Tony Stewart Racing, Kinser Look to Build on Recent Victory

INDIANAPOLIS Oct. 7, 2008 –With only seven races remaining in the 2008 Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws (WoO) Sprint Car Series season, Tony Stewart Racing’s (TSR) Kraig Kinser wants to finish on a roll. After a solid September, the 23 year-old driver of the TSR No. 20 Bass Pro Shops/Chevy/JD Byrider Maxim kept that momentum going by scoring his second victory of the season this past Friday night at North Central Speedway (NCS) in Brainerd, Minn. This weekend, the series will make its return to the southwest with a two-night program at Hollywood Hills Speedway (HHS) in San Felipe Pueblo, N.M., on Saturday and Sunday.

This weekend’s two-race program will mark the Outlaws’ first visit to the high-banked 3/8-mile dirt oval since September 9, 2003. Kinser made his only two appearances at the track in March of 2003. After graduating early from Bloomington (Ind.) High School South, he made his 2003 season debut at the track.

Ignition problems plagued him during the feature event and he was credited with an 18th-place finish in the opener. The following night, Kinser bounced back by qualifying second in the field of 32 cars. He charged from his sixth starting position to score a third-place finish behind his dad, Steve, who won the event, and Craig Dollansky.

On Saturday, he’ll be trying to become only the second driver to win a feature event at HHS. Remarkably, Steve Kinser has won all seven WoO races at the track.

Thanks to last Friday night’s victory at NCS, son Kraig has one upped his dad. Kraig Kinser became the first WoO winner at the 1/3-mile oval in central Minnesota. After winning the third heat race and finishing fourth in the dash, Kinser used a strong start in the 35-lap “A” feature to jump into third. He used patience to execute a pass of Lucas Wolfe for second place midway through the race. Then he found himself in the right place at the right time when leader Joey Saldana had mechanical problems. Kinser took advantage and led the final 16 laps to score his ninth career WoO triumph.

Kinser has entered 58 WoO races this season and currently ranks 11th in the WoO Sprint Series Championship standings. He has earned a pair of victories, eight top-five finishes and 17 top-10s.

On Friday and Saturday, the pit gates at HHS will open at 1 p.m. MDT with the grandstands opening at 2 p.m. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.