Hoseheads Sprint Car Photos & News

NARC News Line

by Jim Allen

NARC NEWSLINE – OCTOBER 1, 2024, By Jim Allen ... Imagine if the NFL played their first 12 games of the season and then took off two months before another game was played? Or just when the baseball pennant races heated up in July, the MLB didn't play another game until October? Well, welcome to the NARC 410 Sprint Car season! The last time we played in the dirt was July 27th at Santa Maria Speedway, a race won by Chase Johnson and the top three in the NARC championship standings somehow managed to crash out or break in three separate incidents. Unpredictable as a WWE match.

At that point on the calendar, 18 races were in the books and the excitement and momentum was at a fevered pitch. We had a tight points chase, 12 different winners, four rookie drivers in the top 15, and open wheel competition that has been off the charts. In fact, we still have those things, we just had to fast forward 70-days for the High Limit and World of Outlaws shows to come through.

Along those lines, California continues to be a powerhouse and hotbed of creating top national sprint car talent. Of the 15 combined High Limit and Outlaw shows on the West Coast, eight were claimed by California drivers (Michael Kofoid – 3, Carson Macedo – 2, Rico Abreu – 2, Corey Day - 1). Fresno car owner Dennis Roth scored five wins between the two series with Kofoid and Aussie James McFadden.

Honorable west coast mention goes to Trey Starks, who scored not one, but two HL feature victories (Grays Harbor & Skagit) helping to prove my point that he is one of the most underrated drivers in the country. Justin Sanders, Shane Golobic, Cole Macedo, and DJ Netto fared the best among the NARC locals with 17 top five finishes combined. Sanders and Golobic both scored a pair of runner-up finishes. Tim Kaeding even nailed down an impressive runner-up finish at Merced Speedway.

CHASE JOHNSON: While all that was going on, we have been talking and thinking and praying about Chase Johnson a lot lately. Who would have thought his scenario was even possible? Chase’s crash at the High Limit Gold Cup at Silver Dollar Speedway didn’t appear to be any worse than others we have witnessed, but the physical damage was painful to read. Chase broke his back in several spots which required a nine-hour surgery. Throw in additional setbacks like a rough bout of pneumonia, a collapsed lung, and a finicky feeding tube and you have a life-changing scenario.

The 28-year-old driver, who always possesses a positive outlook and a million-dollar smile, is a fighter and one of the toughest guys we know. After five long weeks in the ICU at UC Davis in Sacramento, Chase had stabilized enough to be airlifted to the Shepard Center in Georgia. It is a highly-renown facility that specializes in spinal cord rehabilitation injuries. We will continue to monitor social media posts from wife Haley Johnson and the Johnson family during this process.

On another note: The good news is Chase has medical insurance. The bad news is he has medical insurance. They say that the best insurance to have .., is insurance you never have to use because it seldom pays or covers the enormity of the expenses or allows coverage into premium world-class rehabilitation facilities. However, due to the amazing outpouring of support by fans, friends, and family of Chase, the Shepard Center became a reality and the best option for recovery. It’s a super expensive ordeal and he will be there for at least 11 weeks.

Please keep those positive vibes, thoughts, and prayers coming for the entire Johnson family, but also continue with the helmet passes, track barbecues, and t-shirt and decal sales. Or contribute to their house-payment program or make donations to the NARC Benevolent Fund and/or the GoFundMe account. His recovery requires a long-term plan of attack. He needs ongoing treatment so that one day soon, he can skip out of that facility under his own power. We know Chase is positive, strong-willed and is willing to fight with every inch of his soul. Please help him in the process.

By the way, you can donate to Chase’s GoFundMe account at … https://gofund.me/7ddbc02c

Want to send Chase a get-well card? Here’s the address:
Johnny Franklin’s Muffler
ATTN: Chase Johnson
128 Bellam Blvd
San Rafael, CA 94901
United States

In hindsight, it’s been a rough year on the NARC driver’s roster. It closely resembles a weekly NFL injury report. Let’s not forget that Ryan Robinson was forced to retire after his violent crash during the Mini Gold Cup back in March. In the good news department, Angelique Bell is almost fully recovered from her fiery June 12th crash at Southern Oregon Speedway. The burns have healed, but she still needs an occasional steroid shot in her vocal cords to get her voice back to 100%. She has managed to keep her sense of humor and upbeat attitude throughout the process. By the way, and this is a big “BY THE WAY,” Angelique will be making her second season debut at Hanford on October 5th in a new family-owned race car. We plan to work in an opening ceremony interview with her.

Then there was two-time NARC champion Dominic Scelzi, who was hearing church bells ringing in his head after his Super Dirt Cup crash at Skagit. Not to mention rib injuries of the type you would normally get in a fight with a Mike Tyson or Jake Paul. That took almost two months to recover from, but he is back to consuming tacos at his usual pace and frequency, so he is back to normal. Justyn Cox, who is currently third in NARC driver points, is expected to be out for the rest of the season in the Bates-Hamilton 42X with a back injury. He was hurt at a High Limit race, this one at the Douglas County Dirtrack in August. He is trying to nurse a broken and compressed T3 vertebra back into shape. Unfortunately, he will drop completely out of the top ten in points during the healing process. It’s been one of those years.

CALISTOGA SPEEDWAY: Yes, it’s hard to believe, but movement is finally being seen, or at least scheduled, at the Napa County Fairgrounds. There is a Fairgrounds Community Clean Up Day scheduled for October 19th. Unfortunately, that is Trophy Cup weekend so racer participation may be limited. The good news is that there is a buzz at the fairgrounds with the hiring of Shelly Wright as the Fair Revitalization Director. She is a former fair manager at Lakeport and is a fan of motorsports, which is a huge plus for reopening the historic ½ mile oval. Tommy Hunt is excited at the possibilities and feels that the Louie Vermeil Classic should become a reality in 2025.

NARC NOTES: Here is a strange fact for you. The October 5th race at Hanford will be the first visit by the NARC sprint cars this season. The first two shows, the Dave Helm Memorial and Peter Murphy Classic rained out. … Although we are not expecting to see Willie Croft at any of our final five NARC events, he will be at the Trophy Cup. Give the 53-year-old driver a proper send off for an entertaining and successful racing career. … Among the drivers who still are looking for a NARC 410 win in ‘24 include Bud Kaeding, Caeden Steele, Gauge Garcia, Dylan Bloomfield, Nick Parker, Kaleb Montgomery, and Tanner Carrick. … Kalib Henry, who has been enjoying sprint car success racing in the Midwest, will be competing at the next two NARC shows …The numerical stat lines of Justin Sanders and Cole Macedo are almost identical with 80% of the season complete. The only real difference is Sanders has five wins to Macedo’s three. There is a three-point premium for winning (42-39), compared to second place. Sanders leads this horse race by only three-points. Stay tuned! … Speaking of identical, Sanders and Macedo both have seven heat race victories this season to lead all NARC drivers. The hot shoe with the most pockets $500 from Kimo’s Tropical Car Wash at the year-end banquet. … The NARC top wing wickerbill rule was changed to match the High Limit and WoO rules. …

… Gauge Garcia is attempting to zero in on the Williams Roofing season-long Hardcharger title, which pays $1,000 at the banquet. To date, Garcia has advanced 66 cars in the Keller Motorsports sprint car, to lead Nick Parker (57) and Cole Macedo (53). There is no prize for second place. … Special thanks to Ashley Smith, Katie Smith-Williams, Roth Motorsports, EMADCO, Southern Pacific Farms, and Hoosier for their financial support of this Saturday’s Morrie Williams Memorial. … Each 20-lap feature pays $3,000 to win and $300 to start., plus a $1,000 bonus to the overall champion. No tire changes are allowed. The intermission between the two mains is about 10-minutes. Only the first race is a NARC points race. The second one is for victory lane glory. … The NARC season finale at Stockton, will feature a racing Legends autograph session. That should kick off around 4:30 p.m. … The upcoming Friday night show (October 25th) at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway will blend asphalt and dirt track events. ARCA will be practicing and qualifying on the ½ mile paved oval in the afternoon, followed by the NARC sprint cars on the dirt oval. … Congrats to Brad Sweet on winning the inaugural High Limit Series championship - something he accomplished with four races still remaining on the HL schedule.

NARC BANQUET: The NARC Championship Celebration awards banquet will be held the day after the November 2nd season Tribute to Gary Patterson season finale at the Stockton Dirt Track. The venue is the Brookside Country Club in Stockton, located about 10-minutes from the track. Brookside has hosted the event five-times and is a first-class facility. The brunch, highlight show, NARC Benevolent Fund auction, and awards gets underway at 11:30 p.m. The food is good, and video-producer extraordinaire Mike DeHoogh always puts together entertaining videos. This event is open to not only race teams, sponsors, and promoters, but to race fans as well. For more information contact Jim Allen.

So, with all that, the NARC 410 Sprint Car Series will finish with a flurry of October events. It’s October 5th at Kings Speedway for the Morrie Williams Memorial Twin-20’s and October 12th for the Chris & Brian Faria Memorial at the Thunderbowl. A rare October doubleheader takes place on October 25-26th with a Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway October Classic and the Anthony Simone Classic back at Hanford. The season ends up with a Triple Crown event at the Tribute to Gary Patterson on November 2nd. The Stockton Dirt Track will host the NARC 410, SCCT 360, and Hunt Wingless Series season finales.

Coming to you live from Auburn, CA. Get well Chase Johnson. See ya!

NARC NEWSLINE – May 4, 2024, By Jim Allen … I’m sure we all agree when I say it’s been a rough start to the 2024 season. Not just with the NARC schedule, but with just about every dirt track north of the grapevine in California. Mother Nature came bouncing out of her corner like a heavyweight champ with something to prove and pummeled motorsports into submission with wet weather. If the current trend continues, on a prorated basis, NARC would feature a whopping eight races in 2024. The worse thing about it is the weather has typically been perfect all week long, getting everybody excited, before bad weather rolls in on Friday and Saturdays. And not to leave the rest of the country out of the loop, the Outlaws and High Limit also know how to quickly find their rain gear. Because of the choppiness of the schedule, few in open wheel racing have been able to establish any real kind of “weekly” routine, making the natives restless and much of social media poison with the alleged expert opinions of the week.

One driver and team that does have their act together this season is Cole Macedo and the Tarlton Motorsports team. Two-fer-two! They survived the unpredictable Battle Royale at Chico and mastered the newly remodeled Stockton Dirt Track before anybody else could. The Tarlton-team, with Drew Werner on the wrenches, is looking for their first NARC title since 2016. By the way, both NARC races had a “Road House” feel to them as only 10 of 24 starters finished at Chico, and 13 at Stockton. Silver Dollar Speedway was described as 1990’s “old-school” rough, leaving aspiring drivers born in this century to struggle and figure it out. As luck would have it, Floracing capitalized on the Chico carnage for its ever-popular weekly crash highlight video … just from that one show. Man, that’s an ego killer! But like clockwork, history always repeats itself. There’s always a couple of events each year that look absolutely perfect on paper and then have you yelling at the steering wheel on the way home. The good news, those two are now behind us (fingers-crossed.)

So with that, the NARC schedule has endured the the cancelation of the Dave Helm Memorial (3/9) and Peter Murphy Classic (4/13) in Hanford, the March Madness event at Merced (3/23), a postponement of the April 27th race at Stockton, and the postponement (yes, postponement) of today's Tulare's Chris & Brian Faria Memorial. So if you are keeping score, it's Mother Nature - 5, Cole Macedo and NARC - 2.

Speaking of Stockton, everybody got their first glimpse on April 6th when the former 4/10’s mile oval transitioned into a quarter-mile D-shaped bullring. As expected, the opinions were brutal despite the fact that it took a mad scramble to make the race happen in the first place. It also rained for two straight days leading up to the race and that didn’t help the cause. It took a while to get the “new” Dirt Track raceable and the NARC heats didn’t push off until 8:00 p.m. and the main at 11:13 p.m. (Our goal is to be done by 9:30 p.m.) Also in the pits was SCCT and they had their issues as well, including a longer than normal main event. When you added it all up, the NARC feature was called 27-laps complete at the stroke of midnight. For all of the conspiracy addicts out there, the drivers were informed by radio during the previous caution period that the scheduled 30-lapper was going to be considered complete at midnight no matter what happened. It "happened" with a multi-car crash and wasn’t the way anybody wanted to end a chilly night. As Colt’s Hall of Fame football coach Tony Dungy says in his book, “nothing good happens after midnight.” Especially in Stockton!

When all was said and done, the overall opinion of drivers and teams leaned more positive than negative and suggested improvements to make it even better. That's great news as promoter Tony Noceti is committed to the further evolution and improvement of the facility. After the show, he committed to building wider turns with more banking and a backstretch wall from turn two to four. Unfortunately, that turned out to be a ton of work and the weather didn’t cooperate (try to act surprised) to allow those upgrades to be completed before our scheduled April 27th race. This postponed the event to a highly-anticipated Sunday Twilight Show on May 19th, the day after the NARC sprint cars invade Thunderbowl Raceway. (Twilight = Qualifying at 4:00 p.m.) That beats the tarnation out of another cancellation. We really need fans and teams to support this show as it could start a new trend and give race promoters another viable option.

Other observers thought the Stockton postponement was the perfect opportunity for Peter Murphy to maneuver his April 13th rainout, better known as the Peter Murphy Classic, back into the schedule. However, Murphy already had a weekly show booked on that date. A few racing peeps wanted NARC to invade Kings Speedway which wasn’t going to happen because the Central California locals barely have enough opportunities to race already. Not to mention, the PMC, an event filled with auctions, pageantry, and a pole shuffle, features a $50,000+ purse and needs avid fan support to support that obligation. When you figure in liability insurance, water, lights, marketing, track prep, security, garbage, officials and the like, the total expenses are closer to $70,000. And I’m being conservative. While many open wheel loyalists would attend a 7:00 a.m. Christmas morning sprint car show on short notice, the average fan which makes up 65% of any crowd would be home unwrapping gifts. In hindsight, the April 27th Kings crowd was average at best meaning a high-dollar PMC would have been a financial blood bath. It was the right call.

With that being said, there is no official date for rescheduling the 10th anniversary of the PMC. Murphy has run the gauntlet to squeeze it in somewhere, but others barked back about conflicts. It appears that California promoters are battling for the same 1500 core fans. Let’s hope we can figure this thing out.

CALISTOGA SPEEDWAY: Some fans may have had unrealistic expectations that a race schedule would be released soon after the City of Calistoga and Napa County worked out their differences and finalized the sale of the fairgrounds. In reality that was just the starting point and best-case scenario, nobody will see a schedule until 2025. Tommy Hunt said way back in February that it would take his HMC Promotions team about six-months to promote and orchestrate the activities that surround the awesome two-day Louie Vermeil Classic weekend. Once racing is officially on the agenda, expectations will be at a Mount Everest-level as local politicians have the place under a microscope to make sure they made the right choice. That means an infield pit area packed with sprint cars, an overflowing grandstand, a Gold Cup type of feel, and race fans spending their money downtown. Otherwise, all of the pot-banging we did to get the historic half-mile reopened would have been for naught. All those who agree, say YAH!

By the way, Tommy Hunt is undergoing serious health issues these days, and we wish him a speedy recovery.

NARC NOTES: There are about 15 laps remaining to be sponsored for the June 1st Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial race in Placerville. Contact Karen Bradway-Tuccelli on Facebook if you are interested in sponsoring a lap in the 40-lap feature or 12-lap semi. … An entire nation gasped (on Floracing) when Ryan Robinson clipped the tractor tire coming out of turn two and flipped violently while leading at Silver Dollar Speedway at the Mini-Gold Cup NARC opener. While everybody, including wife Kylie, was attempting to comprehend what had just happened, Ryan had already managed to climb out of the Antaya Motorsports #16A and was stepping slowly to the pit area. His movements were purely instinctual as his eyes saw nothing but black after suffering his fifth racing-related concussion. Luckily, the safety crews caught up with him shortly thereafter. Ryan made an announcement a couple of days later that he is retiring from racing. You know it was a tough decision, but it was the right one. He knows that you can only scramble the eggs so many times. Never forget that this is a dangerous sport. … Willie Croft will be battling for the Skagit Speedway championship in Washington this year with “Rudeen” backing on his number 29 sprint car. He will be attempting to dethrone the defending champ, Trey Starks. …

… Only six drivers have finished in the top ten in both races. Can you name them? How about … obviously Cole Macedo … Tanner Carrick, Bud Kaeding, Nick Parker, and rookies Gauge Garcia and Cadeen Steele. Carrick may be the most underrated driver in California with a sixth and third place finish in NARC competition, as well as two Ocean 360 wins to his credit. He is overdue to post his first NARC career victory. … Dominic Scelzi is back in California. He was planning to miss the first six NARC shows of the season while he was chasing races around the Midwest with the Outlaws and High Limit. As it turns out, he only missed two. He will be a “wild card” the rest of the season, attempting to steal victories as others chase the championship. … All, like in every single one of our events are on Floracing.com … David Castenada reports that work is underway at Santa Maria Speedway. After sitting dormant for a couple of years, the track needs serious love to make it race ready. Tony Pombo, who signed a lease-agreement for the place, is actively involved in the process. NARC invades Santa Maria on July 27th – right about the time temperatures hit 110 degrees in the Central Valley. … Justyn Cox cracked three ribs at the Chico opener. You know it was bad when he couldn't golf! ...

… The new NARC 65th Anniversary Coloring Book is hot off the press. Thank you to Creative Finishes Plus and Andy & Candace Forsberg for sponsoring this project. Also, thanks to my wife Carol who did all of the artwork. We will pass them out to kids at upcoming events. … Which reminds me of a quick story from the last time we had a NARC coloring book in 2019. While handing them out to excited kids in Tulare, one impatient attractive woman (40ish) insisted on getting one for herself. I politely told her it’s kids first, since we need to keep them engaged so their parents continue to bring them to the races. I said if there are any left, I would hook her up. A minute or two later, she impatiently works her way back in line and offers to flip up her shirt and show me the goods if I give her one. Excuse me, did I hear that right? Now I’m not going to say what actually happened at that point, but she walked away with crayons also. …

THE ROAD TO THE DIRT CUP: It’s hard to believe the Fastest Five Days in Motorsports are only about 40-days away. Based on phone calls, emails, and DM, there is going to be a large contingent of fans making this stellar road trip. It’s going to be a parade going up Interstate 5. If you haven’t locked down your tickets yet, each track’s website is ready to serve them up. By the way, the five FFDM shows pay $5,000 to win and $600 to start the A. The Northwest Focus Midgets will be the support division for the first four events. They put on a great show.

