Jeff Swindell Beats Mark Kinser in West Plains Event
                            By Richard Day
    WEST PLAINS, MO (April 21) - Although the competition on the Skoal
Outlaw Series tour is as fierce as any in professional motorsports,
the drivers have a great deal of respect for one another.
    So it was appropriate that World of Outlaws points leader Mark
Kinser congratulated Jeff Swindell for winning Sunday's West Plains
Motor Speedway event. Two of the most talented racers on the tour who
have been overshadowed by older, more successful family members, had
just battled each other around every inch of West Plains' semi-banked,
3/8-mile oval for the final 22 laps of the "A" Feature, but they still
took the time to acknowledge each other in a sportsmanlike manner.
    "I thought I was going pretty good, but you got me - you out-raced
me," Mark told Jeff after the 30-lap race.
    Kinser dominated West Plains' inaugural Skoal Outlaw Series event
before Swindell steered the #7TW Gold Eagle Maxim through heavy lapped
traffic to take the lead early in the 17th lap. He received his
series-leading fifth EcoWater Quick-Time Award of the season after
setting West Plains' one-lap record with a 12.652-second qualifying
run. Then he won the First Quaker State Heat Race and earned the right
to start the main event outside the front row by following Jeff's
brother, Sammy, across the finish line in the Vivarin Dash.
    Jeff was lucky to get out of that heat race with his car in one
piece. Defending World of Outlaws champion Dave Blaney wasn't as
fortunate. The frame on the #10 Vivarin J&J was bent after their
first-lap collision, forcing Blaney's crew to borrow parts from Sammy
just for the opportunity to start the "A" Feature. "The Buckeye
Bullet" dropped two positions in the point standings when he coasted
into the infield as the green flag fell in the "A" Feature.
    After racing side-by-side throughout the first lap of the main
event, Sammy beat Mark across the finish line by half a car-length.
Seconds later, they were wheel-to-wheel on the back straightaway when
Jac Haudenschild took the #22 Pennzoil Maxim for a spin in the second
corner.
    Kinser steered the #5M Wirtgen Maxim into the high groove to
challenge for the lead as the green flag replaced the yellow. At the
same time, Jeff passed Joe Gaerte for fourth place.
    Sammy drove his #1 ChannelLock Gambler away from Mark the next
time around, and had a 10-car-length advantage by the fifth lap. His
comfort zone evaporated when a sixth-lap collision caused Dion Hindi
to stop on the back stretch.
    As the race resumed, Mark challenged Sammy for the lead while Jeff
passed Steve Kinser for third place. The leaders raced wheel-to-wheel
until Mark took the high line out of the second corner to pass Sammy.
    Mark dropped into the low groove immediately after taking the
lead, prompting Sammy to take the high road. Swindell was trying to
regain the lead on the back straightaway two laps later when he
collided with Mark and crashed into the turn-three retaining wall.
With his car badly damaged, Sammy was forced to watch the final 23
laps from the pits while receiving credit for a 23rd-place finish.
    Mark returned to the high groove while Jeff hugged the inside berm
when the green flag replaced the red. With a clear track ahead of him,
Kinser increased his advantage to 10 car-lengths during the next two
laps and caught the backmarkers during the 12th lap.
    Within two laps of battling heavy lapped traffic, Jeff narrowed
the gap to two car-lengths, and caught Mark midway through the race.
The leaders raced wheel-to-wheel throughout the 16th lap, and Jeff
gained the initiative with a low move in turn two early in lap 17.
    Swindell executed a daring move between a pair of backmarkers the
next time around to extend his advantage to five car-lengths. Mark was
unable to keep pace with Jeff during the final 13 laps and was 10 car-
lengths behind when the checkered flag fell.
    "I tried the high groove and the low groove," Jeff said following
his second victory of the year. "I felt like the car was handling so
well that I could stay low in the corners to get by the lapped cars."
