PETERSEN MEDIA
– Sometimes in racing it is better to sit in the second spot, and make a late move. Kyle Hirst proved that theory as he made a crowd thrilling pass on the 28th lap Saturday night to pick up his first King of the West win at the Placerville Speedway.
“What an absolutely perfect night,” Hirst said. “I’m on cloud nine right now, and I cannot thank Dennis and Teresa Roth enough for the team they have surrounded me with.”
Starting in the second row of the feature event, Hirst held the third spot, as the first few laps of the race took an extended period of time as wrecks never allowed the race to get into a flow.
On a lap four restart, Hirst was able to put his Roth Enterprises/HR Livestock Transportation/3H Cattle backed machine in the middle of the track, and get around Jason Statler for second, and set his sights on Shane Golobic, for what would be a 20-lap non-stop, run.
With Golobic running the low side of the speedway, Hirst elected to pound the cushion, and he did it to perfection, as he kept Golobic within striking distance.
Working into lapped traffic, Hirst was able to get up to the back bumper of Golobic, and was beginning to shape up to be a great finish, until the caution waved on the 24th lap, giving them clear track.
With Golobic choosing the high-side on the double file restart, Hirst slipped into the second spot, as he went low in one and two.
Back to the cushion in three and four, Hirst was visibly utlzing the faster line, as Golobic wasn’t able to pull away as he had earlier in open track.
On the 27th circuit, KH pulled alongside Golobic exiting four aboard his Mobil1/FK Rod Ends/Weld Wheels backed entry, but Golobic held him off.
On the 28th lap, KH brought the crowd to their feet as he got around Golobic exiting four, and went on to pick up the feature event with in front of the capacity crowd.
“I’ve never won a race in the last couple laps like that, and to do it basically at home is awesome,” he said. “We had a bad fast car all night, and it paid off being in second tonight.”
Hirst kicked the night off by timing his Brown and Miller/Kent Performance Center/Kaeding Performance machine in second fastest, before scoring a second place heat finish, and a third place finish in the dash.
Friday night, Hirst and his team were at the Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, CA, and the team was very strong as well.
Qualifying 13th quickest, Hirst won his heat and found himself lining up for the feature in the 11th spot.
Bobbing and weaving his way through dense traffic on the ultra fast track, KH worked his way up to a third place finish.
Kyle and his Roth Motorsports team would like to thank Roth Enterprises, HR Livestock Transportation, 3H Cattle, Mobil1, FK Rod Ends, Weld Wheels, Brown and Miller Racing Solutions, Kent Performance Center, Kaeding Performance, and Astro Titanium for their support.
2013 ROTH MOTORSPORTS BY THE NUMBERS: Starts-15, Wins-1, Top 5’s-4, Top-10’s-7.
2013 BY THE NUMBERS: Starts-27, Wins-1, Top 5’s-7, Top 10’s-15.
ON TAP: Hirst and his team will be back in Chico, CA this weekend for a Friday/Saturday double header.
STAY CONNECTED: Stay connected with the Roth Motorsports team by visiting www.rothmotorsports83.com. You can also follow Kyle on Twitter @KyleHirstRacing.