>From the FFDM Father’s Day finale at Grays Harbor Raceway, we continue North to the Jim Raper Memorial Super Dirt Cup. That group is busy putting together fan engagement activities for this showcase event. I’m spearheading the Super Dirt Cup Charity Golf Tournament on Wednesday, June 19th – the day BEFORE the three-days of racing kicks off. We are looking to accomplish two things … build on the “Club” in Northern Auto Racing Club by having an enjoyable day at the nearby Avalon Golf Links. And two, raise money for the NARC Benevolent Fund and the Rayce Rudeen Foundation. Please join us, no matter what your skill level. Off the record, this may become more of a drinking event than a birdie event. (#justsaying) Sign-ups are only $100 and that include golf, cart, box lunch, gift bag and a chance to claim a bunch of prizes and awards. Here is the only caveat: You have to sign-up and pay before June 5th. … We are also looking for hole sponsors. Call me! … Who is your pick to walk away with a $62,000 payday at this year’s Super Dirt Cup?

And the hot news of the moment ... We have rescheduled the Chris & Brian Faria Memorial for October 12th at Tulare, which is the weekend before the Trophy Cup. It is now part of a great show that also includes the Sprint Car Challenge Tour. It's shaping up to be a terrific October.

With that, prepare to get busy because there are 13 NARC shows scheduled in the next 50 or so days. It’s going to flash by in the blink of an eye so get your travel plans dialed in. Coming to you live from Auburn, CA! May the Fourth be with you. See ya!

NARC NEWSLINE – December 19, 2023, By Jim Allen … If you were ever going to get super excited about 410 sprint car racing, the time is now! As you’re aware, the headlines this offseason have been awe-inspiring, dominated by a collection of the biggest players in our sport. With the addition of the full-blown High Limit Series national schedule, there is a buzz in the air that promises to push 410 sprint car racing to an even higher level. Good solid competition will do that!

For everyone on the Left Coast, it’s a great fit also, because it mounts a bright neon light around the sport of sprint car racing. Even though much progress has been made over the past five years, west coast 410 sprint car racing has been jolted with a cattle prod and pushed into turbo-mode. This complements the efforts by NARC, Peter Murphy, SLC Promotions, and Skagit Speedway, who collectively have worked hard to rebuild 410 sprint car racing to its glory days of the 1990’s.

Between the newly-released 26-race NARC schedule, a dozen or so 410 “open” races at Chico, Hanford, and Skagit, 11 High Limit races, and six World of Outlaw races on the west coast, there are more than 50 excellent (and high-paying) reasons for local 360 teams to consider stepping up their game with a 410 powerplant in California, Oregon, and Washington. I’m not saying 360 racing is a bad thing as much as I’m saying the 410 is now a great thing!

With the addition of the High Limit Series, there has been a new cash influx of more than $5,000,000 into our sport. And with the cost of going sprint car racing escalating on a daily basis, teams now get to choose what best fits their racing budget and lifestyle. Is it the 89-race World of Outlaw schedule, or the 60-race High Limit schedule, or a combination or portion of both?

It’s nice to have choices, and if you listen closely to what is being said, “travel” and its related expenses is a red hot topic for drivers, pit crew members, truck drivers, and the car owners paying the bills. Some of the best in the sport have pulled off the road due to the relentless grind and the inability to recruit crew chiefs and support teams. Don’t fall for the story that life on the road is all adventurous and exciting. That story is more of a sales pitch by hotel chains, fast food outlets and laundromats. In reality, living out of a suitcase away from your immediate family sucks on so many levels, which makes the commitment of these teams that much more commendable.

The key to success in this whole equation is for everybody to stay positive. Unfortunately, it’s not hard to find rabid fans and racing pundits who have already taken the tone that this is a full-blown civil war between the High Limit Series and the World of Outlaws. The questions and statements are endless … Who will have the best drivers? Who is going to stick with the Outlaws? This schedule is better! Who is going to be put out of business? That’s all-drama queen stuff written by basement dwelling keyboard warriors and the worst conceivable way to look at it. My suggestion is don’t take sides and enjoy the moment because the last time I checked, the United States is a pretty huge place and there are loyal open wheel fans and great teams everywhere. This new adventure is going to provide an excellent opportunity to cultivate the next Steve Kinser or Kyle Larson.

But wait, there is more! What will be entertaining is the flagship events like the Kings Royal and Knoxville Nationals. They are already huge events, but now they will take on a Super Bowl feel between the two series. That type of competitiveness is worthy because it makes everybody step up their game. Winners of those events are going to be strutting around like the biggest rooster in the hen house, because those bragging rights last a whole year.

So …, going back to how I started this ramble of thoughts, if you’re not super excited about going 410 sprint car racing, you should seek immediate medical attention. It’s going to be a great season.

NARC SCHEDULE NOTES: NARC’s 65^th season of sprint car racing kicks off at Kings Speedway on March 9^th. It will be the first of four events at the three-eighths mile oval. The $11,000 to win Peter Murphy Classic is now a one-day show and that will happen on April 13^th. Also on the Hanford agenda is the popular Morrie Williams Memorial Twin-20 event on October 5^th and an October 26^th show, which is part of a NARC double-header weekend that features a Friday night show at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway. The Kern features the ARCA stock cars on the paved track where they will practice and qualify on Friday afternoon, before they open the gates to the Dirt Track. ARCA’s headliner takes place on Saturday, while we roll over to Hanford. … Here’s hoping that Mother Nature cooperates with us to allow a NARC event at Silver Dollar Speedway. Both the Mini Gold Cup and the David Tarter Memorial were rained out in ’23. On tap next season is the May 16^th $10,000 to win Mini-Gold Cup and the July 29^th Tarter Memorial. … NARC returns to Merced Speedway for some March Madness action on March 23^rd. The last time NARC rolled into Merced was 2021. …

… The Fastest Four Days in Motorsports is now five with the addition of Cottage Grove Speedway. Each of the five shows pays $5000 to win and $600 to start. There is the possibility of adding a special $50,000 bonus to any driver who can sweep the board. That’s a work in progress. … The Northwest Focus Midgets will be the support class for the first four of those shows (and the fifth if a couple of things fall in place.) The goal during the FFDM is to be done by 9:30 p.m. each night and head up the road. … The Super Dirt Cup at Skagit will once again drop a $62,000 payday on the winner of the June 22^nd Saturday night finale. The Skagit team is actively working to guarantee a $2500+ minimum start money in the finale. Stay tuned for more info. … There will be the (second annual) Super Dirt Cup Golf Tournament on Wednesday, June 19^th at the Avalon Golf Links. Proceeds benefit the NARC Benevolent Fund and the Rayce Rudeen Foundation. Sign-ups begin in February. …

… The Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial race “weekend” will feature a Sprint Car Challenge Tour show on Friday, followed by the NARC show on Saturday, June 1^st. As always, event and lap sponsorships are available by sending a DM to Karen Bradway Tuccelli on Facebook. … The month of June features 10 NARC championship points races. … There will be a pair of NARC/SCCT combo shows in 2024, both at Tony Noceti’ s Stockton Dirt Track – the April 6^th Asparagus Cup and the November 2^nd Tribute to Gary Patterson finale. Speaking of Stockton, crews have already cut in a new quarter mile layout at the facility and are in the process of dialing in banking, and lights, and safety barriers. This is guaranteed to make the Stockton Dirt Track more of an action track than a speed track. … The Thunderbowl Raceway in on our schedule twice in May. Sandwiched in between those two shows is a one-night stand at Antioch Speedway …

The most asked question this off-season is … How can Santa Maria Speedway be on the schedule when they didn’t run any races this year? The good news is there is a sale pending for the facility – which means we didn’t lose another track. I’m not at liberty to pass on the name of the new owner, but it may rhyme with Mony Rombo. They have booked a variety of events for the 2024 season, including our date on July 27^th. … Other one-night stands in July include stops at Petaluma and Ocean Speedway. Rick Faeth announced that his July 6^th Petaluma race will honor the late David Lindt, a five-time track champion who won 48 main events. The event will pay $5200 to the winner. … The July 13^th Howard Kaeding Classic will also mark the only visit to Ocean Speedway. But it will be a good one. It pays $6900 to win. The 2023 event paid $1200 to start. The Friday night 360 show will include an “After Party” and there will be the Howard Kaeding Luncheon on Saturday afternoon. Money raised at that event goes to the NARC Benevolent Fund. … The continued notable absence of Calistoga Speedway from our schedule also sucks on many levels. 2024 will mark the fifth consecutive season that a sprint car has not been pushed off at the fairgrounds. And to think they wonder why the Napa County Fairgrounds isn’t financially viable.

WHAT’S NEW? Jarrett Soares will be back on the NARC tour full-time in ’24. Car owner Steven Soares is currently hunting down a pair of 410 motors to make that happen. … Also look for Dominic Gorden to be a frequent flyer as well! This 17-year-old Clovis driver has been a top ten fixture in a multitude of different race cars. Sounds like the same familiar story line as our 2023 NARC champion. … Hope to see the likes of Joey Ancona and Kalib Henry on the NARC tour on a more frequent basis. … Aussie Karl Hoffmans is already committed to make the trip to the Pacific Northwest for the FFDM and Skagit. …

NARC BANQUET NOTES: Corey Day became the youngest champion in the 64-year history of the NARC and King of the West Sprint Cars. His stat line was impressive with 15 podium finishes in 20 events, including nine victories. … The NARC Benevolent Fund auction, which was hosted by both Bud Kaeding and Jason Meyers, raised more than $11,000 for the cause. Thank you to all who contributed. … Shannon Bloomfield was the recipient of the Dave Bradway Jr. Inspirational trophy and I struggled to get through the presentation. I’m not sure what is harder to imagine, that so many injuries could happen to one person, or that a single person could fight through the recovery process to lead a normal life afterwards. … Congrats to 2023 NARC rookie of the year Nick Parker. Parker and his team worked extremely hard to make it through a handful of race nights – but never gave up. He finished eighth in points. … Corey Day pocketed a $500 bonus from Mettec Titanium for leading the most laps this season. Dominic Scelzi was presented with an extra $500 from Kimo’s Tropical Car Wash for winning the most heat races (7). …

Bud Kaeding has finished in the top five in the NARC championship point standings for ten consecutive years. … Chase Johnson collected the $1000 bonus from Williams Roofing for passing the most cars this season. He passed 84. The rest of the top five included Corey Day (57); Justyn Cox (48); Justin Sanders (47); and Bud Kaeding (46). … Eight car owners made it to all 20 NARC shows and were awarded with loyalty checks at the banquet. This list includes Jason Meyers (14), Demo Mittry (2X) Scelzi Enterprises (41), Bates-Hamilton Racing (42X) BK Racing (69), David Vertullo (83V), Billy Aton (26), and Nick Parker (115). … Shane Bowers, the crew chief of Jason Meyers #14, took home the coveted Billy Albini Mechanic of the Year trophy. A well-earned accolade. …

And finally, we are planning to see you at each and every one of our events in 2024. But, if you can’t make it, we are proud to announce that we just inked a two-year deal so you can catch ALL of our events on Floracing.com. In the meantime, you can find everything you need on NARC410.com, or on Facebook, X/Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.

With that, I wish all of you a safe holiday season and a Happy New Year! We will talk again in 2024.

Coming to you live from Auburn, CA. See ya!

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 11^th 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 5^th 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 24^th.

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 15^th 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 will 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), Jonathan Allard (Williams 0), 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 21^st. 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 8^th. … 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!

NARC NEWSLINE - APRIL 4, 2023, By Jim Allen ... Let’s be honest, motorsports have taken some serious blows in the past three years. First, we got hit with COVID-19, then a totally unexpected tire shortage, and now a lunatic Mother Nature of California acting like she’s got the world’s worst case of PMS. The Golden State headlines are dominated by record rainfall, storms, and flooding that has forced the cancellation and postponement of many racing events. Meteorologist’s call it an “Atmospheric River.” I think I speak on behalf of everybody reading this column when I call it a “pain in the butt.”

It’s one thing to rain, but to have so water that most dirt track infields resemble fishing ponds doesn’t work. There is literally no place left for it to drain. Social media is loaded with track photos showing newfound lakes, ponds, swamps, leaking levees, and flooding. The Tulare Fairgrounds is now a disaster relief center for animals after a recent levee break. The Kings Speedway overflow pond is full and there is no place to pump the water unless the neighboring airport wants to start practicing water landings. The grounds surrounding the Stockton Dirt Track resemble swamp lands in Florida and I’m waiting for an alligator to crawl up to the staging area. Then there is Silver Dollar Speedway where haulers entering the pits would be like a tagline for a horror movie: "They all went in, but nobody came out." It’s more suited for Monster Trucks. And for places like Petaluma, Merced, Antioch, Watsonville, Placerville, KCRP, and Santa Maria, pumping water is part of the morning ritual.

In the meantime, racing teams are getting anxious, promoters wonder when it will end, and fans are enduring some serious withdrawals. And the main reason we dislike it is because we can’t do anything about it. It’s totally out of our control. Don’t you hate when that happens?

Promoter Tony Noceti was all geared up for his big April 1^st Asparagus Cup at Stockton but got cannonballed in the days leading up to the show, completely drenching the place. He held out for as long as he could but was forced to pull the proverbial plug two days before the show. At that point, social media lit up like the press coverage of Donald Trump going to New York, proclaiming the show should be moved to Placerville Speedway or Kern County Raceway Park. Contrary to belief, we looked into one of those options but with just 48 hours’ notice, it just couldn’t happen. Contrary to belief, racetracks gear up for events, not just open the gate on race day and hope there is beer and food and people to work the facility. Then there is the other wild card and that is the racer and the fan correlation. We know 100%, beyond a reasonable doubt, that most teams will show up naked to race lawnmowers in the snow. One thing they don’t do is race for free and without a large crowd, the promoter’s wallet would bleed red ink like it was in a spaghetti strainer. That’s not a workable scenario. So now, we just wait.

HEY JIM, DID YOU MENTION SANTA MARIA? By design, I actually did. Many of you are asking questions about the beleaguered facility. Is it still open? Will NARC go there again? Is the track up for sale? I heard there is five races scheduled this year - is that true? And your answers are … SORT OF, WE WANT TO, YUP, and PROBABLY.

But seriously, what is happening at Santa Maria Raceway would make Doug Fort roll over in his grave. What most people think is that the encroaching housing development hates racing, and the track is being sued into non-existence. While there is some truth in that statement, it’s really not that way - in a twisted sort of way.

Let me explain: What the housing development has a problem with is the other “entertainment activities” that take place at the track. And we are not talking about something underhanded like a gambling hall or a strip club. Promoter Nick Duggan and his group of track investors had great plans for the iconic facility and discovered a gold mine opportunity by adding “Mexican Rodeos” to the mix. It would help make ends meet in a tough business. To put the Mexican Rodeo’s in real world terms, it's are absolutely huge. They literally make a crowd at a World of Outlaws show look like small family picnic. SMR was literally packed with families enjoying the rodeo, live music, and other related activities. And they left the place cleaner than when they found it. That’s a WIN that also happens to reel in local community involvement and support for the facility.

According to legal documents filed by resident lawyers in the neighboring subdivision, it was stated that the Raceway needed an “entertainment license” if they held any activities besides racing. Not to mention, they also want to require a $100,000 EPA Study to make sure the ground was safe for farm animals and touring rock bands. So, the track went to PLAN B in an attempt to placate the locals. Duggan & Company did the right thing and secured the license and incorporated a little “off-road racing” into the next two Mexican Rodeo events. Sounds reasonable, eh? The best of all worlds, right? NOPE! The homeowner’s association felt that effort bypassed the intention of what they were trying to accomplish and stated there wasn’t enough racing to make it a “racing” event. Somewhere in the middle of all that, they also wanted half of the revenue from those events. Shortly thereafter, the aforementioned entertainment license was rescinded by San Luis Obispo County officials and the track was fined $25,000. Man, you can’t make this stuff up!

The good news is because the Raceway was an established facility, several local establishments went to bat for the track, including the police and fire departments. They wrote letters and eventually, the fine was dropped down to $5,000. While that was good, it’s still a fine for $5000. Just pile that on top of the other $200,000 in legal fees and just about anybody of sane mind and body would wonder why Duggan didn’t invest in a Quick Quack Car Wash instead. To put those expenses in perspective, that would take a few successful racing seasons to recuperate – and that is if nothing else goes wrong.

At this juncture, the track is still up for sale. If you have $2.7M burning a hole in your pocket or laying around in your 401K, Santa Maria Raceway could be the business of your dreams (or nightmares if local lawyers continue on their mission.) But don’t wait too long because the land may be more valuable than the track itself. A storage unit company offered $1.8M and wanted one-year of due diligence to make sure they were not assuming an assortment of hidden liabilities. That didn’t get accepted.

Camping World also stepped up to the offer table with $2.2M, which also included an extended “no racing” holding period. However, that offer got pulled back when it was discovered the facility is geographically in a flood plain. To build a Camping World would require prior approval by … you ready for this … FEMA, Fish & Game, and the Army Corp of Engineers which maintains and fixes any levee issues. Then there is the ultimate trump card. It’s called CEQA, which is the California Environmental Quality Act. It requires state and local government to inform decision makers and the public about potential environmental impacts of proposed projects and to reduce them. So based on that statement which I borrowed off Google, if we all step back for just a second and take a deep breath, it’s actually easier to keep Santa Maria Raceway a racing facility than to actually build on the property. They just can’t do rodeos, concerts, gambling, flea markets, or strip club related activities.

In the meantime, track manager David Castaneda has scheduled a few events in an attempt to keep the track relevant. While this is going on, legal expenses, fines, and property tax bills still need to be paid and facility maintenance needs to keep moving forward. It might not be a winnable battle.

Castaneda, who actually received a few death threats when the track was initially closed, has a handful of USAC/CRA events scheduled this summer (hopefully). The ownership group is also open for a third-party to come in and promote an event on their own. There have been a few inquiries, but nothing serious yet. Could it be that they are leery of possibly becoming a defendant on a legal document?

Does this answer all of your questions, or just leave you shaking your head in disbelief? I can see the heads shaking now! No, this isn’t another April Fools story, this is the real deal! If we think that the likes of Kyle Larson, Brad Sweet, Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon are going to ante up millions to buy tracks out of the goodness of their hearts, it probably isn’t a realistic expectation. In addition to being successful race car drivers, they are successful businessmen. Most investors demand a return on their initial investment within a five-year period. A $2M racetrack purchase equates to cashing out $400,000 a year. That might happen at a Knoxville or Eldora, but probably not at a dirt track in California. If our racetracks were netting $400,000 per year, we would see Tony Noceti, Scott Russell, Steve Faria and Rick Faeth and others lined up doing the doing the "happy dance" on the front straightaway. (I apologize for that visual.)

Now you have to admit, after reading this, the problems at Calistoga Speedway don’t seem so bad compared to Santa Maria. The reality is there is a lot of work to be done and it’s not just at those two tracks. Perris Auto Speedway is located smack dab in the middle of a proposed State water project and a legal battle related to make the Perris Dam more earthquake safe. State officials want to close the facility to do the work with the promise it will be completed by 2025. Sure, you betcha! And I’ve got some swamp land at the Stockton Dirt Track I would like to sell you or review the timeline and budget of something called the “Bullet Train to nowhere.” (For news on the Perris situation, go here … https://www.pressenterprise.com/2022/09/04/perris-dam-project-threatens-perris-auto-speedway-fairgrounds-businesses-lawsuit-alleges/)

We also heard through the grapevine that several hotel chains are drooling over the property that is now Ventura Speedway. Ocean views and a beach just 100 yards from the front lobby is in the Embassy Suites business handbook. The bottom line is we can only dream about some big motorsport icons coming in to purchase Calistoga Speedway and restore it to its 2019 pre-covid luster. Or maybe a race fan will win one of those gigantic billion-dollar Powerball lotteries and take care of everything. It’s probably has the same odds.

