River Valley opener report

BLANEY EXECUTES LAST-LAP PASS TO WIN RED RIVER VALLEY OPENER By Richard Day FARGO, ND (July 9) - Dave Blaney raced around Steve Kinser in turn three late in the white-flag lap to win the World of...

BLANEY EXECUTES LAST-LAP PASS TO WIN RED RIVER VALLEY OPENER By Richard Day FARGO, ND (July 9) - Dave Blaney raced around Steve Kinser in turn three late in the white-flag lap to win the World of Outlaws' Preliminary Feature, run before a standing-room-only crowd Saturday at Red River Valley Speedway. Four inches of rain fell on Fargo's high-banked, 1/2-mile oval Thursday and Friday, forcing officials to postpone the double-feature event. "The track was in good shape, but the wet conditions made it tough to see," Blaney said in victory lane. The heavy racing surface didn't bother Kinser until one lap remained in the 20-lap feature race. The six-time main event winner at Red River Valley won the Vivarin Dash for the right to start the Preliminary Feature on the pole, and burst into the lead immediately after the green flag fell. He was 15 car-lengths ahead of the field when his second cousin, Ecowater Fast-Time Award winner Mark Kinser, coasted into the infield with a blown engine early in the second lap. "The King of the Outlaws" was a half-straightaway ahead of his closest pursuers when he entered lapped traffic three laps into the race. Blaney caught Kinser in heavy lapped traffic during the sixth lap, just seconds before Fourth Snap-on Tools Heat Race winner Sammy Swindell steered the #1 Bull & Hannah's Jenkins into the infield with a blown engine. "B" Feature winner Tim Baker brought out the first caution flag midway through the race when he stopped his #2TZ Baker Enterprises sprinter on the back straightaway. The green flag replaced the yellow with Greg Hodnett and Randy Nygaard restarting between Kinser and "The Buckeye Bullet." Blaney was unable to keep pace with Kinser when the race resumed, falling almost a full straightaway behind the #11 Valvoline Maxim within two laps. "The King of the Outlaws" was catching the backmarkers again two laps later when Nygaard flipped his #63 Precision Drywall Boolgard between the third and fourth corners. The red flag was thrown, allowing the drivers to get a fresh supply of tear-offs for the final seven laps. Kinser quickly opened a 15-car-length advantage within a lap after the green flag replaced the red, and reentered lapped traffic with three laps remaining. "The Buckeye Bullet" narrowed the gap during the 19th lap, and was within six car-lengths when Kinser slid out of the low groove in the second corner with less than a lap remaining. He drove the #10 Vivarin J&J into the lead when Kinser hesitated behind Jeff Swindell and Stevie Smith deep in the third corner. Kinser was two car-lengths behind when Blaney took the checkered flag. "Steve went into three and looked like he couldn't decide which way to go," Blaney explained. "He went low and the lapped cars went low, and I managed to sneak around them on the high side for the win." Joe Gaerte and Kenny Jacobs claimed the second-row starting positions in Sunday's Snap-on Tools Dash by finishing third and fourth, respectively. Rounding out the top 10 in the Preliminary Feature were Jeff Shepard, Johnny Herrera, Andy Hillenburg, Jac Haudenschild, 15th-starting Tim Monson and Jeff Swindell. Mark Kinser's 16.267-second (110.653-m.p.h.) qualifying run was more than one-third of a second faster than anyone else's best time. The effort earned Mark his sixth Ecowater Fast-Time Award of the year. WoO 1994 WORLD OF OUTLAWS/COPENHAGEN-SKOAL SHOOTOUT Red River Valley Speedway, Fargo, ND, Saturday, July 9, Preliminary Program