BLOOMINGTON, Ind.— Nov. 6, 2013— It was the middle of February when Kraig Kinser pulled into the pit area at Volusia Speedway Park in Florida to open the 2013 World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series season. Now, nearly nine months later and tens of thousands of miles traveled, the third-generation driver is set to wrap up the season at The Dirt Track at Charlotte in the World Finals. Kinser will do so with the Bad Boys Buggies colors adorning his No. 11K, as a teammate to his father, Steve, the 20-time World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series champion.
“It’s great to be teamed with Bad Boy Buggies and my dad this weekend,” said the younger Kinser. “It’s hard to believe the season is just about over. We’ve had our ups and downs this year and we really want to end the year on a strong note. The World Finals have been a really good event for us the last few years, and the track really seems to suit my style and our program.”
The Seventh Annual World Finals, which along with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series features the World of Outlaws Late Model Series and Super DIRTcar Series, is set for Thursday, Nov. 7, Friday, Nov. 8 and Saturday, Nov. 9. Thursday will serve as the qualifying night, with two rounds of time trials setting heat race lineups for Friday and Saturday. Heat races, a dash and 30-lap main event will make up the racing program on Friday and Saturday. The cameras from CBS Sports Network will be rolling each night to capture all of the action to air in December.
“The World Finals have definitely grown into one of the biggest events of the year,” said the 29-year-old. “Drivers from coast-to-coast make the trip down and the caliber of cars is as strong as we see all season. It’s a good measuring stick at the end of the year to see how you stack up against guys from all over the country.”
Kinser raced at the state-of-the-art four-tenths-mile earlier this year, during Memorial Day weekend. He finished 21st, after suffering a flat tire during the main event. He was 21st-quickest in qualifying and followed that up with a fourth-place finish in the third heat to earn a spot in the 30-lap main event at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.
“We didn’t have the best of luck it he spring at Charlotte,” shared Kinser. “We got a little behind in time trials and with the way the World of Outlaws format is, that can really effect the rest of your night. Qualifying is going to be very, very important this week, with the numbers of cars that will be on-hand. We’ve qualified well just about every time at the World Finals, so that is certainly our first objective when we unload the car this week.”
The third-generation driver made his debut at The Dirt Track at Charlotte in the fall of 2002. Kinser has made a total of 18 starts over the years at the venue, picking up eight top-10 finishes. The native of Bloomington, Ind., finished third in the opener of the World Finals last year and followed that up with a fourth-place performance in the finale. Kinser has finished among the top-10 in seven of the 12 World Finals A-Features, dating back to the inaugural edition of the blockbuster event in 2007. Kinser has finished fourth or better in four of his last five starts at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. He finished a career-best second in the finale of the 2008 World Finals.
“It takes a good car and all the pieces being in place to run up front at Charlotte,” Kinser said. “I came close to winning in 2008 during the World Finals and it would definitely be a great way to close the year with a win. We want to put ourselves in a good spot and hopefully have the Bad Boys Buggies colors up front. It would be great if my dad and I were battling for the win each night. We’ll definitely give it all we have.”
Entering the final two point paying features of the season, Kinser is 11th in the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series championship standings. He has one victory this season and earned 33 top-10 finishes, with nine of those being top-five showings.
Kraig Kinser Racing would like to thank Casey’s General Stores, Mesilla Valley Transportation, King Racing Products, 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.
Keep up with all the action
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.
Tune in
Listen live to each and every World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series event on DIRTVision.com with “The Voice of the Outlaws” Johnny Gibson on the call. Visit www.DIRTVision.com for live audio of each and every World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series event.
