BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — June 11, 2014— Last weekend, Kraig Kinser raced at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas, which is a flat, sprawling half-mile. That same description is apt for both venues on the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series docket this weekend: the historic Jackson Speedway in Minnesota, and the legendary Knoxville Raceway in Iowa.
The World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series invades Jackson Speedway on Friday, June 13 as Eyecon Trailer Cameras Presents the Big Game Shootout. Action then shifts to Knoxville Raceway on Saturday, June 14 for the Mediacom Shootout, which marks the series only visit of the season to the half-mile prior to the Knoxville Nationals in August.
Kinser, who pilots the Mesilla Valley Transportation/Casey’s General Store/King Racing Products Maxim, has made four starts in his career Jackson Speedway. He made his debut at the half-mile in 2004, finishing second, after starting on the pole. He finished 16th at the track last year. Kinser has one career win in the state of Minnesota in his career, with that coming in 2008 in his first-ever start at North Central Speedway in Brainerd.
“Jackson is definitely a place where the speed of a sprint car is well on display,” said Kinser. “Having raced there a few times we have a good idea of what the surface will do throughout the night. Similar to last week at Lakeside (Speedway) that’s a big, flatter type of track. You can move through the field at a place like that, but if there aren’t any cautions, you certainly want to start up front.”
The 2005 winner of the Knoxville Nationals made three feature events starts at Knoxville in 2013. He finished 13th at the half-mile in May and was 21st in June. On the opening night of the Knoxville Nationals he came home 22nd. He charged from 16th to fifth in the C-main on the final night of the event, just missing transferring to the B-main.
“Only visiting Knoxville (Raceway) once before the Nationals puts a lot of importance on this weekend’s race,” he noted. “The competition has been very tough there this year and it’s going to take a near-perfect night to be in contention. With qualifying playing such a big role in the race program right now, this will be a good test for the Nationals, because time trials are super important there. We’ve been hit or miss on the big tracks this year, so we are looking to build some consistency.”
Kinser finished 15th at I-80 Speedway in Nebraska, and was 13th at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas, last weekend. The series was scheduled to race at Kokomo Speedway in Indiana, as well last week, but that event was postponed by rain until September 16. Entering this weekend’s pair of races, Kinser is ninth in the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series championship standings. He has earned 11 top-10 finishes thus far in 2014.
Kraig Kinser By the Numbers: Jackson Speedway & Knoxville Raceway
0.5- Miles around both Jackson Speedway and Knoxville Raceway
1- Win in the state of Minnesota in his career- North Central Speedway in 2008
2- Career main event wins at Knoxville
4- Career main events starts at Jackson Speedway
5- Total nights of racing for the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series at Knoxville this season, including the Knoxville Nationals
11- Top-10 finishes earned this season through June 7
31- Career feature events starts at Knoxville with the series, including preliminary features
275- Miles from Jackson Speedway where the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series races on June 13 to Knoxville Raceway
402- Miles from Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas, where the series raced on June 7 to Jackson Speedway in Minnesota
2001- Year of first start at Knoxville Raceway with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series
2004- Year of debut at Jackson Speedway
2005- Year of win in the Knoxville Nationals
4363- Points earned through June 8
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.
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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