World of Outlaws Racer Kinser Takes Bass Pro Shops Sprinter to Dodge City for Old West Shootout

INDIANAPOLIS, June 9, 2009: Life on the World of Outlaws’ (WoO) tour is full of challenges. For Tony Stewart Racing’s (TSR) Kraig Kinser and the rest of the Outlaws, this week’s challenge comes in the form of the Boothill Showdown at Dodge City (Kan.) Speedway, located in a region made famous by old-time gun fights at high noon.

Kinser will pilot TSR’s No. 20 Bass Pro Shops/Chevy/J.D. Byrider Maxim on Friday and Saturday night at Dodge City Raceway Park. The 24-year-old heads into the action with plenty of ammunition coming off four top-10 finishes in his last five WoO starts. He was on his way to a fifth consecutive top-10 Saturday at Lawrenceburg (Ind.) Speedway when he was hit by another competitor. The result was a flat tire for Kinser, but his Bass Pro Shops crew got him back on the track as he continued to build consistency in the 2009 WoO campaign.

Kinser has five career starts at the 3/8-mile dirt oval at Dodge City. His best finish at the track came in October 2005, when he led the first 21 laps of the 30-lap feature before finishing second. The 24-year-old Mooresville, N.C., resident has three career top-10s at the track, including a 10th-place finish last June.

After the first 25 WoO races of 2009, Kinser has five top-five finishes and 11 top-10s. He currently ranks ninth in the WoO Sprint Series Championship standings with 3,147 points.

Both nights of the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series event at Dodge City Raceway Park, which is located south of Dodge City just off US 56, will be carried via tape delay on SPEED-TV. Friday’s race will be broadcast June 20, and Saturday’s will be shown June 27. Both shows are scheduled to air at 3 p.m. EDT.

On Friday and Saturday at Dodge City Raceway Park, the pit gates open at 2 p.m. CDT., and the grandstands will open at 5 p.m. CDT. Hot laps are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. For more details, contact Dodge City Raceway Park at (620) 225-3277, or visit the track’s official Web site, dodgecityraceway.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:

Last weekend you had two races at Lawrenceburg and, this weekend, you will compete twice at Dodge City. Does it help to race consecutive nights at a track?

“Dirt-track racing is different every night, but being at the same place gives you a better chance. The first night, you might be able to try some things and that will help you following night. Last weekend, the track surface changed quite a bit from one night to the next. The good thing was that we had a decent first night and it allowed us to be strong right away in qualifying the second night.

“We’d like to follow that pattern again this weekend by having a good first night. That allows you to build on what you learned. This Bass Pro Shops team (Mike Cool, Steve Swenson, and Bob Curtis) continues to work together and we’re getting better each week.”

Dodge City is another track where you’ve come close to winning. Does that give you added ammunition heading into this weekend?

“Definitely. We led that race back in 2005 and just got beat late in the race. Sometimes, you have to lose races before you ultimately win them. Ironically, we got beat by the Bass Pro Shops car that night, so maybe this weekend we can put the Bass Pro Shops car in victory lane ourselves.

“Dodge City is a really nice facility and we’ve seen races there be on the high side, low groove and through the middle. It’s about being in the right place at the right time. Our consistency in qualifying has continued to keep us in a position to be competitive and we’ll need that again this weekend.”