Steve
Kinser Soars to 1/3-mile Short Track Nationals Title at Eagle Raceway
Eagle, NE — Sept. 17, 2005 — By Chris
Dolack, WoO Sprint Series Public Relations Director
Steve Kinser first fought off Joey Saldana and then held off Daryn Pittman in
traffic to win the 1/3-mile Short Track Nationals title on Saturday night at
O’Reilly Auto Parts Eagle Raceway.
Kinser started on the pole, locked his Quaker State Maxim into the bottom
groove and pushed through traffic to lead all 40 laps and clinch his 19th
A-feature win of the season, worth $12,000. It also was the fourth time this
year he visited
Pittman closed fast in his Titan Garages & Carports Maxim before traffic
running on top and bottom made it impossible for him run down Kinser. Saldana
rolled around the cushion early on in the Volcano Joe’s/Bridgestone Presents
the Champ Car World Series Maxim, but with the final 31 laps under green
conditions Pittman was able to slide under Saldana in Turn 2 just past the
halfway mark and hold him off to the finish.
Kraig Kinser was sixth in the Remy Maxim, followed by Danny Lasoski in the Bass
Pro Shops Eagle, Jason Sides in the Wetherington Tractor Services Maxim, Sammy
Swindell in the Wirtgen/Jackpot Junction Casino Maxim and Donny Schatz in the
ParkerStore J&J. For Sides, it his third top-10 run in the past four
A-feature events while Schatz recovered from an early incident with
fast-qualifier Paul McMahan to charge all the way back through the field for a
top-10 finish.
But this night belonged to Steve Kinser. He posted the 15th A-feature victory
in his career at Eagle, but it certainly wasn’t easy. After starting at the
rear of the Stacker 2 Dash on Friday, he worked his way to third and eventually
a victory on Friday. After winning the Dash on Saturday, he started on the pole
and kept his car on the bottom as long as he could before hitting traffic that
also was running his line.
Kinser adjusted quickly, especially when Saldana pulled even on the top and
then when Pittman ran right up to his bumper. He moved up about one car width,
just enough to force his way between lapped cars running on the top and bottom.
Once he got through, the middle groove seemed to fade, leaving Pittman, Saldana
and the rest of the field with little chance to run him down.
“You’ve got to work your way up front, that’s the hard part about it,” said Kinser,
a Mean 15 racer from Bloomington, Ind., who has 532 A-feature victories in his
career and is closing on his 20th
“I just pretty much worked the bottom all night. It had some moisture down
there. I started going into the middle of Turns 3 and 4 and the middle of Turns
1 and 2 to get some lapped cars, but other than that I just hung down low.”
Knowing his car was so maneuverable made it easy for him to slide up the track
in traffic. It also helped that the lapped cars were kicking up some dirt from
the bottom and depositing it in the lower middle line he was racing.
“You can’t run over the top of them,” said Kinser, who last won both Outlaws
A-features at Eagle in 1995. “They’re down in the fast part of the groove and
racing themselves. The car was working good to where I could keep a little
momentum. I would miss it once in a while and lose a little bit, but when I’d
catch it right I could stay with them and get a run at them and get back in
front of them.”
What has been most impressive this season about Kinser is his versatility, his
ability to quickly adjust to changing track conditions. With crew chief Scott
Gerkin, Kinser claims the team hasn’t had to make too many major adjustments,
which goes back to off-season preparation.
“It’s hard to win four times at any racetrack,” Kinser said after doing just
that this year at Eagle. “It doesn’t happen very often, especially with the
group of cars we have. We’ve had an exceptionally good race team this year and
we have a pretty good combination going right now. We have a good setup and it
seems to be repeating itself every time we come back. We haven’t changed a whole
lot on our setups, gear-wise or anything. We just keep throwing it at it and it
keeps working for us.”
Pittman’s car has been one of the hottest on the circuit in the past six weeks.
In the past 11 A-feature events, he has nine top-10 runs, including two of his
three victories this season. In the past week he has climbed from 11th in the
championship standings to ninth and is only 20 points out of eighth.
“We had a good car all night,” said Pittman, a Mean 15 racer and native of
“I kind of pulled up behind Steve and thought we were going to have something
for him, but got hung out to dry there behind some lapped cars. He had a good
car and he’s tough to beat from the pole any day, but our car was good top,
bottom and middle. We were able to move anywhere. It got better the longer the
run went.”
Despite having a car he could position just about anywhere on the track,
Pittman still had to contend with heavy lapped traffic. Once Kinser pushed his
way through, it seemed to tighten even more as cars on the bottom slid up about
half a car width, blocking the middle lane.
