From Gary Thomas
Hanford, CA — (June 10, 2014) –Fresh off his second win of the season last weekend Chico, CA’s Kyle Hirst will lead the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series into the always prestigious Pombo/Sargent Classic this Saturday night June 14 at the… Kings Speedway in Hanford.
Hirst has put together an amazing string of consistency since joining Roth Motorsports full-time last season and goes into Saturday holding a commanding 89-point lead in the series standings. Last year he earned 14 top-five finishes en route to his initial King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series title and so far this season has yet to finish outside of the top-five in the first seven events held. Included in those stats are two victories and five podium finishes aboard the Dennis & Teresa Roth owned No. 83jr machine.
The event on Saturday will be held in conjunction with the Kings County Fair & entry to the races is just $8 with a paid fair admission, which is $10 for adults. Heads up for teams, the pit gate will be located off Hanford/Armona Rd at Gate A. This is the same as the World of Outlaws show earlier this year. Please give yourself a little more time to get there on Saturday if possible.
The “Pombo/Sargent Classic” honors California racing legends Al Pombo & Marshall Sargent and has been going on for nearly 30-years, with it originally starting at Kings Speedway in the 1980’s, before moving to the Thunderbowl Raceway from 2006-’11. In 2012 however, the Pombo/Sargent Classic returned to Kings Speedway and this Saturday night we’ll continue that tradition at the “King of the Dirt Tracks.”
Al Pombo began his career in the 1940’s and is credited with more than 500 main event victories, including multiple wins in the Gold Cup at West Capital Speedway, the same event that is now held at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico. He also won five San Jose Speedway titles, seven NASCAR super-modified championships, nine titles at Kearney Bowl and six at Clovis Speedway.
Early in his career Marshall Sargent won a pair of San Jose titles, which included two wins in the Johnny Key Memorial and also captured the Australian championship in 1964. A pair of crashes unfortunately cut his career short and he enjoyed retirement until his passing in 1990. His legend and memory is kept alive each year as part the “Pombo/Sargent Classic” and on Saturday night we’ll once again pay homage to a pair of legends, who helped set the foundation for the sport in our state.
The Kaeding family has dominated the Pombo/Sargent Classic over the years, capturing 16 of the 28 events that have been held since it started.
National Sprint Car Hall of Famer Brent Kaeding leads all drivers with 11 overall victories at the Pombo/Sargent Classic and even won four in a row from 2006-’09 aboard his famed Al’s Roofing Supply No. 69 Sprinter. “BK” goes into Saturday sitting second in the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series standings.
The 13-time Northern Auto Racing Club & 13-time King of the West 410 champion has said of the event, “We’ve won a lot of races at the Pombo/Sargent Classic and it’s definitely nice to continue the tradition each year. Al Pombo and Marshall Sargent were two hard nose guys that would beat and bang on each other and always put on a show. We have a lot of memories from this event over the years and it’s always been a real special one for all of us. We’re really looking forward to Saturday.”
In 1997 Bud Kaeding won the Pombo/Sargent Classic, which also marked his first career Northern Auto Racing Club victory. The Campbell, CA wheel-man then backed that up with another win at the event the following year in 1998, before capturing his third victory at the 2012 version. The three-time USAC Silver Crown Series champion goes into this Saturday ranking third in the KWS points, but is only seven-markers back of his father for the second position.
After last weekend’s events in Chico & Marysville the point race has certainly tightened up among the top-10. Sacramento’s Willie Croft continued to show immense speed last week and brought home a runner up finish on Saturday at Marysville to close within 13-points of third place and is now just 20 back of second. Croft already has one victory this season with the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series and will gunning for another on Saturday to help close up even further in the point chase.
Former Golden State/ King of the West champ Sean Becker rounds out the top-five in the series standings and sits 19-digits behind Croft for the fourth spot in the points. The “Shark” has always been fast at Kings Speedway and goes into Saturday looking for his first KWS win of the season. Outside the top-five, the drivers that rank six through 11 in the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series standings are all separated by only 27-markers, in what will surely be a heated contest the remainder of the year.
Elk Grove’s Bobby McMahan looked solid last weekend and is now only 12-markers outside of the top-five, while Fresno’s Craig Stidham is just seven-digits back of McMahan for the sixth spot. Fremont’s Shane Golobic goes into Saturday ranking eighth in the KWS standings, but is just a single point back of Stidham for seventh. Chico’s Jonathan Allard has gained steam in recent weeks and sits ninth in the points, just four-markers back of Golobic for eighth. Grass Valley’s Jason Statler completes the top-10 in the standings and is only 10-points back of Allard for ninth. Looking to break his way into the top-10 on Saturday is Fresno’s Dominic Scelzi, who stands five-points behind Statler.
More drivers expected to tackle the Kings Speedway at the Pombo/Sargent Classic on Saturday will include three-time & defending event winner Tommy Tarlton of Easton, Hanford’s DJ Netto & Mitchell Faccinto, Lemoore’s Carson Macedo, Scotts Valley’s Evan Suggs, Roseville’s Colby Copeland, Elk Grove’s Sean McMahan, Gilroy’s Jarrett Soares, Auburn’s Richard Brace Jr., Fair Oak’s Chad Compton, Tipton’s Mike Faria, Laton’s Geoffrey Strole, Coarsegold’s Scott Parker, Grass Valley’s Pat Harvey and others.
The Kings Speedway is a 3/8 mile clay oval and is located on the Kings County Fairgrounds in Hanford, California. The physical address is 801 S. 10th Ave. Hanford, Ca 93230. More information can be found at http://www.kingsspeedway.net/ or by contacting (559) 584-7223.
Info on the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series can be found at http://www.kwssprints.com/
Be sure to like the KWS Facebook Page at http://www.facebook.com/kingofthewestsprints and become a member of our Twitter community at https://twitter.com/KwsSprintRacing for all the latest breaking news regarding the series
Upcoming events for KWS
Saturday June 14: Kings Speedway (Pombo/Sargent Classic)
Friday June 20: Ocean Speedway
Saturday June 21: Calistoga Speedway (Wine Country Classic)
Saturday July 12: Ocean Speedway (Howard Kaeding Classic)