New Castle, Ind.— May 21, 2013— May is all about open wheel racing in the state of Indiana. For those of the short track persuasion like Tracy Hines, that means three of the most historic races in the sport in a four-day stretch. The veteran driver will take to the track in each of these events, beginning with the Tony Hulman Classic, followed by the Hoosier 100, and wrapping up with the 68th edition of the Night Before the 500.
The trio of events will begin for Hines on Wednesday, May 22 aboard the Hansen’s Welding Inc. DRC with the USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car Series at the Terre Haute Action Track for the Tony Hulman Classic. Action will then shift to the Indiana State Fairgrounds on Thursday, May 23 as he pilots the Lightfoot Racing No. 16 for the USAC Traxxas Silver Crown Series Hoosier 100. The weekend will conclude for Hines on Saturday, May 25 at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis with the Night Before the 500 for the USAC National Midget Series in the Parker Machinery/Powered by Toyota Spike.
“Racing three times in each of the three cars this week is definitely a plus,” said Hines. “We haven’t had too many weeks since we were Florida way back in February where we’ve gotten to race multiple times in a week, so we are ready to hit the track three times. It’s always great to race in Indiana and there aren’t too many events in the state that are more historic than the ones this week.”
Last season with the USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car Series, Hines finished 12th in the Tony Hulman Classic at Terre Haute. He made three starts at the legendary half-mile in 2012, earning a pair of top-five finishes. Hines came home third at Terre Haute during Indiana Sprint Week and was fourth in the fall. He has three career USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car series wins at Terre Haute, with the first coming in 1999 and the most recent in 2003.
“We haven’t raced on a half-mile yet this year with the sprint car, so it will be a good test for us,” he noted. “Terre Haute is a unique track and you really have to have your car working well on both ends of the track. With some big tracks coming up during the Eastern Swing, it will be good to gets some laps at Terre Haute.”
Hines finished sixth in 2012 in the Hoosier 100 at the one-mile Indiana State Fairgrounds. The 2000 USAC Traxxas Silver Crown Series champion has finished in the top-10 in each of his last six starts in the Hoosier 100. Hines has three wins with the USAC Traxxas Silver Crown Series on one-mile tracks in his career, with two of those coming at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds and one at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.
“Hopefully the third time is the charm and we can get the Silver Crown season finally underway,” Hines stated. “I’ve had some good runs at the Indy Mile over the years and have won at the two miles in Illinois, so it would be great to add a win at the Indy Mile. Qualifying well and track position will be important as always over there.”
The veteran driver was undefeated last season with the USAC National Midget Series at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis. He used a last lap pass of Kyle Larson to win the Night Before the 500 and followed that up by winning the Rich Vogler Classic in July. Hines has finished among the top-five in four straight midget starts at the 0.686-mile paved oval dating back to 2011. In his career, he has 13 total wins at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, spanning all three USAC National Series.
“It’s going to be pretty tough to match our record from last year at Raceway Park,” he noted. “We had a great set-up there and qualified well and put ourselves in a great position in both midget races last year. We’ll try our best to position ourselves again this year to have success there. That’s definitely a place I’ll always enjoyed racing at.”
Last weekend, Hines finished 12th in the 30-lap Larry Rice Classic at Bloomington Speedway in Indiana with the USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car Series. The 2002 series champion opened the night by stopping the clocks 11th in time trials of the 32 entrants. He finished fifth in the third 10-lap heat race, which was one spot shy of transferring to the main event, and thus put him in the B-main. Hines would finish fourth in the B-main to secure a spot in the A-Feature. The originally scheduled Hall of Fame Classic for the USAC Traxxas Silver Crown Series at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis fell to inclement weather.
Heading into the Tony Hulman Classic, Hines is eighth in points with the USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car Series on the strength of two wins and is sixth in the USAC National Midget Series Pavement Championship standings. Last season, he was ninth in the USAC Traxxas Silver Crown Series standings.
Tracy Hines Racing would like to thank: Hansen’s Welding Inc., Parker Machinery, Powered by Toyota, Motor City Auto Transport, Turbines, Inc., Afco Racing Products, Daum Crop Insurance, Schoenfeld Headers, Allstar Performance, Kenny’s Components, Race Bumpers and Bell Racing.
For more information on Tracy Hines Racing, visit http://cts.vresp.com/c/?ShortTrackRacingPR/6f7bd02ff0/573ed91d45/c8be705930. Follow Tracy on Twitter at http://cts.vresp.com/c/?ShortTrackRacingPR/6f7bd02ff0/573ed91d45/8727838208.
- Admin Account on May 21, 2013
- Article Date: 5/21/2013