Son beats father in Round 1 of The Duel at the Dakotas for his second win in 10 days
GRAND FORKS, N.D. - June 15, 2012 - Steve Kinser isn't surprised very often.
A 20-time World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion, the winningest driver in the series history and the current championship points leader, "The King" has seen it all and has done it all in a sprint car.
But on Friday he was admittedly surprised when his son, Kraig Kinser, drove around him with seven laps remaining to claim Round 1 of The Duel at the Dakotas in front of a packed crowd at River Cities Speedway.
"I thought I had them covered the whole race," Steve Kinser said. "He caught me by surprise."
For Kraig, who is driving a car owned by his father, it doesn't get much better than to pick up his second World of Outlaws victory in the last 10 days by passing his car owner and mentor.
"It's unbelievable," he said with a big smile. "It's tough to pass any of these guys, especially when they're looking a win down the barrel. That it's my dad makes it even better."
The veteran Kinser, who started third in the 40-lap feature, passed Kerry Madsen for second place on lap nine and cruised by Mark Dobmeier for the lead as the duo exited turn two on lap 13.
On a night when consistency was an issue with nearly every driver on the changing track, Kinser led the next 21 laps amid flashes of strength from Dobmeier, Madsen and Lucas Wolfe.
Once Kinser found the top spot, Dobmeier and Madsen battled closely for the runner-up spot for a couple of laps. Madsen squeezed by Dobmeier for second place as the duo crossed the finish line on lap 16, but the third red flag of the race appeared before another lap was completed as contact between the two sent Madsen flipping off the track in turn four and Dobmeier to the pits with a broken top wing.
"He's a hard racer just like I am," said Dobmeier, a hometown driver who set his first career quick time with the World of Outlaws at 10.516 seconds on Friday.
"We were both going for the same spot, nobody was going to lift. We got a little tangled up."
Wolfe capitalized and was a close second to Kinser. As the preferred line began to shift toward the bottom near the middle of the feature, traffic began to play a role. When Wolfe would close to the rear bumper of Kinser, he'd be slowed by a lapped car and vice versa.
Meanwhile, Kraig Kinser began working his way toward the front in the second half of the race. He restarted eighth on the fourth-and-final caution of the race for a spin by Wade Nygaard on lap 18. However, Kinser worked his way into the top five by the halfway point. He then drove into third place with 16 laps remaining and powered around Wolfe for the runner-up spot with 12 laps to go.
"I just got a line that my car was working at really and lapped traffic helped me," Kinser said. "I think dad was a little better than me in open track. I just got fortunate enough to catch him in lapped traffic and our car was just working through the middle a lot better than it was on the bottom."
As the two Kinsers and Wolfe fought their way through traffic - at one point nearly being three wide for the race lead - Kraig Kinser found grip in the middle of the track. He maneuvered around his father as they exited turn four on lap 34 and pulled away in the final half-dozen laps.
"If I've got to get outrun, I'm much rather it be him than anybody else," said Steve Kinser, who maintains the championship points lead. "On these short tracks he's just been as tough as he can be."
Craig Dollansky snagged third place with four laps remaining and Donny Schatz snuck by Wolfe fourth in the closing laps. Dobmeier, who restarted 14 th after his crash on lap 16, drove back to sixth. Sammy Swindell was seventh, Bill Rose eighth, Justin Henderson ninth and Joey Saldana rounded out the top 10.
Dollansky, Henderson, Saldana and Jason Linnell each claimed a heat race victory, and Bob Martin passed Nygaard late in the Last Chance Showdown to win the consolation.
The Duel in the Dakotas Round 1 Notebook
NOTES - River Cities Speedway is the fastest and the only nine-second track on the World of Outlaws schedule this season. … Only four drivers - Steve Kinser, Donny Schatz, Craig Dollansky and Joey Saldana - had earned a World of Outlaws feature victory at River Cities Speedway prior to Friday's race. … Saldana won his seventh heat race of the season and Dollansky his sixth, while Justin Henderson and Jason Linnell each claimed their first World of Outlaws heat win of the season. … Kerry Madsen earned his third feature pole of the season and second in a row after winning the dash. … Bob Martin became the 24th different Last Chance Showdown winner of the season.
CONTINGENCY WINNERS - Penske Shocks ($100 certificate): Bill Rose; MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): Kraig Kinser; Comp Cams ($50 certificate): Kraig Kinser; Armor All (case of product): Justin Henderson; STP ($50 cash): Steve Kinser; UNOH ($50 cash): Lucas Wolfe; Gravely Tractors ($50 cash): Sammy Swindell; VP Racing Fuel ($50 cash): Joey Saldana; Comp Cams ($50 cash): Chad Kemenah; JE Pistons (set of rings): Cody Darrah; Cometic Gasket ($50 cash): Cody Darrah; Wix Filters ($50 cash): Cody Darrah; Superflow ($50 cash): Chad Kemenah; JE Pistons ($50 cash): Kaley Gharst; JE Pistons (set of rings): Kerry Madsen; MSD Ignitions ($25 cash): Chris Shirek; Klotz Synthetic Lubricants ($50 cash): Bob Martin.
WINNERS - Craig Dollansky - 4 (I-96 Speedway on June 2, Hagerstown Speedway on May 20, Tri-State Speedway on April 21 and Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19); Sammy Swindell - 4 (Eldora Speedway on May 5, Knoxville Raceway on April 28, Missouri State Fair Speedway on April 20 and Merced Speedway on March 30); Joey Saldana - 3 (The Dirt Track at Charlotte on May 25, Paducah International Raceway on April 13 and Perris Auto Speedway on March 10); Donny Schatz - 3 (Farmer City Raceway on April 25, Silver Dollar Speedway on March 23 and Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19); Tim Kaeding - 2 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 16 and The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 8); Chad Kemenah - 2 (Lawrenceburg Speedway on May 28 and Eldora Speedway on May 4); Kraig Kinser - 2 (River Cities Speedway on June 15 and Kokomo Speedway on June 5); Steve Kinser - 2 (Orange County Fair Speedway on May 19 and Williams Grove Speedway on May 12); Danny Dietrich - 1 (Lincoln Speedway on May 10); Danny Lasoski - 1 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 18); Kerry Madsen - 1 (Knoxville Raceway on June 9); Paul McMahan - 1 (Rolling Wheels Raceway Park on May 16); Fred Rahmer - 1 (Williams Grove Speedway on May 11); Brad Sweet - 1 (Clay County Fairgrounds on June 8).
TIME TRIALS - Mark Dobmeier was the fastest qualifier around the 4/10-mile oval with a time of 10.516 seconds to earn five championship points. Also earning points were Sammy Swindell (4 points), Joey Saldana (3), Kraig Kinser (2) and Donny Schatz (1).
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- Admin Account on Jun 16, 2012
- Article Date: 6/15/2012 by Shawn Miller - World of Outlaws