Tim Shaffer chased down Steve Kinser from the 17th-starting position Tuesday night in the second of two World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series Don Martin Memorial Twin 30s at Lernerville Speedway, then slipped past him and charged to the checkered flag to win the event for the second time in his career.
Shaffer, the 1993 Lernerville champion from Aliquippa, Pa., also took the checkered flag in 2005. He finished second in the first 30-lap segment to 1991 Lernerville champion Dale Blaney, of Hartford, Ohio. The two split $30,000 for winning each segment in front of absolutely packed grandstands.
The 20th anniversary of the Silver Cup included a full 30-lap World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series points race followed by another 30-lap A-main where all of the lead lap cars were inverted. Blaney dominated the first segment before teams went to work making adjustments for the second feature. Three original Outlaws - Danny Smith, Sammy Swindell and Steve Kinser - were running in the top three following a wild start to the finale that included scary four-car crash on the second lap. Smith was pulling away but a series of cautions bunched the field as everybody was gunning for the $15,000 prize with no points at stake.
Tyler Walker, who won the Kings Royal on Saturday, moved into contention by Lap 11 just before being collected in a four-car incident in Turn 1 that took out Swindell, Walker and Danny Lasoski while sending Craig Dollansky to the work area. Kinser then slid past Smith to complete Lap 14 and it began to look like he would collect the third Silver Cup victory of his storied career. But Shaffer never quit, a lesson he learned when he won last year’s Knoxville Nationals. When Kinser shot up the track in Turn 2 with three to go, Shaffer was in position to pounce. He charged in front to the delight of his hometown fans and held off Kinser to win.
“It was like Christmas man,” a smiling Tim Shaffer said. “Steve Kinser rarely ever makes a mistake and you have to take advantage of it when he does. We had a great car all evening long and our car worked very well. It was a very racy surface and our car ran extremely well all night light. This is just awesome.”
Kinser was obviously disappointed but wound up finishing second after coming so close to the 18th victory of his career at Lernerville.
“I just changed my line a little bit after getting back into the lead,” Kinser said. “I was hooking the cushion and just got up a little too much and it took me over. It was just a big mistake on my part.”
Blaney was in control for much of the opening segment. He started from the outside pole and set a torrid pace to take the checkers. With all lead lap cars inverted for the second feature, Blaney started the second feature 18th while NASCAR superstar Kasey Kahne started on the pole. Blaney sustained damage in the early multi-car crash in the second segment and went to the pits.
“We were just racing there in the back of the pack in all of the traffic and that’s just want happens,” Blaney said. “Obviously it would have been cool to win but we ran really well and hope to catch a few more Outlaw shows in the fall.”
Like last year, Shaffer has heated up in the summer. He captured the Knight Before the Kings Royal last Friday at Eldora Speedway then wound up collecting more than $20,000 between the two A-mains at Lernerville. He was also the KSE Hard Charger in the second feature. Blaney wound up finishing 22nd in the second 30-lapper, but still went home with his first series win in 2011 and nearly $16,000 for his efforts.
Next up the Outlaws return to Williams Grove Speedway for the Summer Nationals in Mechanicsburg, Pa., where they’ll battle their bitter rivals, the Pennsylvania Posse, on Friday and Saturday nights before rolling into New York on Sunday to compete at Lebanon Valley Speedway. The inaugural Morgan Cup Challenge will follow the A-main on Friday night at Williams Grove.
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