By Richard Day
FORT WORTH, TX (March 29) – The fierce competition for the O’Reilly World of Outlaws Series points lead turned the United States Air Force Showdown into one of the most exciting races in series history Saturday at the Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track.
After exchanging first place with each other and Chad Kemenah four times, O’Reilly World of Outlaws Series rivals Steve Kinser and Danny Lasoski remain four points apart in the battle for the series championship.
Kinser, the defending and 17-time champion beat “The Dude” under the checkered flag by 1.1 seconds to claim the $20,000 first prize and his second double-feature sweep of the year.
“It was a tough race,” Kinser told Texas Motor Speedway Executive Vice President and General Manager Eddie Gossage and United States Air Force Colonel Dave Resendez in victory lane. “I want to thank you and the Air Force. Danny and I, I think we’re going to have a lot of these (tough races) this year. It was a great race. Those last few laps were back and forth. I had to shut the door on him or he was going to get by me.”
Lasoski, who joined “The King of the Outlaws” in victory lane, was in total agreement.
“It got awful close,” Lasoski said. “I had a run on him and I knew he was coming up. I was trying to get there at the same time. That’s one reason they call him ‘The King;’ he ran a great race.
“My hat’s off to (World of Outlaws Director of Competition) Bobby Jackson. He worked hard the last two days making sure we could put on a show like this for you guys.”
Kinser, who executed a daring slide move to pass “The Dude” for the lead in the second corner early in lap 31, almost collided with First Heat Race winner Johnny Herrera the next time around. Lasoski raced through the high line in turn four in an attempt to pass Kinser with two laps remaining, only to have “The King of the Outlaws” cut him off at the finish line.
“The King of the Outlaws,” who also swept the Hollywood Hills event three weeks earlier, earned the right to start the 40-lap race on the pole by winning his sixth Dash Race of the season. Kinser drove his #11 Quaker State Maxim into the lead as the green flag fell in the “A” Feature, but the outcome was in doubt until the checkered flag fell.
Lasoski, who started next to Kinser on the front row, chased “The King of the Outlaws” for a lap before taking over first place with a high move in the fourth corner.
Kemenah, the defending All-Stars champion who finished second in Friday’s Preliminary Feature, passed Kinser and Lasoski in the low groove during the fourth and fifth laps as the main event took on a classic flavor.
Kemenah was one-third of a straightaway ahead of Lasoski when he entered lapped traffic six laps into the race. Magneto problems in the #35 C&W Motorsports Maxim forced Tyler Walker to stop in turn one the next time around. The caution flag fell, taking the leaders out of lapped traffic.
“The Dude,” a two-time winner at the Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track, regained the lead two laps later, driving NASCAR Winston Cup champion Tony Stewart’s #20 J.D. Byrider Eagle past Kemenah high in the second corner.
Lasoski increased his advantage in lapped traffic, only to have the relentless “King of the Outlaws” track him down. Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year candidate Shane Stewart tightened the field when he stopped on the front straightaway with overheating problems midway through the race.
“The Dude” was four car-lengths ahead of Kinser when they caught the back-markers early in the 26th lap, but the leaders were nose-to-tail within four laps. “The King of the Outlaws” made several runs at Lasoski before pulling off the winning pass with 9 2/3 laps remaining.
Third Heat Race winner Craig Dollansky raced into third place from inside the third row.
“Lapped traffic sometimes helps us and sometimes it hurts us,” the 2000 World of Outlaws Gumout Series champion said. “We started in a hole tonight from the fourth row in the dash. The VMAC car ran strong and the track was prepared well. We look forward to coming back to Texas (October 10-11).”
Fast qualifier Paul McMahan finished fourth, ahead of Tim Shaffer, Daryn Pittman, Mark Kinser, Kemenah, 15th-starting Brooke Tatnell and Steve Kinser’s son, Kraig.
Donny Schatz, who used a provisional to start the main event, drove his #15 Parker Stores J&J past nine cars to finish in 16th place.
