BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — August 27, 2014 — Leading up to the Monster Meltdown at Skagit Speedway, Kraig Kinser and his fellow World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series competitors will have had six full days between races. That will be the longest break they’ll have for a couple of weeks, as the Monster Meltdown at Skagit kicks off a stretch of eight races in nine nights in three states on the West Coast.
The Monster Meltdown at Skagit Speedway in Alger, Washington is set for Friday, August 29 and Saturday, August 30. A full racing program will hit the track each night, beginning with hot laps, followed by time trials, heat races, a dash, the Last Chance Showdown and A-Feature events.
“Skagit is a unique track and the surface can often be very challenging,” said Kinser. “Throughout the night it changes quite a bit, especially depending on the weather up in that part of the country. The key is to keep up with how it changes and adjust and adapt as needed. Things happen in a hurry at Skagit, so you always have to be aware or your surroundings and try to keep your nose clean and be there at the end.”
Last season at Skagit Speedway, Kinser finished sixth in the opener and was 11th in the finale of the Monster Meltdown in the Mesilla Valley Transportation/Casey’s General Store/King Racing Products Maxim. On the first night, the 29-year-old was eighth-fastest in time trials and finished second in the second heat race to earn a spot in the dash. When the checkered flag flew on the dash, Kinser crossed the line second, which put him on the outside of the front row for the 25-lap main event. On the second night, Kinser clocked in sixth-quickest. He ran fourth in the third heat race and lined up 11th for the 35-lap A-Feature.
The native of Bloomington, Indiana, has made 12 starts in his career at the high-banked three-tenths-mile bullring. He raced for the first time at Skagit in 2008, coming home 10th in that race. In his career, Kinser has six top-10 finishes at the track owned by former World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series competitor Steve Beitler. Kinser finished a career-best fourth at Skagit in the opener of the Monster Meltdown in 2009.
Last weekend in the Oil City Cup at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Kinser finished 12th each night. On the first night he was running among the top-10, when a flat left front tire sent him to the work area. He was again running in the top-10 on the second night, when his right rear wheel became packed with mud, again leading to a trip to the work area. Both nights he was able to restart and gain a few positions back.
“We had a fast car last weekend in Edmonton and just had a lot of bad luck,” Kinser said. “You never want to have bad luck, but at least having bad luck when you have a fast car you can work your way back up through the field and know that you are competitive. We have a big stretch of races coming up and we want to start them off on the right foot at Skagit.”
Entering the Monster Meltdown at Skagit Speedway, Kinser is ninth in the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series championship standings. He has 26 top-10 finishes thus far in 2014, with six 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: Skagit Speedway
0.3– Miles around Skagit Speedway
3- Nights of racing in the state of Washington for the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series in 2014
4- Best-career finishing position at Skagit, coming in 2009
6– Top-10 finishes at Skagit
7- Consecutive apperances in the dash in events that have featured a dash
9– Current position in the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series standings
11.7- Average finish in 12 main event starts at Skagit
12– Career main event starts at Skagit Speedway
20- Appearances in the dash thus far in 2014
26– Top-10 finishes this season
717– Miles from Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, where the World of Outlaws competed on August 22–23 to Skagit Speedway in Washington
1978- Year of World of Outlaws first visit to Skagit Speedway
2008- Year of first start at Skagit Speedway
8008– Points earned through August 23
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