Kinser Wins at Tri-State Speedway & Takes Over World of Outlaws Point Lead
Steve Kinser is the king of the World of Outlaws but it's been nearly five years since the master's last main event victory. On Saturday night the Indiana native picked up the win at Tri-State Speedway.
On Top of the World: Kinser Wins at Tri-State Speedway & Takes Over World of Outlaws Point Lead
Haubstadt, IN— April 25, 2009—It’s hard to believe that 2005 was the last time that Steve Kinser was on top of the World of Outlaws championship standings. The 20-time series title winner changed that on Saturday night as he won at Tri-State Speedway in his home state of Indiana and in the process took over the point lead from three-time and defending series champion Donny Schatz.
Kinser started on the pole and actually fell back to fourth early in the race, before moving back into third and then the runner-up spot, as he battled Terry McCarl tooth and nail down the stretch for the win. Kinser got under McCarl exiting turns three and four on the 38th lap which would ultimately be the pass for the lead and the win, after he looked high on McCarl in turns one and two and again in turns three and four for two consecutive laps. The $10,000 triumph was Kinser’s first win of the season and the 551st of his World of Outlaws career.
“I’m just glad to win a race,” said a relieved Kinser in Victory Lane. “We have been around the Top-Five all year and hadn’t won one. I’m just darn glad to win a race.”
After finishing second in the third heat race, Kinser’s team discovered something amiss with their engine in the Quaker State Maxim and went about changing it prior to the Crane Cams Dash. He started third in the dash and tracked down Randy Hannagan to win that 10-lap affair to earn the pole position for the 40-lapper to wrap up the night.
“Scott (Gerkin) and the crew worked very hard,” noted Kinser. “We had some trouble with motor earlier on and came back (after changing it). I wasn’t planning on being third or fourth. I knew I was going to be a little slow on the start, when he put the water on it. We were setting up for later in the race. We kept having those yellows and about the third start I was able to hold my own on the starts.”
Kinser wound up just leading three laps on the night, but they were the most important three. After he passed McCarl for the lead, there was slight contact between the pair, with McCarl first spinning and then getting upside near the start/finish line to bring out a red flag with two laps remaining. Kinser used a strong restart on the final start to pull away from Jason Sides and Joey Saldana to score his eighth World of Outlaws win at the always racy high-banked ¼-mile.
“I could not take off on the starts,” explained the native of Bloomington, Indiana. “Once I got heat in the tires, I wasn’t too bad. I was just slow taking off. I knew it was going to be tight coming off of (turn) four there and I knew that was my only chance to try and squeeze through that hole. Terry (McCarl) came up at the last second and we got together, but I had a good run on him coming off there and that was my only chance to try and win the race. I just went for it and he left me just enough room to get far enough by.”
The race began with Randy Hannagan getting the jump on Kinser and leading into turns one and two. Tim Kaeding, who won on Friday night with the World of Outlaws, quickly moved from the fifth starting spot to second to challenge the leader. The caution flag flew a couple of times over the first 10 laps just as the leaders were about to enter lapped traffic.
Hannagan led each time on the restarts, while Kaeding continued to keep pace with him. Kinser battled a couple of drivers during this stretch, beginning with Kerry Madsen for fourth and then McCarl for third, trading that spot a couple of times. Just prior to the halfway point, Kinser got under Kaeding for second, with the caution flag flying just a short time after that for Donny Schatz stopping on the track. At the same time, Tim Kaeding spun while running third and had to head to the work area.
Hannagan used strong restarts each time to maintain his lead as he looked for his second win of the season. He came to a stop on the 25th lap while in front with a mechanical problem that ended his night and handed the lead over to McCarl, who would lead the next 13 laps until Kinser got by him.
Joey Saldana used the high side of the track coming off turns three and four on the final lap to win a drag race with Jason Sides down the front straightaway to snare the runner-up spot by just a few inches aboard the Budweiser Maxim. Coupled with Schatz’s trouble which saw him finish 22nd, Saldana was able to move into the second position in points behind Kinser.
“It was a great run for us,” said Saldana. “We had a great car all night. These tracks are tough to race on and it seems like we have had a good car and just haven’t finished. I think we had a car good enough to win, but you can’t start ninth with these guys if you are going to win.”
