NARC NEWSLINE – JUNE 22, 2021, By Jim Allen … There is nothing like an action-packed two-day show to get your open wheel racing mojo going again in California. Double the fun, double the races, twice as much dirt in your beer, and twice as tired when it’s all over. While Tim Kaeding and Dominic Scelzi may have secured the headlines, their racing efforts were more psycho than my ex-wife on a Crown Royal binge weekend. Kaeding secured his first King of the West win since a a Fastest Four Days in Motorsports victory in 2019; this one coming at Ocean Speedway on Friday night (June 11th). The 35th Annual Pombo-Sargent Classic win was a sweet one for TK as it was his first with his Joshua Bates/Roger Hamilton team. Celebrations were in order! So how do you back up a victory? The same way you back up a birdie on the golf course – with a double bogey. TK spun out twice in the Dave Bradway Jr. Placerville feature the next night to earn a DQ and a head-scratching 24th place finish. What are the odds? I mean … really … how many times has TK spun out twice during a feature in his entire career? You probably have a better chance of finding Sasquatch in the Ocean Speedway infield! But that’s racing for you. Totally unpredictable and just when you think you’ve seen everything …, BAMM! …, TK shows us something new.
To show that Murphy’s Law wasn’t just leaning hard on TK over the weekend, let throw Scelzi into the mix. At Ocean Speedway, he qualified like he was towing a taco cart (20th fast) and found himself behind the eight-ball the rest of the night. His evening of open wheel entertainment concluded with a flip on the tenth lap of the feature, producing a colon cleansing 22nd place finish. Scelzi dropped from first to fourth in the championship standings faster than the stock market plummeted in 2007. Keep in mind, this is the same Dominic Scelzi who dominated the Peter Murphy Classic just a few weeks ago. So how do you back up a truly disappointing night? You know where this is headed! Scelzi proceeds to start on the pole of the Bradway race and won a well-played 40-lap game of cat and mouse with Shane Golobic to secure his second win of the King of the West season – 11th of his career – tenth overall this season – and his first ever at the quarter-mile bullring. Once again, totally unpredictable. And just think, we still have 16-races remaining on the NARC King of the West Fujitsu Sprint Car Series campaign.
35th ANNUAL POMBO-SARGENT CLASSIC – OCEAN SPEEDWAY (6/11/21) NOTES: Tim Kaeding’s victory was the 69th of his NARC-King of the West career. Speaking of “69”, he needs 15 more to catch Brent Kaeding on the all-time list. Do you think it will happen? … It marked the fifth different decade in which a driver with the last name of Kaeding (Brent, Bud & Tim) has won a Pombo-Sargent race. … Bud Kaeding was second. Golobic third. … Ryan Robinson rocked Race Monitor in qualifying with not only a King of the West record, but a new all-time track record at the quarter-mile oval. He broke an ancient milestone set by Mark Kinser before Robinson was born. His 10.867 second run in Mike Phulps #56 sprint car was flawless. He ended up 10th in the feature. …
… Billy Aton started 20th and was running a strong seventh with only five laps remaining when disaster struck. He jumped the turn two cushion and flipped. A “for-sure” Hardcharger award turned into a night of knuckle-busting work just to race at Placerville the next night. … A bearded Colby Copeland made his first appearance of the NARC season filling in for Kenny Allen in the Ed Butterfield #76. He started 13th, finished eighth. Allen had to work. Don’t you hate when real jobs gets in the way of racing? … Other’s tearing up equipment on this night were Mitchell Faccinto (37), Geoffrey Strole (09), Justin Sanders (16A), and Austin McCarl (21). … Thank you to the Pombo and Sargent families for coming out in mass to support this event. They had three beautifully restored cars on display.
