Steve Kinser
| Steve Kinser | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | June 2, 1954 Bloomington, Indiana |
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| NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career | |||||||
| 5 races run over 1 years | |||||||
| Best finish | 49th- 1995 (Winston Cup) | ||||||
| First race | 1995 Daytona 500 (Daytona) | ||||||
| Last race | 1995 TranSouth Financial 400 (Darlington) | ||||||
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Steve Kinser (born June 2, 1954, Bloomington, Indiana), is a professional sprint car racer. He has won 20 championships in the World of Outlaws (WoO) series, and currently drives the #11 Bass Pro Shops car. Kinser left the World of Outlaws in 2006 to compete with the National Sprint Tour series, but returned to the World of Outlaws for the 2007 season. ESPN named him the 25th on their top drivers of all-time in 2008.[1]
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[edit] Background
Kinser was a high school wrestler and kung fu expert. He finished second in state as a junior, and won state as a senior. Both of his sons wrestled in high school, the youngest Kurt also won state as a senior, capping off the Bloomington High School South team's excellent season. In 2008, Kurt was a redshirt sophomore at Indiana University, competing at the 149 and 157-pound weight classes.
[edit] World of Outlaws career
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He became a World of Outlaws driver in 1978. In 1987 he won 46 features, including 12 in a row, and 24 of the last 26 events. He has won the Knoxville Nationals a record 12 times. He had won twenty WoO championships and 513 "A" features by 2005. He was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2005. He has been described as the best sprint racer ever by both columnists and even his rivals.[2][3]
World of Outlaws history:
- 1978- Champion- 11 wins…
- 1979- Champion- 23 wins…
- 1980- Champion- 28 wins…
- 1981- 3rd in points- 23 wins…
- 1982- 2nd in points- 13 wins…
- 1983- Champion- 18 wins…
- 1984- Champion- 19 wins…
- 1985- Champion- 15 wins…
- 1986- Champion – 18 wins…
- 1987- Champion- 46 wins…
- 1988- Champion- 27 wins…
- 1990- Champion- 27 wins…
- 1991- Champion – 36 wins…
- 1992- Champion- 31 wins…
- 1993- Champion- 19 wins…
- 1994- Champion- 29 wins…
- 1995- 9th in points- 18 wins…
- 1996- 4th in points- 10 wins…
- 1997- 3rd in points- 5 wins…
- 1998- Champion- 6 wins…
- 1999- 3rd in points- 11 wins…
- 2000- Champion- 10 wins…
- 2001- 3rd in points- 6 wins…
- 2002- Champion- 20 wins…
- 2003- Champion- 25 wins…
- 2004- Champion 17 wins…
- 2005- Champion- 20 wins.
- 2006- (NST)- 5 wins.
- 2007- 6th in points- 10 wins.
- 2008- 3rd in points- 7 wins.
- 2009-4th in points-2 wins
[edit] Other racing accomplishments
In 1981, a 26-year-old rookie, Kinser failed to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 when his month was ended by a practice crash. He returned in 1997, qualified 20th, and finished 14th as a 42-year-old rookie in a Dallara-Oldsmobile. It was his only Indy Racing League start.
During his many tours of Australia racing Sprint cars, Kinser won many feature races but January 4, 1986 he swaped his Sprinter for a VW-powered Midget (called a Speedcar in Australia) and won the 38th Australian Speedcar Grand Prix at Sydney's Liverpool Speedway.[4][5]
Kinser has been selected several times to compete in the International Race of Champions, winning a race at Talladega Superspeedway in 1994. That year he also finished a career best 6th in IROC points.
In 1995 Steve landed a NASCAR Winston Cup Series ride as drag racing legend Kenny Bernstein hired Kinser to drive his #26 Quaker State Ford, but released him after only five starts after a best finish of 27th and average placing of 35th. The idea of bringing Kinser to NASCAR was due to Jeff Gordon's success in sprint cars and midgets and bringing in one of the series best drivers would translate the same success.
[edit] Family
His family is also involved in racing, as his cousin Mark Kinser, was also a championship winning driver on the World of Outlaws circuit, and his son Kraig Kinser is a member of Tony Stewart's World of Outlaws team. Kraig has also won the 2005 Knoxville Nationals. He has two other children, Stevie and Kurt. His cousin Sheldon Kinser competed in the CART series and raced in the Indianapolis 500 six times. Steve is the son of Bob Kinser another racecar driver.
Steve's distant cousin Karl Kinser was Steve's car owner 1978 to 1994. Karl has been the winning car owner and mechanic for 16 World of Outlaws championships and 12 Knoxville Nationals wins. Karl was inducted in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame.
[edit] References
- ^ "Kinser, Mansell, Garlits, Lauda, and Muldowney set high standards". ESPN. http://sports.espn.go.com/rpm/racing/columns/story?columnist=blount_terry&id=3400774. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
- ^ Pete Lyons (2005). "The 10 Best Ever Car/Driver Combos". Edmunds. http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/Features/articleId=108094. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
- ^ Joe Jennings (2005). "The 10 Best Ever Car/Driver Combos". Motorsport. http://www.motorsport.com/magazine/feature.asp?C=Kerbs&D=2005-11-18. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
- ^ http://www.speedcarworld.com.au/default.asp?Page=Release&Id=14747
- ^ http://www.sydneyspeedway.com.au/schedule/details/27-51st-integrity-locksmiths-australian-speedcar-grand-prix-amca-nationals-street-stocks-fireworks.html
[edit] External links
- Official website
- IROC and NASCAR drivers statistics at racing-reference.info
- Biography at stevekinser.com
- Indiana State resolution honoring Kinser
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by None |
World of Outlaws Champion 1978-1980 |
Succeeded by Sammy Swindell |
| Preceded by Sammy Swindell |
World of Outlaws Champion 1983-1988 |
Succeeded by Bobby Davis, Jr. |
| Preceded by Bobby Davis, Jr. |
World of Outlaws Champion 1990-1994 |
Succeeded by Dave Blaney |
| Preceded by Sammy Swindell |
World of Outlaws Champion 1998 |
Succeeded by Mark Kinser |
| Preceded by Mark Kinser |
World of Outlaws Champion 2000 |
Succeeded by Danny Lasoski |
| Preceded by Danny Lasoski |
World of Outlaws Champion 2002-2005 |
Succeeded by Donny Schatz |
