NEW CASTLE, Ind. — Oct. 11, 2013— It all comes down to one race for Tracy Hines as he chases the Honda USAC National Midget Series Pavement Championship title. He enters the season finale tied for the points lead with Darren Hagen, as they head to Columbus Motor Speedway in Ohio this weekend.
The event at Columbus Motor Speedway on Saturday, Oct. 12 for the Honda USAC National Midget Series Pavement Championship will kick-off with hot laps, followed by time trials, heat races and an A-Feature event at the one-third-mile, semi-banked oval. A total of seven pavement races have been contested this season with the champion to be crowned at Columbus.
“It’s been a few years since we’ve raced at Columbus, and we had a great car last time we were there, so hopefully we can have a night like that again,” said Hines. “We have to treat it just like any other race and do the best we can and let the points fall where they may. We always race for wins and the easiest way to win the championship would be to win the race as well.”
Hines has won twice this year with the Honda USAC National Midget Series Pavement Championship in the Parker Machinery/Powered by Toyota Spike. He earned his first victory of the season at Pikes Peak International Raceway in Colorado in June and followed that up with another trip to Victory Lane at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis in July. He has made seven starts with the series and has finished eighth or better in each of those races. In his most recent two starts with the series Hines finished sixth at Illiana Motor Speedway in Indiana and was eighth the following night at Grundy County Speedway in Illinois.
“We were just a little off in the last couple of pavement races and look to make up for that this weekend,” he shared. “It’s been over two months since the last pavement race, so hot laps will definitely be important to get into a rhythm and get the feel for the car. We’ve been in contention in most of the pavement midget races this year and certainly want to wrap that portion of the schedule up on a strong note.”
The veteran driver was victorious in his last midget start at Columbus in 2010 with the Honda USAC National Midget Series. In that event, Hines qualified fifth-fastest among the 20-car field that was assembled. He finished third in the second eight-lap heat race, which put him on the outside of the second row in the fourth start position for the 40-lap main event. He took the lead from Caleb Armstrong on the 38th lap and paced the final three circuits to pick up the win.
Hines was victorious for the first time in USAC competition at Columbus Motor Speedway in 2006 in an Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car Series event. In his career, he has a total of 46 wins on paved tracks across the three USAC National series dating back to 1996.
Last weekend in the DuPont Gold Crown Midget Nationals at Tri-City Speedway in Pontoon Beach, Ill., for the Honda USAC National Midget Series Dirt Championship, Hines finished third on the second night of the three-day event. He finished 17th in the finale and was 19th in the opener after breaking an axle while running among the top-10.
Entering this weekend’s race, Hines is tied for the lead in points with the USAC National Midget Series Pavement Championship. He has two wins and has finished among the top-10 in all seven races contested in 2013.
Tracy Hines Racing would like to thank: Parker Machinery, Powered by Toyota, Hansen’s Welding Inc., 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://www.tracyhinesracing.com. Follow Tracy on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TracyHinesRacin.
- Admin Account on Oct 11, 2013
- Article Date: 10/11/2013