WOO: Santa Maria finale report 96-09-14 

          'Buckeye Bullet' Completes Santa Maria Sweep
                         By Richard Day
    SANTA MARIA, CA (September 14) - Dave Blaney has never been a
streaky driver. Even while capturing his first Skoal Outlaw
Series championship last year, "The Buckeye Bullet" was the model
of consistency - never putting together more than a two-race
winning streak but never finishing out of the top five for more
than three straight features either.
    The soft-spoken Ohioan's career may have undergone a
metamorphosis at Santa Maria Speedway when he swept a double-
feature event for only the third time in his career. "The Buckeye
Bullet" was dominant, winning the Preliminary Feature in flag-to-
flag fashion Friday and leading all 40 laps to claim the $9,000
first prize Saturday.
    "I thought I'd be OK if I didn't make any mistakes," Blaney
said modestly from victory lane.
    Blaney lost a seven-lap battle with Joe Gaerte in the Vivarin
Dash, but won the war in the main event. Starting next to Gaerte
on the front row in the "A" Feature, Blaney won a front-
straightaway drag race to take the lead within seconds after the
green flag fell.
    "The Buckeye Bullet" had the #10 Vivarin J&J five car-lengths
ahead of Gaerte when he entered lapped traffic five laps into the
race. Mechanical problems caused Mark Monico to stop on the front
stretch the next time around, however, bringing out the caution
flag and tightening the field.
    Mark Kinser, who Blaney has been chasing in the World of
Outlaws point standings since March, took advantage of the
caution, passing cousin Steve Kinser and Second Heat Race winner
Andy Hillenburg within seconds after the green flag replaced the
yellow.
    Blaney was six car-lengths ahead of Gaerte when he caught the
backmarkers again three laps later. Mark continued his run toward
the front, driving the #5M Wirtgen Maxim past Stevie Smith to
take over fourth place during lap nine.
    Although Gaerte caught the leader in dense lapped traffic
three laps later, "The Buckeye Bullet" threaded the #10 through
the backmarkers to increase his advantage within a lap.
    The next time around, Jeff Swindell and Mark Kinser caught
Gaerte, and the three raced nose-to-tail as Blaney continued to
extend his lead. At the same time, Smith, Steve Kinser,
Hillenburg and Sammy Swindell battled for fifth place.
    Although Blaney held a full-straightaway advantage midway
through the race, he almost allowed the #10 to spin in the second
corner two laps later, allowing Gaerte to narrow the gap again.
Mark Kinser was challenging Jeff Swindell for third place when
Graydon Cross stopped in turn four with 16 laps remaining.
    Blaney quickly returned to his five-car-length comfort zone
within a lap after the race resumed, only to have Gaerte line up
behind him after Jason Statler's fourth-corner spin bring out the
caution flag with 12 laps remaining.
    Monte Faccinto's third-corner spin started a four-car crash
on the ensuing restart. As Sammy Swindell collided with the
spinning Faccinto and kept going, Hillenburg spun to avoid him
and Johnny Rodriguez hit the retaining wall, bringing out the red
flag.
    "The Buckeye Bullet" raced away from the field as the race
resumed, and entered lapped traffic again during the 33rd lap. He
maintained a six-car-length advantage while slicing through the
backmarkers during the final seven laps.
    When asked how he felt about the late red period, Blaney
said, "I was just worried about losing my rhythm running the top.
I thought we might have chosen the wrong tire, but everybody else
was running the same compound."
    Jeff Swindell held off Mark Kinser for his second third-place
finish in as many nights. Sammy Swindell and Steve Kinser, each a
five-time World of Outlaws "A" Feature winner at Santa Maria,
finished fifth and sixth, respectively, while Smith, Brent
Kaeding, Johnny Herrera and Paul McMahan completed the top 10.
    Jac Haudenschild started outside the 12th row and drove the
#22 Pennzoil Maxim past 10 cars to finish in 14th place.
    Next stop on the Skoal Outlaw Series tour is Silver Dollar
Speedway for the 43rd Annual Gold Cup Race of Champions. The
three-day, $120,000 event is scheduled to open Thursday. WoO
            1996 World of Outlaws/Skoal Outlaw Series
              Santa Maria Speedway, Santa Maria, CA
           Saturday, September 14, Feature Program #57
    Qualifications:  1. Steve Kinser, Kinser 11, 12.283; 2. Andy
Hillenburg, Hillenburg 2, 12.359; 3. Mark Kinser, Kinser 5M,
12.496; 4. Sammy Swindell, Swindell 1, 12.553; 5. Bobby McMahan,
Lamar 3, 12.700; 6. Mark Monico, ATM Motorsports 21M, 12.732; 7.
