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‘Dude’ Defends NAPA Classic Championship By Richard Day KNOXVILLE, IA (July 5) – Danny Lasoski passed Steve Kinser early, then exchanged the lead with Tyler Walker several times on his way to defending his NAPA Classic championship Saturday at Knoxville Raceway. “The Dude” extended his O’Reilly World of Outlaws Series points lead to 48 points over Kinser with his seventh “A” Feature victory of the season. Lasoski’s 81st feature victory at “The Home of the Nationals” was worth $20,000.
“I owe it all to my crew chief Jimmy Carr,” Lasoski said. “He’s the best crew chief in the world. He’s the one who keeps me calm. I want to go and make all kinds of changes to the car, and he tells me ‘don’t worry, everything’s fine.’”
Lasoski, who was only .7 seconds from winning Friday’s Preliminary Feature, earned the privilege of starting the 40-lap “A” Feature outside the front row by following Kinser across the finish line in the Dash Race. “The King of the Outlaws” drove his #11 Quaker State Maxim into the lead as the green flag fell in the O’Reilly World of Outlaws Series’ 36th main event of the season. Lasoski kept pace with the 17-time series champion, and passed him for first place with an inside move between turns one and two early in the second lap. Walker, who started inside the fourth row, passed Knoxville Raceway points leader Terry McCarl, 1983 Nationals champion Sammy Swindell, Tim Shaffer and Jason Meyers during the first four laps to take over third place.
Justin Henderson slowed the fast-paced race late in the sixth lap when he stopped in turn four. Swindell, whose mechanical problems allowed 10 cars to pass him during the first five laps, dropped out of the race during the caution period.
Walker and Kinser exchanged second place three times between the 17th and 19th laps. The 2002 World of Outlaws Gumout Series champion steered C&W Motorsports’ #35 Maxim around “The King of the Outlaws” in the high groove between turns one and two, only to have Kinser pass him deep in the fourth corner 1 ½ laps later. Walker raced around the 12-time Nationals champion in turn two again, then set his sights on the leader. Walker raced wheel-to-wheel with Lasoski between the first and second corners early in lap 23, but was unable to complete the pass for the lead. Kinser passed Walker in turn two as he slid from the inside line to the cushion, only to have Tyler regain the runner-up spot with a high move in the third corner. Walker and Kinser exchanged second place again during the 26th and 27th laps.
Lasoski enjoyed a 2.4-second advantage during lap 29, only to have Walker narrow the gap to 1.3 seconds within three laps. McCarl rode the rim through turn four to pass fellow Knoxville Raceway regular Kerry Madsen for fourth place late in the 34th lap. Mechanical problems in the #21 Hop & Sack J&J forced Daryn Pittman to stop in the second corner two laps later, setting up a four-lap dash to the checkered flag. Lasoski drove NASCAR Winston Cup champion Tony Stewart’s #20 J.D. Byrider Eagle away from the field as the green flag replaced the yellow. McCarl and Fourth Heat Race winner Donny Schatz passed Kinser for third and fourth place during the 37th and 39th laps as his right rear tire lost air pressure. The tire was shredded as “The King of the Outlaws” entered turn one early in the final lap. Eight more cars passed Kinser as he drove around the legendary half-mile oval on the rim.
“I had no clue how close everyone was in traffic,” said Lasoski, who took the checkered flag 1.6 seconds ahead of Walker. “Don Droud, Jr., unlapped himself and showed me the top, and I knew I had to get back up top. This was a brand new Mopar engine built by Paul Kistler. This Eagle Chassis and these Hoosier Tires, J.D. Byrider – all the people who help put this together – I owe everything to them.”
Schatz drove his #15 Parker Stores J&J past 12 cars to finish in fourth place. Madsen finished fifth, ahead of First Heat Race winner Paul McMahan, Shaffer, Meyers, Third Heat Race winner Joey Saldana and 19th-starting Randy Hannagan. Ricky Logan and Wayne Johnson each passed eight cars to finish 15th and 16th, respectively.
