By Gary Thomas
Rio Vista, CA – June 5, 2013…Despite having the next few weekend’s off from competition the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series is gearing up for a busy stretch of action that begins on Saturday June 29 at the Placerville Speedway. The outing at the high-banked red clay quarter-mile oval will ultimately kick off an exciting string of events over the summer, which features seven consecutive weekend’s of racing at six different facilities in California & Nevada.
So far in 2013 there have been eight King of the West 410 Series events contested with five different drivers visiting victory lane. St. Helena, California youngster Rico Abreu has been a consistency machine and leads the series standings on the strength of two wins and top-five finishes in every single event thus far. The 21-year-old however, is scheduled to compete in the Midwest over the summer months in both Sprint Cars & Midgets, which will hand the point lead over to second generation driver Kyle Hirst when KWS resumes action on June 29.
When the King of the West 410’s last competed at Placerville Speedway in late-April it was Hirst that made a late race pass of Shane Golobic for victory in the main event. The 25-year-old Sacramento resident goes into the upcoming Placerville outing sitting 39-markers up on his brother-in-law Willie Croft, who ranks third in the series standings. “Placerville Speedway is always one of my favorite places to race at,” said Hirst. “When it gets slick & has that big cushion there aren’t many places more fun to drive a Sprint Car at. Hopefully on June 29 we can park this Roth Enterprises 83jr on the front stretch again.”
The front grandstand gate on Saturday June 29 will be open at 5pm. Hot laps are scheduled for 6pm, with qualifying at 6:30pm & racing anticipated to start around 7pm. Adult tickets will cost $20, seniors will be $16, juniors $12 & children $6. All seating is general admission & fans are encouraged to get there early. Placerville Speedway is located on the El Dorado County Fairgrounds in Placerville, California. Take Hwy US-50 to Forni Road/Placerville Drive exit. Then go north on Placerville Drive to the Fairgrounds. The physical address is 100 Placerville Dr., Placerville, CA 95667. More information on the track can be found at http://www.
Following the Placerville event the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series will then make a return engagement to the Reno Tahoe Fernley Speedway over 4th of July Weekend for the “Cherry Bomb Classic” on Friday & Saturday July 5 & 6. The previous outing at the blazing fast Fernley, Nevada based three-eighths mile oval saw Rico Abreu & Jonathan Allard score victories, with Abreu’s being a final corner thriller over Hirst. Now that drivers have gotten a taste of the high-banked speedway, the 4th of July Weekend double-header will be an anticipated visit.
The pit gate at the Reno Tahoe Fernley Speedway will open up at noon on Friday and Saturday July 5 & 6 with the front gate for spectators opening at 3pm. Racing is anticipated to get underway around 7pm. The Reno Tahoe Fernley Speedway is located just off Highway 95a in Fernley, Nevada. From Sacramento take I-80 East to exit 46 towards West Fernley, Nevada. Follow the road to Highway 95a and then make a right turn into the Reno Tahoe Fernley Speedway Motor Sports Complex. The physical address is 1965 US 95a Fernley, Nevada 89408. Adult general admission tickets will cost $25, Kids under 6 FREE & Children 6-16 are $10.00.
On Saturday July 13 the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series will be in action for the only time this season at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville during the third annual “Howard Kaeding Classic.” The event has been a very successful one over the last two years and will be another much anticipated night on the schedule. The Ocean Speedway is located on the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, two miles east of Watsonville, California on SR 152. The physical address is 2601 East Lake Ave, Watsonville, CA 95076. For more info on the track & ticket info log onto http://www.oceanspeedway.com
Howard Kaeding was a multiple-time California state super-modified champion, a four-time Johnny Key Classic winner and once captured 17-straight races at the San Jose Speedway, which is a record. The driver known as the “Campbell Comet” claimed over 300 main event victories in his career and even raced into his 60’s, before retiring in the 1990’s. The “HK Classic” has been a great weekend of re-living memories from the past and will be so once again in 2013. The two-night show features USAC Sprints & Midgets Friday July 12, before the fire breathing KWS 410’s invade the bullring on Saturday July 13.
The King of the West 410 Sprint Series will then get ready for its second event of the season at John & Donna Soares’ Antioch Speedway on Saturday July 20. The night of competition will also be the final visit of the year to the one-third mile clay oval that always provides thrilling moments. The KWS Winged Warriors kicked off the season at Antioch on April 20 with Willie Croft coming out on top over Rico Abreu & Kyle Hirst.
On Saturday July 20 the front grandstand gate of the Antioch Speedway will open at 5pm. Hot laps are scheduled for 6pm, with qualifying at 6:30pm and racing anticipated to start around 7pm. Tickets will be available the day of the race with adults being $20, children 6-12 $10, seniors 65 & older $10 and children 5 & under free. A family pack with two adults & two children will also be available for $50.
The Antioch Speedway is located at the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds on the corner of 10th & L Streets in Antioch, California. Take SR-4 East (Highway 4) to the Somersville Road North Exit. Follow Somersville Road to 10thStreet. Turn Right on 10th Street. The address for the track is 1201 W. 10th Street Antioch, CA 94509 & for more info visit www.antiochspeedway.com
On Saturday July 27 the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series will then make its return to the popular Santa Maria Speedway for the first time in two years. With its coastal climate the track is always a favorite stop among teams and fans alike, especially during the heat of summer. In the 2011 season the King of the West Series competed at the Santa Maria Speedway on two occasions, with the first being captured by Andy Gregg and the second won by Jonathan Allard. The victory for Gregg marked his first career Golden State/ King of the West 410 triumph.
Doug Fort built the Santa Maria Speedway in 1964 and helped mold it into one of the top dirt tracks in the country as the owner/promoter until his passing in 1999. The unique one-third mile clay oval has been named “Best Short Track Operation West of the Mississippi” on two separate occasions and is nestled in a semi amphitheater of natural terrain, sheltered by dense eucalyptus trees at the top and to the back of the bleacher area.
The Santa Maria Speedway is located 12 miles inland from the Pacific coast, three miles north of the city of Santa Maria and is located a 1/4-mile north of the US 101/166 interchange on Hutton Road. The facility is one hundred seventy miles north of Los Angeles and 260 miles south of San Francisco. Information on the track & ticket info can be found at www.racesantamariaspeedway.com
On Saturday August 3 the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series will make its anticipated debut at the brand new Stockton 99 Dirt Track. After a very successful World of Outlaws event, everyone is eager to see Winged 410 Sprint Cars return to the venue on August 3. The Stockton 99 Dirt Track is located on the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds in Stockton, California and is built inside a one-mile horse track. The grandstands are some of the nicest we will see all season long with KWS & makes a unique experience for Sprint Car racing.
The lightning fast three-eighths mile clay oval provided some thrilling moments earlier this year during its grand opening on March 22 with the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series. The main event saw a couple of former Golden State/ King of the West 410 champs duke it out for the win, with Elk Grove’s Kyle Larson coming out on top of a nail biter over San Jose’s Tim Kaeding. Contact info for the Stockton 99 Dirt Track can be found at http://www.stockton99.com/
The busy stretch of racing will then be capped off with another double-header at the Reno Tahoe Fernley Speedway on Friday & Saturday August 9 & 10.
More information on the traveling King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series can be found online at http://www.kwssprints.com and by tuning in to “KWS Tonight” every Thursday evening throughout the season on the homepage of the website.
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