December 10, 2021 | By Lee Spencer

Jordan Kinser joins Chase Briscoe Racing for Chili Bowl Nationals debut

Without the assistance of others, Chase Briscoe knows he would have never made it to NASCAR’s Cup Series.

So when the opportunity came to provide a fellow Indiana racer with a chance to shine, Briscoe set the wheels in motion for Jordan Kinser to drive the No. 5K Penny Lane Child Care midget at the 2022 Chili Bowl Nationals.

Although Kinser has never raced a midget, the 28-year-old “rookie” welcomes the challenge.

“I’ve always wanted to go to the Chili Bowl,” Kinser said. “Growing up in Indiana, the last five or six years I’ve watched it live on TV. Every night I had to be in front of the TV.”

Kinser grew up watching his father, Leon, race go-karts and late models. Once Jordan turned 6, the attention turned to his path in quarter-midgets followed by micro-sprints and eventually sprint cars with his family-owned team until 2016. Most recently, Kinser has raced the No. 70 Hurst Brothers Racing sprint car out of Salem, Ind.

While Kinser has always had an interest in racing a midget, sprint cars made more sense financially over the last 12 seasons.

“To run a midget, it would cost just as much or more than a sprint car with what you have to do to keep up with the motor maintenance,” Kinser said. “And they never paid as much as the sprint car did, so we never went that route.”

After 22 years of racing, Kinser will finally have his shot—with help from Chase Briscoe Racing.

“I mentioned to Penny Lane about giving an opportunity to another local driver and they liked the idea,” Briscoe said. “Jordan grew up not far from me in Indiana—about 15-20 minutes away. He’s never driven a midget, so that will be neat to do. I’ve always enjoyed taking a second car. He’ll have the same car that I’m driving, so the equipment will be really good.”

Briscoe, 26, grew up in Mitchell, Ind., 15-minutes south of Kinser’s hometown of Bedford. The second-generation drivers became acquainted being at the race track and rising through the racing ranks in the Hoosier State.

Jordan is a distant cousin of the Bloomington Kinsers—which can be a blessing and a curse. Many times—especially after winning back-to-back Bob Kinser Memorial races in 2019-2020—people assume he has connections to sprint car legends Steve Kinser or deep pockets to compete.

“There have been points in my career when I first came on the scene, things were clicking and going well and people probably did assume that,” Kinser said. “But I never really received any hand-me-downs from them. The only thing I can say I probably got was an old Mark Kinser suit when he was in the 5m car. I wore that when I first started racing micros.”

Kinser won’t have to worry about hand-me-downs when he joins Briscoe in Tulsa next month. The driver of the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford and NASCAR Cup Rookie-of-the-Year will make sure of that.

“I’ve always liked Jordan,” Briscoe added. “He hasn’t always had the nicest stuff in the sprint car world. It’s nice, but I’ve always felt he has raced at a disadvantage. I’ve always thought he has done a lot with a little. So I’m excited to see what he can do in really good equipment.”

Kinser was promoted this year from engineering technician to the production lead over his projects team at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane (Ind.) Division. This weekend, he plans to shake down his midget with Briscoe at Millbridge Speedway outside of Salisbury, N.C., weather permitting.

“I’m looking forward to getting a few laps in a midget,” Kinser said. “I’m not expecting a whole lot different from a sprint car. I would say a whole lot dartier than a sprint car with less power, obviously.

“I had a friend, Tucker Chastain, who worked for Tracy Hines. I was around him quite a bit. (Tracy) liked the midget better than anything else he drove and me and Tracy have a similar driving style, so I’m hoping it fits me pretty well.”