NARC NEWSLINE, (8/16/17) By Jim Allen, … The problem with racing season is that once it gets going …, well … it really gets going. You start stringing together several exciting sprint car weekends and …. BAM … the season is darn near over. With the cancellation of our August 5th show at Antioch, it created another large gap in our 2017 schedule. It made for a six week break between our July 15th Ocean Speedway race and our next show at Petaluma on August 26th. That’s way too much down time for “honey-do’s” around the house.
Either way, I just hope that California open wheel fans recognize what they have these days. If you roll back the clocks a couple of decades, one group of drivers and teams typically competed with 410’s and another group the 360’s. About the only time they bumped heads was during Speedweek or when invading a local dirt track. Today, there are more motor changes than nuclear threats from that North Korea whack job with the bad haircut. Nowadays, it’s almost a given that the pits will feature the same brand names at a Johnny Key Classic Civil War race, a SCCT race at Stockton, or a KWS-NARC event at Tulare. Most of the same drivers are dominating both divisions, which forces all teams to step up their game.
It’s sort of like that saying about wanting to be a millionaire. If you want to be a millionaire, start hanging out with millionaires. What they do is contagious and you tend to learn a few things. The same thing applies to sprint car racing. My prediction is that with some highly anticipated cooperation between sanctioning bodies this winter, it will be possible for one busy and extremely driven sprint car team to win three major sprint car championships in the Golden State in 2018. Call it the Triple-Crown of sprint car racing. Think about that for a second. That’s a win for all open wheel fans in the Golden State.
Speaking of 2018, the King of the West-NARC series took a big step for the future by seating its Advisory Board at the club’s General Meeting on July 15th. The initial group features drivers Kyle Hirst and Bud Kaeding, car owners Shawn Thomas, Steven Soares and Frank Netto, and driver/car owner Willie Croft. A couple more will be added as the season progresses. Among the topics discussed at the meeting were sponsorships, working closer with track promoters, and improving our overall entertainment value. Pretty much everyone agrees that we’re headed down the right road … without a whole a lot of buzz-killing, mind-numbing, high-blood pressure inducing drama. Damn, that just reminded me of my ex-wife. Can’t say I miss her.
KELLER AUTO SPEEDWAY NOTES (7/1): Kyle Hirst became only the second repeat winner on the KWS-NARC tour, joining teammate Gio Scelzi who has three. Or better said – the two potent Roth Motorsports teams now have a total of five. … Cory Eliason and his Antaya Motorsports team was a bullet during the final 10-laps of the feature, but simply ran out of laps to challenge Hirst. … The story line for the main event could‘ve easily read “Kyle Hirst – green-to-checked,” if not for Fresno’s Craig Stidham, who probably had his best night of the season at Kings. He won his heat, captured the Hoosier Dash, and led eight laps in the headliner before fading to fifth. His interview after the Dash was fun. “I think I held my breath for six straight laps,” said Stidham, knowing he was being chased down by Hirst, Bud Kaeding, Cory Eliason and Gio Scelzi. “I’m not sure if I can hold it for 30-laps in the feature, but I’m going to try.” …
… Jace Vanderweerd finished sixth in the main. … DJ Netto and Mathew Moles got behind the eight-ball early during their heat race. Both were caught in a bad situation and they both tumbled over turn one and had to scramble to make the call for the feature. … You’ve got to love promoter Bubby Morse. If he isn’t helping flip burgers, or giving away bicycles to kids, or interviewing racers, he is working the crowd behind the grandstand. We need more of that! … By the way, the street tacos are the bomb! …
OCEAN SPEEDWAY NOTES (7/15): There are races and then there are “racing events” loaded with extra activities that put it over the top. The Howard Kaeding Classic was a racing event that not only paid tribute to a living legend, but also helped raise $6600 for the NARC Benevolent Fund. … We really can’t thank Myles McEntee (of High Five Pizza and hi5catering fame) enough for his support of the HK. He not only donated all meat and sides for the awesome HK barbecue, but his team prepared it. Throw in a corporate tent, some music, some HK racing paraphernalia, and Howard Kaeding and it was a great Saturday afternoon. …
If I was going to make a recommendation on when to pick off your first KWS-NARC feature victory, picking one that pays a stout $5000 to win would probably be high on the list. Michael “Buddy” Kofoid did exactly that by winning a series of battles against Cory Eliason, the backstretch wall, and Justin Sanders. Not bad for a driver who technically can’t drive himself to high school yet. In fact, this 15-year old interviews like a veteran twice his age in victory lane – composed, professional, and thankful for the team around him. Congrats to the entire Dan Simpson/Gary Silva Ranches team! … Kofoid became the ninth different KWS-NARC winner this season. … Justin Sanders is a bullet at Ocean. He scored his second KWS-NARC runner-up finish in as many events this season. … Nathan Rolfe got upside down in qualifying. … Three-time KWS champ Jonathan Allard made his 2017 debut and finished eighth in the Josh Ford Motorsports ride. … 28 cars … Brent Kaeding took a rare tumble on the 13th lap after contact with Allard. BK immediately went to his knees upon exiting his car. He took a precautionary trip to the hospital at the end of the night with signs of a concussion. One of his pupils was more dilated than the other! He spent all day Sunday and Monday in a dark room healing! …
… Andy Forsberg started off his weekend on the wrong foot as evidenced by the pile of scrap metal in his pit area after a rough and tumble night at Friday’s Civil War event. He regrouped in impressive fashion on Saturday. After finishing fourth in the semi, he started 20th. He sliced and diced and avoided a series of close calls on his way to a seventh place finish. … Sean Watts won the semi. … Gio Scelzi took the point lead away from Bud Kaeding after a flat left rear sent him to the back of the pack. Bud finished 12th. Cory Eliason jumped the turn four cushion and had a nasty run in with the concrete wall. That worked out to a 20th place finish. Scelzi now leads Kaeding by five and Eliason by 11 with four races remaining. It’s still anyone’s ball game! And don’t be surprised if DJ Netto slides into the mix. … Bobby McMahan is a solid seventh in KWS-NARC points. … From this week’s “Amazing Stats” department – winning the Hoosier Dash and starting on the pole of the feature may be overrated. Only one driver has managed to win the dash and go on to win the feature. … Justin Sanders, DJ Netto, Willie Croft, and Gio Scelzi earned free Hoosier right rear tires for their respective heat race wins. … And finally, our sincere appreciation goes out to Bud Kaeding for spearheading the efforts to drive the purse and prizes for the HK Classic. This race didn’t pay $5000 to win and $750 to start by accident! Through the generous support of Al’s Roofing and many many others, this has become a must attend premier open wheel event. Thanks again! We will do it again next year. … The VIP section at Ocean Speedway is awesome. It’s elevated on cargo containers outside of turn four, features bar stools, great sound, a nice race track perspective and concession service. That’s a WIN!
NARC NOTES: The NARC410.com website has score more than 39,000 hits in just four months. Thanks for your support. … Fujitsu has announced they will be back again as series sponsors in 2018. … Only four races remain on the schedule. They include Petaluma (August 26th), Ocean Speedway (October 6th), Keller Auto Speedway (October 14th), and Stockton on November 4th. … Look for an announcement on a new KWS-NARC sponsor in the next week or so. … We wish a speedy recovery to Margaret Lingron, who was severely injured in a freak accident at Petaluma Speedway a couple of weeks back. The NARC Benevolent Fund recently issued her a check to help with expenses while she recovers. Get well! … Kyle Larson for President. #justsaying!
Coming to you live from Auburn, CA. See ya!