HISTORY
The World of Outlaws is the premier winged sprint car series in the world, featuring the world class drivers. Beginning in 1978, the World of Outlaws tour invades racetracks and thrills fans in 23 different states while sanctioning events at some of the most famous dirt racing facilities in the world. In addition, the Outlaws will be racing for nearly $6 million in purses and other prize money between the season opener at Volusia Speedway Park and the finale at the inaugural Outlaws World Finals at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway..
The series is rich in history and tradition. Scroll along to read about the World of Outlaws through the years, followed by listings of the series' champions and top rookies as well as year-by-year standings and a career victory list entering the 2007 season.
1978: At a time when sprint car racing in the United States lacked a true national series, Ted Johnson, a former midget racer from Madison, Wis., organizes the World of Outlaws sanctioning body. He establishes a schedule, a set of rules and a points system to crown a champion of his series. ... The inaugural season features 41 events as well as drivers such as Steve Kinser, Rick Ferkel, Bobby Allen, Doug Wolfgang and Jack Hewitt. ... Jimmy Boyd, in a non-wing car, wins the series’ inaugural event March 18 at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Mesquite, Texas, for his only victory in series history. ... Steve Kinser, the son of future Hall-of-Famer Bob Kinser, races to his first Outlaws “A” Feature victory by taking the checkered flag May 21 at Eldora Speedway. Kinser goes on to win 11 events and wrap up the first championship of what will become a legendary career. ... Another legend in the making, Sammy Swindell, wins the first two “A” Features of his Outlaws career. ... Doug Wolfgang wins the Knoxville Nationals at historic Knoxville Raceway.
1979: Steve Kinser wins 23 “A” Features to wrap up his second consecutive series title as the Outlaws add tracks across the country to the schedule. ... Sammy Swindell earns 11 victories as a runner-up to Kinser, including the Outlaws’ first sanctioned event at Knoxville Raceway other than the Knoxville Nationals.
1980: Steve Kinser rolls to 28 “A” Feature victories to hold off 10-time winner Doug Wolfgang for his third consecutive championship. ... Kinser also captures his first of what will be a record 12 Knoxville Nationals titles.
1981: Sammy Swindell breaks Steve Kinser’s grip on the Outlaws’ crown as he wins a series-high 28 races and fends off Doug Wolfgang and Kinser to capture his first championship. ... Including non-sanctioned events, Swindell takes the checkered flag in 41 features.
1982: Thanks to a series-high 14 victories, Sammy Swindell tops Steve Kinser by 274 points to earn his second championship in a row. ... Only 18 years old, Bobby Davis Jr., the 1980 Rookie of the Year, becomes the youngest driver to win an Outlaws “A” Feature when he takes the checkered flag at Devil’s Bowl Speedway. ... Brad Doty garners top rookie honors.
1983: As wings atop the cars become more prominent in sprint car racing, Steve Kinser finds his way back to the top of the series podium, with 18 victories to hold off Doug Wolfgang and Sammy Swindell, who captures what will be the only Knoxville Nationals title in his storied career.
1984: Series president Ted Johnson declares the Outlaws will compete only in winged sprint races. ... With 19 victories, Steve Kinser holds off Sammy Swindell by 101 points for his fifth series championship.
1985: Doug Wolfgang wins the Knoxville Nationals, the Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway and the Williams Grove National Open. ... Thanks to 15 victories, Steve Kinser claims his sixth series title by outdistancing Bobby Davis Jr. and Ron Shuman. ... Mark Kinser captures the first victory of his career March 24 at Lanier Speedway.
1986: Mirroring the 1985 results, Steve Kinser wraps up his seventh title while Bobby Davis Jr. and Ron Shuman finish second and third again. ... Kinser led the series with 18 “A” Feature victories.
1987: In winning his eighth series championship, Steve Kinser has the most remarkable season in Outlaws history with 46 “A” Feature victories, including wins in 24 of the final 26 races. ... Kinser also posts his fifth Knoxville Nationals title, his sixth Gold Cup Race Of Champions crown and set the short-track record with 56 overall feature victories. ... Jac Haudenschild wins his first $50,000 Kings Royal.
1988: Steve Kinser and Sammy Swindell battle it out for the championship, with Kinser coming out on top for the ninth time. ... Kinser posts 27 victories as he holds off Swindell, Bobby Davis Jr., Dave Blaney, Mark Kinser and Andy Hillenburg, who is honored as the series’ top rookie. ... Brad Doty, a rising star and crowd favorite, is left paralyzed from injuries sustained in a crash during the Kings Royal at Eldora. Doty returns years later as a television commentator and drives a specially outfitted sprint car at Eldora.
1989: With 13 wins, including the $50,000 Kings Royal, Bobby Davis Jr. wins his only Outlaws points championship. ... Danny Lasoski earns his first Outlaws victory. ... The series adds the 1/3-Mile Nationals at Eagle Raceway to the schedule, an event created in 1968 but cancelled in 1975.
