NEW CASTLE, Ind.— June 11, 2013— For short track open wheel drivers that hail from Indiana, two weeks each year really stand out on their calendars. One is the longstanding Indiana Sprint Week and the other — Indiana Midget Week, which was born in 2005. Tracy Hines has competed in both and won races in both, as well as claiming the Indiana Midget Week title in 2008 and a co-championship in 2010. Up first again this year is Indiana Midget Week, which takes to the track this week at five speedways across the Hoosier State in five successive nights.
The opener of the 2013 edition of Indiana Midget Week will takes Hines and his fellow Honda USAC National Midget Series competitors to Gas City I-69 Speedway on Wednesday, June 12. The mini-series then heads to Lincoln Park Speedway in Putnamville on Thursday, June 13. The third round will be on Friday, June 14 at Bloomington Speedway, with Lawrenceburg Speedway hosting the penultimate round on Saturday, June 15. Indiana Midget Week comes to a close on Sunday, June 16 at Kokomo Speedway.
“Indiana Midget Week is one of the highlights of the midget schedule each year,” said Hines. “It’s really taken off and the car counts have been very, very solid the last few years and I would expect a lot of drivers again this year. After racing three times last week out east, to get to race five this week — it doesn’t get much better than that for a driver.”
Hines finished second in the Indiana Midget Week standings last season, finishing among the top-10 in all five races that were contested. He has finished in the top-10 in each of the last 23 Indiana Midget Week events, dating back to 2008. Hines will pilot the Parker Machinery/Powered by Toyota Spike this year in all five rounds.
“We had a good run last year and just came up a few points short at the end of the week,” he noted. “Looking at the stats, we have had a pretty remarkable run the last handful of years during Midget Week. We haven’t raced on the dirt outdoors yet this year in the midget due to the weather, so hopefully we can get off to a strong start and go from there.”
At Gas City I-69 Speedway last season during Indiana Midget Week, Hines charged from the 14th starting spot to finish fourth. He has raced once at Gas City this season with the USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car Series, finishing eighth. Hines has a pair of USAC Sprint Car wins at the track in his career as he chases his first Honda USAC National Midget Series win at the venue. Hines finished eighth at Lincoln Park Speedway last year during Indiana Midget Week.
The veteran driver made one midget start last year at Bloomington Speedway, which was during Indiana Midget Week. He finished eighth in that 30-lap main event. This season in a sprint car, Hines has raced once at the high-banked, quarter-mile, coming home 12th with the USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car Series.
Hines finished fourth at Lawrenceburg Speedway last year during Indiana Midget Week. He has one win at the track during Indiana Midget Week, with that coming in 2010, which to-date remains his lone victory in the mini-series in his home state. Hines has raced at Lawrenceburg once this year with the USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car Series, finishing 12th.
The native of New Castle, Ind., will be making his first start of the season at Kokomo Speedway, after the inaugural Kokomo Grand Prix in April for the Honda USAC National Midget Series was rained out. He finished third in the finale of Indiana Midget Week at the quarter-mile last year and was victorious at the track in the fall during the Kokomo Klash. Hines has one win with the Honda USAC National Midget Series at Kokomo back in 2000.
Hines enters Indiana Midget Week fourth in the standings with the Honda USAC National Midget Pavement Championship. He finished third in his most recent midget start on May 25 in the Night Before the 500 at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis. Indiana Midget Week will serve as the opener for the Honda USAC National Midget Dirt Championship campaign.
“The Chili Bowl back in January was the last time I ran my own midget on dirt, so it will be good to get a bunch of laps in this week,” noted Hines. “After having a good run in the sprint car in Pennsylvania, hopefully we can carry that momentum into Midget Week. With the quality of cars that will be at each race, we are really going to have to be on our game each time we hit the track.”
Tracy Hines Racing would like to thank: Parker Machinery, Motor City Auto Transport, Turbines, Inc., Afco Racing Products, Daum Crop Insurance, Schoenfeld Headers, Allstar Performance, Kenny’s Components, Race Bumpers and Bell Racing.
For more information on Tracy Hines Racing, visit http://www.tracyhinesracing.com. Follow Tracy on Twitter atwww.Twitter.com/TracyHinesRacin.
