Charging Hard: Kraig Kinser Finishes Fifth in Kings Royal at Eldora

Bloomington, Ind.—July 15, 2012—With a star-studded lineup in-place for the 29th Annual Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway on Saturday night, it would be no easy task to start on the last row of the 24-car field and be a contender for the $50,000 win. Don’t tell that to Kraig Kinser, who masterfully sliced his way through the field in the Hendrickcars.com Maxim, and at the end of the 40-lap contest found himself in the fifth position, earning the KSE Hard Charger Award.

For Kinser it was the fifth time he had raced his way into the main event of the Kings Royal, and marked his best-career finish in the marquee event, where he now has three Top-10 runs. The finale of the Kings Royal was taped for broadcast and will air on SPEED on Saturday, July 28, at 2 p.m. Eastern.

“To finish fifth, I can’t complain, especially after how our night started,” said Kinser. “We were a little off in qualifying and the heat race. When we got to fourth, we didn’t need that red flag. It really hurt us on the restart. It was frustrating in one sense, but to come all the way up to fifth from where we started, it was a great night.”

The third-generation driver lined up 23rd on the grid, and gained seven positions in the opening 10 laps. He used a couple of double file restarts to his advantage, and was among the Top-10, just 13 laps into the 40-lapper. Kinser had worked his way up to eighth by the halfway point of the race, and moved into seventh on the very next lap. He used an impressive move to go from seventh to fourth on lap-26, getting around Donny Schatz, Jac Haudenschild and Justin Henderson.

The final caution flag of the night flew on lap-29, with a red flag for fuel following. Kinser lined up fourth on the high side of the track for the ensuing double-file restart and lost three positions when the green flag came back out. He was able to move into sixth on lap-29 and took the fifth spot on the 32nd go-around, and would remain there for the final eight laps.

The native of Bloomington, Ind., opened the night by turning the 19th-fastest lap in time trials, which put him on the pole of the first heat race. The Kings Royal utilized a six-heat format, with the Top-24 in time trials inverted, and the Top-Three finishers in each heat race transferring directly to the feature. Kinser would finish fourth in his heat, which would put him in the B-main. He finished third in that 15-lap contest to earn a spot in the last row for the 40-lap Kings Royal finale.

“The B-main was tough, no doubt about it,” said Kinser. “Most of the drivers in there had cars good enough to be in the main event and only four of us got to move on. If we wouldn’t have been on our game in the ‘B’ those guys would have capitalized on it.”

In the Knight Before the Kings Royal at Eldora on Friday, July 13, Kinser finished 9th, after having to visit the work area on lap-12, due to a flat right rear tire. He restarted as the last car on the lead lap and steadily worked his way back through the filed over the final 18 circuits. The 2005 Knoxville Nationals winner opened the night as the 14th-fastest driver in time trials, which put him on the pole of the third heat race, where he would finish third. He lined up 14th for the 30-lap main event, earning his second straight ninth-place finish at the track.

“We were able to find a few things that worked on Friday night,” noted Kinser. “It helped build some confidence being able to work our way back even after the flat tire, and knowing that we had a fast car. That definitely showed on Saturday night.”

Kinser opened the “Month of Money” last week in the Ohio Logistics 24th Annual Brad Doty Classic Presented by Racing Optics at Limaland Motorsports Park, on Wednesday, July 11. He turned the 13th-fastest lap in time trials of the 43 entries, which put him on the pole of the first 10-lap heat race. He would finish second in that heat to earn a spot in the dash. He started and finished eighth in the dash, which lined him up on the outside of the fourth row for the 40-lap main event, where he would come home 12th.

Kinser is currently sixth in the World of Outlaws championship standings on the strength of four wins, 28 Top-10 and 14 Top-Five finishes. He is just 25 points out of the fifth spot, and 75 markers out of the lead. Kinser returns to action aboard the Hendrickcars.com Maxim on Tuesday, July 17, at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa., for the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup Twin 30s.

“When you are running good like we are, I want to be in the race car as much as possible,” he stated. “Things are feeling good right now and the whole team is doing a great job. I can’t wait to get to Lernerville.”

Limaland Motorsports Park & Eldora Speedway Results

 
 
Kraig Kinser By the Numbers: Limaland Motorsports Park & Eldora Speedway
0.25- Miles around Limaland Motorsports Park
0.5- Miles around Eldora Speedway
2- Top-10 finishes at Eldora this season
4- Starts in the Brad Doty Classic at Limaland
5- Main event starts in the Kings Royal
6- Current position in the World of Outlaws championship standings
8.1- Average finish this season in main events with the World of Outlaws
9.2- Average starting spot in A-Feature events
9.5- Average finish in four starts in the Brad Doty Classic
11.173- Lap in time trials at Limaland Motorsports Park
13.579- Qualifying lap in the Knight Before the Kings Royal
13.739- Laps in time trials on Saturday night in the Kings Royal
14- Top-Five finishes this season
23- Appearances in the dash this year
28- Top-10 performances in 2012
5160- Points earned through July 14
106,910- Dollars earned through July 14
 
Up Next
July 17: Lernerville Speedway, Sarver, Pa.
July 20: Williams Grove Speedway, Mechanicsburg, Pa.
July 21: Williams Grove Speedway, Mechanicsburg, Pa.
July 22: Lebanon Valley Speedway, West Lebanon, N.Y.
 
 
Keep up with all the action
Follow Kraig Kinser 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 Outlaws” Johnny Gibson on the call. Visit www.DIRTVision.com for live audio of each and every World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series event.