1990: After racing outside of the Outlaws for much of the 1989 season, Steve Kinser returns to win 27 events and claim his 10th series championship by holding off Doug Wolfgang, Joe Gaerte, Bobby Davis Jr., and Stevie Smith, who is the series’ top rookie.
1991: The King of the Outlaws, Steve Kinser rolls to 36 “A” Feature victories to win his 11th championship. Among his wins are the Knoxville Nationals title and the Kings Royal crown. ... Sammy Swindell’s unique season included a victory in the $65,000 Fram Dash Championship and two wins on Oct. 12, one each at New York State Fair Speedway and Rolling Wheels Raceway. He remains the only driver to win “A” Features at different tracks on the same day.
1992: Steve Kinser takes the checkered flag 31 times, the last time he will win more than 30 Outlaws “A” Features in a single season. ... Kinser also earns his 12th series title.
1993: Dave Blaney begins to push Steve Kinser, but thanks to Kinser’s 19 victories he is able to clinch his 13th series title by 107 points.
1994: Steve Kinser and Dave Blaney once again run an epic battle for the title, with Kinser winning 29 “A” Features and coming out on top for a 14th championship. ... In September, Kinser, who in April had won an IROC event at Talladega Superspeedway, announces he will spend the 1995 season racing in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series in a car owned by NHRA legend Kenny Bernstein. ... Steve Kinser’s departure at the end of the season leads car owner Karl Kinser to begin working with Karl’s son, Mark Kinser.
1995: Dave Blaney wins 12 events and wraps up his first Outlaws championship. ... Danny Lasoski races his first complete season on the Outlaws circuit. ... Steve Kinser returns to the series after his venture into Winston Cup ends in April. Kinser, now an owner-driver, wins a series-high 18 events but finishes ninth in points. ... Cable television network TNN, or The Nashville Network, announces at the season-ending banquet it will broadcast six events in 1996, including three live telecasts.
1996: TNN and the Outlaws reach a deal to market and promote the series, including the addition of Brad Doty to live broadcasts. ... CBS Sports televises a June race from Eldora Speedway, where Steve Kinser held off his cousin, Mark Kinser, to win. ... A major boost in sponsorship leads to a points fund worth more than $324,000. ... The series competes for the first time at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Speedway, with Mark Kinser taking the checkered flag. ... With 27 victories, Mark Kinser wins his first series championship, holding off a virtual all-star field of Dave Blaney, Sammy Swindell, Steve Kinser, Jeff Swindell and Andy Hillenburg.
1997: Pennzoil announces a three-year agreement to become the Outlaws’ title sponsor. ... The points fund is increased to more than $500,000. ... TNN schedules 10 races to be telecast. ... Celebrating his 25th year of racing, Sammy Swindell drives a silver car to 19 victories and claims the championship for the first time since he won back-to-back titles 1981-82. ... Steve Kinser qualifies for the Indianapolis 500, nearly finishing in the top 10 if not for a late-race accident. ... Dave Blaney captures the Historic Big One and the Knoxville Nationals, netting more than $200,000 in the process.
1998: The series celebrates its 20th anniversary season. ... Former champion Dave Blaney moves into the NASCAR Busch Series while his brother, Dale, steps into the Outlaws and wins top rookie honors. ... Steve Kinser wins only six “A” Features, fifth-best in the series, but still comes out on top to earn his 15th championship by only 93 points over Mark Kinser. ... Stevie Smith wins a series-high 13 races. ... In a specially outfitted car, Brad Doty paces the field for the Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway 10 years after sustaining career-ending injuries at the high-speed Ohio track. ... Danny Lasoski passes Sammy Swindell on the final lap to win his first of four Knoxville Nationals championships.
1999: Pennzoil extends its title sponsorship of the series to 2002 at a cost of $4 million, lifting the points to $1 million by 2000. ... Mark Kinser rolls to 19 victories and his second series championship, holding off Danny Lasoski by a mere 71 points. ... TNN schedules 12 lives telecasts and 13 tape-delayed races. ... The success of the World of Outlaws helps to convince Lowe’s Motor Speedway president Humpy Wheeler to build a 15,000-seat dirt track adjacent to the facility’s 1.5-mile high-speed tri-oval. ... The series announces the creation of a Support Series (later known as the Gumout Series). ... Rising star Kevin Gobrecht is sustains fatal injuries in a crash at I-80 Speedway. The series subsequently announces the top rookie honor will become known as the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award.
2000: The Gumout Series debuts at Lernerville Speedway. ... The series and Speedway Motorsports reach a deal to run Outlaws races at Las Vegas, Texas, Lowe’s and Bristol. The Channellock Challenge at Bristol requires the most work as the normal concrete racing surface is covered with more than 1,000 truck-loads of dirt. Sammy Swindell wins the event. ... Craig Dollansky captures the inaugural Gumout Series championship. ... Steve Kinser wins 10 times in 61 “A” Features to hold off Sammy Swindell, Mark Kinser and Danny Lasoski to claim his 16th series championship.