“When you’re leading, you hope it works for you but it can go against you,
too,” Pittman said. “I think it held [Kinser] up a little bit and we were able
to get behind him, but we just weren’t able to get by him as quick as we hoped
to. He was just awfully good in traffic. It held him up a little bit, but I
think he knew it was time to get serious and he got by them. He’s tough to beat
here any time he comes so we’re happy with second.
“If we can finish the year up like this, it gives us a lot of momentum going
into next year, for sure.”
Starting alongside Kinser on the front row, Saldana was quick from the drop of
the green flag. When Kinser stayed on the bottom, Saldana shot to the top and
rolled around the high groove but he was never able to get a big run that could
pinch Kinser to second. Still, considering that when the Outlaws raced in June
at Eagle, Saldana was injured in a heat race on the preliminary night that
forced him out of action for a couple of weeks, running third on Saturday was
acceptable.
“From the get-go I was running the top and I think that probably hurt my
tires,” said Saldana, a Mean 15 racer from Brownsburg, Ind. “I put on the same
tires Steve had on, but Steve never ran the top as hard as I did. I felt like
we had the car, but to do what we were going to do there I needed one tire
stiffer on the back and I think we would have been really good. It would seemed
like the tires would get going, I’d get locked down, I’d run with him and I’d
feel like I’d get to him and then all of a sudden it was like the car would
just start twitching. Nine times out of 10 it’s because your tires are a little
soft. I was running the top as hard as I could. I think that was the thing to
do, but everybody kind of shied away from the hard tires tonight. It cost me,
but we had a consistent run this weekend and hopefully we can keep it up for
the rest of the year.”
Meyers, who is trying to hang onto second in the championship standings, has
only finished outside the top 10 in an A-feature once since the Knoxville
Nationals in August. Moving from eighth to fourth on Saturday gives him a
129-point lead over Craig Dollansky in the battle for second.
“We all kind of got bunched up there at one point,” said Meyers, a Mean 15
racer from Clovis, Calif. “Pittman rolled right up on Steve and then we were
all kind of there. I thought, ‘Boy, we might be able to get something on him.’
It was just hard to get through traffic late in the race. Both the top and the
bottom were pretty even. For a little while you could get through the middle
but that went away.
“We were able to go forward. We’re getting a handle on our racecar and feeling
a lot better. Going forward like that makes you feel better going into next
weekend.”
Tatnell’s top-five run was all the more impressive considering the pain he must
endure with his broken right hand. Running 40 laps in the top five is hard
enough without having to do it with a broken hand, even if his cast was
specially molded around his steering wheel.
“I was in a situation where I just couldn’t rip from the top to the bottom,”
said Tatnell, a Mean 15 racer from San Souci, New South Wales, Australia. “The
bottom just worked my hand too hard. That’s part of the reason I stayed on the
top.”
After the 1/3-mile Short Track Nationals at Eagle Raceway, the Outlaws invade
Jackson Speedway on Sept. 23 in Jackson, Minn., then return Sept. 24 for the
second time this season to Powercom Park in Beaver Dam, Wis., and compete Sept.
27 at K-C Raceway in Chillicothe, Ohio.
EAGLE RACEWAY NOTEBOOK
• Paul McMahan paced the 28 cars that
went through time trials in his Selma Shell Maxim with an AMB i.t.-timed lap
around the high-banked 1/3-mile oval in 11.649 seconds at 102.910 mph. Joey
Saldana established the single-lap record of 11.124 seconds on Sept. 20, 2002,
and Paul McMahan matched it on Sept. 19, 2003. Steve Kinser, Donny Schatz, Joey
Saldana and Daryn Pittman finished in the top-four spots in the preliminary
feature Friday night and did not go through time trials or heats on Saturday.
Brooke Tatnell was second quick with a lap around the high-banked oval in
11.704 seconds at 102.427 mph.
“It’s a big thing on the second night to be a top-two qualifier so you can be
in the Dash and have the opportunity to start up front,” McMahan said. “Any
time you’re quick time is a good thing. [Friday night] we qualified 19th, you
start in the back and there’s nothing you can really do.”
• An injured wrist forced Jac Haudenschild out of Dennis Roth’s Mean 15
Beefpackers car on Saturday night.
• Steve Kinser’s victory Saturday night was his series-leading 19th A-feature
victory. He also leads the series with six preliminary feature wins this
season. … There have been 17 different A-feature winners this season. Including
preliminary features, 22 different drivers have visited Victory Lane this
season with the Outlaws. … Kraig Kinser captured the Knoxville Nationals on
Aug. 14 for his sixth A-feature victory of the season. He also has a
preliminary feature win at Las Vegas. … Donny Schatz’s victory on Sept. 4 at
Calistoga Speedway was his sixth of the season. …
• Eagle Raceway is a 1/3-mile oval. The series has raced 11 times this season
on a track that size, including preliminaries, with five different winners.
