Steve Kinser Gets Back on Track at 'The Grove'
                            By Richard Day
    MECHANICSBURG, PA (May 31) -  Although he had destroyed three cars
in the last three events, it was only a matter of time before 14-time
World of Outlaws champion Steve Kinser returned to victory lane.
    "The King of the Outlaws" put together a superb performance at
Williams Grove Speedway Friday to win his fifth Skoal Outlaw Series
"A" Feature of the season. It was his first victory since the May 11th
race at Tri-City Speedway.
    "I really didn't turn it around," Kinser told the near-capacity
crowd from victory lane. "The guys on the crew - Scott (Gerken) and
Shawn (Attisano) - really dug down and worked hard. The only thing
I've been doing is turning things over. We came out east thinking we
had a good inventory of equipment, but I've taken care of that in the
last three races.
    "You know how good a crew you have when you go through what I've
gone through. They just keep digging in there and wanting to race.
There's been times when I wanted to throw in the towel, but they've
stayed right there and got us back here in victory lane."
    The 21st victory at Williams Grove in Kinser's World of Outlaws
career didn't come easily. His 17.265-second qualifying run was under
the previous one-lap record, but cousin Mark Kinser was .074 seconds
faster. After following Jeff Swindell across the finish line in the
Second Quaker State Heat Race, he finished fourth in the Vivarin Dash.
    Donnie Kreitz, Jr., the 1993 Williams Grove National Open
champion, burst into the lead as the green flag fell in the main
event, only to have polesitter Andy Hillenburg pass him on the front
straightaway. Steve passed Mark Kinser in turn four, then relegated
Kreitz to third place with an inside move in the first corner.
    Hillenburg drove his #2 STP J&J away from the field as Mark passed
Kreitz deep in turn two early in the second lap. Andy was 10 car-
lengths ahead of Steve two laps later.
    Hillenburg caught the backmarkers, Jac Haudenschild and Sammy
Swindell passed Kreitz for fourth and fifth place, respectively, and
Dave Blaney raced into seventh place from his 16th starting position
just seconds before Todd Shaffer stopped on the back straightaway with
a broken front end late in the sixth lap.
    Three laps later, the caution flag was flying again when Skoal
Outlaw Series officials detected debris on the track. As the race
resumed, Bill Brian, Jr., suffered a flat right rear tire and Mike
Wagner stopped high in the third corner to avoid hitting the wall.
    Hillenburg raced away from the field as the green flag replaced
the yellow, and opened a 12-car-length advantage within two laps.
Kinser cut Andy's lead in half during lap 13, and had the #11 Quaker
State Maxim within three car-lengths of the lead the next time around.
    Joey Saldana brought out the red flag late in the 14th lap when
the #83 Meat Packers Stealth suffered a broken radius rod and hit the
cushion with such force that it jumped the guard rail without
flipping. The temporary break in the action allowed Karl Kinser to
patch the cut on the #5M Wirtgen Maxim's right rear tire. At the same
time, Sammy Swindell's crew replaced a broken header on the right side
of the #1 ChannelLock Gambler.
    Blaney was on the move when the race resumed, passing Sammy deep
in turn four to take over fifth place. Hillenburg opened a five-car-
length advantage as "The Buckeye Bullet" challenged Haudenschild for
fourth.
    Kinser caught Hillenburg early in lap 23, and passed him for the
lead as they approached lapped traffic deep in the fourth corner the
next time around. Andy caught late in the 25th lap, but was unable to
pass him.
    Blaney passed "The Wild Child" for fourth place with six laps
remaining, then blew by Mark's smoking sprinter two laps later. He
claimed second place with a high move around Hillenburg in turn four
as they headed for the checkered flag.
    A mud clod knocked the left side of the hood into the bars on the
roll cage of the #22 Pennzoil Maxim during the 28th lap, which impeded
Haudenschild's view. Unable to get a clear look at the track, "The
Wild Child" slowed and 13 cars passed him during the final three laps.
    Kinser was eight car-lengths ahead of Blaney when he took the
checkered flag. Rounding out the top 10 in the "A" Feature were
Hillenburg, Sammy, Mark Kinser, Billy Pauch, Jeff Swindell, Johnny
Herrera, "B" Feature winner Stevie Smith and Lance DeWease.
    The qualifying record Mark Kinser broke wasn't the only standard
set at "The Grove" Friday. Keith Kauffman's 2:25.7 run in the First
Quaker State Heat Race set the eight-lap record, and Hillenburg broke
the five-lap mark with his 1:30.5 clocking in the Vivarin Dash. WoO
              1996 World of Outlaws/Skoal Outlaw Series
              Williams Grove Speedway, Mechanicsburg, PA
                 Friday, May 31, Feature Program #19
    Qualifications:  1. Mark Kinser, Kinser 5M, 17.191 (new one-lap
record); 2. Steve Kinser, Kinser 11, 17.265; 3. Lance DeWease, Dyer
461, 17.578; 4. Sammy Swindell, Swindell 1, 17.675; 5. Andy
Hillenburg, Hillenburg 2, 17.780; 6. Donnie Kreitz, Jr., Kreitz 69K,
17.789; 7. Billy Pauch, Zemaitis 1Z, 17.793; 8. Jac Haudenschild,
Elden 22, 17.856; 9. Steve Smith, Smith 19, 17.872; 10. Johnny
Herrera, Sonner 47, 17.901; 11. Joey Saldana, Roth 83, 17.921; 12. Joe
Gaerte, Gaerte 3G, 18.018; 13. Stevie Smith, Motter 71M, 18.024; 14.
