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By Stacy Ervin
Kraig Kinser of Bloomington, Indiana, followed in his father's footsteps by
winning his first Knoxville Nationals championship in the 45th annual running
of the event. His dad, Steve Kinser, who finished seventh in the 30-lap main
event, has won 12 Nationals. The win meant that the Kinsers were the first
father-son team to win Nationals championships.
This year's version of the Nationals was plagued by rain, resulting in the
Saturday finale being contested on Sunday night, August 14. The Wednesday
night qualifying show went off without a hitch, but Thursday's show was washed
out near the middle and finally run on Friday night. That pushed Friday's show
off to Saturday afternoon. However, a steady rain most of Saturday washed out
both the Friday show and the Saturday night finale. From there, the Friday
show ran on a beautiful cool and sunny Sunday afternoon, and the Saturday
finale was Sunday night.
Earlier in the day on Sunday, Kraig Kinser put himself on the pole of the
championship feature by amassing the most points in qualifying events. When
the race went green, the 20-year-old pulled out to the lead and held it
through all 30 laps to earn the $140,000 payday. Donny Schatz of Fargo, North
Dakota, earned $70,000 for his third second-place finish in the last five
years. Danny Lasoski of Dover, Missouri, who had won the previous two
Nationals, finished third and garnered $35,000 in front of his car owner, Tony
Stewart, who flew in after winning the NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Watkins Glen,
New York, earlier in the day.
The first to fall from the 30-lap main event was Joey Saldana, who dropped out
on the third lap with broken rear-end gears. Kraig Kinser came to lapped
traffic on the 10th circuit and Schatz began to close in heavy lapped traffic.
At one point, as Kinser was negotiating traffic, he and Jac Haudenschild
nearly made contact.
The race's first caution flag was shown on the 18th lap when Brooke Tatnell
suffered a flat right-rear tire and damage to his Jacobs ladder and top wing
after running sixth. On the restart, the lapped car of Haudenschild was
between Kinser and Schatz, with another lapped car separating third-place
runner Lasoski from Schatz. Kinser took off on the restart, but on the 23rd
lap, the second caution came out when Terry McCarl stopped in turn four.
On that restart, there were no lapped cars in between the top three runners.
Lasoski gave Schatz a torrid battle for second spot and that allowed Kinser to
pull away for his first Nationals win.
He was an excited winner, scaling the inside fence near victory lane and
climbing to the top of the frontstretch fence. However, before he could make
the climb, he met his dad on the front straightaway and the two shared an
emotional hug. As the young Kinser was clearing the scales, Steve Kinser was
taking a victory lap around the speedway, pumping his fist into the air in
triumph. Also celebrating in victory lane was Bob Kinser, Kraig's grandfather,
who was a good racer in his own right.
Mount Vernon, Washington, pilot Jason Solwold started on the pole of the B-
Main and led all 22 laps to transfer into the A-Main. The win was particularly
good for Solwold, who was celebrating his 30th birthday on this day. The three
others making the show were: Daryn Pittman of Owasso, Oklahoma; Tim Shaffer of
Aliquippa, Pennsylvania; and Haudenschild of Wooster, Ohio. Haudenschild, who
is known as "the Wild Child," came from the 15th starting spot and battled his
teammate Tim Kaeding for the final transfer spot during the green-white-
checkered finish of the race, much to the delight of the crowd. The first half
of the B-Main was plagued by yellow flags. The first came out on the third lap
when Ricky Logan jumped the cushion in turn four and smacked the fence.
Although he was OK, it took a bit to get him out of his machine after a mud
clod pinned his leg in the ****pit. The next yellow came out on the fourth lap
when Jason Johnson was slowed by a flat left-rear tire. The next yellow came
out on the fifth lap when Greg Hodnett stopped on the backstretch. The next
yellow came out on the sixth lap when Clint Garner slowed in turn four. From
there, the race stayed green until the last lap when Ed Lynch Jr. grenaded a
motor and brought the final caution.
