By Gary Thomas
Stockton, CA – May 17, 2016…The King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series is ready to invade the centrally located Stockton Dirt Track for the first time in 2016 this Saturday night May 21 for the Salute to LeRoy Van Conett.
The night of competition will be the first of three season appearances at the 3/8 mile clay oval, now in its fourth year of operation on the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds. The King of the West 410’s will also return to Stockton on Saturday June 18 for the Jimmy Sills Classic and conclude the year on Saturday November 5 with the 33rd annual Tribute to Gary Patterson.
This Saturday night honors retired Galt, CA racer LeRoy Van Conett, who was born in Stockton and would go on to become one of the very best to wheel a Sprint Car in California. Special event shirts will be available under the grandstands and LeRoy will be on hand during the night for autographs. A live band will also perform prior to the races.
The driver simply known as the “Dragon from Galt” is the all-time leader in wins at the famed Calistoga Speedway half-mile, with 31 victories to his credit. He also captured the track title seven-times in his illustrious career. Van Conett claimed 65 career wins with the now defunct Northern Auto Racing Club and eight series titles, both of which rank second to Campbell’s Brent Kaeding.
In 1976 he scored victory at the Gold Cup Race of Champions and in 1999 was bestowed one of the highest honors any driver can receive, by being inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame. Competing alongside the KWS Winged 410 Sprints on Saturday will be the Wingless Sprint Cars presented by Hunt Magnetos, a series that provided exciting action last year at the Stockton Dirt Track.
On the King of the West side of things Sacramento’s Willie Croft goes into this Saturday night as arguably the driver to beat. The veteran has been fantastic all season long and is fresh off a victory last week at the Chris & Brian Faria Memorial in Tulare. Croft won a Winged 360 event at the Stockton Dirt Track in June of 2013.
The other two King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series events held this year have been captured by two-time series champion Kyle Hirst of Paradise & Campbell’s Bud Kaeding. Hirst & Kaeding will both be in action at the Salute to LeRoy Van Conett, each gunning for their first career Stockton Dirt Track triumph respectively. Earlier this year Hirst charged forward to earn a podium finish during the World of Outlaws Stockton finale. Kaeding currently leads Hirst by two-digits at the top of the standings.
More drivers expected on Saturday will include past Stockton Dirt Track winners Jonathan Allard of Chico, Dominic Scelzi of Fresno & Fremont’s Shane Golobic, along with Hanford’s DJ Netto, Roseville’s Sean Becker, Grass Valley’s Jason Statler, Fresno’s Cory Eliason, Watsonville’s Justin Sanders, Clarksburg’s Justyn Cox, Penngrove’s Chase Johnson, Campbell’s Brent Kaeding, Coarsegold’s Scott Parker, Atwater’s Sean Watts, Auburn’s Richard Brace Jr., Murrieta’s Cori Andrews and others.
Premium upper deck tickets this Saturday May 21 will cost $25, with lower deck tickets $20. Kids 10 & under are free in the lower deck bleachers. Tickets can be acquired by contacting 916-370-9417. The ticket booth and main gate opens at 4pm. Cars are expected to be on track a little after 5pm, with qualifying around 6 and heat races scheduled to begin around 7.
The Stockton Dirt Track is a lightning fast 3/8 mile clay oval located on the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds in Stockton, California. The physical address is 1658 S Airport Way, Stockton, CA 95206. For information on the speedway visit http://www.stocktondirttrack.com
Saturday is also the third Williams Roofing of Fremont, CA Royal Fan Draw night, which works as follows. A trivia question will be asked from the announce booth and the fan that answers correctly will pull a random number (1-22) out of a bag. The fan automatically wins $100 and if the driver wins the feature from the starting spot drawn, the driver receives a $1000 bonus. The Royal Fan Draw is taking place at nearly half of the KWS events in 2016.
The King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series is held under the management of Prentice Motorsports Group, which also operates the Civil War 360 Sprint Car Series presented by Flowmaster, the Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo, the Wingless Sprint Car Series presented by Hunt Magnetos, the All Star Modified Tour and Ocean Speedway.
Info on the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series can be found at http://www.racepmg.com
Be sure to like the KWS Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/kingofthewestsprints and become a member of our Twitter community at https://twitter.com/KwsSprintRacing for all the latest breaking news regarding the series
Upcoming King of the West Series events after Stockton this weekend
Saturday June 4: Silver Dollar Speedway – Chico (David Tarter Memorial)
Saturday June 18: Stockton Dirt Track (Jimmy Sills Classic)
Friday June 24: Ocean Speedway – Watsonville (Pombo/Sargent Classic)
Saturday June 25: Calistoga Speedway (Wine Country Classic)