30th ANNUAL DAVE BRADWAY JR. MEMORIAL – PLACERVILLE SPEEDWAY (6/12/21) NOTES: Dominic Scelzi ended up taking home $7600 for his efforts. That would include $5600 for the win, plus another $2000 in lap money. That should cover some of the expenses from Friday night. By the way, thank you to Roth Motorsports, Sierra Valley Wine Storage and Absolute Auto Glass for kicking in extra feature money, along with the long list of great sponsors who contributed lap money (see list below.) … Shane Golobic, Kyle Hirst, and Willie Croft also pocketed a decent amount of lap money cash. … Race fans also had the opportunity to witness the richest 14th place finish in NARC and King of the West history. Say what? Yes, the Hardcharger award was worth a stout $2000, and that money was presented to Jake Morgan, who started dead last in the 24-car field. That worked out to a $2500 night! Others in the running for the award were Austin McCarl (9 cars), Billy Aton (8 cars), and Blake Carrick (7 cars). … Justyn Cox won the Sprint Car Challenge Tour event on the same racing card. There was a lot of sprint car racing on this night. …
The front straightaway was loaded with special presentations before the racing got underway. Promoters Scott and Kami Russell presented a $2000 check to the NARC Benevolent Fund. … A helmet pass through the grandstands generated more than $3000 for Davey Thomas to help with living expenses as he fights his battle with colon cancer. Race fans are some of the most generous people on the planet. … Willie Croft earned the Carwash Mike Avilla fast time award (again) and walked away with a fistful of cash ($1600 to be exact), the unique Jägermeister Trophy, and the Coors Light Hat. … And, most importantly, the Northern Auto Racing Club and Placerville Speedway presented appreciation awards to Dianne and Dave Durica for their efforts raising money for the Bradway race over the past 20 or so years. They have officially retired from the event and have passed the torch to Karen Bradway Tuccelli. It is in good hands. … Emersyn Gutierrez was the trophy girl for each of the KWS heat races, a pair of dashes and both feature events. …
… Sixty-two cars stuffed the P-ville pits. 31 SCCT and 31 NARC. … Stephen Ingraham’s eighth place finish was his best-ever in NARC competition. … Seventeen cars finished on the lead lap in the 40-lapper. … Jimmy Trulli made his first KWS appearance in at least seven years. He came by way of the semi where he earned $330 in lap money and made the feature powered by a 360 motor. … Sean Watts got upside down in qualifying. … DJ Netto pocketed $600 for leading all 12-laps of the only semi run this season. … Thanks to Floracing.com, the world saw a brainless moron run across the track during qualifying, barely missed by a sprint car at speed. That could have ended up ugly. What was he thinking? Apparently, not a damn thing! … Aton said his crashed 410-car from Ocean was “real bad,” so they dropped their 410 motor into his 360 car to play at Placerville. … Clayton Snow made his first appearance at a NARC-KWS show in 18-months. He had Kalib Montgomery behind the wheel of his number 7 sprint car. That car may have been one of the nicest looking rides in the pit area. That is the same Montgomery who just won his first SCCT feature this past weekend. Definitely an up and comer! …
STAT OF THE WEEK: Current championship point leader Bud Kaeding’s average finish this season is 4.0. Defending series champ DJ Netto is next with 5.4. Scelzi is sitting at 6.4. The past three King of the West titles have been earned by a driver with an average result of 5.6, or better. Winning championships is not only about posting top finishes, but also about NOT posting very many bad nights along the way.
UPCOMING EVENTS: July will be a “roadshow” type of a month for the NARC King of the West Fujitsu sprint cars. Petaluma Speedway will host the Salute to Baylands Raceway Park on July 10th. This one pays $3000 to win and $600 to start the 24-car feature. Look for the one and only Baylands guru David Vodden to be involved with this event. There also will be an autograph session featuring some of your favorite Bayland’s driving legends.
The high-anticipated 11th Annual Howard Kaeding Classic is the following weekend (July 16-17.) Friday’s program features Taco Bravo 360’s with the King of the West Fujitsu Sprint Car Series closing out the show on Saturday with a $5000 to win and $800 to start feature. Plus, there are a bunch of other perks (tires, parts, awards) at this show. If you would like to get involved as a sponsor for this event, please call Bud Kaeding at 408-371-3031.
Our month of July concludes with a doubleheader weekend on July 23-24th. The 23rd is an adder to our schedule and will bring us back to the Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway for the “Chris & Brian Faria Memorial.” The following night, everybody is headed over the hill to Santa Maria Raceway for “Winged Madness.” The Saturday show pays $3500 to win and $600 to start the feature, plus other perks. There will also be a $1000 to win Hammerdown! Wheelie Contest. This event is co-sponsored by Kimo’s Tropical Car Wash in Reedley. By the way, I’m looking for three volunteers! Track management promises a Hammerdown! runway that is more conducive to wheelies than our 2019 show. … If you are looking for any other info, check it out at NARC410.com. …
Coming to you live from Auburn, CA. See ya.
