By Scott Hall
PADUCAH, KY - Danny Smith out dueled Kelly Kinser, then held off first Dale Blaney and later Greg Wilson Friday night to win Paducah International Raceway’s season opener for the Haulmark All Star sprint car series’ silver anniversary season. The 30 lap feature paid Smith $5,000 for his 25th career All Star win, the first All Star race on the 3/8 mile high banked oval since a 1981 Lee Osborne win.
“I lost my good friend and great mechanic Jim Bennett, and to come back the first night out with the son turning the wrenches tonight it was pretty special,” an emotional Smith said in tribute to his late mechanic who suffered a heart attack two weeks ago. “The track was smooth, but it wasn’t a runaway. Once Kelly got by me I changed my line a little bit and got her through to the front. When you start on the front row you don’t have much strategy, just run as hard as you can.” Smith also credited new engine sponsor Doug Williams Trucking and thanked Alan Kiger of Pence Olds-GMC for his support of his self owned Maxim.
With Smith starting from the pole, Kinser was outside row one with Wilson and Jeremy Campbell in row two, followed by Blaney and Terry McCarl. Smith led the first two circuits before Kinser got by for the lead with a pass in turn two. Then Kinser led the third lap before a caution for Brock Mayes’ machine which was stopped on the backstretch. Kinser led for the restart, but by lap six Smith once again was able to get by his fellow Hoosier state
driver to regain the lead.
At lap 13, following another caution, the restart lineup was Smith, Kinser, Wilson, Blaney, McCarl and Kemenah, up from 10th starting spot. Kinser tried to dive under Smith when the green reappeared, but to no avail. Blaney now applied pressure to Kinser and took second on lap 17 as Smith pushed his lead to half a straightaway. Blaney began to reel in Smith in lapped traffic and on lap 22 Smith was in the low groove with Blaney trying a high side pass, but lapped traffic thwarted Blaney’s charge. Ryan Coniam and Phil Gressman made contact on lap 23, bringing out a caution. While awaiting the restart lineup, Blaney’s right rear tire began losing air, forcing him pitside for a new tire, ending a great charge. This moved Wilson into second ahead of Kinser with Campbell fourth and McCarl fifth.
As Smith moved away from the pack when the green was displayed, action was fast and furious for second through fourth with Kinser diving low to try and move around Wilson as McCarl challenged Campbell. McCarl got past both Campbell and Kinser in one fell swoop to come home third after running out of time to catch Wilson. At the stripe it was Smith over Wilson, McCarl, who admitted he misread the track and stayed on the bottom too long, Kinser and Campbell. Defending All Star champ Kemenah was sixth ahead of eighth starter Jerrod Hull, Bill Rose, Tim Montgomery and Ricky Logan.
The Crown Battery heat fell to Wilson, the B&B Products heat went to Kemenah, the Engler Machine and Tool heat was won by Ryan Coniam and the TP Wings heat fell to Paul May. Jesse Gianetto won the University of Northwestern Ohio B Main, in which Chuck Walker flipped without injury.
Campbell captured the Haulmark Dash and McCarl was the Huggins Cams Fast Time qualifier.
Huggins Cams Time Trials: 1. Terry McCarl, McCarl 24, 12.925; 2. Dale Blaney, Andrews 72b, 13.029; 3. Jeremy Campbell, Campbell 10c, 13.111; 4. Bill Rose, Rose 6, 13.228; 5. Greg Wilson, Hampshire 63, 13.252; 6. Kelly Kinser, Kinser 4k, 13.259; 7. Danny Smith, Smith 4, 13.270; 8. Jerrod Hull, Hull 12H, 13.274; 9. Colin Northway, Northway 60, 13.357; 10. Chad Kemenah, Harble 15k, 13.394; 11. Jesse Gianetto, Gianetto D1, 13.435; 12. Ricky Logan, Gifford 17G, 13.450; 13. Tim Montgomery, Montgomery 32, 13.483; 14. Brock Mayes, Mayes 11B, 13.526; 15. Ryan Coniam, Grove 70, 13.572; 16. Phil Gressman, Robenalt 98, 13.586; 17. Barry Ruble, Ruble 63r, 13.641; 18. Paul Hart, Hart 32x, 13.674; 19. Joey Montgomery, Montgomery 21c, 13.687; 20. Paul May, May 71m, 13.806; 21. Jan Howard, Howard 46, 14.162; 22. Jon Agan, Agan 4J, 14.182; 23. Paul Patterson, Patterson 87, 14.221; 24. Terry Babb, Babb 88, 14.256; 25. Tim Hunter, Hunter 2H, 14.277; 26. Alex Shanks, Baker 55B, 14.297; 27. Eddie Lynch, Lynch 29, 14.317; 28. Jay Landolt, Steinbaker 21s, 14.322; 29. Curtis Boyer, Boyer 72x, 14.415; 30. Chad Souders, Souders 12s, 14.547; 31. Steve Short, Short 8, 14.608; 32. Daryl Martin, Martin 5, 14.727; 33. Chuck Walker, Walker 4x, 14.957; 34. Jason Keith, Keith 28, 15.162; 35. Shane Wade, Wade 69er, 15.511.