Jeff Swindell, Two Winners 7TW, 18.027; 15. Cris Eash, E&G Classics
17E, 18.045; 16. Dave Blaney, Luna 10, 18.108; 17. Mike Wagner, Wagner
55, 18.126; 18. Fred Rahmer, Hamilton 77, 18.129; 19. Kevin Gobrecht,
Gobrecht 92, 18.162; 20. Keith Kauffman, Apple Motorsports 12, 18.176;
21. Dave Calaman, Weikert 29, 18.206; 22. Greg Hodnett, Helm 11H,
18.262; 23. Bobby Davis, Jr., Stanton 75, 18.294; 24. Phil Walter,
Taylor 39, 18.332; 25. Jeff Shepard, Wahlie 1W, 18.409; 26. Trevor
Utt, Bomberger U5, 18.547; 27. Bill Brian, Jr., Scarpitta 59, 18.569;
28. Lance Blevins, Blevins 21, 18.585; 29. Bob Bennett, Mickle 3,
18.690; 30. Scott Jones, Jones 13, 18.716; 31. Craig Eshenaur,
Eshenaur 5E, 18.765; 32. Richard Thomas, Thomas 77T, 18.785; 33. Jim
Carr, McCarr 7M, 18.804; 34. Jeff Thompson, Neiderer 10N, 18.906; 35.
Brian Paulus, P&P Motorsports 28, 19.036; 36. Bobby Allen, Allen 1a,
19.080; 37. Todd Shaffer, Beam 88, no time; 38. Len Thompson, Thompson
10T, no time; 39. Mike Erdley, Kirchner 117, no time.
    First Quaker State Heat Race (eight laps):  1. Keith Kauffman, 2.
Steve Smith, 3. Mark Kinser, 4. Andy Hillenburg, 5. Bill Brian, Jr.,
6. Stevie Smith, 7. Len Thompson, 8. Brian Paulus, 9. Craig Eshenaur,
10. Phil Walter. 2:25.7 - new eight-lap record (first five qualified
for the "A" Feature)
    Second Quaker State Heat Race (eight laps):  1. Jeff Swindell, 2.
Steve Kinser, 3. Dave Calaman, 4. Donnie Kreitz, Jr., 5. Johnny
Herrera, 6. Mike Wagner, 7. Todd Shaffer, 8. Lance Blevins, 9. Richard
Thomas, 10. Bobby Allen ($10). 2:28.1 (first five qualified for the
"A" Feature)
    Third Quaker State Heat Race (eight laps):  1. Greg Hodnett, 2.
Cris Eash, 3. Lance DeWease, 4. Joey Saldana, 5. Billy Pauch, 6. Jeff
Shepard, 7. Jim Carr, 8. Mike Erdley, 9. Fred Rahmer, 10. Bob Bennett.
(first five qualified for the "A" Feature)
    Fourth Quaker State Heat Race (eight laps):  1. Bobby Davis, Jr.,
2. Kevin Gobrecht, 3. Dave Blaney, 4. Jac Haudenschild, 5. Sammy
Swindell, 6. Joe Gaerte, 7. Scott Jones, 8. Jeff Thompson, 9. Trevor
Utt. (first five qualified for the "A" Feature)
    Vivarin Dash (five laps):  1. Andy Hillenburg, 2. Donnie Kreitz,
Jr., 3. Mark Kinser, 4. Steve Kinser, 5. Sammy Swindell, 6. Lance
DeWease, 7. Billy Pauch, 8. Jac Haudenschild. 1:30.5 - new five-lap
record (finish determined the first eight starting positions in the
"A" Feature)
    B Feature (12 laps):  1. Stevie Smith, 2. Joe Gaerte, 3. Lance
Blevins, 4. Mike Wagner, 5. Todd Shaffer, 6. Craig Eshenaur ($210); 7.
Jim Carr ($185); 8. Brian Paulus ($160); 9. Scott Jones ($110); 10.
Jeff Thompson ($100); 11. Richard Thomas ($90); 12. Jeff Shepard
($70); 13. Len Thompson, 14. Phil Walter ($60); 15. Mike Erdley ($60);
16. Trevor Utt ($60); 17. Fred Rahmer ($60); 18. Bob Bennett ($60);
DNS - Bobby Allen. (first four qualified for the "A" Feature)
    A Feature (30 laps):  1. Steve Kinser ($6,010); 2. Dave Blaney
($3,510); 3. Andy Hillenburg ($2,510); 4. Sammy Swindell ($2,210); 5.
Mark Kinser ($2,110); 6. Billy Pauch ($2,010); 7. Jeff Swindell
($1,610); 8. Johnny Herrera ($1,510); 9. Stevie Smith ($1,430); 10.
Lance DeWease ($1,310); 11. Joe Gaerte ($1,180); 12. Kevin Gobrecht
($1,110); 13. Keith Kauffman ($1,060); 14. Lance Blevins ($1,030); 15.
Greg Hodnett ($710); 16. Mike Wagner ($530); 17. Jac Haudenschild
($410); 18. Len Thompson ($430); 19. Dave Calaman ($410); 20. Bill
Brian, Jr. ($410); 21. Bobby Davis, Jr. ($410); 22. Steve Smith
($410); 23. Cris Eash ($410); 24. Joey Saldana ($410); 25. Donnie
Kreitz, Jr. ($410); 26. Todd Shaffer ($430). (Len Thompson and Todd
Shaffer were provisional starters)
        Lap leaders:  Andy Hillenburg 1-22, Steve Kinser 23-30
            EcoWater Quick-Time Award winner:  Mark Kinser
                                 WoO