TRS's Kraig Kinser Rossburg, Sarver preview

BACK TO THE BIG TRACKS
World of Outlaws Star Kraig Kinser Returns Bass Pro Shops Sprinter To Tony Stewart's Eldora Speedway and Lernerville Speedway

INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 23, 2009) -- After competing on short tracks for the past dozen World of Outlaws (WoO) races, Tony Stewart Racing's (TSR) Kraig Kinser and the rest of Outlaws now turn their focus to bigger tracks. It starts Friday night with the WoO's return to one of the fastest half-mile dirt tracks in the world -- Tony Stewart's Eldora Speedway. The event kicks off Chevy Weekend at the Rossburg, Ohio, facility and marks the fourth and final time in 2009 the Outlaws will tackle the high banks. The weekend concludes on Saturday night when the Outlaws return to Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa.

Both tracks provide plenty of speed for the stars of the Outlaws, and Kinser is looking to score another top-five finish on the big tracks driving TSR's No. 20 Bass Pro Shops/Chevy/J.D. Byrider Maxim. This season, he has five top-five finishes on half-mile tracks. The team's most recent races on a half-mile came at the 49th annual Knoxville (Iowa) Nationals, where Kinser finished second and sixth.

Friday's race at Eldora will be Kinser's 28th career start at the western Ohio speedplant. Last September, he finished fifth to open Chevy Weekend. His career best-finish at the track came in April 2005, when he came home third. Kinser's last appearance at the track was during the 26th annual Kings Royal in July, and he finished ninth.

For the first time since the 2001 season, the World of Outlaws make a late-season visit to Lernerville. The western Pennsylvania half-mile oval traditionally hosts a May WoO event and the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup in July. This season, the Don Martin Memorial offered a pair of feature races and will play host to the traveling Sprint car stars for a late-season battle. Kinser will be looking to make his 10th career main event at the track. His best finish came in the 2008 Don Martin Memorial, when he charged from 22nd to finish ninth.

Kinser enters the weekend following a 13th-place finish last Saturday night at Deer Creek Speedway in Spring Valley, Minn. The silver lining there was that Kinser led the first five laps of the feature before his left-rear tire began losing air. The tire ultimately went flat and Kinser was forced to the pit area. He returned to action and raced back to finish 13th.

The 2004 WoO Rookie of the Year has competed in 56 Outlaw feature events during the 2009 season. Kinser and the Bass Pro Shops team have scored 10 top-five finishes and 28 top-10s. He currently ranks eighth in the WoO Sprint Series championship standings with 7,211 points.

For Friday's event at Eldora, the pit gates open at 3 p.m. EDT and grandstands open at 3:30 p.m. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased by calling Eldora Speedway at (937) 338-3815, and more information is available at www.eldoraspeedway.com.

Saturday at Lernerville, the pit gates open at 4 p.m. EDT, and the grandstands open at 5 p.m. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 7:15 p.m. Tickets for the race can be purchased by calling Lernerville at (724) 353-1511. For more information, visit www.lernerville.com.

Race fans unable to attend this weekend's races can catch all of the action on DIRTVision.com. Fans can listen live as Johnny Gibson, "Voice of the Outlaws," calls the action as he does at all WoO Sprint Series events on the DIRTVision.com cybercast, as well as on the DIRT Radio Network. Go to www.DIRTVision.com for more information on all the site features, including updated results from each night of racing, as well as a chat room to interact with other race fans.

Kraig Kinser, Driver of the No. 20 TSR/Bass Pro Shops/Chevy/J.D. Byrider Maxim:

Friday night starts the Chevy Weekend festivities at Eldora Speedway. Last fall, you had a really strong night in the event. Do you have added confidence coming into the race?

"We're certainly motivated to get back to Eldora this weekend. Tony owns the track and has done a great job with the place. After watching the Prelude, it seems like he's really figured out the fast way around there. I just hope we can have the same kind of dominating performance.

"We've been kind of all over the map at Eldora this year. The first time we were there in May, we missed the heat inversion by one spot in qualifying. We came back the next time (in July) and were the second-fastest car in time trials. In the Kings Royal, we finished second in the heat race and had to come from 11th in the main event. It's about consistency, and this year at Eldora, we haven't had much.

"It's a big weekend for Chevy and we're excited about getting back to Eldora. Growing up, it was always one of my favorite places to go watch my dad race. It'd mean a lot to me to be able to win a race there, and this would be a great weekend to do it."

For the first time in a few years, the Outlaws return to Lernerville for a fall race. What are your expectations for Saturday night?

"Weather always seems to be a factor when we race at Lernerville. I'm not sure what the deal is. The May show usually has to fight the weather and, even the past couple of years in July, the races have been tough to get in.

"I'm really glad we are going back there, because we had a great chance in July to compete for a win and the circumstances didn't go our way. The Bass Pro Shops team (Mike Cool, Steve Swenson and Bob Curtis) has been working hard all season for a win and I'd like to be in a position to get one this weekend.

"Lately, we've been able to start the night really well in qualifying and have been finding our way into the top-two spots in the heat races. The biggest thing seems to be getting lucky with the pill draw and starting up front for the feature. This past Saturday, we were able to do that and led the feature. I think, at Lernerville, being up front to start is going to be a major factor. The track stayed pretty fast in July and I'm guessing it will again this weekend."

For complete WoO Sprint Series results from the Eldora and Lernerville, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com/sprint. For information regarding TSR, Bass Pro Shops, J.D. Byrider, Chevy or Kinser, visit www.tonystewartracing.com, www.basspro.com, www.byrider.com, www.chevy.com or www.kraigkinser.com.

-credit: -TSR-