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[/media-credit]Bloomington, Ind.—Sept. 30, 2012— Making the dash and finishing up front at the famed Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa., is no easy task, especially during the National Open when the track hosts its largest car count of the season. Kraig Kinser was able to accomplish the feat on Friday, Sept. 28, making it into the dash of the opener of the East Coast’s biggest sprint car race of the season, en route to a seventh-place finish in that 25-lap main event aboard the Hendrickcars.com Maxim.
Kinser opened the 50th Annual Morgan Hughes National Open with his second straight Top-10 finishes at the famed half-mile. He lined up on the inside of the fourth row for the 25-lap main event and would run among the top-eight for the duration of the contest. Just one yellow flag, on the 16th lap slowed the event. Kinser restarted eighth following that caution and got a spot to move back into seventh, where he would run the rest of the way. For Kinser, it marked his eighth career Top-10 finish at the track and his 42nd overall Top-10 performance of the season.
“With many of the best cars in the country at Williams Grove, it was definitely a solid night for us to finish seventh,” said Kinser. “We qualified in the right spot which always helps and had a good heat race as well to get into the dash. We always want to be in the Top-Five, but a seventh at Williams Grove is nothing to be ashamed of. We worked hard all night and that paid off.”
The third-generation driver opened night by turning the eighth-fastest lap in time trials with a stellar 55-car field in attendance. He would line up third in the third eight-lap heat race and finished second to earn a spot in the dash. He both started and finished seventh in the dash to start on the inside of the fourth row for the 25-lap main event.
In the 40-lap finale of the National Open, Kinser finished 20th, after utilizing a World of Outlaws provisional to start 27th. The main event was slowed by a number of yellow and red flags before a single lap was in the books. Following the sixth complete restart of the night, the field was able to click-off 24 consecutive laps before a red flag slowed the action. Kinser opened the night by timing in 33rd. He finished seventh in the third eight-lap heat race, which put him in the B-main.
“It was definitely not the way we wanted to end the weekend,” said Kinser. “Time trials set the tone for your night at Williams Grove and we didn’t have the best of two laps. We were able to start the feature and gain a few spots and learn a few things. For the most part we were decent at ‘The Grove’ this year, so we’ll continue to build on that for next year when we go back there.”
Kinser is currently sixth in the World of Outlaws championship standings on the strength of four wins and 42 Top-10 finishes, of which 18 are Top-Five performances. He returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 6 at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park in Elbridge, N.Y., for an event that is part of Super DIRT Week XLI.
“We had an okay night at Rolling Wheels back in the spring, and are looking to improve on that next Saturday night,” said Kinser. “We have just three events left this year, and we’d like nothing more than to pick up another win or two. We’ll work hard this week and be ready for Rolling Wheels.”
Williams Grove Morgan Hughes National Results
| Date | Time Trials |
Heat Start |
Heat Finish | Dash Start | Dash Finish | Feature Start | Feature Finish | Points |
| Sept. 28 | 8th | 3rd | 2nd | 5th | 7th | 7th | 7th | 6th |
| Sept. 29 | 33rd | 7th | 7th | N/A | N/A | 27th | 20th | 6th |
Kraig Kinser By the Numbers: Morgan Hughes National Open
0.5- Miles around Williams Grove Speedway
1- Top-Five performance at the half-mile this year
2- Top-10 finishes at Williams Grove this season
4- Best-career finishing position at Williams Grove on July 21
5- Main event starts at Williams Grove in 2012
6- Current position in the World of Outlaws championship standings
7- Career main event starts in the National Open
8- Career Top-10 finishes at the half-mile
12.8- Average feature finish in five starts at Williams Grove this season
24- Starts on half-mile tracks in 2012 with the World of Outlaws
28- Career main event starts at Williams Grove Speedway, including preliminary features
40- Laps in the finale of the National Open
42- Top-10 finishes earned this season
8748- Points earned through Sept. 29
Up Next
Oct. 6: Rolling Wheels Raceway Park, Elbridge, N.Y.
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