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[/media-credit]Bloomington, Ind.—Sept. 13, 2012— Over the years, Kraig Kinser has grown pretty accustomed to having long drives along the World of Outlaws trail. None though are quite like the one he and his team have been on this week, as they will have covered over 1,800 miles by the time they reach Iowa for an event on Friday, following Monday’s race in California.
The weekend in the Upper Midwest begins for Kinser in the Hendrickcars.com Maxim on Friday, Sept. 14 at Clay County Fair Speedway in Spencer, Iowa for the Arnold Motor Supply Shootout. He then will visit Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn., for the FVP Clash at the Creek, as the World of Outlaws make their lone visit of the season to the “Land of 10,000 Lakes.”
“It will be nice to get back to the Midwest this weekend,” said Kinser. “We’ve had some good runs at Clay County over the last few years and always look forward to racing there. Deer Creek is a very racy track as well and there are some great sprint car fans up in Minnesota.”
Kinser finished ninth earlier this season at Clay County Fair Speedway. He opened the night as the seventh-fastest driver in time trials, and followed that up with a third-place run in the first heat race. The third-generation driver made his debut at the historic three-eighths-mile fairgrounds track in 2008, a year after the World of Outlaws made their initial appearance at the venue. Kinser finished second, after leading 26 laps in his first start at Spencer. He finished 13th in 2009 at the track, and was seventh in 2010. Last year in the series lone visit to Clay County, the 2005 Knoxville Nationals winner came home fourth, which marked his career-best showing at the track.
“This will be the first time we have ever raced at Spencer twice in the same season,” he noted. “We had a decent night there back in June and should be able to use some of the things we learned in that race. The main thing as always is to qualify and then get into the dash, so you can put yourself in those first five rows for the feature.”
Kinser earned the best finish of his career in three starts at Deer Creek Speedway last year, coming home 10th. He began the night 13th in time trials, missing the heat race inversion by one spot. Kinser charged from fifth to second in the first eight-lap heat race to earn a spot in the dash. He started ninth in the dash and finished in that same spot, which put him on the inside of the fifth row for the 35-lap main event. Kinser raced for the first time at the high-banked three-eighths-mile in 2009, leading the first five laps of that main event, before finishing 14th in what was the World of Outlaws event appearance at the track.
“I’ve led some laps and been fast at Deer Creek, just never have quite had the finishes we were hoping for,” noted Kinser. “We’ve run well on the smaller tracks this year and Deer Creek is a unique place, and I think we’ll have a pretty good set-up when we unload. With how close everyone is right now you have to be on your game every night.”
Kinser heads to Clay County Fair Speedway and Deer Creek Speedway sixth in the World of Outlaws championship standings on the strength of four wins, 38 Top-10 and 18 Top-Five finishes.
“We’re getting down to the end of the year now and every race is important,” shared Kinser. “You always want to end on a good note and carry that into the winter. When you end a season strong it helps the off-season go by a little quicker.”
Kraig Kinser By the Numbers: Clay County Fair Speedway & Deer Creek Speedway
0.375- Miles around Clay County Fair Speedway and Deer Creek Speedway
1- Night of racing in the state of Minnesota this year for the World of Outlaws
2- Races at Clay County Fair Speedway this season for the series
3- Career starts at Deer Creek Speedway
4- Career Top-10 finishes at Clay County
5- Career starts at Clay County Fair Speedway; Laps led at Deer Creek in 2009
6- Current position in points
7- Average finish in five main events starts at Clay County
11.583- Track record at Deer Creek Speedway
13.345- Qualifying mark at Clay County Fair Speedway
14- Average finish in three career starts at Deer Creek Speedway
26- Laps led at Clay County in 2008
101- Laps led this season in main events
177- Miles from Clay County Fair Speedway in Spencer, Iowa, where the World of Outlaws race on Sept. 14 to Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn.
1804- Miles from Antioch Speedway in California, where the World of Outlaws race on Sept. 10 to Clay County Fair Speedway in Spencer, Iowa
2007- Year of World of Outlaws first event at Clay County Fair Speedway
2008- Kinser’s first start at Clay County
2009- Year of inaugural World of Outlaws event at Deer Creek Speedway
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