Tight Quarters: Kraig Kinser Visits a Trio of Bullrings this Week

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — May 6, 2014— Small, smaller and smallest. That’s the only way to describe the three tracks that await Kraig Kinser this week on the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series circuit. A pair of quarter-miles and a third-mile are on-tap in Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana.

The three-race stretch for the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series begins on Wednesday, May 7 at Jacksonville Speedway in Illinois, which marks the series debut at the venue. Action then heads north on Friday, May 9 to Wilmot Speedway in Wisconsin, and concludes on Saturday, May 10 at Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Indiana.

“Traditionally we’ve run pretty well on the smaller tracks,” said Kinser. “Those are the types of tracks I cut my teeth on and racing on. Smaller tracks like that put a lot of it back in the drivers’ hands, rather than having to worry about horsepower and clean air and things like that. All three races should be good ones for the fans. We always enjoy going to new tracks and back to places we haven’t been for a while.”

Along with hosting their inaugural event, Jacksonville Speedway will mark the only stop in the state of Illinois for the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series this season. Kinser made one start in the “Land of Lincoln” last season, finishing ninth at the quarter-mile LaSalle Speedway. He has raced at four different tracks in Illinois with the series during his career. The event at Jacksonville Speedway will mark the first race on a quarter-mile for the series in 2014.

Kinser has made one start at Wilmot Speedway with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series, with that coming in 2008. He finished 13th, after an early-race spin while running fourth forced him to restart at the back of the field. Kinser was third-fastest in time trials of the 39 entries at the flat, third-mile near the Wisconsin/Illinois border for that event in 2008. He finished second in the third heat race that night, which put him in the dash, where he came home third. Kinser has raced three times on third-mile tracks in 2014, with all of those starts coming in California.

At Tri-State Speedway in his home state of Indiana, Kinser has made eight starts in his career with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series. He finished a career-best fourth at the venue in 2011. Last season at the quarter-mile, the native of Bloomington, Indiana, came home eighth. He has finished eighth in each of his last two starts at the bullring and has been among the top-eight in each of his last four visits to the track.

“We are pretty fortunate to have quite a few races in Indiana this year,” said Kinser. “The folks at Haubstadt (Tri-State Speedway) always go the extra mile to make sure the track is in great racing shape and usually we have a few different grooves to race on there. That is a place where you have always have to be alert, because everyone stays pretty bunched up and things happen in a hurry.”

Last weekend, Kinser finished seventh and 11th in a pair of events at the famed Eldora Speedway in Ohio. The 2004 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year award winner is currently ninth in points. He has six top-10 finishes thus far in 2014.

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: Jacksonville Speedway, Wilmot Speedway & Tri-State Speedway
0.25- Miles around Jacksonville Speedway and Tri-State Speedway
0.33- Miles around Wilmot Speedway
1- Career start at Wilmot; Night of racing in Illinois in 2014 for the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series
3- Nights of racing in Wisconsin this season for the series
4- Top-10 finishes at Tri-State Speedway with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series
5- Races in the state of Indiana this season for the series
8- Main event starts with the series at Haubstadt
9- Current position in points
11- Average finish in eight feature races with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series at Tri-State Speedway
11.110- Track record at Tri-State Speedway
12.609- Qualifying record at Wilmot Speedway
256- Miles from the Steve Kinser Racing shop in Bloomington, Indiana to Jacksonville Speedway in Illinois
282- Distance in miles from Jacksonville Speedway in Illinois, where the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series races on May 7 to Wilmot Speedway in Wisconsin
336- Miles from Wilmot Speedway in Wisconsin, where the series races on May 9 to Tri-State Speedway in Haubstadt, Indiana
2004- Year of first main event start with the series at Haubstadt
2008- Year of only start at Wilmot 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.

Tune in
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