Now the purpose of sharing all of this information is not to get you depressed or upset. Just know that your beloved racetracks are under attack and promoters are fighting hard to save them. Some of those promoters are literally backed into a corner.

If you really want to step up for dirt track racing, we need you to sit down – like in a seat at your local dirt track on race day. And while you are at it, bring a friend, or two. We need packed grandstands at every motorsports event in California. Maybe then, somebody will take notice and realize that the racing community pumps a lot of money into the local economy, and we are one of the best marketing demographics in the U.S.A. Amen!

NARC NOTES: Fire suppression systems are mandatory by May 1^st. An informal poll of NARC regulars show most are way ahead of the curve and are already installed. … It sure is nice to see racetracks finally offering “SEASON PASSES” to diehard race fans. … Joel Myers Jr. is taking no prisoners in New Zealand these days. He is winning everything back there and hopes to parlay that into a few NARC victories this season. … Along those lines, there are a ton of young drivers on the NARC tour looking to take the next step in their careers. Who will win their first NARC feature event of their career this season? Your choices are, in no particular order, Dylan Bloomfield, Max Mittry, Blake Carrick, Kaleb Montgomery, Joel Myers Jr., Tanner Holmes, Nick Parker, Tanner Carrick, Cole Macedo and Joey Ancona. That is one heck of a heat race if you put them all together. …

… We welcome some new sponsors to our ranks this year including NAPA Auto Parts, Beacon Wealth Strategies, Williams Roofing, Diversified Machine, LifelineUSA, & D & D Roofing. We couldn’t do it without them. If you have a lead on a presenting sponsor for our series, please contact me. Please support those who support sprint car racing. … As you may have seen, Ben Deatherage is our new Media Specialist this season, replacing Alex Nieten who now works for the World of Outlaws. He has already created some great marketing pieces and authors a new column called “NARC BY THE NUM*ER5! Make sure you check it out. You can also listen to his Inside NARC interviews online and his multitude of interviews on Highside Racing Promotions. … You can catch NARC on Floracing, but as I stated earlier, we really need you at the track. … Tim Kaeding needs a full-time 410 ride. … It is going to be nice to see a little more of Andy Forsberg and Sean Becker this season. Both have more 410 events on their schedule. … Let the High Limit races begin! ... For those of you who may be interested in some golf during the Fastest Four Days in Motorsports adventure, send me a DM. I'm planning to fill in some downtime.

And finally, we’ve got a ton of racing coming up. Peter Murphy is hard at it to make sure Kings Speedway is race-ready for Saturday’s (4/8/23) $10,000 to win Anthony Simone Classic. The pit area might not be perfect when we arrive, but the alternative is sitting at home surfing crap-shows on Netflix for the 300^th time. I’ll take racing for $10,000 Alex! This show also includes a 15-lap non-wing NARC feature.

By the way, if you get a chance, make sure you stop by the NAPA Auto Parts store in Hanford between 10:00 a.m. and NOON on Saturday. Our two-time NARC champion Dominic Scelzi will have his hauler and car on display and will be signing autographs. And ... possibly handing out some free stuff. The address is 380 W 8th St, Hanford, CA 93230.

We follow up the Simone show with the highly anticipated Dennis Roth Classic on April 14-15th at the Thunderbowl Raceway. The winner will walk away with $18,383 on Saturday night. The extra $83 comes via a contribution by Brad Kennedy in case you were wondering. Look for Roth Motorsports to have two or three cars running in the event. By the way, in addition to the enhanced purse, individual event winners take home a Roth ice chest full of meat. Fast time is worth 10 lbs. of New York Strip. Heat race winners take home 20 lbs. of Tri-Tip. And the Dennis Roth Classic winner will be loaded up with 30 lbs. of Ribeye. Of course, the Sunnyvalley Dash winner takes home 10 lbs. of the best bacon on the planet. A clean sweep of the program comes with a free cholesterol check.

We conclude the month of April – Mother Nature permitting – on April 29^th. The NARC 410 sprint cars will be returning to Antioch Speedway for the first time since 2017. Everybody is pretty stoked about the Contra Costa County Clash. We will see you there!

Coming to you live from Auburn, CA. See ya.

NARC NEWSLINE – January 19, 2023 – By Jim Allen ... There are so many things going on in motorsports that missing a single day on social media can put you in a time warp. Everything seems to happen so fast; some of it good and some of it not so good. Among the headlines during the past couple of months were life-threatening RV crashes, million-dollar to win sprint car races, a shootout in Tulsa that resembled a WWE event, high-limit races, and even some proverbial head-butting between some of the big names in sprint car racing. There is a ton going on locally also, so buckle up and take notes:

STATE OF THE UNION: I attended a pair of promoter’s workshops this offseason. The first was the WARPA meeting in Portland in mid-November, followed by the December RPM Promoters Workshop in Reno. The way I heard it and read the room the messages were completely different. In the Pacific Northwest, where most of the tracks lost the first third of the schedule to an ungodly number of rainouts, promoters were basically doing the happy dance. Attendance was up and growing car counts complimented the great racing. By comparison, the promoters in Portland seemed a lot less stressed than their California counterparts in Reno.

While sprint car racing was pretty darn entertaining in ’22, every promoter in California is actively digging to entice an additional 500-600 fans into their grandstands each week. It’s the difference between good and great, but with the highest operating costs in the nation, California racetrack promoters are having to work extremely hard just to make ends meet. All are doing their best to support racers, but they also have to buy groceries – and that’s a fine line to walk. Either way, everybody seems very optimistic regarding the future of 410 sprint car racing on the left coast.

HOOSIER TIRES: Most in dirt track racing assumed that a pop of a champagne cork on New Year’s was going to signal the end to our tire problems of ’22. Better slam on the brakes on those impure thoughts because Hoosier and other tire manufacturers took to the podium to spell out the situation at the workshops. When pressed on how much of an improvement we could expect to experience (enjoy) this year, Hoosier was hard-pressed to answer just five percent. Trust me when I say this, but they are not proud of that figure, but are diligently working on improving the crisis. By the way, the sheer demand for racing tires nationally (all classes) is off the charts. This cuts both ways. It shows that motorsports and grass roots racing is growing – but it is also complicating the problem by driving demand above what can be supplied.

Like most other businesses in the post-Covid world, Hoosier needs people who actually want to work, and they need an influx of raw materials. They have been forced to make dramatic increases in labor rates to recruit talent, and it is working … slowly. Speaking of raw materials, just three years ago it cost about $2000 to get an entire shipping container of raw rubber from Indonesia to Indiana. For your rubber fact of the week, four countries in Southeast Asia grow 70% of the world’s rubber supply and there is a shortage which was caused in 2020 when replacement trees were not planted. Today, that exact same container of raw rubber can be yours for right around $32,000. Yes, that is a real number! You can’t make that stuff up! As a result, there are more price increases coming in the near future and the ticket price of a Hoosier Right Rear racing tire is fast approaching $400 a pop. For all of the politicians who say inflation is running at six-to-eight percent, I call B.S.

Hoosier also announced improvements to their manufacturing process, by reducing the number of tire SKU’s from over 1300 to less than 400. Less SKU’s means they can build more tires because they don’t need to constantly change tire molds and tooling. In hindsight, it’s seeming like something that needed to happen years ago, especially in stock car racing where some associations allow 20+ different tire configurations/compounds. Another improvement was announced a couple of weeks ago stating that dirt track racing is quickly evolving to a new national Hoosier tire. It utilizes a symmetrical tread pattern that allows sprint car teams to rotate tires to extend the life cycle. This tire will be run by anybody running a sprint car on dirt from the Pacific to the Atlantic. The new D15A rolls out in February and will replace all other Hoosier right rears in existence once they fill the pipeline.

So where is all this leading? To be honest with you, I’m not really sure. Is there a possibility of events being cancelled? It could happen! Will things get better? Yes, but it will take time. All I really do know is that one of the toughest jobs in motorsports right now is your local Hoosier tire distributor rep. Nobody ever calls to find out if they’re having a wonderful day.

And to close out this topic, here is a little flashback to 1995. At the time, the NARC sprint cars were running a McCreary MC-3 right rear club tire. The cost … wait for it … a whopping $135 each. Even at that price, most car owners thought the price was outlandish. You can imagine what they are thinking now. We need a time machine.

2023 NARC SCHEDULE: Yes, it’s aggressive, featuring twenty-four races at 15 different tracks. Among those shows are new additions at Antioch Speedway (April 29^th) and Brian Crockett’s Douglas County Dirtrack in Roseburg, Oregon. This is the same Douglas County track that was best known for stock cars on a paved 3/8 mile. I guess if you can “pave” a dirt track, you can “dirt” a paved track. That’s exactly what Crockett managed to pull off. Test runs have been impressive and now it’s the second stop on the Fastest Four Days in Motorsports. That blast of racing will be a lead up to an exciting stretch of seven NARC events in ten days. It looks something like this:

Thursday, June 15^th – Southern Oregon Speedway (Central Point, OR) - Thursday Night Thunder
Friday, June 16^th – Douglas County Dirtrack (Roseburg, OR) - Friday Night Frenzy
Saturday, June 17^th – Willamette Speedway (Lebanon, OR) - Sprint Car Invasion
Sunday, June 18^th – Grays Harbor Raceway (Elma, WA) - Timber Cup
Monday, June 19^th – Sleep in, golf, and head to Skagit!
Tuesday, June 20^th – (NON-NARC POINTS RACE) Skagit Speedway - 410 Open Show
Wednesday, June 21^st – Participate in a variety of fan-friendly, non-racing activities at Skagit. Alcohol will probably be involved.
Thursday-Saturday, June 22-24^th – Skagit Speedway – $50,000 to win Super Dirt Cup (Burlington, WA)

There will be a boatload of money and some serious egos to feed during those ten days and I promise the adventure is worth the trip. Hopefully, if everything works out as planned and California crowds go from good to great this season, the Speedweek concept can return locally to the 2024 schedule..

Another NARC schedule change pertains to the Howard Kaeding Classic at Ocean Speedway. It was originally rolled out as a two-day 410 show. It’s back to Taco Bravo 360’s on Friday and NARC 410’s on Saturday.

NARC NOTES: Both nights of the May 12-13^th Peter Murphy Classic will take place at Keller Auto Speedway. In the past, the event was split between the Hanford track and Thunderbowl Raceway, with the tracks swapping the $11,000 to win Saturday headliner. With Peter Murphy firmly entrenched as the promoter at Keller, it only makes sense for the same track doubleheader. It will allow race fans to settle in and enjoy the entire weekend in one campground. … Tulare will now showcase the Dennis Roth Classic as a two-day show on April 14-15^th, with the winner taking home $8300 on Saturday night. Look for a possible announcement in the near future about a substantial bump to that amount. …

Fire Suppression Systems are mandatory on all left coast tracks by May 1^st. This includes 360 and 410’s. Rock screens are now mandatory beginning at the season opener. … Dish wings are no longer allowed on the West Coast. … …Thank you to former NARC HammerDown! Rookie of the year Jim Taves for sponsoring our second heat race in 2023. The winner of the Kimo’s Tropical Car Wash heat will pocket 100 bucks. … Calistoga Speedway has a heartbeat! All that needs to happen is for the locals to vote on a bond measure in March which will fund the maintenance of the facility. Tommy Hunt is optimistic. Fingers crossed. … 2023 rule books and membership forms can be downloaded at NARC410.com.

NARC DRIVER NOTES: Bud Kaeding will be strapping into Mike Martin’s champ car this season for a handful of races in the Midwest. It’s been a decade since Bud wheeled the big cars. … Congratulations to Kalib Henry who will living the dream on more of a national stage this year. The up and comer landed a ride with Shane Liebig to run for a title at Huset Speedway in North Dakota and other big profile events including the Knoxville Nationals. Yes, California lost another great young driver, but we will still see him at some big events on occasion in the McColloch Motorsports sprint car. … Congrats to Justin Sanders and Joel Myers Jr. for representing the US with some great “down under” victories. … As per Alex Nieten’s NARC Pit Personality story, Justyn Cox is the new shoe in the Bates-Hamilton Racing #42X. Look for this team to make a victory lane appearance at a track near you. … Here is something new out of the Tarlton Motorsports camp. The team is NOT planning to run a permanent driver during the 2023 season. Crew chief Drew Warner stated the team will utilize a “best driver available” approach. They will be chasing the NARC car owner championship.

OTHER STUFF: Watched a WWE event and a midget race broke out. Yup, that’s the best way to describe the Tulsa Shootout where more than 100 flips were matched with an equal number of punches. … It sure is good for our California egos by how well our drivers collectively performed at the Chili Bowl. At least there is some positive to come out of this state. … There is a new scoring tower/announcers booth/business center being constructed at Skagit Speedway. The original 1970-vintage tower was torn down as the improvements continue at the facility. … It’s hard not to get excited about the first ever $1 million to win sprint car show at Eldora. Fans went nuts on social media when they heard the news. Unfortunately, many thought this payout was going to happen with the standard $50 World of Outlaw ticket price. You can’t pay that much money without securing a sizeable increase at the front gate. It's business economics 101. Tickets are expected to be in the $150+ range. … Glad to see that the World of Outlaws and Kyle Larson’s High Limit Series worked out their differences. By the way, the High Limit race at Tulare was moved to March 21^st. … Our thoughts and prayers go out to Bill Andreetta of Sunnyvalley Smoked Meats, our trophy dash sponsor. Bill was recently diagnosed with cancer and is undergoing treatment in Arizona. … There will be plenty of opportunities to race 410 sprint cars on the West Coast. In addition to our schedule, Keller Auto Speedway has three 410 stand-alone shows – with a 360 twist! Peter Murphy has been actively envisioning some unique twist and turns for these 20-car main events, where 360’s will be given the opportunity to start up front. It will feature a standard NARC payoff. I don’t have all of the details yet, but a press release will roll out soon. …

And finally … It's scary how one’s life can change in a split-second. Our thoughts and prayers are still with the Bloomfield family. Their RV was crushed by an intoxicated driver as they were returning home from a 360 race in Merced before Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, Shannon Bloomfield took the full force of accident, resulting in an extensive list of broken bones and other injuries that seem impossible to comprehend. She is lucky to be alive. Dustin’s heartfelt posts on Facebook during the ordeal were enough to make grown men cry. Shannon faces a substantial recovery process – one I’m sure she will conquer – and it will be an honor to see her at a NARC event in the near future. Amen! …

We’ve only got a couple of months until the 2023 Mini-Gold Cup NARC season opener in Chico. In the meantime, you can find everything NARC on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok and NARC410.com. Don't miss a single day!

Coming to you live from Auburn, CA. See ya!

NARC NEWSLINE - September 30, 2022. By Jim Allen … For all of you loyal 410 sprint car fans out there, you probably noticed that our NARC schedule got a little choppy during the heat of the summer. From March through mid-July, the NARC Fujitsu General Sprint Car Series powered through 15-races like a runaway train … only to come to a screeching halt when the temperatures in the Central Valley hit triple-digits. That may have been a good thing or bad thing - depending on your perspective. When the original 27-race schedule was negotiated last December, there was supposed to be a smooth ebb and flow to the schedule. But then the two-day Louie Vermeil Classic dropped out. Then we subtracted three rain outs, two tire outs, and one high wind advisory out. That's way too many "outs!" Only one of those has been rescheduled. Barring a tornado, hurricane, or an unfilled tire supply chain, the Northern Auto Racing Club 2022 history book will eventually log 20-events this season. The best part of that is the final five racing events promise to rock your world. Need proof? Here is a little of what is on tap:

October 8^th – Morrie Williams Memorial at Keller Auto Speedway. It’s hard to believe this is already the third annual event honoring the late Mr. Williams. It may have been the only good thing to come out of the covid-year. What makes this show unique is it features a pair of 20-lap main events. One is lined up straight up by times (except for the inversion and finish of the dash.) The second main event is lined up completely inverted based on the finish of the first, except for lapped cars that go to the back. Although the first race is the only official NARC championship points race, the second event is the most unpredictable. The Swift Metal Hardcharger Award is guaranteed to be a tossup with many superheroes will be charging from the back.

Another way to end up in the back for the second feature is to change a tire or go to the pits after the first checkered waves. That means tire management is in play as these 40-laps must be run on the same set of tires. Wear out a Hoosier H-series right rear early in the night and you’ll be passed faster than a NHRA dragster blowing past a parade float. It will be interesting to see strategies put in play. All teams must pit in the designated infield pit area between events and will be given about 10-minutes to work on their cars – or the amount of time it takes me to interview the top three finishers – whatever comes first.

As usual, Ashley Smith has put forth a stellar effort to hustle up money for the show. Each 20-lapper will pay $3,000 to the winner and the overall champion will pocket $1000. Fast time is also worth $400, plus a custom timepiece courtesy of Katie Williams. The Champion Mechanic will pocket $400. Overall, there is more than $30,000 up grabs, plus a bevy of other awesome awards. Last year’s winners were NARC champ Dominic Scelzi and first-time NARC winner Mitchel Moles.

October 14^th – Anthony Simone Classic at you got it: Keller Auto Speedway again. The Simone race was rescheduled to become part of a rich Friday-Saturday NARC double-header weekend. Saturday’s show moves down the road 24-miles to Tulare for the inaugural Dennis Roth Classic. Due to the amount of racing taking place over the weekend (think tires) and the fact it is crunch time for teams chasing championship points, this show will only feature a winged 30-lap main event. The non-winged show will have to wait until 2023. I should point out that to qualify for the Simone headliner will take work – very quick work. The four heat races are only six laps in distance, lined straight up by qualifying times. The top two finishers qualify for the 10-car dash. That means the slightest hesitation at the start can be the difference between the first row of feature and lining up 20^th. The phrase “snooze, you lose” will become more than just an old saying if a driver doesn’t stomp on the pedal.

As far as the dash is concerned, it will consist of the eight transfers, plus the next two fastest qualifiers who finished in the top five in their heat. Those two can’t start any better than ninth and tenth in the 8-lap Sunnyvalley Bacon/Mr. Excitement Dash. If there are 30+ cars, there will be five no-holds barred heat races and only the top two advance to the dash. Although the official purse has yet to be announced, the 2021 Simone Classic paid $10,000 to winner Shane Golobic.

