Hinds Eager For Kickoff To Colorado Late Model Season

Cassidy Hinds returns to Colorado National Speedway this weekend for the track's season opener. (Molly Hinds photo)

DACONO, Colo. – After rebuilding from a rough crash at Tucson (Ariz.) Speedway in January, Cassidy Hinds is set to kick off the Colorado National Speedway season this weekend in front of her home fans.

The three-eighths-mile racetrack in the Centennial State ignites its season with the Lowry Insurance Short Track Season Opener on Saturday, May 3. Hinds will race in the Guardian Roofing Super Late Model division with her familiar No. 3c machine.

It will mark Hinds’ first time back behind the wheel since Jan. 18 at Tucson Speedway, a race that could have easily stopped her year before it truly had a chance to get into full swing.

Hinds’ throttle hung during the second race of the three-day Chilly Willy weekend at Tucson, sending her into the wall and causing major damage to her new super late model chassis that required repairs through the early portion of the spring season.

The good news for the Arvada, Colo., racer is that she and her family recently got the rebuilt chassis back, giving them time to prepare for the CNS kickoff. Hinds lives just 25 miles south of the racetrack.

“I’m really excited to be back in the car; it’s been a while,” said Hinds, who participated in an open practice recently in advance of the CNS season opener.

“Being able to practice the car after the repairs were done is great for us, I think, because it gives us a little bit better baseline to work with than if we were just going into the race blind,” she continued. “I’m feeling pretty good about it. I think we’ve got a good car underneath us and I’m hopeful we’ll be able to come out of the box at CNS stronger this season than we did last year.

“Overall, it’s just a good feeling to know I’ll be back doing what I love again.”

Though Hinds broke through last fall for his first NASCAR-sanctioned track championship at Tucson, her results at her home track weren’t quite where she wanted them to be, even though she was a top-10 contender on a regular basis.

With a rebuilt race car and belief in herself that her experience at the three-eighths-mile CNS oval can pay dividends, Hinds feels this season can be an improvement on where she ended last year in terms of her local stomping grounds.

“I don’t want to jinx anything, but I do feel more comfortable about the car and where I feel like we ended the practice day than where we were last year,” she noted. “We were battling some damage to the chassis we raced last year also, that we didn’t know about at the time, so that was definitely something that didn’t help us in terms of being able to find speed.

“I feel like we had competitive times and a competitive feel when I was in the driver’s seat. Obviously, you don’t know what everyone has until you get out there for the first race, but I think we can be right in the mix like we’ve expected to be in the past.”

Though she’s always motivated to chase checkered flags, Hinds said she plans to manage her emotions and expectations going into the weekend knowing that she’s yet to put a race under her belt since her super late model was repaired.

“I’m looking at this weekend almost like a fresh start to our season,” explained Hinds. “We’re coming back from a big wreck, we’ve got repairs made to our cars, but there are still some of those unknowns that you just won’t fully understand until you’re out racing around other drivers at full steam.

“If we can finish the race in one piece and have a good showing in our eyes, where we feel the car is competitive and doing what we expect it to do on the track, then I’ll feel good about the weekend overall,” she added. “You don’t want to get your expectations too high and set yourself up for failure, but we’re optimistic and always looking to find the right pieces to put ourselves in victory lane.”

Away from the racetrack, Hinds is set to graduate after the Colorado National race weekend with her Bachelor of Science degree in nutrition and dietetics. She aims to continue her schooling this fall to pursue a Master’s of Science degree, also in nutrition and dietetics.

Hinds would like to thank marketing partners Frontier Restoration, Leary’s Shock Shop, Fort Worth Screen Printing, Commit 2 Fitness, Pineapple Pump Project, MATCO Tools, Puzzle Effects, Buckeye Welding, 5280 Pit Lighting, and the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation for their support of her racing efforts.

Fans can watch live coverage of Saturday night’s racing program at Colorado National Speedway starting at 8:30 p.m. ET (6:30 p.m. MT) on Low Budget TV.

About Cassidy Hinds Racing

Cassidy Hinds is a 21-year-old racing driver from Arvada, Colorado, who competes in the Super Late Model and Pro Truck divisions at the three-eighths-mile Colorado National Speedway as part of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Racing Series. She’s a past participant in the Toyota Racing Development Young Driver Combine, and honed her racing skills in quarter midgets, junior late models, and the Spears SRL Pro Late Model Series prior to advancing into Pro Trucks and super late models.

Hinds also competes in various regional and national super late model events as her schedule permits.

Off the racetrack, Hinds is finishing her Bachelor of Science degree in nutrition and dietetics at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

For more information on Cassidy Hinds, visit www.cassidyhindsracing.com.