By Tracy Hines Racing PR
New Castle, Ind.—Nov. 1, 2012— There’s just something about half-mile tracks that have agreed with Tracy Hines and his sprint car program this season, especially down the stretch. Following a win during the 4-Crown Nationals at the famed Eldora Speedway in Ohio and a fourth-place showing in the Jim Hurtubise Classic at the Terre Haute Action Track in his home state of Indiana, Hines will make two more starts in a sprint car at a half-mile this weekend in California at Perris Auto Speedway in the MP Environmental DRC as part of the 17th Annual Budweiser Oval Nationals.
The Oval Nationals are set to hit the track on Friday, Nov. 2 and Saturday, Nov. 3. A 25-lap preliminary feature will highlight the first night, with a 40-lap A-Feature set for the final night. Each night will open with time trials, followed by heat races and a main event. A special $500 bonus will be awarded to the fastest qualifier each night of the Budweiser Oval Nationals, which will kick-off on Thursday, Nov. 1, with a practice night.
“The Oval Nationals is always a big event,” said Hines. “I’ve had a some good runs at Perris over the years and with how well we’ve run on the bigger tracks this year with the sprint car, I am really looking forward to getting over there. We should be able to use some of what’s worked for us at Eldora this year, this weekend at Perris.”
Last season in the Oval Nationals, which were a three-night event, Hines picked up a pair of seventh-place finishes in the final two features, which were both run on the same day due to rain. He began the event by turning the 15th-fastest lap in time trials of the 49 drivers that were in attendance. He would win the fifth 10-lap heat race that night to earn a spot in the 25-lap preliminary feature, where he would finish 12th.
With the second night of the event postponed by rain until the following afternoon, Hines and his fellow competitors competed in two complete race programs on the final day/night of the event. In the second of three race programs, Hines timed in 17th. He finished fifth in the second heat, which put him in the B-main, where he finished third to earn a spot in the preliminary feature. He would finish seventh in that 25-lap contest. Earning enough points in the first two events to lock himself into the 40-lap finale, Hines took to the track only for the main event on the final night, finishing seventh.
“Last year was definitely a unique event, running the second two programs on the same day with one being an afternoon race,” he noted. “There is always a good field of cars in California and just like any of our races anymore, you have to qualify well to put yourself in a good position for the rest of the night. You have to be on your game for sure going into a track like Perris.”
The 2002 USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car Series champion made his debut at Perris Auto Speedway in a USAC Western Midget event 1995, finishing second on a one-third-mile track that preceded the current half-mile, which opened in 1996. Hines earned his best-career sprint car finish at the track in 2010, placing third on the second night of the Oval Nationals.
Hines began the USAC Western Swing last weekend with a sixth-place finish in the opener of a two-night event at Canyon Speedway Park in Arizona and was ninth in the finale. Follow this weekend’s pair of races at Perris, he’ll return to Canyon next weekend for a two-night event with the USAC Mopar National Midget Series.
“We didn’t quite have the results we were hoping for last weekend, so we want to try and make up for that this weekend,” Hines shared. “We would like nothing more than to pick up another win or two to wrap up the USAC Sprint Car portion of our schedule.”
The veteran driver enters the Oval Nationals fourth in the USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car Series standings on the strength of two wins and 21 Top-10 finishes, of which 11 are top-five performances. He also is second in the USAC National Driver of the Year standings, with a handful of races remaining in that competition.
Tracy Hines Racing would like to thank: MP Environmental, DRC, AFCO Racing Shocks, Bell Race Gear, FatHeadz, Kenny’s Components, Race Bumpers, Rod End Supply, Schoenfeld Headers and Stanton Racing for their continued support.
For more information on Tracy Hines Racing, including a complete 2012 schedule, visit http://www.tracyhinesracing.com. Follow Tracy on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TracyHinesRacin.