New Castle, Ind.—March 8, 2013— Tracy Hines has had more than his fair share of success racing indoors in a midget over the years. He won the 2005 Chili Bowl Midget Nationals, as well as a preliminary feature that same year and has nine career top-10 finishes in the 12 Chili Bowl main events that he has qualified for. The veteran, who hails from New Castle, Ind., has a total of four-career indoor midget wins on his resume.
Hines will look to add to his indoor prowess this weekend as he heads to Wisconsin to compete in a pair of races with the Stark Automotive Group/Mid-State Badger Midget Auto Racing Association (BMARA). Hines will pilot the SpeedQuip Motorsports No. 75 Chevrolet-powered Phantom owned by Roger and Lara Miller.
“After having some winter weather at home in Indiana earlier this week, it will be good to race indoors,” said Hines. “It looks like the field is shaping up to be very strong, so the fans should see a couple of great races. Normally, we only get to race once a year indoors at the Chili Bowl, so this is a bonus this year and the perfect time for it as well.”
The Jack Link’s Sasquatch Indoor Nationals are set for Saturday, March 9 and Sunday, March 10 at the Cedar Lake Arena on the grounds of the historic Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wisc. The event will be contested on a one-fifth mile clay oval, which will mark the first midget race at the 120,000 square-foot venue in nearly five years. The Jack Link’s Sasquatch Indoor Nationals will open with a practice sessions on Friday, March 8 and will serve as the season opener for the BMARA. A special bonus of $1,000 is on the line for any driver that can win both midget features.
In this year’s Chili Bowl, which drew nearly 275 entries, Hines finished fifth in a preliminary feature on the third of four qualifying nights. He also took to the track for the annual Race of Champions, where he finished eighth. Hines wrapped up the event with some bad luck in the B-main on the final night. Over the course of the week-long event, he also turned the wrenches for five younger drivers, offering his knowledge and experience of the always challenging and one-of-a-kind event.
“Indoor races are pretty unique and you have to approach them a lot different than you do a typical race outdoors,” explained Hines. “Having experience over the years indoors should help quite a bit. It sounds like it will be pretty tight confines, so you have to be a little extra aggressive and really pick and choose your spots when trying to pass cars.”
Hines had competed with the Badger Midget Auto Racing Association a number of times over the years. He recorded a total of seven wins during the 2001 and 2002 seasons with the series. All of those victories came at the famed Angell Park Speedway in Sun Prairie, Wisc., including winning the Fireman’s Nationals back-to-back in 2001 and 2002 at the third-mile.
“I’ve always enjoyed racing Badger events,” he noted. “There are some very passionate midget fans up that way and they don’t get to see midgets very often in the western part of Wisconsin or Minnesota. It’s going to be a fun weekend for sure and I’ll give it everything I got and hopefully be in contention for a couple of wins.”
Along with competing in the Chili Bowl in January, Hines raced a midget in the 2013 USAC National Midget Series opening two events last month at New Smyrna Speedway in Florida. He finished third in the opener and was eighth in the finale at the high-banked, half-mile paved oval. Hines picked up a pair of USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car Series wins as well in Florida last month on the dirt at Bubba Raceway Park in Ocala.
The 2000 USAC Traxxas Silver Crown Series and 2002 USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car Series champion finished second in the overall USAC National Midget Series standings last season. After the first two events this season, he sits seventh in the USAC National Pavement Midget Championship, as separate titles will be awarded in 2013 for pavement and dirt races. Hines is currently tied for third in the USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car Series standings, just seven markers out of the lead.
“We’ve had a pretty good start to the season and racing this weekend will help me stay in a rhythm,” Hines said. “When you are running strong, you never want to see a break in the schedule, so to race twice this weekend will be great and then it’s just a few more weeks and we get going here in the Midwest.”
For more information on Tracy Hines Racing, visit http://www.tracyhinesracing.com. Follow Tracy on Twitter atwww.Twitter.com/TracyHinesRacin.
