NARC NEWSLINE News, Notes & Quotes from the KWS-Northern Auto Racing Club Sprint Cars (04/20/17) … By Jim Allen – info@NARC410.com
Is it just me or does it seem that sprint car racing in California is enjoying a resurgence of sort? Now I know we don’t have a huge collection of racing events to choose from yet due to some psycho weather, but this has to be resurgence. Whether it’s the KWS-NARC Fujitsu Racing Series, the Sprint Car Challenge Tour, Civil War, USAC non-wing, or even local tracks, everyone is doing their best to be positive and put their best foot forward (which would be the right one!) That represents a WIN-WIN-WIN for open wheel fans, promoters, and racing teams alike. The realization is there that if open wheel racing is going to attain the next level of success, we must support and grow the sport as a whole. This will ultimately improve the paying fans experience, grow attendance and gain sponsorships.
Another thing that is hard not to notice is the young guns on the driver’s roster. In an age of one-sport stars, where kids start their sport of choice before they get into first grade, some drivers meetings look more like a group of high school kids hanging out at your local skate park. But that is a good thing. If you roll back the clocks a couple of decades, open wheel racers were usually these burly guys who forced car owners to spend thousands to lighten up their cars. These days, option two is to have a driver with 10-years of experience driving karts, micros, midgets, and sprint cars who is only 15 or 16 years old and weighs about a buck-fifty. Need proof? Just take a look at 15-year olds Giovanni Scelzi and Michael Kofoid, who both scored top 10 finishes at Kern County Raceway Park on April 8th. Gio gave Roth Motorsports teammate and defending KWS champion Kyle Hirst a serious run for the show position at KCRP. He drove it like he’s been doing it for years … oh ya … he has been. Kofoid started 15th and notched a tenth. Or college student and fourth generation driver Chase Johnson who set quick time. Throw in college students like DJ Netto, Scott Parker, and Nathan Rolfe (and others) into the mix and we’re on to something big for years to come. We need to continue to build on that!
Kern County Raceway Park Notes: With the regular news focused on the MOAB in Afghanistan, the KCRP featured the MOAS … the … Mother of all Sliders. The 30-lap feature was shaping up to be a Willie Croft runaway, but the rest of the field was slicing and dicing with one after another slide jobs. The only way to do this race justice is to watch the Mills Video Production video. The action in the second turn was smoldering hot with Bud Kaeding, Hirst, Scelzi, eventual winner Cory Eliason, and Carson Macedo launching the MOAS – lap after lap. The story line ends with heartbreak for Croft who ran out of fuel with two to go, and victory lane glory for Eliason. Macedo and Hirst finished a close second and third. … It was Eliason’s second victory in as many weekends. One in a SCCT 360 for Rod Tiner and the KWS-NARC 410 victory for Antaya Motorsports. It was Antaya’s first ever feature event victory. SWEET! … Johnson got his glory in qualifying around the one-third mile oval with a 12.894 run, but got his heartbreak getting upside down with two to go. … Twenty-four cars qualified. … Croft turned the fastest lap of the night in the Hoosier Tire dash with a 12.789 run. … The drivers’ meeting was postponed for 10-minutes due to a massive dust storm. Everything and everyone got dusted down. If it wasn’t bolted down, it’s probably in the Nevada desert by now. After that stopped, the wind stuck around for another ½ hour making the drivers Frisbee throw a challenge. Then it turned perfect from the dash on to the exciting 30-lapper. …
We want to thank promoter Larry Collins and ace PR man Steve Hughes, who accommodated every request on our way to a fantastic show. We will be returning in 2018. … Mitchell Faccinto has the hardcharger, racing from 13th to 6th after winning the B-Main. … Long tow honors went to Sean Becker and the Dan Menne Motorsports team who towed 9.5 hours from Mt. Hood, CA. They finished eighth. … The meanest “bad ass” paint job on a hauler belongs to Tarlton Motorsports. It’s a special brand of flat black from nose-to-tail, features black rims, and no lettering. If you were going to envision the government having a Black Ops or X-Files 18-wheeler, this is what it would look like. In fact, Mr. Tarlton said they get asked that question every time they stop for fuel or breaks. “Do you work for the government?” …
We are off to the Peter Murphy Classic this weekend. It’s paying a stout $11,000 share to the winner of Saturday’s KWS-NARC winner. I vote that we have a handful of these every year. By the way, Kyle Hirst is the defending champ, but a whole lot of others have other plans … including a few still in high school.
Coming to you live from Auburn, CA. See ya!