WOO: Homecoming Victory for Steve Kinser
10 October 1998
BLOOMINGTON SPEEDWAY**Our 75th Anniversary**
BLOOMINGTON, IN - Steve Kinser took a step closer to his 15th Pennzoil World of Outlaws crown with a decisive 40-lap feature win at Bloomington Speedway Thursday night.
"It's always fun to win at your home track," Kinser said after the victory. "We've won a lot of races here, but the last three or four trips we haven't had the best luck in the world. So I've probably cussed this little race track the last two or three times, but we're pretty proud of it tonight."
To keep the record straight, Steve Kinser is the winningest driver in World of Outlaws competition at Bloomington. Thursday's race was his eighth trip to victory lane at the southern Indiana quarter-mile. But it was his first win since April 1992. And with the victory, Steve extended his Pennzoil World of Outlaws point lead to 106 over his cousin, Mark. With three rainouts this summer, it was the Outlaws fourth attempt to complete the race at Bloomington.
Starting on the pole of the A-main, it took Steve three tries to beat Danny Lasoski through the first turn. But then he had three tries to get it right. The first start, Craig Dollansky rolled to a stop bringing out the yellow. Jac Haudenschild slipped over the bank in turn three on the second attempt, flipping the Pennzoil Maxim before the first lap was completed.
Steve got enough of a jump on Lasoski on the third green flag to grab the lead through the first turn. Lasoski came back in turn three, but Kinser kept the door closed around the bottom of the turn. Once in front, Steve was able to cut cleanly through traffic and control the pace of the race. Tyler Walker spun on the third lap, collecting Derek Scheffel, Terry McCarl and Bob Burkle in turn three. The red flag stopped the race when Burkle got upside-down.
On lap 14, Donnie Schatz worked his way past Lasoski, anticipating an opportunity to race Steve for the win, but Kinser continuously kept lapped cars between himself and any challengers. Kinser's closest call came when Sammy Swindell's powerplant let go in the first turn on lap 27. With Swindell erupting into a great fireball, Steve moved to the outside to go around the Channellock car, but when Swindell also moved up the track, Steve was forced over the banking. Quickly Schatz and Lasoski were past on the inside, but the yellow flag returned Kinser to the lead for a restart. On the 29th circuit, Schatz spun off the top of turn four while battling Lasoski for second, and had to restart on the tail.
With the race nearing conclusion, Steve sliced deftly between slower traffic, using any part of the track he wanted. He pulled away from Lasoski, who was having difficulty passing the lapped car of Johnny Herrera, running as quick as the leaders. At the checkers, Steve led Lasoski by 20-car lengths, and Joe Gaerte took third from Mark Kinser in the closing laps. Dale Blaney was fifth. Sixth was Andy Hillenburg, followed by Frankie Kerr, Kelly Kinser, Joey Saldana and Tyler Walker.
Thirteen cars qualified under the ten second mark, with Joey Saldana writing a new World of Outlaws record at Bloomington of 9.703 seconds. Heat races were won by Sammy Swindell, Lance Blevins, Randy Kinser and Johnny Herrera. Steve Kinser won the Channellock Dash, and Andy Hillenburg the B-main.
In the open wheel modified feature, John DeMoss picked up his first feature win at Bloomington, outrunning Scott Patman and Kerry Norris. DeMoss took the early lead, before Patman got around him on lap 7. Just after a restart five laps later, DeMoss took the race to Patman, passing him on the bottom of the second turn. DeMoss lead the final thirteen circuits, keeping Patman in his mirror, and Norris trailing in third. Richie Lex got around Brian Campbell for fourth. Albert Webb finished sixth, and John Davis, Lee Hobbs, Roger Cavness and Gary Burton completed the top ten. Heat race winners were Patman, Norris and DeMoss.
Bloomington Speedway Summary
Pennzoil World of Outlaws, October 8, 1998
Fast qualifier: Joey Saldana, 9.703
Heat 1: Sammy Swindell, Derek Scheffel, Stevie Smith, Dale Blaney,
Tyler
Walker
Heat 2: Lance Blevins, Mark Kinser, Danny Smith, Joe Gaerte, Donny
Schatz
Heat 3: Randy Kinser, Jac Haudenschild, Danny Lasoski, Frankie Kerr,
Bob
Burkle
Heat 4: Johnny Herrera, Craig Dollansky, Terry McCarl, Jeff Swindell,
Steve
Kinser
Channellock Dash: S. Kinser, Lasoski, Blaney, Schatz, J. Swindell, M.
Kinser, Gaerte, S. Smith
B-Feature: Andy Hillenburg, Joey Saldana, Kelly Kinser, Tim Engler
A-Feature (40 laps): S. Kinser, Lasoski, Gaerte, M. Kinser, Blaney,
Hillenburg, Kerr, K. Kinser, Saldana, Walker, J. Swindell, Herrera,
Schatz,
R. Kinser, Blevins, D. Smith, S. Smith, S. Swindell, Engler, Burkle,
McCarl, Scheffel, Dollansky, Haudenschild
Modified Feature (25 laps): John DeMoss, Scott Patman, Kerry Norris, Richie Lex, Brian Campbell, Albert Webb, John Davis, Lee Hobbs, Roger Cavness, Gary Burton, Brian Sullivan, Rob Brickett, Brad Cummings, John Hollifield, Bill Cecil, Ray Humphrey, Bret Barr, Rodney Harris Jr., Jack Taylor, Don Fleetwood
