By Gary Thomas
Tulare, CA – May 10, 2016…The traveling King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series is ready to invade the Central Valley for the first time in 2016 this Saturday night, with the annual Chris & Brian Faria Memorial on tap at Merle Stone Chevrolet Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare.
Competing alongside KWS for the first time this year will be the always exciting USAC West Coast Wingless 360 Sprint Car Series, along with the Western RaceSaver Sprints & the new All Star Modified Tour. Following last week’s rainout in Petaluma Saturday marks round three in the fight for the King of the West championship and is held to remember brothers Chris & Brian Faria, who both lost their lives far too soon.
Chris Faria was an up and coming driver who was the youngest of five children to Danny Sr. & Arlet Faria. He grew up on their farm in Tipton and was known as the prankster of the family. Chris unfortunately lost his life at the age of 21 during a farming accident and his memory has been kept alive with a memorial race at the Thunderbowl Raceway ever since.
Brian was the oldest of the five Faria children and was taken from us in January of 2006 during an accident while driving on a highway. Brian enjoyed helping out with the track preparation at the Thunderbowl, as he drove the water truck and the grader among other things. The Chris & Brian Faria Memorial has become a cornerstone of the track schedule and is always a special night for everyone with the Thunderbowl Raceway.
Brian was the oldest of the five Faria children and was taken from us in January of 2006 during an accident while driving on a highway. Brian enjoyed helping out with the track preparation at the Thunderbowl, as he drove the water truck and the grader among other things. The Chris & Brian Faria Memorial has become a cornerstone of the track schedule and is always a special night for everyone with the Thunderbowl Raceway.
Last year’s Faria Memorial saw Hanford’s DJ Netto dominate the feature to scoop up his first career King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series victory. The now 20-year-old would go on to claim the Pombo/Sargent Classic later in the season and will be gunning for good things on Saturday, following back-to-back 10th place finishes to open the 2016 campaign.
Two-time King of the West champion Kyle Hirst goes into Tulare on Saturday with momentum after his big victory at the Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial on April 30. The 28-year-old captured the Faria Memorial in 2014 and will compete at the Thunderbowl this weekend for the first time in the potent Tarlton Racing with support from Roth Motorsports No. 21x mount.
One of the favorites on Saturday will certainly be Sacramento’s Willie Croft, who brought home a third place finish at the Thunderbowl in March with the World of Outlaws. The 2014 Trophy Cup champion came oh-so-close to claiming the Faria Memorial that same season, only to have fuel issues a handful of laps from the finish.
Campbell’s Bud Kaeding raced to victory during the King of the West opener in Placerville on April 23 and will be looking for more of that on Saturday at the Thunderbowl. Last October the veteran scored one of the biggest wins of his career by capturing the 22nd annual $20,000-to-win Trophy Cup at the one-third mile clay oval.
More drivers set to tackle the Thunderbowl on Saturday will include Chico’s Jonathan Allard, Los Angeles’ Tyler Walker, Fremont’s Shane Golobic, Elk Grove’s Bobby McMahan, Fresno’s Dominic Scelzi, Craig Stidham & Cory Eliason, Hanford’s Mitchell Faccinto, Watsonville’s Justin Sanders, Clarksburg’s Justyn Cox, Grass Valley’s Jason Statler, Roseville’s Colby Copeland, Campbell’s Brent Kaeding, Cobble Hill, BC’s Robbie Price, Gilroy’s Jarrett Soares, Atwater’s Sean Watts, Murrieta’s Cori Andrews and others.
Reserved grandstand seats for the Chris & Brian Faria Memorial on Saturday cost $20 with general admission bleacher tickets $18. To reserve your seat contact (559) 688-0909. The ticket booth & will call at the track will open at 1:30pm. The front gate will open at 4pm.
With four divisions running the pit meeting will be held at 4:30pm sharp and we are asking teams to arrive a bit early to be ready to go as soon as the meeting is over.
Saturday is also the second Williams Roofing of Fremont, CA Royal Fan Draw night, which works as follows. A trivia question will be asked from the announce booth and the fan that answers correctly will pull a random number (1-22) out of a bag. The fan automatically wins $100 and if the driver wins the feature from the starting spot drawn, the driver receives a $1000 bonus. The Royal Fan Draw is taking place at nearly half of the KWS events in 2016.
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. More info can be found at http://www.thunderbowlraceway.com
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. More info can be found at http://www.thunderbowlraceway.com
The King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series is held under the management of Prentice Motorsports Group, which also operates the Civil War 360 Sprint Car Series presented by Flowmaster, the Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo, the Wingless Sprint Car Series presented by Hunt Magnetos, the All Star Modified Tour and Ocean Speedway.
Info on the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series can be found at http://www.racepmg.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
Info on the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series can be found at http://www.racepmg.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 King of the West Series events following Tulare
Saturday May 21: Stockton Dirt Track – Stockton, CA (Salute to LeRoy Van Conett)
Saturday June 4: Silver Dollar Speedway – Chico (David Tarter Memorial)
Saturday June 18: Stockton Dirt Track – (Jimmy Sills Classic)
Friday June 24: Ocean Speedway – Watsonville (Pombo/Sargent Classic)
Saturday June 25: Calistoga Speedway (Wine Country Classic)
Saturday May 21: Stockton Dirt Track – Stockton, CA (Salute to LeRoy Van Conett)
Saturday June 4: Silver Dollar Speedway – Chico (David Tarter Memorial)
Saturday June 18: Stockton Dirt Track – (Jimmy Sills Classic)
Friday June 24: Ocean Speedway – Watsonville (Pombo/Sargent Classic)
Saturday June 25: Calistoga Speedway (Wine Country Classic)