Garner of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, led all 15 laps of the C-Main and
transferred on to the B along with second-place finisher Lynch of Apollo,
Pennsylvania. Garner, who started outside the front row, set a new track
record for 15 laps in that race, circling the speedway in 4:09.7.
Danville, Indiana, veteran driver Danny Smith led all 12 laps of the D-Main,
surviving a few caution periods and coming off the pole starting spot. The
first yellow flag came out on the sixth lap when Chad Meyer, who was running
in the second and final transfer spot at the time, suffered a broken torsion
stop. On the eighth lap, the yellow returned when Dusty Zomer blew a right-
rear tire in turn two. It was later discovered that he also had problems with
a nerf bar being wrapped around the axle. Also at that time, Seth Brahmer
stopped his car in turn four after having made contact with TJ Stutts the
previous lap and getting out of shape down the backstretch. And Luke
Cranston's car was smoking badly as he pulled in at that same time. Just as
Smith was coming to the checkered flag, the yellow returned when Greg Jones
and Dave Enders got together in turn four and the contact sent Enders turning
sideways into the inside fence on the frontstretch. Finishing second to
transfer to the C-Main with Smith was Mike Kertscher of Fredonia, Wisconsin.
Jones of Earlham, Iowa, led all 10 laps of the E-Main in a race that went
green to checkered. Tyler Houseman of Runnells, Iowa, was second to take the
other transfer to the D-Main. The pair started on the front row of the event
with Jones on the pole and Houseman outside.
Australia's Tatnell took home a double honor by winning the awards for best
appearing car and best appearing crew. Geoff Dodge of Colorado Springs,
Colorado, clinched the Fast Track to Indy Rookie of the Nationals Award. Kaley
Gharst, 17, of Decatur, Illinois, was the actual Rookie of the Nationals,
however because he is not yet 18 years of age, he was not eligible for the
Fast Track to Indy Award. Dodge finished 14th in the C-Main, while Gharst was
18th in the B-Main.
Kraig Kinser of Bloomington, Indiana, followed in his father's footsteps by
winning his first Knoxville Nationals championship in the 45th annual running
of the event. His dad, Steve Kinser, who finished seventh in the 30-lap main
event, has won 12 Nationals. The win meant that the Kinsers were the first
father-son team to win Nationals championships.
This year's version of the Nationals was plagued by rain, resulting in the
Saturday finale being contested on Sunday night, August 14. The Wednesday
night qualifying show went off without a hitch, but Thursday's show was washed
out near the middle and finally run on Friday night. That pushed Friday's show
off to Saturday afternoon. However, a steady rain most of Saturday washed out
both the Friday show and the Saturday night finale. From there, the Friday
show ran on a beautiful cool and sunny Sunday afternoon, and the Saturday
finale was Sunday night.
Earlier in the day on Sunday, Kraig Kinser put himself on the pole of the
championship feature by amassing the most points in qualifying events. When
the race went green, the 20-year-old pulled out to the lead and held it
through all 30 laps to earn the $140,000 payday. Donny Schatz of Fargo, North
Dakota, earned $70,000 for his third second-place finish in the last five
years. Danny Lasoski of Dover, Missouri, who had won the previous two
Nationals, finished third and garnered $35,000 in front of his car owner, Tony
Stewart, who flew in after winning the NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Watkins Glen,
New York, earlier in the day.
The first to fall from the 30-lap main event was Joey Saldana, who dropped out
on the third lap with broken rear-end gears. Kraig Kinser came to lapped
traffic on the 10th circuit and Schatz began to close in heavy lapped traffic.
At one point, as Kinser was negotiating traffic, he and Jac Haudenschild
nearly made contact.
The race's first caution flag was shown on the 18th lap when Brooke Tatnell
suffered a flat right-rear tire and damage to his Jacobs ladder and top wing
after running sixth. On the restart, the lapped car of Haudenschild was
between Kinser and Schatz, with another lapped car separating third-place
runner Lasoski from Schatz. Kinser took off on the restart, but on the 23rd
lap, the second caution came out when Terry McCarl stopped in turn four.
