Memorial Day Weekend Takes Kraig Kinser to Charlotte and Lawrenceburg
By Kraig Kinser Racing PR
BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—May 23, 2013— In terms of facilities and venues on the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series trail, a pair continually pops up when talking about state-of-the-art tracks. One of those is The Dirt Track at Charlotte in Concord, N.C., and the other is Lawrenceburg Speedway in Indiana. Kraig Kinser knows both tracks very well, as he’s called the Charlotte area home for a few years, while Lawrenceburg Speedway in his home state of Indiana and a track that he raced at early in his career. This Memorial Day weekend, the third-generation will take to the track at both venues with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series in the No. 11K Casey’s General Store/Mesilla Valley Transportation Maxim.
The Circle K NOS Energy Outlaw Showdown at The Dirt Track at Charlotte is set for Friday, May 24. A trip back to the Midwest will find the series at Lawrenceburg Speedway on Memorial Day itself, Monday, May 27.
Kinser heads into the pair of events fresh off his first World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series win of the season at Orange County Fair Speedway in New York, earlier this week. He recorded three straight top-10 finishes to wrap up the first East Coast swing of the season, including a 10th-place showing on Tuesday, May 21, in his debut at New Egypt Speedway in New Jersey.
“It was definitely great to get our first win of the season and hopefully we can continue to run like we have the last week,” Kinser said. “Going to a couple of tracks this weekend that I have done well at in the past certainly helps in the confidence department. The competition is so tough out here right now that you have to put a whole night together and have everything go your way to be in contention.”
Kinser made three starts at Charlotte last year and finished fourth or better in each of those three races. He was fourth in the spring race and followed that up with a third-place showing in the opener of the season-ending World Finals and came home fourth in the finale of that blockbuster event. Kinser opened the spring race at Charlotte by turning the eighth-fastest lap in time trials, which put him on the outside of the front row for the second eight-lap heat race which he won to earn a spot in the dash, which he won to earn the pole for the 30-lap main event. He has finished ninth or better in each of his last four starts at the track.
“We learned a lot at Charlotte last year and should be able to use some of that this week,” he noted. “The tires are obviously different so we’ll make the most of hot laps to get the feel for the track with those and look to go with a similar set-up to what we have in the past there. When the track is right, there is plenty of racing room there.”
In his career at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, Kinser has made a total of 18 starts, picking up seven top-10 finishes along the way, with four of those being top-five performances. He finished a career-best second in the finale of the 2008 World Finals. Kinser made his debut at the four-tenths-mile with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series in 2002 and has competed with the series in eight different seasons, including six consecutive.
Kinser finished second last season at Lawrenceburg, following a thrilling duel with Chad Kemenah that saw the pair officially trade the lead twice, but unofficially quite a few times, as they diced back-and-forth lap-after-lap. Kinser began the night at the three-eighths-mile as the 10th-quickest driver in qualifying, which put him on the front row of the second heat race. He finished second in that six-lap contest to earn a spot in the dash, where he came home fourth.
“That was a great race we had with Chad (Kemenah) last year,” Kinser stated. “You never want to finish second, but in a race that was as thrilling as that one and to have a guy who is a good friend of mine like Chad win it, that helps you deal with finishing second. Hopefully we can have another solid run at Lawrenceburg and put on a good show for the fans.”
Kinser has won twice at Lawrenceburg in his career. First, with the World of Outlaws in 2005, and then with the UNOH All Star Circuit of Champion in the Fall Classic in 2007. Both of those victories came when the surface was a quarter-mile. In his career with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series at Lawrenceburg Speedway, Kinser has made five starts, picking up three top-five finishes.
Entering the pair of events this weekend, Kinser sits 11th in points with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series, on the strength of one win, 11 top-10 finishes and four top-five performances.
Kraig Kinser Racing would like to thank Casey’s General Stores, Mesilla Valley Transportation, 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: The Dirt Track at Charlotte & Lawrenceburg Speedway
0.375- Miles around Lawrenceburg Speedway
0.4- Distance in miles around The Dirt Track at Charlotte
1- A-Feature win in 2013
2- Career wins at Lawrenceburg Speedway; Laps led last season at Lawrenceburg en route to a runner-up finish
3- Main events scheduled for the World of Outlaws at The Dirt Track at Charlotte this season; Top-five finishes with the World of Outlaws at Lawrenceburg; Nights of racing this season for the series in the state of Indiana
4- Career top-five finishes at The Dirt Track at Charlotte
5- Main event starts with the World of Outlaws at Lawrenceburg Speedway
7- Career top-10 finishes at The Dirt Track at Charlotte
7.2- Average finish in five main event starts with the World of Outlaws at Lawrenceburg Speedway
12.8- Average finish in 18 career starts at Charlotte
18- Career main event starts at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, including preliminary features
25- Laps led in A-Feature events this season
483- Miles from The Dirt Track at Charlotte in Concord, N.C., where the World of Outlaws compete on May 24 to Lawrenceburg Speedway in Indiana
565- Miles from New Egypt Speedway in New Jersey, where the World of Outlaws raced on May 21 to The Dirt Track at Charlotte in Concord, N.C.
2002- Year of first start at Charlotte
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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Kraig Kinser celebrates his first win of the season at Orange County
Fair Speedway on May 20. (Photo Courtesy of Jeff Martz)