BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — September 1, 2014 — The drive from Washington to Oregon to California offers some breathtaking scenery, but more importantly, it provides a number of tracks that the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series to stop at along that journey. A total of five tracks await the best sprint car drivers in the world over the next seven days, with six races on the docket. Kraig Kinser will be in attendance for all of them and looks to continue the consistent run he has been on as autumn approaches.
The West Coast Swing continues for Kinser, who drives the Mesilla Valley Transportation/Casey’s General Store/King Racing Products Maxim, on Monday, September 1 at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Washington. The series then heads to Oregon for a visit to Willamette Speedway on Tuesday, September 2, and Southern Oregon Speedway on Wednesday, September 3. The Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, California, is set for Friday, September 5 and Saturday, September 6. The West Coast swing concludes on Sunday, September 7 at Antioch Speedway in California.
“A stretch of races like this is what the World of Outlaws is all about,” said Kinser. “We are visiting mostly smaller tracks this week that usually put on a great show for the fans and put a lot of it back in the driver’s hands as well, as you have to really have your car working and handling, especially in traffic.”
Kinser was victorious at Grays Harbor Raceway in 2008. He has five top-10 finishes in seven starts at the three-eighths-mile in Elma, Washington. Kinser finished eighth at Grays Harbor last season, charging from the 19th starting position in the 30-lap main event.
The native of Bloomington, Indiana, finished 10th at Willamette Speedway last season in the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series second-ever visit to the track. He was fifth-fastest in time trials and followed that up with a fourth-place finishing the second heat race to earn a spot in the main event. Kinser made his debut at Willamette Speedway in 2012.
Last season’s scheduled event at Southern Oregon Speedway for the series was rained out, which means Kinser will be making his debut at the three-eighths-mile this week. The last time the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series raced at the oval in Medford, Oregon was 2006.
Kinser finished 17th on the final night of the Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway last year. He had trouble in the opener of the two-night event and missed the feature that night. Kinser finished ninth on the final night of the Gold Cup in 2008. His best-career finish at Chico came in 2009 during the Mini Gold Cup, when he ran third.
The third-generation driver has made four starts at Antioch Speedway. He finished ninth at the three-eighths-mile last season. Kinser opened the night as the second-fastest qualifier of the 33 entries. He finished third in the second heat race to earn a spot in the dash, where he came home eighth. Kinser raced at Antioch Speedway for the first time in 2011, earning a top-10 finish and was among the top-10 in 2012 again at the track. He has three top-10 finishes in four starts at the track.
Most recently, Kinser competed in the Monster Energy Meltdown at Skagit Speedway in Washington, where he finished 19th and 11th. He enters this week’s races ninth in points with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series.
Kraig Kinser By the Numbers: Grays Harbor Raceway, Willamette Speedway, Southern Oregon Speedway, Silver Dollar Speedway & Antioch Speedway
0.25- Miles around Silver Dollar Speedway
0.3- Distance around Willamette Speedway in miles
0.375- Miles around Grays Harbor Raceway, Southern Oregon Speedway and Antioch Speedway
1- Win at Grays Harbor- 2008
3- Top-10 finishes at Antioch Speedway
4- Starts at Antioch Speedway
5- Career top-10 finishes at Grays Harbor Raceway
7- Main event starts at Grays Harbor Raceway; Average finishing position in seven starts at Grays Harbor
10.8- Average finish in five starts at Antioch Speedway
12.6- Average finish in 19 starts at Silver Dollar Speedway
19- Career main event starts at Silver Dollar Speedway, including preliminary features
138- Distance in miles from Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash., where the World of Outlaws race on September 1 to Willamette Speedway in Oregon
165- Miles from Skagit Speedway in Alger, Washington, where the World of Outlaws competed on August 29–30 to Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash.
169- Distance in miles from Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif., where the World of Outlaws race on Sept. 5–6 to Antioch Speedway in California
219- Miles from Southern Oregon Speedway where the World of Outlaws compete on Sept. 3 to Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, Calif.
266- Miles from Willamette Speedway in Oregon, where the World of Outlaws race on September 2 to Southern Oregon Speedway, also in Oregon
2004- Year of first start at Grays Harbor Raceway and Silver Dollar Speedway
2011- Debut at Antioch Speedway
2012- Year of first start at Willamette Speedway
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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