The O’Reilly World of Outlaws Series will run $51,600 events at Cedar Lake Speedway Monday, The Raceway @ Powercom Park Wednesday, Route 66 Raceway Friday, I-55 Raceway Saturday and the Terre Haute Action Track Sunday.
2003 O’Reilly World of Outlaws Series NAPA Classic, Knoxville Raceway, Knoxville, IA Saturday, July 5, Feature Program #36 Qualifying: 1. Sammy Swindell, Roth 1, 15.426; 2. Terry McCarl, McCarl 24, 15.526; 3. Tyler Walker, C&W Motorsports 35, 15.539; 4. Kevin Frey, Frey 2K, 15.602; 5. Kerry Madsen, Gunder 82, 15.603; 6. Joey Saldana, Saldana 17, 15.623; 7. Stevie Smith, Smith 19, 15.708; 8. Paul McMahan, Helm 11H, 15.721; 9. Jeff Mitrisin, Mitrisin 5J, 15.721; 10. Mark Kinser, Kinser 5M, 15.757; 11. Don Droud, Jr., McCarl 7X, 15.766; 12. Jason Sides, Sides Motorsports 7S, 15.831; 13. Donny Schatz, Schatz 15, 15.865; 14. Kraig Kinser, Kinser 11K, 15.873; 15. Lynton Jeffrey, Jeffrey 4K, 15.878; 16. Eric Vanderploeg, Vanderploeg 57A, 15.880; 17. Randy Hannagan, TH Racing 1X, 15.883; 18. Daryn Pittman, Sher-Don Motorsports 21, 15.904; 19. Jaymie Moyle, Vanderecken 10, 15.907; 20. Justin Henderson, Carnahan R19, 16.008; 21. Bob Bennett, Acme Trailers 3, 16.019; 22. Brooke Tatnell, Grandstaff 66, 16.035; 23. Ricky Logan, Gifford 17G, 16.051; 24. Brian Paulus, P and P Motorsports 28, 16.056; 25. Randy Anderson, Stroud 1S, 16.057; 26. Wayne Johnson, Vielhauer 12X, 16.059; 27. Collin Northway, Northway 60, 16.063; 28. Jesse Gianetto, Dago Motorsports D1, 16.064; 29. Chris Walraven, Muddy Lush Racing 56, 16.068; 30. Derek Beckman, Cox 50D, 16.073; 31. Jon Agan, Agan 4, 16.103; 32. Skip Jackson, Jackson 21X, 16.104; 33. Calvin Landis, Landis 70, 16.107; 34. Johnny Herrera, Wilburn 2W, 16.113; 35. Jeremy Campbell, Campbell 10C, 16.124; 36. Brian Brown, Parsons 6, 16.129; 37. Eddie Leavitt, Jr., Arends 1A, 16.137; 38. Brent Antilll, Antill 1J, 16.199; 39. Adam Clarke, Graham 14A, 16.354; 40. John VandenBerg, Vandenberg V10, 16.363; 41. Scott Young, Sonner 47, 16.383; 42. Clint Garner, Vermeer 55, 16.400; 43. Mike Moore, Moore 69, 16.427; 44. Brian Carlson, Carlson 18, 16.432; 45. Jeff Johnson, Johnson 11J, 16.456; 46. Adam West, Trostle 20A, 16.516; 47. Travis Cram, Cram 92, 16.607; 48. Rob Tvedte, Woodke 1W, 16.871; 49. Robert Bell, Bell 71X, 17.583; 50. Greg Jones, Jones 35X, 17.599; 51. Tyler Houseman, Houseman 50, 18.671. Finishing 1-4 in Friday’s Preliminary Feature qualified Steve Kinser, Kinser 11; Danny Lasoski, Stewart 20; Jason Meyers, Karavan 7; and Tim Shaffer, Roth 83, for the first four starting positions in the Dash Race
First Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Paul McMahan, 2. Jeff Mitrisin, 3. Sammy Swindell, 4. Randy Hannagan, 5. Randy Anderson, 6. Scott Young, 7. Chris Walraven, 8. Eddie Leavitt, Jr., 9. Robert Bell, 10. Eric Vanderploeg, 11. Bob Bennett, 12. Jeff Johnson. (first four qualified for the “A” Feature)
