NEW CASTLE, Ind.—April 13, 2014—Tracy Hines knew the field for the inaugural Kokomo Grand Prix at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway would be one of the largest and strongest that the Honda USAC National Midget Series and Lucas Oil POWRi National Midget Series would face all season and he was certainly on his game to match the added competition. The veteran driver earned a pair of top-five finishes at the quarter-mile in his home state of Indiana, coming home fourth in the finale at Kokomo, while he was fifth in the opener.
Hines started fourth in the 40-lap main event on the second night, April 12, and finished in that same position aboard the Parker Machinery/Powered by Toyota Spike. The race was slowed by six yellow flags and one red flag period. Hines ran as high as third at a couple different junctures of the race, before crossing the line fourth to earn his second straight top-five finish to open the Honda USAC National Midget Series Dirt Championship.
“All in all, it was a good weekend for us,” said Hines. “We were a little off on Saturday night, but were able to run among the top-five. The track was fast and heavy during the heats, so to come from sixth to third to earn the transfer was an accomplishment in itself. For the first pair of outdoor midget races on the dirt this year, we were pretty close and know a few things now to work on for the next race.”
The native of New Castle, Ind., stopped the clocks fourth-fastest of the 45 drivers that took qualifying laps on Saturday night. He charged from the outside of the third row to finish third in the fourth heat race, punching his ticket to the 40-lap main event.
In the opener on Friday, April 11, Hines took to the grid 11th for the A-Feature. He fell back a couple spots in the early going, which saw two caution flags in the first three laps. By lap-10, Hines had moved into the top-10. He ran eighth for a large part of the second half race, before a couple of strong late race restarts propelled him to fifth at the checkered flag.
“We had a good car on Friday night,” said Hines. “We just needed a little bit side-bite and that’s what we worked on for Saturday night. It’s good having two nights at the same track and you can try a few things and always learn something that helps on the second night.”
Hines timed in 16th-fastest of the 46 entries on the first night of the Kokomo Grand Prix. He lined up third in the fourth heat race and finished third to earn a spot in the 30-lap main event.
Following the Kokomo Grand Prix, Hines is third in points with the Honda USAC National Midget Series Dirt Championship, just 11 markers out of second and 25 out of the lead. The next race for the series is the Hut Hundred at Tri-City (Ill.) Speedway on May 9.
Hines returns to action on Saturday, April 19, with the Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car Series at the famed Eldora Speedway in Ohio, and the running of the Don Branson/Jud Larson Classic, which he won in 2012. The event was rained out last year.
Tracy Hines Racing would like to thank: Parker Machinery, Powered by Toyota, Turbines, Inc., Afco Racing Shocks, Schoenfeld, Stanton Racing Engines, Daum Motorsport, Indiana Underground, Hoosier, Bell and Drivin Racing Oil.
For more information on Tracy Hines Racing, visit http://www.tracyhinesracing.com. Follow Tracy on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TracyHinesRacin and like him on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/Tracyhinesracing.
- Admin Account on Apr 13, 2014
- Article Date: 4/13/2014 by Tracy Hines Racing PR