BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Jan. 20, 2014— Kraig Kinser hadn’t been to Australia in a number of years, but that didn’t slow him down over the last few weeks, as he picked up two wins, while earning top-10 finishes in all eight of his starts “Down Under.” The pair of wins at Sydney Speedway marked the first two for the third-generation driver on Australian soil.
On Wednesday, Jan. 8, Kinser was victorious over his father, Steve, the 20-time World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series champion, and multi-time UNOH All Star Circuit of Champions titlist Dale Blaney. The younger Kinser lined up seventh and charged to the front of the field, where he battled his dad for the win in the 35-lapper. Kinser opened the night by setting fast time of the 31 entries. He then worked his way the sixth starting spot to finish third in the first heat race.
Kinser was also victorious on Jan. 4 at Sydney Speedway with Blaney second and Steve Kinser third. The younger Kinser started fifth in that 35-lap event, dubbed the “World Derby.” Earlier in the night, the native of Bloomington, Ind., finished fourth in the fourth heat race.
In the opener of that two-night event, Kinser was fastest in time trials of the 40 entries and finished fourth in the preliminary feature. The 2005 winner of the Knoxville Nationals turned a lap of 12.366-seconds to earn the fast time award. He followed that up by charging from the sixth starting position in the first heat race to finish third. Kinser lined up on the outside of the front row for the main event and ran among the top-five for the duration of the 25-lapper en route to a fourth-place performance.
Kinser scored a runner-up finish on Saturday, Jan. 11 to extend his streak of top-10 finishes at Sydney Speedway. He opened the night as the third-fastest driver in time trials and worked his way from sixth to fourth in the third heat race to lock himself into the main event. Kinser would take the green flag on the inside of the third row for the A-Feature. He quickly moved forward and inherited the lead from his father, Steve, when the elder Kinser suffered a broken header on his machine. Late in the race, Kinser had a tire problem, which allowed eventual winner Trevor Green to get by him for the top spot.
Kinser opened 2014 by competing in an event on New Year’s, Jan. 1, at Sydney Speedway, finishing sixth. He was third-fastest in time trials, behind fellow American Justin Henderson and Steve Kinser, who was second quick. Heat race action saw Kinser come home fifth, which put him on the inside of the third row for the A-Feature.
After being rained out on Dec. 26, Kinser made his first start of his Australian trip on Dec. 28 in the Coca-Cola Sprintcar Classic International Show. He would come home seventh in the main event, which was won by his father, Steve. A total of 37 cars hit the track for time trials, with Kinser stopping the clocks eighth-fastest. He worked his way from fifth to third in the first heat race.
Kinser wrapped up his tour Down Under with the two-night Scott Darley Memorial at Sydney Speedway last weekend. He came home third in the A-Feature on Saturday, Jan. 18, and was 10th in the preliminary feature on Friday, Jan. 17. Kinser powered his way from the 10th starting spot on the final night to finish on the podium and wrap up his stint at Sydney Speedway with top-10 finishes in each and every feature event he competed in.
Kinser is now preparing for the season-opening DIRTcar Nationals Presented by Summit Racing Equipment at Volusia Speedway Park in Florida next month, which open the 2014 World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series campaign.
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For the latest news on Kraig Kinser, visit http://www.kraigkinser.com, and follow Kraig on Twitter at http://twitter.com/kraigkinser11kand receive live updates from the track each and every race night.
