Bloomington, Ind. — July 8, 2012 — Entering the event at Beaver Dam Raceway in Wisconsin, the furthest back any driver had come from to win with the World of Outlaws in 2012 had been the 10th starting spot, and that was Kraig Kinser at River Cities Speedway on June 15. He bettered that by one spot on Saturday night, as he came from the 11th position to win the Third Annual Jim Boyd Memorial to earn his fourth victory of the season, which ties him for second-most in the series.
Kinser, piloting the Hendrickcars.com Maxim, took the lead from his father Steve on the back straightaway on lap-24, using the high side of the high-banked one-third-mile bullring, and would lead the remainder of the 40-lap contest.
“This win feels great,” said Kinser from Victory Lane. “To come from that far back with how tough the competition is right now, that is pretty amazing. The Hendrickcars.com car is so fast right now, and it’s a pleasure to drive. Mikey (Kuemper) and the crew is doing a great job, and we are having so much fun. Last month the wins came in threes, so hopefully we have a couple more in us still this month.”
The native of Bloomington, Ind., gained two spots on the opening lap, with the only red flag of the main event flying on the second circuit. Kinser would restart on the low side of the track and gained two more positions to move into seventh. The final caution of the night flew on the third lap, with the third-generation driver restarting fifth, after two cars ahead of him spun. He would quickly move into fourth on the restart.
“The preferred line was on the bottom on a couple of those restarts, and that helped us get to the front,” shared Kinser. “I didn’t want to show too much, too early, when I found what I did in turns one and two. Once I got by dad, I really used the right rear up trying to get around a few lapped cars, and at that point, I just wanted to keep it straight and keep the right rear under me.”
Kinser battled Craig Dollansky for the third position, for several laps early in the race with the pair trading the spot a couple of times. On lap-16, the 2005 Knoxville Nationals winner, would take third from Dollansky, and three laps later would move around Mike Reinke for the second spot. Kraig quickly closed on his dad Steve, and once he took the lead, he would quickly pull away, and withstood a late-race charge from Donny Schatz.
For the 2004 Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year, it marked the second time this season that he has passed his dad for a win, as the father/son duo finished first and second at Dodge City Raceway Park in Kansas on June 23.
“It was a tricky track all around,” noted Kinser of Beaver Dam Raceway. “Every time I have come here, it throws something else at you. It changed a couple of times during the feature as well. I knew we were going to be close on tires, so the last eight or ten laps, I was trying to finesse it as much as I could.”
Prior to heading to Beaver Dam, the World of Outlaws were in action at Cedar Lake Speedway on Friday, July 6, in the FVP Outlaw Showdown, where Kinser finished sixth, recovering from a flat left rear tire on lap-19. The native of Bloomington, Ind., lined up eighth for the 35-lap main event and moved into seventh on the opening lap. He ran there for the first 19 laps of the contest, before heading to the work area. Since the race was past the halfway mark, there was no guaranteed time in the work area. Kinser was still in the work area when the green flag came back out, and a caution on the restart, allowed him to rejoin the field as the last car on the lead lap.
He would line up 18th, on the restart and quickly began a charge back through the field. Kinser picked up six spots in six laps, and was running 12th, when the final caution of the night flew on the 24th circuit. Over the final 11 laps, he would gain six more spots to earn his second career Top-10 finish at the high-banked three-eighths-mile.
Kinser opened last week in the Upper Midwest at Huset’s Speedway in South Dakota on Tuesday, July 3, finishing seventh, to earn the fourth Top-10 finish of his career at the track. He began the night at the high-banked three-eighths-mile by turning the sixth-fastest lap in time trials. He started third in the third heat race and finished second to earn a spot in the dash, where he started and finished eighth. The pilot of the Hendrickcars.com Maxim lined up on the outside of the fourth row for the 35-lap main event.
Kinser, who returns to action on Wednesday, July 11, in the Ohio Logistics 24th Annual Brad Doty Classic Presented by Racing Optics at Limaland Motorsports Park in Ohio, is sixth in points, just eight markers out of the Top-Five and 71 out of the lead, on the strength of four wins, 26 Top-10 and 13 Top-Five finishes. He has finished seventh or better in six consecutive races and has been among the Top-10 in eight of his last nine starts.
Huset’s Speedway, Cedar Lake Speedway & Beaver Dam Raceway Results
| Date | Time Trials |
Heat Start |
Heat Finish | Dash Start |
Dash Finish | Feature Start | Feature Finish | Points |
| July 3 | 6th | 3rd | 2nd | 6th | 5th | 5th | 7th | 6th |
| July 6 | 11th | 1st | 2nd | 9th | 8th | 8th | 6th | 6th |
| July 7 | 6th | 3rd | 3rd | N/A | N/A | 11th | 1st | 6th |
Kraig Kinser By the Numbers: Huset’s Speedway, Cedar Lake Speedway & Beaver Dam Raceway
0.333- Miles around Beaver Dam Raceway
0.375- Miles around Huset’s Speedway and Cedar Lake Speedway
1- Race in the state of South Dakota this season for the World of Outlaws
2- Nights of racing in Wisconsin for the series in 2012
4- Wins this season
5- Career Top-10 finishes at Beaver Dam Raceway
8- Main event starts with the World of Outlaws at Huset’s Speedway and Cedar Lake Speedway
8.1- Average finish this season in A-Feature events
8.7- Average starting position in main events in 2012
10- Career main event starts with the World of Outlaws at Beaver Dam Raceway
11.021- Lap in time trials in Huset’s Speedway
11.177- Qualifying time at Cedar Lake Speedway
13- Top-Five finishes this season
13.110- Lap in time trials at Beaver Dam Raceway
17- Laps led en route to winning at Beaver Dam
26- Top-10 finishes earned this season
101- Laps led this season in feature events
4827- Points earned this season
99,160- Dollars earned this season through July 7
Up Next
July 11: Limaland Motorsports Park, Lima, Ohio
July 13: Eldora Speedway, Rossburg, Ohio
July 14: Eldora Speedway, Rossburg, Ohio
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