INDIANAPOLIS� The Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws (WoO) Sprint Series heads eastward into the rolling hills of the Pennsylvania and New York countryside this week as its competitors hope to be through with a seemingly losing war against Mother Nature. While this part of the country is known for its battlegrounds and other historic landmarks, Tony Stewart Racing�s (TSR) Kraig Kinser is hoping the four races on tap for this week won�t be derailed once again by rain.
As Kinser and the No. 20 Bass Pro Shops/Chevy/Maxim team roll into the 4/10-mile high-banked oval that is Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, Pa., on Tuesday, they�ll be looking to kick off the season�s first busy stretch of racing. In his last appearance at the track on July 19, 2005, Kinser finished 17th in the A-main. He has five career WoO Sprint Series starts at the track to his credit. Kinser will also participate in an at-track autograph session hosted by the WoO Sprint Series prior to the night�s racing action.
Thursday and Friday�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, the No. 20 Bass Pro Shops team, his teammate Donny Schatz, and the No. 15 TSR/Armor All/ParkerStore/J&J outfit will also make an appearance prior to the Williams Grove event at the Bass Pro Shops store in Harrisburg, Pa., on Wednesday from 6-8 p.m. EDT.
For Kinser, a stop on Sunday at the Orange County Fair Speedway (OCFS) in Middleton, N.Y., will cap off the week�s racing action. In his last appearance at the facility on July 26, 2004, Kinser drove to a seventh-place finish. The wide, 5/8-mile high-banked oval is known for its speed and fast-paced racing action.
Kinser enters the weekend ranked 14th in the WoO Sprint Series Championship standings. He has made seven series starts thus far in 2008, having earned one top-10 finish.
The Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series� first eastern swing begins at Lernerville Speedway, located near Sarver on State Route 356. Williams Grove Speedway is in Mechanicsburg. OCFS is located just off of CR 96 near Middletown.
On Tuesday at Lernerville, pit gates open at 4 p.m. EDT and grandstand gates open at 5 p.m. Hot laps are tentatively scheduled to begin at 7:15 p.m. At Williams Grove on Thursday and Friday, pit gates open at 4 p.m. EDT and grandstand gates open at 5:15 p.m. for advance ticket holders and 5:30 p.m. for all ticket holders. Hot laps are tentatively scheduled to begin at 7:15 p.m. For Sunday�s event at OCFS, pit gates open at 3 p.m. EDT and grandstand gates open at 4 p.m. Hot laps are tentatively scheduled to begin at 5:15 p.m.
Tickets for the Lernerville event can be purchased by calling (724) 353-1511, or by visiting the track�s Web site, www.lernerville.com.
Williams Grove tickets can be purchased at the speedway, and more information is available at its Web site, www.williamsgrove.com. Tickets for the race at OCFS will be on sale at the track. The official Web site of the track is www.ocfmotorsports.com.
This week�s action from Williams Grove will be broadcast on SPEED on a tape-delayed basis. Thursday�s event will be telecast on May 31 at 4 p.m. EDT, while Friday�s action will be shown on June 8 at 1 p.m. For a complete WoO Sprint Series television schedule, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.
Race fans unable to attend this weekend�s events 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.
Quotes from Kraig Kinser, driver of the No. 20 TSR/Bass Pro Shops/Maxim:
It�s been three years since you�ve competed at Lernerville Speedway. Are you looking forward to racing there this week?
�At this point, I�m just excited to be at the track. Getting to race after all of these rainouts is what we�re really looking forward to this week. With that said, I am ready to take another look at Lernerville Speedway. It�s been a lot of fun to return to these race tracks this season. You never really forget a track that you�ve competed at. It won�t take long to get back into the groove and I�m ready to get back into the rhythm of racing again this week.�
Both TSR World of Outlaws Sprint Series teams are scheduled to make an appearance at the Bass Pro Shops in Harrisburg, Pa., on Wednesday. What�s your favorite part of the Bass Pro Shops experience?
�I really just enjoy what the whole store is about. I love to fish, hunt and to be outdoors, so having a sponsor like Bass Pro is a really cool deal. When we head to Harrisburg for the appearance on Wednesday, they�ll have to watch me. I�m liable to spend more time looking around the store than signing autographs. Seriously, we�re really looking forward to having everyone from the Harrisburg store with us at Williams Grove on Thursday and Friday. Having support like this is great. It�s always fun to have our sponsors around at the track. It definitely makes you want to perform well and give them a great experience.�
Heading into Sunday�s event at the Orange County Fair Speedway, you will revisit a track that you�ve not raced on since 2004. What do you expect as you get back into a more normal pattern of racing?
�All of the tracks on this eastern swing are just a lot of fun to race on. They�re all bigger and pretty fast and that makes for great racing for us and the fans, as well. I can�t wait to head back to Orange County on Sunday, especially after having not seen it for a few years. It will be interesting to see what is familiar to me. I know that Jimmy (Carr, crew chief) and the TSR team have been working really hard to get ready for this season and hopefully we�ll be able to get back into a normal pattern this weekend. It will also be a lot of fun to race at some bigger tracks. It will give us a chance to use the Chevy power that we know these Kistler engines have. The goal is to put together a week of consistent results and get Bass Pro Shops, Chevy and J.D. Byrider running up front.�
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