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Hey Martz-Just FYI-This may have been Kinser's debut in Midget competition.
1979 United States Auto Club
Midget
Cincinnati Gardens, Cincinnati, Ohio
Sunday, January 13th
Promoter, Dennis Cook calls the shots getting the Midgets to return to the Gardens after about ten years. Despite the icy roads and a snowstorm in the region, the crowd was pretty good. So much as Cook states he wants to schedule another race on February 25th.
Qualifications:
1. Lonnie Caruthers, Caruthers 87LT, 7.314; 2. Steve Lotshaw, Lotshaw 2, 7.493; 3. Bob Wente, Wente 25, 7.502;
4. Steve Kinser, Corallo 22EC, 7.519; 5. Bobby Wente, Wente 24, 7.550; 6. Gary Bettenhausen, Bozard 18, 7.556;
7. Jeff Nuckles, Nuckles 57, 7.655; 8. Les Scott, Scott 10, 7.700; 9. Jim Hines, Saunders 71EC, 7.708; 10. Jerry Weeks, Bozard 68WC, 7.709; 11. Jerry Nuckles, Streicher 28A, 7.720; 12. Gordy Ward, Ward 35EC, 7.740; 13. Tom Bigelow, Armstrong 43, 7.861; 14. Nick Gojmeric, Gojmeric 58, 7.886; 15. Todd Forbes, Forbes 55EC, 7.939; 16. Ron Mullen, Mullen 65EC, 8.005; 17. Sam Isenhower, Auxier 81, 8.025; 18. Gary Irvin, Gamester 46, 8.028; 19. Bobby Grim Jr., Hungness 15, 8.039; 20. Dana Carter, Pool 9, 8.154; 21. Kenny Schrader, Hamilton 55, 8.267; 22. Billy Humphries, Williams 72, 8.291; 23. Joe Roush, Roush 36A, 8.333; 24. Rod Eden, Miller 77, 8.378; 25. Robin Miller, Miller 40, 8.397; 26. Greg Grahn, Potter 12, 8.439; 27. Alan Brown, Brown 56, 8.458; 28. Mel Kenyon, Kenyon 61, 8.499;
29. Rick Mueller, Mueller 53EC, 8.541; 30. Terry Wente, Hatton 15EC, 8.671; 31. Alan Holderfield, Holderfield 90, 8.728; 32. Warren Mockler, Mockler 47, 9.354; 33. Tom Burghardt, Burghardt 26, 9.475; 34. Mike Schulyer, Schulyer 19JR, 9.477; 35. Tom Hayworth, Hayworth 61EC, 9.849; 36. Greg Staab, Staab 44, No Time; 37. Ace Oswalt, Oswalt 42A, No Time.
First Heat Race (15 Laps)
1. Tom Bigelow, 2. Kenny Schrader, 3. Jim Hines, 4. Lonnie Caruthers, 5. Bobby Wente, 6. Sam Isenhower…
Second Heat Race
1. Steve Lotshaw, 2. Jerry Weeks, 3. Nick Gojmeric, 4. Gary Bettenhausen, 5. Billy Humphries, 6. Gary Irwin…
Gojmeric was able to restart after getting upside down.
Third Heat Race
1. Jeff Nuckles, 2. Bob Wente, 3. Jerry Nuckles, 4. Bobby Grim, 5. Joe Roush, 6. Todd Forbes…
Fourth Heat Race
1. Ron Mullen, 2. Les Scott, 3. Dana Carter, 4. Gordy Ward, 5. Rod Eden, 6. Steve Kinser…
Mullen sets a new track record running the tiny track in 1:56.22.
Race of Champions (25 Laps)
1. Tom Bigelow $250; 2. Steve Kinser, 3. Steve Lotshaw, 4. Mel Kenyon, 5. Larry Rice, 6. George Snider, 7. Rick Ferkel, 8. Gary Bettenhausen, 9. Bob Wente.
Rice wheels the Hamilton 55, Snider in the Brown 56 and Ferkel in the Pool 9. $1,200 purse for this special race.
Les Scott wins his 7th career USAC Feature.
Feature (100 Laps)
1. Les Scott [3]; 2. Gary Bettenhausen [5]; 3. Kenny Schrader [10]; 4. Steve Lotshaw, 5. Steve Kinser, 6. Bob Wente, 7. Lonnie Caruthers, 8. Jeff Nuckles, 9. Jim Hines, 10. Billy Humphries, 11. Todd Forbes, 12. Jerry Weeks…
Lap leaders: Jerry Weeks 1-22; Les Scott 23-100.
Weeks into the lead over Scott. Scott was able to take advantage of Weeks tangling with a competitor sending him wide enough for Scott to take the lead. Weeks worked his way back onto the tail tank of Scott and was challenging for the lead on the 45th lap. Weeks was taken out of the race soon after an incident with either crashing into or getting in the way of a stack of tires used as a barrier ending his day. Bettenhausen assumes the 2nd spot and not until he clears the lapped traffic with about ten-to-go does Scott gets his first serious challenge of the lead. Scott had been a fixture of USAC Midget racing during the fifties-sixties, but has been running and winning CORA and BARA Midget Championships along with his duties as Club President of NAMAR. Kinser with an outstanding debut in a Midget. His Father, Bob would slip and fall sometime during the weekend on ice and shows the lingering signs of the ankle injury during the Florida season opening races in upcoming weeks.
Lotshaw leaves the event with the USAC Midget point lead with 52. Scott in 2nd with 45; Bob Wente in 3rd with 41; Jeff Nuckles and Lonnie Caruthers tied for 4th with 32; Kenyon, Bettenhausen and Schrader tied for 6th with 25; Johnny Parsons in 9th with 23 as Weeks starts the season in 10th with 21.
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