Second Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Mark Kinser, 2. Terry McCarl, 3. Daryn Pittman, 4. Wayne Johnson, 5. Johnny Herrera, 6. Lynton Jeffrey, 7. Derek Beckman, 8. Don Droud, Jr., 9. Clint Garner, 10. Adam West, 11. Stevie Smith, 12. Greg Jones, 13. Brooke Tatnell. (first four qualified for the “A” Feature)
Third Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Joey Saldana, 2. Tyler Walker, 3. Kraig Kinser, 4. Don Droud, Jr., 5. Ricky Logan, 6. Jaymie Moyle, 7. Jeremy Campbell, 8. Jon Agan, 9. Mike Moore, 10. Adam Clarke, 11. Collin Northway, 12. Tyler Houseman. (first four qualified for the “A” Feature)
Fourth Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Donny Schatz, 2. Kerry Madsen, 3. Jason Sides, 4. Justin Henderson, 5. Kevin Frey, 6. Skip Jackson, 7. Jesse Gianetto, 8. Brian Brown, 9. John Vandenberg, 10. Brian Paulus, 11. Rob Tvedte. (first four qualified for the “A” Feature)
C Feature (10 laps): 1. John Vandenberg, 2. Clint Garner, 3. Eddie Leavitt, Jr. ($125); 4. Jeff Johnson ($100); 5. Scott Young ($80); 6. Adam West ($70); 7. Rob Tvedte ($60); 8. Robert Bell ($50); 9. Brian Brown ($40); 10. Adam Clarke ($30); 11. Brian Carlson ($30); 12. Tyler Houseman ($30); 14. Mike Moore ($30). DNS: Brent Antill, Greg Jones, Brian Paulus. (first two qualified for the “B” Feature)
Dash Race (five laps): 1. Steve Kinser, 2. Danny Lasoski, 3. Jason Meyers, 4. Tim Shaffer, 5. Sammy Swindell, 6. Terry McCarl, 7. Tyler Walker, 8. Kerry Madsen. (finish determined the first eight starting positions in the “A” Feature)
B Feature (12 laps): 1. Stevie Smith, 2. Jaymie Moyle, 3. Lynton Jeffrey, 4. Ricky Logan, 5. Skip Jackson ($400); 6. Collin Northway ($200); 7. Eric Vanderploeg ($150); 8. Jesse Gianetto ($100); 9. Johnny Herrera ($90); 10. John Vandenberg ($100); 11. Clint Garner ($80); 12. Jeremy Campbell ($50); 13. Derek Beckman ($50); 14. Bob Bennett ($50); 15. Jon Agan ($50); 16. Kevin Frey ($50); 17. Brooke Tatnell ($50); 18. Randy Anderson ($50); 19. Calvin Landis ($50). (first four qualified for the “A” Feature)
A Feature (40 laps): 1. Danny Lasoski [2] ($20,000); 2. Tyler Walker [7] ($10,000); 3. Terry McCarl [6] ($5,000); 4. Donny Schatz [16] ($4,000); 5. Kerry Madsen [8] ($3,500); 6. Paul McMahan [11] ($3,200); 7. Tim Shaffer [4] ($3,100); 8. Jason Meyers [3] ($3,000); 9. Joey Saldana [9] ($2,100); 10. Randy Hannagan [19] ($2,050); 11. Stevie Smith [10] ($2,020); 12. Kraig Kinser [17] ($1,600); 13. Steve Kinser [1] ($1,500); 14. Don Droud, Jr. [14] ($1,200); 15. Ricky Logan [23] ($1,120); 16. Wayne Johnson [24] ($1,000); 17. Jason Sides [15] ($1,000); 18. Lynton Jeffrey [18] ($1,020); 19. Daryn Pittman [20] ($1,000); 20. Jaymie Moyle [21] ($1,020); 21. Mark Kinser [13] ($1,000); 22. Sammy Swindell [5] ($1,000); 23. Justin Henderson [22] ($1,000); 24. Jeff Mitrisin [12] ($1,000).
Lap leaders: Steve Kinser 1, Danny Lasoski 2-40
