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Kinser Claims I-96 Victory
Friday, 25 July 2008 - Lake Odessa, MI
Steve Kinser claimed his fourth win of the 2008 season by leading all but one lap in Friday night’s World of Outlaws event at I-96 Raceway in Lake Odessa, MI. Kinser was fast all night long and, as he sat on the pole of the A-Feature, was certainly the car to beat. Craig Dollansky put Kinser to the test until he tangled with a lapped car on lap 14. Kinser was able to avoid the accident and continued on to take his #11 Q-Oil Maxim to victory lane.
Kinser set a new track record, with a time of 15.093 seconds, during qualifying. He went on to run second in his heat and win the Crane Cams Dash by nearly a straightaway lead. Kinser started the night’s 30-lap A-Feature in a fierce battle with Craig Dollansky, who took the lead from Kinser on lap 13, only to be collected by a lapped car that spun right in front of him in turn two. Kinser, who was still hot on Dollansky’s heels, barely missed the collision.
“I was almost right in it,” said Kinser. “I had to dive off the end of the race track to keep from getting involved. Craig [Dollansky] and I were racing pretty hard. He found the top and was beating me up there. He got around me and then the lapped car spun and took him out. If he hadn’t, I think it would have been a pretty tough battle to take back the lead.”
Dollansky’s crew made their best efforts to repair the car, and were able to get the car back out to tail the field for the remainder of the race. With Dollansky no longer a factor, Kinser looked to be unchallenged for the win. Dollansky had show Kinser that the top was the faster line, and he knew he had to go with it. With five laps remaining, Dean Jacobs brought out a caution flag, which forfeited Kinser’s large lead on the field. Donny Schatz lined up behind Kinser and though he made strong attempts to get by Kinser while running the bottom of the track, Kinser prevailed around the top.
“The top got faster and Craig was beating me by running up there,” said Kinser. “I should have moved up four to five laps sooner and he might not have got by me. After the red, I moved up and I really never felt anybody running with me until the last caution.”
Kinser was full of confidence after the race. He was quick to thank his crew chief, Scott Gerkin, and the rest of his crew for giving him a strong car and anticipates that they will be just as strong during their next race, which is tomorrow, a grueling 350 miles away in Chillicothe, OH. Clinching the win will definitely help the approximate six hour drive that Steve and his guys have to K-C Raceway. There is a threat of rain in the forecast, but if able to race, Kinser looks to waste no time in claiming his next Outlaw win.
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