 77T, 19.469; 44. Chuck Roan, Roan 22R, 21.184; 45. Steve Kenawell, Kenawell 66C, 21.314; 46. Mark Coldren, Coldren I07, NT; 47. Burt Shoop, Shoop 2S, no time.

First Racing Champions Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Dale Blaney, 2. Johnny Herrera, 3. Tim Shaffer, 4. Danny Lasoski; 5. Fred Rahmer, 6. Donny Schatz, 7. Len Thompson, 8. Stevie Smith, 9. Darryn Pittman, 10. Todd Shaffer, 11. George Suprick, 12. Steve Kenawell. (first five qualified for the Preliminary Feature)

Second Racing Champions Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Steve Kinser, 2. Lance Dewease, 3. Andy Hillenburg, 4. Jeff Shepard, 5. Sammy Swindell, 6. Tyler Walker, 7. Danny Smith, 8. Billy Wilburn, 9. Brook Weibley, 10. Johnny Mackison, Jr., 11. Brooke Tatnell. 2:40.31 (first five qualified for the Preliminary Feature)

Third Racing Champions Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Lance Blevins, 2. Sean Michael, 3. Mark Kinser, 4. Cris Eash, 5. Todd Gracey, 6. Donnie Kreitz, Jr., 7. Jeff Swindell, 8. Craig Dollansky, 9. Shawn Keen, 10. Jess Thomas, 11. Billy Pauch. (first five qualified for the Preliminary Feature)

Fourth Racing Champions Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Greg Hodnett, 2. Kevin Gobrecht, 3. Joe Gaerte, 4. Mike Wagner, 5. Jac Haudenschild, 6. Dave Ely, 7. Randy Wolfe, 8. Darren Eash, 9. Chuck Roan, 10. Brian Paulus, 11. Dion Hindi. (first five qualified for the Preliminary Feature)

Channellock Dash (five laps): 1. Lance Dewease, 2. Johnny Herrera, 3. Jac Haudenschild, 4. Sammy Swindell, 5. Mark Kinser, 6. Danny Lasoski, 7. Tim Shaffer, 8. Kevin Gobrecht. 1:40.52 (finish determined the first eight starting positions in the Preliminary Feature)

C Feature (10 laps): 1. Daryn Pittman, 2. Shawn Keen, 3. Darren Eash; 4. Brook Weibley ($100); 5. Randy Wolfe ($80); 6. George Suprick ($60); 7. Jesse Thomas ($50); 8. Chuck Roan ($40); 9. Billy Wilburn ($30); 10. Steve Kenawell ($25). (first three qualified for the "B" Feature)

B Feature (12 laps): 1. Stevie Smith, 2. Donnie Kreitz, Jr., 3. Tyler Walker, 4. Jeff Swindell, 5. Donny Schatz ($150); 6. Todd Shaffer ($125); 7. Darryn Pittman ($120); 8. Len Thompson ($75); 9. Dave Ely ($60); 10. Shawn Keen ($70); 11. Danny Smith ($40); 12. Darren Eash ($60); 13. Dion Hindi ($40); 14. Brian Paulus ($40); 15. Craig Dollansky ($40). DNS - Johnny Mackison, Jr., Brooke Tatnell. (first four qualified for the Preliminary Feature)

Preliminary Feature (20 laps): 1. Mark Kinser ($4,500); 2. Johnny Herrera ($2,500); 3. Sammy Swindell ($1,700); 4. Jac Haudenschild ($1,500); 5. Joe Gaerte ($1,350); 6. Andy Hillenburg ($1,250); 7. Cris Eash ($1,200); 8. Jeff Shepard ($1,100); 9. Danny Lasoski ($1,075); 10. Lance Dewease ($1,050); 11. Sean Michael ($1,000); 12. Fred Rahmer ($800); 13. Tyler Walker ($720); 14. Jeff Swindell ($650); 15. Donnie Kreitz, Jr. ($420); 16. Greg Hodnett ($400); 17. Tim Shaffer ($300); 18. Mike Wagner ($300); 19. Todd Gracey ($300); 20. Steve Kinser ($300); 21. Stevie Smith ($320); 22. Kevin Gobrecht ($300); 23. Dale Blaney ($300); 24. Lance Blevins ($300).

Lap leaders: Johnny Herrera 1-18, Mark Kinser 19-20

Vivarin Fast-Time Award winner: Tim Shaffer