Qualifications: 1. Mark Kinser, Kinser 5M, 16.247; 2. Dave Blaney, Luna 10, 16.643; 3. Steve Kinser, Kinser 11, 16.643; 4. Sammy Swindell, Gilliam 1, 16.716; 5. Joe Gaerte, Two Winners 9TW, 16.726; 6. Jac Haudenschild, Elden 22, 16.778; 7. Kenny Jacobs, Motter 71M, 16.904; 8. Andy Hillenburg, Hillenburg 2, 16.943; 9. Jeff Shepard, Hamilton 77, 16.973; 10. Johnny Herrera, Pack 4A, 16.981; 11. Jeff Swindell, Two Winners 7TW, 17.107; 12. Tim Baker, Baker 2TZ, 17.336; 13. Greg Hodnett, Two Winners 8TW, 17.489; 14. Stevie Smith, Veilhauer 12x, 17.529; 15. Tim Monson, Monson 6M, 17.570; 16. Randy Nygaard, Nygaard 63, 17.655; 17. Sid Blandford, Blandford 31, 17.804; 18. Rich Bubak, Bubak 9, 17.867; 19. Jim Carr, Carr 65, 17.900; 20. Todd Mack, Mack 4, 18.131; 21. Pat Bourke, B&B Excavating 27, 18.187; 22. Mike Sitzmann, Sitzmann 102, 18.224; 23. Steve Dyer, Dyer 9A, 18.379; 24. Lou Kennedy, Jr., Kennedy 21K, 18.440; 25. Donny Rae Schatz, Schatz 15, 18.624; 26. Sonny Mack, Mack 9M, 19.226; 27. Tim Thomas, Thomas 28, 19.508; 28. Loren Langreud, Langreud/Byron 56, 19.516; 29. Tim Mulvaney, Mulvaney 3M, 20.136; 30. Leray Paulson, Paulson 62, 20.239; 31. Bennett Boulduc, Thompson 21x, 20.282; 32. Bob Martin, Martin 10T, 21.065; 33. Troy Olson, Olson 0, 21.101. First Snap-on Tools Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Jeff Shepard, 2. Joe Gaerte, 3. Mark Kinser, 4. Greg Hodnett, 5. Sid Blandford, 6. Donny Rae Schatz, 7. Pat Bourke, 8. Troy Olson, 9. Tim Mulvaney. (first five qualified for the Preliminary Feature) Second Snap-on Tools Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Dave Blaney, 2. Rich Bubak, 3. Johnny Herrera, 4. Stevie Smith, 5. Jac Haudenschild, 6. Mike Sitzmann, 7. Sonny Mack, 8. Leray Paulson. 2:27.3 (first five qualified for the Preliminary Feature) Third Snap-on Tools Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Steve Kinser, 2. Kenny Jacobs, 3. Jim Carr, 4. Jeff Swindell, 5. Tim Monson, 6. Steve Dyer, 7. Tim Thomas, 8. Bennett Boulduc. (first five qualified for the Preliminary Feature) Fourth Snap-on Tools Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Sammy Swindell, 2. Randy Nygaard, 3. Lou Kennedy, Jr., 4. Andy Hillenburg, 5. Todd Mack, 6. Tim Baker, 7. Loren Langreud, 8. Bob Martin. (first five qualified four the Preliminary Feature) Vivarin Dash (five laps): 1. Steve Kinser, 2. Mark Kinser, 3. Dave Blaney, 4. Sammy Swindell, 5. Joe Gaerte, 6. Kenny Jacobs, 7. Jac Haudenschild, 8. Andy Hillenburg. (finish determined the first eight starting positions in the Preliminary Feature) B Feature (12 laps): 1. Tim Baker, 2. Mike Sitzmann, 3. Steve Dyer, 4. Pat Bourke, 5. Loren Langreud ($160); 6. Donny Rae Schatz ($135); 7. Tim Thomas ($110); 8. Tim Mulvaney ($85); 9. Troy Olson ($70); 10. Bennett Boulduc ($60); 11. Leray Paulson ($50); 12. Sonny Mack ($50); 13. Bob Martin ($50). (first four qualified for the Preliminary Feature) Preliminary Feature (20 laps): 1. Dave Blaney ($4,010); 2. Steve Kinser ($2,310); 3. Joe Gaerte ($1,610); 4. Kenny Jacobs ($1,410); 5. Jeff Shepard ($1,260); 6. Johnny Herrera ($1,110); 7. Andy Hillenburg ($1,010); 8. Jac Haudenschild ($860); 9. Tim Monson ($810); 10. Jeff Swindell ($760); 11. Stevie Smith ($460); 12. Sid Blandford ($410); 13. Greg Hodnett ($360); 14. Todd Mack ($310); 15. Steve Dyer ($280); 16. Pat Bourke ($230); 17. Randy Nygaard ($210); 18. Mike Sitzmann ($230); 19. Lou Kennedy, Jr. ($210); 20. Tim Baker ($230); 21. Sammy Swindell ($210); 22. Jim Carr ($210); 23. Rich Bubak ($210); 24. Mark Kinser ($210). Lap leaders: Steve Kinser 1-19, Dave Blaney 20 Ecowater Fast-Time Award winner: Mark Kinser WoO *eot

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