Kraig Kinser Wins All Star Thriller at Tri-City Raceway

From Tyler Altmeyer

FRANKLIN, Penn. (July 31, 2016) –Bloomington, Indiana’s Kraig Kinser brought Western Pennsylvania race fans to their feet on Sunday night at Tri-City Raceway Park in Franklin, Pennsylvania, outdueling Sheldon Haudenschild during the final two circuits of round two of the I-79 Summer Shootout presented by Classic Ink USA to secure his place on top of the feature podium. Kinser, who started from the pole position, pressured Haudenschild on multiple occasions during the 30-lap main event, leading for a short stint on lap 22 before taking command again on lap 29, ultimately driving on to capture his second Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions victory of the 2016 season. Sheldon Haudenschild held on to finish second during the $5,000-to-win program, followed by Tim Shaffer, Brent Marks, and Cap Henry.

“It’s just me and Mikey, my brother-in-law, here tonight,” Kraig Kinser said in victory lane. “I can’t thank everyone enough who helps out this team: Arctic Cat, Mesilla Valley Transportation. I know I’m forgetting to mention a lot of people. I want to thank the fans for coming out tonight. It was a long day today and the weather didn’t make things any easier. Winning tonight made today all worth it.”

Wooster, Ohio’s Sheldon Haudenschild took command during the initial start from the outside of row two, driving around the top three starters by the exit of turn two, eventually leading lap one over Kraig Kinser and Brent Marks. Haudenschild opened his advantage to a near-straightaway lead during certain segments of the first-half of the main event, surviving an early caution on lap six and two red flag incidents on lap 15 and lap 18.

Kraig Kinser, utilizing the very bottom of Tri-City Raceway Park’s half-mile, would catch a break on lap 22 when Haudenschild drove off of the banking in turn two, allowing Kinser to drive below the Southern Pacific Farms/Finzer Farms/No. 93 entry to officially lead the lap. Kinser controlled the pace until Haudenschild reclaimed the top spot on lap 23, driving back around Kinser at the exit of turn two. Haudenschild eventually returned to a lengthy advantage, maintaining his advantage even after entering traffic on lap 25.

By lap 27, traffic started to intensify for race leader Sheldon Haudenschild. Kinser chased Haudenschild through traffic, cutting down his advantage lap by lap. On lap 29, Kinser made his move, driving the Steve Kinser Racing/Arctic Cat/Mesilla Valley Transportation/No. 11K under Haudenschild at the exit of turn four. The former Knoxville Nationals champion made the winning pass stick, moving on to score the victory, his first ever at Tri-City Raceway Park, joining his father, Steve Kinser, on the track’s win list. Kraig Kinser now has four career Arctic Cat All Star victories to his credit.

“I thought I might have screwed things up a little bit there toward the middle of the race when I got by Sheldon the first time,” Kraig Kinser said. “I got the lead there and raced pretty hard with Sheldon (Haudenschild). We raced side-by-side coming out of four and I didn’t want to get into him, so I had to drive really low getting into one. Sheldon ended up driving back by me and I thought it was over at that point. I ended up getting through traffic really well with just a few laps left and was able to get back by him at the end. It was definitely a battle.”

The runner-up finish, his second of the weekend during I-79 Summer Shootout competition, increased Sheldon Haudenschild’s top-five count to 12 on the season with the Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions.

“Kraig and Mikey had a really good car tonight,” Sheldon Haudenschild explained. “He was there the whole race, ya know. I made a few mistakes to allow him to get by me, but I was able to get back around him. I thought I was going to be able to stay ahead of him. I was hoping the lapped cars would be in his line. Kraig was really good tonight. I’m happy for those guys. Two second places on the weekend is really good for us. We’ll move on to Knoxville and see what we can do.”

The 2016 Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions campaign will take a two weekend break before returning to competition on Thursday evening, August 18, at the Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pennsylvania. The two week schedule break will give teams the opportunity to prepare and participate in the 56th Annual 5-hour ENERGY Knoxville Nationals at the Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa. Many of the full-time Arctic Cat All Star travelers will be represented at the Sprint Car Capital of the World, chasing a starting position in the $150,000-to-win, Knoxville Nationals A-main.

The 2016 Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions schedule will continue on Thursday through Sunday, August 18-21, with a four-race stretch through Central Pennsylvania and Upstate New York. “America’s Series” will visit Grandview Speedway, Williams Grove Speedway, Lincoln Speedway, and Lebanon Valley Speedway during their march eastward, each awarding a minimum of $5,000. The Lebanon Valley Speedway visit in West Lebanon, New York, will cap off the long weekend with a $7,000 grand prize.

Those interested in learning more should stay tuned at www.allstarsprint.com.

Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions
Tri-City Raceway
Franklin, PA
Sunday July 31, 2016

A-Main (30 Laps): 1. 11K-Kraig Kinser[1]; 2. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[4]; 3. 49-Tim Shaffer[7]; 4. 19M-Brent Marks[3]; 5. 21-Cap Henry[2]; 6. 10H-Chad Kemenah[11]; 7. 1-Dale Blaney[5]; 8. 70-Danny Holtgraver[6]; 9. 8M-T.J. Michael[10]; 10. 22-Cole Duncan[16]; 11. 57X-Andrew Palker[8]; 12. 81-Lee Jacobs[13]; 13. 10-Carl Bowser[9]; 14. 40-Caleb Helms[17]; 15. O8-Danny Kuriger[21]; 16. O-Andy McKisson[20]; 17. 2-A.J. Flick[15]; 18. 24X-Sye Lynch[23]; 19. 51-John Garvin[24]; 20. 15-Scott Priester[19]; 21. 19-Joe Kubiniec[22]; 22. 22S-Brandon Spithaler[12]; 23. 35-Jared Zimbardi[18]; 24. 23JR-Jack Sodeman Jr[14]

B-Main (12 Laps): 1. O8-Danny Kuriger[1]; 2. 19-Joe Kubiniec[4]; 3. 24X-Sye Lynch[2]; 4. 51-John Garvin[3]; 5. 13-Brandon Matus[5]; 6. 24P-Alex Paden[7]; 7. 60-Kory Crabtree[6]; 8. 49H-Bradley Howard[10]; 9. 33-Brent Matus[9]; 10. 5X-Gale Ruth Jr[8]; 11. 1R-Gale Ruth Sr[11]; 12. 44-Joe McEwen[12]

Dash (6 Laps): 1. 11K-Kraig Kinser[1]; 2. 21-Cap Henry[2]; 3. 19M-Brent Marks[4]; 4. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[3]; 5. 1-Dale Blaney[8]; 6. 70-Danny Holtgraver[5]; 7. 49-Tim Shaffer[6]; 8. 57X-Andrew Palker[7]

Heat Race #1 (8 Laps): 1. 21-Cap Henry[1]; 2. 11K-Kraig Kinser[2]; 3. 10H-Chad Kemenah[4]; 4. 23JR-Jack Sodeman Jr[3]; 5. 40-Caleb Helms[5]; 6. 24P-Alex Paden[6]; 7. 1R-Gale Ruth Sr[8]

Heat Race #2 (8 Laps): 1. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[4]; 2. 57X-Andrew Palker[2]; 3. 22S-Brandon Spithaler[1]; 4. 2-A.J. Flick[3]; 5. 35-Jared Zimbardi[5]; 6. 24X-Sye Lynch[6]; 7. 49H-Bradley Howard[8]; 8. 60-Kory Crabtree[7]

Heat Race #3 (8 Laps): 1. 19M-Brent Marks[2]; 2. 10-Carl Bowser[1]; 3. 70-Danny Holtgraver[4]; 4. 22-Cole Duncan[3]; 5. 15-Scott Priester[6]; 6. 51-John Garvin[5]; 7. 13-Brandon Matus[7]; 8. 33-Brent Matus[8]

Heat Race #4 (8 Laps): 1. 8M-T.J. Michael[1]; 2. 49-Tim Shaffer[2]; 3. 81-Lee Jacobs[3]; 4. 1-Dale Blaney[4]; 5. O-Andy McKisson[6]; 6. O8-Danny Kuriger[5]; 7. 5X-Gale Ruth Jr[8]; 8. 19-Joe Kubiniec[7]

Qualifications (2 Laps): 1. 1-Dale Blaney, 15.917; 2. 70-Danny Holtgraver, 16.179; 3. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild, 16.225; 4. 22-Cole Duncan, 16.423; 5. 19M-Brent Marks, 16.458; 6. 81-Lee Jacobs, 16.486; 7. 49-Tim Shaffer, 16.565; 8. 2-A.J. Flick, 16.590; 9. 10H-Chad Kemenah, 16.657; 10. 57X-Andrew Palker, 16.658; 11. 23JR-Jack Sodeman Jr, 16.662; 12. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 16.665; 13. 21-Cap Henry, 16.750; 14. 22S-Brandon Spithaler, 16.847; 15. 35-Jared Zimbardi, 16.869; 16. 10-Carl Bowser, 16.918; 17. 40-Caleb Helms, 16.922; 18. 8M-T.J. Michael, 16.965; 19. O8-Danny Kuriger, 17.012; 20. 24X-Sye Lynch, 17.019; 21. O-Andy McKisson, 17.040; 22. 51-John Garvin, 17.064; 23. 19-Joe Kubiniec, 17.104; 24. 15-Scott Priester, 17.105; 25. 13-Brandon Matus, 17.149; 26. 60-Kory Crabtree, 17.209; 27. 24P-Alex Paden, 17.732; 28. 5X-Gale Ruth Jr, 18.026; 29. 33-Brent Matus, 18.061; 30. 44-Joe McEwen, 18.326; 31. 49H-Bradley Howard, 18.421; 32. 1R-Gale Ruth Sr, 18.616

EMi Driver’s Meeting: 32 Entries
State Water Heaters Warm-Ups: Tim Shaffer – 16.467 seconds
Lincoln Electric Fast Qualifier: Dale Blaney – 15.917 seconds
Kistler Racing Products Heat #1: Cap Henry
All Pro Aluminum Cylinder Heads Heat #2: Sheldon Haudenschild
Hunt Brothers Pizza Heat #3: Brent Marks
Racing Electronics Heat #4: T.J. Michael
JE Pistons Dash: Kraig Kinser
Daido Engine Bearings Main Event Winner: Kraig Kinser
MSD Performance Hard Charger Award: Chad Kemenah (+5)
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 5th Place Finisher: Cap Henry
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 10th Place Finisher: Andrew Palker (11th)
Outback Steakhouse A-Main 15th Place Finisher: AJ Flick (17th)
(Lincoln Electric, Daido Engine Bearings, MSD Performance, Outback Steakhouse; Need decal to qualify for contingency award)