BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—June 4, 2013— Weeks like this are the ones that really test both man and machine on the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series circuit. With four races in a five-day stretch at four tracks in four states and plenty of miles to travel in between to get to and from each venue, this is one of the weeks being a veteran of the sport comes in handy and Kraig Kinser has earned that moniker in his time spent on the road.
The busy week begins for Kinser aboard the Casey’s General Store/Mesilla Valley Transportation Maxim on Wednesday, June 5 at Kokomo Speedway in his home state of Indiana. Action then shifts to the Heartland for a return to 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa, on Friday, June 7. The series then heads to Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., on Saturday, June 8, before wrapping up the weekend on Sunday, June 9 at I-80 Speedway in Nebraska.
Kinser was victorious last year at Kokomo Speedway, which marked his first win of the 2012 campaign and the second of his career with the World of Outlaws at the quarter-mile bullring. Kinser took the lead on a lap-2 double file restart from fellow Hoosier Joey Saldana. Kinser would lead the remainder of the 40-lap contest. The native of Bloomington, Ind., was also victorious at Kokomo in 2002 with the Great Lakes Outlaw Sprint Series (GLOSS), as an 18-year-old, picking up the victory over veteran Danny Smith.
“Kokomo is a track I’ve always run pretty well at,” said Kinser. “We don’t get to race there very much anymore, so anytime we get to race in Indiana is a plus. I have a lot of family and friends that only get to see me race a few times each year and Kokomo is one of those tracks. You always have a little confidence boost going back to a place you won at like we did there last year. Hopefully we can put ourselves in a good position again this time around.”
The third-generation made his debut at 34 Raceway in 2008 with the rest of his fellow World of Outlaws competitors in the series inaugural event at the track. Kinser finished 13th in that race and returned the next season to the three-eighths-mile and finished 14th. The event at 34 Raceway this season will mark one of three venues in the state of Iowa that the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series will compete at.
“It’s been a few years since we last race at Burlington (34 Raceway),” he noted. “There should be a good field of cars with some of the Knoxville (Raceway) guys coming over and maybe some of the drivers from Wisconsin as well. Since a lot has changed since the last time we raced there, we kind of have to treat like we are going there for the first time.”
Kinser finished second last season at Lakeside Speedway, after leading the first six laps of the 30-lap main event. He opened the night by turning the ninth-fastest lap in time trials, which put him on the outside of the front row for the third eight-lap heat race. He would finish second in that contest to earn a spot in the dash, where he would start on the pole and win to earn the pole for the A-Feature. In four starts at Lakeside in his career at Lakeside Speedway, the 2005 Knoxville Nationals winner has three top-10 finishes.
“We were close at Lakeside last year,” Kinser shared. “You don’t want to start on the pole and finish second, but we led some laps and gave ourselves a chance and that’s all you can ask for, especially against the tough competition we face every night. We’ve had some good runs the last few weeks on the bigger tracks and feel like our program is getting better at those types of places.”
The third-generation driver raced at I-80 Speedway, then known as Nebraska Raceway Park, for the first time in 2000, and just missed qualifying for the main event. Kinser returned to the three-eighths-mile in 2003 for the Great Plains Shootout, lining up seventh in the main event, and he wound up finishing 18th.
“The track at I-80 will be different from the last time we were there from what I’ve heard,” he noted. “That was a long, long time ago we last raced there. We don’t have too many races out that way anymore, so it will be great to put on a show for the fans out there. The last few times we’ve race in Nebraska we had great crowds, so hopefully that’s the case again this year.”
Entering this four-race stretch, Kinser is currently 11th in the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series championship standings. He has won once this season and has picked up 13 top-10 finishes, of which four are top-five showings.
Kraig Kinser Racing would like to thank Casey’s General Stores, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Maxim, Aerodine Composites, Sander Engineering, Integra Shocks, All Star Performance, FK Rod Ends, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Bell, KSE Racing Products, ButlerBuilt,Schoenfeld Headers, Donovan Engineering, Fel-Pro, Brodix, Wilwood, Dyer’s, Barnes Systems, Ringer Gloves, Jakes Custom Golf Carts, and Ben Cook Racing Limited for their continued support.
Kraig Kinser By the Numbers: Kokomo Speedway, 34 Raceway, Lakeside Speedway & I-80 Speedway
0.25- Miles around Kokomo Speedway
0.375- Distance around 34 Raceway in miles
0.4- Miles around I-80 Speedway
0.5- Distance around Lakeside Speedway in miles
1- A-Feature win this season with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series
2- World of Outlaws wins at Kokomo Speedway
3- Overall wins in a winged sprint car at Kokomo
4- Career main event starts at Lakeside Speedway
6– Laps led at Lakeside Speedway in 2012
13- Top-10 finishes this season
13.5- Average finish in two main events starts with the World of Outlaws at 34 Raceway
25- Laps led in A-Feature events in 2013
28- Races completed this year through June 1
39- Laps led last season en route to winning at Kokomo Speedway
197- Miles from Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., where the World of Outlaws race on June 8 to I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Neb.
215- Distance in miles from I-96 Speedway in Michigan, where the World of Outlaws competed on June 1 to Kokomo Speedway in Indiana
302- Miles from 34 Raceway in Iowa, where the World of Outlaws race on June 6 to Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan.
334- Distance in miles from Kokomo Speedway in Indiana, where the World of Outlaws compete on June 5 to 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa
3367- Points earned through June 1
45,780- Dollar earned through June 1
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