Kinser claims win at LVMS

Friday, March 3, 2000 | 10:12 a.m.

Steve Kinser passed Stevie Smith with one lap remaining and captured his first A feature of the season in the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Silver State Shootout Thursday night at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway half-mile dirt oval.

Kinser, known as the King of Outlaws, started on the pole for the main event and led the first 11 laps before surrendering the lead to Smith on lap 12 of the 30-lap race.

Smith held the lead until he got caught behind a pair of lapped cars, which allowed Kinser to regain the lead with a pass in turn two on lap 29. Kinser, the eighth-fastest qualifier in the 51-car field, held off Smith for his first win of the 2000 season.

"Man, it felt good to race that hard," said Kinser, who has won 15 World of Outlaws championships and is considered the greatest driver in sprint-car racing history. "Stevie really raced me hard there."

Jac Haudenschild finished third, points leader Danny Lasoski was fourth and Sammy Swindell took fifth. Joey Saldana, the fastest qualifier, finished 14th.

Kinser, who surpassed the $6 million mark in career purse earnings in 1999, earned $5,000 for the victory.

Kinser, who wrapped up his 15th WoO title at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 1998, moved up one spot to third in points with his win Thursday.

Kinser opened the season with a pair of top-10 A feature finishes.

The $133,385 Silver State Shootout continues tonight and concludes Saturday with a 30-lap, $20,000-to-win A Feature. The Nashville Network will televise tonight's race (7 p.m.).