BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—May 8, 2013— Normally, Elko Speedway in Minnesota, and the famed Knoxville Raceway in Iowa, are polar opposites, as one is paved and the other one of the most historic dirt tracks in all of racing. This weekend, the pair of tracks in the Upper Midwest will have two things in common as Elko Speedway will be covered in dirt and both tracks will host the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series. Kraig Kinser will compete at both as he makes his first trip of the season to Minnesota and Iowa, in the Casey’s General Store/Mesilla Valley Transportation Maxim.
The FVP Outlaws at Elko event on Friday, May 10 will serve as the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series debut at Elko Speedway, which is about a half-hour south of Minneapolis. The series then heads south to Iowa, on Saturday, May 11 for the Mediacom Shootout, which is the series first of three visits in 2013 to the legendary oval located at the Marion County Fairgrounds.
“We’re getting closer to that time of the year where we start racing three and four times a week and that’s the part of the schedule I am always anxious for,” said Kinser. “The last few weeks have been challenging with the weather and then we had a tough weekend at Eldora last week, so we’re looking to get back on track this weekend.”
Kinser has one win in the state of Minnesota in his career with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series, with that coming in 2008 at North Central Speedway in Brainerd. Elko Speedway will mark the third new track that Kinser has competed in 2013. He has a total of three wins in his career with the series when making his debut at a venue. Elko Speedway will be the fourth track in the state of Minnesota, that Kinser has competed at in his career. Last year, the third-generation driver came home sixth last fall at Deer Creek Speedway.
“I’ve had some good runs over the years in Minnesota, including the win at Brainerd (North Central Speedway),” he said. “We were pretty good at Deer Creek (Speedway) last year and from the sounds of it, we may be able to use a little bit of what worked there at Elko this weekend. This year we race a few more time than normal up there and they usually have pretty good crowds and some loyal fans in Minnesota, so we’re looking forward to it.”
Kinser, who won the 2005 Knoxville Nationals, earned a pair of top-five finishes last season at the half-mile in sprint car racing’s biggest event. He finished third on the second qualifying night and was fourth in the 50-lap finale. The native of Bloomington, Ind., made a total of four starts at Knoxville last season in his family-owned No. 11K.
“We had a strong car at the Nationals last year, so hopefully we can carry some of that momentum into this weekend,” Kinser stated. “Knoxville is definitely a challenging track and it sounds like there is going to be a very good car count, so that puts a premium on qualifying. Right now with how things are, starting up front in a heat race and getting into the dash is very, very important. We’ll do our best to put ourselves in a position for that.”
In his career with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series at Knoxville, Kinser has made a total of 28 main event starts, including preliminary features. He has a pair of wins to go along with 11 top-10 finishes, of which six are top-five showings. Kinser made his debut at the half-mile with the World of Outlaws in 2001.
Last weekend at the famed Eldora Speedway in Ohio, Kinser finished 18th in the finale of the two-night Outlaw Thunder weekend, after starting the feature in the 24th spot as the first alternate. He just missed transferring to the main event in the opener, finishing seventh in the B-main.
Kinser heads into this weekend 12th in the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series championship standings. He has eight top-10 finishes in 2013, including a season-best third-place showing at Volusia Speedway Park in Florida.
Kraig Kinser Racing would like to thank Casey’s General Stores, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Maxim, Aerodine Composites, Sander Engineering, Integra Shocks, All Star Performance, FK Rod Ends, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Bell, KSE Racing Products, ButlerBuilt,Schoenfeld Headers, Donovan Engineering, Fel-Pro, Brodix, Wilwood, Dyer’s, Barnes Systems, Ringer Gloves, Jakes Custom Golf Carts, and Ben Cook Racing Limited for their continued support.
Kraig Kinser By the Numbers: Elko Speedway & Knoxville Raceway
0.375- Miles around Elko Speedway
0.5- Distance around Knoxville Raceway in miles
1- Win in the state of Minnesota in his career- North Central Speedway- 2008
2– Career main event wins at Knoxville
4- Nights of racing in Minnesota this season for the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series
6- Total nights of racing for the series at Knoxville this season, including the Knoxville Nationals
8- Top-10 finishes thus far in 2013
13- Average finishing position in 28 career main event with the World of Outlaws at Knoxville
28- Career feature events starts at Knoxville with the series, including preliminary features
253- Miles from Elko Speedway in Minnesota, where the World of Outlaws race on May 10 to Knoxville Raceway in Iowa
659- Miles from Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, where the World of Outlaws competed on May 3–4 to Elko Speedway in Minnesota
2001- Year of first start at Knoxville Raceway with the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series
2005- Year of win in the Knoxville Nationals
2246- Points earned this season through May 4
24,930- Dollars earned this season
Keep up with all the action
For the latest news on Kraig Kinser, visit http://www.kraigkinser.com, and follow Kraig on Twitter at http://twitter.com/kraigkinser11k and receive live updates from the track each and every race night.
Tune in
Listen live to each and every World of Outlaws event on DIRTVision.com with “The Voice of the Outlaws” Johnny Gibson on the call. Visitwww.DIRTVision.com for live audio ofeach and every World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series event.
