From Tracy Hines Racing PR
New Castle, IN — (January 7, 2013) — The list of past winners of the Chili Bowl Nationals is a “Who’s Who” of the racing world. Of the 17 drivers that have won the Chili Bowl, only five have won it more than once. Tracy Hines, who claimed the Golden Driller trophy in 2005, looks to add his name to that very exclusive list of racers that have multiple Chili Bowl wins as he returns to the famed event this year.
Hines will pilot the No. 24 Parker Machinery/Powered by Toyota Spike in the 27th Annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals presented by General Tire at the Tulsa Expo Center in Tulsa, Okla. The Chili Bowl is set for Jan. 8–12, with the field of well over 250 drivers split into four qualifying groups. A practice session is set for competitors on Monday, Jan. 7, which Hines will take part in. He’ll then return to the track on Tuesday, Jan. 8, for the Vacuworx International Race of Champions, followed by Warren CAT qualifying night.
“The Chili Bowl is an event we look forward to each and every year,” said Hines. “The competition gets tougher every year and you definitely have to be on your game. I’ve been fortunate to have won the Chili Bowl in the past and it would be a great way to start our season with another strong run and to be in contention for the win.”
Last season, the veteran driver opened the Chili Bowl by finishing third in the Vacuworx International Race of Champions, behind five-time Chili Bowl winner Sammy Swindell and Kevin Swindell, who has won each of the last three Chili Bowl main events. The native of New Castle, Ind., took to the track for the third of four qualifying nights, where he finished sixth in the preliminary feature after racing his way through the first C-main and then the first B-main to earn a spot in the preliminary feature. Hines finished third in the first B-main on the final night of the 2012 Chili Bowl to earn a spot in the 50-lap main event. He would finish just outside of the top-10, in the 11th position in the A-Feature.
“Having a solid qualifying night is the first piece of the puzzle and putting yourself in a good position for the final night,” noted Hines. “I’ve raced my way through the alphabet in the past, but if you don’t have to do that, you are in a much better position and can save your equipment. We have a good baseline for the Chili Bowl and should be fast right off the truck.”
Hines has qualified for the main event at the Chili Bowl 12 times in his career. On his way to winning the 2005 Chili Bowl, he also won a preliminary feature. The 2000 USAC Traxxas Silver Crown and 2002 USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car Series champion has nine career top-10 finishes on the final night of Chili Bowl, with three of those being top-five performances. Along with his win in 2005, he also finished on the podium in 2009, coming home second to Sammy Swindell.
The 2012 season saw Hines compete in a midget with the USAC National Midget Series, scoring four wins and finishing second in overall points. He was victorious twice on the pavement at Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis, while also picking up wins on the dirt at Dodge City Raceway Park in Kansas and Tri-City Speedway in Illinois. Hines recorded 12 top-10 finishes with the series over the course of the season.
In addition to driving the No. 24 Parker Machinery/Powered by Toyota Spike, Hines will also serve as crew chief for Taylor Ferns, Trey Starks, C.J. Leary and Jonathan Hendrick who are all racing under the THR banner. Ferns, who was the 2011 USAC D1 Midget Series champion, is the winningest female driver in USAC history. Starks is a third-generation driver from Puyallup, Wash., whose father John competed in the Chili Bowl during its formative years. The younger Starks won twice in 2012 in a winged sprint car on the West Coast. Leary, a second-generation driver, who hails from Greenfield, Ind., was the 2012 USAC Amsoil National Sprint Car Series Rookie of the Year and won his first-career sprint car race with the Buckeye Outlaw Sprint Series (BOSS) in 2012 at Lawrenceburg Speedway in his home state of Indiana. Hendrick, a native of Fortville, Ind., was victorious last season at Tri-State (Ind.) Speedway with the Midwest Sprint Car Series, as well as picking up a win at Lawrenceburg.
“It’s going to be a busy week for sure having five cars compete, but with four qualifying nights that spreads things out and makes it a lot more manageable,” shared Hines. “I’ve got a lot of laps in the Chili Bowl and look forward to sharing that experience with the young drivers that we’ll have racing out of the THR stable this week.”
Tracy Hines Racing would like to thank: Parker Machinery, Powered by Toyota, Turbines, Inc., Afco Racing Shocks, Schoenfeld, Stanton Racing Engines, Daum Motorsport, Indiana Underground, Hoosier, Bell and Drivin Racing Oil.
For more information on Tracy Hines Racing, visit http://www.tracyhinesracing.