From Kyle Lutters, Alan Holland Photo
MAGNOLIA, Miss. – Steve Kinser held off Jason Sides and Cody Darrah in an edge-of-your-seat World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series thriller on Friday night at Pike County Speedway.
Kinser took the lead on lap 12 of the 35-lap feature in his Bass Pro Shops/J.D. Byrider/Chevrolet/Maxim, but Sides and Darrah took shots at the 20-time King of the Outlaws in every corner, racing three-wide at times down the backstretch at the 3/8-mile speedway. Kinser finally pulled away to the checkered flag after a late-race caution cleared traffic, giving him his third victory in four races to start this season.
“It was a heck of a race,” said Kinser, of Bloomington, Ind., who won for the third time in his career at Pike County Speedway. “It’s just good to see all of the hard work this winter has paid off.”
Sides, of Bartlett, Tenn., was racing for his second consecutive World of Outlaws victory in the Wetherington Tractor Services ride. He went wheel-to-wheel with Kinser during much of the A-main.
“I couldn’t tell you which lap was which,” said Sides, who had a large contingent of family and friends in attendance. “I guess the old dog still has a few tricks up his sleeve.”
Darrah, a Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year contender from Red Lion, Pa., led the first 11 laps in the Kasey Kahne Racing Great Clips Maxim before Kinser and Sides swarmed him and turned the rest of the night into a fierce three-car heavyweight bout.
“These guys are my heroes, it was exciting,” Darrah said. “I just overdrove it.”
Joey Saldana in his new Kasey Kahne Racing Red Bull Maxim wound up fourth after restarting at the tail of the field after he brought out a caution early in the race. David Gravel rounded out the top five after starting on the pole.
The World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series rolls down the highway to Royal Purple Raceway (formerly Houston Raceway Park) on Saturday night. Make sure to tune into DIRTVision.com to listen to all of the action if you can’t be at the state-of-the-art facility in Baytown, Texas.
Notes for Pike County Speedway:
QUICKTIME – Jason Sides was the nights fastest qualifier at a 14.056, earning five more championship points.
WINNERS – There have been four World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series feature event winners in 2011. They include Steve Kinser (2-Volusia Speedway Park, Pike County Speedway) and Jason Sides (1-Volusia Speedway Park).
NEW ONLINE HOME – Make sure to check out the all-new WorldofOutlaws.com for the latest news and results, plus exclusive driver interviews, video and pictures. Also listen to every event live at DIRTVision.com .
World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Statistical Report; Pike County Speedway; Feb. 25, 2011
A-main (35 laps) – Starting Position [#] 1) 11-Steve Kinser[4] [$10,000]; 2) 7S-Jason Sides[6] [$5,500]; 3) 91-Cody Darrah[2] [$3,200]; 4) 9-Joey Saldana[5] [$2,800]; 5) 89G-David Gravel[1] [$2,500]; 6) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[8] [$2,300]; 7) 14-Jason Meyers[11] [$2,200]; 8) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[9] [$2,100]; 9) 30C-Lance Dewease[14] [$2,050]; 10) 7-Craig Dollansky[13] [$2,000]; 11) 15-Donny Schatz[12] [$1,500]; 12) W20-Greg Wilson[17] [$1,200]; 13) 33-Danny Lasoski[10] [$1,100]; 14) 1-Sammy Swindell[7] [$1,050]; 15) 2B-Ben Gregg[18] [$1,000]; 16) 63-Chad Kemenah[19] [$900]; 17) 6-Kraig Kinser[15] [$800]; 18) 6R-Bill Rose[16] [$800]; 19) 83-Paul McMahan[3] [$800]; 20) 24-Terry McCarl[20] [$800]; 21) 10-Terry Gray[21] [$800]; 22) 80-Morgan Turpen[23] [$800]; 23) O9-Timmy Thrash[22] [$800]; 24) OO-Ed Lee[24] [$800]. Lap Leaders: Cody Darrah 1-11, Steve Kinser 12-35. KSE Hard Charger Award: Lance Dewease
Qualifying – 1) 7S-Jason Sides 14.056; 2) 89G-David Gravel 14.063; 3) 83-Paul McMahan 14.063; 4) 91-Cody Darrah 14.100; 5) 11-Steve Kinser 14.138; 6) 1-Sammy Swindell 14.165; 7) 9-Joey Saldana 14.219; 8) 33-Danny Lasoski 14.237; 9) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr. 14.284; 10) 14-Jason Meyers 14.291; 11) 15-Donny Schatz 14.300; 12) 5W-Lucas Wolfe 14.331; 13) 7-Craig Dollansky 14.354; 14) 30C-Lance Dewease 14.438; 15) 6-Kraig Kinser 14.607; 16) 63-Chad Kemenah 14.669; 17) 6R-Bill Rose 14.776; 18) W20-Greg Wilson 15.041; 19) 2B-Ben Gregg 15.060; 20) 24-Terry McCarl 15.228; 21) 10-Terry Gray 15.424; 22) O9-Timmy Thrash 15.191; 23) 80-Morgan Turpen 15.732; 24) OO-Ed Lee 17.262.
Heat 1 (10 Laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature) – 1) 9-Joey Saldana[2]; 2) 7S-Jason Sides[4]; 3) 91-Cody Darrah[3]; 4) 14-Jason Meyers[1]; 5) 7-Craig Dollansky[5]; 6) 2B-Ben Gregg[7]; 7) 63-Chad Kemenah[6]; 8) O9-Timmy Thrash[8].
Heat 2 (10 Laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature) – 1) 33-Danny Lasoski[2]; 2) 89G-David Gravel[4]; 3) 15-Donny Schatz[1]; 4) 11-Steve Kinser[3]; 5) 6R-Bill Rose[6]; 6) 30C-Lance Dewease[5]; 7) 24-Terry McCarl[7]; 8) 80-Morgan Turpen[8].
Heat 3 (10 Laps, top 6 finishers transferred to A-feature) – 1) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[2]; 2) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[1]; 3) 1-Sammy Swindell[3]; 4) 83-Paul McMahan[4]; 5) 6-Kraig Kinser[5]; 6) W20-Greg Wilson[6]; 7) 10-Terry Gray[7]; 8) OO-Ed Lee[8].
Dash (8 laps, finishing order determined first 10 starting positions of A-feature) –
1) 89G-David Gravel[3]; 2) 91-Cody Darrah[1]; 3) 83-Paul McMahan[2]; 4) 11-Steve Kinser[5]; 5) 9-Joey Saldana[7]; 6) 7S-Jason Sides[4]; 7) 1-Sammy Swindell[6]; 8) 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr.[9]; 9) 5W-Lucas Wolfe[10]; 10) 33-Danny Lasoski[8].