By Gary Thomas
Rio Vista, CA – January 24, 2010…With excitement continuing to build towards the 2011 Golden State King of the West Sprints season, more major news is coming out today with the announcement of “Work’N Woody” returning home to be the official Push Truck and Safety Vehicle for the series.
“Work’N Woody” was built by Art Malies in 1978 and was originally operated by he and wife Carol of Carmichael, California. Woody then traveled the California highways supporting the now defunct Northern Auto Racing Club for a number of years, until hitting the road with the World of Outlaws in 1988.
After the 2008 season Art and Carol retired and son Eric took over the operations of “Work’N Woody” and traveled with the World of Outlaws the past two seasons. Once it was announced that Woody wouldn’t return to the WOO trail for the 2011 year, Golden State King of the West team members tossed around the idea of bringing the famed push truck back to California.
With that in mind an agreement was made recently and “Work’N Woody” will in fact be returning to its roots as the official Push Truck and Safety Vehicle of the Golden State King of the West Sprint Car Series.
“I’m really looking forward to becoming part of the team when I get out to California and am very excited to be with KWS,” said Eric Malies. “I really wasn’t sure what I was going to do this year. We were weighing our options and then one day Dan Simpson called me out of the blue and offered me the position, so I jumped on it.”
Golden State King of the West Production Manager Dean Mills, who grew up in Carmichael and has also come back home this season, will be glad to have Woody at the track each week.
“I couldn’t be happier to see “Work’N Woody” coming back to California this year,” Mills commented. “Having grown up in Carmichael I would pass Woody every day on the way to High School so it definitely brings back some memories. It’s good to have Woody back home where he came from.”
George Hague, Operations Manager for the traveling KWS 410 Series, who also lives in Carmichael, shared much of the same sentiment with having the notable push vehicle back in California.
“Work’N Woody” is a legend in sprint car racing and to have it with the KWS Series brings a lot of history back to our fans,” he said. “We are definitely happy to have Eric as part of the organization and look forward to working with him.”
For more history on “Work’N Woody” log onto http://www.worknwoody.com/home
The season opener for the Golden State King of the West Sprints is slated for Saturday evening April 9 at the Antioch Speedway in Antioch, California. It’s sure to be a can’t miss night of racing with a talented field expected for the first event run under the KWS banner.
The Golden State King of the West Sprint Series is a traveling Winged 410 Sprint Car Association that will be racing in California, Oregon and Nevada during the upcoming season. 2011 will be the 26th year of competition for the Golden State 410 Sprint Series. For the schedule, registration forms and more info please visit http://www.kingofthewestsprintcarseries.com
Also follow KWS on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/KWS410s#!/pages/Golden-State-King-of-the-West-Series/150145691703907 and Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/KWS410s