(Photo by Tyler Frey Photography)

Inside Line Promotions – ABBOTTSTOWN, Pa. (May 12, 2021) – Alan Krimes continued what has been a successful season at Lincoln Speedway when he scored a third-place finish Saturday night in his family owned No. 87.

The top-five run was the fifth of the season for the team at ‘The Pigeon Hills’ track, where Krimes leads the 410ci sprint car championship standings.

“We’re pretty consistent with our car at Lincoln and I think we already have more top fives this year than we did all of last season,” he said. “You always want to have more wins, but when you are clicking off top-five finishes and podiums you can’t really be upset.”

Krimes kicked off the night when he laid down a qualifying lap of 13.756 seconds, which was good enough for fourth quickest among 37 drivers. He followed that up by winning a heat race from the pole position and finishing second in the dash to lock himself a great starting spot in the A Main.

“We timed really well and we were really good in the heat race,” he said. “The car felt really good and when you’re running an Outlaws format you need speed right away so it was a nice feeling knowing we could be up front from the start.”

Krimes, who lined up on the outside of the front row for the feature, settled into the runner-up spot early before falling to third on Lap 7. At the halfway point the top three drivers were all under a blanket on the backstretch. However, that was as close as Krimes got to the lead as he settled for third at the completion of the 30-lap event.

“Earlier in the night we were really good running through the middle of the track, but it seems like after the dash we just couldn’t find that line,” he said. “I didn’t feel really good around the top, especially in turns three and four. But we probably needed lapped traffic to really have a shot. We reeled those guys in a few times, but never really felt good enough to get up there and really battle.”

Krimes currently holds a 35-point advantage in the track standings heading into a Wednesday night visit by the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series to Lincoln Speedway. With the heightened competition of the touring series and a $10,000 prize awaiting the winner of the Gettysburg Clash, Krimes knows it will be important to start the night off fast in time trials if he wants to stay on top of the standings.

“These Outlaws races are so tough to even get in the show, so we need to have a good lap in time trials and that’s going to be the key to our night,” he said. “With it being a full-points night, we’ve got to keep that part of the deal in the back of our mind and if I do my part behind the wheel that will take care of itself.”

Along with the Wednesday night Outlaws tilt, Krimes will compete with the series in two nights of racing aboard the Stewart Smith Racing No. 27 on Friday and Saturday at Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, Pa., during the Morgan Cup. The team earned its season-best finish of sixth in the most recent visit to the track and Krimes is hoping to carry some of that momentum into this weekend’s event.

“With weather and everything, Stewart and I haven’t gotten as many laps together as we’d like to have coming into an Outlaws weekend,” he said. “Even more than Lincoln, I feel like time trials is really important at ‘The Grove’ so hopefully we can come out fast and go from there. A good showing this weekend will go a long way for our team for the rest of the season at Williams Grove.”