Johnny Herrera, Sonner 47, 12.743; 8. Johnny Rodriguez, Orth 24,
12.759; 9. Tyler Walker, Walker 35, 12.778; 10. Paul McMahan,
Roth 83, 12.790; 11. Joey Saldana, Stanton 75, 12.805; 12. Brent
Kaeding, Kaeding 69, 12.822; 13. Randy Hannagan, TRH Racing 1x,
12.823; 14. Jason Statler, Statler/Rios 00, 12.840; 15. Monte
Faccinto, Bettencort 4B, 12.844; 16. Lance Blevins, Blevins 21,
12.869; 17. Jim Carr, McCarr Racing 7M, 12.883; 18. Dale Cross,
Cross 9, 12.972; 19. Greg Hodnett, Helm 11H, 12.979; 20. Kevin
Pylant, Pylant 14P, 12.992; 21. Jac Haudenschild, Elden 22,
13.097; 22. Brian Paulus, P&P Motorsports 28, 13.151; 23. Jason
Meyers, Carter 14J, 13.179; 24. Blake Robertson, Toledo Brothers
3T, 13.235; 25. Tom Tarlton, Tarlton 21T, 13.333; 26. Graydon
Cross, Cross 8C, 13.341; 27. Brad Furr, Furr 2F, 13.424; 28.
Craig Dillard, Jordan Brothers 51, 13.474; 29. Todd Bammer,
Bammer 18N, 13.492; 30. Jim Taves, Taves 34, 13.586; 31. Robert
Walker, Walker 98, no time.
    First Heat Race (10 laps):  1. Johnny Herrera, 2. Paul
McMahan, 3. Steve Kinser, 4. Sammy Swindell, 5. Lance Blevins, 6.
Randy Hannagan, 7. Tom Tarlton, 8. Greg Hodnett, 9. Craig
Dillard, 10. Brian Paulus. DNS - Robert Walker. (first five
qualified for the "A" Feature)
    Second Heat Race (10 laps):  1. Andy Hillenburg, 2. Bobby
McMahan, 3. Jim Carr, 4. Graydon Cross, 5. Joey Saldana, 6. Jason
Meyers, 7. Kevin Pylant, 8. Todd Bammer, 9. Johnny Rodriguez, 10.
Jason Statler. (first three qualified for the "A" Feature)
    Third Heat Race (10 laps):  1. Brent Kaeding, 2. Tyler
Walker, 3. Mark Kinser, 4. Mark Monico, 5. Monte Faccinto, 6. Jac
Haudenschild, 7. Blake Robertson, 8. Brad Furr, 9. Jim Taves
($10); 10. Dale Cross ($10). (first three qualified for the "A"
Feature)
    Finishing 1-4 in Friday's Preliminary Feature automatically
qualified Dave Blaney, Joe Gaerte, Jeff Swindell and Stevie Smith
for the first four starting positions in the Vivarin Dash.
    Vivarin Dash (seven laps):  1. Joe Gaerte, 2. Dave Blaney, 3.
Jeff Swindell, 4. Stevie Smith, 5. Andy Hillenburg, 6. Steve
Kinser. (finish determined the first six starting positions in
the "A" Feature)
    B Feature (12 laps):  1. Jac Haudenschild, 2. Jason Statler,
3. Greg Hodnett, 4. Johnny Rodriguez, 5. Kevin Pylant, 6. Randy
Hannagan ($210); 7. Brian Paulus ($185); 8. Tom Tarlton ($160);
9. Jason Meyers ($110); 10. Todd Bammer ($100); 11. Blake
Robertson ($110); 12. Craig Dillard ($70); 13. Brad Furr ($80).
DNS - Jim Taves, Dale Cross, Robert Walker. (first five qualified
for the "A" Feature)
    A Feature (40 laps):  1. Dave Blaney ($9,000); 2. Joe Gaerte
($5,000); 3. Jeff Swindell ($3,300); 4. Mark Kinser ($3,010); 5.
Sammy Swindell ($2,260); 6. Steve Kinser ($2,085); 7. Stevie
Smith ($1,800); 8. Brent Kaeding ($1,710); 9. Johnny Herrera
($1,510); 10. Paul McMahan ($1,410); 11. Bobby McMahan ($1,210);
12. Andy Hillenburg ($1,110); 13. Greg Hodnett ($1,080); 14. Jac
Haudenschild ($1,030); 15. Tyler Walker ($710); 16. Joey Saldana
($610); 17. Jim Carr ($510); 18. Jason Statler ($530); 19. Lance
Blevins ($510); 20. Johnny Rodriguez ($530); 21. Kevin Pylant
($530); 22. Graydon Cross ($510); 23. Monte Faccinto ($510); 24.
Mark Monico ($510).
                  Lap leader:  Dave Blaney 1-40
                               WoO
All information courtesy of MNI - Motorsport News International
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