Bloomington, Ind.—March 10, 2013— Every night of racing with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series is a learning experience, no matter how many years a driver has been on the road. With a new tire this year, Kraig Kinser and his team are taking in everything they can as work to find the right balance and combination on the race car. They learned quite a bit during the opening three races of the West Coast swing and capped off the first week of that trip with a ninth-place finish at Tucson International Raceway in Arizona in the Wildcat Shootout Presented by NAPA Auto Parts.
Kinser lined up 14th for the 30-lap main event at Tucson on Saturday, March 9 aboard the Casey’s General Store/Mesilla Valley Transportation Maxim and steadily worked his way forward, moving into the top-10 by the 10th circuit. The race was slowed by three cautions, including one on the initial start that led to a complete restart. An open red flag period gave teams a chance to work on their machines as well during the A-Feature. The ninth-place finish was Kinser’s third top-10 showing of the season and moved him up to seventh in the series standings.
“The track was very fast on Saturday night and you really had to pick and choose your spots to make passes,” said Kinser. “We made some good changes to the car over the course of the night and were pretty good in the feature. We didn’t quite start the West Coast swing how we were hoping at Las Vegas, but we’ll keep working hard and moving forward and have plenty of races left.”
Kinser kicked off the two-night event at Las Vegas on Wednesday, March 6 with an 18th-place finish, after being involved in a couple of cautions. He was caught up by a spinning car on the ninth lap and then had a flat tire on lap-18 that forced him to the work area. Kinser opened the night by turning the seventh-fastest lap in time trials of the 40 drivers in attendance. He finished third in the third eight-lap heat race to earn a spot in the 30-lap A-Feature.
In the finale at Las Vegas on Thursday, March 7, the native of Bloomington, Ind., finished 19th after suffering a broken U-joint early in the night. He timed in 23rd-fastest and was slated to line up sixth in the second eight-lap heat race, but was unable to start that event, which put him in the B-main. Kinser started fifth in the B-main and finished fourth to earn a spot in the 30-lap main event.
“We battled both nights in Las Vegas and that’s all you can do on nights like that when you have a bunch of bad luck,” Kinser shared. “Racing 90 times a year, you are bound to have a few nights like that here and there and you just have to make the most out of it, salvage what finish you can and move on. You can’t dwell on nights like that.”
After the first six races of the 2013 season, Kinser is seventh in the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series standings, just 28 markers out of the top-five. He has three top-10 finishes, including a season-best third-place finish on the second night of the season at Volusia Speedway Park in Florida. Kinser returns to action next weekend at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif., for a two-night event as the World of Outlaws continue their early season West Coast swing.
“We have a few days now to get ready for Tulare and will keep tweaking and fine-tuning the car,” Kinser noted. “I’ve always enjoyed racing at Tulare and there are some great fans out there. Hopefully Mother Nature continues to cooperate and we can get all the races in. When you are just racing on the weekends, once or twice a week, you have to be on the track to stay in a rhythm.”
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: Las Vegas & Tucson
0.375- Miles around Tucson International Raceway
0.5- Miles around The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
1- Career starts with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series at Tucson
3- Top-10 finishes this season
7- Current position in the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series standings
11.5- Average finish this season in six main event starts
11.7- Average starting position in A-Features this season
11.9- Average finish in 14 career starts at Las Vegas
12.546- Lap in time trials at Tucson International Raceway
14- Career main event starts at Las Vegas
14.946- Lap in time trials on Thursday night at Las Vegas
14.973- Lap in time trials on Wednesday night at Las Vegas
399- Miles from The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway where the World of Outlaws raced on March 6–7 to Tucson International Speedway in Arizona
766- Points earned this season through the first six races
10,275- Dollars earned through March 9
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- Admin Account on Mar 10, 2013
- Article Date: 3/10/2013 by Kraig Kinser Racing PR