September 19, 1992

KINSELLA PASSES HORTON AND PAUCH FOR 7TH ANNUAL VICTORIA 200 WIN
By KEVIN KOVAC, Reprinted by permission of Area Auto Racing News

FULTON, NY..Tommy Kinsella's dream of winning the Victoria 200 came true Saturday night at Fulton Speedway. But did reality equal his fantasy? Kinsella, 26, of Fayetteville, N.Y., didn't think so.

"How could I have dreamed up winning the way I did?" asked Kinsella. "I always knew I could win (the 200), but not really the way I ended up doing it."

The circumstances surrounding Kinsella's biggest victory ever were almost too good to be true. To wit;

*He has driven small block modifieds for only three years, and his best previous finish in Fulton's premier event was 22nd one year ago.

*He started in the 23rd position Saturday night and was not a serious factor during the race's first half.

*He passed five-time Victoria 200 winner Billy Pauch, who led laps 13-161, in the late stages and then pulled away from the Frenchtown, N.J., star with alacrity.

*He was passed for the lead by Lebanon, N.J., modified star Jimmy Horton twice in the final 40 laps, but he fought back each time and ultimately beat Norton to the checkered flag by six seconds.

*He became the first Fulton Speedway regular to win the Victoria 200. Only outsiders Pauch and Frank Cozze had previously captured the race.

*And last but certainly not least, Kinsella helped find a new, faster lane around the half-mile Fulton layout by dipping so low through the turns that his car was actually in the infield.

Even after the show was over, Kinsella was still unable to put everything into perspective.

"I guess this is a milestone in my career," said Kinsella, who took the lead for the second and final time on lap 182. "But it's all just happened so fast. I had to take three cool-down laps (after winning) to let it all sink in and get ready for victory lane."

Kinsella, who won for the fourth time this season at Fulton, led a trio of established superstars across the finish line. Horton, Pauch and Pete Bicknell of St. Catharines, Ont., filled positions 2-4.

Dale Planck of Cortland, N.Y., who races regularly at Fulton, and Kenny Brightbill of Sinking Spring Pa., were the final cars on Kinsella's lap at the end. They finished fifth and sixth, respectively.

Pacing the big boys to the checkered flag made Kinsella's night. "Whenever you can beat guys like Billy (Pauch) and Jimmy (Horton), you know that you've accomplished something," he said. "They're the best. This was one of the best races I've ever been in," said Kinsella. "I think the fans must have enjoyed it."

The 200, which was red flagged for 20 minutes at lap 100 to allow the racers to make adjustments, featured six lead changes among five drivers. Its outcome was in doubt until the finish.

Billy Whittaker of Central Square, N.Y., who started second, led the opening three laps. But he was never a contender after Jim Mahaney passed him for the top spot on lap four.

The story of the first 100 laps-and for most of the second half-was Billy Pauch. The Victoria 200 king started third and appeared in first place on lap 13.

Pauch was never seriously challenged en route to winning the Pabst Halfway Challenge prize of $3,500. He appeared to be headed to a sixth 200 crown when he took his Tabloid Graphics Olsen No. 15 to the pit area for lap 100 changes.

"The car was working real good on the outside," said Pauch, who drove his Penn National small block with a DIRT body and 339 cubic inch engine. "I just couldn't put any distance on anybody because there were so many cautions."

In all, the first half was slowed by 12 cautions for 50 laps/ There were no serious accidents, but rather many small spins and jingles.
The largest incident occurred on lap 90. J.J. Michaels of Baldwinsville, N.Y., who was a top five runner for the entire first half, spun into the turn one wall after contact with another car. Horton and Richie Tobias were also involved in the incident.

Tobias, who was added to the field by a press vote after suffering mechanical problems in his heat and consolation events, saw his superlative effort end in the crash. He had moved from 41st to second place in 60 laps.

Tobias was knocked out of contention due to a broken suspension. He was unable to get his car up to speed when the green flag came out on lap 95.

At the completion of 100 laps, Pauch led Bicknell, Duane Howard, Gordy Button and Mahaney. Kinsella, John barker, Chuck Akulis, Donnie Wetmore and Planck followed.

