By Gary Thomas
Placerville, CA – June 26, 2018…When it comes to single-night events that Northern California fans have marked down on their calendars from the start of the season they don’t come much bigger than this Saturday June 30, when the King of the West-NARC Fujitsu Racing Series and the Sprint Car Challenge Tour presented by Elk Grove Ford and Abreu Vineyards converge at the Placerville Speedway.
“We are really excited about this Saturday’s Salute to the Fans at Placerville Speedway,” commented track promoter Scott Russell. “If you’re a Winged Sprint Car enthusiast in California this is definitely the place to be and if you’ve never been to Placerville we encourage everyone to come check it out. Back in the day Winged 410’s and 360’s ran here weekly, but it has been nearly 30-years and it’s hard to imagine a show of this magnitude with both the King of the West-NARC Sprint Cars and the Sprint Car Challenge Tour.”
Going into this Saturday’s event three-time King of the West-NARC Fujitsu Racing Series champion Kyle Hirst sits atop the standings on the strength of four wins aboard the Roth Motorsports No. 83. The 30-year-old from Paradise has been red hot as of late, snagging three of the last four victories with the series. His biggest challenger so far this season has been Fremont’s Shane Golobic, who has claimed a pair of wins during his first year driving for the Tarlton Motorsports team.
A couple years ago Golobic raced to his first career Placerville Speedway 410 Sprint Car win and hopes to do it again on Saturday. Defending KWS-NARC champion Bud Kaeding of Campbell currently sits third in the standings, while Penngrove’s Chase Johnson and Roseville’s Colby Copeland round out the top-five. That same season Golobic bagged his first series win at the track, Kaeding also scooped up the initial two triumphs of his career at the quarter-mile.
Completing the top-10 is Rookie of the Year contender Dustin Golobic of Fremont, Roseville’s Willie Croft, Hanford’s DJ Netto, Atwater’s Nathan Rolfe and Sacramento’s Jenna Frazier.
On the Sprint Car Challenge Tour presented by Elk Grove Ford and Abreu Vineyards side of things San Jose’s Tim Kaeding goes into Saturday holding a slim three-point lead in the standings over defending titlist Kyle Hirst. Kaeding is currently in his first season driving for car owner Joshua Bates and is still searching for his first win aboard the No. 42x machine. Hirst likewise is also still looking for his initial SCCT triumph and will hope to finally check it off the list this weekend.
A dead heat is seen for third in the points, with Roseville’s Colby Copeland and Willie Croft locked in a two-way tie. Croft has one victory on the season, while Copeland is fresh off a third-place finish during the most recent tour event in Hanford. Clarksburg’s Justyn Cox earned a runner up effort last time out and holds onto fifth in the standings. Just 11-markers separate fifth through ninth heading into Placerville however.
Rounding out the top-10 are Watsonville’s Justin Sanders, Roseville’s Sean Becker, Penngrove’s Michael “Buddy” Kofoid, current Placerville Speedway point leader Andy Forsberg of Auburn and Hollister’s Tony Gualda.
A full program for each series will be held on Saturday including ARP qualifying for the King of the West-NARC Sprint Cars and Quick Time Mortgage/ ADCO Driveline qualifying for the Sprint Car Challenge Tour, along with heat races, dashes, B-mains and a pair of A-mains to conclude the night.
Online tickets for this Saturday June 30 at Placerville Speedway are available by visiting https://www.universe.com/events/double-header-kws-narc-scct-salute-to-the-fans-tickets-placerville-412XJ5. Adult tickets (ages 18-61) cost $40, senior/ juniors/ military cost $35 and kids 6-11 will be $10. Children five and under are free. Camping is available at the event and can be arranged by calling the El Dorado County Fairgrounds and Event Center at 530-621-5860.
The pit gate will open at 2pm on Saturday, with the front grandstand gate opening at 3pm. A happy hour will be offered from 4pm-6pm in the grandstands featuring discounted Coors Light and Coors Original at the beer stand. Live music will also be performed during that time. Drivers meeting will be held at 4pm, with cars on track for wheel packing at 4:30. Hot laps, qualifying and racing will follow.
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 information on the Placerville Speedway log onto http://www.placervillespeedway.com