October 15^th – The Dennis Roth Classic at Thunderbowl Raceway. Finally! A long overdue and well-deserved event for his nationally-known car owner icon. Over the years, a total of 59 different drivers have piloted a number 83 Roth Motorsports sprint car, either locally or nationally with the Outlaws. In the process, Dennis Roth’s sprint cars have won 100’s of high-profile sprint car events, including the 1998 Knoxville Nationals. For his contributions he was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame. What was really missing was a local event in his backyard and now we have it. This one will have a lot of flair and Beef Packers protein. In addition to prize money, the driver who sets quick time will earn ten pounds of New York Strip steak. Each heat race winner will get an ice chest with 20 lbs. of Tri-Tip. In addition to a $8,300 paycheck, the man standing on the podium at the end of the night will take home 30 pounds of Ribeye. It’s a meat-fest in this $830 to start A-Main. And let us not forget about the dash winner who will earn ten pounds of Sunnyvalley Bacon. Anybody posting a clean sweep may need to get their cholesterol checked in a couple of weeks. When you add it all up, the purse will be over $35,000.

Speaking of the aforementioned 1998 Knoxville Nationals, that #83 ride has been fully restored to its original condition. It will be used as the pace vehicle at the event – driven by none other than Brent Kaeding.

Backtracking to the 59-drivers, there is one awesome Dennis Roth Classic t-shirt in the making which will read like a Hall of Fame in its own right. A special autograph session will take place around 4:00 p.m. under the grandstands with the likes of former Roth drivers Joey Saldana, Paul McMahan, Brent Kaeding, Dominic Scelzi, Shane Golobic, Tim Kaeding, Mitchel Moles, Kyle Hirst, and Jonathan Allard. All will be sporting commemorative hero cards so don’t miss out.

This Roth show also features the Kings of Thunder 360’s, just a week before the Trophy Cup, so you can expect a gaggle, or herd, or pack, or whatever you call a ton of cars at the Thunderbowl. Double duty will be the name of the game for many teams doing a little TC tune-up!

October 29^th – The Sprint Car Showdown at the Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park. NARC will make the trip down I-5 to Bakersfield for their lone appearance at the 1/3-mile oval. The Sprint Car Showdown pays $3500 to win, $500 to start the A, AND, every team will also receive a $100 gift card courtesy of Fujitsu General Heating & Air Conditioning. If you haven’t been to this track yet, it’s time for a road trip. The Dirt Track is always multi-grooved and racy and worth the price of admission.

November 5^th – The Tribute to Gary Patterson at the Stockton Dirt Track. This popular show has taken another step towards greatness with its new Triple Crown status. Three championships will be finalized on this night and the Stockton grandstands and pits should be packed. This program will decide the titles for the JW Hunt Wingless Series, the Sprint Car Challenge Tour and of course, the NARC Fujitsu General 410 series. It doesn’t get much better than that.

NARC CHAMPIONSHIP CELEBRATION: Another good thing about the NARC season is that when it’s over – it’s really over! No waiting a couple of months for point fund checks with a post-Holiday hangover. The Stockton Triple Crown is Saturday night and the awards celebration crowning of our "King of the West" champ takes place the next afternoon at a local country club.

It all takes place on Sunday, November 6^th at the private Brookside Country Club (one of the few places I have not golfed at.). Fans, promoters, sponsors, heck - EVERYBODY - is invited until the fire department says we have 140 people in attendance. The show includes a massive brunch spread, tons of videos, a fair share of comedic events, an auction for the NARC Benevolent Fund, championship awards for the top ten and a preview of what is in store for 2023. Teams in the top 15 in points can reserve a table for eight at a discounted rate of only $200 (if purchased by October 15^th.) Otherwise, tickets are $50 each. To get yours contact me at 714-397-7417.

NARC NOTES: Yes, it was depressing that we missed racing at the Louie Vermeil Classic again. But it might have been a slight reprieve as it was 113 degrees over the Labor Day weekend at Calistoga Speedway. There is slow progress taking place between the City and the County regarding the sale and getting the historic half-mile opened up again. The key word in the sentence is "slow." And even when the ink dries on the contract, there will be a ton of work to do to get the place race ready. Need proof? Check out the August 29^th post on our Facebook page. Mother nature has taken over anything that resembles dirt with 3’ tall weeds. It’s heartbreaking in its own right. …

First, it’s Kanye and Kim. Who is next? Tom and Gisele? Maybe! How about car owners Joshua Bates and Roger Hamilton who split the sheets with Tim Kaeding. They enjoyed a nice five-year run together, which is an eternity in the sprint car world. Sometimes change is good as proven by that statement made by my lawyer to my first-wife. … The Bates-Hamilton team will be looking for a new pilot, and TK will search for a ride that can get him 13 more wins and a chance to pass Brent Kaeding on the all-time win list. … The future is extremely bright for sprint car racing as was proven during the Outlaws West Coast swing. Blake Carrick, Ryan Timms, Max Mittry, Corey Day and Joel Myers Jr. all put together stellar performances against the big boys. Along those lines, Carrick, Timms, Mittry and Myers are overdue for their first NARC win. Who is going to be first? … Joel Myers Jr. will be headed to New Zealand in December for their sprint car season. How cool is that for a 16-year-old? Have you ever noticed there is a substantial amount of moaning, groaning and sometimes a bit of whining, during the pill draws for qualifying order? Some want an early number; others want a late number. That mentality may change during the final five events of the season because Mettec Titanium is now paying $100 to the driver who pulls the number one pill (or the lowest number). That right, all you must do is pull the lowest number. Mettec and Dirk Van Cott also sponsor the NARC lap leader award which pays $10 for every lap led in the feature. …

… Dominic Scelzi is the current NARC point leader. He holds a manageable 34-point lead over Willie Croft in his quest for his second consecutive NARC title. Scelzi started the season red hot, stringing four wins in a row at one point, but Croft has actually scored more points during the past five shows (519-509.) So has Bud Kaeding and Mitchell Faccinto, Shane Golobic, Tim Kaeding and DJ Netto. What does all that mean? How about anything is possible - and I have a calculator. ... Idaho driver Logan Forler should finish in the top ten in NARC points if he competes at the final five races. That would be a nice accomplishment.

RANDOM OPEN WHEEL NOTES: Pennsylvania has the Posse when the Outlaws come to town. California teams need a nickname as well. The "California Cartel" made a short run and continues to circulate, but is that really our top choice? Got any ideas? … How many of you have played the new World of Outlaw: Dirt Racing game on PS or Xbox? It’s addictive, especially with several Golden Stater's represented in the game! … How cool is it that Carson Macedo has won 11 WoO features this season? He will soon be nipping at the door of his first national championship. BTW, it would have been 12 wins had it not been for a “bump and run” at the Hanford show. … Watching the scary cockpit fire in the Tarlton Motorsports 21 driven by Caeden Steele at Hanford was enough to make my heart jump out of my chest. Caeden has serious burns on his legs and has a lengthy recovery process ahead of him. Our hero of the month award goes to DJ Netto who came to Caeden rescue in a valid effort to smother the flames before safety crews arrived. This is why fire suppression devices will be mandatory in sprint cars in the very near future. Get well Caeden. ... Austen Wheatley, who was seriously banged up at the Dirt Cup at Skagit in a frightening accident, has reported his recovery is on track. His ribs have healed enough that he can start physical therapy and strength training. Good to hear!

Coming to you live from Auburn, CA. We will catch up at a track near you. See ya!

NARC NEWSLINE – MAY 21, 2022, By Jim Allen … Let’s be honest, chasing championship points is by far the hardest thing to do in motorsports. It takes mettle, perseverance and a never-ending personal sacrifice by not only the driver and car owner, but for everybody involved with the team. Some view it as fun, like a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Others have done it long enough that it has become a J – O – B. Either way, you need a team that loves demanding work and long hours because it will consume a lifetime.

The man who did it the best in the Northern Auto Racing Club’s history books was Brent Kaeding. His impressive resume’ featured 13 NARC championships, 13 more King of California titles and his induction into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame. In one word, that’s called a "DYNASTY." He dominated like Tiger Woods did in his heyday. It was all about fighting and clawing for top five finishes, and always being in position to take advantage of luck if it happened to come his way. And when a top five just wasn't possible, just finishing anywhere but last was the mission. BK, Billy Albini, and the Hogs set the standard for sprint car racing in California, the same way Michael Jordan did in basketball.

So where is all this leading? After MJ came LeBron. Each generation has its own stars and heroes, and we might be in the preliminary stages of witnessing the making of another dynasty. True, the NARC Fujitsu General Sprint Car Series has only four races under its belt this season, but it’s hard to ignore that Dominic Scelzi, Jimmy Carr, and his crew are up to something good. A pair of feature wins at the Peter Murphy Classic, a runner-up at the season opener and a third-place outing at the Tarter Memorial is worthy of that attention. Championship hangover? Forget about it! The Scelzi Motorsports #41 team is out having fun, which produces momentum and that becomes almost unbeatable.

Scelzi’s efforts last weekend at the Peter Murphy Classic were like a sprint car version of Groundhog Day. (For you millennials who don’t know what Groundhog Day is, it was a movie in 1993, where everyday repeated itself, but only got better. Goggle it.) He became the first driver to deposit a pair of $11,000 paydays from the PMC! His win on Saturday came after starting 12^th and doing the proverbial fighting and clawing to the front. When Corey Day and Justin Sanders got together and crashed during a heated battle for the lead, Scelzi was in position to take advantage of luck when it happened to come his way. Sound familiar?

As a final parting note, Dominic Scelzi's pit crew needs a nickname. Any ideas?

THE FASTEST FOUR DAYS IN MOTORSPORTS: Many of us circled this blast of NARC Memorial Day weekend races on the schedule immediately after it was announced. Well, it’s finally here, meaning it's time to head North for a Thursday, May 26^th outing at Southern Oregon Speedway. This will be followed by a Friday show at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, OR and a two-day Timber Cup finale at Grays Harbor Raceway on May 28-29^th. And since it is the Pacific Northwest, we always had a rain date in our pocket (Monday, May 30^th if needed.) The weather in the PNW is always sketchy, but we knew that in advance. For added incentive, there is a $40,000 bonus on the line for any driver who can win all four races. Three out of four races still earn a $5000 kicker, so NARC teams are focusing in on the possibilities.

I know I have covered most of this before, but here are some of the Fastest Four Days in Motorsports basics: Camping is available at all three tracks. Race car haulers can stay in the pit area overnight. … Tickets for all three facilities are available online and presales are looking good right now. … There is an Elma Raceway Hall of Fame barbecue at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, May 29^th at Grays Harbor Raceway. It will be held in the Borden Building (AKA … the Dog Barn). Drivers eat free and donations are accepted. … At 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, all the NARC teams will convoy to Elma High School to stage for the Elma’s Salute to the Red, White & Blue parade. The parade will start at 1:00 p.m. and will go on a leisurely jaunt through downtown, before race teams get herded right back into the pit area. … Among the teams committed to make the trip are DJ Netto (Netto 88N), Mitchell Faccinto (Tarlton 21), Billy Aton (Aton 26), Joel Myers Jr. (Vertullo 82V), Bud Kaeding (BK Racing 69), Dominic Scelzi (Scelzi 41), Willie Croft (Croft 29), Tim Kaeding (Bates-Hamilton 42X), Shane Golobic (Wood 17W), Justin Sanders (Mittry 2X); Max Mittry (Mittry 2XM), Colby Copeland (Antaya 16A), Logan Forler (Forler 2L), Tanner Holmes (Holmes 18T), Nick Parker (Parker 15), Garen Linder (22), and others!

NARC NOTES: Kalib Henry posted his first career NARC top five finish in the McCollough RV 17 at the Peter Murphy finale. It wasn’t like he started up front and just held on. He began his adventure in 17^th and earned the Swift Metal Finishing Hardcharger award, finishing fifth … Another driver who continues to impress is Landon Brooks. In his four NARC races aboard the Vanlare 5V sprint car, he has been in the dash on three of those nights. … There was a noticeable change in 410 car counts at the PMC. Thirty-one cars competed on Saturday night. Only 24 in 2021. … Craig Stidham still has “it.” He earned the Swift Metal Finishing Hardcharger award on night one of the PMC. He started 19^th and finished fifth. It was his first top five finish since 2017. It was worth $450. …

… Tim Kaeding and the Bates-Hamilton Racing Team took a beating at the PMC. The team crashed both nights and TK was visibly hurt after his second night spill. Friday’s night tumble happened with only two-laps remaining in the Thunderbowl feature. Saturday’s spill was on the other end of the spectrum when he crashed on his second qualifying lap. TK was already second fast time on his first qualifying lap. After sitting in the back of the ambulance for a couple minutes, he actually raced in his heat race, but it was very painful. To quote him directly, “my back is killing me.” By design, TK started the main and pulled in after one lap. It serves as a reminder that this is a dangerous sport. … Tanner Holmes and Joel Myers Jr. also took ugly spills at the Thunderbowl. The 18T team accessed the damage and loaded up and headed back home to Oregon to regroup for the Fastest Four Days in Motorsports. If you haven’t checked out Tanner’s social media efforts, go look. Fun and informative. …The Dave Vertullo team burned the midnight oil and rebuilt to race on Saturday. …

… The fine people at Karsyn Construction in Fresno made things interesting. With Saturday’s show already paying $11,000 to the winner, Karsyn offered up the possibility of doubling it. The offer on the table was to give the top two finishers in the pole shuffle the option to start at the back of the pack. If one of them pulled off the win, it would be a $22,000 payday. Justin Sanders said it wasn't worth the risk based on his current starting spot in Paul Silva-wrenched #57. ... Kerry Madsen message was about the same. He stated that the Roth Motorsports Toyota R&D team is looking to score wins and it’s slightly easier to do it when starting up front. … If you haven’t been to Pete’s Pub at Hanford in the pit area before the races, you are missing out. Fans get a chance to enjoy food and beer, hang at the drivers meeting, listen to interviews, and rub elbows with their favorite drivers. More racing facilities are rolling out the Happy Hour events for fans. We need more of that. …

… What was more fun to watch? Max Mittry during the pole shuffle, or his dad Demo Mittry animated body language as he jumped up and down and flayed his arms while rooting for his son on from the infield. Demo wins this one in a landslide. Speaking of the Pole Shuffle, here is how it went: Max Mittry outran Landon Brooks in the first round and moved on to oust DJ Netto in the second. The veteran Kerry Madsen finally stopped the 16-year-old streak and used that momentum to outrun another 16-year-old Corey Day. Justin Sanders held his own in the Works Limited 57 to win the Pole Shuffle over Madsen … Max Mittry ended the night in sixth – his best career NARC finish. It came in only his fourth start in a 410-sprint car. The future is looking bright.

HOOSIER TIRES: While social media is mostly ablaze with negative opinions and comments on tire availability, teams in California are coping with the current situation. However, you wouldn't know that if you read the comments of a super-opinionated few.

Are all those in the racing community aware that the supply chain is a little sporadic? Absolutely! Are racing sanctioning bodies, promoters, and Hoosier Tires fighting through the situation? Absolutely! Are all parties actively working on solving this issue? Absolutely! (Today's word is ABSOLUTELY!)

Most active sprint car teams have always played to their comfort level with a large pile of tires at their disposal. The main difference in today’s world is that most rigs are not hauling around their usual stockpile of 15+ tires - which makes some uncomfortable. However, tire hoarding by just a few teams will only make things worse. If you need an example, just flashback to the toilet paper scenario in 2020. It should be publicized that nobody in California has been sidelined because of a lack of tires. Compliments go out to Hoosier Tire West, who are stepping up and paying gigantic freight bills to express ship tires to the Golden State. It doesn't make much financial sense to do that, but they are doing the right thing to help the racers. Trust me, they want this issue resolved immediately also. If everybody cooperates and works together, we can make it through the 2022 campaign without cancelling any events. Once again, everybody is working on it and the only thing that will fix it is time to fill the pipeline. Please don’t trash sponsors on social media. It only makes things worse.

As of right now, the NARC tire rule spelled out in the rulebook is still in place. The HTW tire burn off period is in full effect until June 1^st. After that, only the H-tire package are allowed. Peter Murphy is adamant that Super Dirt Cup be competed on a level playing field. That means the H-tire package will be the only tire run at the three-day show in late June. Can any of this be changed in the future if something happens? Absolutely, but it will be addressed on a race-by-race basis.

FROM THIS WEEK’S FYI DEPARTMENT: We are missing Sean Watts on this year’s NARC tour. Sean sold his 410 motor to Chase Johnson and needs a motor and sponsorship-backing to return. He still has a 360 so race fans will see him at select events. … The Keller Motorsports team was looking forward to competing in about 20 410 events this season. Unfortunately, early season problem at the Outlaw shows sidelined both of their powerplants. They hope to get them back in August with JJ Ringo behind the wheel. … Colby Copeland’s victory at the April 2^nd Stockton season opener was his third NARC win of his career. Corey Day also scored his third career victory of his short NARC career at the Tarter Memorial at Chico. As a follow-up that race, with his impressive flag-to-flag run, Day took home half of the $3500 in lap money up for grabs. Here is the breakdown: Corey Day ($1750); Justin Sanders ($760); Landon Brooks ($570); Dominic Scelzi ($220); Blake Carrick ($140); and Sean Becker ($60). We thank the Tarter Family, their foundation, and all the sponsors who supported this magnificent event. … Speaking of lap sponsorships, all the laps are sold for the June 11^th Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial race. However, we are still looking for additional race sponsors. If you would like to get involved, please contact Karen Bradway Tuccelli on Facebook. … Tickets for the June 23-25^th Super Dirt Cup are available through the track website. What are you waiting for? This event pays a staggering $50,000 to Saturday nights winner.

Coming to you live from Auburn, CA. See ya!

NARC NEWSLINE - March 30, 2022 - By Jim Allen ... In today’s racing world, the offseason seems to get shorter and shorter. It goes something like this: You wave the checkered at the final event, you stage an awards banquet, you wolf down some Turkey, negotiate a schedule, exchange some Christmas presents, set some New Year’s resolutions, buy some flowers for Valentines Day ... and BAMM … it’s racing season again. The turnaround barely allows enough time to dial in the details. And that applies whether you are a sprint car team, a track promoter, a sponsor, or a racing organization like us. But like almost every reality show, everybody seems to step up their game when there is a pressing deadline, like a NARC Fujitsu General USA Sprint Car season opener. With that in mind, here is a hit list of topics you may want to know about as you dial in your travel details:

2022 NARC SCHEDULE: For those of you perpetually stuck watching TikTok videos, there was a recent announcement regarding the 2022 Louie Vermeil Classic. There was bad news and good news. The bad news was that HMC Promotions announced that the awesome two-day event will not be run in 2022. A Chico-sequel didn’t make financial sense and Calistoga Speedway hasn’t reopened yet. The good news is that Tommy Hunt & Company are actively working to drive the process to get Calistoga Speedway open again with a full slate of events in 2023. There is a SAVE CALISTOGA SPEEDWAY campaign that could use your help. At this point, you race fans only have two choices: Condos ... or ... the best half-mile race track in California. I'll take Calistoga Speedway for $500 Alex. Log in to help HERE!

If you do the math the same way as I do, that means the official NARC campaign will consist of 25 racing events in 2022. We will not be replacing the Labor Day dates with another venue. When you add it all up, the NARC Sprint Cars will be racing for more than $800,000 in purse money, cash awards and product contingencies. That's a huge WIN!

