|
 BAYTOWN,
TX (October 14) -- Defending World of Outlaws champion, Steve Kinser,
is HOT. In his last three events, Kinser has posted two firsts and a
second place finish. With the preliminary night of racing rained out,
only one night of action was held at Houston Raceway Park. Last night,
the 16-time series champion led every lap of the 30-lap A-feature race
while heading a USA-made Hoosier tire contingent across the finish
line. In one of the most amazing performances of the 2001 season, Team
Hoosier dominated the night of racing, posting the fastest 13 times in
qualifying, winning, all three heats, winning the B-feature,
outfitting all ten competitors in the Dash, culminating in a sweep of
the top NINE finishers in the night's A-feature race.
Twenty-eight
cars were on hand for qualifying Sunday night, with 20 selecting
Hoosier tires to compete on. Once again, Team Hoosier dominated
qualifying as Bristol, Indiana's Paul McMahan set fast time when he
eclipsed the 4/10-mile clay oval in 14.450 seconds. Following McMahan
was Danny Lasoski, Joey Saldana, Brad Furr, Danny Wood, P.J. Chesson,
Johnny Herrera, Andy Hillenburg, Daryn Pittman, Travis Rilat, Steve
Kinser, Kraig Kinser and Craig Dollansky completing the Team Hoosier
sweep of the top 13 times. With 28 cars on hand, only three
preliminary heat races were needed. Team Hoosier followed up their
domination in qualifying by capturing all three 8-lap O'Reilly heat
races. In fact, they swept the podium in all three races! As Steve
Kinser was followed to the finish line by Andy Hillenburg and Danny
Wood in the first heat, while Kraig Kinser, won the second heat
followed by Daryn Pittman and Danny Lasoski. The final heat provided
an even better finish for Team Hoosier as they took the top four
places at the finish. Craig Dollansky won the race, followed by Joey
Saldana, Travis Rilat and Johnny Herrera in second through
fourth. Team Hoosier's domination in both
qualifying and heat action provided an interesting dilemma for fans of
Team Hoosier, that was, who to root for, as all ten competitors
in the 8-lap Channellock Dash were on the Hoosier brand! Steve Kinser
won the race followed by Danny Lasoski, Joey Saldana, Kraig Kinser,
Craig Dollansky, Paul McMahan, Andy Hillenburg, Danny Wood, Johnny
Herrera and P.J. Chesson. The front five rows were now set in the
night's A-feature race. Even the "last-chance" B-feature
race would see a Hoosier one-two finish as Brad Furr and Jason Meyers
kept the "All-Hoosier" night in tact. In the night's
A-feature race, Steve Kinser, on a pair of Hoosier D15's, jumped into
the lead at the drop of the green flag. Kinser would go on to take the
flag-to-flag win 30 laps later. Finishing in second place was outside
pole sitter and current #2 man in the points chase, Danny Lasoski.
Lasoski was running a Hoosier D12 on his left rear and a Hoosier D15
on his right side. Joey Saldana, Andy Hillenburg, Paul McMahan, Craig
Dollansky, Mark Kinser, Johnny Herrera and Daryn Pittman finished
third through ninth respectively, and capped an unforgettable night
for teams using the Hoosier tire brand. Amazingly, this marked
the 28th time Team Hoosier finished 1-2-3 in Pennzoil World of Outlaws
competition this season. Undoubtedly, this was one of the best performances
all season by teams running USA-made Hoosier tires. The series
now heads into it's final seven events with Mark Kinser, a Team
Hoosier member since March of this year, still in first place in the
points chase with 9269 points, followed closely by Danny Lasoski in
second with 9216 points. Steve Kinser, with 9012 points, stand in
third place and gives Team Hoosier a lock on the top three slots in
sprint racing's elite series. Also in the top ten in points are Craig
Dollansky in fifth, Andy Hillenburg in seventh and Joey Saldana in
eighth. As the season nears completion, Hoosier Racing Tire Corp.
offers it's appreciation to all the teams, drivers and fans who have
supported our efforts during the season. It is this support that has
made this season the best in our company's history. |