Crown Battery Heat (8 laps): 1. Wilson 2. McCarl 3. Northway 4. T. Montgomery 5. Boyer 6. Ruble 7. Walker 8. Hunter 9. Howard.
B&B Products Heat (8 laps): 1. Kemenah 2. Blaney 3. Mayes 4. Kinser 5. Hart 6. Shanks 7. Souders 8. Keith 9. Agan (DNS). Engler Machine & Tool Heat (8 laps): 1. Coniam 2. Campbell 3. J. Montgomery 4. Smith 5. Patterson 6. Gianetto 7. Short 8. Lynch 9. Wade.
TP Wings Heat (8 laps): 1. May 2. Logan 3. Gressman 4. Hull 5. Babb 6. Rose 7. Landolt 8. Martin.
Haulmark Dash (4 laps): 1. Campbell 2. Wilson 3. Blaney 4. Kinser, University of Northwestern Ohio B Main (12 laps): 1. Gianetto 2. Rose 3. Landolt 4. Hunter 5. Souders 6. Shanks 7. Ruble 8. Agan 9. Lynch 10. Short 11. Wade 12. Martin 13. Walker 14. Keith 15. Howard (DNS). Haulmark A Main (30 laps): 1. Danny Smith 2. Greg Wilson 3. Terry McCarl 4. Kelly Kinser 5. Jeremy Campbell 6. Chad Kemenah 7. Jerrod Hull 8. Bill Rose 9. Tim Montgomery 10. Ricky Logan 11. Jesse Gianetto 12. Ryan Coniam 13. Dale Blaney 14. Colin Northway 15. Jay Landolt 16. Tim Hunter 17. Paul May 18. Curtis Boyer 19. Phil Gressman 20. Terry Babb 21. Brock Mayes 22. Paul Hart 23. Joey Montgomery 24. Paul Patterson.
Lap Leaders: Danny Smith 1-2, Kelly Kinser 3-5, Smith 6-30.
PADUCAH, KY - Danny Smith out dueled Kelly Kinser, then held off first Dale Blaney and later Greg Wilson Friday night to win Paducah International Raceway’s season opener for the Haulmark All Star sprint car series’ silver anniversary season. The 30 lap feature paid Smith $5,000 for his 25th career All Star win, the first All Star race on the 3/8 mile high banked oval since a 1981 Lee Osborne win.
“I lost my good friend and great mechanic Jim Bennett, and to come back the first night out with the son turning the wrenches tonight it was pretty special,” an emotional Smith said in tribute to his late mechanic who suffered a heart attack two weeks ago. “The track was smooth, but it wasn’t a runaway. Once Kelly got by me I changed my line a little bit and got her through to the front. When you start on the front row you don’t have much strategy, just run as hard as you can.” Smith also credited new engine sponsor Doug Williams Trucking and thanked Alan Kiger of Pence Olds-GMC for his support of his self owned Maxim.
With Smith starting from the pole, Kinser was outside row one with Wilson and Jeremy Campbell in row two, followed by Blaney and Terry McCarl. Smith led the first two circuits before Kinser got by for the lead with a pass in turn two. Then Kinser led the third lap before a caution for Brock Mayes’ machine which was stopped on the backstretch. Kinser led for the restart, but by lap six Smith once again was able to get by his fellow Hoosier state
driver to regain the lead.
At lap 13, following another caution, the restart lineup was Smith, Kinser, Wilson, Blaney, McCarl and Kemenah, up from 10th starting spot. Kinser tried to dive under Smith when the green reappeared, but to no avail. Blaney now applied pressure to Kinser and took second on lap 17 as Smith pushed his lead to half a straightaway. Blaney began to reel in Smith in lapped traffic and on lap 22 Smith was in the low groove with Blaney trying a high side pass, but lapped traffic thwarted Blaney’s charge. Ryan Coniam and Phil Gressman made contact on lap 23, bringing out a caution. While awaiting the restart lineup, Blaney’s right rear tire began losing air, forcing him pitside for a new tire, ending a great charge. This moved Wilson into second ahead of Kinser with Campbell fourth and McCarl fifth.
