Concord, NC —

Catching Up With…..Karl Kinser

Karl Kinser was always a firm believer that races were won and lost in the shop, and he showed this time and time again during his legendary career in the sport. He was one of the most innovative crew chiefs and car owners in any form of motorsports during his nearly five decades in racing, and he was also one of the most respected. Those he raced against echoed the same sentiment, “He was well ahead of his time.” Whether it was making the race car faster or even something such as making the vehicle towing the car to the track more reliable, he was an endless worker and continually searched for ways to improve all things related to his racing operation.

The native of Oolitic, Indiana began working on race cars in the late 1950’s and in 1965 bought his first sprint car. This would lead him to a career in the sport that would earn him numerous honors, including being inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in Knoxville, Iowa in 1994.

During his career, Karl Kinser was victorious as a car owner/crew chief in the Knoxville Nationals, a record 12 times and also won the World of Outlaws championship 16 times. He also was victorious as a car owner/chief chief in the Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway, the Gold Cup Race of Champions in California, the Williams Grove National Open and even the Little 500 at Anderson Speedway in Indiana among others. Cars that he owned won on both dirt and asphalt over the years, as well as with and without wings on them.

He won the first Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series championship in 1978, with his second cousin Steve Kinser behind the wheel. The pair would go on to win a total of 14 series championships, along with hundreds of races at countless tracks from coast-to-coast. Karl Kinser also won two more World of Outlaws titles with his son Mark Kinser behind the wheel in 1996 and 1999.

He is the winningest car owner and crew chief in Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series history.

Thoughts on the 1978 World of Outlaws Season: “When the World of Outlaws started, everyone was weekend warriors. I think Rick Ferkel was about the only one that did much traveling, going to Skagit (Speedway) in Washington and other places. The rest of us, including myself we all raced locally. We would race for $200, $300 or $400 to win. Then when the Outlaws were put together, the purses got a little bit bigger. They weren’t that big, but they were a lot better than what we had been running for. All the racers got together and came and ran, and the crowds were great. They were overflowing. Earl (Baltes) at Eldora and Lanny (Edwards) at Devil’s Bowl (Speedway in Texas) had quite a few races the first two years. The promoters would hit a home run every time we would come to town.”

Thoughts on the challenges facing a car owner in 1978 with the World of Outlaws: “The biggest challenge for the racers was that we all had jobs. For example Lee Osborne was building cars up in Indianapolis. He was an owner/driver. Everyone that owned the cars had a 40-hour a week job. The big challenge for the car owner was to get the car to the track and getting the time to do it. When we started traveling out of the pick-up truck and open trailer, your back would get very sore driving 2 and three thousand miles. It was definitely a challenge.”

Thoughts on what made his team so successful over the years: “It was hard work. You don’t win races at the race track, you win them at the shop. You have to be well prepared when you go to the track. If you are prepared, more than likely you won’t have any trouble. If you did have trouble such as running into another car or driver error, you had to have spare parts ready to hang on the car in a hurry and get back in the race and start at the back of the field.”

Thoughts on the economics of being a car owner in the early days of the series: “For a car owner, the worst scenario is not getting any purse money, and to get it, you have to get the checkered flag. They don’t ask you where you started, they ask you where you finish. It was definitely a challenge. There were a few car owners out there who had more bucks than the 40-hour working guy, but it was definitely a challenge for everybody.”

Thoughts on being away from the sport for a few years: “You don’t get over sprint car racing. It’s always been a thrill for me to watch the races and to build the cars.”

Thoughts on why he enjoys sprint car racing so much: “When you put your car out on the track and they wave that green flag, it’s all about the car and the driver. There are no pit stops, and no ‘Ifs, ands or buts.’ It’s a race until the checkered flag falls. You can’t say ‘Well if I had done this different or if the driver had not done that we would be in victory lane.’ There is no political bull in sprint car racing. Whatever happens in the race happens. There is nothing pre-staged.”

Thoughts on how sprint car racing has changes over the last 30 years: “The main thing that has changed for the driver, as well as the car owner is all of the road miles. It’s a humongous challenge and a huge effort to just be out there. It’s not like you go down the road a couple hundred miles, race and come back and you’re home all week. It’s a big challenge. You can win every race, but you have to have a sponsor to make it out there.”

Thoughts on his career: “If I had it to do over, I would do it again. It’s what I wanted to do and I got to do it.”