With two weeks remaining before the start of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season, ThorSport Racing driver Tracy Hines continued his busy "off-season" with three races in two days in Phoenix during the 28th Copper World Classic weekend.  Hines raced the CRA Sprint car series on the quick Manzanita Speedway half-mile dirt on Saturday night, then hopped in his USAC Midget and Silver Crown cars on the ultra-fast Phoenix International Raceway on Sunday.

Hines recorded top-5 finishes in all three events, finishing fifth at Manzanita, then picking up a fifth place finish in the 25-mile Midget car feature and wrapping up the weekend with a solid runner-up finish in the Silver Crown 100-lapper.

"Any time we go out west I know I am going to have a competitive ride in the sprint car," Hines said.  "The car was great, and we had a lot of fun at Manzanita.  It was a great start to the weekend.  The Midget is always strong, especially on the big tracks like Phoenix.  We were riding a lot of momentum coming off the Chili Bowl and we're happy to get another top-5 with the Wilke-Pak guys.  The Silver Crown car ran flawlessly too.  We were really good on the short runs late in the race, but (Dave) Steele was out front and was just a little too strong for us.  I think if we had a couple more laps of green on some of the short runs between cautions, we might have had him.  That's the third year in a row we've finished second to him there, so sooner or later we'll get up front at take the checkered flag first."

Hines returns to action in the No. 13 ThorSport Racing Chevrolet when the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season opens February 18 at Daytona International Speedway.  The 250-mile season-opener is scheduled for live telecast on Speed Channel, and live broadcast on select affiliates of the Motor Racing Network.  In addition, TruckSeries.com will provide live practice and qualifying coverage starting February 15 at www.truckseries.com.