King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series Notes & Pertinent Info
Round two at Placerville Speedway “Battle on the red clay bullring”
Placerville, California – Saturday April 27
What:
After opening the season last weekend the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series will head for round number two this Saturday night at the always fun Placerville Speedway. The quarter-mile bullring located on the El Dorado County Fairgrounds routinely produces great racing and is a fan favorite among many in Northern California.
This Saturday’s event will be the first of two season appearances for the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series at the Placerville Speedway, with the other occurring on Saturday June 29.
Sacramento’s Willie Croft has confidence flowing after his victory at the KWS season opener this past weekend at the Antioch Speedway. It was the first 410 Sprint Car win for car owners’ Clyde & Marion Lamar since 1996 and because of that, the Tri-C Machine sits atop the points going into the second round of competition. Croft also captured victory at Placerville Speedway on April 13 & Silver Dollar Speedway on April 19.
“This is just so unreal I don’t even know what to say,” said Croft last week. “I can’t thank Clyde & Marion Lamar and the whole Lamar family enough for the opportunity to drive the Tri-C Machine. Lee Lindgren gave me a great car tonight and I really focused on hitting my marks. I truly know that we had an angel riding with us tonight with Stephen Allard looking down on us, so to get this win is so special I can’t even put it into words.”
Rico Abreu had a solid outing at the opener and goes into Placerville Speedway looking to claim his third career King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series win. The 21-year-old finished second at Antioch and had a great run going in weekly action at Placerville on April 6, until a spin in traffic while chasing down leader Kyle Larson relegated him to the rear. The hard charging driver from St. Helena is always worth the price of admission and will be fun to watch on the high banks this Saturday.
The top-five in the standings following the opener is rounded out by Scotts Valley’s Evan Suggs, Sacramento’s Kyle Hirst and Elk Grove’s Bobby McMahan. For McMahan it’s a return home to the track where he began his Sprint Car career way back in 1982. Completing the top-10 in points going into Placerville are Campbell’s Brent Kaeding, Sydney, Australia’s Peter Murphy, Fresno’s Craig Stidham, Queensland, Australia’s Todd Wanless and Grass Valley veteran Jason Statler.
Other drivers looking to fight their way to the front this Saturday will include three-time & defending KWS champion Jonathan Allard of Chico, Placerville’s Andy Gregg, Visalia’s Cory Eliason, Fresno’s Dominic Scelzi & Carson Macedo, Chico’s Brad Bumgarner & Kenny Allen, Hanford’s DJ Netto, Fair Oak’s Chad Compton, Auburn’s Richard Brace Jr., Elk Grove’s Sean McMahan, three-time Placerville champion Doug Gandy, local favorite Jimmy Trulli and more.
When:
The pit gate at Placerville Speedway on Saturday opens at 2pm, with the front gate opening at 5pm, cars will be hitting the track for wheel packing around 6pm, qualifying is scheduled for 6:30pm and racing is anticipated to begin around 7pm. Fans are encouraged to arrive early as the grandstands always pack in at the Placerville bullring.
Where:
The Placerville Speedway is located on the beautiful El Dorado County Fairgrounds in Placerville, California. Take Hwy US-50 to Forni Road/Placerville Drive exit. Then go north on Placerville Drive to the Fairgrounds. The physical address is 100 Placerville Dr., Placerville, CA 95667. The fairgrounds offers a great grass area for tailgating, so everyone is encouraged to make a day out of it and come have some fun with many of your fellow race fans during the afternoon.
Tickets:
Adult tickets on Saturday will cost just $20, seniors will be $16, juniors $12 and children $6. All seating is general admission during the night.
On the Internet:
King of the West Sprint Car Series-
Official Website- http://www.kwssprints.com
Facebook- http://www.facebook.com/kingofthewestsprints
Twitter- http://www.twitter.com/KWSSprintRacing
You Tube- http://www.youtube.com/user/kingofthewestsprints?feature=mhee
Instagram- kwssprints
Placerville Speedway
Official Website- http://www.placervillespeedway.com
Facebook- http://www.facebook.com/pages/Placerville-Speedway-Placerville-Ca/246478558924
Twitter- https://twitter.com/#!/pvllspeedway
About the track:
The Placerville Speedway is a high-banked quarter-mile oval with distinctive red clay and features an all-time track record that stands at a blistering fast 9.913. The mark was set in the spring of 2004 by San Jose’s Tim Kaeding and then was amazingly matched by Scotts Valley’s Evan Suggs in March of 2009. The tight confines of Placerville Speedway offers a perspective very unique in Northern California and makes it one of the most popular tracks throughout the region.
