Bloomington, Ind.—Feb. 18, 2013— Entering the season-opening World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series event at Volusia Speedway Park in Florida, Kraig Kinser wanted to at least equal his performance from last year at the half-mile. He did more than that, as he exceeded his results from 2012, by finishing third, ninth and 11th in the three races for the series during the 42nd Annual UNOH DIRTcar National Presented by Summit Racing Equipment. Kinser heads back north fourth in the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series championship standings.
“All in all, things went pretty well at Volusia,” said Kinser. “We were fast all week, especially in time trials and put ourselves in a good position on a couple of those nights. We learned a lot about the new tires and got up to speed fairly quick on those. You always want to finish a few spots higher, but with the caliber of cars that were at Volusia, to finish as well as we did, I can’t complain.”
Kinser opened the 42nd Annual UNOH DIRTcar National Presented by Summit Racing Equipment with a ninth-place showing on Friday, Feb. 15 in the Casey’s General Store/Mesilla Valley Transportation Maxim. He timed in third-fastest to earn three bonus points in the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series championship standings. He finished third in the third eight-lap heat race to earn a spot in the dash where he finished third. Kinser ran among the top-10 for the duration of the 30-lap main event, which was slowed by four cautions and a red flag period, crossing the line ninth to earn his first top-10 finish of the season.
“We just of kind of missed the set-up in the feature,” he shared. “We still finished in the top-10, but where we were starting we probably should have finished in the top-five or even on the podium. You’ll have those nights and you have to learn from them and move on and we still had a strong showing and ran with some good cars.”
On the second night of the event, Kinser earned a season-best third-place finish as he continued his strong start to the 2013 campaign. The third-generation driver lined up fourth for the main event and ran as high as second over the course of the 30-lap contest, which had just one yellow flag. The native of Bloomington, Ind., opened the night by turning the 10th-fastest lap in time trials. He finished second in the second eight-lap heat race to earn a spot in the dash where he came home fourth.
“It was a great run and a confidence booster for sure,” said Kinser on Saturday night. “We’ve been good since we unloaded for practice earlier in the week. We put ourselves in a nice position by getting into the dash and had a really good set-up for the feature. This gives us some good momentum going into Sunday night, as we know we have a good big track program right now.”
The 2005 winner of the Knoxville Nationals wrapped up the UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit Racing Equipment with an 11th-place showing on Sunday, Feb. 17 in a race that was slowed three times in the final three laps for cautions and once for a red flag. Kinser recorded the fifth-fastest lap in time trials of the 36 entrants at the half-mile. He finished fourth in the first heat race to transfer to the 30-lap main event, where he lined up 13th.
“We rolled the car on the trailer in one piece and with everything that was going on the last few laps in that race, that was an accomplishment in itself,” he said. “We started in the middle of the pack and the track was so fast that it was tough to do a lot of passing, so you had to kind of pick and choose your spots wisely. We learned a few things that should come in handy later in the year on the bigger tracks.”
Kinser was scheduled to compete in both of the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions events at Volusia on Wednesday, Feb. 13 and Thursday, Feb. 14, but that pair of races fell to rain and was not rescheduled.
Kinser, who is currently fourth in the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series standings, on the strength of two top-10 finishes, returns to action on Wednesday, March 6 and Thursday, March 7 at The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, followed by a trip to Tucson International Speedway in Arizona on Saturday, March 9, as the series begins its early-season West Coast swing.
“We have a couple of weeks to prepare for the West Coast trip and we’ll make the most of the time in the shop,” Kinser shared. “We have a good foundation to build on and some momentum as we head west. To leave Florida in the top-five in points is great and we showed that we are fast and we know what we are capable of. I can’t wait to get to Las Vegas in two weeks.”
Kraig Kinser Racing would like to thank Casey’s General Stores, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Maxim, Aerodine Composites, Sander Engineering, Integra Shocks, All Star Performance, FK Rod Ends, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Bell, KSE Racing Products, ButlerBuilt, Schoenfeld Headers, Donovan Engineering, Fel-Pro, Brodix, Wilwood, Dyer’s, Barnes Systems, Ringer Gloves, Jakes Custom Golf Carts, and Ben Cook Racing Limited for their continued support.
Kraig Kinser By the Numbers: Volusia Speedway Park:
0.5- Miles around Volusia Speedway Park
1- Top-Five finish at the half-mile
2- Top-10 finishes at Volusia; Appearances in the dash in 2013
3- A-Feature events contested by the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series during the UNOH DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit Racing Equipment
4- Current position in the series championship standings
5- Top-Five finishes at Volusia Speedway Park with the World of Outlaws dating back to 2005
6- Average qualifying position in 2013 with the World of Outlaws
6.7- Average starting position in main events this season
7- Different seasons competing in an A-Feature at Volusia with the World of Outlaws
7.7- Average finishing position in A-Feature events thus far in 2013
10- Career top-five finishes with the World of Outlaws at Volusia Speedway Park
10.7- Average finish in 19 career main events starts with the series at the half-mile
13.057- Lap in time trials on Friday night
13.283- Laps in time trials on Sunday night
13.319- Laps in time trials on Saturday night
19- Career main event starts with the World of Outlaws at Volusia Speedway Park
408- Points earned in the first three races of the season
6,750- Dollars earned in the first three World of Outlaws event of 2013
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- Admin Account on Feb 19, 2013
- Article Date: 2/18/2013 by Kraig Kinser Racing PR