By Bill Klingbeil
INDIANAPOLIS (Aug. 11, 2015) –Sprint-car-racing icon Steve Kinser is going green … again. The 12-time Knoxville Nationals champion has spent most of his career leading the way at the famed Knoxville (Iowa) Raceway and, during next week’s 55th annual FVP Knoxville Nationals, Kinser will be once again carrying green colors as part of a collaborative effort with Bad Boy Buggies to promote environmental friendliness.
Kinser, driver of Tony Stewart Racing’s (TSR) No. 11 Bad Boy Buggies J&J, will begin his quest for a 13th Nationals crown next Thursday. The #KinserGoesGreen campaign begins Wednesday and, each day through the weekend, the 2015 Knoxville Nationals Queen’s court member and a representative from Bad Boy Buggies will circulate the campgrounds on the Marion County Fairgrounds and the North Campground to distribute green bags that can be filled with all recyclable materials.
Bad Boy Buggies is a leader in off-road utility vehicles for hunting and outdoor lifestyles and pioneered the category of electrically powered 4×4 vehicles. Its products are ideal for hunting and outdoor recreation due to their silent, odorless operation and environmentally friendly, emissions-free drivetrains. The company has been partnered with Tony Stewart Racing for the last three seasons.
The goal of the #KinserGoesGreen program is to provide an opportunity for Sprint-car racing’s brand-loyal enthusiasts to follow the lead of both “The King of the Outlaws” and Bad Boy Buggies by being environmentally responsible. The filled bags will be picked up each day and delivered to a local recycling center.
Kinser will be making his 39th appearance in Sprint-car racing’s “Granddaddy of them All.” He first ventured to the Nationals in 1977. He won his first Nationals in 1980 and holds several event records, including: most wins with 12, top-fives with 17, top-10s with 27, consecutive A-Main starts with 34, preliminary night wins with 14, and total A-Main laps led with 301.
The goal next Thursday for the 20-time World of Outlaws champion is to gain maximum qualifying points in order to position himself into Saturday night’s Knoxville Nationals A-Main championship feature. Knoxville’s unique qualifying system rewards success in qualifying, heat races and the preliminary feature. More than 100 drivers and teams are entered and all are chasing one of the coveted 24 spots in Saturday night’s 50-lap Nationals A-Main.
With Kinser returning to Knoxville sporting green on his TSR No. 11 Bad Boy Buggies machine, it will likely evoke memories of the first time the Bloomington, Indiana native carried green on his No. 11. It was 20 years ago, when he raced his way forward from the 14th starting position in the Knoxville Nationals event that was the first to be televised live, nationally. Kinser passed his cousin Mark midway through the race and scored his 11th Nationals crown. Green was the color of his No. 11 again in 2002, when he won his 12th Nationals after out-dueling Danny Lasoski early and holding off a hard-charging Donny Schatz late.
Steve Kinser, Driver of the No. 11 TSR Bad Boy Buggies J&J:
The Knoxville Nationals is the sport’s biggest race. You’ve had so much success over the years in the event. How special is it for you to be part of an event that carries so much tradition?
“Knoxville has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I remember getting in the car and heading over there to watch my dad race. You slept right there on the fairgrounds and just knew you were part of something special. When I started racing, being able to go to Knoxville was a really big deal and the great thing is that it still is today. The people, the history – I have so many great memories from Knoxville and I’ll have those with me forever.”
This season, you come back to Knoxville carrying some green. How cool is it for you to bring back the color green, which seemed to bring you so much success?
“The first thing is that we couldn’t be racing if we didn’t have a partner like Bad Boy Buggies. They work with Tony (Stewart) and all of his people so well and we’re excited that they are behind us. I know my wife (Dana) and the TSR people kicked around some ideas and, with Bad Boy Buggies being electric and friendly to the environment, this campaign was a perfect fit. I’m looking forward to having some green on me again. We had so much fun running that green car and our fans just loved it. I’m hoping we have a great week at Knoxville, help recycle a lot of cans and make more good memories.”
This is your first year not traveling full-time with the Outlaws. You’ve raced quite a bit with several different series. What’s your game plan heading into the biggest race of the year?
“The plan is still the same … be fast every time we hit the track. This is the first year I haven’t raced exclusively with the Outlaws and we’ve been all over. Tony has a great group of guys working on my car, led by Jimmy Carr. We’ve had some really good nights, and nights where we’ve been in contention to win. We qualified well and won our heat at Knoxville with the Outlaws back in June, so that gives us a starting point. Everyone wants to be at his best for the Nationals. It starts with qualifying. You hope the pill draw is something that goes your way, and you start your Nationals with two laps. From there, it’s just about going forward as far as you can. We’re hoping to get through Thursday and have enough points to be locked into Saturday’s A-Main.”
About Bad Boy Buggies®
Bad Boy Buggies® is a leader in off-road utility vehicles for hunting and outdoor lifestyles. Bad Boy Buggies pioneered the category of electrically powered four-wheel-drive vehicles, ideal for hunting and outdoor recreation due to their silent, odorless operation and environmentally friendly, emissions-free drivetrains.
Today, the Bad Boy Buggies product line ranges from four-wheel-drive electric hunting machines such as the Recoil®, a fully electric, four-wheel-drive vehicle with an innovative, highly efficient 72-volt AC electric drivetrain, to the Work Series of diesel- and gas-powered utility vehicles, including the Bad Boy Buggies XD, a versatile four-wheel-drive, diesel-powered utility vehicle with a total capacity of 1,600 pounds.