Bloomington, Ind. — June 17, 2012 — In a sprint car race every lap is important, but the second half of an A-Feature event is crucial, and having a car that gets better as the race wears is a goal that every team shoots for. Kraig Kinser was able to make a late-race charge both nights this past weekend during the Duel in the Dakotas, winning the opener at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, on Friday night, and finishing fifth in the finale at Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo, on Saturday to earn his 10th Top-10 Five finish of the season.
“To win and finish fifth was a great weekend for us in the Hendrickcars.com Maxim,” said Kinser. “We were able to get in the dash each night, which always helps, as well as pass some good cars. We have some good momentum to build on heading into the heat of the summer I wish we were racing again tomorrow.”
Kinser lined up ninth for the 30-lap main event in the World of Outlaws return to Red River Valley Speedway for the first time since 2009, which marked the series debut on the reconfigured three-eighths-mile. The first yellow flag of the night flew on the opening circuit, leading to a complete restart, with Kinser again taking the green flag on the inside of the fifth row.
The caution flag would wave a total of four times in the first 19 laps, with Kinser continuing to hold down the ninth position. He moved up to eighth on a restart with 11 laps to go. The caution flag came out again on the 21st circuit, and on the ensuing restart Kinser moved up to seventh. The only red flag of the night flew on lap-24, with the third-generation driver restarting seventh.
On that restart, he charged around Joey Saldana to take the sixth position. With just two laps left, Kinser made his way around Craig Dollansky to take the fifth spot, where he would finish, to earn the third Top-Five finish of his career at Red River Valley Speedway, and the first since the track was reconfigured.
“It took a little while to get into a rhythm with all the cautions early on,” noted the 2005 winner of the Knoxville Nationals. “The car really came in late and I was able to use a couple of restarts to my advantage. We’ll just keep plugging away and I’m very happy with how things are going right now.”
Kinser opened the night at Red River Valley Speedway by turning the ninth-fastest lap in time trials, which put him on the outside of the front row of the third eight-lap heat race, which he won to earn a spot in the dash. The third-generation driver would start and finish the dash in the ninth spot, which lined him up on the inside of the fifth row for the 30-lap main event.
Kinser is currently sixth in the World of Outlaws championship standings on the strength of two wins, 19 Top-10 finishes, and 10 Top-Five showings. He returns to action on Friday, June 22, and Saturday, June 23, at the state-of-the-art three-eighth-mile Dodge City Raceway Park in Kansas.
“I can’t wait to get to Dodge City and climb back in the Hendrickcars.com Maxim,” Kinser shared. “I’ve had a few good runs there over the years and we have learned some things this year that should help us there. We’ve shown the last couple of weeks what we are capable and I look forward to continuing to run up front and content for wins.”
Red River Valley Speedway Results
| Date | Time Trials |
Heat Start |
Heat Finish | Dash Start |
Dash Finish | Feature Start | Feature Finish | Points |
| June 16 | 9th | 2nd | 1st | 9th | 9th | 9th | 5th | 6th |
Kraig Kinser By the Numbers: Red River Valley Speedway
0.375- Miles around the reconfigured Red River Valley Speedway
1- Finishing position in the third heat race
3- Career Top-Five finishes at Red River Valley
4- Nights of racing this season for the World of Outlaws in the state of North Dakota
6- Position in the World of Outlaws championship standings
8- Career Top-10 finishes at Red River Valley Speedway
9.4- Average finish in 12 career A-Feature starts at Red River Valley
10- Top-Five finishes this season
12- Career feature event starts at Red River Valley Speedway, including preliminary features
12.908- Lap in time trials at Red River Valley
19- Top-10 finishes earned this season
30- Laps in the main event at Red River Valley Speedway
48- Laps led in A-Feature events this season
3831- Points earned through June 16
65,660- Dollars earned through June 16
Up Next
June 22: Dodge City Raceway Park, Dodge City, Kan.
June 23: Dodge City Raceway Park, Dodge City, Kan.
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.