BANG FOR THE BUCK: The Fastest Four Days in Motorsports just got more interesting. How interesting? How about $40,000 interesting in the form of a potential bonus to any driver who can sweep all four of the events. The Lloyd’s of London insurance policy is betting against the house on this one, figuring a lot that can happen at three different tracks in four consecutive days. Let's hope the stars line up for one of our drivers to do the “happy dance” in Grays Harbor Raceway’s victory lane on May 29th. There is also a possible step-down bonus. If a driver picks off three of the four shows, they can pocket an extra $5000 from Mr. Lloyds of London. (NOTE: It's one, or the other, not both.) For those needing a refresher, the four races are at Southern Oregon Speedway on Thursday, May 26th, followed by a Friday show at Willamette Speedway, and the May 28th and 29th shows at Grays Harbor. For win-list comparison purposes, the 2019 version of the FFDM produced four different winners. The 2021 edition produced three. As of right now, we have 15 California teams committed to this adventure, plus several locals.

Bob Montoya of Swift Metal Finishing has also kicked in an additional $500 to the team that can pass the most cars during those four races. That is on top of the regular Hardcharger Award that he sponsors to the tune of $150 per night. Throw in travel money for California teams and some healthy purses and it should be a great Memorial Day weekend.

By the way, there will be a race car hauler "Salute to the Red, White & Blue Parade" down main street in Elma, WA between the two-day newly-labeled FFDM Timber Cup shows Grays Harbor. For those of you who haven’t been there, Elma's sort of a "one stop light" kind of town (pop, 3300 or so) where the population triples on race day. The parade is Sunday. All NARC teams will be herded out of the pits to a high noon staging area at the Elma High School parking lot. It will dish up a nice dose of small-town Americana.

WHAT IF?: California continues to be the hotbed for great young open wheel talent. Unfortunately for us, that talent gets recognized on a national level and with a blink of an eye, they are gone. Just think what California 410 sprint car racing would be today if the likes of Buddy Kofoid, Gio Scelzi, Mitchell Moles, Cole Macedo were weekly warriors. Can’t fault any of them, because they are “living the dream.” Congrats to Giovanni on his two CA Outlaw wins. Keep your eyes on 16-year-old's Joel Myers Jr. and Max Mittry!

NARC STUFF: Here is an unusual moment in California sprint car history: Two of the biggest powerhouses in NARC motorsports … Roth Motorsports & Tarlton Motorsports are entering the 2022 campaign with drivers who have only three career NARC victories between them. How is that even possible? Don’t expect that to last very long though, because their drivers and equipment are really good. To date, Mitchell Faccinto has parked it three times in NARC victory lane and Australian Kerry Madsen is basically making his first foray on the NARC campaign. That is the same 50-year-old Kerry Madsen who has 28 World of Outlaw wins on his impressive resume’. The Roth cars are powered by Toyota-powerplants. If you are a betting man, take the ”over” at six wins this season for the Roth's and Tarltons. … It’s going to be nice to see Justyn “Indiana” Cox a few more times this year with NARC. His team is getting their two 410 motors back in May. For those of you who might not remember, Indiana finished third in final King of the West standings in 2016 behind Kyle Hirst and Bud Kaeding. … Australian Jessie Attard will be rolling into California in May with his race car team. He plans to race with us throughout the summer. Nobody will dispute that he was extremely fast last season. Just needs a break or two. … The Kimo's Tropical Car Wash Pit Crew Competition has been moved to June 10th at Ocean Speedway. $1000 is on the line for three teams; $500 to the winner! The first entry is the Mike Phulps Motorsports team.

... Hoosier Racing Tires is working their tails off to manufacture tires, but don't be surprised if there is a bump or two in the road (like everything these days.) The Hoosier team is very proactive in the process because nobody wants tire availability to become an issue. ... Motors are another issue. If you wanted to buy a 410 motor right now – or for that matter, a 360 block – it’s slim pickings right now. … Let's hope that gas prices drop soon for everybody's sake. ... The NARC410.com website has undergone a nice facelift during the off season. It's also ADA compliant. Use it as a resource for news on everything we do! To day, the site has been accessed by 409,000+ unique users. Now, if we can just get all of you to the race track! ... Stockton Dirt Track promoter Tony Noceti is hard at work repositioning and realigning his track lighting. He also added 10 new LED lights and has plans to add 10 more in the weeks to come! On the PR side of things, Noceti also got his racing highlight show going on local Sacramento-Stockton station FOX40. Its called "Racing with Lovotti," and features highlights from the Dirt Track and Stockton 99 Speedway. You can expect to see NARC highlights from our April 2nd show on Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. Make sure you tune in! ...

NARC NOTES: Dan Belton will be our Director of Competition this season. Mike Andreetta, who suffered a health scare in September, has been moved into a new Race Coordinator position. He will be driving safety compliance with competitors, conducting technical inspections and providing driver coaching. … We welcome Darryck Fairbanks to our team as our Pit Manager. … Brian and Alicia Garges will also be on the NARC staff when their schedule doesn't conflict with other racing events. ... Make sure you play in NARC’s fantasy league on MyRacePass.com this season. Log-in and pick your drivers before qualifying. We will be announcing prize packages shortly. … We've got a new look and a new logo this season. Make sure you invest in some NARC apparel from Jim Gardner of Bullet Impressions at the season opener. You can also shop online at onefasttee.com ... Thank you to all of the 28 sponsors who partnered with the NARC series this season.

BRADWAY MEMORIAL: The ever-popular Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial race at Placerville Speedway is about seven weekends away – June 12th to be exact. As you are aware, the event-promotion torch was passed from Dave and Dianne Durica to Julie Bradway Tuccelli last season. That transition was seamless so let’s make sure your support of this event is seamless as well. If you would like to sponsor a lap in the 40-lap feature or B-Main ($100), please contact Julie at kaytee17@comcast.net or by phone: 916-749-0556. You can also kick in money to the Hardcharger award, heat race winners, the semi-main, or whatever floats your boat, or opens your wallet. ... By the way, this will be NARC's only visit to Knoxville on the Hill this season and it's a combo event with the Sprint Car Challenge Tour 360's. It promises to be a great show.

SEASON PREDICTIONS & STUFF TO GET YOU THINKING: Chase Johnson will win his first NARC race this season at a place not named Petaluma Speedway. Both of his wins have come at the 3/8 mile oval. … Potential first-time winners on the NARC tour this season? Definitely Kerry Madsen. Let’s also add Michael Faccinto, Joel Myers Jr., Logan Forler, Tanner Holmes, and Tanner Carrick to the list. … With three victories, defending champion Dominic Scelzi would pass Tyler Walker for seventh place on the all-time list. … Tim Kaeding needs only 13 victories to tie Brent Kaeding on the same all-time NARC-King of the West win list. How many years of racing do you think it will take? … Willie Croft is overdue for a NARC victory. The last time he scored a “W” was at the May 5, 2019 Dave Bradway Jr. race in Chico. Croft plans to run the entire NARC schedule. … Brandon “Bud” Kaeding is also looking to end a NARC victory drought that dates back to August 2019. When you have a last name of Kaeding, that is an eternity. Let’s go Brandon! … Idaho’s Logan Forler is also planning to tackle the entire 2022 NARC campaign. He last competed with the King of the West series in 2014. He’s got over 30 feature wins to his credit, many with the ASCS. … Defending champ series champ Dominic Scelzi will have his hands full with multiple contenders this season. Can he make it two championships in a row? Crew chief Jimmy Carr thinks so! ... Who will win their second NARC feature event first? Sean Watts or Billy Aton? Place your bets! ... Do you think that Corey Day can double his win total of last season? Based on his recent runner-up finish with the WoO, it's an automatic. ... Justin Sanders will win four NARC races in at least two different cars. ...

So now it's officially time to get geared up for NARC's 2022 championship campaign. We’ve got the Stockton Dirt Track NARC season opener on Saturday, April 2nd. There will be a $6000 winners payday on the line for the winner of the Third Annual Asparagus Cup. We will back that up with a lucrative and always entertaining show in Hanford -- the Anthony Simone Classic. We cap off the month at Silver Dollar Speedway with the Tenth Annual David Tarter Memorial. Don’t miss a single of them. Make sure you bring a friend.

Coming to you live from Auburn, CA, see ya!

NARC NEWSLINE, January 6, 2022, By Jim Allen … It’s been a busy off-season for the Northern Auto Racing Club (NARC) and many of this organizations New Year’s resolutions are about to become reality in 2022. That means more races with one of the most aggressive and big-show laden schedules in recent memory. The 27-event campaign is set to roll into 15 different facilities, including five which are not even in California. No, that is not a misprint. Yes, the NARC sprint cars will be headed to Oregon and Washington a couple of times this year.

The game plan was to maximize the 410-sprint car racing footprint on the West Coast. This can be best interpreted as streamlining rules with other national touring groups and competing for big-purses with a schedule that is not as choppy as it has been in recent years. All we need for total success is for this pandemic to fade away, weather to cooperate, and fans to come out and support us with big numbers. That's not much to ask.

The Stockton Dirt Track bookends of this annual crusade are the April 2nd $6,000 to win “Duel at the Dirt Track” and the November 5th 39th Annual Tribute to Gary Patterson. And like an Oreo cookie, there is a whole lot of good stuff in between. Whether it’s the Peter Murphy Classic and Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial or the Morrie Williams Twin-20’s and the Howard Kaeding Classic, it’s all got star power. Another overdue and very welcome addition to the schedule is the creation of the October 15th $8,300 to win Dennis Roth Classic. Few, if any, can match the contributions this man has made to open wheel racing, and it is an honor to put him on the pedestal. The David Tarter Memorial in Chico is also back as a 410 race on April 30th and the second-annual winged & non-wing Anthony Simone Classic will cash out at $10,000 to the winger winner. Here is a collection of other schedule highlights:

FASTEST FOUR DAYS IN MOTORSPORTS – PACIFIC NORTHWEST EDITION: This four-day blast was three-years in the making. It was originally planned for 2020, but somebody ate a raw bat in Wuhan and coughed and we all had to stay home. And 2021 was too soon to take any chances. So here we are in 2022 with the Fastest Four Days in Motorsports headed to the Pacific Northwest over the Memorial Day weekend (May 26-29.) And let me tell you, the promoters up there view us as a breath of fresh air and are more excited to see us than Cousin Eddie was to see the Griswold’s visit in National Lampoons Vacation.

This adventure features $5,000 to win shows at Southern Oregon Speedway (May 26 - Central Point, OR), Willamette Speedway (May 27 - Lebanon, OR); and a pair at Bert Johnson’s Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Washington (May 28-29). That’s a Thursday through Sunday for those of you taking notes. Monday is a rain date if needed. Tickets can be purchased online shortly, and camping is going to be available across the board. With that in mind, it’s time to expand your horizons by marking your calendar for a trip to some new places.

There are tentative plans for a point fund and a special bonus for a four-race sweep by a single team. Also, a special BBQ/luncheon by the Elma Auto Racing Hall of Fame is being worked into the two-day show at Grays Harbor. More on that later.

As far as race teams go, the first 15 NARC teams from California to officially commit to the FFDM will EACH be paid $1000 in travel money and have a guaranteed (minimum) winnings of $2,500 for the four-day road trip. A commitment is an email (info@NARC410.com) and a 2022 membership. So far, and this is the first “official” announcement outside of our December 14th Zoom general meeting, DJ Netto (Netto 88N), Willie Croft (Croft 29), Bud Kaeding (Kaeding 69), Mitchell Faccinto (Tarlton 21), Billy Aton (Aton26), Joel Myers Jr. (Vertullo 83V) and Mike Phulps 56 car (Driver TBA) are among those committed. The next eight will come just as quick. Membership forms can be found at NARC410.com

50TH ANNUAL JIM RAPER DIRT CUP: What is happening up at Skagit Speedway in Burlington, WA these days is simply amazing. As we all know, once businessman and car owner Kevin Rudeen gets involved with a project, it reaches a whole new level. Rudeen and car owner Mike Anderson purchased the place from Steve Beitler and added Hanford’s Peter Murphy to the promotional team. Now they are figuratively – “off to the races.” Their company is appropriately named “Fifty-five Promotions,” tying the three together via car numbers. Rudeen is best-known for his number 26 car; Anderson owns the Shaylen Raye 18, and Murphy and the number 11 go together like peanut butter and jelly. Add it all up and there is a plan to totally transform Skagit into a West Coast version of Knoxville or Eldora. Or to clarify even further, a West Coast 410 version of Knoxville or Eldora. Think about that for a second! That’s pretty cool!

What’s even better than that is the NARC sprint cars are involved. The June 23-25th Dirt Cup are King of the West championship points races. Although the total purse amounts haven’t been published, the three-day show is expected to pay close to a quarter of a million dollars, including a $50,000 payday to the 50th Anniversary Jim Raper Dirt Cup winner. Those both would be NARC records. And once again, the Dirt Cup is back as a 410 event.

To help support the Dirt Cup process, the new Brad Sweet-Kyle Larson-Colby Copeland venture at Silver Dollar Speedway booked a Friday night (June 17th) “Road to the Dirt Cup” Chico event. Cottage Grove Speedway in Oregon follows that up with a “Battle at the Bullring” Saturday show on the 18th. Those two are also NARC events. And just to make sure nobody gets bored hanging out during the week, Fifty-Five Promotions has added a non-sanctioned Monday night show at Skagit.

When you start working together the pieces, you can see there are wonderful things on tap for 410 sprint car racing on the West Coast. You’ve got NARC’s efforts, promoters stepping up to make 410 racing more lucrative, plus Skagit’s efforts, and Brad Sweet’s plan to rebuild the Gold Cup to its three-days of Outlaws glory days. Those are all WINS and we are just getting started.

OTHER SCHEDULE NOTES: When not dodging rainstorms this winter, Rick Faeth has been busy with improvements at Petaluma Speedway. This includes reshaping the 3/8-mile oval and making changes that will improve competitor safety. … The Louie Vermeil Classic is still looking for a "temporary" place to call home. According to the official NARC calendar, the two-day NARC/USAC-CRA extravaganza is slated for September 3-4th but still shows as “location TBA.” There are no plans for a LVC sequel in Chico. In a true test of our patience, and the challenging work of Tommy Hunt, Calistoga Speedway and the Napa County Fairgrounds are still stuck in non-operational bureaucracy limbo. (It’s California, try to act surprised!) In the meantime, the popular event is homeless. Keep your fingers crossed and hope HMC Promotions makes an announcement soon.

Not that anyone wants it, but in my opinion, the longer the city of Calistoga doesn’t hear the sounds of motors, the greater the chance it has of listening to a construction site building over-priced condominium’s on what was once the greatest half-mile track in the Golden State. While we wait, someone needs to secure the future use of corn harvester. If the half-mile does get an eventual greenlight, it will take a significant amount of work to mow down the cornstalk-tall weeds on what was once the racing surface. … Schedules can be downloaded on the NARC410.com website. Speaking of which, our website is in the process of getting a facelift. It’s going to be even easier to get the information you need.

RULE CHANGES: NARC has changed the existing tire rule to the Hoosier “H-series” tire package. This is a move that had been on the Hoosier table for a few years, but the timing wasn’t right. However, tire shortages made it an easy transition away from the HTW tires. Team will have until June 1st to burn off any existing HTW inventory, before the H15 and H12 tire package becomes mandatory. This will allow for an easy tire and wheel conversion for local teams when the Outlaws come to town. Teams can begin running these tires at the season opener if they desire. All the other winged sprint car sanctioning bodies and tracks in California have adopted the same rule. … There is also a strong push to only allow “flat-top” wings and make “dish-top” wings obsolete. A handful of tracks will require the flat wings at their tracks (similar to a specific muffler rule), after June 1st. NARC will make flat-top wings mandatory in 2023, since wearing out wings is harder than burning off tires. (“Hey buddy, you need to flip at least once before June 1st!”) … Fire suppression systems are highly recommended this season and will be required next year. Competitor safety is key to our success.

MUSICAL CHAIRS: If you didn’t pick it off earlier in this column, we have some new faces in new places. David Vertullo, who has a great reputation for providing top young talent (aka - Kyle Larson & others) a shot in the big show, has partnered up with 15-year Joel Myers Jr. in 2022. It should be an interesting pairing with a nightly shot at victory lane. … Mitchell Faccinto is now the man in black in the Tarlton Motorsports 21. With longtime Tarlton crew chief Paul Baines moving up the road to the Roth Motorsports team, Mitchell will have brother-in-law Drew Warner turning the wrenches. An early season prediction for this team will see Mitchell doubling his three career NARC-KWS victories this season. … That means DJ Netto is looking for a crew chief. … Sean Becker and Chase Johnson are looking for 410 rides. … Stan Greenberg has an open seat in his #37 car. …

NARC NOTES: Open wheel racing lost two of its icons in December with the passing of promoter John Padjen and car owner Clyde Lamar. Their exploits were legendary and helped shape sprint car racing in California. May we continue to build on the foundation they helped lay. … MyRacePass.com will be the official scoring software for NARC this season. Drivers need to go online and claim their profile, if they haven't already done so. … Tire prices are going up, but then again, what isn’t going up? … Here’s a trivia question we hope we never want to hear in our lifetime: “Who won the last race ever run at Calistoga?” … All of our races will be on Floracing.com.

And finally ..., as part of our five-year business plan, NARC (Northern Auto Racing Club) is going to play more prominently in our marketing from this point forward. Yes, we are still going to crown a “King of the West,” but this is now officially the NARC Fujitsu General Sprint Car Series. For 410 sprint car racing to continue to thrive in the future, we need to continue to build on the club environment. This encourages the support and input of its members with the continuing goal of putting on the best show in California. There is power in numbers. Help us do that!

Coming to you live from Auburn, CA. See ya!

NARC NEWSLINE – OCTOBER 4, 2021, By Jim Allen, Okay race fans, we’re coming down the homestretch to our last four NARC King of the West Fujitsu Sprint Car Series races of the 2021 campaign. …
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NARC NEWSLINE – OCTOBER 4, 2021, By Jim Allen, Okay race fans, we're coming down the homestretch to our last four NARC King of the West Fujitsu Sprint Car Series races of the 2021 campaign. While that is somewhat of depressing statement to make, I think a majority of us are extremely grateful that we were able to enjoy a full season of open wheel racing this year. And even more grateful for that accomplishment in an almost post-Covid world where darn near everything seems to have negative overtones. With no intention of going political, or taking a stance on any specific issue, I appreciate sprint car racing (and motorsports in general) for what it is: A healthy dose of old school Americana and I’m proud to be part of that family. Better said, whenever I need a dose of sanity, it's time to go to a dirt track for some open wheel chaos. As mixed up as that sounds, it makes perfect sense to all of us diehards. After all, it’s the little things in life that make it all worthwhile and enjoyable. Little things like standing and taking off our hats while the national anthem is played or reflecting for a solemn moment when our fallen heroes are honored. Also, witnessing the unique interaction and connection that our racing audience has with our competitors is among the best in sports. Everybody is family here! It’s not like you can walk up to LeBron James or Mike Trout after a game and get an autograph or a selfie, but you sure can with a Brad Sweet or a Dominic Scelzi. It’s about entertainment and family values, with no hidden agenda, and a chance to get a breather from some of the negativity that surrounds us. As always, we thank all of you for your support and hope you enjoyed playing in the dirt with us this season and much as we did.

