Kraig Kinser Earns Three Top-10 Finishes During Outlaw California Speedweek

[media-credit name=”World of Outlaws” align=”alignright” width=”234″][/media-credit]Bloomington, Ind.—Sept. 11, 2012— A “Speedweek” tests every fiber of a driver, crew and their equipment. With very little time to get from track to track and regroup, a team has to be at full strength to make it through such a stretch. Kraig Kinser just completed the Outlaw California Speedweek with the World of Outlaws, which saw the series race on five consecutive nights. When the final checkered flag flew on Monday, Sept. 10 at Antioch Speedway, Kinser had recorded three Top-10 finishes in the Hendrickcars.com Maxim during the grueling stretch that took the series to three different tracks.

The native of Bloomington, Ind., finished 10th at Antioch Speedway on Monday, Sept. 10, which marked his 38th Top-10 performance of the season. Kinser was eighth-fastest in time trials at the start of the night, and that put him on the outside of the front row for the second heat race, which he handily won to earn a spot in the dash. He would line up seventh in the dash and finished eighth. Kinser took the grid on the outside of the fourth row for the 30-lap main event during the World of Outlaws second-ever appearance at the three-eighths-mile.

Kinser finished ninth at Calistoga Speedway on Sunday, Sept. 9, earning his third straight Top-10 finish at the picturesque half-mile in the Napa Valley wine country of Northern California. He turned the sixth-fastest lap in time trials, which put him on the inside of the second row for the third eight-lap heat race. He would finish fourth and would line up 12th in the 25-lap A-Feature. A red flag on the opening lap led to a complete restart, with Kinser using a strong start to gain two positions and work his way into 10th. He would get around Cody Darrah on the lap 20 to move into ninth on a track that was very challenging to pass on.

In the opener of the Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway on Thursday, Sept. 6, Kinser finished 12th after lining up 18th. A number of cautions slowed the 30-lap event, as he was able to avoid several of the incidents, working his way forward. Kinser was 19th in time trials of the 44 cars that took to the high-banked quarter-mile. He finished seventh in the third 10-lap heat race, which put him in the B-main, which he won to earn the 18th starting spot in the A-Feature.

Kinser came home ninth on Friday, Sept. 7 on the second night of the Gold Cup. He lined up 13th in the 30-lap A-Feature that was slowed by four cautions and a pair of red flag periods. Kinser moved into the Top-10 on the 20th lap and would climb as high as eighth in the late going. The 2004 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award winner timed in 11th of the 46 cars that took to the track. He started second in the third heat race and finished third, just missing a spot in the dash by one position.

With the 40-lap finale of the Gold Cup lined up by event points earned during the opening two nights, Kinser started on the inside of the fifth row. He ran in the Top-10 for the first seven laps before falling to 11th. Kinser was running 12th when the final caution flag of the night flew on lap 14. He dropped back a couple of spots on the ensuing restart and ended the night in the 17th position.

“To come away with three Top-10 finishes with the strong fields that we raced, it was an okay week for us,” shared Kinser. “We were able to push the car back on the trailer each night and when you are running that many races in-a-row, that’s always important. We were around the Top-10 most of the nights, though we always want to finish a little better. We just have to make it in the dash more to put ourselves in a little better of a position to start the features.”

Kinser, who is currently sixth in the World of Outlaws championship standings, returns to action on Friday, Sept. 14, at Clay County Fair Speedway in Spencer, Iowa, followed by a visit to Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., on Saturday, Sept. 15.

“It will be nice to get back to the Midwest this weekend,” said Kinser. “We have a long couple of days of driving ahead of us, but we’ll be ready for Spencer on Friday. I’ve run well there in the past, so I always look forward to racing there.”

Silver Dollar Speedway, Calistoga Speedway & Antioch Speedway Results

Kraig Kinser By the Numbers: Silver Dollar Speedway, Calistoga Speedway and Antioch Speedway
0.25- Miles around Silver Dollar Speedway
0.375- Distance around Antioch Speedway in miles
0.5- Miles around Calistoga Speedway
2- Career starts at Antioch Speedway
4- Career Top-10 finishes at Calistoga Speedway
5- Top-10 finishes in career at Silver Dollar Speedway
6- Position in the World of Outlaws championship standings
7- Career starts at Calistoga Speedway including preliminary features
9- Average starting position and finishing position in World of Outlaws main events this season; Nights of racing in California this season completed by the World of Outlaws
11.824- Lap in time trials at Antioch Speedway
12.725- Qualifying lap on Friday, Sept. 7 at Silver Dollar Speedway
13.111- Lap in time trials during the opener of the Gold Cup on Thursday. Sept. 6
16.962- Qualifying time at Calistoga Speedway
17- Main event starts in career at Silver Dollar Speedway, including preliminary features
38- Top-10 finishes this season
7966- Points earned through Sept. 10

Up Next
Sept. 14: Clay County Fair Speedway, Spencer, Iowa
Sept. 15: Deer Creek Speedway, Spring Valley, Minn.

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