By Bob Burbach
Marysville –The western states version of outlaw 410 sprint car racing returns to Paul and Kathy Hawes’ Marysville Raceway Park this Saturday night. The King of the West Sprint Car Series will roar onto the quick clay oval bringing famous racecars and famous chauffeurs along for the ride.
Tim Kaeding is the point leader in the series and he wheels the nationally famous Roth Motorsports #83. Kaeding is a 12-time winner with the World of Outlaws, the 2002 King of California, 2 time World of Outlaws Mini Gold Cup winner, 2 time KWS Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial winner, three-time Trophy Cup winner and the 2010 Johnny Key Classic winner. Kaeding will be joined by a host of hammer-down 410 sprint cars to test round 4 of the grueling KWS series.
The thing of it is that Kaeding’s famous father Brent will also be at MRP with a list of accomplishments that seems to go on forever. Brent is the 4-time World of Outlaws Mini Gold Cup champion, 13-time King of California champion, 3-time Western Dirt Cup champion, four-time Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial winner, 1985 Turkey Night Midget Grand Prix champion, 11-time Pombo/Sargent Classic winner, 2-time Ocean Speedway champion, and just winningest driver in northern California winged sprint car racing history. Kaeding has also tossed away the wing and won 21 USAC/CRA wingless 410 sprint car events. He has won everywhere from Iowa to the coast.
Carrying the battle to the wicked-fast father and son duet will be the 2-time King of California, 4-time Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial winner and 2-time Western Dirt Cup champion Steven Allard. Allard’s last trip to MRP was a surprise appearance at the most recent Mel Hall Memorial Race. Allard won it with a daring last lap pass to add to his 64 career wins.
Other KWS entries include former KWS champ Jason Statler, World of Outlaw racer Brad Furr, Rhode Island’s Eli Deshaies, Brent Bjork, the wildly popular Bobby McMahon, Evan Suggs and Andy Gregg. Gregg has been particularly fast at MRP in the past, but has crashed wildly in his most recent races here. Gregg has won consistently in the series and poses a terrific threat to the stellar field. His accomplishments include 2004 KWS Rookie of the Year, 2004 Southern Oregon Speedway Rookie of the Year.
Gregg holds a unique record at MRP. Gregg lined up 13th for a California Sprint Car Civil War event at MRP in 2007. Gregg sliced through the field and was leading by lap 10. It was truly an amazing effort.
Marysville Raceway Park has undergone a number of changes in recent years, including upgrades to the facility and a reconfiguration of the track surface. Prior to last season 410 sprint cars hadn’t competed at the track for over 10-years. Alissa Geving set fast time last season with a lap of 12.455 seconds.
A local contingent of racers will also be on hand to try to stop the big guns from dominating in the MRP boys (and girls) own playground. 5 time MRP Winged Sprint Car Champ Korey Lovell and MRP’s most recent winner Brandon Dozier will lead a challenge from the rough-tough, all-out competitors from MRP’s championship point racing series. It will be interesting to see how the local heroes will measure up to the national stars of the KWS.
Wing bending thrills and spills at over 100 mph will keep fans on the edge of their seats. A 30-lap feature will cap the proceedings in this all-star sprint car extravaganza. It is simply a MUST SEE.
The pit gate opens at 3pm on Saturday, the front gate will open at 5 and cars will be hitting the track for wheel packing around 5:30, with qualifying and racing to follow. Racing will begin at about 7PM
IMPORTANT: 2011 minor releases must be signed by parents for all minors entering the pits. Concessions will be available. All classes of racecar are invited to participate.