WOO: Santa Maria report 96-09-13 


         Blaney Leads Flag-to-Flag in SanTa Maria Opener
                         By Richard Day
    SANTA MARIA, CA (September 13) - Although drivers are very
superstitious, Dave Blaney, Andy Hillenburg and Steve Kinser had
different views of Friday the 13th following the Skoal Outlaw
Series' opener at Santa Maria Speedway.
    While Hillenburg earned his second EcoWater Quick-Time Award
of the year, his problems in the First Quaker State Heat Race
kept him out of the Vivarin Dash and put Blaney on the pole in
the seven-lap race when second-quick Mark Kinser picked the #6
inversion pill.
    "The Buckeye Bullet" earned the right to start the
Preliminary Feature on the pole when he won his second Vivarin
Dash of the year. He threaded the #10 Vivarin J&J through lapped
traffic and led all 25 laps to claim the $4,000 first prize
    Hillenburg, who came within .194 seconds of breaking the one-
lap record he set at Santa Maria's high-banked, 1/3-mile oval
last September 22nd, won the "B" Feature, started inside the
fifth row and passed three cars to finish in sixth place.
    While Santa Maria was the site of Steve Kinser's 400th World
of Outlaws "A" Feature victory last September 23rd, he was forced
to battle from the back of the field after crashing with Randy
Hannagan, Johnny Herrera and Kevin Pylant during the opening
seconds of the Preliminary Feature. His luck changed, however,
when Johnny Rodriguez flipped on the ensuing restart, allowing
Kinser's crew to repair the #11 Quaker State Maxim in time to
return to the race. He raced back through the field to finish -
where else? - 13th.
    As the green flag replaced the red, Blaney burst into the
lead while Joe Gaerte took the low line through turn one to pass
Stevie Smith for the runner-up spot. "The Buckeye Bullet" entered
lapped traffic with a five-car-length advantage five laps into
the race.
    Jeff Swindell steered the #7TW Gold Eagle Maxim deep into the
first corner to pass Smith for third place early in lap eight.
    Gaerte caught Blaney in dense lapped traffic and started
pressuring him for the lead the next time around. But, with a
quick move past Rodriguez in turn four, "The Buckeye Bullet"
opened a half-straightaway advantage by the 11th lap. Blaney was
comfortably ahead of his closest pursuers when Brad Furr's #2F
car stopped on the back stretch three laps later.
    Two backmarkers lining up between the leaders allowed Blaney
to return to his comfort zone within a lap after the race
resumed. He was a full straightaway ahead of Gaerte when he
entered lapped traffic again with nine laps remaining.
    Gaerte started gaining on Blaney in lapped traffic during the
20th lap, but Swindell challenging him for the runner-up spot
allowed "The Buckeye Bullet" to cruise to the half-straightaway
victory.
    "I took some chances passing lapped cars in the high groove,"
Blaney told the near-capacity crowd from victory lane, "but I
wasn't going to get by them on the bottom. The Vivarin J&J was
really nice tonight; I was able to run all over the track.
    "I never let up; you can't do that racing with the World of
Outlaws."
    Gaerte and Swindell finished second and third, respectively,
ahead of Smith, Mark Kinser, Hillenburg, Jim Carr, Mark Monico,
18th-starting Brent Kaeding and Paul McMahan.
    Carr returned to the Skoal Outlaw Series with a fresh supply
of engines and enjoyed one of his best performances of the year.
He qualified eighth-quick and finished seventh in the feature.
    Although Paul McMahan's brother, Bobby, was only the 27th-
fastest qualifier in the 36-car field, he raced past 12 cars from
the rear of the field to finish in 12th place. WoO
            1996 World of Outlaws/Skoal Outlaw Series
              Santa Maria Speedway, Santa Maria, CA
            Friday, September 13, Preliminary Program
    Qualifications:  1. Andy Hillenburg, Hillenburg 2, 11.698; 2.
Mark Kinser, Kinser 5M, 11.768; 3. Randy Hannagan, TRH Racing 1x,
11.780; 4. Jeff Swindell, Two Winners 7TW, 11.827; 5. Joe Gaerte,
Gaerte 3G, 11.854; 6. Stevie Smith, Motter 71M, 11.896; 7. Dave
Blaney, Luna 10, 11.987; 8. Jim Carr, McCarr 7M, 11.913; 9. Mark
Monico, ATM Motorsports 21M, 11.968; 10. Paul McMahan, Roth 83,
11.976; 11. Tyler, Walker, Walker 35, 11.984; 12. Johnny Herrera,
Sonner 47, 12.006; 13. Sammy Swindell, Swindell 1, 12.013; 14.
