By Kraig Kinser Racing PR
Bloomington, Ind.—June 13, 2012— Some of the biggest sporting events of the year in the state of North Dakota take place when the World of Outlaws come to town, and Kraig Kinser has been a part of those contests in a half-dozen different seasons, visiting four different tracks in the state. The series will make two seperate visits to North Dakota this season beginning with a doubleheader this weekend.
The pair of races this weekend opens for Kinser aboard the Hendrickcars.com Maxim on Friday, June 15, at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.D. The series then heads south on Interstate 29 on Saturday, June 16, for a return to Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo, N.D.
“We always look forward to going up to Grand Forks,” said Kinser. “That’s one of the quickest tracks we run on all year and reminds me a lot of some of the smaller tracks I used to run on early in my career. There are a lot of good sprint car fans up in that area and we always enjoy putting on a good show for them.”
Kinser made his debut at River Cities Speedway in 2000, with the former Gumout Series finishing fourth and fifth in two starts. In 2001, the native of Bloomington, Ind., earned a career-best runner-up finish at the high-banked bullring and scored another podium at River Cities in 2002. In four Gumout Series starts at the track, Kinser finished in the Top-Five each and every time.
“I had some good runs with the Gumout Series at Grand Forks,” said Kinser. “We came close to winning a couple of times and have always had good notes for that track. The cars and the rules have obviously changed a bunch since then, but we still feel pretty good when we roll through the gate there.”
The 2005 Knoxville Nationals winner has raced with the World of Outlaws eight times at River Cities Speedway, earning a total of four Top-10 finishes. He ran sixth at the track in 2009, which began a streak of four straight Top-10 finishes with the series at Grand Forks. Last season, Kinser competed at the high-banked bullring three times, finishing ninth and 16th in June and 12th in August.
“Last year we were a little bit off when we were there, and to be up front with these guys, you have to be on top of your game,” shared Kinser. “We’ve been pretty good on the smaller tracks this year and winning at Kokomo last week, showed what we are capable of. Like always, it takes a complete night to be in contention at the end of the 40 laps.”
The last time that Kinser and the rest of the World of Outlaws competed at Red River Valley Speedway was in 2009, when the track was still a half-mile. Prior to last season it was reconfigured to a three-eighths-mile. The third-generation driver has seven career Top-10 finishes at Red River Valley in 11 main event starts, including preliminary features. He made his debut at the track in 2003 and finished a career-best third at the venue in 2005. Kinser finished seventh in his most recent start at the track in 2009.
“Everyone out here is able to adapt pretty quick, so hot laps will be important at Fargo with the new look to the track,” said Kinser. “The main thing is to keep up with changes to the track all night and put yourself in a good position to start near the front. I’ve been pretty consistent at Fargo over the years, so hopefully we can keep that up.”
Kinser enters the week sixth in the World of Outlaws championship standings on the strength of 18 Top-10 finishes, including his first win of the year on June 5 at Kokomo (Ind.) Speedway. He has qualified among the Top-10 in 16 events this season, including setting fast time on two occasions, while racing his way into the dash 15 times to earn Top-10 starting positions in main events.
Kraig Kinser By the Numbers: River Cities Speedway & Red River Valley Speedway
0.3- Miles around River Cities Speedway
0.375- Miles around Red River Valley Speedway
2-Career Top-Five finishes at Red River Valley
4- Career Top-Five finishes at River Cities Speedway with the Gumout Series; Career Top-10 finishes with the World of Outlaws at the track
6- Current position in the World of Outlaws championship standings
7- Career Top-10 finishes at Red River Valley Speedway
8- Main event starts with the World of Outlaws at River Cities Speedway
9.269- Track record at River Cities Speedway
9.8- Average finish in 11 career main event starts at Red River Valley
11- Career main event starts at Red River Valley Speedway, including preliminary feature
11.1- Average finish in eight main event starts at River Cities Speedway
12- Total career main event starts at River Cities
12.404- Track record at the reconfigured three-eighths-mile Red River Valley Speedway
14.736- Track record at the former half-mile at Red River Valley Speedway
18- Top-10 finishes this season
41- Laps led in main events this season
80- Miles from River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.D., where the World of Outlaws compete on Friday, June 15 to Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo, N.D.
116.517- Track record at River Cities Speedway in miles per hour
594- Miles from Knoxville Raceway in Iowa where the World of Outlaws competed on June 9 to River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks, N.D.
2000- Year of first career start at River Cities Speedway with the Gumout Series
2003- Year of first start at Red River Valley Speedway
2008- Year of first start with the World of Outlaws at River Cities Speedway
2009- Year of most recent visit to Red River Valley
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