The O’Reilly World of Outlaws Series will run $51,600 events in “The Heart of Dixie” next weekend – at East Alabama Motor Speedway in Phenix City, AL, Friday and at the Talladega Short Track in Talladega, AL, Saturday. WoO
2003 O’Reilly World of Outlaws Series
United States Air Force Showdown
Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track, Fort Worth, TX
Saturday, March 29, Feature Program #9
Qualifying: 1. Paul McMahan, Miller 2, 13.767; 2. Kraig Kinser, Kinser 11K, 13.771; 3. Craig Dollansky, Karavan Racing 7, 14.022; 4. Tim Shaffer, Roth 83, 14.023; 5. Mark Kinser, Kinser 5M, 14.045; 6. Randy Hannagan, TH Racing 1X, 14.105; 7. Jeff Shepard, Helm 11H, 14.165; 8. Jac Haudenschild, Forbrook 5, 14.175; 9. Johnny Herrera, Wilburn 2W, 14.223; 10. Jason Johnson, Harrison 22, 14.239; 11. Brooke Tatnell, Grandstaff 66, 14.247; 12. Joey Saldana, Saldana 17, 14.295; 13. Dean Jacobs, Pullin 29, 14.331; 14. Bill Rose, Rose 6R, 14.392; 15. Ryan Coniam, Coniam 6C, 14.412; 16. Aaron Berryhill, Walden 97, 14.422; 17. Bob Bennett, Acme Trailer 3, 14.427; 18. Justin Henderson, Carnahan R19, 14.552; 19. Greg Wilson, Hampshire 63, 14.558; 20. Shane Stewart, Chilcutt 4M, 14.580; 21. Ricky Logan, Gifford 17G, 14.592; 22. Tyler Walker, C&W Motorsports 35, 14.620; 23. Zach Chappell, Chappell 50Z, 14.663; 24. Matt Clevenger, Clevenger 31, 14.689; 25. Donny Schatz, Schatz 15, 14.714; 26. Jason Sides, Sides Motorsports 7S, 14.729; 27. P.J. Chesson, Chesson 76, 14.738; 28. Blake Mallory, Mallory 6M, 14.795; 29. Jeremy Campbell, Campbell 10C, 14.815; 30. Derek Beckman, Cox 50D, 14.990; 31. Scott Young, Young F-22, 15.170; 32. Craig Keel, Potorff 9, 15.284; 33. Travis Rilat, Archer 1A, 16.791; 34. Brian Paulus, P and P Motorsports 28, 17.413; 35. Brian Brown, Parsons 6, no time.
Finishing 1-4 in Friday’s Preliminary Feature qualified Steve Kinser, Kinser 11; Chad Kemenah, Harble 15K, Danny Lasoski, Stewart 20; and Daryn Pittman, Sher-Don Motorsports 21, for the first four starting positions in the Dash Race.
First Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Johnny Herrera, 2. Paul McMahan, 3. Jac Haudenschild, 4. Ricky Logan, 5. Travis Rilat, 6. Donny Schatz, 7. Bob Bennett, 8. Aaron Berryhill, 9. Jeremy Campbell. (first four qualified for the “A” Feature)
Second Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Jason Johnson, 2. Kraig Kinser, 3. Jeff Shepard, 4. Tyler Walker, 5. Justin Henderson, 6. Jason Sides, 7. Brian Paulus, 8. Derek Beckman, 9. Ryan Coniam. (first four qualified for the “A” Feature)
Third Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Craig Dollansky, 2. Bill Rose, 3. Brooke Tatnell, 4. P.J. Chesson, 5. Randy Hannagan, 6. Greg Wilson, 7. Zach Chappell, 8. Brian Brown, 9. Scott Young. (first four qualified for the “A” Feature)
Fourth Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Dean Jacobs, 2. Joey Saldana, 3. Mark Kinser, 4. Tim Shaffer, 5. Shane Stewart, 6. Craig Keel, 7. Matt Clevenger, 8. Blake Mallory. (first four qualified for the “A” Feature)
Dash Race (five laps): 1. Steve Kinser, 2. Danny Lasoski, 3. Chad Kemenah, 4. Tim Shaffer, 5. Craig Dollansky, 6. Daryn Pittman, 7. Paul McMahan, 8. Kraig Kinser. (finish determined the first eight starting positions in the “A” Feature)
B Feature (12 laps): 1. Zach Chappell, 2. Justin Henderson, 3. Randy Hannagan, 4. Shane Stewart, 5. Donny Schatz, 6. Bob Bennett ($200); 7. Matt Clevenger ($150); 8. Brian Paulus ($100); 9. Travis Rilat ($90); 10. Greg Wilson ($80); 11. Craig Keel ($60); 12. Jason Sides ($50); 13. Scott Young ($50); 14. Derek Beckman ($50); 15. Brian Brown ($50); 16. Blake Mallory ($50); 17. Ryan Coniam ($50); 18. Aaron Berryhill ($50); 19. Jeremy Campbell ($50). (first four qualified for the “A” Feature)
