Kinser Ready For Second Round of Eastern Competition

INDIANAPOLIS – The Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws (WoO) Sprint Series heads eastward for a second tour of Pennsylvania and New York this week as the series makes four stops at three area tracks. With the heat of summer at full blast, Tony Stewart Racing’s (TSR) Kraig Kinser is hoping the Bass Pro Shops team makes its first trips to the winner’s circle during the four-race stretch.

As Kinser and the No. 20 Bass Pro Shops/Chevy/Maxim team rolled into the 4/10-mile high-banked oval that is Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa., on Tuesday, they wasted little time in getting down to business. Kinser drove from the 22nd starting position to a ninth place finish in the 40-lap Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup A-main event. The solid finish marked his seventh top-10 finish of the season.

Friday and Saturday’s doubleheader at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa., will see Kinser vie for his first WoO Sprint Series A-main victory. He has made 12 career starts at the track, earning four top-10 finishes. Kinser finished eighth in the B-main in his last appearance at the half-mile track on May 15, 2008.

Kinser and his fellow WoO competitors will cap off the week Sunday with a stop at the Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. In his last appearance at the facility on May 30, 2005, Kinser finished 19th. The high-banked, half-mile oval is known for its speed and fast-paced racing action.

Kinser enters the week ranked 13th in the WoO Sprint Series championship standings. He has made 30 series starts thus far in 2008, having earned two top-five finishes and seven top-10 finishes.

Bids for the special-edition helmets that Kinser and his TSR teammate, Donny Schatz, wore in the 25th Annual Kings Royal event at Eldora Speedway last week are still being accepted at tsrhelmets@yahoo.com. The top bid on Kinser’s helmet is currently $1,100. Schatz’s helmet is currently listed at $1,000. Online bidding will close at 11:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday. All proceeds from the silent auction will benefit the Tony Stewart Foundation. Funds will be earmarked for the USAC and WoO Sprint Series benevolent organizations.

Race fans unable to attend this week’s events can catch all of the action from Williams Grove and Lebanon Valley Speedway 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.

For both nights of the Summer Nationals, the pit gates at Williams Grove Speedway will open at 4 p.m. EDT and the grandstand gates will open at 5:15 p.m. for advance ticket holders and 5:30 p.m. for all ticket holders. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 7:15 p.m. each night. The official track Web site is www.williamsgrove.com. Tickets can be purchased by calling the track at 717-697-5000.

On Sunday at Lebanon Valley, the pit gates will open at 2 p.m. EDT, with the grandstands opening at 4 p.m. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. For tickets or more information regarding Sunday’s event, visit www.lebanonvalley.com.

Quotes from Kraig Kinser, driver of the No. 20 TSR/Bass Pro Shops/Maxim:

Are you looking forward to a second Eastern swing that will kick off this week?

“Last night’s race at Lernerville was a great way to start things off. It was another chance at a big race right off the bat. We’ve been working hard at the shop since Sunday night to get ourselves organized and on the road to Pennsylvania. I was looking forward to making a return to Lernerville and it was great to have such a solid run in front of our guests from the Harrisburg (Pa.) Bass Pro Shops store.”

How tough is the winged Sprint car competition in Pennsylvania and the surrounding region?

“Our goal for this week is to get our cars handling better. When you’re having bad luck as we have been and tearing up cars, it makes it hard on everyone. Once a car has been wrecked, you don’t know if it will react the same as it did before the crash. In Pennsylvania, the competition is as tough as it gets, so you have to be on your game, and then some. This Bass Pro Shops team will keep working as hard as it can and, hopefully, we can have a great week of results.”

It’s been a few years since you competed at Lebanon Valley Speedway. Are you looking forward to making a return to the half-mile this weekend?

“This season has been fun in the respect that I’ve been able to visit some tracks that I’ve not seen since my last full season with the Outlaws in 2005. I’ve also had a good time at the new tracks we’ve competed at. I definitely remember Lebanon Valley and I think we will have a good car for Sunday’s race. It’s also great to visit an area that has a strong Sprint car following, we’re looking forward to meeting new fans at the autograph session on Sunday afternoon.”

For complete WoO Sprint Series results from this week’s action, log on to www.worldofoutlaws.com/sprint. For information regarding TSR, Bass Pro Shops, J.D. Byrider, Chevy or Kinser, log on to www.tonystewartracing.com, www.basspro.com, www.byrider.com, www.chevy.com or www.kraigkinser.com.