Speaking of open wheel entertainment chaos, they say you should finish strong and that is exactly what we plan to do:

The highly anticipated Second Annual Morrie Williams Legends Tribute race takes place at Peter Murphy’s Keller Auto Speedway on Saturday, October 9th. This event represents a breath of fresh air as it conjures up something completely different; a racing event featuring Twin-20 main events.

For all of you at home taking notes, the first 20-lapper is lined up straight up by times and the second is completely inverted by the finish of the first race. (I know, I had you at "Twin-20.") Teams are not allowed to change any tires unless they want to go to the very back of the pack for the second event (including behind the lapped cars.) It’s a unique format and if last season’s inaugural event was any preview, this type of show may represent the future of sprint car racing. On a worst-case scenario, it’s going to present infinite possibilities to build on. For those of you who need a quick 2020 refresher, Kyle Hirst edged Mitchell Faccinto in a wall-hopping photo-finish to steal away the first 20, and 11th starter Dominic Scelzi hopped in another “0” car that was towed in on an open trailer to win the second feature. Tim Kaeding, who finished fourth and second in the two events, tallied the most points to win the Legends Tribute bonus.

Each feature will pay $3200 to win and Peter Murphy, Ashley Smith & Katie Williams are still working on some other perks and bonuses. As of this moment in time, each 20-lap segment will pay $16,000 with the top five cashing out $3200, $1500, $1200, $1100, and $1000, respectively. It will pay $300 to start. On top of that there is a fast time bonus of $500, a dash winner kicker of $500, and the heat race winners will pocket an additional $200. On top of that, the overall champion will earn $2000 and the winning mechanic will also be pad his wallet to the tune of $400. And just to make sure our calendars are synchronized, the Morrie Williams race is the second night of racing at Keller Auto Speedway as the Friday show features SCCT 360’s and KoT410’s. Make a weekend out of it and catch ‘em both!

DID SOMEBODY SAY “ANTHONY SIMONE CLASSIC?” While many NARC-King of the West teams were disappointed to find out that the $21,000 to win Tom Tarlton Classic was transformed into a World of Outlaw show, it did open the door for another opportunity. Our Friday, October 29th show has evolved into the Anthony Simone Classic #1 and will feature a winged and non-winged NARC feature event. Yes, you read that correctly! The winged show will pay $7,000 to win the feature honoring the original “Mr. Excitement.” And it’s not a top-heavy adventure as second and third pays $5000 and $3000, respectively.

Now here is where things get interesting. The five-lap (yes, only five) six-car heat races will be lined up straight up by times and the top two finishers make the dash. Better said, if a driver isn't sitting high in the seat with his elbows up at the start, it's going to be a long night. There will be 10-cars in the dash (10 like in Anthony’s car number), and they will run 10-laps fully inverted by times. How they finish is how they start the 30-lap Fujitsu General USA headliner. No pill draw. Now if that doesn’t get you pumped up, you better check to see if you still have a pulse.

But as they say in the ShamWow infomercials … “but wait, there is more!”

Once that event is over, drivers will have the option to run a 20-lap non-wing NARC-sanctioned feature. The top ten will be inverted based on the finish of the winged race. Now this is NOT a mandatory race for NARC-King of the West teams, but many have already shown interest in going topless for this non-winged showcase. It will pay $3000 to win and at least $300 to start. So, if you do regular math like me – and not that common core stuff – that’s $10,000 to a driver who can win both. That “10” once again represents Anthony’s car number. (If you are doing common core math, you’ll come up with that same number in about 30 minutes.) I can already see the likes of a Shane Golobic and Bud Kaeding stroking their chin pondering the possibilities. And Chase Johnson and Ryan Bernal also come up as hot commodities for this night of racing.

How is it going to work? Teams will be given approximately 40-minutes to convert their cars from winged to non-winged in the infield work area in front of God and everyone while the USAC Midget feature is being run. Tire changes are allowed, but axle changes are not. With all the twists and turns, this overall event is awarding a flat 100 “show up” points to all teams. And it sure beats an event cancellation. This is a concept that we’ve been talking about for several years and now it’s going to become a reality. (I know Shawn Thomas is happy!)

Once the winged/non-winged extravaganza is in the books, we will have nailed down three consecutive races at Hanford and have only have two events remaining. The Simone race is the front end of a two-day Central California roadshow that will take the NARC King of the West Fujitsu Sprint Car Series down to Kern County Raceway Park in Bakersfield on Saturday (October 30th).

The following weekend, Saturday, November 6th to be exact, the popular Tribute to Gary Patterson will close out the season at the Stockton Dirt Track. This one will also feature the Sprint Car Challenge Tour. Just in case that’s not enough entertainment for one night, the one-and-only-and-very-legendary Steve Kinser will be in the house signing autographs.

CHAMPIONSHIP AWARDS CELEBRATION: As has become a new NARC tradition, the NARC King of the West series will honor its champions and pay out the 2021-point fund at our Champions Celebration Brunch on Sunday, November 7th – the morning after the Stockton race. It will take place on at the Brookside Country Club in Stockton, a beautiful private club that provides an excellent venue. Their food, drinks and service are all five-star worthy. Tickets are $40 each and includes a gigantic breakfast buffet, a NARC Benevolent Fund auction, your favorite race teams, and a ton of Dean Mills-produced videos from the 2021 season. Fans are welcome and encouraged to attend. Contact me to get your tickets - 714-397-7417.

In the unlikely event the November 6th show rains out and gets postponed or cancelled, the awards celebration will go off as planned. A rescheduled show would award a flat 75 points (per our rulebook) so the standings would not change. Unfortunately, when you book a venue like this, the date is set in concrete. Sort of sounds like my first wedding.

NARC NOTES: How cool was it to see 15-year-old Corey Day win his first NARC feature at the Jim Turner Memorial? We all had a feeling it was coming; we just didn’t know when. Day started sixth in the Meyers Construction 14 and battled to take the lead away from veteran Tim Kaeding on lap 13. I’m not sure who had the biggest smile at the checkered, Corey or his dad Ronnie! … Day became the second first time winner this season, joining Billy Aton. That’s the first time we have added two new names to the winners list since 2017. … Just in case you missed it, Rick Faeth recently announced that his contract to operate Petaluma Speedway has been extended through the 2023 season. Wish we could say the same for Calistoga, or Santa Maria! … Random thought: Have you ever noticed the boat load of enthusiastic kids at Monster Truck events? We need to duplicate that attendance at sprint car shows! … Here is a eye-opening list for you. These drivers have not claimed a King of the West feature this season (yet): Bud Kaeding, Shane Golobic, Willie Croft, and Austin McCarl. Also beating on the door for career win number one would be Joel Myers Jr., Tanner Carrick, Mitchel Moles, and Ryan Robinson. … Who is going to win more NARC-King of the West features this season? Justin Sanders (who has four), or Dominic Scelzi (who has five.) ...

MIKE ANDREETA UPDATE: As most of you know, our Director of Competition Mike Andreetta took an unplanned ambulance ride to the hospital after the Labor Day weekend. He passed out at work and luckily the staff at Tognottis dialed 911. The good news is he didn’t have a stroke. The bad news was that he was admitted to Kaiser Hospital with bleeding on the brain from an apparent fall. Nobody is exactly sure where or how that fall took place. Luckily, no surgery was required but the healing process has been slow. Mike was treated in the ICU for three weeks and was recently released to a rehabilitation facility where he will undergo extensive physical therapy. We wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see him soon.

And finally, based on everything being accented in pink, it’s a reminder that October is officially Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I’m always aware! Are you?

Coming to you live from Auburn, CA. See ya!

NARC NEWSLINE – JUNE 22, 2021, By Jim Allen … There is nothing like a good 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 11^th). The 35^th 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 to earn a DQ and a 24^th 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 than that! 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 (20^th fast) and found himself behind the eight-ball the rest of the night. His evening of open wheel entertainment ended with a flip on the tenth lap of the feature, producing a colon cleansing 22^nd place finish. Scelzi tumbled 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 69^th 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 10^th in the feature. …

… Billy Aton started 20^th 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 hard work just to race at Placerville the next night. … A bearded Colby Copeland made his first appearance of the season filling in for Kenny Allen in the Ed Butterfield #76. He started 13^th, 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. … 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 14^th 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 event 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 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 cars 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 10^th. 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 11^th 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 23-24^th. The 23^rd 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.

NARC NEWSLINE - JUNE 8, 2021, By Jim Allen ... Some sprint car drivers go their entire racing careers without ever experiencing the thill of victory lane. Some finally hang up their helmet after only one or two wins over a career that last a decade. It's not for a lack of trying as much as it's just plain hard to do. The car needs to be darn near perfect, the driver must be on his A-Game, and a little luck always helps. In other words, a lot of stars need to align, which brings us to Dominic Scelzi at the May 14-15 Peter Murphy Classic. He didn't win just once, not twice, not three times, but an almost unfathomable four times in two nights. A career weekend for many. In the revised PMC track format, Scelzi scored a Sprint Car Challenge Tour 360 win and Kings of Thunder 410 victory at Hanford on Friday night. Then he backed that up the next night at Tulare with top honors in the Kings of Thunder 360 feature and the grand finale - the $11,000 to win Peter Murphy Classic for the NARC King of the West Fujitsu 410 Sprint Cars. What are the odds? A single renegade rut, a slip in qualifying, a brush with the wall, a flat tire, or just a bad hair day can totally ruin everything and end the streak. While the King of the West record books will only officially show only one victory on May 15th, anybody who attended -- and there were a lot of you -- will remember the weekend that Dominic Scelzi lived up to his nickname (Dominator.)

Speaking of capacity crowds, it is so nice to see California returning back to normal. The ecstatic fans at Hanford and Tulare were stoked to see some "live" sprint car racing.. And the drivers and teams were glad they were back as well. Racing without fans is like playing video games in the bathroom - empty, hollow, and doesn't smell right.

PETER MURPHY CLASSIC NOTES - MAY 15th: Said Scelzi at Tulare after setting quick time, "I got hurt here and I'm looking to redeem my myself." For those of you who might have forgot, Scelzi broke his back at Tulare a few years back and was going to give up the sport. However, he said Peter Murphy encouraged him to recover and move forward. Scelzi's voice cracked with emotion during victory lane interviews and it was hard not to notice that one of the first people Scelzi hugged upon exiting his #41 sprint car was Peter Murphy ... Bud Kaeding made Scelzi work for his big win at Tulare. He led the first 23-laps, trading slide jobs, until Scelzi took the point. At that point, Kaeding struggled and dropped to fourth. Shane Golobic was second ($5000) and 11th starter Willie Croft ($3000) was a bullet in the late going to finish third. ... Speaking of Golobic, he was on "baby-watch" all weekend, ready to depart at a moments notice. But like a true racing champ, new son Tucker held out until Monday. ... Twenty-two of the 24-starters finished on the lead lap. It paid $1,000 to start the feature. ...

... Billy Aton earned the Swift Metal Finishing Hardcharger award, starting 20th and ending up 10th. While on the topic of Anton, he officially threw his name into the running for the NARC-King of the West Rookie of the Year award. ... NARC driver Ronnie Day built a successful sprint car resume' in his day, but he admitted things have changed recently. He is no longer known as Ronnie Day, but as Corey Day's dad. Corey and Joel Myers Jr. happen to be the two biggest "up and comers" in the Golden State and their DMV Learners Permit will tell you they are only 15-years old. Think about that for a second! Hopefully they don't get pulled out of California too soon to race back East. ... Chase Johnson was down and out on Saturday after hurting his only 410 motor on Friday night at Hanford. Being a car owner sucks sometimes. He needs a full-time ride. ... The PMC featured the Aussie Pole Shuffle. In case you missed it, it went like this: Sean Becker outran Kasey Kahne and won the next shuffle when Kyle Hirst was DQ'ed for a jump. Bud Kaeding was next in line and beat Becker and Golobic in separate skirmishes, before losing to Scelzi in the finale. Always exciting; always unpredictable. ...

... Iowa driver Austin McCarl was involved in a multi-car feature crash that did a number on the Tarlton Motorsports 21. He was unhurt in the red flag incident. ... Scelzi earned more than $20,000 for the weekend with all of the extra cash put up. Thanks to Kimo's Tropical Car Wash and Norm Rapp, Scelzi pocketed $1500 for his two fast time efforts on Saturday. He also picked up a $600 bonus from Hanford Jewelry & Loan for claiming the Pole Shuffle. Scelzi first investment might be on a bigger wallet. They money will also come in handy for baby gear and diapers since he is going to become a new Dad soon. On the flip side, Scelzi gave away all 18-pounds of Sunnyvalley Bacon he won to a pair of lucky fans. ... As always, we are grateful to the one and only legend Peter Murphy for all of his contributions to the sport and for promoting a great two-race weekend with Tulare lead man Steve Faria. ...

PETALUMA SPEEDWAY NOTES - MAY 22nd: Justin Sanders, who is chasing a NARC-KWS title this season, was looking to improve on his 11th and eighth place finishes at the first two events of the year. He finally got his ducks in a row and scored the elusive "W" at Petaluma aboard Larry Antaya's #16 XXX sprint car. Sanders even set quick time, which he admitted is more rare than a tax break in California. The seventh King of the West victory and the 100th of his career was worth $3500. ...

... The start of this feature caused more finger-pointing than an investigation at a Pennsylvania ballot box. Dash winner Andy Forsberg and Sanders started on the front row and it went downhill from there on the initial start as they powered out of the fourth corner. Sanders and Forsberg got together. Before it was over, Forsberg, Tim Kaeding, Dominic Scelzi, Kyle Offill, Michael Sellers were reeled in and Sean Becker escaped most of the carnage by flying over the infield berm with a wild Baja Trophy Truck maneuver. It wasn't pretty in any sense of the word and tempers got heated. Sanders made it through intact, but Forsberg's night in the upside down family A&A Stepping Stone 92 was over. On a lighter note, hopefully nine pounds of Sunnyvalley Bacon made for a good breakfast the next morning at the Forsberg household. ... Scelzi and Kaeding made quick repairs under red flag conditions to restart at the back and finished fifth and seventh respectively to stay in the championship points hunt. ...

... Once the feature restarted, it went 30-laps non-stop in around seven-minutes, with Sanders sharing the podium with Bud Kaeding and the aforementioned Joel Myers Jr. Nine cars finished on the lead lap. ... Kalib Montgomery surprised some driving the Scott-Ingraham #93. With Stephen Ingraham out with other plans, Montgomery took over and did his own version of sprint car shock and awe. He timed in eighth quick and finished a very respectable sixth in the feature -- driving a 360-powered machine. ... Ryan Robinson looked right at home driving the Mike Phulps #56 car. He timed in second quick and finished 10th in the main. ... This racing program was completed at 8:36 p.m., or as my wife likes to say, "before the mall closed across the street." ...

NARC NOTES: A front wing autographed by the 410 Peter Murphy Classic competitors was auctioned off for the NARC Benevolent Fund at Tulare. It raised $750 for the fund. Thank you Mike Vidal. Also, a sincere thank you to Rick Faeth/Glad Enterprises, "Big Kevin," and Nancy Truex for their generous donations to the NARC Benevolent Fund also! ... California lost two more quality drivers to another part of the United States with Geoff and wife Shayna Ensign moving to Idaho. Geoff's best run with NARC was in 2019 when he ran the entire schedule, finished fifth in points, and earned the rookie-of-the-year award. ... We have added a Friday, July 23rd event to the 2021 schedule. It will take place at the Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway, which will make it a two-race weekend with Santa Maria Raceway hosting a Saturday night show. The Tulare race will be the "Chris & Brian Faria Memorial." Saturday's show features a wheelie contest! ... Have you checked out the nice "Pit Personalities" article on crew chief Drew Warner on NARC410.com? You should! ... All of our races are available on FloRacing.com. However, we would prefer to see you in person. So would the track promoters! ... Pick up your official 2021 NARC King of the West t-shirt at the Bullet Impressions trailer or online at www.onefasttee.com. ...

UPCOMING EVENTS: We have another premium weekend of open wheel racing on tap for June 11-12th. This is a bullring doubleheader with the NARC King of the West Fujitsu Sprint Car Series rolling into Ocean Speedway and Placerville Speedway. Friday's show in Watsonville will mark the 35th Annual running of the Pombo-Sargent Classic. On Saturday, the series heads east up Highway 50 to the El Dorado County Fairgrounds for the highly anticipated 30th Annual Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial. Thanks to the efforts of Dianne and Dave Durica, and the love and support of fans and sponsors of the Bradway event, this one is super lucrative. It will pay $5000 to the winner of the 40-lapper. Just think about that for a second ... a 40-lapper at Placerville, where your typical 10-second lap has more excitement than a three-legged cat being chased by a pack of hungry coyotes. There is also $5200 in lap money for the A & B-mains and the "Carwash" Mike Avilla Fast Time Award pays $1350. And not to sound like an infomercial -- "but wait, there is more!" The Hardcharger payout is up to $1800 and if you read this a couple days from now, probably more! Heat winners will score Hoosier RR rubber from Hoserville CA, plus there are a bunch of other donations for a variety of finishing positions. It promises to be another great weekend and we wouldn't expect nothing less.

Coming to you live from Auburn, CA. See ya!

NARC NEWSLINE – MARCH 1, 2021, By Jim Allen … Wouldn’t you know it? The more things change, the more they remain the same. Everybody opened their 2021 sprint car calendar with promise and hope, desperate to sit in the main grandstands and watch some dirt track racing in California. Next thing you know, the World of Outlaws drop the Golden State portion of their schedule faster than a prom date with a STD, and the ASCS national events slip away faster than our tax dollars in California. Not exactly the start we were looking for but it will get better. Just remember that promise and hope thing you had back in January … because … I promise things will get better, so do not give up on the second thing.

In the meantime, let’s take the opportunity to clear up a few things about the upcoming season. In some cases, statements are being made, and questions are being asked, that seemingly make no sense. Let’s take a few minutes and let me verify and clarify a few of them for you:

“What do you mean the main grandstands are the pits?” … Okay race fans, this one has been confusing for some people, so get out your decoder ring and I’ll help you understand the big picture. Every time we post on social media about an event, the first five responses almost always are ... “Are the main grandstands open?” or “are tickets being sold?”

Until you see the 49ers, Kings, Lakers, Rams, Warriors and Clippers sell “tickets” to their events, the California baseline has been set. But look at this way (in code): Most dirt track pit areas have less than desirable seating and sight lines for the loyal teams, sponsors, fans, and crew members who drive and power the sport. To provide a solution, promoters statewide have done us a huge favor. As a customer service feature, they have graciously opened their main grandstands as an extension of the pit area to enhance the open wheel experience. Extra seating? Problem solved! Improved sightlines? Mission accomplished! So, if you want to watch sprint car racing in person – something we highly encourage you to do – buy a pit pass and mosey over to the grandstands to enhance your entertainment pleasure.