Recent history of 410 Winged Sprint Car Racing at Placerville:
Last season saw the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series return to the Placerville Speedway after being absent during the 2011 year. A pair of events were held with the early season showcase being captured by Tim Kaeding after fending off his father Brent Kaeding who started 12th on the grid. The top-five was filled out by Willie Croft, Shane Golobic and Jason Statler.
In the June event it turned out to be a huge night of racing, as 13-time series champion Brent Kaeding made a glorious return to victory lane and break a Golden State/ KWS winless streak that dated back to 2009. The packed house on hand showed their respect to the Hall of Famer during one of the most memorable front stretch celebrations in recent memory. Kyle Hirst gave Kaeding everything he could handle and came home second, with Andy Gregg, Golobic and Croft completing the top-five.
In 2010 Tim Kaeding won a pair of Golden State/ King of the West 410 main events at Placerville Speedway, with Jonathan Allard earning a single win. In 2009 Brent Kaeding scored one victory at Placerville and eventual series titlist Tyler Walker scored two triumphs. The second victory for Walker also capped his championship year and was his ninth win during the season, which stands as an all-time record for the series in one year.
Top-10 in driver standings after one round of competition:
1. Willie Croft 161; 2. Rico Abreu 155; 3. Evan Suggs 151; 4. Kyle Hirst 149; 4. Bobby McMahan 149; 6. Brent Kaeding 145; 7. Peter Murphy 142; 7. Craig Stidham 142; 9. Todd Wanless 137; 10. Jason Statler 136
Upcoming King of the West events:
Coming up on Saturday May 4 the King of the West 410 warriors will invade Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico for the 23rd annual “Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial” race. The prestigious event will mark the lone race at Silver Dollar this season for KWS and is expected to be a huge night as always, which will be capped with a 40-lap main event.
There is currently $900 cash on the line for the “Carwash Mike Fast Time Award” plus the $100 weekly certificate from BR Motorsports and a special Jagermeister Trophy & Coors Light Cowboy Hat in honor of Carwash Mike Avilla. The Hard Charger Award currently stands at $250 cash plus the weekly $200 certificate from Pit Stop USA & $50 certificate from KSE Racing Products. There is also talk of a special custom “Alan Bradway/ Grant’s Foto Art Hard Charger Award.” More details on all the special awards & giveaways will be documented over the next week.
To inquire about supporting the event with giveaway items or sponsorship money please contact Dave & Dianne Durica at durica1414@sbcglobal.net or by phone (916) 988-5958. The Silver Dollar Speedway is located on the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds in Chico and info can be seen at http://www.silverdollarspeedway.com
Round number four is slated for the Petaluma Speedway on Saturday May 11 and will be the inaugural “Salute to Baylands,” as we pay tribute to the now defunct Baylands Raceway Park that was located in Fremont, CA.
The event also marks the very first Winged 410 Sprint Car race at the sticky three-eighths mile clay oval since 2010 and is a much anticipated stop on the schedule. A number of past Baylands Raceway Park stars will be on hand for autographs and interviews during the night. The Petaluma Speedway is located on the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds & information on the track can be found at http://www.petaluma-speedway.com
On Friday & Saturday May 17 & 18 the King of the West 410’s will head for the Reno Tahoe Fernley Speedway in Fernley, Nevada for the first of five weekends of action at the facility. KWS Managing Director Dan Simpson also happens to be the promoter at RTF Speedway and during the off season a revitalization of the track surface took place. Be sure and reserve your rooms at the host hotel for KWS in Sparks, Nevada the John Ascuaga’s Nugget. The KWS fan code to use is GKWS2 and to book your rooms visit http://www.janugget.com/hotel/book-a-group.asp