WOO: Mark Kinser Takes Fall Classic Preliminary
6 November 1998
LAS VEGAS, NV (November 3) - While the rest of America elected its government leaders Tuesday, the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series invited its king back to his throne.
Mark Kinser won the Preliminary Feature as the series opened the Inaugural Channellock Fall Classic at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, but it was Steve Kinser who all but clinched the 1998 Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series championship by finishing in second place.
Claiming his 15th series title is only a matter of "The King of the Outlaws" putting his #11 Quaker State Maxim through hot laps in Wednesday's season finale.
Mark felt fortunate to win his third straight Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series feature race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Late in the 20-lap race, he felt the odds were against him.
"I feel really lucky tonight," Mark said following his fifth Preliminary Feature victory of the season. "We had a guy there in front of us (Fifth Racing Champions Heat Race winner Jason Meyers) who had a flat tire. We got into him and it bent our car up pretty good. Our guys got together and got it fixed and here we are."
Mark drove the #5M Wirtgen Maxim past Donny Schatz early in the opening lap then took the lead with a high move around Channellock Dash winner Sammy Swindell in the second corner two laps later.
Kinser received his 18th Vivarin Fast-Time Award of the year for pacing the 58-car qualifying session with a 15.034-second, 119.729-m.p.h.\, lap around the semi-banked, 1/2-mile oval. He finished fourth in the First Racing Champions Heat Race, then earned the right to start the Preliminary Feature inside the second row by passing Jac Haudenschild, Dale Blaney and Steve Kinser in the Channellock Dash.
Swindell, the defending Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series champion, burst into the lead as the green flag fell in the feature. Mark caught him late in the opening lap and battled him until taking over first place early in lap three.
Mark was approaching lapped traffic two laps later when Randy Hannagan flipped his brother's #1x B.J. Equipment Hurricane in turn one.
Schatz raced past Sammy to take over second place as the green flag replaced the red. Steve Kinser started challenging Swindell for third a lap later, and passed him deep in turn three late in the seventh lap.
"B" Feature winner Danny Lasoski and Joe Gaerte were battling for eighth place midway through the race when they collided in turn two. "The Dude" was unable to continue farther than the third corner while Gaerte's #8H Energy Release Maxim lost its left rear wheel and stopped on the back straightaway. Both managed to restart, and finished 20th and 21st respectively.
Schatz kept pace with Mark as the race resumed and passed him with an inside move in turn two. Kinser returned the favor seconds later, beating the Pennzoil World of Outlaw Series' 1997 Rookie of the Year across the finish line by inches.
The 13th lap proved unlucky for Schatz. As he battled to keep Steve Kinser from passing him, the #15 Blue Beacon Maxim turned sideways in the second corner. Kinser and Swindell passed Schatz before he managed to get the car under control.
Mark entered lapped traffic for the first time with 5 1/2 laps remaining. He was unable to dodge Meyers when the #14M suffered a flat tire between turns three and four. The collision sent Meyers flipping and bent the bird cage and one of the radius rods on the right of the #5M. Mark kept the #5M moving until the red flag fell, then watched as his crew - led by father, car owner and crew chief, Karl Kinser - replaced the right suspension before the restart.
Mark raced away from Steve as race resumed, and took the checkered flag with six car-lengths to spare. He was gracious, even though he knew he won the battle rather than the war.
"We pretty well knew Steve had this wrapped up about a month ago," Mark said. "We just sat down and figured the math on how tough it would be to pass him. I've run second to Steve most of my life and I have to congratulate him."
Swindell and Schatz earned the other two guaranteed positions in Wednesday's Channellock Dash by finishing third and fourth, respectively. Haudenschild finished in fifth place, ahead of Blaney, Joey Saldana, 14th-starting Travis Whitney, Tyler Walker and Tim Shaffer.
Jeff Shepard was leading the "B" Feature when he suffered a flat right front tire with four laps remaining. By finishing 13th in the "B," he lost the fifth row inside starting position in the evening's main event.
