KING OF THE WEST-NARC SPRINT CARS RETURN TO SANTA MARIA RACEWAY SATURDAY

(July 23, 2019) Sacramento, CA … The exciting 410 c.i. winged sprint cars of the King of the West-NARC Fujitsu Racing Series will return to Santa Maria Raceway for the first time in five-years, this Saturday, July 27th, to tackle the one-third mile dirt oval for “Winged Madness.” The event will also feature a highly anticipated HammerDown Wheelie Contest.

“It’s been way too long,” said King of the West-NARC General Manager Jim Allen, referring to the series absence at Santa Maria Raceway. “Sometimes race scheduling gets complicated and there are not enough dates to go around. However, we managed to get it accomplished and we’re coming back to Santa Maria.”

Fans will be rewarded for their five-year wait with the Hammerdown Wheelie Contest, an exciting event that showcases the sheer power of a 950-horsepower, 1450-pound open wheel sprint car. The exhibition will feature at least three teams attempting to win fan approval with “wheels to the sky” wheelies. The winner will pocket $1000 for their efforts.

This will mark the ninth different race track the series has invaded during its 60th Anniversary season. It has produced seven different winners. The most recent to add his name to that list is 2017 King of the West-NARC champion Bud Kaeding of Campbell, who claimed top honors at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville this past Saturday. That effort moved him solidly back into the hunt for another title.

“We’ve always like coming to Santa Maria,” said Kaeding. “The fans here are very enthusiastic and supportive and the track surface always produces some great wheel-to-wheel racing. I usually run good here and my team is geared up to try to make it two wins in a row.”

Currently, Hollister’s Ryan Bernal is locked in a heated battle with DJ Netto of Hanford in the championship points standings. Bernal leads by a very narrow three point margin (1005 – 1002), which is the difference between winning and second place. Roseville’s Willie Croft, who has scored a pair of podium finishes at the past two events, Kaeding, and two-race winner Dominic Scelzi of Fresno are all within striking distance of the leaders. Surprisingly, none of the drivers in the top three in points have yet to score a victory this season on the ultra-competitive tour. Competition has been extremely fierce this season.

Other drivers committed to compete on Saturday include Penngrove’s Chase Johnson; Sean Watts and Nathan Rolfe from Atwater; Hanford’s Mitchell Faccinto; Sebastopol’s Geoff Ensign; Fresno’s Craig Stidham and Mark Barroso; Kenny Allen from Chico; North Dakota driver Tim Estenson; Jenna Frazier from Sacramento and James Ringo from Morgan Hill.

The King of the West-NARC racing format includes qualifying, three 10-lap heat races, a six-lap dash, followed by the $3000 to win Fujitsu-sponsored feature event. Racing gets underway at 5:30 p.m.

Pit gates open at 1:00 p.m. Drivers meeting is at 4:00 p.m.

Also on the race card is WRS Sprint Cars, California Lightning Sprints, Hobby Stocks and Dwarf Cars.

Santa Maria Raceway is located at 1900 Hutton Road, Nipomo, CA, just off of Highway 101. For more information, go to santamariaraceway.com or call 310-493-4900. Tickets can be purchased in advance online.

The King of the West-NARC Fujitsu Racing Series is also sponsored by Hoosier Racing Tires and Hydrochem PSC. Associate and contingency award sponsors include ATL Racing Cells, Automotive Racing Products (ARP), Autometer, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, ButlerBuilt, FK Rod Ends, Hooker Harness, Johnstone Supply, Kaeding Performance Center, KSE Racing Products, Maxim, PAC Racing Springs, Pyrotect, Racing Optics, Safecraft Safety Equipment, Saldana Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, SCI Racing Products, Swift Metal Finishing, Sunnyvalley Bacon, System 1 Ignition, Ultra Light Brakes, Weld Racing Wheels, Wilwood Disc Brakes, Williams Roofing, and Winters Performance Products.

All King of the West-NARC events are available on PPV on Speed Shift TV – https://www.speedshifttv.com/

UPCOMING EVENTS:
August 21 – Placerville Speedway, Placerville, CA – Gold Country Shootout
August 22 – Silver Dollar Speedway, Chico, CA – Thursday Night Thunder
August 23 – Stockton Dirt Track, Stockton, CA – Champions Classic
August 24 – Stockton Dirt Track, Stockton, CA – $10,000 to win Champions Classic

2019 CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
King of the West-NARC Fujitsu 410 Sprint Car Series (7/23/19)
After nine events in the 19-race series