    Mark held off cousin Steve for his second straight runner-up
finish. Gaerte finished third, ahead of Andy Hillenburg, 18th-starting
Danny Lasoski, Gary Wright, Bobby Davis, Jr., Stevie Smith and Tim
Montgomery. WoO
              1996 World of Outlaws/Skoal Outlaw Series
              West Plains Motor Speedway, West Plain, MO
                 Sunday, April 21, Feature Program #9
    Qualifications:  1. Mark Kinser, Kinser 5M, 12.652 (new one-lap
record); 2. Tim Montgomery, Cooper 01, 12.795; 3. Sammy Swindell,
Swindell 1, 12.805; 3. Joe Gaerte, Gaerte 3G, 12.839; 5. Steve Kinser,
Kinser 11, 13.035; 6. Bobby Davis, Jr., Davis 4, 13.035; 7. Jeff
Swindell, Two Winners 7TW, 13.058; 8. Stevie Smith, Motter 71M,
13.058; 9. Gary Wright, Action Motorsports 9, 13.070; 10. Jerrod Hull,
Hull 11x, 13.070; 11. Andy Hillenburg, Hillenburg 2, 13.085; 12.
Johnny Herrera, Sonner 47, 13.104; 13. Jim Carr, McCarr 7m, 13.110;
14. Randy Kinser, Kinser 14, 13.126; 15. Terry Gray, Gray 10G, 13.145;
16. Dave Blaney, Luna 10, 13.147; 17. Jac Haudenschild, Elden 22,
13.174; 18. Danny Lasoski, Forbrook 5, 13.181; 19. Joey Saldana, Roth
83, 13.292; 20. Terry McCarl, Gray 51, 13.318; 21. Brian Paulus, P&P
Motorsports 28, 13.377; 22. Lance Blevins, Blevins 21, 13.399; 23.
Aaron Berryhill, Berryhill 97, 13.403; 24. Dion Hindi, Hindi 11H,
13.613; 25. Shane Carson, Helms 12$, 13.793.
    First Quaker State Heat Race (eight laps):  1. Mark Kinser, 2.
Jerrod Hull, 3. Shane Carson, 4. Joey Saldana, 5. Joe Gaerte, 6. Jeff
Swindell, 7. Lance Blevins, 8. Jim Carr, 9. Dave Blaney. (first nine
qualified for the "A" Feature)
    Second Quaker State Heat Race (eight laps):  1. Randy Kinser, 2.
Andy Hillenburg, 3. Steve Kinser, 4. Stevie Smith, 5. Aaron Berryhill,
6. Terry McCarl, 7. Tim Montgomery, 8. Jac Haudenschild. (first eight
qualified for the "A" Feature)
    Third Quaker State Heat Race (eight laps):  1. Terry Gray, 2.
Johnny Herrera, 3. Sammy Swindell, 4. Steve Kinser, 5. Jeff Swindell,
6. Bobby Davis, Jr., 7. Brian Paulus, 8. Dion Hindi. (first eight
qualified for the "A" Feature)
    Vivarin Dash (five laps):  1. Sammy Swindell, 2. Mark Kinser, 3.
Joe Gaerte, 4. Steve Kinser, 5. Jeff Swindell, 6. Bobby Davis, Jr., 7.
Gary Wright, 8. Stevie Smith. (finish determined the first eight
starting positions in the "A" Feature)
    A Feature (30 laps):  1. Jeff Swindell ($6,010); 2. Mark Kinser
($3,510); 3. Steve Kinser ($2,510); 4. Joe Gaerte ($2,210); 5. Andy
Hillenburg ($2,110); 6. Danny Lasoski ($2,010); 7. Gary Wright
($1,610); 8. Bobby Davis, Jr. ($1,510); 9. Stevie Smith ($1,410); 10.
Tim Montgomery ($1,310); 11. Joey Saldana ($1,160); 12. Jerrod Hull
($1,110); 13. Johnny Herrera ($1,060); 14. Jac Haudenschild ($1,010);
15. Terry Gray ($710); 16. Randy Kinser ($510); 17. Aaron Berryhill
($410); 18. Jim Carr ($410); 19. Lance Blevins ($410); 20. Shane
Carson ($410); 21. Terry McCarl ($410); 22. Brian Paulus ($410); 23.
Sammy Swindell ($410); 24. Dion Hindi ($410); 25. Dave Blaney ($410).
                  Lap leaders:  Sammy Swindell 1-6,
                Mark Kinser 7-16, Jeff Swindell 17-30
            EcoWater Quick-Time Award winner:  Mark Kinser
                                 WoO