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PHOENIX, AZ (October 31) - While the other 62 drivers in the field reached deep into their bag of tricks, it was Stevie Smith who came up with the Halloween treat Friday as the Pennzoil World of Outlaws Series opened the 30th Annual Action Performance Western World Championships at Manzanita Speedway.

Smith, whose black #19 Ingersoll-Rand car was frightfully fast throughout the night, flew past Mark Kinser's #5M orange- trimmed #5M Wirtgen Maxim with 5 1/2 laps remaining to win the Preliminary Feature.

"The Ingersoll-Rand car ran well tonight," Smith said. "My dad (Steve Smith) and Devin (Delugio) did a great job on the race car. It was really fast.

"A lot of it was up to me, and we made the right moves at the right time."

Steve Smith was extremely proud of his son in victory lane.

"I saw him moving around, trying different lines," Steve said. "If you can find something and make up a little ground, you know what to do on the next restart. He made a good move and got next to him (Kinser) and we had him then. Mark was running pretty strong on his own, so we had to look for something. Stevie drove one hell of a race."

The preliminary program was televised live on TNN: The Nashville Network's Motor Madness show.

Smith, the sixth-fastest qualifier, earned the right to start the 30-lap feature outside the second row by finishing fourth in the Vivarin Dash.

Kinser, who won his 15th Vivarin Dash of the season, burst into the lead as the green flag fell, only to have Greg Hodnett stop in turn four when the #11H Selma Shell Maxim lost power.

Mark raced ahead of the field again as the race resumed. Smith took over third place with a high move into turn three around Channellock Fast-Time Award winner Danny Lasoski late in the opening lap.

Defending and eight-time Western World champion Steve Kinser was on the move the next time around, driving his #11 Quaker State Maxim past Sammy Swindell and Lasoski into fourth place.

Smith caught Manzanita's single-lap record holder, Jac Haudenschild, early in lap three, and took the low line into the fourth corner for second place one lap later.

Mark was a half-straightaway ahead of Smith when he entered lapped traffic seven laps into the race. His comfortable advantage disappeared the next time around, however, as Paul McMahan and the #75 Mopar Stealth flipped in the second corner.

Kinser raced away from the field and World of Outlaws points leader Sammy Swindell challenged Steve for fourth place as the green flag replaced the red. Steve, Sammy and Lasoski raced three-abreast through turn one. Steve surged ahead of Sammy in the second corner, only to spin when they collided on the back straightaway. The yellow flag was flying again late in lap nine when Randy "Boo" Tiner crashed into the turn-four retaining wall. "The King of the Outlaws" went to the pits to change his set-up and replace his flat right rear tire during the caution period.

Swindell took the high line around "The Wild Child" in the fourth corner for third place as the race resumed. Dave Blaney and Lasoski exchanged fifth place during laps 11 and 12 before Craig Dollansky flipped the #1W Conn West Maxim one lap later.

Haudenschild and Swindell exchanged third place three times as Smith challenged Kinser for the lead during the race's middle stages. The caution flag was flying again early in the 16th lap when a steering problem forced Joe Gaerte to stop in turn two.

A piece of debris shot through Swindell's face shield within a lap after the race resumed, allowing three cars to pass him. Lasoski and Haudenschild traded third place before Steve Kinser stopped in turn four with a flat left rear tire late in lap 24.

Smith put immense pressure on Mark as the race resumed, and took the lead with a low move in the second corner midway through the 25th lap.

A collision involving Swindell and "The Dude" flattened Lasoski's left rear tire one lap later. Dale Blaney's flat right rear tire, setting up a three-lap dash to the checkered flag.

Smith raced away from the field as Blaney challenged Kinser for the runner-up spot during the final restart. Stevie took the checkered flag with Mark racing through the third corner.

Dave Blaney and Haudenschild claimed the final two automatic starting positions in Saturday's Vivarin Dash by finishing third and fourth. Completing the top 10 in the Preliminary Feature were Swindell, 24th-starting Keith Kauffman, Donny Schatz, Andy Hillenburg, "B" Feature winner Dale Blaney and Steve Kinser.

Johnny Herrera, who lives in nearby Tempe, suffered through an agonizing evening. Travis Whitney took him out of the First Heat Race within seconds after the green flag fell. Johnny lost second place when his flat right rear tire lost air pressure midway through the "B" Feature. He came back to finish fifth - one position away from transferring to the main event - then received the final position in the main event when Fourth Heat Race winner Terry McCarl was unable to take the green flag. He coasted into the pits as the green flag fell in the feature as the #47 Casey's General Stores Maxim lost oil pressure.

First Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Joey Saldana, 2. Kenny Jacobs, 3. Danny Lasoski, 4. Steve Kinser, 5. Randy Hannagan, 6. Jeff Mitrisin, 7. Dennis Moore, Jr., 8. Marty Wilcox, 9. Rickey Hood, 10. Johnny Herrera, 11. Travis Whitney, 12. Kevin Whitworth. (first four qualified for the Preliminary Feature)

Second Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Dave Blaney, 2. Randy Tiner, 3. Sammy Swindell, 4. Stevie Smith, 5. Paul McMahan, 6. Dion Hindi, 7. Lance Blevins, 8. John McDonald, 9. Wayne Williams, 10. Bill Robertson, 11. Rick Ziehl, 12. Larry Neighbors. (first four qualified for the Preliminary Feature)

Third Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Dean Jacobs, 2. Craig Dollansky, 3. Joe Gaerte, 4. Jac Haudenschild, 5. Peter Murphy, 6. Keith Kauffman, 7. Sean Fenn, 8. Jason Lund, 9. Randy Anderson, 10. Victor Hensley, 11. Tyler Walker, 12. Jimmy Carr. (first four qualified for the Preliminary Feature)

Fourth Heat Race (eight laps): 1. Terry McCarl ($150); 2. Donny Schatz, 3. Greg Hodnett, 4. Andy Hillenburg, 5. Mark Kinser, 6. Jeff Shepard, 7. Dale Blaney, 8. Don Droud, Jr., 9. Calvin Landis, 10. Rich Bubak, 11. Pat Bourke, 12. Shawn Sander. (first four qualified for the Preliminary Feature)

Vivarin Dash (five laps): 1. Mark Kinser, 2. Jac Haudenschild, 3. Danny Lasoski, 4. Stevie Smith, 5. Sammy Swindell, 6. Steve Kinser, 7. Kenny Jacobs, 8. Craig Dollansky. (finish determined the first eight starting positions in the Preliminary Feature)

C Feature (eight laps): 1. Jeff Mitrisin, 2. Marty Wilcox, 3. Wayne Williams ($100); 4. John McDonald ($80); 5. Shawn Sander ($60); 6. Jimmy Carter ($50); 7. Keith Watkins ($40); 8. Rich Bubak ($30); 9. Kaylene Verville ($25); 10. Victor Hensley ($25); 11. Steve Martin ($25); 12. Jeff Slinkard ($25). (first two qualified for the "B" Feature)

B Feature (12 laps): 1. Dale Blaney, 2. Lance Blevins, 3. Sean Fenn, 4. Keith Kauffman, 5. Johnny Herrera, 6. Dion Hindi ($125); 7. Rickey Hood ($100); 8. Dennis Moore, Jr. ($75); 9. Calvin Landis ($60); 10. Marty Wilcox ($70); 11. Rick Ziehl ($40); 12. Larry Neighbors ($40); 13. Jason Lund ($40); 14. Jeff Mitrisin ($60); 15. Don Droud, Jr. ($60); 16. Bill Robertson ($40); 17. Jeff Shepard ($60); 18. Jimmy Carr ($40). (first four qualified for the Preliminary Feature)

Preliminary Feature (30 laps): 1. Stevie Smith ($4,500); 2. Mark Kinser ($2,500); 3. Dave Blaney ($1,700); 4. Jac Haudenschild ($1,500); 5. Sammy Swindell ($1,350); 6. Keith Kauffman ($1,270); 7. Donny Schatz ($1,200); 8. Andy Hillenburg ($1,100); 9. Dale Blaney ($1,095); 10. Steve Kinser ($1,050); 11. Sean Fenn ($1,020); 12. Randy Hannagan ($800); 13. Danny Lasoski ($700); 14. Dean Jacobs ($630); 15. Joe Gaerte ($400); 16. Greg Hodnett ($400); 17. Joey Saldana ($300); 18. Craig Dollansky ($300); 19. Randy Tiner ($300); 20. Lance Blevins ($320); 21. Paul McMahan ($300); 22. Kenny Jacobs ($300); 23. Peter Murphy ($300); 24. Johnny Herrera ($320). DNS - Terry McCarl; replaced by Johnny Herrera

Lap leaders: Mark Kinser 1-24, Stevie Smith 25-30

Channellock Fast-Time Award winner: Danny Lasoski

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