Horton was on the verge of dropping out of the race when the red flag was thrown. His car suffered several broken rear-end components when he clipped Michaels on lap 90.

"We had to really hustle to get the car ready for the second half," said Horton, whose crew installed a new panhard par for the deciding 100 laps.

Pauch, who rang up $6,823 in lap money during the first 100 laps, resumed his lead when the race returned to green flag conditions. But he suddenly had the resurgent Horton and Kinsella breathing down his neck 50 laps from the end.

The reason Horton and Kinsella caught Pauch was evident to the 11,000 spectators that packed Fulton's grandstand; they found a new groove.

Around lap 150, Horton and Kinsella began to race on the inner lip of the track's banked turns. All four of their cars' wheels were in the infield exiting turns two and four.

Kinsella said that no one runs such a line regularly at Fulton. But it just happened to open up Saturday because the inside dirt was soft. "Usually you'll tear up your car if you go into the infield," said Kinsella. "But tonight you could just get a good bite down there, I just slipped off the track one time, and I found that it was fast."

Horton and Kinsella swapped the runner-up position behind Pauch several time between laps 153 and 160. "I was wondering how low we could go (on the track)," Kinsella said of the battle. "Every lap, one of us would get lower."

Horton was the first to catch and pass Pauch using the new extreme inside groove. He moved ahead of the rim-rider on lap 162 and brought Kinsella with him.

Pauch was never in the running again. He steadily lost ground in the ensuing laps while attempting to make the low groove work.
"I wasn't set up to run off the racetrack," said Pauch who fell as low as fifth before rebounding to finish third. "I tried to run like everyone else was, but I had too much gear to come off the corners. I was set up to run the outside."

Pauch said he was shocked when Horton and Kinsella blew by him on the inside. "I thought we were set to win," he said. "I figured we had the outside, so nobody would get us. Then everybody started running off the track."

Pauch was consoled by the fact that he scored a $12,673 payday for finishing third. But he wanted to win. "We made some money, but we didn't win," said Pauch, who did not take his third place trophy from the winner's podium. "And that's what we race for."

The race boiled down to a two car battle between Horton and Kinsella. And the home track boy came out on top.

Kinsella led for the first time on lap 164. He lost the point to Horton in lapped traffic on lap 181, but he regained it one circuit later.
And that was that. Horton never challenged the Tracey Road Equipment Olsen No. 3 again.

But don't think for a minute that Kinsella wasn't worried as the laps clicked off. He admitted that he was just waiting for some sort of late race heroics from Horton or Pauch.

"Those guys are so good that I figured, somehow, they'll find a way to win," said Kinsella. "I wondered when they'd make a move, but they never did."

Horton, who earned $10,000 for second place, was impressed by Kinsella. Even though he conceded that he'd never really heard of him before.

"He ran a helluva race," said Horton. "I just couldn't keep up at the end. My helmet shield kept fogging' up at the end, but I don't think that slowed me down so much that couldn't get him."

7th Annual Victoria 200 September 19, 1992
1. Tom Kinsella
2. Jimmy Horton
3. Billy Pauch
4. Pete Bicknell
5. Dale Planck
6. Kenny Brightbill
7. Chuck Akulis
8. Jim Mahaney
9. John Barker
10. Doug Fuller
11. Gordy Button
12. Tom Juhl
13. Butch Tittle
14. Jeff Rudalavage
15. Randy Glenski
16. Mike VanDusen
17. John Ramsey
18. Tom Sears
19. Donnie Wetmore
20. Jeff Walton
21. Ronnie Tobias
22. Deek Decker
23. Duane Howard
24. Billy Whittaker
25. Roger Phelps
26. Dave Donath
27. John Podolak
28. Larry Bezner
29. Richie Tobias
30. J.J. Michaels
31. Lou Michaels
32. Paul Jensen
33. Bucky Kell
34. Wade Hendrickson
35. Billy VanPelt
36. John Leach
37. Bob Holland
38. Jeremie Corcoran
39. C.D. Coville
40. Bob Podolak
41. Ron House