Steve Kinser, Kinser 11, 12.040; 15. Jac Haudenschild, Elden 22,
12.065; 16. Kevin Pylant, Pylant 14P, 12.081; 17. Robert Walker,
Walker 98, 12.122; 18. Brent Kaeding, Kaeding 69, 12.146; 19.
Joey Saldana, Stanton 75, 12.149; 20.  Dale Cross, Cross 9,
12.244; 21. Johnny Rodriguez, Orth 24, 12.263; 22. Brian Paulus,
P&P Motorsports 28, 12.292; 23. Brad Furr, Furr 2F, 12.319; 24.
Greg Hodnett, Helm 11H, 12.328; 25. Graydon Cross, Cross 8C,
12.340; 26. Steve Kent, Toledo Brothers 3T, 12.382; 27. Bobby
McMahan, Lamar 3, 12.371; 28. Tom Tarlton, Tarlton 21T, 12.408;
29. Todd Bauser, Bauser 18M, 12.478; 30. Jim Taves, Taves 34,
12.545; 31. Lance Blevins, Blevins 21, 12.600; 32. Troy
Rutherford, Jordan Brothers 51, 12.753; 33. J.J. Yaley, Yaley 7,
12.780; 34. Jason Meyers, Meyers 14J, 12.824; 35. Mike Knopf,
Knopf 55, 13.226; 36. John Harshbarger, Harshbarger 96, 14.086.
    First Quaker State Heat Race (10 laps):  1. Sammy Swindell,
2. Johnny Rodriguez, 3. Robert Walker, 4. Mark Monico, 5. Joe
Gaerte, 6. Andy Hillenburg, 7. Graydon Cross, 8. Todd Bauser, 9.
J.J. Yaley ($10). (first five qualified for the Preliminary
Feature)
    Second Quaker State Heat Race (10 laps):  1. Brent Kaeding,
2. Paul McMahan, 3. Steve Kinser, 4. Stevie Smith, 5. Mark
Kinser, 6. Steve Kent, 7. Jason Meyers, 8. Jim Taves, 9. Brian
Paulus. (first five qualified for the Preliminary Feature)
    Third Quaker State Heat Race (10 laps):  1. Joey Saldana, 2.
Tyler Walker, 3. Jac Haudenschild, 4. Randy Hannagan, 5. Dave
Blaney, 6. Bobby McMahan, 7. Brad Furr, 8. Lance Blevins, 9. Mike
Knopf. (first five qualified for the Preliminary Feature)
    Fourth Quaker State Heat Race (10 laps):  1. Greg Hodnett, 2.
Johnny Herrera, 3. Kevin Pylant, 4. Jeff Swindell, 5. Jim Carr,
6. Dale Cross, 7. Troy Rutherford, 8. Tom Tarlton, 9. John
Harshbarger ($10). (first five qualified for the Preliminary
Feature)
    Vivarin Dash (seven laps):  1. Dave Blaney, 2. Stevie Smith,
3. Joe Gaerte, 4. Jeff Swindell, 5. Jim Carr, 6. Mark Kinser, 7.
Randy Hannagan, 8. Mark Monico. (finish determined the first
eight starting positions in the Preliminary Feature)
    B Feature (12 laps):  1. Andy Hillenburg, 2. Bobby McMahan,
3. Brian Paulus, 4. Brad Furr, 5. Steve Kent ($160); 6. Graydon
Cross ($135); 7. Tom Tarlton ($110); 8. Todd Bauser ($85); 9.
Jason Meyers ($70); 10. Jim Taves ($60); 11. Lance Blevins ($50);
12. Troy Rutherford ($50); 13. Mike Knopf ($50); 14. Dale Cross
($50). DNS - J.J. Yaley, John Harshbarger. (first four qualified
for the Preliminary Feature)
    Preliminary Feature (25 laps):  1. Dave Blaney ($4,010); 2.
Joe Gaerte ($2,310); 3. Jeff Swindell ($1,610); 4. Stevie Smith
($1,410); 5. Mark Kinser ($1,260); 6. Andy Hillenburg ($1,180);
7. Jim Carr ($1,110); 8. Mark Monico ($1,060); 9. Brent Kaeding
($1,035); 10. Paul McMahan ($1,010); 11. Tyler Walker ($910); 12.
Bobby McMahan ($730); 13. Steve Kinser ($610); 14. Sammy Swindell
($510); 15. Johnny Herrera ($310); 16. Jac Haudenschild ($310);
17. Joey Saldana ($260); 18. Robert Walker ($260); 19. Kevin
Pylant ($260); 20. Johnny Rodriguez ($260); 21. Greg Hodnett
($260); 22. Brad Furr ($280); 23. Brian Paulus ($280); 24. Randy
Hannagan ($260).
                  Lap leader:  Dave Blaney 1-25
       EcoWater Quick-Time Award winner:  Andy Hillenburg
                               WoO
All information courtesy of MNI - Motorsport News International
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