From Gary Thomas
Tulare, CA — (October 9, 2015) — With the KWS season winding down and only three races left Campbell’s Bud Kaeding brings the slimmest of point leads over Lemoore’s Carson Macedo into the KRC Safety Fall Shootout this Saturday at Thunderbowl Raceway.
The event on Saturday works as a nice prelude into next week’s Trophy Cup at the one-third mile oval and a very stout field is set to be on hand. Also on the card will be the USAC West Coast Wingless 360 Sprints, giving fans the best of both worlds at the always action packed Thunderbowl. Saturday is the final time for drivers to have a chance at tuning up for the aforementioned Trophy Cup, which kicks-off on Thursday October 15.
The King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series point fight has been an entertaining one over the course of the season and this Saturday at Thunderbowl Raceway is sure to be a critical night. After the most recent events in Santa Maria & Ventura the point lead changed hands for the fifth time in the last six outings. Bud Kaeding is searching to join his father Brent & brother Tim as a KWS champion this year and leads young Carson Macedo by just a single-point at the top of the standings.
Kaeding has driven to a pair of wins this season, while Macedo is still searching for his first. Both drivers routinely run well at Thunderbowl Raceway and will certainly be looking to do so on Saturday. Kaeding has earned a number of accomplishments throughout his open wheel career, which began in 1996. Macedo at just 19 years of age is currently in his first full King of the West Series season and is hoping to become the second youngest champion in series history.
The battle for first isn’t the only close fight throughout the standings. Third place now belongs to Hanford’s DJ Netto, who leads fourth running Bobby McMahan of Elk Grove by just five-points. Netto has two wins this year, including one in May at Thunderbowl Raceway. Thirteen-time KWS champ Brent Kaeding of Campbell rounds out the top-five, but is ahead of sixth place Jonathan Allard from Chico by only three-digits. Allard, a three-time series champ, will be gunning for victory on Saturday.
Fresno’s Dominic Scelzi is seventh in points and fresh off a trip to Nebraska where he tallied a third place finish with the National Sprint League. The 18-year-old will be looking for his third KWS win of the year on Saturday. Chico’s Kyle Hirst is eighth in the standings and leads KWS with five victories to his credit this year. The 27-year-old is always strong at the Thunderbowl and looks to add-on to his career year. Gilroy’s Jarrett Soares & Hanford’s Mitchell Faccinto round out the top-10.
Two-time King of the West champion Tim Kaeding of San Jose is set to make his second series start of the season on Saturday. TK captured a World of Outlaws win earlier this year at the Thunderbowl and climbs aboard the Main Motorsports No. 35m this Saturday. Kaeding also captured last week’s National Sprint League finale.
Former KWS titlist Tyler Walker will be another driver to beat this weekend. The Los Angeles wheel-man has two victories with the King of the West Series this year, including the most recent outing at Ventura Raceway on September 26. Walker has always been exciting to watch at the Thunderbowl Raceway.
More drivers expected to take on the KRC Safety Fall Shootout on Saturday will include Fremont’s Shane Golobic, Sacramento’s Willie Croft, Penngrove’s Chase Johnson, Fresno’s Craig Stidham & Cory Eliason, Coarsegold’s Scott Parker, Placerville’s Andy Gregg, Auburn’s Richard Brace Jr., Hollister’s Ryan Bernal, Riverdale’s Landon Hurst, Laton’s Geoffrey Strole and others.
KRC Safety was established in 1978, having less than 100 barricades in inventory. Originally known as Kaweah River Construction, the name was later changed to KRC after its founder Ken Ray Castro. Ken “Chief” Castro passed away on January 13, 1985. He is kept in memorandum by a memorial sticker placed on all their vehicles. Today, KRC is owned and operated by Ken’s son Gary Castro and has over 40 employees. KRC continues to grow year after year and many of the original employees are still with KRC, who are just like family.
KRC now offers many services including, Traffic Control, Construction Area Signs, Custom, Permanent and Street Signs, Temporary Chain Link Fence Panels, Roadway Markers, Delineators, Traffic Control Plans, Message Boards, K-Rail, all types of Equipment Trucking, Generators, Light-Towers and many other services for rent and sale. Even from their humble beginnings they still know their customers by name. More information on KRC Safety Company can be found at http://krcsafety.com/wordpress/
Reserved grandstand seats for the KRC Safety Fall Shootout this Saturday cost $20 with general admission bleacher tickets $18. Children 6-12 are half price, with kids five & under free. To reserve your seat contact the box office at (559) 688-0909. The front gate will open at 4pm with cars on track a little after 5pm and racing expected to get underway around 7pm.
Tickets are also on sale for next week’s Trophy Cup on October 15-17 with all seating in the house reserved during the weekend. Grandstand tickets cost $40 on Thursday & Friday and $45 on Saturday. Bleacher tickets are $35 on Thursday & Friday and $40 on Saturday. Kids 6-12 are half price and 5 & under are free. A seating chart is available at www.thunderbowlraceway.com and tickets can be acquired by calling 559-688-0909. The pit gate opens at 10am on Thursday October 15, with the drivers meeting at 3:30pm sharp.
The Merle Stone Chevrolet Thunderbowl Raceway is located at the Tulare County Fairgrounds on the corner of Bardsley and K Streets in Tulare, California. From the junction of SR 99 and SR 137, go west on SR 137. At South K go south one-half mile to the Fairgrounds.
Info on the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series can be found at http://www.racepmg.com