The 10th and final World of Outlaws race at Rocky Mountain National Speedway is Tuesday night, about a month before the Commerce City dirt track closes its doors for good.
Points leader Steve Kinser won the inaugural Outlaws race at RMNS in 1983 and also won in 1991, 1993 and 1994. No other Outlaws driver has posted more than one win at the three-eighths mile track.
Craig Dollansky won last year in Colorado and Donny Schatz in 2003. RMNS, which has succumbed to urban development, went without an Outlaws race from 1996-2002.
Kinser, 51, held off Dollansky on Saturday night to win the 52nd Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif. Kinser, who has a whopping 472-point lead over second-place Jason Meyers, is close to clinching his 20th championship in the world’s top dirt series. Ten of 63 races remain.
“This is probably the largest point amount I’ve ever won one by, but it’s still been a competitive year,” said Kinser, who has won 17 features this season. “We’ve run a little better than the rest of the field, but the rest of the field has been really, really close. We’ve been finishing in the top five about every race and that’s allowed us to get away from them. Then we had a streak where we won quite a few races. Night in and night out, it’s as competitive as it’s ever been.”
Parker services
Services for Clint Parker, marketing and event coordinator at Bandimere Speedway, are at 10 a.m. Tuesday at the Morrison drag strip. Parker, 24, died Thursday from burns sustained in a Aug. 15 fire in the basement of the speedway’s offices.
“Clint was selfless, silly, positive, responsible, respectful, passionate, gentle, competitive and balanced,” said Bandimere spokesman Jeff Sipes, who suffered minor injuries in the fire. “We are all much better people for having known him.”
Parker, a formidable racer, graduated from Dakota Ridge High School and the University of Northern Colorado. He was an all-state football player in high school and he majored in business marketing and computer information at UNC.
He is survived by his parents, Dennis and Debbie Parker of Lakewood, and brother Cody, who is attending Colorado State and coaching football at Poudre High School.
Kim Giffen was Parker’s live-in girlfriend. The couple had been dating for nine years.
Mike Chambers can be reached at 303-820-5453 or mchambers@denverpost.com.
