Joe Gibbs Driven

He used a strong start to gain a spot on the opening lap to move into third, and then was patient as the leaders hit lapped traffic early in the race. He also used some perseverance as he battled Lucas Wolfe for a number of laps for the second position. In addition to this, he had a little luck in his side as Joey Saldana had mechanical trouble while leading, which gave him the top spot. Lastly and probably the most important, his car continued to get faster as the race wore on, especially in lapped traffic, which helped him ultimately pick up his second A-Feature win of the season.

The $10,000 victory was the ninth of his career with the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series and his second this season aboard the Bass Pro Shops Maxim for Tony Stewart Racing.

“It feels good,” Kinser said. “We had a really good car all night. I am happy for this whole Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet team. We were a little off in the dash, but we found what we needed for the feature. We’re back on track and it feels really good.”

Kraig Kinser started fourth and got around his father, 20-time World of Outlaws champion Steve Kinser on the first lap, both on the initial start and the complete restarted that was necessitated after an opening lap accident involving Chad Kemenah and Danny Lasoski.

After battling Wolfe for a number of laps, Kraig Kinser dove under him exiting the fourth turn on the 19th lap, making the pass for the second spot right before the pair crossed the start finish line, the same lap that Saldana’s night would come to an end while leading. The pass then became the deciding factor in the race.

“I know that Lucas (Wolfe) wants to get that win,” the younger Kinser said. “I caught him in traffic and got by and then Joey (Saldana) broke. Having clean track helped, but I think I was a little better than Lucas in traffic anyway. I wasn’t sure if I had beaten Lucas back to the line (before the caution) and had to make sure that I was leading,”

Kinser began the night by winning the third heat race to earn a spot in the Crane Cams Dash in his debut at the track. He finished fourth in the dash to earn a second row starting spot for the 35-lap contest. He led the final 16 laps of the race en route to the win.

“It does equalize it a little bit (when everyone visits a track for the first time), but these guys are the best in the country for a reason,” explained the third generation driver. “They adapt really well and really quick. It wasn’t going to be a total advantage for anyone. If the car is rolling well you’re going to be quick.”

Wolfe led the first seven laps of the race, and was out front on the initial start and the complete restart. He wound up second in the Allebach Racing Maxim to earn his second consecutive runner-up finish as he chases his first World of Outlaws win. Wolfe has started on the front row in three consecutive events and now has eight Top-10 finishes this season, with two consecutive runner-up performances.

“We’ve been running good, and I think we have consistently been running good for about the last 10 races or so,” said Wolfe. “We are up where we need to be and are continuing to improve. This is our best result on a tight track of this nature. We are getting better at that, and those are all good things for the future.”

Early in the race, Wolfe jumped out to about a six car length lead over Saldana before the leaders entered lapped traffic on the sixth lap. They were nearly three-wide with a lapped car as they came off the fourth turn on the fifth lap. On the eighth lap, Saldana dove under Wolfe exiting turn four in heavy traffic to take the lead. Wolfe fought back and retook the lead heading into turns one and two, with Saldana reclaiming the top spot as the duo motored down the back straightaway.

“We are racing good guys up there,” said the first-year driver. “I was able to beat Joey (Saldana) off the start and got to lapped first, which isn’t always a good thing. He was able to get me, and we just weren’t quite good enough in lapped traffic. We just didn’t make the right move at the right time. Kraig (Kinser) was able to then get me on the bottom right after that. I’m happy to be racing with those guys and hopefully we can do that for the remainder of the season.”

The final caution of the night flew with seven laps remaining, giving Wolfe one more shot to make a run at Kinser. He looked low in turns one and two on the restart and nearly pulled even with the leader, but was not quite able to make a pass.

“I figured with seven laps to go we wouldn’t get back into traffic again,” the native of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania said. “I got a restart with about 16 to go and got around the bottom pretty good and it wasn’t as good on top. I thought if he got up there a little bit, that it may open the door, but he was able to momentum around me. I got up to him, but wasn’t able to get by him.”

Steve Kinser finished third in the Q Oil Maxim, to earn his 28th Top-Five finish of the season. He challenged his son a couple of times early in the race for the third position, before falling back a little bit while running fourth. He too gained a spot when Saldana fell out of the race.

“I didn’t quite have enough on that last restart to catch them,” he said. “I didn’t get the restart I wanted. I had a good seat to watch that race up there between those guys.”

Terry McCarl finished fourth aboard the Big Game Treestands Maxim to pick up his 26th Top-10 finish of the season. Kerry Madsen was fifth in the TK Concrete Maxim to earn his 36th Top-10 finishes of the season.

Paul McMahan started 11th after racing his way into the A-Feature by winning the B-Main, and wound up sixth in the Casey’s General Stores Maxim. Donny Schatz finished seventh aboard the Armor All J&J. Jason Meyers, who started the night by setting a new track record in time trials en route to his 13th quick time honor of the season was eighth on Friday night in the GLR Investments KPC.

Jac Haudenschild was ninth in the Owens-Corning Fiberglass Maxim. Chad Kemenah battled his way to a 10th place showing in the Kantor Oil Company Maxim, after getting caught up in a first lap accident that sent him to the work area for a new front axle which ultimately put him at the back of the field for the complete restart.

The Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series returns to action on Saturday, October 4 at Princeton Speedway for the PolyDome Princeton Nationals.