NEW CASTLE, Ind.—May 15, 2014— To say that Tracy Hines has been successful at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis over the years would be a bit of an understatement. The veteran driver has won 13 USAC National races at the oval located just outside of Indianapolis in Clermont, Indiana. He made a trip to Victory Lane at the track last year with the Honda USAC National Midget Series and looks to return to that familiar ground this weekend in the Hall of Fame Classic for the Traxxas USAC Silver Crown Series.
The Hall of Fame Classic will commence for Hines, who drives the No. 16 Chevy-powered Beast for Lightfoot Racing, with backing from Hugh Brothers and Midwest Sheet Metal, on Saturday, May 17 with a l00-lap race. The day will open with practice sessions, followed by time trials that will be used to set the grid for race.
Hines made three starts at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis in 2013, winning the Rich Vogler Classic with the Honda USAC National Midget Series in July. He opened the event as the fastest qualifier and ended up leading 26 laps of the 30 laps in the main event. That same night, the veteran driver finished fifth in the J.D. Byrider 100 for the Traxxas USAC Silver Crown Series. Hines made his first start of 2013 at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis over Memorial Day weekend in the famed Night Before the 500, coming home third in the 30-lap A-Feature for the Honda USAC National Midget Series.
“I’ve been pretty fortunate over the years to drive some really good cars at IRP (Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis),” said Hines. “This will be our first pavement race of the year, but we were good on the pavement last year, so we feel like we have a good starting point. A lot can happen in a 100-lap event and you have to take care of your tires as well, especially if it’s warm out and the track surface heats up.”
The two-time USAC champion won for the first time at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis in 1997, with the Honda USAC National Midget Series. He scored his first Amsoil National Sprint Car Series win at the venue the following year. Hines won in a Silver Crown machine at the track in 2010. He has won the majority of his races at the 0.686-mile track with the Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car Series.
Hines has made one Silver Crown start in 2104, with that coming in the season opening Sumar Classic at the Terre Haute Action Track back in April. Hines finished second in that 100-lap contest. He was the fastest qualifier at the famed half-mile, earning the pole position for the Sumar Classic. He would run among the top-three for the duration of the contest, leading one lap along the way.
Last weekend, Hines finished 10th in the Belleville Bash at Belle-Clair Speedway in Illinois, which was co-sanctioned by the Honda USAC National Midget Series and POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series. The veteran driver was ninth-fastest in time trials of the 47 entrants at the fifth-mile bullring. Hines finished fourth in the first heat to transfer to the 40-lap main event.
Including this week’s race, Hines will compete four times in an eight-day stretch, all in his home state of Indiana. Along with a pair of Traxxas USAC Silver Crown Series events, he will also hit the track with the Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car Series and Honda USAC National Midget Series.
“This is the time of the year we always look forward to,” Hines shared. “We have races in all three types of cars coming up on both pavement and dirt. Having spent a lot of time on both surfaces in my career, I enjoy racing on both quite a bit. There is definitely a lot of preparation involved when the schedule picks up, and that’s when all the time we spend in the shop during the slow parts of the season and off-season pay off.”
Entering the Hall of Fame Classic, Hines is second in points with the Traxxas USAC Silver Crown Series, just three markers out of the lead as he chases his second title.
Tracy Hines Racing would like to thank Primary Sponsors: The Carolina Nut Company, Hansen’s Welding Inc, Elliott’s Custom Trailers and Carts, and MPHG Promotions Inc. Associate Sponsors for 2014 include: ProSource Professional Resources, Turbines Inc.,Daum Crop Insurance, Parker Machinery, Stanton Racing Engines and Schipper Family Farms. Product Sponsors that are part of Tracy Hines Racing in 2014 include: Afco Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, Autonet Mobile, Indy Race Parts, Bell Racing,Kenny’s Components, Race Bumpers, Hoosier Racing Tires, CSI Competition Suspension, Shadow Graphix, Driven Racing Oil,Sander Engineering, Hugh Brothers and Midwest Sheet Metal.
For more information on Tracy Hines Racing, visit http://www.tracyhinesracing.com. Follow Tracy on Twitter atwww.Twitter.com/TracyHinesRacin and “Like him” on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/Tracyhinesracing.
