BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — May 28, 2014— While Kraig Kinser has raced at both Attica Raceway Park and I-96 Speedway in the past, this year he and his team will have to treat both facilities as if they were visiting for the first time. At Attica, it will be the first race for the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series at the track since 2011, due to Mother Nature, and at I-96 Speedway, they will be racing on a reconfigured three-eighths-mile that is different than the three-eighths-mile they ran on at the venue in 2012 and the half-mile last year.
The weekend opens for Kinser in his Mesilla Valley Transportation/Casey’s General Store/King Racing Products Maxim at Attica Raceway Park in Ohio, on Friday, May 30 for the running of the Kistler Engines Classic. The third-generation driver then heads north for the NAPA Auto Parts Rumble I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa, Michigan, which is the series first of two visits this season to the “Great Lakes” state.
Each of the last two seasons, the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series event at Attica has been rained out. Kinser made his most recent start at the high-banked third-mile in 2011. He has made four career starts with the series at Attica, recording a best finish of ninth in 2009.
“Hopefully this is the year that Mother Nature does not interfere at Attica (Raceway Park),” said Kinser. “We haven’t had the best track record the last few years over there when it comes to the weather. Attica is definitely one of the tracks with the toughest weekly competitors in the country and there always is a strong field of cars there. Everyone is going to have to really be on their game.”
Kinser finished seventh at I-96 Speedway last season on the half-mile. The series will run on a reconfigured three-eighths-mile this year that incorporates part of the half-mile. Kinser finished 10th in 2010 at the track. In his career at the track in central Michigan, Kinser has made eight starts, earning five top-10 finishes, including a career-best third-place showing in 2009 on the half-mile.
“We have raced at a few different configurations at I-96 (Speedway) the last few years and it will be another new one this year,” he shared. “Knowing that, you have to treat it like a place you’ve never been. We can use some of our notes from the past, but until we see it and walk around the track and get on it in hot laps, we are kind of just guessing. We feel like we have a pretty good car come feature time right now, and we were able to work out way forward the other night at Lawrenceburg (Speedway).”
Last weekend, Kinser finished 10th at the Dirt Track at Charlotte, and on Memorial Day night charged from the 25th starting spot to finish 10th at Lawrenceburg Speedway in his home state of Indiana.
Kinser makes the trip to Attica Raceway Park and I-96 Speedway, ninth in points with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series. He has 11 top-10 finishes, with two of those being top-five performances.
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: Attica Raceway Park & I-96 Speedway
0.333– Miles around Attica Raceway Park
0.375– Distance in miles around the newly reconfigured I-96 Speedway
2– Races in the state of Michigan this season for the World of Outlaws; Top-Five finishes at I-96 Speedway
4- Career main event starts with the World of Outlaws at Attica Raceway Park
5- Top-10 finishes at I-96 Speedway
8– Nights of racing currently scheduled for the World of Outlaws in Ohio this season; Career main event starts at I-96 Speedway
9- Current position in the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series championship standings
11- Top-10 finishes earned this season through May 27; Average finish in eight main event starts at I-96
16– Average finishing position in four main event starts with the World of Outlaws at Attica
218– Miles from Lawrenceburg Speedway in Indiana, where the World of Outlaws raced on May 26 to Attica Raceway Park in Ohio
231- Miles from Attica Raceway Park, where the series competes on May 30 to I-96 Speedway in Lake Odessa, Mich.
2004- Year of first start at I-96 Speedway
2005– Year of first World of Outlaws start at Attica Raceway Park
3867– Points earned through May 26
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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