A Feature (40 laps): 1. Steve Kinser [1] ($20,000); 2. Danny Lasoski [2] ($10,000); 3. Craig Dollansky [5] ($5,000); 4. Paul McMahan [7] ($4,000); 5. Tim Shaffer [4] ($3,500); 6. Daryn Pittman [6] ($3,200); 7. Mark Kinser [9] ($3,100); 8. Chad Kemenah [3] ($3,000); 9. Brooke Tatnell [15] ($2,100); 10. Kraig Kinser [8] ($2,050); 11. Randy Hannagan [10] ($2,020); 12. Jason Johnson [14] ($1,600); 13. Joey Saldana [16] ($1,500); 14. Johnny Herrera [13] ($1,200); 15. Jeff Shepard [11] ($1,100); 16. Donny Schatz [25] ($1,020); 17. Dean Jacobs [17] ($1,020); 18. Zach Chappell [23] ($1,020); 19. Ricky Logan [21] ($1,000); 20. Jac Haudenschild [12] ($1,000); 21. Justin Henderson [19] ($1,020); 22. Bill Rose [18] ($1,000); 23. P.J. Chesson [24] ($1,000); 24. Shane Stewart [20] ($1,020); 25. Tyler Walker [22] ($1,000). Provisional starter: Donny Schatz
Lap leaders: Steve Kinser 1, 31-40; Danny Lasoski 2-4, 9-30; Chad Kemenah 5-8
FORT WORTH, TX (March 29) – The fierce competition for the O’Reilly World of Outlaws Series points lead turned the United States Air Force Showdown into one of the most exciting races in series history Saturday at the Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track.
After exchanging first place with each other and Chad Kemenah four times, O’Reilly World of Outlaws Series rivals Steve Kinser and Danny Lasoski remain four points apart in the battle for the series championship.
Kinser, the defending and 17-time champion beat “The Dude” under the checkered flag by 1.1 seconds to claim the $20,000 first prize and his second double-feature sweep of the year.
“It was a tough race,” Kinser told Texas Motor Speedway Executive Vice President and General Manager Eddie Gossage and United States Air Force Colonel Dave Resendez in victory lane. “I want to thank you and the Air Force. Danny and I, I think we’re going to have a lot of these (tough races) this year. It was a great race. Those last few laps were back and forth. I had to shut the door on him or he was going to get by me.”
Lasoski, who joined “The King of the Outlaws” in victory lane, was in total agreement.
“It got awful close,” Lasoski said. “I had a run on him and I knew he was coming up. I was trying to get there at the same time. That’s one reason they call him ‘The King;’ he ran a great race.
“My hat’s off to (World of Outlaws Director of Competition) Bobby Jackson. He worked hard the last two days making sure we could put on a show like this for you guys.”
Kinser, who executed a daring slide move to pass “The Dude” for the lead in the second corner early in lap 31, almost collided with First Heat Race winner Johnny Herrera the next time around. Lasoski raced through the high line in turn four in an attempt to pass Kinser with two laps remaining, only to have “The King of the Outlaws” cut him off at the finish line.
“The King of the Outlaws,” who also swept the Hollywood Hills event three weeks earlier, earned the right to start the 40-lap race on the pole by winning his sixth Dash Race of the season. Kinser drove his #11 Quaker State Maxim into the lead as the green flag fell in the “A” Feature, but the outcome was in doubt until the checkered flag fell.
Lasoski, who started next to Kinser on the front row, chased “The King of the Outlaws” for a lap before taking over first place with a high move in the fourth corner.
