High-banks of Placerville Speedway play host to the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series this Saturday night April 27

Last season the former “Mini Gold Cup” winner brought home a pair of top-five finishes in the two Placerville events, including a podium in April.

Croft also recently scored a weekly main event win at the Placerville Speedway on April 13 and at the Silver Dollar Speedway this past Friday. With three wins in his last three starts the Sacramento wheel-man will look to keep up his hot streak on Saturday. By winning last week Croft tied Kyle Hirst, Peter Murphy, Andy Forsberg, Chuck Miller and Darrell Hanestad on the all-time Golden State/ King of the West win list with four triumphs.

Last June Campbell’s Brent Kaeding broke a long winless streak with the King of the West 410 Series by picking up a thrilling victory at the Placerville Speedway. The National Sprint Car Hall of Famer that night battled toe to toe with Kyle Hirst over the final laps of the feature and kept the packed house on the edge of their seats. “BK” also tallied a runner up finish at the track last April after charging from the 12^th starting spot. Kaeding is coming off a sixth place effort at the KWS opener in Antioch.

Rico Abreu had a solid outing at the opener in Antioch and goes into Placerville Speedway looking to claim his third career King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series win. The 21-year-old finished second at Antioch and had a great run going in weekly action at Placerville on April 6, until a spin in traffic while chasing down leader Kyle Larson relegated him to the rear. The hard charging driver from St. Helena is always worth the price of admission and will be fun to watch on the high banks this Saturday.

KWS competitor Doug Gandy was a fixture at the Placerville Speedway in his day and claimed a trio of track title’s in the 1970’s. “I have some great memories at Placerville,” Gandy has said. “I’m not quite sure what we would have done as a family back then if they hadn’t built it. It’s a special place to me and I look forward to coming back. I will always appreciate those days racing there and all the great fans.” This Saturday night Gandy will join Jason Statler & Chad Compton in the pre-race King of the West Series autograph session at 5pm when the front gate opens.

The always consistent Evan Suggs ranks third in the King of the West points after finishing fifth in the main event at Antioch during the opener. The 26-year-old Scotts Valley native shares the Placerville Speedway 410 track record with Tim Kaeding at a blazing fast 9.913 seconds. In August of 2010 Suggs led all but three laps in the main event at Placerville, eventually scoring a second place finish to Tim Kaeding.

A tie for the fourth spot in points is currently seen between Sacramento’s Kyle Hirst and Elk Grove’s Bobby McMahan. Hirst last week was the Pit Stop USA Hard Charger coming from 11^th to third in the 30-lapper. The 25-year-old also routinely runs strong at the Placerville Speedway and has multiple wins at the track in his career. Hirst last year ran second to Brent Kaeding in the June event at Placerville aboard his Roth Enterprises No. 83jr.

McMahan began his Sprint Car career at the Placerville Speedway in 1982 by earning Rookie of the Year honors and always loves going back to the high-banked bullring. “It’s always special for me to go back to Placerville since that’s where I started racing sprint cars,” the veteran driver has said. McMahan scored a fourth place finish in the feature at the opener and will be looking to break his way into victory lane at Placerville on Saturday.

Ranking seventh through 10^th in the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series standings after one round of competition are Sydney, Australia native Peter Murphy, Fresno’s Craig Stidham, Australian traveler Todd Wanless and Grass Valley’s Jason Statler. In 2004 Statler picked up a Golden State/ King of the West victory at Placerville Speedway and is another driver that typically runs strong on the red clay.

Three-time & defending King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series champion Jonathan Allard will look to rebound following a tough main event at the opener that saw him finish 13^th. The Chico veteran has been one of the most consistent drivers in 410 action at the Placerville Speedway over the last 10-years and will be trying hard to get back into victory circle at the bullring. Allard claimed a Golden State/ King of the West win at the track in 2006 aboard the familiar Williams Motorsports No. 0 sprinter.