“Do I get a hot pass or a cold pass?” Think of it this way, the hot pass represents the pits working around hot race cars. The cold pass represents a cold beer in the grandstands. Enough said.

“Did the world fall off its axis? Are you telling me that the Vermeil is in Chico? The next thing you are going to say is the Bradway is in Placerville?” Yes, that is exactly what we are saying and that is good news. With Calistoga Speedway overall ownership/lease situation stumbling around like a bad scene from some zombie flick, promoter Tommy Hunt made a smart business decision to move the Louie Vermeil Classic to another venue. He knew that his great two-day event would lose some serious momentum or collapse entirely if it went dark two years in a row. Dick Vermeil and several other key event supporters agreed with this fact and now the open wheel battles of the NARC King of the West and USAC/CRA sprint cars will be fought on the quarter-miler at Chico, rather than the half-mile at Calistoga. Considering that the Dave Bradway Jr race moved after 29-years at Silver Dollar to Placerville Speedway, it was a great way to get the NARC sprint cars back to Chico. And while we will lose the “flat out HammerDown” aspect of Calistoga, the wheel-to-wheel battles at Silver Dollar are typically epic.

By the way, camping spots at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds are going fast, so don’t delay in getting yours. This show promises to have an old-school Gold Cup Race of Champions feel to it. There will be six racing events over an eight-day span at the track. I think we will call that … “Dreamweek.”

And I almost forgot this one, “the Peter Murphy Classis is now at Tulare AND Hanford?” Yes! It will be a great weekend.

Are our tracks under attack? While that question may sound like something reserved for a video game, the answer is YES! We all know about Calistoga and Petaluma, but now we should probably throw Santa Maria Raceway into the mix. A housing development and homeowner association is creeping up on the backside of the track and has engaged lawyers in an attempt to shut the place down. They are claiming that SMR must have an EPA study performed in order to grade any dirt on the property; something that has happened every year since 1964. It reminds me of the people who buy a home next to an airport and then complain about the noise after they move in. If that isn’t the biggest pile of lawyer spew you’ve ever seen, nothing is! With that move they passed politicians as the most hated profession.

San Luis Obispo County is also doing little to help the Santa Maria Raceway operate with super restrictive COVID-19 rules, making it more likely they will score a million-dollar lottery ticket than be able to hold a practice day at the facility. Yes, we are being attacked.

The Outlaws aren’t coming … again? You got it! Hopefully in the Fall. Next question!

How do you defend a 2019 title in 2021 when the series crowns a champion every year? As you are aware, we only ran 120 feature event laps in 2020 (four events). It has been established that the series stage a minimum of 10-races to legitimately crown a champion. In reality, even that is not even fair. Anything less diminishes the accomplishments of hardworking NARC champions of the past, who had to grind their way through extensive racing campaigns to log their spot in the history books. As it sits, DJ Netto has been able to bask in the glory of being the defending King of the West champ for an extra 12-months or so. Nothing wrong with that – he earned it.

Will (favorite driver name here) be running for 2021 points and the NARC King of the West championship? The answer is more than likely. There are a ton of drivers and teams who have expressed their support to the NARC King of the West series and have their equipment dialed in and ready to go. However, if California continues to stay in super lock down mode and the Outlaws, All Stars and other states continue to flaunt their full-house racing events on PPV, expect several CA teams to hit the road. That traveling shortlist would probably include the likes of Justin Sanders, Austin McCarl, DJ Netto, Shane Golobic, Tim Kaeding and Dominic Scelzi. These boys just want to race!

There you go! Hopefully, I have managed to clear up a few things for you!

NARC NOTES: 2021 Membership forms can be downloaded at NARC410.com. There are no changes to the 2020 rulebook. That can also be downloaded off the club website. … Chase Johnson is looking for a full-time 410-winged ride! … Kyle Offill and Blake Carrick would be the early frontrunners for rookie-of-the-year. … Something tells me that Iowa driver Austin McCarl will be a tough man to beat with Paul Baines turning the wrenches in the Tarlton Motorsports KPC. … News from Kalib Henry’s camp is that he plans to be a frequent NARC competitor this season. … All of our events will be available on FloRacing.com. … Keep in mind that the 2021 schedule is heavily “backloaded” with 15 of our 20-events taking place after July 1st. Some things are worth waiting for! …

… Sunnyvalley Bacon is back to sponsor the only trophy dash in the nation that is “Powered by Bacon.” … It’s been fun to see the transformation of the track and pit area at Peter Murphy’s Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford. Mr. Murphy is on a mission and has a vision that he is chasing hard. … Look for the NARC King of the West sprint cars to invade the Pacific Northwest in 2022. … Predictions for 2021 include Blake Carrick, Kyle Offill and Austin McCarl winning their first NARC-KWS race; Sean Watts picking off his second; DJ Netto winning at least three features, including his first since June 2017; and 2005 series champ Sean Becker hitting a dozen for his KWS career. The Kaeding’s will win a handful. … Can you believe it has already been 11-years since Kyle Larson won the 2010 King of the West title? …

… Our condolences go out to the friends and family of “Mr. Excitement” Anthony Simone and the “Flying Frenchman” Bill Deschamps. Both were classic old school racers who had no fear behind the wheel of a race car. Simone seemed invincible with some of his exploits on and off the track, many which earned him “legend” status. Deschamps had more of a workmanlike effort in his winning approach and was a friend to all. Deschamps also contributed his time as a NARC Board Member for 13-years, including President for four. More importantly, once both drivers hung up their helmets, they helped future generations cut their teeth in their race cars. They will be missed.

It’s hard not to notice that the racing family is losing way too many people these days.

THE 2021 SEASON OPENER: The good news is NARC King of the West Fujitsu Sprint Car season is so close you can almost smell the racing fuel in the air. The bad news is … if you cannot smell it, you might want to get tested for COVID-19. But seriously, the March 20th Stockton Dirt Track will take place, barring a hurricane-force rain out or major earthquake centered in the San Joaquin Valley. This event salutes the one and only Northern Auto Racing Club driving legend LeRoy Van Conett. We will see you in the pit area around hot race cars or in the grandstands with a cold beer. Either way, you should be there because promoter Tony Noceti is excited to get the 410’s back on his reconfigured racetrack.

Coming to you live from Auburn, CA. See ya!

NARC NEWSLINE, December 13, 2020, By Jim Allen …

As you have probably already seen, the 2021 NARC King of the West Fujitsu General Racing Series has been published for the masses. The broad overview of this sprint car campaign is simple, featuring 20 410 sprint car events at 10 different dirt oval tracks … assuming this COVID-19 pandemic rides off into the sunset and never returns.

In fact, just about every track and sanctioning body has rolled out their 2021 plans, all with their fingers-crossed, praying that the world will become a healthier place in just a few short months. And let me tell you, and not to be the soothsayer of doom, but it needs to happen, or dirt track racing at State and County Fairgrounds in California is going to go the way of the cassette tape. You might be able to find one, but it will be a severely antiquated model. It appears that politicians in Sacramento and some local county fair boards have put targets on fairgrounds and dirt tracks because they are not generating much-needed revenue, totally not understanding how the whole process works in the first place. That’s like asking me to give you all the money out of a locked cash drawer (and I don’t have the key.)

So how much revenue did California promoters generate without a single “spectator” in the grandstands this year? Unless you skipped math class entirely, you were taught that anything multiplied by ZERO is still ZERO. And since revenue pays operating expenses and racer’s purses, ZERO doesn’t work unless you are talking about the number of politicians that serve motorsports best interests in the Golden State. The best quote would come from 90’s hair band Ratt, who had an appropriately named single entitled “Nobody Rides for Free.” That applies to racing promotion at fairgrounds also. You can’t fault the likes of a Scott Russell, or John Prentice, or Steve Faria for yelling at their flat screens as they watch Floracing and Dirtvision races playing out in front of full grandstands in other states. Yet just one paying spectator in the grandstands in California is still a crime that threatens their livelihood and our sport.

Along those lines, we were about to roll out a 21-race schedule for 2021, but one dropped out at Calistoga Speedway at the last moment. It was scheduled for the popular June 4-5th NASCAR weekend. As you are aware, Calistoga is still stuck in the middle of what can best be described as a “WWE Battle Royale” of political and budgeting bureaucracy. Pick your confusing scenario of the month, and I’ll guarantee it will change again before you finish Christmas shopping. The County wants to sell it, the City wants to buy part of it, somebody might want to lease it, a private entity might want to buy it, some local businesses and residents want to close it, and developers are drooling all over it – or something like that. And stuck right in the middle is promoter Tommy Hunt who just wants to put on some racing shows – some revenue-generating, fairgrounds-saving, fan-pleasing, developer-chasing, controversy-free racing events. That seems like a reasonable objective. Why can’t they make that happen? It’s not that tough.

As of right now, the next time the lights turn on at the historic half-mile will be the September 4-5th Louie Vermeil Classic. Assuming it happens, that will represent a lengthy two-year span between events. Heck, that’s substantially longer than my first marriage. By the time we race, they will have to cut the weeds down on the track with a corn harvester (just exaggerating a little bit.)

On the other side of that burnt Napa Valley hill, Rick Faeth is trying to keep Petaluma Speedway operating as a local entertainment choice. He’s got a couple of years remaining on his lease, but the local population is beginning to put the squeeze on the track. If the mall across the street gets any closer, we’re going to have an Applebees, a Nike Outlet store, and a Zales Jewelers in the pit area next season. And when I say local population, I really mean builders and developers, who fantasize about Zillow land values with the same self-gratifying methods as their Pornhub subscriptions. At the same time, dollar signs are flashing in the heads of local officials who would love to balance their budgets with local taxes, rather than on the back of dirt track racing. That’s a hard battle to fight and even tougher one to actually win.

Meanwhile over in Chico, one of the big questions I’ve been asked is why Silver Dollar Speedway isn’t on the 2021 schedule. The quarter-miler was home to the Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial race for 29 years, before Mrs. COVID-19 showed up. The event has been moved to Placerville Speedway and here’s the reason behind it: Dianne and Dave Durica, who have spearheaded the lucrative fund-raising efforts for the duration, announced in 2019 that the 30th annual event would be their last. They plan to fade away gracefully into a well-deserved retirement. That’s the bad news! The good news is the Bradway/Tuccelli family announced that they are going to assume those responsibilities and wanted to move it to Placerville; a track where their family cut their racing teeth.

As a result, the 30th Bradway race has been relocated and rescheduled for June 12th, where it is now part of a big King of the West/Sprint Car Challenge Tour combo show at the quarter mile bullring. Chico’s Dennis Gage, who (unofficially) has the worst lease agreement and fairgrounds support among all the aforementioned promoters, needed the marketing viability of the Bradway event to get people in the grandstands. Without it, it’s not a profitable venture – hence no King of the West races at Chico for the first time since Ronald Reagan was president. Just in case nobody noticed, the grandstands at Silver Dollar Speedway don’t fill up like they did in the years past and the number of high-profile racing events has dropped. Rumor has it that Troy Hennig had to get a real job. As a side note, NARC visited the SDS 10-14 times a year in the late 90’s. Nobody is fond of change – me included, but the good old days of 2019 are gone. Bottom line: No Chico in 2021. Doesn’t mean we can’t go back in 2022.

Contrary to popular belief, there’s not a single promoter in California who has a business card printed up that states they are a “non-profit organization” – and rightfully so because they’ve got some serious bills to pay: Lease payments, lights, water, track prep, equipment maintenance, payroll, insurance, security, marketing, officials, trophies, clean up, and of course the racer’s purse. Track improvements like improving lighting and hauling in new dirt, fixing catch fences, remodeling bathrooms, and general facility maintenance are on top of that. Let’s not forget the part where they need to earn a decent living.

As a result, the way California’s track promoters must operate their business has probably changed forever. They have been forced to hop off the grader and become lobbyist in order to stage events. That means dumping the 1995 Gold Cup t-shirt and jeans in favor of a dress shirt and pair of slacks to glad hand (fist bump in pandemic times) the mayor, the health department, the ABC, BBB, CoC, the City Council, the fair board and God only knows who else just to stage a practice day. And the voting isn’t exactly democratic – try to act surprised – because it usually only takes one “NO” to override multiple “YES” votes. That’s because everybody is afraid of getting sued, which happens often in a state with the second most lawyers in the nation. I just remembered … we do this for fun … right?

With all that in mind, please be patient and stay healthy. Everybody associated with dirt track racing in California is working towards a common goal and that is a return to normalcy. It may look a little different than the normal of the past, but it will be the new standard of excellence. We may need you to assist with petitions and letter writing campaigns, or to attend city council meetings in the future so stay in touch on social media. Along those lines, PLEASE keep things positive on social media. If your opinion is that you think your states Governor or local politician is a self-serving, money-grubbing crook or douchebag, you are probably right, but please post that opinion on your personal site – not the racing organizations (or risk being blocked forever.) We want to keep things professional to help encourage sponsorship participation of corporate America. Thank you.

OTHER SCHEDULE NOTES: There are only five NARC King of the West races scheduled during the first half of the year. That gives us a little safety margin to enjoy a normal schedule, assuming the new vaccine works out as planned. … March 20th is the Salute to LeRoy Van Conett season opener at the Stockton Dirt Track. … The “Fastest Five Days in Motorsports” will feature races at Placerville (August 25th), Merced (August 26th), Ocean (August 27th), Stockton (August 28th) and Petaluma on August 29th. That is guaranteed to be one great roadshow. … We’ve got two races scheduled at Santa Maria Raceway. One will feature a wheelie contest, the other a pit crew competition. … October is loaded up with the Morrie Williams Legends Tribute and the stout $21,000 to win Tom Tarlton Classic, both at Hanford. That’s freaking awesome! … Just in case you’ve been in a cave the past year, there will be two – yes, two – Trophy Cup extravaganzas in 2021. The first one represents the rescheduled 2020 event and will encompass the Memorial Day weekend. The second one is on its normal October dates at Tulare. … We tried to work Antioch Speedway on our schedule, but it is still a year away. Promoter Chad Chadwick has done a phenomenal job restoring the place, but feels he needs to do a lot more before making his primetime debut with the NARC King of the West series. They need to add an electronic scoring loop. Fair enough. … Look for the NARC King of the West Fujitsu Racing Series to make a four-race adventure to the Pacific Northwest in 2022. It will be centered around the Memorial Day weekend (assuming the Trophy Cup doesn’t get postponed again.) …

NARC NOTES: Justin Sanders captured the Tribute to Gary Patterson at Stockton to end our four-race season. Maybe we should say the “new and improved” Justin Sanders, who spent most of the year touring through the country racing in Larry Antaya’s Maxim. Both proudly said they learned a lot from their adventure, which should make them championship contenders next season. … Congratulations to Rodney Tiner for winning the Billy Albini Mechanic of the Year award. It was presented at Stockton along with $1000 cash and MoY ring by Mike Andreetta and Chris “Cajun” Good. It was much deserved and overdue. … The top eight finishers – the only finishers – at Stockton were Sanders, Rico Abreu, DJ Netto, Bud Kaeding, Austin McCarl, Justyn Cox, Matt Streeter and Mark Barroso. That would be “best ever” finishes for Streeter and Barroso. It was a rough night on equipment. Blake Carrick and Chase Johnson both destroyed cars in scary accidents. Both were shaken, but both walked away under their own power. … Turns out some fans figured out what a “COLD PASS” was at the Stockton Dirt Track. Saw many of them sitting in the main grandstands! …

… By the way, have you ever noticed the 90 or so trailers that are parked in a row outside of the Stockton Dirt Track back straightaway? Want to guess what is in them? Chances are you will be wrong. All 90 are owned by the State of California and are filled with hand sanitizer. Yup, they are leasing the space to store 90 trailers of hand sanitizer! State officials have even hired guards to protect the contents just in case someone is looking to fill up their swimming pool or something. … Just in case you need the answer to the trivia question that will be asked in 2030, here it is … Bud Kaeding claimed the mythical four-race drivers title and Joshua Bates/Roger Hamilton were the alleged car owner championship team. Due to having less races than fingers on one hand, we did not crown official 2020 champions. …

With that, we are all caught up on one of the strangest years in existence … 2020. My wish to all of you that you stay safe and healthy this Holiday Season. May you enjoy a Merry Christmas and to all of us … a Happy New Year. See ya!

NARC NEWSLINE – November 1, 2020, By Jim Allen... Here's something that has never been said in the 61-year history of the Northern Auto Racing Club during the month of October: “Welcome to our third race of the season!” Such was the case when the King of the West Fujitsu 410 Sprint Car Seriespulled through theKeller Auto Speedwaypit gate in Hanford on October 10^th. Rest assured, we all agree that having only three races before Halloween sucks on many different levels, but what we have lacked in quantity, we have made up for with quality. I know that sound like a cliché’ marketing slogan but it would pass my polygraph test. And be thankful because without that, we would all be shuffling like a Zombie down the Tequila aisle at Bevmo! or be in desperate need of strong prescription meds.

The inaugural Morrie Williams Legends Tributelived up to that mantra of a good quality event. For the first time since … well … I really can’t remember … if ever… we ran a pair of twin 20-main events on the same program. The first one straight up by times, and the second completely inverted by the finish of the first 20. Yup, the fast guys charging from the back reminiscent of the 1970’s non-wing days of NARC. If you were nostalgic enough, you were probably walking through the pit area looking for the likes of LeRoy Van Connect, Hank Butcher, Rick Horton, and Johnny Anderson.

It’s not every day that you can drop this type of event on a NARC King of the West racing schedule. But without a 2020 championship being pursued, and everyone eager to honor the late great Morrie Williams,it became a reality. It started at the top with promoter Peter Murphydoing what he does best by putting on his “Sprint Car Ambassador”hat and talking it up. This included many conversations with local officials who are basically handcuffed by PP (Pandemic Politics) in Sacramento. But with less than a month remaining before the scheduled race day, it was cleared for launch. At that point, Ashley Smithcaffeinated-up and hustled extra sponsorship support for the show that eventually sported a healthy $28,000 purse. Not bad for having to run only 10 extra action-packed feature event laps.

What made this event really, really work was an exceptional multiple-line racing surface that promoted great wheel-to-wheel racing. Although he will never admit it before the event, Peter Murphywas a little stressed because he knew an excellent track surface was 100% mandatory for this 20/20 in 2020. A hooked up first 20, followed by a rubber-down back 20 would have been disastrous. In the end, Murphy deserved a nice frosty Fostersbeer for what he delivered! Drivers were charging from deep in the pack and it was "edge of the seat" type of open wheel entertainment.

One of the best things about this show was it had a storybook ending that few could have predicted. After all, what are the odds of two different Williams Motorsports white ZERO cars winning the two features? (Well, that one might actually have good odds.) And what is the numerical probability that one of those winning cars was towed to Hanford on an open trailer? That hasn’t happened at a NARC race since the early 1990’s. Kyle Hirst’s cushion-riding final lap, wheel-hopping photo finish over Mitchell Faccintohad America vaulting off their couches with a massive beer-spilling adrenalin rush. It was the sixth lead change in the first 20-laps. Dominic Scelzi’ s methodical charge to the front in the second main after starting 11^thwas a gem also. You can chalk up some of that success to a pair of master crew chiefs by the name of Sean GrealyandAshley Smith. In the end, it was a great Katie Scott, Hirst, Scelzi, Grealy, Smith& crew photograph in victory lane that served as a perfect legends tribute to Morrie Williams. Two races, two winners. Kyle Hirst and Dominic Scelzi got it done! Photo by Ashley Grealy.

