NARC NEWSLINE – JUNE 1, 2023 – By Jim Allen … With just seven events of the 21-race NARC 410 Sprint Car Series campaign officially in the books, we really can’t roll out a legitimate set of “midseason” awards. However, we did manage three excellent shows at Hanford, a pair at Tulare, and one-night stands at Antioch and Petaluma. So.., with that in mind, we proudly present our (unconventional) 2023 “ONE-THIRD SEASON AWARDS.”
BEST “FEEL GOOD” WIN: A winners share of $18,383 generates a lot of national attention. And that usually results in a gaggle of hired guns flying in to skim the cream off the top. But in this case, it was awesome to see Justyn Cox and the Bates-Hamilton Racing team lead all 30-laps of the Dennis Roth Classic to claim a huge victory for California locals. This wasn’t a cake walk as Corey Day and Justin Sanders harassed him the entire distance at Tulare. The bottom line is Justyn’s first NARC win of his career just felt really good. Voices cracked in victory lane interviews and tears of happiness flowed from the eyes of the car owners and team members. This was a “legacy” victory, and it was the ultimate reward for one of the most loyal supporters of sprint car racing on the West Coast. Winner by a landslide!
An added bonus was the fact that the one-and-only Dennis Roth himself was in the house to watch it. He doesn’t make it out to too many races anymore.
BEST RACE OF THE YEAR (so far): There were many great shows to choose from. Was it Corey Day starting 11th and picking off Trey Starks with four laps remaining at the opening night of the Dennis Roth Classic? Was it Day outrunning WoO star James McFadden at the Peter Murphy Classic? Was it the return to Antioch Speedway that produced a super racy multi-groove gem won by Dominic Scelzi. Or was it Justyn Cox claiming big money in a high-speed game of cat and mouse with Day and Scelzi at the Dennis Roth Classic finale? At this point in the game, to risk not getting into an argument, let’s just call it a tie!
POINTS RACE FOR THE AGES AWARD: The way Corey Day started the NARC sprint car season was reminiscent of Brent Kaeding in the 1990’s. This is the seventeen-year-old’s stat line in the first seven races: A $10,000 win at the Anthony Simone Classic, another win on the first night of the Dennis Roth Classic, a $9000 runner-up finish in the DRC finale, a second-place finish at Antioch, a win and runner-up in his two days at the Peter Murphy Classic. That’s three wins and three second place finishes. His only “off” night – if you want to call it that – was an eighth at Petaluma. Once again, this resembles one of those BK “take no prisoners” deals.
Then there is the defending two-time champion, Dominic Scelzi, who is not about to roll over after a huge Taco Tuesday. He started the season with a fifth, a third and an uncharacteristic tenth place finish. At this pace, the “kid” would win the NARC title in a rout. But Scelzi answered the call along with crew chief Jimmy Carr. They got surface of the sun hot and scored three wins in the next four NARC shows, taking top honors at Antioch, Hanford, and Petaluma and a third at the PMC. That got everybody’s attention.
So here is how the NARC championship points chase breaks down for the final two-thirds of the season. There are really only two ways to make up ground in the standings. The first is to just win. There is a three-point championship point premium for winning versus second place. After that it drops by a single-point (42-39-38-37-36-35, etc.) So, with one-third of the season in the record books, Day leads Scelzi by only seven points, or the difference between a victory and a sixth-place finish. The second way to make up ground is to have less “bad nights” then the other guy. That’s easier said than done! No matter what happens, these two continue to amaze.
HARD LUCK AWARDS: You have to take your hats off to the likes of Billy Aton and Nick Parker who never gave up after a very rocky start to their season. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time and unexpected motor issues left both kicking the dirt and loading up early on way too many shows. Neither one is a quitter. And the good news is that both appear to finally have their problem behind them.
Honorable mention: Kaleb Montgomery’s crash at Tulare in the Keller Motorsports 2K ride is estimated to have cost about … well let’s just say … A LOT!
BEST “OVERALL” RACING EVENT: It has to be the finale of the Peter Murphy Classic, which was the culmination of months of hard work and planning. It featured skydivers during the national anthem, a military color guard, an auction to raise money for the NARC Benevolent Fund, tons of fan giveaways, individual driver introductions, smoke machines, champagne in victory lane, awesome trophies, and all of the A-Main cars on the front straightaway. To top it off, the place was packed, and the racing was super entertaining.
