Bloomington, Ind.—April 16, 2013— While Kraig Kinser is used to being on the road for weeks on end competing with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series, there’s nothing quite like getting back to the shop and being home for a few days. That’s what he’ll enjoy later this week as he returns from a six-week stint on the West Coast for three races this week, including one in his home state of Indiana.
The week begins for Kinser on Tuesday, April 16 at El Paso Speedway Park in Texas, followed by a trip to Paducah International Raceway in Kentucky on Friday, April 19. He then heads to Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Ind., on Saturday, April 20, for the series annual visit to the always racy quarter-mile bullring.
“We are putting in plenty of miles this week for sure, though getting to race three times makes it worth it,” said Kinser. “It’s always nice to have a mid-week show, especially when you’re headed back to the Midwest all the way from California. We’ve been working hard all season and trying some different things, so hopefully all of that pays off as he we start going to some of these tracks we know pretty well.”
Kinser has raced once in his career at El Paso Speedway Park, with that coming last fall in a 360-sprint car event with the American Sprint Car Series (ASCS). He finished third in that 30-lap contest, with a very strong field of nearly 50 cars in attendance at the semi-banked, three-eighths-mile. He opened the night by coming from fourth to win the second eight-lap heat race, which put him in the redraw for the main event.
“Having some laps at El Paso last year in the 360 race certainly helps,” he shared. “We have a pretty good baseline. We kind of know what to expect as the night goes on as to the chances to track. Running against these guys, you have to use any extra bit of knowledge you may have, especially when going to a new track.”
Kinser has made five career starts at Paducah International Raceway with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series. He finished 11th at the high-banked, three-eighths-mile last season. He has one career top-10 finish at the venue with that coming in his second-ever start at Paducah in 2008. Last year he qualified seventh-fastest of the 29 drivers that were on-hand. He then finished third in the first eight-lap heat race, and lined up 12th for the 30-lap main event.
“Paducah can be a pretty racy surface depending on the weather and track conditions,” Kinser shared. “With the banking there you can run up top and really carry a lot of momentum around there. We always seem to qualify pretty good there and getting into the dash will be a key as always, as most of the races this year have been won by someone starting in the first couple of rows.”
The native of Bloomington, Ind., finished eighth at Tri-State Speedway last season and was a career-best fourth at the track in 2011. Kinser has recorded three consecutive top-10 finishes at Haubstadt. He made his first start with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series at Tri-State Speedway in 2004 and has competed at the track a total of seven times with the series since. Last season he timed in ninth at the quarter-mile and followed that up by winning the third 10-lap heat race which put him in the dash where he finished seventh. He lined up on the inside of the fourth row for the 40-lap A-Feature, and wound up coming home eighth.
“Haubstadt is a race we always look forward to,” he noted. “Anytime we get to race close to home is great. There are so many people I grew up racing with from that area and we only get to see them a couple of times each year. It’s great to have family members come out and see us race and see what we do as well.”
Kinser enters this week 10th in the World of Outlaws championship standings on the strength of six top-10 finishes, of which two have been top-five showings, including a fifth-place run last weekend at Kings Speedway in California.
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: El Paso Speedway Park, Paducah International Raceway & Tri-State Speedway
0.25- Miles around Tri-State Speedway
0.375- Distance around El Paso Speedway Park and Paducah International Raceway in miles
1- Top-10 finish at Paducah in his career; Race in Texas and Kentucky, respectively, this season for the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series
3- Races in the state of Indiana this season for the series; Top-five finishes with the series at Tri-State Speedway
4- Finishing position at El Paso Speedway Park last season with the American Sprint Car Series
5- Starts for Kinser in his career at Paducah International Raceway
6- Top-10 finishes this season
7- Career World of Outlaws starts at Tri-State Speedway
8- Finishing position last season at Haubstadt
10- Position in the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series standings
11.4- Average finishing position in seven-career World of Outlaws starts at Tri-State Speedway
13.4- Average finish in five-career appearances at Paducah International Raceway
146- Miles from Paducah International Raceway in Paducah, Ky., where the World of Outlaws race on April 19 to Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Ind.
755- Miles from Perris Auto Speedway in California where the World of Outlaws raced on April 13 to El Paso Speedway Park in Texas
1,270- Miles from El Paso Speedway in Texas where the World of Outlaws raced on April 16 to Paducah International Raceway in Kentucky
1704- Points earned this season through April 13
2001- Year of first World of Outlaws start at Paducah
2004- Year of first World of Outlaws first start at Tri-State Speedway
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- Admin Account on Apr 16, 2013
- Article Date: 4/16/2013 by Kraig Kinser Racing PR