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Furr Dominates Spring Nationals Preliminary
By Richard Day

MESQUITE, TX (March 15) -– Brad Furr and Donny Schatz entered the 29^th Annual Spring Nationals tied for eighth place in the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series point standings. The young drivers traveled in vastly different directions throughout the preliminary program, however.

Furr won the second preliminary feature of his career, leading all 25 laps while beating series points leader Steve Kinser under the checkered flag by .804 seconds. Schatz suffered through an uncharacteristically tough evening, qualifying 27^th and having to use one of his two provisionals of the year to start the feature. The 1997 Rookie of the Year passed 10 cars to finish in 15^th place.

“The guys (crew) did an excellent job; I did the easy part,” Furr said in victory lane. “That last caution (with seven laps remaining) made me nervous. I was hoping the race would keep going. The worst place we were was coming out of (turn) two, and I knew if we could get through there they wouldn’t get us down on the other end. I’m just happy to be here.”

Furr, the seventh-fastest qualifier, finished third in the Third Heat Race, but earned the right to start the feature on the pole by winning the First O’Reilly Auto Parts Dash. Kinser was eighth quick, winning the Fourth Heat Race and the Second O’Reilly Auto Parts Dash.

Furr drove his family’s #2 Sanmina/ISC Eagle into the lead as the green flag fell in the preliminary feature. He raced away from “The King of the Outlaws” during the opening lap as Mark Kinser challenged for second place. Mark steered the #5M Mopar Maxim to the lowest point in turn three to pass cousin Steve late in the second lap.

Danny Lasoski, the 2000 Spring Nationals winner, was .the fastest qualifier – .290 seconds quicker than defending Spring Nationals champion Craig Dollansky. Dollansky passed “The Dude” for sixth place with a high move in the second corner early in lap three.

The leaders were approaching lapped traffic early in the fifth lap when Third Heat Race winner Johnny Herrera lost eighth place with a turn-two spin. Tyler Walker took the high line around Steve Kinser in the second corner for third place as the green flag replaced the yellow. “The King of the Outlaws” won a front-straightaway drag race with Walker to regain the position two laps later.

Mark Kinser was only .17 seconds behind when Furr entered lapped traffic nine laps into the race. Furr beat the two-time Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series champion through the back-markers, and opened a comfortable advantage within two laps. Kinser narrowed the gap to a car-length by lap 14, however.

“The King of the Outlaws” started making his way back toward the front the next time around. He drove his #11 Quaker State Maxim past Walker on the back stretch, then took the low line through turn three to pass Mark Kinser for the runner-up spot late in the 17^th lap.

Michael Dupuy’s second-corner spin set up a seven-lap dash to the checkered flag. Although no lapped cars restarted between he and Steve Kinser, Furr controlled the restart. The Kinser cousins exchanged second place during the 18^th and 20^th laps as Furr opened a .6-second advantage. The leaders were approaching lapped traffic as the checkered flag fell.

Mark Kinser closed to within a point of second place in the point standings by finishing third. Walker finished in fourth place, ahead of Lasoski, Joey Saldana, Dollansky, Tim Shaffer, P.J. Chesson and Randy Hannagan. Twenty-two cars finished the race, 19 on the lead lap.

Hannagan was in fourth place when the #1X K&C Drywall Eagle suffered a blown engine midway through the First Heat Race. “The Hurricane” won the “B” Feature, and raced into 10^th place from outside the ninth row in the evening’s main event.

Steve Kinser’s son Kraig, racing for the first time this year, was the third-fastest qualifier in the 36-car field. He lost the lead in the “B” Feature when he collided with Dan Oswalt. WoO

2002 Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series
29^th Annual Winter Nationals
Devil’s Bowl Speedway, Mesquite, TX
Friday, March 15, Preliminary Program

