By Gary Thomas
Placerville, CA – July 15, 2014…
The quarter-mile bullring located on the El Dorado County Fairgrounds routinely produces great racing and is a fan favorite among many in Northern California. This Saturday’s event will be the final appearance of the season for the King of the West 410’s at the track and an exciting night looks to be on tap.
Chico’s Kyle Hirst goes into Saturday continuing to hold a commanding 102-point advantage in the standings with seven races remaining in the season. The defending King of the West champ however, is coming off his first finish outside of the top-five last Saturday during the Howard Kaeding Classic. Hirst had battled with Jonathan Allard and was leading the feature when he caught the cushion with five-laps to go last week, which resulted in him getting upside down.
The 26-year-old driver of the Roth Motorsports No. 83jr will look to get back in the groove on Saturday at a track that’s always been one of his strongest. “I always love running at the Placerville Speedway whenever possible,” said Hirst, who picked up a King of the West victory at the track in April of last season. “Placerville always gets a big cushion up top to lean on and as a driver that makes it a lot of fun. The stands always pack in as well and the fans are always pretty vocal, so it’s a really cool atmosphere.”
Fresh off his first King of the West 410 win of the season at last week’s Howard Kaeding Classic, Campbell’s Bud Kaeding will be looking to make it back-to-back this Saturday at the Placerville Speedway. It was the three-time USAC Silver Crown champ’s first victory since joining Williams Motorsports in the off-season and he goes into this weekend ranking second the standings. The ZERO machine visited victory lane in the summer event last year at Placerville with Jonathan Allard at the helm.
Thirteen-time Golden State/King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series champion Brent Kaeding has had success at Placerville in recent outings and comes into Saturday sitting third in the points. The Campbell veteran charged from 13th fourth in April at Placerville Speedway and picked up his most recent KWS win at the track in June of 2012. “BK” has had a resurgence in 2014 thus far aboard the Al’s Roofing Supply No. 69 and will be looking to check off a KWS win this Saturday evening.
Roseville’s Sean Becker has had a steady season with the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series and currently ranks fourth overall while driving the Main Motorsports No. 35m machine. The “Shark” sits 22-markers back of Kaeding, as he continues to also search for his first KWS win of the year. The former Golden State/ KWS champ is a multiple-time winner in his career at the Placerville Speedway and will be trying hard to put his name at the front of the field on Saturday.
Three-time Golden State/ King of the West Series titlist Jonathan Allard rounds out the top-five in the standings going into Placerville, which is a track he has been very consistent at over the last eight-years. The driver of the Tri-C Manufacturing No. 3c sits 11-digits behind Becker for fourth after a tough ending last week that saw him race for the lead much of the feature, but end up 20th in the final rundown. Allard last season picked up a thrilling final corner victory at Placerville during the summer event.
The person Allard passed on the final corner in Placerville last year also happens to be the driver ranking sixth in the standings, with that being Fremont’s Shane Golobic. The current Civil War & Ocean Sprints point leader also finished runner up last Saturday at the HK Classic with KWS, following a thrilling duel with Bud Kaeding late in the race. Golobic stands just seven-points behind Allard for fifth going into Saturday aboard the Joe VonSchriltz Racing No. 121.
Former Placerville Speedway King of the West winner Jason Statler comes into Saturday sitting seventh in the points, just 15-markers back of Golobic. The 2004 Golden State/ King of the West champ drove his DF Rios Motorsports No. 00 mount to a series win at the red-clay high-banks in the spring of his championship year. Fresno’s Dominic Scelzi has looked as good as he has all season long in recent weeks and is only five-digits behind Statler going into Saturday. The driver of the Scelzi Enterprises No. 41 will look to continue his momentum on Saturday at the Placerville bullring.
Elk Grove’s Bobby McMahan began his Sprint Car career at the Placerville Speedway in 1982 and will return to the track on Saturday holding onto the ninth spot in the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series standings at the helm of the American Tool & MFG No. 25 mount. The veteran driver however, is only one-point behind Scelzi, in what is a very heated and closely contested point battle. Fresno’s Craig Stidham rounds out the top-10 in the standings aboard the Brad Johnson Trucking No. 3 machine. The former Trophy Cup will look to regroup after getting upside down last week.
Other drivers expected to be in action this weekend at Placerville Speedway will include Hanford’s DJ Netto, Sacramento’s Willie Croft, Auburn’s Andy Forsberg & Richard Brace Jr., Placerville’s Andy Gregg & Jimmy Trulli, Scotts Valley’s Evan Suggs, Chico’s Mason Moore, Roseville’s Colby Copeland, Gilroy’s Jarrett Soares, Visalia’s Cory Eliason, Fair Oaks Chad Compton, Grass Valley’s Pat Harvey, Laton’s Geoffrey Strole, Winton’s Gordon Rodgers and more.
Adult tickets this Saturday July 19 will cost $20, seniors will be $16, juniors $12 and children $6. All seating is general admission during the night. The pit gate at Placerville Speedway on Saturday opens at 2pm, with the front gate opening at 5pm and racing anticipated to begin around 7pm. Fans are encouraged to arrive early as the grandstands always pack in at the Placerville bullring.
The Placerville Speedway is located on the beautiful 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. For more on Placerville Speedway log onto www.placervillespeedway.com
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/
Upcoming events for the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series
Saturday July 19: Placerville Speedway
Saturday July 26: Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway (Peter Murphy Classic $5,000-to-win/ $700-to-start)
Saturday August 2: Stockton Dirt Track