King of the West Series releases action packed 2012 schedule

2011 King of the West Golden State Sprint Car Series

From Gary Thomas

Rio Vista, CA — February 24, 2012) — The Cancen Oil King of the West Sprint Car Series presented by Goodyear has released the 2012 racing schedule, which is highlighted by 19 events at 10 different tracks, including a couple of exciting additions that weren’t part of last year’s campaign.

The state’s premier 410 Winged Sprint Car Series will kick off the much anticipated season on Saturday April 7 at the Antioch Speedway in Antioch, CA. Quickly gaining a reputation as one of the raciest tracks in the West; the one-third mile oval will also host KWS on a pair of other occasions, with those coming on Saturday June 23 and Saturday July 21.

The popular Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare will also host the Cancen Oil King of the West Sprint Car Series three times in 2012. The dates at the always entertaining one-third mile oval will be the “Chris & Brian Faria Memorial” on Saturday April 14, Saturday May 12 and the “John Anthony Sharp Memorial” on Saturday July 14.

Also featuring three appearances by the Cancen Oil King of the West Sprint Car Series this season is the famed Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico. The trio of shows will be highlighted by the annual “Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial” on Saturday May 5, which is typically the richest one night stand on the schedule. KWS will also be in action at the quarter-mile on Friday June 8 for the “Road to Dirt Cup” and Saturday August 18.

The historic Calistoga Speedway half-mile will once again be the site of a double header on Memorial Day Weekend for KWS. The festivities open on Saturday May 26 with the 20 th annual “Salute to Walt Ross” and will be followed on Sunday May 27 with the return of the “Tribute to Gary Patterson” to Calistoga.

Once again hosting a pair of KWS events will be the lightning fast three-eighths mile Kings Speedway in Hanford, with those being the return of the “Pombo/Sargent Classic” on Saturday June 2 and the “Cotton Classic” on Saturday October 13. Both Tulare and Hanford saw the importance of having the “Pombo/Sargent Classic” return to Kings, so it should be a great thing to bring some tradition back to the track.

One of the additions to the schedule that is sure to be popular among fans is the 410 return to Placerville Speedway for a pair of events in 2012. The high banked red clay quarter-mile will feature KWS shows on Saturday April 28 and Saturday June 30. Teams will look to break the all-time track record during the return, which stands at a blazing fast 9.913 seconds.

Also returning to the schedule this season is the popular “Howard Kaeding Classic” at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, which will be a one night show this year on Saturday July 7. Another addition to the schedule will be a single night show at the newly revamped and lengthened Merced Speedway on Friday June 29.

Always a fun and anticipated outing for the tour will occur on Saturday June 9 when the Cancen Oil King of the West Series travels to Medford, Oregon for a night of competition at the Southern Oregon Speedway. KWS will also visit the Marysville Raceway Park for a single night show on Saturday April 21. Promoters Paul & Kathy Hawes have established a number of improvements over the last few years and the stop last season at MRP was an entertaining one.

October 6 is currently a TBA as series officials will attempt to lock down a venue for the date.

“We’re excited with how the schedule came out and something people may notice is that it’s much more condensed this season,” said KWS Operations Manager George Hague. “Half of the races are roughly within an hour and a half from the Sacramento area, so for Northern California fans, there is going to be less driving involved this year. We’re also thrilled to continue our relationship with Goodyear Racing Tires and extremely happy to welcome Cancen Oil as our title sponsor.”

Last season’s inaugural year under the King of the West banner saw major growth for 410 Sprint Car racing in California, highlighted by 17 full time travelers and an average car count that jumped up to 28.1, after being 22 the previous year. A California sprint car record $116,000 cash point fund was handed out at the awards banquet and another $200,000 in special prizes and contingencies were also given out.

“This season we definitely want to continue making strides and adding in a couple of new tracks is certainly a big step,” said Hague. “The fans have wanted to see 410 Sprint Cars back at Placerville and having two events there will be really exciting. We’re also looking forward to running at Merced Speedway because of all the hard work John Soares and his staff have put into the track.”

Every A-main with KWS in 2012 will also once again pay a minimum of $3,000-to-win and $500-to-start.

Don’t forget to “like” the Cancen Oil King of the West Series on Facebook by searching “Golden State King of the West Series” and follow us on Twitter @kwssprintracing for the most timely and up to date information on the series.

Also check out our official website at http://www.kwssprints.com for the latest news, results, history and more on the Cancen Oil King of the West 410 Sprint Cars presented by Goodyear.

About Cancen Oil: Cancen Oil Canada Inc. specializes in the general cleanup and disposal of slop oil, tank bottoms, and crude treatment. By purchasing, re-processing, and selling off-spec oil, Cancen is helping to ensure used oil is prevented from entering ecosystems. Cancen utilizes technology that has been proven across North America to be effective in the highest range of oil/water/solids combinations in conventional and heavy oils.

Be sure to catch archived shows of “KWS Tonight,” along with special highlight clips from the 2011 season at http://vimeo.com/user5784994/videos and http://vimeo.com/user10076991

—————–

Cancen Oil King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series presented by Goodyear 2012 Schedule

Saturday April 7: Antioch Speedway

Saturday April 14: Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway (Chris & Brian Faria Memorial)

Saturday April 21: Marysville Raceway Park

Saturday April 28: Placerville Speedway

Saturday May 5: Silver Dollar Speedway Chico, CA (Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial)

Saturday May 12: Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway

Saturday May 26: Calistoga Speedway (Salute to Walter T Ross)
Sunday May 27: Calistoga Speedway (Tribute to Gary Patterson)

Saturday June 2: Kings Speedway Hanford, CA (Pombo/Sargent Classic)

Friday June 8: Silver Dollar Speedway (Road to Dirt Cup)
Saturday June 9: Southern Oregon Speedway Medford, OR (Road to Dirt Cup)

Saturday June 23: Antioch Speedway