Kraig Kinser Hits the Track at Calistoga for a Pair of Races
By Kraig Kinser Racing PR
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — April 2, 2014— Kraig Kinser has waited just about a year to see the re-configured Calistoga Speedway in California. Mother Nature was victorious at the picturesque half-mile last season and the third-generation driver returns this weekend for a pair of races at the historic oval in the heart of Napa Valley wine country.
The World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series continues the “Spring Break Tour” at Calistoga Speedway on Saturday, April 5 and Sunday, April 6. A full race program is scheduled for each night, beginning with time trials, followed by heat races, a dash, Last Chance Showdown and a 25-lap main event paying $10,000-to-win.
“After only having one race each of the last two weekends, we are pretty anxious to get to Calistoga,” said Kinser, who pilots the Mesilla Valley Transportation/Casey’s General Store/King Racing Products Maxim. “It will be interesting to see the changes they made to the track last year. Calistoga has always been a fast, flat-out type track. With some banking in it now, it will be faster than ever. The cars will really be able to showcase their true speed.”
Kinser finished ninth at Calistoga Speedway in his most recent start at the track in 2012, which marked his fourth career top-10 finish at the venue. Kinser was sixth-fastest in time trials that night and finished fourth in the third eight-lap heat race. He started 12th in the 25-lap main event and steadily worked his way forward to finish ninth.
Kinser has made seven career starts at Calistoga Speedway with the World of Outlaws STP Spring Car Series dating back to 2004, when he finished a career-best seventh at the half-mile. He set fast time during the opener of the Harvest Classic in 2005. Kinser has qualified among the top-10 in six of his seven World of Outlaws starts at Calistoga.
“Getting two full nights of racing in this weekend will be great,” he noted. “We’ve been on the West Coast a while and the track is where we want to be every day. We haven’t had the best of luck so far out west, so hopefully we can turn that around this weekend. We talk about qualifying a lot and now with the new dash format, it’s even more important to be among the top-two or to start up front in a heat race and run as hard as you can to try and win your heat.”
Last Friday night at Merced (Calif.) Speedway, Kinser finished 17th. He lined up 21st, after transferring from the Last Chance Showdown. A rough-and-tumble 40-lap main event followed, with the native of Bloomington, Ind., getting caught up in a lap-18 caution, but he was able to continue on and gain a few positions in the second half of the race.
Entering this weekend, Kinser is ninth in the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series championship standings. He has three top-10 finishes and has qualified among the top-10 on five occasions.
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: Calistoga Speedway
0.5- Miles around Calistoga Speedway
3- Heat races wins thus far in 2014
4- Career top-10 finishes at Calistoga
7- Main event starts at Calistoga Speedway, including preliminary features
8- Nights of racing in California for the series during the “Spring Break Tour”
9- Current position in points
10- Main event starts with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series in 2014
16.057- Track record at Calistoga Speedway
167- Miles from Merced Speedway in Merced, Calif., where the World of Outlaws raced on March 28 to Calistoga Speedway in Calistoga, Calif.
1239- Points earned this season through March 28
1978- Inaugural visit by the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series to Calistoga Speedway
2004- Year of first start at Calistoga Speedway
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.
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