07-17-2005 | TruckSeries.com Report
Tracy Hines is spending much of the off time between NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races behind the wheel of a USAC Sprint Car as he tackles selected races during the annual "Indiana Sprint Week." Hines picked up a solid second-place finish in the opener Twin Cities Raceway Park in North Vernon, and backed it up with his second USAC Valvoline National Sprint Car Series feature win of 2005 the following night at Bloomington Speedway. The win is 56th in national USAC competition, tying him for 12th on the all-time list with 1969 Indianapolis 500 and 1972 Daytona 500 winner Mario Andretti. "Mario is one of the legends of the sport," said Hines, the 2000 USAC Silver Crown Series and 2002 USAC National Sprint Car Series champion. "Racing was so much different then. He was a guy that crossed over and succeeded at everything he did. It's definitely an honor to be tied with him on the all-time USAC win list. "We don't run for points anymore, but I really enjoy coming back and running as many USAC races as I can," Hines continued. "The best part about coming back and running in the Sprint car is that I know every time we come to the track, the Hoffman's are going to give me a car that can win. We won on the pavement at Anderson earlier this year, and we've been in the hunt in both of the Indiana Sprint Week races so far. That's all a racecar driver can ask for." The win was Hines' 31st in a USAC Sprint Car Series feature. He also has 22 wins in the USAC National Midget Car Series and three wins in the USAC Weld Racing Silver Crown Series.