Kinser Still in the Hunt for His First Outlaw Win in 2009
Tuesday, 17 March 2009 -

Steve Kinser finished up last week-end’s World of Outlaws race at Silver Dollar Speedway with two solid top-five finishes. Kinser wrecked during Friday’s night dash and was forced to pull down a spare car and tag the rear of the field during the night’s 40-lap A-Feature. He was able to avoid the numerous cautions throughout the race and finish in fifth from the 24th position. Kinser put himself in a better spot on Saturday, as the No.11 Quaker State Maxim sat fourth on the night’s starting grid. Unfortunately, the track laid rubber and prevented any chance of advancing positions and Kinser came across the line again in fifth. Kinser was the most consistent finisher throughout the week-end, and should take pride in that, but he is putting more weight on the fact the he has failed to score a win yet this season.

Kinser is the only World of Outlaws driver that has finished in the top ten of all six races this year, but he doesn’t care about that. While consistency has been the key component in claiming championships, Kinser has no desire to hear about consistent finishes or point standings at this point in the year. Kinser shows up at the track every night to win races, and has his own philosophy on championships.

“We show up to win races,” stated Kinser. “It’s too early in the season to get caught up in points. There’s no reason for me to look at them. I’d like to never have to look at them. Right now, we are out there to win, not to points race.”

Kinser has made it clear that he has set the bar high for himself this year. He has come from the tail of the field twice this year to claim top-five finishes, but he refused to be satisfied on both of those nights and he won’t be until he is winning races.

“It looks like we are fifth or sixth place car,” said Kinser. “That’s about where we have finished every night. There have been times in the last couple of years, where I was happy with those finishes because that’s where we should have been running. I can’t be happy with those finishes at this point, because I believe that we are better than this.”

Kinser doesn’t expect to win every race, but he expects to be in contention. Right now his biggest struggle is getting himself in the right starting positions. He has got to continue to make the dash every night and he needs to get the best starting spot he can. He has got to learn how to work the race format to his advantage.

At this early point in the season, he has already proved that he can come from behind and make the best of the bad, but that shouldn’t be a normal occurrence. He wants to be making the better of the good. Kinser is already preparing for a chance at his first win of the season this upcoming week-end when the Outlaws run a two-day show at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, CA. Kinser ran second when the Outlaws visited Tulare in the fall, and he will put forth all his effort to take home the wins on both Friday and Saturday nights.