Kemenah, the defending All-Stars champion who finished second in Friday’s Preliminary Feature, passed Kinser and Lasoski in the low groove during the fourth and fifth laps as the main event took on a classic flavor.
Kemenah was one-third of a straightaway ahead of Lasoski when he entered lapped traffic six laps into the race. Magneto problems in the #35 C&W Motorsports Maxim forced Tyler Walker to stop in turn one the next time around. The caution flag fell, taking the leaders out of lapped traffic.
“The Dude,” a two-time winner at the Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track, regained the lead two laps later, driving NASCAR Winston Cup champion Tony Stewart’s #20 J.D. Byrider Eagle past Kemenah high in the second corner.
Lasoski increased his advantage in lapped traffic, only to have the relentless “King of the Outlaws” track him down. Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year candidate Shane Stewart tightened the field when he stopped on the front straightaway with overheating problems midway through the race.
“The Dude” was four car-lengths ahead of Kinser when they caught the back-markers early in the 26th lap, but the leaders were nose-to-tail within four laps. “The King of the Outlaws” made several runs at Lasoski before pulling off the winning pass with 9 2/3 laps remaining.
Third Heat Race winner Craig Dollansky raced into third place from inside the third row.
“Lapped traffic sometimes helps us and sometimes it hurts us,” the 2000 World of Outlaws Gumout Series champion said. “We started in a hole tonight from the fourth row in the dash. The VMAC car ran strong and the track was prepared well. We look forward to coming back to Texas (October 10-11).”
Fast qualifier Paul McMahan finished fourth, ahead of Tim Shaffer, Daryn Pittman, Mark Kinser, Kemenah, 15th-starting Brooke Tatnell and Steve Kinser’s son, Kraig.
Donny Schatz, who used a provisional to start the main event, drove his #15 Parker Stores J&J past nine cars to finish in 16th place.
The O’Reilly World of Outlaws Series will run $51,600 events in “The Heart of Dixie” next weekend – at East Alabama Motor Speedway in Phenix City, AL, Friday and at the Talladega Short Track in Talladega, AL, Saturday. WoO
2003 O’Reilly World of Outlaws Series
United States Air Force Showdown
Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track, Fort Worth, TX
Saturday, March 29, Feature Program #9
Qualifying: 1. Paul McMahan, Miller 2, 13.767; 2. Kraig Kinser, Kinser 11K, 13.771; 3. Craig Dollansky, Karavan Racing 7, 14.022; 4. Tim Shaffer, Roth 83, 14.023; 5. Mark Kinser, Kinser 5M, 14.045; 6. Randy Hannagan, TH Racing 1X, 14.105; 7. Jeff Shepard, Helm 11H, 14.165; 8. Jac Haudenschild, Forbrook 5, 14.175; 9. Johnny Herrera, Wilburn 2W, 14.223; 10. Jason Johnson, Harrison 22, 14.239; 11. Brooke Tatnell, Grandstaff 66, 14.247; 12. Joey Saldana, Saldana 17, 14.295; 13. Dean Jacobs, Pullin 29, 14.331; 14. Bill Rose, Rose 6R, 14.392; 15. Ryan Coniam, Coniam 6C, 14.412; 16. Aaron Berryhill, Walden 97, 14.422; 17. Bob Bennett, Acme Trailer 3, 14.427; 18. Justin Henderson, Carnahan R19, 14.552; 19. Greg Wilson, Hampshire 63, 14.558; 20. Shane Stewart, Chilcutt 4M, 14.580; 21. Ricky Logan, Gifford 17G, 14.592; 22. Tyler Walker, C&W Motorsports 35, 14.620; 23. Zach Chappell, Chappell 50Z, 14.663; 24. Matt Clevenger, Clevenger 31, 14.689; 25. Donny Schatz, Schatz 15, 14.714; 26. Jason Sides, Sides Motorsports 7S, 14.729; 27. P.J. Chesson, Chesson 76, 14.738; 28. Blake Mallory, Mallory 6M, 14.795; 29. Jeremy Campbell, Campbell 10C, 14.815; 30. Derek Beckman, Cox 50D, 14.990; 31. Scott Young, Young F-22, 15.170; 32. Craig Keel, Potorff 9, 15.284; 33. Travis Rilat, Archer 1A, 16.791; 34. Brian Paulus, P and P Motorsports 28, 17.413; 35. Brian Brown, Parsons 6, no time.