2001: Former open wheel star and Indy Racing League champion Tony Stewart fields a team and hires Danny Lasoski as driver. ... Despite only four “A” Feature wins, Lasoski goes on to edge Mark Kinser by 30 points in the closest championship race in series history. Although Kinser wins 16 main events, Lasoski outperforms him in preliminary round races, providing just enough points for the overall title. ... Daryn Pittman holds off Jason Sides to win the Gumout Series championship. ... Lasoski wins his second Knoxville Nationals crown.
2002: Speed Channel takes over Outlaws television coverage with 12 telecasts. ... The Sprint Car Network reaches a deal to broadcast Outlaws races through radio and the Internet. ... Danny Lasoski joins Steve Kinser to compete in the IROC series. ... Western Pennsylvania star Ed Lynch Jr. gets the best of the Outlaws for the first time in his career when he wins the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup in front of a standing-room-only crowd at Lernerville Speedway. ... Danny Lasoski sustains a concussion after crashing during a hot laps session July 26 at Williams Grove Speedway. He returns two weeks later to race in the Knoxville Nationals. ... Tyler Walker wins the Gumout Series title. ... Steve Kinser uses 20 “A” Feature wins and another five in preliminaries to capture his 17th
series championship.
2003: Boundless Motor Sports Racing, Inc., enters into an agreement to purchase the World of Outlaws. ... Craig Dollansky sustains a fracture in his lower back during a crash in an IRL Infiniti Pro Series race May 17 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. ... Danny Lasoski wins his third Knoxville Nationals title. ... Steve Kinser’s 25 victories and 60 top 10s are more than enough to help him win his 18th championship over Danny Lasoski and Joey Saldana.
2004: The Outdoor Channel signs a deal to televise 35 races. ... Boundless Motor Sports Racing, Inc., now known as DIRT MotorSports, under the leadership of Paul A. Kruger, Boundless Chairman and CEO, in August completes the acquisition of the World of Outlaws, Inc. The organization signs agreements with 15 drivers to compete at each event, naming the group the Mean 15. ... Fourteen drivers travel to Australia to compete in “Outlaws Down Under” to kick off the season in January. Steve Kinser wins the “A” Feature. ... Steve Kinser wins the 500th “A” Feature of his career March 27 at Houston Raceway Park. ... Kraig Kinser, Steve’s son, wins his first career Outlaws race Aug. 31 when he takes the checkered flag at Cottage Grove Speedway — with his father finishing second. ... Danny Lasoski rolls to his fourth Knoxville Nationals title. ... Erin Crocker becomes the first woman to win an Outlaws preliminary feature when she takes the checkered flag at Thunderbowl Speedway in Tulare, Calif. ... With 17 “A” Feature victories, 56 top-10s and 11 poles, Steve Kinser claims his 19th championship by 246 points over Danny Lasoski.
2005: DIRT MotorSports continues to build the World of Outlaws Sprint Series with a traditional schedule featuring more than 90 events at all of the major dirt track facilities in the United States. ... Steve Kinser earns 20 A-feature victories to go with six preliminary wins as he captures his 20th World of Outlaws championship. ... Donny Schatz storms down the stretch run of the season for five victories, giving him nine wins for the season. ... Terry McCarl and Brooke Tatnell finish in the top 10 in the championship standings for the first time in their careers while Craig Dollansky matches a career-best third-place finish. ... Daryn Pittman wins at 81 Speedway, making Titan Racing USA owner Reeve Kruck the first Australian car owner to win a World of Outlaws feature event. ... 2004 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Kraig Kinser wins the Knoxville Nationals. ... Shane Stewart hangs on to capture the 2005 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award honors. ... The Outdoor Channel makes World of Outlaws events available to more than 74 million households with it’s weekly primetime coverage. ... DIRTVision.com, with more than four million page hits per month and 20,000 registered members, and the DIRT Radio Network broadcast live World of Outlaws events to listeners all over the world. ... The World of Outlaws Sprint Series Web site housed at www.dirtmotorsports.com attracts more than 25 million page hits per month.
2006: Donny Schatz had the best year of his career as several drivers competed on the World of Outlaws tour for the first time in their careers. Schatz won not only his first World of Outlaws championship in 2006, but also claimed his first Knoxville Nationals title and 17 World of Outlaws A-feature events. ... Chad Kemenah, a four-time champion with the All Star Circuit of Champions, captured top rookie honors. ... World of Outlaws drivers swept the Month of Money events, with Joey Saldana winning the Kings Royal at Eldora, Schatz earning victories in the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup at Lernerville and the Knoxville Nationals at Knoxville Raceway, and Daryn Pittman winning the Summer Nationals at Williams Grove and the Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway. ... The World of Outlaws announced new broadcast partners for 2007, with the eight-race "Summer of Money" set to air on ESPN2 and an additional 12 events on SPEED.