1998 Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series
Inaugural Channellock Fall Classic
Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, NV
Tuesday, November 3, Preliminary Program
Qualifications: 1. Mark Kinser, Kinser 5M, 15.034; 2. James Chesson, Chesson 22C, 15.079; 3. Jac Haudenschild, Elden 22, 15.119; 4. P.J. Chesson, Chesson 76, 15.126; 5. Jeff Shepard, Stewart 4J, 15.203; 6. Peter Murphy, Williams 0, 15.210; 7. Dale Blaney, Hylton/Blaney 93, 15.234; 8. Steve Kinser, Kinser 11, 15.238; 9. Sammy Swindell, Swindell 1, 15.292; 10. Donny Schatz, Schatz 15, 15.296; 11. Joe Gaerte, Holbrook 8H, 15.330; 12. Joey Saldana, DOCC Motorsports 1BK, 15.330; 13. Danny Lasoski, Roth 83, 15.353; 14. Tyler Walker, Walker 35, 15.412; 15. Randy Hannagan, THR 1x, 15.421; 16. Gary Wright, Wright 9, 15.424; 17. Travis Whitney, Whitney 7S, 15.459; 18. Johnny Herrera, Sonner 47, 15.466; 19. Tim Shaffer, Helm 11H, 15.485; 20. Terry McCarl, McCarl 24, 15.493; 21. Paul McMahan, Stanton 75, 15.493; 22. Dean Jacobs, Holbrook 8, 15.545; 23. Blake Robertson, BR Motorsports 15R, 15.555; 24. Stevie Smith, Smith 19, 15.567; 25. Jason Meyers, Carter 14M, 15.569; 26. Andy Hillenburg, Hillenburg 2, 15.592; 27. Jeff Swindell, Two Winners 104+, 15.641; 28. Craig Dollansky, Dollansky 7, 15.674; 29. Calvin Landis, Landis 70, 15.687; 30. Kevin Pylant, Pylant 14P, 15.729; 31. Brian Paulus, P&P Motorsports 28, 15.793; 32. Brent Kaeding, M&M Racing 2M, 15.821; 33. Kasey Kahne, Kahne 23K, 15.868; 34. Jim Carter, Radeen 14, 15.874; 35. Duane Bonini, Jr., Bonini 72, 15.891; 36. Steve Coelho, Coelho 6C, 15.938; 37. Billy Wilburn, Wilburn 0W, 15.986; 38. Daryn Pittman, Blevins 21, 16.007; 39. Donny Goeden, Goeden 27G, 16.034; 40. Sparky Howard, Papola 6, 16.083; 41. Brian Coelho, Coelho 5C, 16.202; 42. Raymond Shank, Shank 7x, 16.315; 43. Bill Robertson, Eckley 16, 16.346; 44. John Bankston, Bankston 8B, 16.359; 45. Dan Oswalt, Oswalt D1, 16.422; 46. Tim Kaeding, Wright 35W, 16.429; 47. Daniel Hood, Hood 33, 16.493; 48. Jason Solwold, Kennedy 15S, 16.558; 49. Kurt Winker, Winker 10W, 16.560; 50. Nick Bellino, Bellino 41, 16.595; 51. Greg Decaires, Blackwell 27B, 16.686; 52. Kaylene Verville, Verville 01, 16.808; 53. Dan Dittrich, Dittrich 4D, 17.112; 54. J.R. Patton, Patton 86, 17.117; 55. Willey Hernandez, Hernandez 1M, 17.129; 56. Shawn Sander, Sander 48, 17.206; 57. Shane Scott, Danielson 7D, 17.374; 58. Chris Youngman, Youngman 83C, 17.496.
