BARBERVILLE, Fla. — Kraig Kinser first drove a sprint car for his father Steve back in 2000 when he made his debut in the machines that made his family famous. He won his first sprint-car race driving for his dad in 2002.
He took to the road full-time with the World of Outlaws for the first time in 2004 aboard the family owned machine and claimed the Kevin Gobrecht Rookie of the Year Award and then won sprint-car racing’s biggest event — the Knoxville Nationals — for the team the following year.
This season the third-generation driver will be back behind the wheel for Steve Kinser Racing in the No. 11k on the World of Outlaws tour, beginning with the 39th annual Florida DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla., Feb 5-7. He will have rookie crew chief Mike Kuemper along with his sister Stevie helping turn the wrenches.
“I’m definitely excited for the season to start,” said the younger Kinser. “It’s been a long winter break and I’m ready to get back racing in Florida. To get back in the family owned car is going to be a lot of fun. I am really looking forward to this, more than a lot of years in the past. It should be a fun season.”
Kinser, who has won seven World of Outlaws events aboard the No. 11k, does not see any pressure driving for his father — the winningest driver in World of Outlaws history — but rather feels right at home surrounded by the people that he has been around for most of his life at the shop and at the race track.
“I always like to please my dad,” the younger Kinser said. “You always want to make your dad proud. He is a wonderful car owner and always has been and a wonderful dad and parent and always has been. I’m his son when I race against him and he always looks at me that way, rather than just someone driving his car and I look at it that way as well, that I am his son. So, no, there isn’t any extra pressure.”
Ironically, Kraig will be driving for his father’s team while Steve will officially be driving for Tony Stewart Racing, the team that Kraig was a part of for the last two seasons.
However, the cars and engines used by the elder Kinser will also come from SKR’s Bloomington, Ind., shop and be nearly identically to those wheeled by Kraig Kinser.
Kraig finished fifth and seventh in points in the two prior seasons that he competed full-time for Steve Kinser Racing on the World of Outlaws trail in 2004 and 2005. After coming close to winning a couple of times last year, he looks to become just the 23rd driver in World of Outlaws history to record double digit wins with the series, as he begins 2010 with nine A-main victories on the tour. Above all, the 25-year-old is looking forward to being around his family and enjoying the sport he loves.
“It’s already going to be a fun year I have a feeling, with it being a family owned deal,” said Kraig. “I always travel close to my dad, but being back with him and having him around the car will be a lot of fun.”