By Kraig Kinser Racing PR
Bloomington, Ind.—August 23, 2012— Kraig Kinser has competed at the southernmost track on the World of Outlaws schedule already this season, as well as the easternmost and the westernmost. That leaves just the northernmost venue, and he’ll be able to check that one off the list this weekend, as he heads north of the border for the second time this season to take part in the Oil City Cup at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
The Sixth Annual Oil City Cup opens for Kinser aboard the Hendrickcars.com Maxim on Friday, August 24, with a full racing program, including a 35-lap A-Feature. The event concludes on Saturday, August 25, with another complete show for the World of Outlaws.
“Edmonton is a pretty racy track,” said Kinser. “There is usually a couple of grooves and plenty of room to race. I’ve had a few good runs there, including last year. We’ve had some success on similar tracks this season, so we should we should be pretty quick right off the truck.”
Kinser made his debut at Castrol Raceway during the 2008 Oil City Cup, which marked the World of Outlaws second visit to the three-eighths-mile. The native of Bloomington, Ind., has a pair of Top-10 finishes in Edmonton, including a career-best sixth-place showing last season, and ran seventh in 2009 at the facility.
The third-generation driver has made four starts in Canada this season with the World of Outlaws in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. He picked up three Top-10 finishes in those races, including a fourth-place performance at Ohsweken Speedway, where he opened the night as the fastest qualifier for the fifth time in 2012. In his career, Kinser has competed at five different tracks in Canada.
“The fans in Canada don’t get to see 410-sprint car racing very often, so it’s always fun to race in front of them,” he noted. “They usually get a pretty big crowd in Edmonton and the fans are pretty knowledgeable about the sport there. I’m glad we get to make the trip up there each year.”
The two-day Oil City Cup will mark the 14th and 15th races this season for the World of Outlaws on a three-eighths-mile track. Kinser has nine Top-10 finishes on tracks that size, including a win at Dodge City Raceway Park in Kansas and a runner-up performance at Lawrenceburg Speedway in his home state of Indiana.
“We have a stretch coming up with a lot of smaller tracks, so hopefully that bodes well for us,” he stated. “We know we have a quick car, we just need a little luck to go our way sometimes, as we’ve had a good bit of bad luck here lately. With how much we race, it all evens out eventually.”
Kinser heads to Edmonton sixth in the World of Outlaws championship standings, on the strength of four wins, 35 Top-10 finishes and 18 Top-Five performances. He has been quickest in qualifying on five occasions in 2012, which is third-best in the series.
“We’ve been working hard as always this week and are looking to get back into a rhythm like we were in earlier this summer,” noted Kinser. “With all the races coming up, I can’t wait to climb into the Hendrickcars.com car every night and see if we can pick up a couple of more wins down the stretch.”
Kraig Kinser By the Numbers: Oil City Cup at Castrol Raceway
0.375- Miles around Castrol Raceway
1-Win on a three-eighths-mile track this season
2- Career Top-10 finishes at Castrol Raceway
3- Top-10 finishes in Canada this season
4- Starts in Canada thus far in 2012
5- Different tracks in Canada competed at by the series in 2012
6- Nights of racing this season for the World of Outlaws in Canada
8- Career main event starts at Castrol Raceway
12.561- Track record at the three-eighths-mile
13- A-Feature events contested on three-eighths-mile track by the World of Outlaws in 2012
14.6- Average finish in 10 main event starts at Castrol Raceway
35- Laps in the main event each night
52- A-Features contested by the World of Outlaws through August 19
101-Laps led in feature events this season
732- Miles from Nodak Speedway in Minot, N.D., where the World of Outlaws competed on August 19 to Castrol Raceway in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
2008- Year of first start at Castrol Raceway
6642- Points earned through August 19
Keep up with all the action
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