First Racing Champions Heat Race (10 laps): 1. Andy Hillenburg, 2. Gary Wright, 3. Joe Gaerte, 4. Mark Kinser, 5. Peter Murphy, 6. Brian Paulus, 7. Steve Coelho, 8. Tim Kaeding, 9. Brian Coelho, 10. Shawn Sander, 11. Greg Decaires, 12. Paul McMahan. (first four qualified for the Preliminary Feature)
Second Racing Champions Heat Race (10 laps): 1. Jeff Swindell, 2. Dean Jacobs, 3. Joey Saldana, 4. Dale Blaney, 5. Travis Whitney, 6. James Chesson, 7. Brent Kaeding, 8. Billy Wilburn, 9. Shane Scott, 10. Daniel Hood, 11. Raymond Shank, 12. Kaylene Verville. (first four qualified for the Preliminary Feature)
Third Racing Champions Heat Race (10 laps): 1. Craig Dollansky, 2. Johnny Herrera, 3. Steve Kinser, 4. Jac Haudenschild, 5. Danny Lasoski, 6. Kasey Kahne, 7. Daryn Pittman, 9. Blake Robertson, 10. Bill Robertson, 11. Jason Solwold, 12. Dan Dittrich, Chris Youngman. (first four qualified for the Preliminary Feature)
Fourth Racing Champions Heat Race (10 laps): 1. Stevie Smith, 2. Sammy Swindell, 3. Calvin Landis, 4. Tyler Walker, 5. Tim Shaffer, 6. P.J. Chesson, 7. Jim Carter, 8. Donny Goeden, 9. John Bankston, 10. Kurt Winker, 11. J.R. Patton. (first four qualified for the Preliminary Feature)
Fifth Racing Champions Heat Race (10 laps): 1. Jason Meyers, 2. Terry McCarl, 3. Randy Hannagan, 4. Donny Schatz, 5. Kevin Pylant, 6. Jeff Shepard, 7. Sparky Howard, 8. Dan Oswalt, 9. Nick Bellino, 10. Willey Hernandez, 11. Duane Bonini, Jr. (first four qualified for the Preliminary Feature)
C Feature (10 laps): 1. Donny Goeden, 2. Tim Kaeding, 3. Sparky Howard ($100); 4. John Bankston ($80); 5. Brian Coelho ($60); 6. Raymond Shank ($50); 7. Dan Oswalt ($40); 8. Steve Coelho ($30); 9. Kurt Winker ($25); 10. Shane Scott ($25); 11. Kaylene Verville ($25); 12. Willey Hernandez ($25); 13. Nick Bellino ($25); 14. Dan Dittrich ($25); 15. Chris Youngman ($25); 16. Shawn Sander ($25); 17. J.R. Patton ($25); 18. Jason Solwold ($25); 19. Daniel Hood ($25); 20. Greg Decaires ($25). (first two qualified for the "B" Feature)
Channellock Dash (five laps): 1. Sammy Swindell, 2. Donny Schatz, 3. Mark Kinser, 4. Steve Kinser, 5. Jac Haudenschild, 6. Dale Blaney, 7. Joey Saldana, 8. Joe Gaerte. (finish determined the first eight starting positions in the Preliminary Feature)
B Feature (12 laps): 1. Danny Lasoski, 2. Peter Murphy, 3. Tim Shaffer, 4. Travis Whitney, 5. Brent Kaeding ($150); 6. Kasey Kahne ($125); 7. Jim Carter ($100); 8. Billy Wilburn ($75); 9. Brian Paulus ($60); 10. Daryn Pittman ($50); 11. Kevin Pylant ($40); 12. Duane Bonini, Jr. ($40); 13. Jeff Shepard ($40); 14. Tim Kaeding ($60); 15. P.J. Chesson ($40); 16. Donny Goeden ($60); 17. James Chesson ($40); 18. Steve Coelho ($40); 19. Paul McMahan ($40); 20. Blake Robertson ($40). (first four qualified for the Preliminary Feature)
Preliminary Feature (20 laps): 1. Mark Kinser ($4,500); 2. Steve Kinser ($2,500); 3. Sammy Swindell ($1,700); 4. Donny Schatz ($1,500); 5. Jac Haudenschild ($1,350); 6. Dale Blaney ($1,250); 7. Joey Saldana ($1,200); 8. Travis Whitney ($1,120); 9. Tyler Walker ($1,075); 10. Tim Shaffer ($1,070); 11. Gary Wright ($1,000); 12. Jeff Swindell ($800); 13. Dean Jacobs ($700); 14. Stevie Smith ($630); 15. Andy Hillenburg ($400); 16. Johnny Herrera ($400); 17. Peter Murphy ($320); 18. Terry McCarl ($300); 19. Craig Dollansky ($300); 20. Danny Lasoski ($320); 21. Joe Gaerte ($300); 22. Calvin Landis ($300); 23. Jason Meyers ($300); 24. Randy Hannagan ($300).
Lap leaders: Sammy Swindell 1-2, Mark Kinser 3-20
Vivarin Fast-Time Award winner: Mark Kinser