NARC STATS: Corey Day and Father Ronnie Day now both have nine NARC King of the West feature events to their credit. Corey should be breaking that tie soon. … Six different drivers have earned the Williams Roofing Hardcharger Award this season. Chase Johnson leads the pack with a two. Corey Day has advanced the most cars with 31, followed by Chase Johnson (28) and Bud Kaeding (27.) The driver with the most earns $1000 at the November 5th NARC Champions Celebration. … Justin Sanders has won four heat races to lead in the Kimo’s Tropical Car Wash standings. The driver with the most heat wins pockets $500 at year end. Justyn Cox and Dominic Scelzi have three apiece. … Dominic Scelzi has won the most Sunnyvalley “Powered by Bacon” dashes with three. The driver with the most dash wins at year end will probably need to spend more time on the treadmill. … Shane Golobic and Cole Macedo have each earned the ARP Fast Qualifier twice this season. … Eight different drivers have lead feature event laps led by Scelzi with 78. …
The best is yet to come as NARC enters the busiest month of the year. There are more NARC events in June than in the three-months prior. The NARC 410 Racing Series will be battling on eight nights, including the trip to the Pacific Northwest featuring the Fastest Four Days in Motorsports and the Jim Raper Super Dirt Cup at Skagit. The crown jewel of the trip will be the lucrative $62,000 payday to the Super Dirt Cup winner on June 24th.
FASTEST FOUR DAYS IN MOTORSPORTS NOTES: The four shows each pay $5,000 to win and $550 to start the feature. It all kicks off on Thursday, June 15th at Southern Oregon Speedway (Central Point, OR), followed by consecutive nights at Douglas County Dirtrack (Roseburg, OR), Willamette Speedway (Lebanon, OR), and Grays Harbor Raceway (Elma, WA) … Special thanks to DeWald Trucking who is contributing $500 to fast time at the Douglas County event. They are also awarding $500 to Hardcharger. …
… FFDM tickets can be purchased online for all shows through each track’s website. … RV camping is available at all four facilities, most without hook-ups. Contact each track for more info. … We have a pair of Aussie’s running with NARC during the entire trip to the Pacific Northwest. Jessie Attard and Karl Hoffman are preparing their rides for the adventure. Both have had the FFDM and Skagit’s Dirt Cup circled on their calendars since January. … Washington driver Trey Starks, who won two NARC events last season, will be making the final three of the four shows. … Tyler Thompson hopes to race in all four, but he needs to nail his college finals on the first day to have any chance of making it to Southern Oregon Speedway. … Tanner Holmes and Jesse Schlotfeld will also be racing for the duration of the FFDM and Skagit. Chase Johnson will be making the trip North, but not in his familiar #24 sprint car. He will be driving the Josh Ford Motorsports 73. … You can catch ALL of these events on FLORACING!
… Others committed to make the entire adventure: Corey Day (Meyers 14), Dominic Scelzi (Scelzi 41), Justin Sanders (Mittry 2X), Justyn Cox (Bates-Hamilton 42X), Chase Johnson (Ford 73), Bud Kaeding (BK Racing 69), Dylan Bloomfield (Vertullo 83V), Nick Parker (Parker 115), Billy Aton (Aton 26), Joel Myers Jr. (Myers 46JR), Cole Macedo (Tarlton 21T), Burt Foland Jr. (4), and a few more that have yet to return phone calls.
… By the way, we are attempting to put together the first annual Super Dirt Cup Golf Tournament on Wednesday, June 21st. It’s an off day between Skagit’s open show and the Super Dirt Cup opener on Thursday. It will take place at Avalon Links Golf Club, located five-miles from the track. If you are interested in playing, please send me an email to info@NARC410.com or a text to 714-397-7417.
NARC NOTES: Petaluma Speedway has finished their track remodel/rework/facelift. The photos on social media look awesome. NARC returns to the track for the final time this season on July 8th. … Thank you to Karen Bradway-Tuccelli and Steve Tuccelli for their efforts coordinating sponsorships and support for the June 3rd Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial race. All of the competitors and officials appreciate it. And we express gratitude to all of the tremendous fans and sponsors who have contributed more than $13,000 to the purse.
Coming to you live from Auburn, CA. See ya!
