By Gary Thomas
Marysville, CA – April 17, 2012…Packed full of renovations the last few years Marysville Raceway Park has been one of the most improved dirt tracks in Northern California and this Saturday night the Cancen Oil KWS Series presented by Goodyear will be on hand at the quarter-mile bullring.
Since taking over the Marysville Raceway Park, promoters Paul and Kathy Hawes have implemented a number of improvements to the track and facility, which is located just 45 miles north of Sacramento and 50 miles south of Chico.
“Paul and Kathy Hawes have done wonderful things at Marysville Raceway Park and we’re excited to head there on Saturday,” said KWS Operations Manager George Hague. “We had a great time last season and have heard a lot of good things about MRP so far this year. It’s always nice to see so much work put into a track and it’s definitely paying off.”
Last year’s King of the West winner at the Marysville Raceway Park, Willie Croft of Sacramento, will be back to defend his big victory from 2011. “Double Down” finished sixth in the KWS points last year and will be looking for a good run on Saturday at his home track to climb the standings.
San Jose’s Tim Kaeding sits atop the Cancen Oil KWS points following his win at the season opener on April 7 and will be in search of his first career Marysville Raceway Park 410 victory on Saturday. The defending series champion finished runner up during the MRP visit last season aboard the Roth Motorsports No. 83 machine.
Kaeding’s closest competitor in the standings is Chico’s Jonathan Allard, who is also expected to be his largest threat at making it back to back titles. The driver of the Williams Motorsports No. 0 finished runner up to Kaeding at the opener in Antioch and will be gunning to reverse those fortunes on Saturday.
A pair of National Sprint Car Hall of Famers will also be in the field at MRP, with legendary drivers Brent Kaeding and Jimmy Sills racing side by side once again in the Golden State. “BK” finished third in the KWS points last season and is the all time winningest sprint car driver in California history.
Whereas Kaeding will be at the helm of his famed Al’s Roofing Supply No. 69 sprinter, Sills will be in action aboard the DES Racing No. 6up Maxim. “The Professor” ranks number five all time in Northern Auto Racing Club wins, sitting behind only Kaeding, Leroy Van Connet, Tim Green and Steve Kent. Sills is also tied with fellow Californian Bud Kaeding as one of just two drivers who have won the USAC Silver Crown championship on three separate occasions.
Placerville’s Andy Gregg picked up his first ever California sprint car win at the Marysville Raceway Park in 2007 and last season finished third during the KWS appearance at the track. Gregg finished seventh in the KWS standings last year and claimed his initial traveling 410 series victory in April at the Santa Maria Speedway.
Chili Bowl Midget Nationals A-main starter Rico Abreu will make his debut at the Marysville Raceway Park on Saturday in the always potent Abreu Vineyards No. 89 mount. The 20-year-old from St. Helena, California claimed his first ever King of the West podium at the opener in Antioch and will be gunning for his initial victory at MRP.
Veterans Bobby McMahan and Jason Statler will also be on hand looking to break their way into victory lane. McMahan currently sits fifth in the KWS standings after a top five effort at the opener and Statler rounds out the top-10 in points. Other top-10 drivers in the standings set for action at MRP include two-time Chili Bowl A-main starter Shane Golobic, last year’s KWS runner up Evan Suggs and fan favorite Peter Murphy.
More drivers expected to be in the field on Saturday will include “Sherm Toller Memorial” winner Kyle Hirst of Loomis, Chico’s Kenny Allen & Brad Bumgarner, Fresno’s Craig Stidham, Redding’s Tyler Wolf, Colfax’s Colby Wiesz, Elk Grove’s Sean McMahan, Fair Oak’s Chad Compton, West Sacramento’s Cody Lamar, Oakhurst’s Doug Gandy and others.
Adult tickets will cost $18 on Saturday with juniors, seniors, disabled and active military $15, kids 6-12 $10 and children 5 and under free. The pit gate opens at 3pm on Saturday, the front gate will open at 5pm and cars will be hitting the track for wheel packing around 6pm, with qualifying and racing to follow.
The Marysville Raceway Park is located in Marysville, California. From the Junction of HWY 70 and HWY 20 (12th Street), go a quarter-mile east on HWY 20. Turn south onto Ramirez Road for 1.5 miles. The physical address is 1468 Simpson Ln, Marysville, CA 95901. Directions & hotels can be found at http://marysvilleracewaypark.com/maps.html
Don’t forget to “like” the Cancen Oil King of the West Series on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/kingofthewestsprints 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.