Tracy Hines begins preparations for Indiana Sprint Week begins long before the seven-race mini-series hits the track, which this year is the second and third weeks of July. In addition to the grueling nine-day trek across the his home state of Indiana, Hines continues to recuperate from a broken collarbone that led to surgery a few weeks ago. The veteran driver is set to embark on the full Indiana Sprint Week schedule for the Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car Series beginning this weekend aboard the Carolina Nut Company DRC.
The 2015 edition of Indiana Sprint Week begins on Friday, July 10 at Gas City I-69 Speedway. Action then shifts to Kokomo Speedway on Saturday, July 11 and Lawrenceburg Speedway on Sunday, July 12. After a two-day break, Indiana Sprint Week resumes at the Terre Haute Action Track on Wednesday, July 15, followed by a stop at Lincoln Park Speedway on Thursday, July 16. The final two races of the seven-race mini-series will be contested on Friday, July 17 at Bloomington Speedway and Saturday, July 18 at Tri-State Speedway.
“Indiana Sprint Week is always a challenging one,” said Hines. “We try to always be as ready as we can in case problems arise. The car has been pretty good this year, so I think we have that part pretty well in check. Making sure I am comfortable in the car is the main thing right now, as my collarbone continues to heal. It will help having the couple of day break after the first three races.”
Last year during Indiana Sprint Week, Hines picked up three top-10 finishes, including a week-best fourth-place showing at Gas City I-69 Speedway in the opener. Entering this year’s mini-series Hines has three-career Indiana Sprint Week wins.
Hines has made a pair of starts at Gas City I-69 Speedway this season. He finished eighth with the Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car Series in May and was ninth last month during Indiana Midget Week for the Honda USAC National Midget Series. In his career at the quarter-mile bullring, the native of New Castle, Indiana has two wins with the Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car Series.
The veteran driver has raced once thus far in 2015 at Kokomo Speedway, finishing second during the Kokomo Grand Prix in April for the Honda USAC National Midget Series. Hines has one USAC National win is his career at the bullring located in north central Indiana.
Hines has raced at Lawrenceburg Speedway twice in 2015. He finished eighth in a sprint car in the spring and was got upside during Indiana Midget Week last month, which led to his broken collarbone. Hines won at Lawrenceburg in 2010 with the Honda USAC National Midget Series, marking his only National win to date at the three-eighths-mile.
Hines raced at the Terre Haute Action Track last week with the Traxxas USAC Silver Crown Series, crossing the line ninth, in what was his first race back after the surgery. The 2002 Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car Series champion has three wins in his career with the series at Terre Haute.
Lincoln Park Speedway has hosted two USAC National events thus far in 2015, with Hines competing in both. He ran third at the 5/16-mile during Indiana Midget Week and was 10th at the track on the Fourth of July with the Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car Series. In his career, Hines has two USAC National wins at Lincoln Park Speedway, with both coming aboard a midget.
Hines finished fourth at Bloomington Speedway in April with the Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car Series. He returned to the quarter-mile in June for Indiana Midget Week and crossed the line eighth. In his career, Hines has one USAC Sprint Car win at Bloomington, with that coming in 2005.
Tri-State Speedway hosted the Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car Series back in April, in an event co-sanctioned with the Midwest Sprint Car Series (MSCS). Hines finished fourth in that 30-lap contest, after leading the opening two laps. The veteran driver won at Tri-State Speedway in 2002 with the Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car Series.
Last week, Hines charged from the 24th starting spot at Lincoln Park Speedway on the Fourth of July to finish 10th with the Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car Series. He also raced with the Traxxas USAC Silver Crown Series at the Terre Haute Action Track, where he finished ninth. With the Honda USAC National Midget Series at Angell Park Speedway in Wisconsin on July 5, he got upside in the main event, which ended his night in the 14th position.
Hines heads into Indiana Sprint Week sixth in the Amsoil USAC National Sprint Car Series standings on the strength of 13 top-10 finishes, with seven of those being top-five performances.
“Being able to come from the back up to 10th at Putnamville (Lincoln Park Speedway) certainly helped us to stay in the points,” said Hines. “Sprint Week is important on a lot of fronts, especially when it comes to points, with how many races you have in such a short period of time. We’ll go out every night and give it our all like we always do and hopefully everything falls into place.”
Tracy Hines Racing would like to thank Primary Sponsors: The Carolina Nut Company, Powered by Toyota and Parker Machinery. Associate Sponsors for 2015 include: Elliott's Custom Trailers and Carts, Hansen’s Welding Inc, MPHG Promotions Inc., Turbines Inc.and Hughs Brothers. Product Sponsors that are part of Tracy Hines Racing in 2015 include: Afco Racing Products, Hoosier Racing Tires, Indy Race Parts, Schoenfeld Headers, Shadow Graphix, Bell Racing, Earl's Performance Products, Autonet Mobile, ProSource Professional Resources, Race Bumpers, Driven Racing Oil, Sander Engineering and Kenny’s Components.
For more information on Tracy Hines Racing, visit http://www.tracyhinesracing.com. Follow Tracy on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/TracyHinesRacin and “Like him” on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/Tracyhinesracing.