Jason Sides wound up third to earn his fourth Top-Five finish of the season aboard the Wetherington Tractor Service Maxim as he remains fifth in points and chases his first win of the year. He began the night by winning the third heat race to earn a spot in the dash.
“My guys have been doing a great job,” shared Sides. “They have been working so hard. This tracks suits us well and we get around here pretty good. This is a highlight for us, after running second in Florida and third here.”
Kerry Madsen capped off a strong weekend with a fourth-place effort in the TK Concrete KPC. The 2007 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year has six Top-10 finishes and is currently ninth in points.
Sammy Swindell, the three-time World of Outlaws champion, was fifth in the Tom Rolfe Trucking Maxim, with 2001 series titlist Danny Lasoski sixth aboard the Casey’s General Store Maxim. Danny Smith was seventh in the Doug Williams Trucking Maxim, with Craig Dollansky eighth in the DirecTV Maxim, Tony Bruce Jr. came home ninth in the Racerswholesale.com Maxim and Daron Clayton came all the way from 24th to finish 10th to earn the KSE Hard Charger Award piloting the Indy Powder Coating XXX.
The World of Outlaws make their first trip to the Upper Midwest next week, beginning on Friday, May 1 at Huset’s Speedway in South Dakota, followed by a stop at the famed Knoxville Raceway in Iowa on Saturday, May 2.
TRI-STATE SPEEDWAY NOTES
• FAST QUALIFIER: Terry McCarl paced the 33 cars that took time with an AMB i.t. timed lap around the high-banked 1/4-mile oval at 11.722 seconds at 76.779 mph. For his qualifying effort, McCarl earned five bonus points. The next four fastest qualifiers also earned bonus points, including: Joey Saldana (4), Tim Kaeding (3), Jason Meyers (2), and Sammy Swindell (1).
• QUALIFYING WINNERS: Kerry Madsen, Danny Lasoski, Jason Sides and Kraig Kinser won heat races. Steve Kinser won the Crane Cams Dash. Sam Hafertepe Jr. won the B-Main.
• FEATURE WINNERS: There has been 14 World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series A-Feature event held in 2009. The winners include: Joey Saldana (Volusia Speedway Park, Silver Dollar Speedway, Thunderbowl Raceway, Lone Star Speedway and Houston Raceway Park), Donny Schatz (Volusia Speedway Park-twice and The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway), Jason Meyers (Silver Dollar Speedway and Paducah International Raceway), Randy Hannagan (Thunderbowl Raceway), Tim Kaeding (Riverside International Speedway), Chad Kemenah (Manzanita Speedway) and Steve Kinser (Tri-State Speedway).
• 1/4-MILE WINNERS: Tri-State Speedway is a high-banked 1/4-mile oval. The World of Outlaws have raced five times this season on tracks that size. The winners include: Joey Saldana (Silver Dollar Speedway and Houston Raceway Park), Tim Kaeding (Riverside International Speedway), Steve Kinser (Tri-State Speedway) and Jason Meyers (Silver Dollar Speedway).
World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; Tri-State Speedway; Haubstadt, IN; April 25, 2009
Qualifying
1) 24-Terry McCarl 11.722
2) 9-Joey Saldana 11.723
3) 83-Tim Kaeding 11.776
4) 14-Jason Meyers 11.806
5) 10-Sammy Swindell 11.808
6) 4-Danny Smith 11.915
7) R19-Jac Haudenschild 11.920
8) 15-Donny Schatz 12.023
9) 55-Kerry Madsen 12.032
10) 6-Danny Lasoski 12.058
11) 7S-Jason Sides 12.062
12) 7M-Geoff Dodge 12.092
13) 1X-Randy Hannagan 12.094
14) 21AU-Brooke Tatnell 12.108
15) 11-Steve Kinser 12.121
16) 20-Kraig Kinser 12.128
17) 19-Craig Dollansky 12.164
18) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. 12.271
19) 18-Tony Bruce Jr. 12.289
20) 55B-Joey Moughan 12.301
21) 5W-Lucas Wolfe 12.389
22) 21S-Jeff Bland Jr. 12.412
23) 97-Tommy Worley 12.423
24) 71-Paul May 12.426
25) 22-Brian Ellenberger 12.474
26) 92-Daron Clayton 12.486
27) 4X-Toni Lutar 12.559
28) 3B-Brad Greer 12.754
29) 22K-Mike Kuemper 12.786
30) 4M-John Memmer 12.812
31) 4K-Kody Kinser 13.167
32) D12-Doc Sloan 13.521
33) 65-Jordan Goldesberry 13.547
Heat 1 (10 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 55-Kerry Madsen
2) 1X-Randy Hannagan
3) 10-Sammy Swindell
4) 24-Terry McCarl
5) 19-Craig Dollansky
6) 22-Brian Ellenberger
7) 5W-Lucas Wolfe
8) 22K-Mike Kuemper
9) 65-Jordan Goldesberry
Heat 2 (10 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 6-Danny Lasoski
2) 9-Joey Saldana
3) 21AU-Brooke Tatnell
4) 4-Danny Smith
5) 92-Daron Clayton
6) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.
