By Kraig Kinser Racing PR
Bloomington, Ind.—June 27, 2012— Three wins in the last seven World of Outlaws races. Ten Top-10 finishes in his last 12 starts. And 78 laps led in A-Feature events. Those are Kraig Kinser’s stats over the last month. The third-generation driver looks to build on these numbers this weekend as he takes to a pair of vastly different half-mile in the state of Kansas.
Kinser will open the weekend in the Hendrickcars.com Maxim on Friday, June 29, at the legendary Belleville High Banks in Belleville, Kan., followed by a visit to the relatively flat Lakeside Speedway just outside of Kansas City on Saturday, June 30.
“We’ve been working hard this week and it’s kind of like last week, where we had a break in between races,” said Kinser, when asked about keeping his momentum going. “We just have to keep doing what we’re doing. The car has been there, and the driver has been there. The key is keeping everybody on the same page and when you have that, things work out. I can’t wait to get to the track and back in the car this weekend.”
Kinser made his debut at the Belleville High Banks last season, as the World of Outlaws made their first visit to the famed oval since 1981. The third-generation driver opened the night by turning the eighth-fastest lap in time trials, which put him on the front row of the second eight-lap heat race. He would win that heat to earn a spot in the dash. Kinser would start eighth in the six-lap dash and finish in the same position, to line up on the outside of the fourth row for the 25-lap A-Feature. He would gain a couple of spots over the course of the main event and would finish sixth.
“It’s definitely a high horsepower track,” noted Kinser. “Anytime you go to a half-mile, you have to have a good engine under you. Belleville also gets slick, so you have to use some finesse and control as well. We’re still learning about the track, since we’ve only been there once. Hopefully we’ll continue to be as fast as we have been, and stay toward the front.”
The winner of the 2005 Knoxville Nationals has raced at Lakeside Speedway three times in his career, finishing among the Top-10 in two of those contests. He raced for the first time with the World of Outlaws at the half-mile in 2003, finishing eighth. Kinser returned to Lakeside in 2010, and charged from the 13th starting position in the 30-lap main event to finish fifth. Last season the native of Bloomington, Ind., finished 16th in the main event.
“Lakeside is a tricky track,” explained Kinser. “It’s pretty flat and different than most of the other half-miles we run on. You have to have your set-up really working on the flatter tracks and I enjoy running on flatter tracks.”
Kinser enters the pair of races this weekend in the Sunflower State sixth in the World of Outlaws championship standings with three wins, 21 Top-10 finishes and 11 Top-Five performances. He has set fast time three times this season and been among the Top-Five in time trials on five occasions to earn bonus points in the standings. Kinser has also raced his way into the dash 18 times to earn a Top-10 starting spot in A-Features. He has led a total of 78 laps this season in main events, which is fifth on the leaderboard.
“One of our goals this year was to be a contender every night, and the last few weeks, we have been in that position day in and day out at the race track,” shared Kinser. “We feel like we’re right at our goal right now, but we have to keep working hard and continue to make ourselves better.”
Kraig Kinser By the Numbers: Belleville High Banks & Lakeside Speedway
0.5- Miles around both the Belleville High Banks and Lakeside Speedway
1- Career start at Belleville
2- Main events contested by the World of Outlaws at the Belleville High Banks
3- Career starts at Lakeside Speedway
4- Nights of racing in the state of Kansas this season for the World of Outlaws
5- Best finishing position at Lakeside Speedway, coming in 2010
6- Finishing position in the main event at Belleville last season
8.6- Average starting position in main events this season
9.3- Average finish in 31 main event starts this season it the World of Outlaws
9.7- Average finish in three career main event starts at Lakeside Speedway
13- Main events contested by the World of Outlaws on half-mile tracks this season
13.646- Track record at Lakeside Speedway
14.258- Track record at the Belleville High Banks
25- Laps in the main event at the Belleville High Banks
78- Laps led this season in A-Feature events
201- Miles from the Belleville High Banks where the World of Outlaws compete on June 29 to Lakeside Speedway near Kansas City, Kan.
229- Miles from Dodge City, Kan., where the World of Outlaws competed on June 22-23 to the Belleville High Banks in Belleville, Kan.
1981- Year of first World of Outlaws event at the Belleville High Banks
2003- Year of first start at Lakeside Speedway
2011- Year of first start at the Belleville High Banks
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