PETERSEN MEDIA
– Kyle Hirst continued to display his versatility to the sprint car world over the weekend, as the winged regular picked up his third non-wing win of the year as he picked up the Louie Vermeil Classic win aboard the famed Rod Tiner Racing no.83.
With two nights of non-wing action at the famed northern California half mile, Hirst teamed up with Rod Tiner, in what has traditionally been a potent combination.
Saturday night with 26 cars in the pit area, KH timed in with the quickest lap during time trials, putting him in the first heat on a very rough and sticky race track.
Missing out on the direct transfer from his heat, the Sacramento, CA driver scored a second place finish in the ‘B-Main’, and put the No.83 machine in the ninth starting spot for the feature event.
With ruts taking up a lot of the racing surface, the feature event was hair raising as many of the drivers put four wheels above the cushion to stay out of some of the roughness.
Coming form the ninth starting spot, Hirst was on the move as he was able to put ‘four in the fluff’ early and gain some serious ground.
Working into the top-five, KH was able to get around Mike Spencer for fourth on the 21st lap, but he then bicycled and flipped ending his night.
On Sunday night, Hirst was able to get through his heat, and started the feature in the fourth spot. On the initial attempt to start the race, outside pole sitter, Danny Sherridan got upside down entering turn three, and Hirst found himself on the front row for the second attempt.
A great start saw Hirst rocket to the lead over Terry Schank out of turn two, and rocket away from the field. In just ten laps, KH had built up a straight away lead over Ryan Bernal as he began working on lapped traffic.
As the track began taking rubber, Hirst found it early and used it to his advantage as he stretched out his lead.
Late in the feature a pair of cautions slowed the pace, but Hirst was flawless on his restarts and kept Bernal at bay as he picked up the popular victory.
“It was such a fun weekend racing with Rod Tiner and of his guys,” Hirst said. “I dedicate this win to Duke McMillan who was a great friend, and a great mentor to me, it was a huge loss when he passed, but he touched a lot of us and I’m happy to win for him.”
ON TAP: Hirst will now team back up with the Roth Motorsports team and attack the Silver Dollar Speedway for the 59th Annual Gold Cup Race of Champions this Wednesday through Saturday.