PETERSEN MEDIA
– Bud Kaeding showcased his entire repertoire over the weekend as he was in action in a non winged sprint car, a silver crown dirt car, and a winged sprint car and he picked up a win, a second, a fourth, and a fifth over the busy holiday weekend.
“It’s been pretty grueling traveling all across the country, but when you run well it makes it a little nicer,” said Kaeding.
Kaeding’s weekend started on Thursday night at the Terre Haute Action Track as he was aboard his BK Motorsports/Alviso Rock/K&N Filters backed machine for USAC National Sprint Car action.
Kaeding was strong at the high powered facility as he used a late race restart to get the lead from Jon Stanbrough and drive on to his first Hulman Classic win, and scoring the Winchester rifle in victory lane.
“This race has meant a lot to me for a long time. Getting hurt here is one reason, and then living with the Hulman family, being a roommate to Ed (Carpenter). Knowing the family all this time, getting back here and winning this race is awesome,” Kaeding said.
Friday saw Kaeding hop into his USAC Silver Crown dirt machine and take to the Indianapolis Mile and compete in the “Hoosier 100”
Timing in second quick behind Bryan Clauson, Kaeding’s four pill put him in the fourth spot for the start of the 100-lap feature.
Kaeding moved up to the third spot by the 10th lap, before using a lap 14 restart to grab the second spot.
In second, Kaeding continued to track down race leader, Jerry Coons, Jr, but Coons was too good on this night, and Kaeding held on to the second spot.
Saturday and Sunday, Kaeding flew back to his native California to compete in a pair of Cancen Oil King of the West Series presented by Goodyear events at the famed Calistoga Speedway for Brian Matherly.
Saturday night was rough for Kaeding as mechanical woes had the team continually changing various parts finally to get Bud on the track for the feature, where he started in the 15th spot.
Kaeding turned around and followed his brother, Tim, through the field as the two charged through the field at will.
At the stripe, Bud crossed the line in the fifth spot, salvaging what started out as a rough night.
Sunday things went much differently for the Campbell, CA driver as he timed in second quick, and scored second in his heat race, putting him in the dash.
A seventh place finish in the dash saw Kaeding share the fourth row with Willie Croft for the 25-lap feature event.
Kaeding pounded the top of the speedway trying to get moving forward, and stayed in the pack of cars running second through fifth as Rico Abreu had checked out.
As Bud worked up into the fourth spot, he had a bid for third, but was forced to check up at the end of the race to avoid a lapped car and settled for fourth at the stripe.
“What a busy weekend,” Kaeding stated. “I have to thank all my guys all across the country for working so hard every night we checked into the pits. From winning Terre Haute, to changing everything but the seat Saturday in ‘Stoga, my guys worked their tails off.”
Kaeding would like to thank Kaeding Performance, Sprint Car Innovations, Alviso Rock, BZE, Factory Kahne Shocks, Racing Optics, K&N Filters, Yak Graphics, ButlerBuilt, and Brown and Miller for their continued support.
ON TAP: Bud Kaeding will stay in the state of California and compete in a pair of winged sprint car races this weekend in Watsonville, CA on Friday and Hanford, CA on Saturday.
STAY CONNECTED: Stay connected with Bud by visiting www.budkaedingracing.com, www.facebook.com/budkaedingracing or following @Bud_Kaeding on twitter.