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[/media-credit]Bloomington, Ind.—Sept. 18, 2012— Eagle Raceway, Eldora Speedway and Lernerville Speedway are three very different and distinct race tracks, but they all have one common attribute — they are three of the highest-banked venues on the World of Outlaws schedule. Kraig Kinser will compete at each of the tracks this week, as the series wraps up a swing through the Heartland and begins to head east, as the season continues to wind down.
Kinser opens the trio of races at Eagle Raceway in Nebraska on Wednesday, Sept. 19, in the NAPA Auto Parts Outlaw Showdown, which was postponed by rain in April. The driver of the Hendrickcars.com Maxim will then head to the famed Eldora Speedway in Ohio, on Friday, Sept. 21, for the World of Outlaws portion of the 4-Crown Nationals. Kinser will wrap up the weekend on Saturday, Sept. 22, at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa., in the Commonwealth Clash.
Kinser and his fellow World of Outlaws competitors will be making their first appearance at Eagle Raceway since 2009. The native of Bloomington, Ind., has made 17 career main event starts at the one-third-mile, including preliminary features, picking up five Top-10 finishes along the way. Kinser finished a career-best fourth at Eagle in 2003, and earned a pair of fifth-place finishes in 2005. He made his debut at the track in 2000, when he was just 16 years-old, finishing 10th in that event. The third-generation driver finished 13th in his most recent start at the track in 2009.
“It’s been a few years since we’ve been to Eagle, and a lot has changed on the cars since then, so that will equalize the playing field a little bit,” said Kinser. “I’ve had some good runs there in the past and we’ve done pretty well on tracks that are similar to Eagle this year. Qualifying up front and making it into the dash will be important, just as it seems to be every race nowadays.”
In four starts at the legendary Eldora Speedway this season, Kinser has recorded three Top-10 finishes, including a fifth-place performance in the Kings Royal. He finished ninth in the opener of the two-night Outlaw Thunder by Goodyear event back in May and was also ninth in the Knight Before the Kings Royal in July. Kinser made his debut at the venerable half-mile in 2001, and has competed at Eldora in 10 different seasons. He has 12 career Top-10 finishes at the Ohio oval with five of those being Top-Five showings. Kinser has five Top-10 finishes in his last seven starts at Eldora over the past two seasons.
“We had a good set-up in the Kings Royal, so we have a good baseline to off this weekend,” he stated. “I’ve been pretty good at Eldora the last couple of seasons, and feel like we are getting closer and closer to being a contender over there. There is always a good field of cars there in the fall, so we’ll definitely have to be on our game each time we hit the track.”
The 2005 winner of the Knoxville Nationals has made 14 career starts at Lernerville with the World of Outlaws. Kinser has three Top-10 finishes in his career at the four-tenths-mile located just outside of Pittsburgh, including a career-best fifth-place performance last year in the Commonwealth Clash. He made his first start at the track in 2004, finishing 13th. Earlier this season during the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup Twin 30s, Kinser was leading the B-Main when a lapped car spun in front of him, leaving him nowhere to go. With damage too extensive to repair prior to the pair of main events, his his night ended early.
“We were pretty fast at Lernerville back in July, but had a lot of bad luck that night,” noted Kinser. “To have a good finish this time around would make up for that a little bit. I always seem to run pretty good in the fall at Lernerville and the surface is a little different compared to when we are there in the summer. There are a lot of great fans up in that area, so it should be a good show to wrap up the weekend.”
Kinser is sixth in the World of Outlaws championship standings heading into this week’s three races, with just 10 point-paying events remaining this season. He has been victorious four times in 2012 and has earned 39 Top-10 and 18 Top-Five finishes.
Kraig Kinser By the Numbers: Eagle Raceway, Eldora Speedway and Lernerville Speedway
0.333- Miles around Eagle Raceway
0.4- Distance around Lernerville Speedway in miles
0.5- Miles around Eldora Speedway
2- Nights of racing in Nebraska this season for the World of Outlaws
3- Top-10 finishes at Lernerville Speedway
5- Career Top-10 finishes at Eagle Raceway
11.076- Track record at Eagle Raceway
12- Top-10 finishes at Eldora Speedway
12.334- Track record at Lernerville Speedway
12.5- Average finish in 17 career starts at Eagle Raceway
12.707- Track record at Eldora Speedway
13.7- Average finishing position at Eldora in 39 career starts
14- Starts at Lernerville Speedway dating back to 2004
16- Average finishing position in 14 Lernerville starts
17- Career starts at Eagle Raceway
39- Career World of Outlaws starts at Eldora, including preliminary features
322- Miles from Eldora Speedway in Ohio, where the World of Outlaws race on Sept. 21 to Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa.
379- Distance in miles from Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., site of the World of Outlaws event on Sept. 15, to Eagle Raceway in Nebraska
732- Miles from Eagle Raceway in Nebraska, where the World of Outlaws race on Sept. 19, to Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio
2000- Year of first start at Eagle Raceway
2001- First appearance with the World of Outlaws at Eldora Speedway
2004- Year of first World of Outlaws start at Lernerville Speedway
8277- Points earned through Sept. 15
Keep up with all the action
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