Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

I just saw a post on Facebook that SKR will be joining forces with Arctic Cat for both Steve and Kraig to run the ASCoC circuit in 2016. Looks like Blaney will have some legitimate competition this year.

This is great news for the Kinser team. Obviously the sponsorship is awesome. More $$$ never hurts. Moreso than the sponsorship, the move to the All Stars should really suit this team. Kraig is a great driver.....how many people can say they won the Knoxville Nationals? Not too many. That said, finances have been a struggle with them for awhile now and you can't be out there with the best teams and drivers in the world and compete night in and night out unless you have what you need. Saldana and the 71M team's struggles this past season are a perfect example of that. And right now, I don't think Kraig is an outlaw caliber driver. I don't think that it's due to his ability but rather his confidence level. I'm sure he's aware of the financial side of things but still, getting your ass beat will hurt your confidence no matter what the reason is. Some nights, you can't help but think maybe it's you. The All Stars are a quality group of drivers. Kemenah, Blaney, Darrah etc. can win anywhere against anyone and with the lesser expenses involved plus the addition of much needed sponsorship money along with slightly lesser competition, I look for Kraig to be right there in the mix all season and that's gonna be a real confidence builder. Even though the level of competition isn't what it is on the WoO tour, the All Star guys are still better than most and when you win against them, you've done something. Best of luck to Kraig and King Kinser this season. I wish them nothing but the best.

Good luck.?

There is a group of very talented drivers with the All Stars. Including Kraig. 

Bring back Santa Fe, and LaSalle .

I am looking forward to some of the younger all star guys getting into the mix this year. Some looked like they were getting strong last year towards the end of the season. Will they carry over like Blaney, Schatz and other notable veterans? Time will tell!

I think what will also help this team is traveling less miles but still competing a lot against quality competition. All Stars have over 50dates and then you throw in the outlaw dates that they will run in the region, Knoxville Nationals, Voluisa, possibly World Finals, they can run about 80+races easily. With the All Stars setup the way they are as well as many of the other regional sanctioning bodies like NSL, teams can take a step back from the outlaw tour for a couple of years an build itself back up. A team like Kraig's is a huge underdog with the outlaws without a major sponsor. Like you said nothing to do with talent since that team has won in the past. I think in 2012 they won 4 races but when you are under budget for a long period of time and no other money is coming in to help support you, the performace is going to go down. I'm sure the goal is to get back on the outlaw tour but their is no point if you are just chasing your tail night in and night out. The Allen boys would be the only exception since for them it is a learning experience and long term this will probably benefit them more now than what they realize.

This move for Kraig makes sense being on probably a fixed budget, can race a lot, save equipment, get the confidence and performace up, and hopefully attract more sponsors/car owners to make the jump to the outlaws again.

Hope this is all true for both Steve and Kraig.  They will add more class to the Allstars and I will be looking up Allstar race results  after every race.  Good luck to you guys.