Chad Kemenah earned the first
• Drivers who have raced to victory in preliminary features this season include
(in alphabetical order) Craig Dollansky three times (Manzanita/Williams
Grove/Silver Dollar), Jason Johnson once (Williams Grove), Kraig Kinser once
(Las Vegas), Steve Kinser six times (Eagle twice/Billings/Elma/Calistoga/Silver
Dollar), Danny Lasoski three times (Australia/Knoxville/Calistoga), Kerry
Madsen once (Australia), Paul McMahan once (Williams Grove),
• Paul McMahan and Brooke Tatnell joined Steve Kinser, Donny Schatz, Joey
Saldana and Daryn Pittman in the Stacker 2® Dash that made up the top six
positions for the main event. Preliminary winner Steve Kinser locked his
machine to the bottom and led each lap to capture the pole for the main event.
Joey Saldana held off the hard-charging Daryn Pittman for second with
fast-qualifier Paul McMahan finishing fourth. With a lap down, Donny Schatz
slowed with apparent trouble in the fuel line and went to the work area. He
returned to battle Brooke Tatnell for fifth, eventually claiming the spot.
• In the B-main, Kraig Kinser and Jesse Hockett went side-by-side into the
first two corners before Kinser edged ahead on the backstretch before Wayne
Johnson rode the cushion from sixth to second by the time a caution waved with
two laps down. On the restart, Kinser stayed on the bottom while Johnson went
back to the top and the two circled the 1/3-mile oval side-by-side before
Kinser again pulled ahead and went on to win. Johnson wound up second with
Craig Dollansky, Justin Henderson and Jason Solwold picking up the final
transfer spots to the A-main.
• In the first heat, Terry McCarl started on the pole was building his
advantage when a caution waved with three laps down. McCarl had a big jump on
the restart and led the rest of the way with Brandon Wimmer, fast-qualifier
Paul McMahan, Danny Lasoski and Kerry Madsen also transferring to the
A-feature.
• Brooke Tatnell, with his broken right hand set in a cast that was molded
around his steering wheel, powered to victory in the second heat, grabbing the
lead in Turn 1 and cruising out of Turn 2 and into a big lead. Sammy Swindell
held off
• In the third heat, Tim Shaffer jumped in front off of Turn 4 as the field
came to the green flag and held off Kevin Swindell in the first corner. Shaffer
would pull away to win by 1.662 seconds as
• After the 1/3-mile Short Track Nationals at Eagle Raceway, the Outlaws invade
Jackson Speedway on Sept. 23 in Jackson, Minn., then return Sept. 24 for the
second time this season to Powercom Park in Beaver Dam, Wis., and compete Sept.
27 at K-C Raceway in Chillicothe, Ohio.
• The Outdoor Channel will air at 8 p.m. Eastern on Sept. 21 the Gold Cup Race
of Champions from Silver Dollar Speedway and on Sept. 28 the 1/3-mile Short
Track Nationals from O’Reilly Auto Parts Eagle Raceway.
• The Official
• If fans can’t get to a track to see the series, they can experience the
excitement of the
• The
WoO Sprint Series Statistical Report; 1/3-mile Short Track Nationals
A-feature;
Eagle Raceway; Eagle, Neb.; Sept. 17, 2005
Qualifying
1) Paul McMahan, Helm 11H, 11.649
2) Brooke Tatnell, Rush Racing 8, 11.704
3) Jason Sides, Sides Motorsports 7S, 11.712
4)
5) Kraig Kinser, Kinser 11K, 11.742
6) Danny Lasoski, Stewart 20, 11.748
7) Brandon Wimmer, Two Winners Racing 7TW, 11.782
8) Sammy Swindell, Forbrook 5, 11.791
9) Kevin Swindell, Swindell 1, 11.803
10) Tim Shaffer, Parsons 6, 11.807
11) Billy Alley, Alley 22, 11.836
12) Terry McCarl, McCarl 24, 11.839
13) Kerry Madsen, VerMeer 55, 11.875
14)
15) Jesse Hockett, VKCC Motorsports 75, 11.973
16)
17) Collin Northway, Northway 60, 11.984
18) Shane Stewart, Rudeen Racing 26, 12.003
19) Craig Dollansky, Karavan 7, 12.021
20) Justin Henderson, Oswalt D11, 12.067
