BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — June 18, 2014— The racing season got started a little late this year in the Upper Midwest following an extra harsh winter. Race fans and tracks in North Dakota and Minnesota have been making up for lost time with plenty of events as the summer rolls around. Two of the biggest will be this weekend as the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series makes their annual visit to River Cities Speedway in North Dakota, and their second-ever appearance at I-94 Speedway in Minnesota. Kraig Kinser will be in attendance for both, piloting the No. 11K Mesilla Valley Transportation/Casey’s General/King Racing Products Maxim.
Kinser will hit the track on Friday, June 19 at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, North Dakota. He then heads to I-94 Speedway in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, for an event on Saturday, June 20.
The native of Bloomington, Indiana, finished fifth last June at River Cities Speedway and was 11th in July. Kinser was victorious with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series at the ultra high-banked three-tenths-mile in 2012. He has made 12 starts with the series at River Cities Speedway. Kinser has a total of six top-10 finishes at the track, with two of those being top-five runs. He also made four starts with the World of Outlaws Gumout Series at River Cities Speedway, earning four top-five finishes.
“You have to always have your elbows up and sit up in the seat just a little bit more than normal at Grand Forks (River Cities Speedway),” said Kinser. “We’ve had a good amount of success there over the years and it’s definitely a place I enjoy racing at. Don (Mack) does a great job preparing the track and everyone up there is so welcoming when we come to town. Both the town and the track remind me of a lot of the places back home in Indiana and the Ohio area that I grew up racing on.”
Last season, in the series debut at I-94 Speedway, Kinser finished fifth, after starting sixth at the three-eighths-mile. He opened the night as the 11th-fastest qualifier of the 28 entries, which put him on the pole of the second heat race. Kinser came home second in that heat race to earn a spot in the dash. He took the green flag ninth in the dash and worked his way up to sixth, which put him on the outside of the third row for the 30-lap A-Feature.
“We had a pretty good night at I-94 (Speedway) last year,” Kinser said. “There wasn’t a ton of passing, so starting position was very important. That’s been the case quite a few times this year, but we have been able to work out way forward a number of times when we’ve started toward the back. Qualifying is where it’s at right now and we have to time in that spot and get in the dash.”
Kinser finished 10th at Jackson Speedway in Minnesota last weekend and was 15th at Knoxville Raceway in Iowa. Heading to the Upper Midwest this weekend, he is ninth in the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series championship standings, with 12 top-10 finishes.
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: River Cities Speedway & I-94 Speedway
0.3- Miles around River Cities Speedway
0.375- Distance around I-94 Speedway in miles
2- Races at River Cities Speedway in 2014 for the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series; Nights of racing in the state of Minnesota this season for the series
3- Nights of racing in North Dakota this season for the World of Outlaws
7- Laps led in 2012 en route to winning at River Cities Speedway
9.269- World of Outlaws track record at River Cities Speedway set in 2009
10.4- Average finish in 12 main event starts with the series at River Cities
12- Main starts with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series at River Cities Speedway
13.004– Track record at I-94 Speedway
37– Nights of racing completed in 2014 by the World of Outlaws
116.517- Track record in miles per hour at River Cities Speedway
140- Miles from River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, North Dakota, where the World of Outlaws race on June 20 to I-94 Speedway in Fergus Falls, Minnesota
593- Miles from Knoxville Raceway in Iowa, where the World of Outlaws raced on June 14 to River Cities Speedway.
2000- Year of first start at River Cities Speedway with the former World of Outlaws Gumout Series
2013- Year of first start at I-94 Speedway
4613- Point earned this season through June 14
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
Listen live to each and every World of Outlaws event on DIRTVision.com with “The Voice of the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series” Johnny Gibson on the call. Visit www.DIRTVision.com for live audio of each and every World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series event.