As Smith moved away from the pack when the green was displayed, action was fast and furious for second through fourth with Kinser diving low to try and move around Wilson as McCarl challenged Campbell. McCarl got past both Campbell and Kinser in one fell swoop to come home third after running out of time to catch Wilson. At the stripe it was Smith over Wilson, McCarl, who admitted he misread the track and stayed on the bottom too long, Kinser and Campbell. Defending All Star champ Kemenah was sixth ahead of eighth starter Jerrod Hull, Bill Rose, Tim Montgomery and Ricky Logan.
The Crown Battery heat fell to Wilson, the B&B Products heat went to Kemenah, the Engler Machine and Tool heat was won by Ryan Coniam and the TP Wings heat fell to Paul May. Jesse Gianetto won the University of Northwestern Ohio B Main, in which Chuck Walker flipped without injury.
Campbell captured the Haulmark Dash and McCarl was the Huggins Cams Fast Time qualifier.
Huggins Cams Time Trials: 1. Terry McCarl, McCarl 24, 12.925; 2. Dale Blaney, Andrews 72b, 13.029; 3. Jeremy Campbell, Campbell 10c, 13.111; 4. Bill Rose, Rose 6, 13.228; 5. Greg Wilson, Hampshire 63, 13.252; 6. Kelly Kinser, Kinser 4k, 13.259; 7. Danny Smith, Smith 4, 13.270; 8. Jerrod Hull, Hull 12H, 13.274; 9. Colin Northway, Northway 60, 13.357; 10. Chad Kemenah, Harble 15k, 13.394; 11. Jesse Gianetto, Gianetto D1, 13.435; 12. Ricky Logan, Gifford 17G, 13.450; 13. Tim Montgomery, Montgomery 32, 13.483; 14. Brock Mayes, Mayes 11B, 13.526; 15. Ryan Coniam, Grove 70, 13.572; 16. Phil Gressman, Robenalt 98, 13.586; 17. Barry Ruble, Ruble 63r, 13.641; 18. Paul Hart, Hart 32x, 13.674; 19. Joey Montgomery, Montgomery 21c, 13.687; 20. Paul May, May 71m, 13.806; 21. Jan Howard, Howard 46, 14.162; 22. Jon Agan, Agan 4J, 14.182; 23. Paul Patterson, Patterson 87, 14.221; 24. Terry Babb, Babb 88, 14.256; 25. Tim Hunter, Hunter 2H, 14.277; 26. Alex Shanks, Baker 55B, 14.297; 27. Eddie Lynch, Lynch 29, 14.317; 28. Jay Landolt, Steinbaker 21s, 14.322; 29. Curtis Boyer, Boyer 72x, 14.415; 30. Chad Souders, Souders 12s, 14.547; 31. Steve Short, Short 8, 14.608; 32. Daryl Martin, Martin 5, 14.727; 33. Chuck Walker, Walker 4x, 14.957; 34. Jason Keith, Keith 28, 15.162; 35. Shane Wade, Wade 69er, 15.511.
Crown Battery Heat (8 laps): 1. Wilson 2. McCarl 3. Northway 4. T. Montgomery 5. Boyer 6. Ruble 7. Walker 8. Hunter 9. Howard.
B&B Products Heat (8 laps): 1. Kemenah 2. Blaney 3. Mayes 4. Kinser 5. Hart 6. Shanks 7. Souders 8. Keith 9. Agan (DNS). Engler Machine & Tool Heat (8 laps): 1. Coniam 2. Campbell 3. J. Montgomery 4. Smith 5. Patterson 6. Gianetto 7. Short 8. Lynch 9. Wade.
TP Wings Heat (8 laps): 1. May 2. Logan 3. Gressman 4. Hull 5. Babb 6. Rose 7. Landolt 8. Martin.
Haulmark Dash (4 laps): 1. Campbell 2. Wilson 3. Blaney 4. Kinser, University of Northwestern Ohio B Main (12 laps): 1. Gianetto 2. Rose 3. Landolt 4. Hunter 5. Souders 6. Shanks 7. Ruble 8. Agan 9. Lynch 10. Short 11. Wade 12. Martin 13. Walker 14. Keith 15. Howard (DNS). Haulmark A Main (30 laps): 1. Danny Smith 2. Greg Wilson 3. Terry McCarl 4. Kelly Kinser 5. Jeremy Campbell 6. Chad Kemenah 7. Jerrod Hull 8. Bill Rose 9. Tim Montgomery 10. Ricky Logan 11. Jesse Gianetto 12. Ryan Coniam 13. Dale Blaney 14. Colin Northway 15. Jay Landolt 16. Tim Hunter 17. Paul May 18. Curtis Boyer 19. Phil Gressman 20. Terry Babb 21. Brock Mayes 22. Paul Hart 23. Joey Montgomery 24. Paul Patterson.
Lap Leaders: Danny Smith 1-2, Kelly Kinser 3-5, Smith 6-30.
