PETERSEN MEDIA
For the third year in a row, Roth Motorsports has earned the King of the West title, and though he was apart of the 2012 team that won the team championship, Kyle Hirst earned his first King of the West crown on Saturday night by way of his third place finish at the Stockton Dirt Track.
“What an awesome night, and awesome feeling,” Hirst said. “I cannot thank Dennis and Teresa Roth enough for the equipment they provided me with, and the opportunity they gave me this year.”
With 35 cars on hand, Hirst looked to cap off his championship night, by standing on top of the podium, though he came up a little short, he was still pleased.
Timing in 10th fastest, Hirst took advantage of his front row starting spot, and picked up the win, putting his Roth Enterprises/HR Livestock Transportation/3H Cattle entry in the night’s Dash, where he started on the pole.
With Craig Stidham getting the jump on Hirst, the Sacramento, CA driver held his spot, and found himself on the front row of the 30-lap feature event.
Getting the jump, Hirst looked very strong, as he quickly broke away from the field, as Rico Abreu looked to chase him down.
Running nearly perfect laps for the first half of the race, Hirst then began to feel a little pressure from Abreu as they got into traffic, and lost the lead a couple of times, but caution flags waived, and bailed him out.
Following an open red on the 16th lap, Hirst slipped back to the second spot, as Abreu muscled his way around him, and then fell to third as Jonathan Allard got by him.
The final few laps saw Hirst try to get back by Allard for second, but on this night, it was all about winning the war, and he did just that, as he crossed the finish line, and celebrated his King of the West Crown.
By winning the crown, he and his father, Rick Hirst, become only the second Father-Son duo to clinch California 410 Sprint Car titles, joining none other thatn Tim and Brent Kaeding.
“This is a testament to this entire team,” Hirst said. “Troy Welty, Eric, Bucky, Brent, Mikey, Todd, and everyone who helped work on this thing all year long, we would have liked to earn some more wins, but we were right there on a nightly basis, and you can’t ask for much more.”
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, Kaeding Performance, and Astro Titanium for their support in 2013.
2013 ROTH MOTORSPORTS BY THE NUMBERS: Starts-51, Wins-5, Top 5’s-24, Top-10’s-38
2013 BY THE NUMBERS: Starts-76, Wins-7, Top 5’s-33, Top 10’s-54
ON TAP: Hirst will now head down under to compete with Michael Cunningham!
STAY CONNECTED: Stay connected to Kyle by following him on Twitter, @kylehirstracing, or by visiting www.rothmotorsports83.com.