Blaney Gets Late Break, Wins at Missouri International
                            By Richard Day
    BENTON, MO (April 20) - Although Dave Blaney doesn't feel any
pressure to defend his Skoal Outlaw Series championship, he was
anxious to win the "A" Feature when a record crowd packed Missouri
International Race Park Saturday.
    After chasing World of Outlaws points leader Mark Kinser for 28
laps, "The Buckeye Bullet" got the break he needed when the brakes
failed in the #5M Wirtgen Maxim. Blaney passed Mark high in the third
corner and led the final 12 laps for his first victory of the season.
    "It's always good to get a win," said Blaney, who became the sixth
different driver to win a Skoal Outlaw Series main event this year. "I
don't feel any pressure defending my championship; that was last year.
I'm just thinking about this year, and we need to get going better."
    Mark, who won the Vivarin Dash from inside the second row, started
the 40-lap main event on the pole. Blaney, who started outside the
front row, lost a front-straightaway drag race within seconds after
the green flag fell and was five car-lengths behind within two laps.
    One of the supports on the top wing of the #10 Vivarin J&J broke
during the second lap, allowing Missouri International's new one-lap
record holder Johnny Herrera and Sammy Swindell to pass as Blaney
battled to keep the car under control.
    Kinser opened a half-straightaway lead as Swindell challenged
Herrera for the runner-up spot during the seventh lap. But his
comfortable margin disintegrated two laps later when Jac Haudenschild
flipped on the back stretch and Lee Dunn hit the outside retaining
wall, bringing out the red flag.
    The race was stopped again within seconds after the green flag
replaced the red as a collision involving Steve Kinser in turn two
broke the front end on the #11 Quaker State Maxim and Lance Blevins
flipped in the third corner.
    After Blaney's crew repaired the wing support during the red
period, he raced past Joey Saldana and Swindell to take over third
place when the race resumed.
    But two laps later, the red flag was flying again when Jimmy 
Brewer and First Quaker State Heat Race winner crashed in the second
corner. Mark ran away from the 24-car field while "B" Feature winner 
Andy Hillenburg drove his #2 STP J&J into fourth place on the ensuing 
restart. Five laps later, Blaney and Hillenburg relegated Herrera to 
fourth place.
    Kinser was catching the backmarkers when a suspension part on the
right front of the #1 ChannelLock Gambler broke, causing Swindell to
spin on the front straightaway. After repairing his suspension, Sammy
restarted the race at the back of the pack and raced back into 15th
place during the final 19 laps.
    Mark was entering lapped traffic again during the 26th lap when a
blown engine caused Aaron Berryhill to stop in turn three. That final
caution proved to be Kinser's undoing, as his brakes failed within the
next three laps, allowing Blaney to pass him for the lead as he
bicycled through the third corner.
    Blaney caught the backmarkers as Steve Kinser raced back into
fifth place with 10 laps remaining. Five laps later, "The Buckeye
Bullet" was a half-straightaway ahead of his closest pursuers.
    A move to break through a pack of backmarkers almost ended in
disaster two laps later, however. Although a collision with Brian
Paulus broke the left front suspension on the #10, Blaney managed to
take the checkered flag with three car-lengths to spare.
    The victory pushed "The Buckeye Bullet" into second place in the
Skoal Outlaw Series point standings. Hillenburg moved from ninth to
fifth in the points race by finishing between the Kinser cousins in
third place. Rounding out the top 10 in the "A" Feature were Herrera,
Saldana, Joe Gaerte, Gary Wright, Jeff Swindell and Second Quaker
State Heat Race winner Bobby Davis, Jr.
   Herrera received his first EcoWater Quick-Time Award of the year
after pacing the 40-car field with a 12.194-second qualifying lap. The
110.710 m.p.h. run around the high-banked, 3/8-mile oval chopped .406
seconds off the one-lap standard Hillenburg set two years ago. WoO
              1996 World of Outlaws/Skoal Outlaw Series
             Missouri International Race Park, Benton, MO
                Saturday, April 20, Feature Program #8
    Qualifications:  1. Johnny Herrera, Sonner 47, 12.194 (new one-lap
record); 2. Dave Blaney, Luna 10, 12.223; 3. Andy Hillenburg,
Hillenburg 2, 12.242; 4. Mark Kinser, Kinser 5M, 12.347; 5. Sammy
Swindell, Swindell 1, 12.363; 6. Mike Ward, Ward 88, 12.373; 7. Joey
Saldana, Roth 83, 12.409; 8. Terry Gray, Gray 10G, 12.418; 9. Gary
Wright, Action Motorsports 9, 12.423; 10. Lance Blevins, Blevins 21,
12.457; 11. Aaron Berryhill, Berryhill 97, 12.464; 12. Joe Gaerte,
Gaerte 3G, 12.473; 13. Jac Haudenschild, Elden 22, 12.578; 14. Jim
Carr, McCarr 7M, 12.596; 15. Steve Kinser, Kinser 11, 12.602; 16.
