BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — June 25, 2014—The summer months have traditionally been known as the busiest for the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series. This year will be no different, as the series contests at least three races a week (and oftentimes more) over the next eight weeks. Broken down even further, the series will race 31 times in a 66-day stretch, starting this Friday. For Kraig Kinser, this is the span of races he looks forward to most each year.
The three-race weekend opens for Kinser, who drives the Mesilla Valley Transportation/Casey’s General Store/King Racing Products Maxim, on Friday June 27 at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa. He’ll then heads to Beaver Dam Raceway in Wisconsin on Saturday, June 28 for the running of the Jim Boyd “JB” Memorial. The weekend will wrap-up on Sunday, June 29 with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series annual stop at Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wisconsin.
Kinser raced for the first time at 34 Raceway in 2008, in the inaugural World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series event at the three-eighths-mile. Kinser finished 13th in that race and returned the next season and finished 14th at 34 Raceway. Last year, the native of Bloomington, Indiana, came home 17th at the track. The World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series will race at three different venues in the state of Iowa in 2014.
“We are still learning the nuances of the surface at 34 (Raceway),” said Kinser. “We got behind a bit in qualifying last year and we were able to advance in the feature, but started too far back to make up very much ground. It’s probably overstressed right now, but time trials is everything with the format we have and while you can charge from the back to contend, it’s a lot tougher than if you start in the first few rows.”
The 2005 winner of the Knoxville Nationals is a past winner at Beaver Dam Raceway with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series. He took the checkered flag at the high-banked third-mile in 2012, after taking the lead from his father, 20-time World of Outlaws champion, Steve. The younger Kinser finished 15th at Beaver Dam in 2013. He has made 11 starts in his career with the series, earning five top-10 finishes.
“We’ve had some really good runs at Beaver Dam (Raceway), including the win a couple of years ago,” said Kinser. “It’s usually two grooves there and sometimes three and puts on a great show for the fans. We had good car count at Wilmot (Raceway in Wisconsin) last month and I imagine there will be a strong field again this weekend. There is certainly a strong contingent of racers and fans up in that area.”
Kinser has a pair of top-10 finishes in his career at Cedar Lake Speedway. He recorded a career-best fourth-place finish at the high-banked oval in 2003, which marked his first-ever visit to the track. He ran 15th at Cedar Lake last year. The track in far western Wisconsin has hosted a World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series event each and every year since 1983.
“Going to Cedar Lake (Speedway) on a Sunday night is definitely a tradition for the World of Outlaws,” said Kinser. “We’ve never had quite the best of luck there, but we’ve had a fast car there and have a good baseline for what it takes to be up front there. We are really focusing on qualifying and need to time in the right spot to make it in the dash.”
Last weekend, Kinser finished 16th at I-94 Speedway in Minnesota, and was 23rd at River Cities Speedway in North Dakota, after getting caught up in an accident while running in the top-10. The third-generation driver is currently ninth in the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series standings.
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.
Kraig Kinser By the Numbers: 34 Raceway, Beaver Dam Raceway & Cedar Lake Speedway
0.33- Distance around Beaver Dam Raceway in miles
0.375- Miles around both 34 Raceway and Cedar Lake Speedway
2- Races in Wisconsin this season for the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series
9- Main event starts in his career at Cedar Lake Speedway
11- Career appearances with the World of Outlaws at Beaver Dam
13.1- Average finish in nine main event appearances at Cedar Lake
13.4- Average finish in 11 A-Feature starts at Beaver Dam Raceway
14.7- Average finish in three races at 34 Raceway
17- Laps led en route to winning at Beaver Dam Raceway in 2012
255- Distance in miles from Beaver Dam Raceway where the series races on June 28 to Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wisconsin
298- Miles from 34 Raceway in Iowa, where the World of Outlaws race on June 27 to Beaver Dam Raceway in Wisconsin
551- Distance in miles from I-94 Speedway in Minnesota, where the World of Outlaws raced on June 21, to 34 Raceway in Iowa
2003- Year of first start at both Beaver Dam Raceway and Cedar Lake Speedway
2008- Year of debut at 34 Raceway
4836- Points earned this season through June 21
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/kraigkinser11k and receive live updates from the track each and every race night.
Tune in
Listen live to each and every World of Outlaws event on DIRTVision.com with “The Voice of the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series” Johnny Gibson on the call. Visit www.DIRTVision.com for live audio of each and every World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series event.
