Tracy Hines always wants to race against the best competition, no matter what type of vehicle he is competing in. He was able to do that this past weekend as one of the largest fields of the year assembled for the 2013 season-ending Budweiser Oval Nationals presented by All Coast Construction for the Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car Series at Perris Auto Speedway in California, with over 50 cars present at the half-mile for the two-day event.
Tracy Hines knows how to get around Canyon Speedway Park — plain and simple. After picking up three wins in 2012 at the track, he returned this past weekend looking to add to his impressive stats at the Arizona oval. Hines would run up front both nights of the 13th Annual Hose Advantage Hall of Fame Classic, ultimately recording a pair of runner-up finishes with the Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car Series aboard The Carolina Nut Company/Hansen’s Welding Inc. DRC.
At an event like the COMP Cams Short Track Nationals at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., with over 100 car in attendance, a driver must have a fast car to be in contention, and they also need quite a bit of luck on their side. David Gravel had a strong car and plenty of speed throughout the event, as evidenced by his sixth-place finish on the second preliminary night, but he also had more than his fair share of bad luck getting caught up in accidents in both the finale and the inaugural edition of the Short Track Nationals Open that kicked-off the event.
With the temperatures falling in the Midwest and all of the non-wing sprint car racing events in that part of the country in the books, that means one thing for Tracy Hines and his fellow USAC competitors. It's time to head west to wrap up the 2013 season in warmer locales, mainly the desert of Arizona, as well as Southern California.
For the eighth consecutive year, the IZOD IndyCar Series champion was determined in the final race -- 500 high-speed, high-drama miles played out over 3 hours under the lights at Auto Club Speedway.
Dale Coyne Racing driver Justin Wilson was released from Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, Calif., on Oct. 21 and returned to his home in Colorado. Wilson sustained non-operable pelvic fractures and a small pulmonary contusion in a multi-car accident on Lap 111 of the MAVTV 500 at Auto Club Speedway on Oct. 19.