Randy Kinser, Kinser 14, 12.627; 17. Brian Paulus, P&P Motorsports 28,
12.631; 18. Bobby Davis, Jr., Davis 4, 12.650; 19. Jeff Swindell, Two
Winners 7TW, 12.656; 20. Paul Hart, Hart 32H, 12.662; 21. Stevie
Smith, Motter Motorsports 71M, 12.678; 22. Lee Dunn, Dunn Farms 81,
12.732; 23. Jimmy Brewer, Brewer 32, 12.759; 24. Tim Montgomery,
Cooper 01, 12.773; 25. Kevin Stepter, Stepter 38, 12.823; 26. Kenny
Carlton, Carlton 6, 12.839; 27. Todd Rowland, Rowland 14R, 12.804; 28.
Jerrod Hull, Hull 11x, 12.887; 29. Tony Wilson, Pack 4A, 12.899; 30.
Justin Via, Vye 24V, 12.967; 31. Dion Hindi, Hindi 11H, 12.981; 32.
Shawn King, King 9K, 12.995; 33. Bobby Hawks, 5H, 13.000; 34. Clark
Bollinger, Bollinger 4Z, 13.112; 35. Shane Carson, Helms 12$, 13.114;
36. Tim Engler, Engler Machine 73, 13.120; 37. Rod Redman, Redman 95,
13.127; 38. Danny Thoman, Hurst 76, 13.154; 39. Bob Thorawa, Campbell
7C, 13.554; 40. Ron McFadden, McFadden 8M, 14.770.
    First Quaker State Heat Race (10 laps):  1. Stevie Smith, 2. Sammy
Swindell, 3. Gary Wright, 4. Jac Haudenschild, 5. Johnny Herrera, 6.
Brian Paulus, 7. Kevin Stepter, 8. Bobby Hawks, 9. Tony Wilson. 10.
Rod Redman. (first five qualified for the "A" Feature)
    Second Quaker State Heat Race (10 laps):  1. Bobby Davis, Jr., 2.
Lee Dunn, 3. Dave Blaney, 4. Jim Carr, 5. Mike Ward, 6. Lance Blevins,
7. Danny Thoman, 8. Kenny Carlton, 9. Clark Bollinger, 10. Justin Via.
(first five qualified for the "A" Feature)
    Third Quaker State Heat Race (10 laps):  1. Steve Kinser, 2. Jimmy
Brewer, 3. Jeff Swindell, 4. Joey Saldana, 5. Aaron Berryhill, 6.
Shane Carson, 7. Dion Hindi, 8. Bob Thorawa, 9. Andy Hillenburg, 10.
Todd Rowland. (first five qualified for the "A" Feature)
    Fourth Quaker State Heat Race (10 laps):  1. Mark Kinser, 2. Joe
Gaerte, 3. Tim Montgomery, 4. Terry Gray, 5. Jerrod Hull, 6. Tim
Engler, 7. Randy Kinser, 8. Shawn King, 9. Ron McFadden, 10. Paul
Hart. (first five qualified for the "A" Feature)
    Vivarin Dash (seven laps):  1. Mark Kinser. 2. Dave Blaney. 3.
Johnny Herrera, 4. Sammy Swindell, 5. Joey Saldana, 6. Gary Wright, 7.
Terry Gray, 8. Mike Ward. (finish determined the first eight starting
positions in the "A" Feature)
    B Feature (12 laps):  1. Andy Hillenburg, 2. Brian Paulus, 3.
Lance Blevins, 4. Kevin Stepter, 5. Tim Engler ($210); 6. Kenny
Carlton ($185); 7. Tony Wilson ($160); 8. Danny Thoman ($110); 9.
Shane Carson ($100); 10. Bobby Hawks ($90); 11. Dion Hindi ($70); 12.
Justin Via ($60); 13. Randy Kinser ($60); 14. Todd Rowland ($60); 15.
Shawn King ($60); 16. Clark Bollinger ($60); 17. Rod Redman ($60); 18.
Bob Thorawa ($60); 19. Ron McFadden ($60); 20. Paul Hart ($60). (first
four qualified for the "A" Feature)
    A Feature (40 laps):  1. Dave Blaney ($6,010); 2. Mark Kinser
($3,510); 3. Andy Hillenburg ($2,530); 4. Steve Kinser ($2,210); 5.
Johnny Herrera ($2,110); 6. Joey Saldana ($2,010); 7. Joe Gaerte
($1,610); 8. Gary Wright ($1,510); 9. Jeff Swindell ($1,410); 10.
Bobby Davis, Jr. ($1,310); 11. Lance Blevins ($1,180); 12. Terry Gray
($1,110); 13. Tim Montgomery ($1,060); 14. Jim Carr ($1,010); 15.
Sammy Swindell ($710); 16. Jerrod Hull ($510); 17. Brian Paulus
($430); 18. Aaron Berryhill ($410); 19. Kevin Stepter ($430); 20.
Stevie Smith ($410); 21. Jimmy Brewer ($410); 22. Jac Haudenschild
($410); 23. Lee Dunn ($410); 24. Mike Ward ($410).
          Lap leaders:  Mark Kinser 1-28, Dave Blaney 29-40
          EcoWater Quick-Time Award winner:  Johnny Herrera
                                 WoO