Tracy Hines Finishes on the Podium at Terre Haute with the Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car Series
By Tracy Hines Racing PR
NEW CASTLE, Ind. — Sept. 2, 2013 — It wouldn’t be a USAC event at the Terre Haute Action Track in 2013, if Mother Nature wasn’t involved. As has been the case every time this season when the open wheel drivers have rolled into the famed half-mile, rain was on horizon. Run in hurry-up mode, the full show was completed, including all 30 laps of the Tony Hulman/Jim Hurtubise Classic for the Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car Series, and when the final checkered flag flew, Tracy Hines found himself on the podium in third. He preceded that with a seventh-place finish to open the weekend at 34 Raceway in Iowa.
The native of New Castle, Ind., opened the night at Terre Haute on Saturday, Aug. 31, as the second-fastest driver in time trials of the 23 entrants. He charged from the sixth starting position to win the second heat race. Hines lined up fifth for the 30-lap main event and powered his way up to third on the opening lap and chased eventual winner Jerry Coons Jr. and Brady Bacon for the remainder of the contest, piloting the Carolina Nut Company/Hansen’s Welding Inc. DRC.
Hines came home seventh on Friday, Aug. 30, at 34 Raceway in West Burlington, Iowa, with the Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car Series. The veteran driver kicked off the night by recording the ninth-quickest lap in qualifying. He followed that up by running second in the third heat race. Hines took the grid eighth for the 30-lap A-Feature and ran among the top-10 for the duration of the race at the three-eighths-mile in Eastern Iowa.
Engine problems sidelined Hines in the Traxxas USAC Silver Crown Series event at the DuQuoin State Fairgrounds in Illinois on Sunday, Sept. 1. He was fastest in the first practice session aboard the Lightfoot Racing Beast at the one-mile dirt oval and encountered engine woes during the final practice, which prevented him from both taking a lap in time trials and from starting the Ted Horn 100. He was credited with a 14th-place finish in the main event and fell from the points lead to third, 16 markers out of the lead, with one race remaining.
Hines returns to action this coming weekend with the Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car Series at I-30 Speedway in Little Rock, Ark., and Riverside International Speedway in West Memphis, Ark. The 2002 series champion is currently sixth in the standings on the strength of two wins and 12 top-10 finishes.