21) Wayne Johnson, Fattfro 14AJ, 12.072
22) John VanDenBerg, McCarl 7X, 12.192
23) Jason Solwold, Carnahan R19, 12.309
24) Ryan Anderson, Anderson 71R, 12.314
25) Seth Brahmer, Brahmer 13, 12.331
26) Mike Woodruff, Haneborg 44, 12.602
27) Greg Jones, Jones 35, 12.836
28) Duane Olson, Olson 16, 13.567
Top four finishers in preliminary feature (locked into first four starting
positions in Dash): Steve Kinser, Kinser 11; Donny Schatz, Schatz 15; Joey
Saldana, Woodward 2; Daryn Pittman, Titan Racing USA 21
First Heat Race (10 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Terry McCarl
2) Brandon Wimmer
3) Paul McMahan
4) Danny Lasoski
5) Kerry Madsen
6) Craig Dollansky
7)
8) Seth Brahmer
9) John VanDenBerg
10) Duane Olson
Second Heat Race (10 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Brooke Tatnell
2) Sammy Swindell
3)
4) Billy Alley
5) Collin Northway
6) Jason Solwold
7) Justin Henderson
8) Mike Woodruff
9) Kraig Kinser (DNS)
Third Heat Race (10 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Tim Shaffer
2) Kevin Swindell
3)
4) Jason Sides
5) Shane Stewart
6) Wayne Johnson
7) Jesse Hockett
8) Ryan Anderson
9) Greg Jones
Stacker 2 Dash (6 laps, finishing order determined first 6 starting
positions of A-feature)
1) Steve Kinser
2) Joey Saldana
3) Daryn Pittman
4) Paul McMahan
5) Donny Schatz
6) Brooke Tatnell
B-main (12 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to A-feature)
1) Kraig Kinser [$20]
2) Wayne Johnson [$20]
3) Craig Dollansky [$20]
4) Justin Henderson [$20]
5) Jason Solwold [$20]
6) Jesse Hockett [$200]
7)
8) Ryan Anderson [$175]
9) John VanDenBerg [$160]
10) Seth Brahmer [$150]
11) Mike Woodruff [$150]
12) Greg Jones [$150]
13) Duane Olson [$150]
A-main (40 laps)
1) Steve Kinser [$12,000]
2) Daryn Pittman [$6,000]
3) Joey Saldana [$4,000]
4)
5) Brooke Tatnell [$3,300]
6) Kraig Kinser [$3,100]
7) Danny Lasoski [$3,000]
8) Jason Sides [$2,500]
9) Sammy Swindell [$2,100]
10) Donny Schatz [$2,050]
11) Brandon Wimmer [$2,000]
12) Terry McCarl [$1,600]
13) Shane Stewart [$1,500]
14) Craig Dollansky [$1,200]
15) Jason Solwold [$1,100]
16) Kerry Madsen [$1,000]
17) Tim Shaffer [$900]
18) Billy Alley [$800]
19)
20) Kevin Swindell [$800]
21) Justin Henderson [$800]
22) Wayne Johnson [$800]
23) Paul McMahan [$800]
24) Collin Northway [$800]
Lap leaders: Steve Kinser 1-40
Notes: Kraig Kinser’s car would not fire at the start of the second
heat, forcing him to scratch from the event.
Driver Team Team Team Team A-feature
Rank Driver Points Points Earnings Diff. Wins Top 5 Top 10
1 Steve Kinser 8349 8349 $450,180 0 19 41 53
2
3 Craig Dollansky 7740 7740 $180,980 -609 2 20 36
4 Kraig Kinser 7611 7611 $318,320 -738 6 20 35
5 Donny Schatz 7510 7510 $257,110 -839 6 16 33
6 Danny Lasoski 7480 7480 $182,105 -869 1 12 31
7 Brooke Tatnell* 7294 7570* $175,595 -779 2 19 32
8 Tim Shaffer 7283 7283 $176,265 -1066 3 14 25
9 Daryn Pittman 7263 7263 $154,555 -1086 3 12 26
10 Paul McMahan 7254 7254 $115,740 -1095 0 7 21
11 Terry McCarl 7243 7243 $129,040 -1106 0 11 24
12 Joey Saldana 7055 7055 $144,945 -1294 0 14 25
13 Shane Stewart 7054 7054 $130,280 -1295 0 6 22
14 Jason Sides 6841 6841 $84,010 -1508 0 2 12
15
16 Jason Solwold 6581 6581 $96,380 -1768 0 4 13
17 Tim Kaeding** 6130 0** $0 -8349 0** 0 0
18 Brandon Wimmer 6087 6087 $53,140 -2262 0 0 3
19 Sammy Swindell 4379 4229 $114,980 -4120 2 14 18
20 Jac Haudenschild 3303 0*** $0 -8349 0*** 0 0
NOTE:
Dennis Roth’s No. 83 car driven Saturday night by
*Rush Racing’s No. 8 car driven by Brooke Tatnell is fifth in owners’ points.
**Tim Kaeding, who currently is not tied to a team in the
***Jac Haudenschild, who has one A-feature victory this season, sat out
Saturday night’s race at Eagle and therefore was not tied to a team in the WoO
standings following the event. He has one A-feature victory this season.