Qualifications
1. Danny Lasoski, Stewart 20, 13.744
2. Craig Dollansky, Karavan Racing 7, 14.034
3. Kraig Kinser, Kinser 11K, 14.090
4. Tyler Walker, C&W Motorsports 35, 14.150
5. Joey Saldana, Saldana 17, 14.162
6. Ricky Logan, CRS Racing 3S, 14.170
7. Brad Furr, Furr 2, 14.208
8. Steve Kinser, Kinser 11, 14.212
9. Randy Hannagan, TH Racing 1X, 14.234
10. Mark Kinser, Kinser 5M, 14.264
11. Johnny Herrera, Wilburn 2W, 14.272
12. Jason Johnson, Row 41, 14.302
13. Jac Haudenschild, Forbrook 5, 14.304
14. P.J. Chesson, Chesson 76, 14.331
15. Brooke Tatnell, Grandstaff 66, 14.348
16. Gary Wright, Parnell 9, 14.366
17. Tim Shaffer, Roth 83, 14.419
18. Stevie Smith, Helm 11H, 14.423
19. Michael Dupuy, MIN Motorsports 4M, 14.426
20. Jan Howard, Benton/Campbell 11J, 14.452
21. Derrek Beckman, Cox 50D, 14.453
22. Danny Wood, Parsons 6, 14.480
23. Terry McCarl, McCarl 24, 14.552
24. Darren Stewart, Stewart 9S, 14.627
25. Leonard Lee, Lee 16L, 14.697
26. Matt Clevenger, Clevenger 31, 14.721
27. Donny Schatz, Schatz 15, 14.731
28. Zach Chappell, Chappell 50Z, 14.744
29. Justin Henderson, Camahan R19, 14.748
30. Wayne Johnson, Threatt 29, 14.760
31. Bob Ewell, Ewell 85, 14.949
32. Mike Reinke, Gifford 17R, 14.973
33. Blake Mallory, Mallory 6M, 15.275
34. Dan Oswalt, Oswalt D1, 15.430
35. Marvin Lough, Lough 39, 15.447
36. Keith Walker, Walker 52W, 15.945

First Heat Race (eight laps)
1. Danny Wood
2. Tim Shaffer
3. Joey Saldana
4. Jac Haudenschild
5. Danny Lasoski
6. Wayne Johnson
7. Matt Clevenger
8. Dan Oswalt
9. Randy Hannagan
(first five qualified for the Preliminary Feature)
Second Heat Race (eight laps)
1. Stevie Smith
2. Terry McCarl
3. Craig Dollansky
4. P.J. Chesson
5. Mark Kinser
6. Ricky Logan
7. Donny Schatz
8. Bob Ewell
9. Marvin Lough
(first five qualified for the Preliminary Feature)
Third Heat Race (eight laps)
1. Johnny Herrera
2. Brooke Tatnell
3. Brad Furr
4. Zach Chappell
5. Darren Stewart
6. Kraig Kinser
7. Mike Reinke
8. Michael Dupuy
9. Jan Howard
(first five qualified for the Preliminary Feature)
Fourth Heat Race (eight laps)
1. Steve Kinser
2. Gary Wright
3. Jason Johnson
4. Tyler Walker
5. Leonard Lee
6. Derrek Beckman
7. Blake Mallory
8. Justin Henderson
9. Keith Walker
(first five qualified for the Preliminary Feature)

First O’Reilly Auto Parts Dash (eight laps)
1. Brad Furr
2. Mark Kinser
3. Tyler Walker
4. Danny Lasoski
5. Stevie Smith
6. Gary Wright
7. P.J. Chesson
8. Jason Johnson
(finish determined the first eight inside starting positions in the Preliminary Feature)
Second O’Reilly Auto Parts Dash (eight laps)
1. Steve Kinser
2. Joey Saldana
3. Johnny Herrera
4. Craig Dollansky
5. Tim Shaffer
6. Jac Haudenschild
7. Danny Wood
8. Brooke Tatnell
(finish determined the first eight outside starting positions in the Preliminary Feature)

B Feature (12 laps)
1. Randy Hannagan
2. Ricky Logan
3. Wayne Johnson
4. Michael Dupuy
5. Matt Clevenger ($150)
6. Donny Schatz ($125)
7. Blake Mallory ($100)
8. Jan Howard ($75)
9. Kraig Kinser ($60)
10. Derrek Beckman ($50)
11. Bob Ewell ($40)
12. Mike Reinke ($40)
13. Marvin Lough ($40)
14. Dan Oswalt ($40)
(first four qualified for the Preliminary Feature)

Preliminary Feature (25 laps)
1. Brad Furr [1] ($5,000)
2. Steve Kinser [2] ($3,000)
3. Mark Kinser [3] ($2,500)
4. Tyler Walker [5] ($2,200)
5. Danny Lasoski [7] ($2,100)
6. Joey Saldana [4] ($2,000)
7. Craig Dollansky [8] ($1,800)
8. Tim Shaffer [10] ($1,600)
9. P.J. Chesson [13] ($1,500)
10. Randy Hannagan [18] ($1,320)
11. Gary Wright [11] ($1,200)
12. Stevie Smith [9] ($1,100)
13. Jason Johnson [15] ($1,020)
14. Brooke Tatnell [16] ($700)
15. Donny Schatz [25] ($620)
16. Jac Haudenschild [12] ($600)
17. Johnny Herrera [6] ($600)
18. Danny Wood [14] ($600)
19. Michael Dupuy [23] ($620)
20. Ricky Logan [17] ($620)
21. Wayne Johnson [24] ($500)
22. Darren Stewart [19] ($500)
23. Terry McCarl [20] ($500)
24. Leonard Lee [22] ($500)
25. Zach Chappell [21] ($500)
Provisional starter – Donny Schatz
Lap leader: Brad Furr 1-25