New Castle, Ind.—Sept. 27, 2012— Running for the championship in all three USAC National series, makes it difficult for Tracy Hines to test and try new combinations that may benefit him in the next USAC race when he’s at the race track. One way he is able to squeeze in some extra laps and try some new set-ups is when he runs the occasional weekly sprint car race at one of the tracks in his home state of Indiana. That’s what he’ll do this weekend, racing at Gas City I-69 Speedway on Friday night, before heading to Lawrenceburg Speedway for a USAC event on Saturday.
Hines will open the weekend on Friday, Sept. 28, at Gas City I-69 Speedway aboard the Parker Machinery/Turbine Inc./Support Esophagus Cancer Stanton Mopar DRC. The native of New Castle, Ind., will then head to Lawrenceburg Speedway on Saturday, Sept. 29, for the City of Lawrenceburg Fall Nationals which will be co-sanctioned by the USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car Series and the Midwest Sprint Car Series (MSCS).
“We always look forward to two-race weekends in Indiana,” said Hines. “It’s nice to have a couple of short drives and race at two tracks we know pretty well and have done pretty good at over the years. We have some momentum from the win at Eldora last weekend and have been pretty fast in both the No. 24 and the No. 4 this year.”
The native of New Castle, Ind., has picked up a pair of Top-Five at Gas City this season piloting the No. 24 sprint car. Hines finished fourth on May 11 at the track with the King of Indiana Sprint Series (KISS) and was fifth in a weekly show prior to that on April 13. He also finished fourth with the USAC Mopar National Midget Series at the quarter-mile bullring during Indiana Midget Week and raced at Gas City during Indiana Sprint Week.
“It’s fun to race the No. 24 car around Indiana, knowing we are not racing for points so that takes that pressure away and we can try some different set-ups on that car,” he noted. “We always go out with the goal of winning, but if we can work on a few things on that car that will transfer over to our USAC car, then we are definitely moving in the right direction.”
Hines has made three appearances this season at Lawrenceburg Speedway, with two of those starts coming in a sprint car. He finished seventh during Indiana Sprint Week at the high-banked three-eighths-mile. The 2002 USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car Series champion opened that night as the second-fastest driver in time trials, with a stout 39-car field in attendance. He finished second in the second 10-lap heat race to earn a spot in the 30-lap A-Feature aboard his Shaver-powered MP Environmental DRC.
“We we had a decent night during Sprint Week at Lawrenceburg,” said Hines. “Obviously it’s going to be quite a bit cooler there this weekend than it was then, so that will affect the track and the set-up a little bit. Other than some bad luck at a couple of races, we’ve been near the front most of the last two months in the sprint car in USAC races. There’s going to be a good field on-hand at Lawrenceburg, so we’ll have to be on our game again this weekend.”
Hines made his first appearance of 2012 in a sprint car at Lawrenceburg on April 28 in weekly show. He was originally scheduled to compete in an event with USAC at the track on April 14, but that race fell to rain and was not rescheduled. The veteran driver finished a season-best fourth at Lawrenceburg on June 16 during Indiana Midget Week with the USAC Mopar National Midget Series.
Last year in the City of Lawrenceburg Fall Nationals Hines finished fifth in the 30-lap main event. The veteran driver turned the third-fastest lap in qualifying of the 39 drivers that were in attendance and would finish third in the third eight-lap heat race to earn a spot in the $10,000-to-win main event. In five sprint car starts at Lawrenceburg in 2011, Hines won twice and finished seventh or better four times.
Hines enters this weekend fifth in the USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car Series standings on the strength of two wins along with 17 Top-10 finishes of which nine are Top-Five performances. The victory last weekend for him at Eldora Speedway during the 4-Crown Nationals marked the 43rd of his USAC career, which moved him into fourth on the series all-time win list.
“Our goal is to pick up a few more wins this season and gain a couple of more spots in points,” he shared. “We’re in a good position right now and we’ll keep working hard day in and day out. Running up front near the end of the season always gives you an extra booster heading into the winter.”
Tracy Hines Racing would like to thank: MP Environmental, DRC, Shaver Specialties, Parker Machinery, Turbine Inc., Support Esophagus Cancer, AFCO Racing Shocks, Bell Race Gear, FatHeadz, Kenny’s Components, Race Bumpers, ROD END Supply, Schoenfeld Headers and Stanton Racing for their continued support.
For more information on Tracy Hines Racing, including a complete 2012 schedule, visit http://www.tracyhinesracing.com. Follow Tracy on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TracyHinesRacin.
