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 CHICO,
CA (September 5-6) -- Defending O'Reilly World of Outlaws Series
Champion Steve Kinser won the 50th Annual Gold Cup Race of Champions
Saturday night at Silver Dollar Speedway. It was "The
King's" 11th Gold Cup title. Kinser was followed to the finish
line in the 40-lap finale by Danny Lasoski and Paul McMahan giving
Team-Hoosier its 67th podium sweep of the season in 77 nights of
racing. Kinser and Lasoski continue to battle it out for the series
title with Kinser taking a slim 13 point lead into this Saturday's
one-night show at New Mexico's Hollywood Hills Speedway. The Hoosier
brand was used by 91 of the 93 drivers competing at this year's Gold
Cup event as Team-Hoosier seeks its unprecedented 4th consecutive
World of Outlaws Series championship.
SECOND PRELIMINARY
CHICO, CA (September 5) -- The balance of the field not competing on
Thursday, some 45 cars, got their chance to compete on the 1/4-mile
Silver Dollar Speedway on Friday. All but one car again elected to run
the Hoosier brand on the second preliminary night of racing. In
qualifying, Sammy Swindell set fast time of the night with his 12.191
second lap. The 21 fastest drivers in qualifying all rode on the
Hoosier brand. Danny Lasoski, Tommy Tarlton, Blake Robertson, Andy
Forsberg, Greg DeCaires, Jason Meyers, Paul McMahan, Jim Carter and
Jonathan Allard were second through tenth, respectively, in
qualifying.
Ryan Flynn, Jonathan Allard, Johnny Gray and Garrett
Ishi were the four heat race winners. All four drivers race on Hoosier
tires.
In Dash competition, Jason Meyers won the first Dash,
while Paul McMahan won the final Dash.
In the 30-lap feature, 23 of the 24 starters rode atop
the Hoosier brand of tires. Jason Meyers took the early lead from the
pole leading through lap five. Fourth starting Greg DeCaires then took
over the lead and began a 25-lap battle with Paul McMahan with each
driver leading twice before McMahan crossed the finish line ahead of DeCaires
on lap 30. McMahan, using a Hoosier RD12/D12 (LR/RR) combination, won
$5,000 for the top finish, while DeCaires settled for the runner-up
spot and the $3,000 payout. DeCaires opted to run the 30-lapper using
a pair of RD12's. Sixth starting Danny Lasoski finished in third place
using a softer D10/RD12 combination. Lasoski won $2,500 for the final
podium spot.
All told, Team-Hoosier swept the first 15 spots in the
night's final race. Rounding out the top 15 were Jason Meyers, Sammy
Swindell, Jonathan Allard, Tim Kaeding, Brad Furr, Daryn Pittman, Jim
Carter, Andy Forsberg, Peter Murphy, Brent Kaeding, Billy Wallace, and
Mike Henry.
GOLD CUP FINALE
CHICO, CA (September) -- With 93 drivers competing during the
opening two nights of action, the field was then ranked by points
earned the previous two nights with the top four drivers locked into
the first four starting spots in the night's feature race. Those four
drivers were Joey Saldana (535 points), Steve Kinser (535), Danny
Lasoski, (534), and Tim Shaffer (533). All four drivers use the
Hoosier brand.
A series of last-chance races were then contested in
an effort to pare the gigantic field down to 24 for the feature race.
Mike Schriver, Marc Mackay, Shawna Wilskey, Sean Becker and Brent
Kaeding were the five winners. All five won their events using Hoosier
tires.
After three nights of competition in which 93 drivers
battled it out, the field was finally set for the 40-lap Gold Cup
Finale. Impressively, all 24 starters rode on Hoosier tires so
Team-Hoosier's 67th podium sweep was a certainty. When the green flag
dropped, Joey Saldana took the lead from the pole. Saldana led until
lap 11, when Steve Kinser moved into the lead using a RD12/D12 set up.
The 17-time series champion led the remainder of the way to capture
his 11th career Gold Cup crown. The win was worth $20,000 to the
hulking driver.
Danny Lasoski finished in second place using a
D10/RD12 combination. Lasoski earned $11,000 for the runner-up finish.
Seventh starting Paul McMahan wound up finishing third using the same
rear drive compound choice as the race winner. Third place was worth
$5,500.
Rounding out the final finishing order for
Team-Hoosier was Jason Meyers in forth, Jason Sides, Sammy Swindell,
Donny Schatz, Andy Forsberg, Daryn Pittman, Tim Kaeding, Peter Murphy,
Brent Kaeding, Jonathan Allard, Tim Shaffer, Greg DeCaires, Blake
Robertson, Jim Carter, Jac Haudenschild, Brad Furr, Tommy Tarlton,
Dennis Moore, Jr., Joey Saldana, Kevin Pylant and Jeff Hodgson in 5th
through 24th, respectively.
Steve Kinser increased his narrow lead in the
standings to 13 points over Danny Lasoski as the two continue their
season-long battle. Joey Saldana is in third place in the rankings
followed by Daryn Pittman, Donny Schatz and Jason Sides. All six
drivers atop the series standings race on USA-made Hoosier tires.
The Outlaws are back in action this Saturday for a
one-night show at New Mexico's Hollywood Hills Speedway.
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