On that restart, there were no lapped cars in between the top three runners.
Lasoski gave Schatz a torrid battle for second spot and that allowed Kinser to
pull away for his first Nationals win.
He was an excited winner, scaling the inside fence near victory lane and
climbing to the top of the frontstretch fence. However, before he could make
the climb, he met his dad on the front straightaway and the two shared an
emotional hug. As the young Kinser was clearing the scales, Steve Kinser was
taking a victory lap around the speedway, pumping his fist into the air in
triumph. Also celebrating in victory lane was Bob Kinser, Kraig's grandfather,
who was a good racer in his own right.
Mount Vernon, Washington, pilot Jason Solwold started on the pole of the B-
Main and led all 22 laps to transfer into the A-Main. The win was particularly
good for Solwold, who was celebrating his 30th birthday on this day. The three
others making the show were: Daryn Pittman of Owasso, Oklahoma; Tim Shaffer of
Aliquippa, Pennsylvania; and Haudenschild of Wooster, Ohio. Haudenschild, who
is known as "the Wild Child," came from the 15th starting spot and battled his
teammate Tim Kaeding for the final transfer spot during the green-white-
checkered finish of the race, much to the delight of the crowd. The first half
of the B-Main was plagued by yellow flags. The first came out on the third lap
when Ricky Logan jumped the cushion in turn four and smacked the fence.
Although he was OK, it took a bit to get him out of his machine after a mud
clod pinned his leg in the ****pit. The next yellow came out on the fourth lap
when Jason Johnson was slowed by a flat left-rear tire. The next yellow came
out on the fifth lap when Greg Hodnett stopped on the backstretch. The next
yellow came out on the sixth lap when Clint Garner slowed in turn four. From
there, the race stayed green until the last lap when Ed Lynch Jr. grenaded a
motor and brought the final caution.
Garner of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, led all 15 laps of the C-Main and
transferred on to the B along with second-place finisher Lynch of Apollo,
Pennsylvania. Garner, who started outside the front row, set a new track
record for 15 laps in that race, circling the speedway in 4:09.7.
Danville, Indiana, veteran driver Danny Smith led all 12 laps of the D-Main,
surviving a few caution periods and coming off the pole starting spot. The
first yellow flag came out on the sixth lap when Chad Meyer, who was running
in the second and final transfer spot at the time, suffered a broken torsion
stop. On the eighth lap, the yellow returned when Dusty Zomer blew a right-
rear tire in turn two. It was later discovered that he also had problems with
a nerf bar being wrapped around the axle. Also at that time, Seth Brahmer
stopped his car in turn four after having made contact with TJ Stutts the
previous lap and getting out of shape down the backstretch. And Luke
Cranston's car was smoking badly as he pulled in at that same time. Just as
Smith was coming to the checkered flag, the yellow returned when Greg Jones
and Dave Enders got together in turn four and the contact sent Enders turning
sideways into the inside fence on the frontstretch. Finishing second to
transfer to the C-Main with Smith was Mike Kertscher of Fredonia, Wisconsin.
Jones of Earlham, Iowa, led all 10 laps of the E-Main in a race that went
green to checkered. Tyler Houseman of Runnells, Iowa, was second to take the
other transfer to the D-Main. The pair started on the front row of the event
with Jones on the pole and Houseman outside.
Australia's Tatnell took home a double honor by winning the awards for best
appearing car and best appearing crew. Geoff Dodge of Colorado Springs,
Colorado, clinched the Fast Track to Indy Rookie of the Nationals Award. Kaley
Gharst, 17, of Decatur, Illinois, was the actual Rookie of the Nationals,
however because he is not yet 18 years of age, he was not eligible for the
Fast Track to Indy Award. Dodge finished 14th in the C-Main, while Gharst was
18th in the B-Main.