By Richard Day
KILGORE, TX (October 20) – While Steve Kinser has turned the O’Reilly World of Outlaws Series Silver Anniversary championship race into a chase, the battle for third place in the point standings is tighter than ever as the season enters its final two weeks.
Kinser, the defending series champion, needs to only finish 18th or better in the remaining four feature races – three main events and one preliminary – to outscore Danny Lasoski for his 18th title. "The King of the Outlaws" has finished worse than 18th in only five features this season – two main events and three preliminaries – and one of the "A" Features was a disqualification. Kinser has driven his #11 Quaker State Maxim to 16 straight single-digit finishes in feature races overall, and 27 straight main events.
Daryn Pittman is only nine points behind Joey Saldana entering this weekend’s single-program events at Lone Star Speedway and Houston Raceway Park. Like Kinser, Pittman has shifted into a higher gear since the Harvest Classic at Calistoga Speedway in late August. Saldana, the 1996 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year, was 84 points ahead of Pittman entering the Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway. Driving the #21 Hop & Sack CMS into the top 10 in the last 14 feature races, the 2002 Manufacturers’ Hard-Charger award winner has outscored Saldana by 75 points, setting up four-race dash to third place.
Greg Hodnett became the fifth driver to sweep a multi-program event this season when he won both the Preliminary and "A" Features at Delta Bowl Speedway Friday and Saturday. Kinser, Lasoski, Hodnett, Tim Shaffer and Jason Meyers have combined to sweep eight double-feature events. "The Dude" recorded successive sweeps of the Spring Classic at Knoxville Raceway and the Dodge Great Plains Shootout at Nebraska Raceway Park in late April and early May, then pulled off a rare triple-feature sweep of the Harvest Classic. Hodnett put together his first double-feature sweep during the Outlaws Showdown at The Dirt Track at Lowe’s Motor Speedway May 24-25, 2002.
Hodnett became the 18th driver to win an "A" Feature this year when he led all 30 laps at Delta Bowl Speedway Saturday. That ties the record for the second-most winners in a single season, set in 2001. Twenty different drivers won main events in 1989. The $12,000 victory was the sixth in O’Reilly World of Outlaws Series competition for the 1993 Rookie of the Year.
KILGORE, TX (October 20) – While Steve Kinser has turned the O’Reilly World of Outlaws Series Silver Anniversary championship race into a chase, the battle for third place in the point standings is tighter than ever as the season enters its final two weeks.
Kinser, the defending series champion, needs to only finish 18th or better in the remaining four feature races – three main events and one preliminary – to outscore Danny Lasoski for his 18th title. "The King of the Outlaws" has finished worse than 18th in only five features this season – two main events and three preliminaries – and one of the "A" Features was a disqualification. Kinser has driven his #11 Quaker State Maxim to 16 straight single-digit finishes in feature races overall, and 27 straight main events.
Daryn Pittman is only nine points behind Joey Saldana entering this weekend’s single-program events at Lone Star Speedway and Houston Raceway Park. Like Kinser, Pittman has shifted into a higher gear since the Harvest Classic at Calistoga Speedway in late August. Saldana, the 1996 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year, was 84 points ahead of Pittman entering the Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway. Driving the #21 Hop & Sack CMS into the top 10 in the last 14 feature races, the 2002 Manufacturers’ Hard-Charger award winner has outscored Saldana by 75 points, setting up four-race dash to third place.
Greg Hodnett became the fifth driver to sweep a multi-program event this season when he won both the Preliminary and "A" Features at Delta Bowl Speedway Friday and Saturday. Kinser, Lasoski, Hodnett, Tim Shaffer and Jason Meyers have combined to sweep eight double-feature events. "The Dude" recorded successive sweeps of the Spring Classic at Knoxville Raceway and the Dodge Great Plains Shootout at Nebraska Raceway Park in late April and early May, then pulled off a rare triple-feature sweep of the Harvest Classic. Hodnett put together his first double-feature sweep during the Outlaws Showdown at The Dirt Track at Lowe’s Motor Speedway May 24-25, 2002.
Hodnett became the 18th driver to win an "A" Feature this year when he led all 30 laps at Delta Bowl Speedway Saturday. That ties the record for the second-most winners in a single season, set in 2001. Twenty different drivers won main events in 1989. The $12,000 victory was the sixth in O’Reilly World of Outlaws Series competition for the 1993 Rookie of the Year.