7) 4M-John Memmer
8) 21S-Jeff Bland Jr.
Heat 3 (10 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 7S-Jason Sides
2) 11-Steve Kinser
3) R19-Jac Haudenschild
4) 83-Tim Kaeding
5) 18-Tony Bruce Jr.
6) 4X-Toni Lutar
7) 97-Tommy Worley
8) 4K-Kody Kinser
Heat 4 (10 Laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 20-Kraig Kinser
2) 14-Jason Meyers
3) 15-Donny Schatz
4) 55B-Joey Moughan
5) 71-Paul May
6) D12-Doc Sloan
7) 3B-Brad Greer
8) 7M-Geoff Dodge
Crane Cams Dash (8 laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature)
1) 11-Steve Kinser
2) 1X-Randy Hannagan
3) 20-Kraig Kinser
4) 83-Tim Kaeding
5) 7S-Jason Sides
6) 24-Terry McCarl
7) 14-Jason Meyers
8) 55-Kerry Madsen
9) 9-Joey Saldana
10) 6-Danny Lasoski
B-main (12 laps, top 4 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.
2) 22-Brian Ellenberger
3) 5W-Lucas Wolfe
4) 97-Tommy Worley
5) 4X-Toni Lutar [$200]
6) 21S-Jeff Bland Jr. [$180]
7) 4M-John Memmer [$175]
8) 7M-Geoff Dodge [$160]
9) 4K-Kody Kinser [$150]
10) D12-Doc Sloan [$150]
11) 22K-Mike Kuemper [$150]
12) 65-Jordan Goldesberry [$150]
13) 3B-Brad Greer [$150]
A-main (40 laps) - Starting Position [#]
1) 11-Steve Kinser[1] [$10,000]
2) 9-Joey Saldana[9] [$5,500]
3) 7S-Jason Sides[5] [$3,200]
4) 55-Kerry Madsen[8] [$2,800]
5) 10-Sammy Swindell[11] [$2,500]
6) 6-Danny Lasoski[10] [$2,300]
7) 4-Danny Smith[12] [$2,200]
8) 19-Craig Dollansky[16] [$2,100]
9) 18-Tony Bruce Jr.[18] [$2,050]
10) 92-Daron Clayton[24] [$2,000]
11) 20-Kraig Kinser[3] [$1,500]
12) R19-Jac Haudenschild[13] [$1,200]
13) 21AU-Brooke Tatnell[15] [$1,100]
14) 14-Jason Meyers[7] [$1,050]
15) 83-Tim Kaeding[4] [$1,000]
16) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[20] [$900]
17) 71-Paul May[22] [$800]
18) 97-Tommy Worley[21] [$800]
19) 24-Terry McCarl[6] [$800]
20) 55B-Joey Moughan[19] [$800]
21) 1X-Randy Hannagan[2] [$800]
22) 15-Donny Schatz[14] [$800]
23) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[17] [$800]
24) 22-Brian Ellenberger[23] [$800]
Lap Leaders: Randy Hannagan 1-24, Terry McCarl 25-37, Steve Kinser 38-40
SuperClean Start of the Night Award: Tim Kaeding
Penske Power Position Award: Jason Sides
KSE Hard Charger Award: Daron Clayton
