Kaeding brings tight KWS lead over Macedo into Stockton

By Gary Thomas

Stockton, CA – July 28, 2015…Campbell’s Bud Kaeding brings a slim three-point lead in the King of the West Sprint Car Series standings over Lemoore’s Carson Macedo into the 12^th round of competition this Saturday August 1 at the Stockton Dirt Track.

The event on Saturday will be the sixth appearance for the King of the West 410’s in Stockton, a track that opened in the spring of 2013. It’s also the final event before the series has an extended break over the remainder of the summer. After the Stockton event Saturday the next KWS show doesn’t take place until September 19 in Hanford.

There have been four different winners in the prior series events at Stockton, including Fresno’s Dominic Scelzi, who won the initial KWS race at the track, as well as the most recent on June 13. Rutherford’s Rico Abreu, Chico’s Jonathan Allard and Fremont’s Shane Golobic have been the other winners. Allard won last year’s August appearance at the 3/8 mile clay oval.

Going into Saturday the King of the West Sprint Car Series has its third different point leader in as many weeks, with Bud Kaeding now atop the ladder. The three-time USAC Silver Crown titlist is attempting to join his father Brent and brother Tim as a KWS champion this season. Kaeding has driven the Williams Motorsports 0 to a pair of wins this year, including the prestigious Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial. On Saturday he’ll look to add a Stockton Dirt Track triumph to his resume.

Carson Macedo had a strong night last week at the Peter Murphy Classic and will look to do so once again at the Stockton Dirt Track on Saturday. The 19-year-old is still searching for his first career King of the West win and will be gunning to accomplish that this week to help wrestle the point lead away from Kaeding. Macedo at the Murphy Classic set fast time, won his heat, the pole shuffle and finished fourth in the 30-lapper aboard his Tarlton & Son No. 21x.

After a crash last week in the feature Dominic Scelzi, who now sits third in points, suffered what looks to be compression fractures in his upper & lower back. We’d like to send our very best get well wishes to the youngster. Scelzi picked up a big win at Stockton in June and is a large part of our series family.

Two-time King of the West champ Kyle Hirst claimed his fourth consecutive podium last week and will be searching for his first Stockton Dirt Track win on Saturday. If he could do so the Chico driver would set a new personal single-season mark with his fifth KWS victory of 2015. Hirst ran second at Stockton in June aboard the Roth Motorsports No. 83jr mount.

Los Angeles’ Tyler Walker tallied a third place finish in June at Stockton and will be a favorite to break into victory lane on Saturday. The 2009 King of the West champ has four podium efforts this year with the series in the Richie Rich Motorsports No. 88. Walker will be looking for his 15^th career series triumph this weekend.

A very close battle is still seen for fourth in the King of the West standings, with just 10-points separating the drivers that rank four through seven. Those include Elk Grove’s Bobby McMahan, Fremont’s Shane Golobic, Campbell’s Brent Kaeding and Hanford’s DJ Netto. Among them Netto is the lone driver to have scored a win thus far in 2015. The 19-year-old has a pair of victories to his credit.

Chico’s Jonathan Allard is eighth in points and coming into the one-year anniversary of his last King of the West victory. The three-time champ wants to get back into the winners circle and it could be on Saturday. Allard has captured at least one KWS win every year since 2005. Hirst & Gilroy youngster Jarrett Soares rounds out the top-10 going into this weekend.

More drivers expected to be on hand with the King of the West 410’s in Stockton on Saturday include 2004 KWS champion Jason Statler, who came close to winning at the track last November and this past week earned the Stephen Allard Hard Charger Award at the Peter Murphy Classic, Hanford’s Mitchell Faccinto, Penngrove’s Chase Johnson, Fresno’s Craig Stidham & Cory Eliason, Coarsegold’s Scott Parker, Scotts Valley’s Evan Suggs, Australian Michael Cunningham, Auburn’s Richard Brace Jr., Laton’s Geoffrey Strole and others.

Also rounding out the card on Saturday will be the Wingless Sprint Car Series presented by Joe Hunt Magnetos. The tour has been a very exciting addition to the PMG banner this year and this weekend marks the fourth time they have paired up with KWS. All the events thus far have been great combo shows, giving fans the best of both worlds.

Tickets for Saturday can be acquired by contacting 916-370-9417. All seating is general admission during the night, but fans can save up to $5 off each adult ticket by pre-purchasing them prior to the event. Will Call opens at 4pm, with the front gate opening at 5pm. First heat race is scheduled around 7pm. Cars will hit the speedway shortly after 5. Ticket prices for August 1^st are $25 Adult Seating (age 13+), $5 Kids (6-12), 5 & under FREE. $50 for a Family Pack includes 2 adult tickets & 2 kids tickets.

Pre-sale tickets available $20 All Seating (13+) $3 convenience fee per order, pre-sale ends Thursday July 30th at 5pm. Tickets will be available for pick up at Will Call day of event, bring your photo ID.

The Stockton Dirt Track is a lightning fast 3/8 mile clay oval located on the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds in Stockton, California. It is built inside a one-mile horse track and boasts one of the nicest dirt track facilities in the state. The physical address is 1658 S Airport Way, Stockton, CA 95206. For information on the speedway visit www.stocktondirttrack.com

Information on the King of the West 410 Series can be found at www.racepmg.com

Upcoming KWS events

Saturday August 1: Stockton Dirt Track
Saturday September 19: Keller Auto Speedway at Kings Fairgrounds
Friday September 25: Santa Maria Speedway
Saturday September 26: Ventura Raceway
Saturday October 10: Thunderbowl Raceway (KRS Safety Fall Shootout)