Finishing 1-4 in Friday’s Preliminary Feature qualified Steve Kinser, Kinser 11; Chad Kemenah, Harble 15K, Danny Lasoski, Stewart 20; and Daryn Pittman, Sher-Don Motorsports 21, for the first four starting positions in the Dash Race.
First Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Johnny Herrera, 2. Paul McMahan, 3. Jac Haudenschild, 4. Ricky Logan, 5. Travis Rilat, 6. Donny Schatz, 7. Bob Bennett, 8. Aaron Berryhill, 9. Jeremy Campbell. (first four qualified for the “A” Feature)
Second Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Jason Johnson, 2. Kraig Kinser, 3. Jeff Shepard, 4. Tyler Walker, 5. Justin Henderson, 6. Jason Sides, 7. Brian Paulus, 8. Derek Beckman, 9. Ryan Coniam. (first four qualified for the “A” Feature)
Third Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Craig Dollansky, 2. Bill Rose, 3. Brooke Tatnell, 4. P.J. Chesson, 5. Randy Hannagan, 6. Greg Wilson, 7. Zach Chappell, 8. Brian Brown, 9. Scott Young. (first four qualified for the “A” Feature)
Fourth Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Dean Jacobs, 2. Joey Saldana, 3. Mark Kinser, 4. Tim Shaffer, 5. Shane Stewart, 6. Craig Keel, 7. Matt Clevenger, 8. Blake Mallory. (first four qualified for the “A” Feature)
Dash Race (five laps): 1. Steve Kinser, 2. Danny Lasoski, 3. Chad Kemenah, 4. Tim Shaffer, 5. Craig Dollansky, 6. Daryn Pittman, 7. Paul McMahan, 8. Kraig Kinser. (finish determined the first eight starting positions in the “A” Feature)
B Feature (12 laps): 1. Zach Chappell, 2. Justin Henderson, 3. Randy Hannagan, 4. Shane Stewart, 5. Donny Schatz, 6. Bob Bennett ($200); 7. Matt Clevenger ($150); 8. Brian Paulus ($100); 9. Travis Rilat ($90); 10. Greg Wilson ($80); 11. Craig Keel ($60); 12. Jason Sides ($50); 13. Scott Young ($50); 14. Derek Beckman ($50); 15. Brian Brown ($50); 16. Blake Mallory ($50); 17. Ryan Coniam ($50); 18. Aaron Berryhill ($50); 19. Jeremy Campbell ($50). (first four qualified for the “A” Feature)
A Feature (40 laps): 1. Steve Kinser [1] ($20,000); 2. Danny Lasoski [2] ($10,000); 3. Craig Dollansky [5] ($5,000); 4. Paul McMahan [7] ($4,000); 5. Tim Shaffer [4] ($3,500); 6. Daryn Pittman [6] ($3,200); 7. Mark Kinser [9] ($3,100); 8. Chad Kemenah [3] ($3,000); 9. Brooke Tatnell [15] ($2,100); 10. Kraig Kinser [8] ($2,050); 11. Randy Hannagan [10] ($2,020); 12. Jason Johnson [14] ($1,600); 13. Joey Saldana [16] ($1,500); 14. Johnny Herrera [13] ($1,200); 15. Jeff Shepard [11] ($1,100); 16. Donny Schatz [25] ($1,020); 17. Dean Jacobs [17] ($1,020); 18. Zach Chappell [23] ($1,020); 19. Ricky Logan [21] ($1,000); 20. Jac Haudenschild [12] ($1,000); 21. Justin Henderson [19] ($1,020); 22. Bill Rose [18] ($1,000); 23. P.J. Chesson [24] ($1,000); 24. Shane Stewart [20] ($1,020); 25. Tyler Walker [22] ($1,000). Provisional starter: Donny Schatz
Lap leaders: Steve Kinser 1, 31-40; Danny Lasoski 2-4, 9-30; Chad Kemenah 5-8
