From Tony Veneziano, image courtesy of Steve Lafond
Baytown, TX — Steve Kinser gets up to speed pretty quick at most every track the World of Outlaws visit and can adapt to just about any conditions the track may throw at him, having won at nearly every track on the circuit. One track he is especially fast at and that suits his driving style very well is the immaculate Houston Raceway Park in Baytown, where the World of Outlaws will compete on Saturday, March 13 in the Texas Shootout as part of the Texas Two-Step Weekend.
In 14 career starts at Houston Raceway Park, Kinser has finished in the Top-10 in each and every race, with 11 Top-Five performances among the tally. He has an average finish of 3.6 at the track, which easily is the best of the 18 drivers competing full-time with the World of Outlaws in 2010.
“I do enjoy running that race track and we’ve always had success there,” said Kinser. “I’m looking forward to going back there this year. It is a short track, but it doesn’t race like a choppy short track. It’s a track that is nice and smooth and we got around there pretty well. It’s a nice facility as well and a nice race track.”
Kinser first competed in the state of Texas back in the World of Outlaws inaugural season of 1978, winning for the first time in the Lone Star State the following year. The 20-time World of Outlaws champion has finished in the Top-Five in 15 consecutive races in the state and has finished sixth or better in 18 straight starts in the state. In his legendary career, Kinser has won 54 times in Texas and has well over 150 Top-10 finishes in the state, where the World of Outlaws were born.
“It’s important to be anywhere,” he noted when asked about the World of Outlaws racing in Texas. “Some of the races have slowed in the Texas/Oklahoma area and that used to be a hot bed for a number of years. I don’t know why it has, but it has. It will be nice to go down there to Houston and Kilgore.”
The World of Outlaws were the inspiration behind Houston Raceway Park being built and the series debuted at the state-of-the-art facility in 2000 with Kinser picking up the win in the first A-Feature event at the track after running second in the opening night preliminary feature. He was victorious in each of the first two A-Feature events for the series at the track.
“It certainly is a nice facility,” Kinser said when asked about Houston Raceway Park. “It’s somewhere where you don’t have to scramble to watch race cars out on the track, you are able to see the track pretty good without doing a lot of walking, so that makes it convenient.”
Houston Raceway Park will always be a special track for Kinser, as won his 500th career World of Outlaws A-Feature event at the facility in 2004. He leads all drivers with five A-Feature wins at the ¼-mile and is one of just four drivers that has competed in all 14 events for the series at the state-of-the-art facility.
“It does mean a lot,” he stated of his 500th win which came nearly six years ago. “For a lot of year we raced feature and preliminary features and they were really the same thing. So that win was more than 500 really, but it’s a special one still.”
After having off-season surgery to fix a bulging disc in his neck, Kinser has come out of the box very strong in 2010, which is his first year behind the wheel of the Bass Pro Shops Maxim for Tony Stewart Racing. He is a teammate to four-time and defending series champion Donny Schatz at TSR, forming the most potent team in World of Outlaws history.
“I do feel better,” shared the Hall of Famer. “I definitely had some neck problems and feel better this year in the car. Hopefully this continues and we run strong all year.”
Kinser began the new season with a strong third-place finish on opening night at Volusia Speedway Park in Florida, and the following night he was victorious at the half-mile. A runner-up finish at Las Vegas put him the series point lead over his teammate. Last weekend at Thunderbowl Raceway in California, he recovered from an early spin in the opener to charge back through the field with a masterful driver to finish fifth. He followed that up with a sixth-place performance last Saturday night after lining up 21st on the grid.
Kinser is currently third in the World of Outlaws championship standings having finished sixth or better in all five events this season and is just nine markers behind point leader Joey Saldana, as he chases his record 21st title.
“We got in a little wreck and went to the back and came on back through there to finish fifth, so we were able to turn what looked like was going to be a terrible night into an average night,” explained the native of Bloomington, Indiana. “When you can do that, I guess you’re not doing too bad. That s a track (Thunderbowl Raceway) where it s 50/50 when I run good and when I struggle. We’ll see what happens and continue to go from there.”
Kinser looks to keep his strong start to the season going at Houston Raceway Park where he ran a very strong third last season and has finished in the Top-Five in each of his last six starts at the track.
On Saturday, March 13 at Houston Raceway Park, Tickets for adults will be $30 in advance and $35 the day of the race, with tickets for juniors (ages 6-12) $15. Children ages five-under will be admitted free of charge. Pit combos will also be available for $38, which includes a grandstand ticket and a pit pass if purchased in advance. To purchase tickets online visit http://www.houstonraceway.com or call the track at 281-383-7223