MORRIE WILLIAMS RACE NOTES: One of the more impressive performances was by 2005 series champ Sean Beckerin the Dan Monhoff#35 machine. He started 10^thand took the lead from Kyle Hirstin the late going of the first event, only to have the caution wave and revert back a lap. That got Hirst sitting high in the seat with his elbows-up the rest of the way. Becker ended up with a front row seat for the crazy Hirst/Mitchell Faccintowheel-to-wheel scuffle at the checkered. The "Shark" started 17^thin the second feature and fought his way to fourth. That was good enough to finish second in the overall standings, only one spot behind Tim Kaeding. … Speaking of Kaeding, he was on a mission during the final laps of the night, getting past Becker and Ryan Robinsonduring the last 1 ½ laps. That was worth an additional $1000 and something everybody needs, a Budweiseracoustic guitar. … Iowa’s Austin McCarlwas the featured driver in the Roth Motorsports 83JRand was a rocket from the first second he stomped on the loud pedal. He set quick time, picked off his heat race, and claimed the Sunnyvalley Bacondash to start on the pole. At this point, it looked like he was going to pull a “Spencer Baystonrepeat of June 20th” and sweep the night. But racing is unpredictable, otherwise we would be doing something else on our weekends. He ended up eighth and fifth in the two 20’s. …

… Earning the Hardcharger award proved to be lucrative. Sean Becker(10^thto 3^rd) and Tim Kaeding(16^thto 2^nd) ended up with the honors. Each pocketed $400 from Swift Metal Finishingand Alan Cade, plus a Hoosierright rear tire. … Two-days before the event, Tarlton Motorsportsannounced that Bud Kaedingwas their driver for the Morrie Williams event. Wasn't expecting that? The familiar BK Racing 69sported a 360 powerplant which he used to claim the Kings of Thunder 360 Cotton Classicrace over Mr. Scelzi. … Yes, that was Sean Grealy sporting white coveralls honoring Mr. Williams. … No tire changes were allowed during the intermission unless the team wanted their car to start the second 20 at the very back (even behind the lapped cars). Most knew it, but some got sidetracked. The Country Buildersteam inadvertently changed a LR tire and had to start dead last in feature number two. Otherwise, Kyle Offillwould have started in the fourth row. … When Stan Greenbergand Mitchell Faccintowere asked if they were considering a RR tire change during intermission, they answered they couldn’t if they wanted to. Their spare was on their 360. The Williams Motorsports team changed the RR on Hirst car after the win figuring they had nothing to lose. Hirst pulled off only 11 laps in with motor issues. … Yes, that was Burt Foland Jr.driving a 410-powered sprint car. … Ryan Robinsonled the first 15-laps of the second feature in Mike Phulps #56. … Blake Carrickwas impressive battling for the lead midway through the first main. He finished fifth. Tanner Carrickfinished sixth in the second race. … Kyle Hirst captured Friday nights Kings of Thunder 410 feature at Hanford. Yes, that was Sean Watts who set quick time. …

… We would like to thank all the sponsors of the event once again. They include: EMADCO, Southern Pacific Farms, Fujitsu General, Tiner/Hirst Enterprises, Ashley Smith, Johnstone Supply, Floracing.com, Kistler Racing Engines, Prior Engineering, Kimo’s Tropical Car Wash, Hoosier Tire West, Roth Motorsports, Dan Bandy, Kevin Shearer Design and Peter Murphy. …

NARC NOTES: We know there isn't a NARC-KWS championship points race this season due to the COVID challenged schedule. But, if there was, Tim Kaedingand car owners Joshua Bates/Roger Hamiltonwould be on top of the standings. Kaeding leads Mitchell Faccintoby five points and the car owner duo has a three-point advantage over Tarlton Motorsports. Kaeding will be competing with the Outlaws at the season finale, so the mythical 2020 championship driver’s battle is up for grabs. The Bates-Hamilton team is expected to announce their cameo driver soon. No matter what happens, this will be a great trivia question a decade or two down the road: “Who won the 2020 NARC King of the West championships that didn’t count?”… Dennis Rothwas presented with the prestigious Dave Bradway Jr. Inspirational Trophyat Hanford. Roth’s contributions to sprint car racing could easily fill a Hall of Fame. Team Manager Todd Venturaaccepted the award on his behalf because Dennis was home nursing a sore back. However, he was watching the presentation on Floracing.com.…

… It’s also time for a random shout out to Keller Motorsportsmotor sponsor Mike Mitchell Construction. He is a General Contractor out of Paso Robles who actively supports the 410-motor program of the Keller’s and driver JJ Ringo. This sport isn’t cheap, and we need all the Mike Mitchell’s we can get. Thank him if you get a chance (www.mitchellconst.com). Better yet, do business with him if the opportunity presents itself. Please support those who support sprint car racing. … Mike Andreettaand Chris Goodwill be presenting the Billy Albini Mechanic of the Year Awardat the season finale. Expect this award to recognize past crew chief superheroes as well as current ones because there are a lot of noteworthy candidates that need to be put on a pedestal. … Enjoyed a nice conversation with Greg DeCairesin the Hanford pits. DeCaires just finished up radiation cancer treatments and is now in the recovery mode – ready to tackle regular life again and go back to work. What started out as a little lump became serious, but he got a jump on it and got treated We traded cancer recovery stories and concluded that we were glad we both acted fast. Not to provide any medical advice here, but we ask that all of you race fans do the same. Go to the doctor and get a physical once a year. You'll live longer! … The 2021 season opener? How about March 13^that Kern County Raceway Park!…

WHAT’S NEXT? Well, the only thing better than three NARC King of the West410 races in 2020, would be four. Stockton Dirt Trackpromoter Tony Noceti, who has been chomping at the bit since March to get the lights turned on, finally got an approval to stage a racing event (without mufflers no less.) It will be the November 7^thTribute to Gary Patterson. Are the grandstands open for front gate general admission? NO …, BUT …, that’s not any fault of anyone in the racing community. However, and this is a big HOWEVER, there will be two types of pit passes offered to accommodate an “in person” experience. Stay with me here and read between the lines. All racing team participants, diehard fans and people staying in the pit area will purchase the normal (HOT) pit pass. For this event, there will also be a COLD PASS sold at the front gate tunnel for race fans/sponsors/fanatics. A $30 cold pass will get you into the pits until racing gets underway around 5:00 p.m.

At that point, all “Cold-Passers” will be funneled back into the main grandstand area, where they can safely enjoy the 37^thAnnual GP race, along with 360 racing on the 4/10^thmile dirt oval. Make sense? It’s what has to be done to play within the regulations that were provided.

As part of our standard public service announcement, please note that the normal California COVID-19 safety protocols are in full effect: Wear a mask, practice social distancing, and don’t sing, chant, chew tobacco, bob for apples, share a Kleenex, sit at a bar, spit out your gum or sunflower seeds, French kiss a homeless person, play a kazoo, get your nails done, trade bodily fluids in the parking lot, travel to Wuhan, use a friends toothbrush or earplugs, pick your teeth with a business card, work out with gym equipment, cough, sneeze, touch your face, hold hands, or … use a plastic straw or bag. And for God’s sake, if you don’t feel good, please stay at home, and watch the festivities on Floracing.com

Coming to you live from Auburn, CA. See ya.

NARC NEWSLINE - August 2, 2020, By Jim Allen ... Let's face it, motorsports in general has been pretty lucky over the past 120-days or so. While just about every sport on the planet was completely shut down due to the COVID-19 panic, racing was the first to get its game face back and actually put on some events. True, it's been a little like the Twilight Zone without spectators in the main grandstands, but it's better than nothing. The best way to describe "fan-less" events would be to say it's sort of like showing up to a family reunion and then finding out you got the date wrong. At that point you just make the best of the situation. Then again, many race fans have told me that they really haven't sacrificing much (if anything) as they sprawl out on their leather couch, watching Floracing.com on a giant flat screen, drinking hard alcohol, with fresh food served hot off the BBQ. And let's not forget there is never a line for the bathroom. I guess if you ever had to compromise without a mask on, that's not a bad way to go!

Now don't get me wrong, this coronavirus deal really sucks ass - whether you buy into the big picture or not. Yes, we are all upset that racing events play in front of full grandstands in the Midwest, but four family members going to church on Sunday or not wearing masks at a Costco in California is a punishable crime. Throw in all of the other drama in the United States and it gets even worse as the human race starves for anything resembling normalcy. For race promoters, normalcy has been trying to find a way to struggle through some racing shows as their livelihood gets threatened forever. Placerville, Petaluma, Ocean, Keller Auto, and Marysville have managed to squeeze in some weekly shows and generate some grocery money. On the other side, Calistoga, Tulare, Santa Maria, Kern County and Stockton are laying on the mat like a bloodied UFC fighter with a crumpled financial statement in their hands. It's not pretty and you would be able to see that distress on every race promoters face if it weren't for the fact they are hiding it behind a mask. Now top it off with no Knoxville Nationals, no Trophy Cup and the medical profession is wondering why prescriptions for anti-depressants are going through the roof. Which brings me to my next question: Has anybody got COVID-19 at a race track? I didn't think so!

KELLER AUTO SPEEDWAY (Season Opener - 6/20/20) ... A NARC season opener in June? Are you kidding me? What's next, Thanksgiving in July? But seriously, thank you to Keller Auto Speedway promoter Peter Murphy for working with us to generate enough sponsorship money and back gate proceeds to sport a full paying purse on June 20th. Twenty-nine cars towed down to Hanford to race in 103-degree heat with a full set of COVID-19 health guidelines to follow. Also making the call was 20 RaceSavers and 14 Kings of Thunder non-wing machines. The pit gate was backed up bumper-to-bumper like Los Angeles rush hour as releases were signed and body temperatures were scanned. And wearing a mask in 100 degree plus weather was about as comfortable as telling your mother-in-law you have an illegitimate kid with a stripper in Kansas. But we all survived to watch Spencer Bayston represent the Hoosier state with an impressive fast time-heat race win-dash win-and feature win domination on the 3/8 mile oval. Tarlton Motorsports crew chief Paul Baines had Bayston dialed in and on a wire with a perfect race car after a previous series of weekly show" off-nights." Seventh starter Bud Kaeding kept the Indiana driver honest in the late going, but Bayston answered the call to become the 84th winner in series history. My compliments to Bayston who is very well spoken and professional with a microphone in his face.

... Roseville's Jodie Robinson was excited like a kid on Christmas morning making her first ever 410 start. She logged a 16th place finish in the feature. Running a 410 at Hanford for the first time clarifies the statement of getting "thrown to the wolves." ... Michael Faccinto impressed driving a 360 for Harley Van Dyke. Starting 23rd and staying out of trouble, Faccinto methodically picked his way to a ninth place finish. The team earned $150 from Swift Metal Finishing and another $300 from super fan Rick Freund. ... It was also Trent Canales first ever race driving a 410 sprint car. He finished fifth in the semi. ... Brendan Warmerdam took a wild ride in the main. He jammed a rut in turn one and catapulted deep into the shadows of downtown Hanford. He exited the car with a smile on his face and smirked, "that was a wild ride." We totally agree. ... Tim Kaeding, driving the Bates-Hamilton Maxim started 10th and finished the night on the podium with a third. ... With absolutely no racing going on in the COVID-19 hotbed of Southern California, AJ Bender made the tow to Hanford from San Diego. The non-wing ace qualified for the feature, but finished 21st. ... Kurt Nelson was the first car to qualify during the 2020 season. ... Tucker Worth: Semi-winner. ... Four-time NARC King of the West champ Kyle Hirst made his first appearance aboard the Katie Williams Motorsports "0" car. Started seventh, finished sixth. ...

... Thank you to Roth Motorsport, Tarlton Motorsports, Dalton's, Speedshift and Fujitsu General USA for their tremendous support of this show. ... The King of the West feature ran first and finished around 10:45 p.m. The winged cars didn't finish their race until about midnight. .... Yes that was Dominic Scelzi who has spent most of 2020 zigging and zagging between California events and shows in the Midwest. Problem is, he lost track of his racing gear and returned to the Golden State without a uniform or helmet. He improvised with an old helmet and a uniform that belonged to his dad Gary from his drag racing days. He finished seventh in the Roth Motorsports KPC. ... If you needed proof that hair salons and barbers have been closed for a while in California, a quick trip through the pit area would have proved it. ... Nobody died from COVID-19.

OCEAN SPEEDWAY (Howard Kaeding Classic - 7/18/20) ... Usually when you read the box score and you see something like: "Kyle Hirst 1-30," you kind of figure it was a cake walk and as exciting as watching paint dry. However, never judge a book by it's cover and if you need proof, all you had to do was to take a look at Mr. Hirst when he excited the Williams Motorsports Maxim in victory lane. He was happy and smiling, but sweating up a storm and admitting he was winded. That's because Justin Sanders pushed, challenged and attacked him the entire distance in a classic Ocean Speedway battle that theoretically would have had a packed grandstands buzzing with excitement. It was a great race with both drivers getting completely out of shape at times, but bouncing off the mat to continue the open wheel skirmish. ... Spencer Bayston charged from 15th to third in the Tarlton Motorsports KPC. However, it was Sanders who pocketed the $500 Spire Sport & Entertainment HK Classic weekend bonus without passing a car on Saturday. Sanders roared past 14 cars on the Friday night show (20th-6th) to score the money. Ironically, Sanders and his crew had built a brand new car in the wee hours of the Friday morning for Saturday's show. According to Sanders the car wasn't quite right after sustaining damage in an ASCoC race a month prior. I think he got his monies worth. ...

The Keller Motorsports 2 car driven by James Ringo sported a 410 motor on loan from Larry Antaya. ... Joey Ancona was a happy camper after pocketing $250 from Johnstone Supply for his semi-win. ... Kyle Offill was a no show on Saturday after destroying his car in an ugly heat race crash at Friday's Taco Bravo show. ... DJ Netto, the winner on Friday night, appeared headed towards a weekend sweep when he started with fast time. He pocketed $500 from Norm Martin and ARP for his 12.041 seconds worth of work. Good work if you can get it! Unfortunately, his 88N developed a few battle scars in the feature and dropped out after 15-laps. ... Blake Carrick scored his second NARC top ten of the season at Ocean. He scored sixth. ... The hired gun for the HK Classic in the Roth Motorsports ride was Ryan Bernal. He was ninth. ... While some drivers were enjoying just their second or third outing of the year, Shane Golobic has already toured all around the country and logged over 35 shows. He finished second on Friday and seventh on this night. ... You can pretty much count on the Howard Kaeding Classic being a 40-lap main next year. ... There was a scaled-down HK Classic Luncheon in the pits with proceeds benefiting the NARC Benevolent Fund. A $20 donation got you some of the best food that Myles McAtee and his crew could serve up. It was worth every finger-licking cent. ... There was a 35+ temperature swing between the Hanford event at the Watsonville show. A great way to spend a summer night. ... Nobody died from COVID-19.

... And finally, a special thank you to Bud Kaeding for all of his hard work that make the 10th Annual event a possibility, and then a reality. It wasn't a mistake that this show paid $5000 to win and $800 to start. He worked the phones and relationships to generate a stout $36,000 in prize money. Just think of what it would've been with spectators in the grandstands? Of course all of this would have not be possible without the tremendous support of all of the sponsors who contributed. Thank you very much!

NARC NOTES: With his HK win, Hirst passed Steve Kent into fourth place on the NARC-King of the West all-time winners list with 29 victories. ... There is a remote possibility of a NARC King of the West Fujitsu Sprint Car Series race on Saturday, September 5th. Nothing has been finalized and a whole lot of planets need to align to make it a reality. That's all we are saying at this point. Stay tuned! ... Just in case you missed it, the NARC King of the West series is not crowning a championship team or rookie of the year this season (for obvious reasons.) ... After watching several races on PPV, it's my opinion that it's imperative to speed up shows - and that is with a nice refreshing adult beverage in my hands while sitting on my couch eating barbecued ribs. The down time between races is grueling. ... The more I learn about driver McKenna Haase, the more impressed I am. This girl has a huge heart and has it going on. ... Kyle Larson is in the midst of one of the greatest seasons in sprint car history. "Yung Money" is a generational talent. Enjoy it while you have the opportunity.

Coming to you live from Auburn, CA! See ya!

NARC NEWSLINE, April 9, 2020, By Jim Allen (Includes two special race reports!) ... Okay, I'll admit it! I'm bored out of my mind! Yes, I said it in public! Do we all agree that there's a huge difference between enjoying a nice relaxing weekend at home to recharge the batteries and "having" to stay home for an extended period of time? I'm so charged up now, I feel like the Energizer Bunny running on a pure adrenaline IV drip, except its Ground Hog Day and I'm stuck in a never ending line at the DMV.

After enduring day number "whatever" of this coronavirus shelter in place deal, I think we have a mutual understanding that entertainment comes super cheap these days. One can only scroll through social media memes so many times. And watching six Sharknado's and all 14 Fast & Furious movies is just downright wrong on many different levels. Heck, I joined the rest of the nation and blasted through all seven episodes of Tiger King in just two sittings. If you do that long enough somebody will come fit you for a jacket where the arms tie behind your back and you get coloring books for your birthday for the rest of your life.

So with all that in mind and to keep our sanity, let's just fantasize for just a moment and imagine that this Coronavirus deal never happened. That's right ... NO C-O-V-I-D-19, just N-A-R-C and K-W-S-2020. More specifically, let's just say it was business as usual for the NARC King of the West Fujitsu Racing Series and our first two races of the season went off without a hitch. No rain, no viruses, no panic, and yes, we still have toilet paper. Got your attention yet? Good! For all of you locked in your homes right now looking for more cheap entertainment, here is how it (allegedly) went:

MARCH 14th - The Dirt Track @Kern County Raceway Park: With gas prices at their lowest levels in California since the great earthquake of 1906, race fans poured into Bakersfield from 11 different states. The last time this many people invaded the city, there was a 2-for-1 ladies night at the nearby Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace. Local hotels were packed, Salty's BBQ sold out of ribs by noon, and co-event sponsor Houchin Community Blood Bank had so many volunteers donating blood they had to bring in an 18-wheel oil tanker to haul it away. To say that anticipation was at an all-time high for the Fujitsu Infinite Comfort Nationals at the one-third mile Dirt Track would be an understatement.

Thirty-six 410 sprint cars signed in. Four additional traveling teams from Alabama and Mississippi had committed to attend but never made it. It was discovered later that the southerners towed to the wrong Bakersfield. Not the other track in Bakersfield, but to tiny Bakersfield, Texas. That town has a population of about 30 people (Google it), which coincidentally, was about the same number of people standing in line at Rico Abreu's apparel truck making purchases. And ... almost as many as the line at Jodie Robinson's 83V car, where she was autographing her new "Girl's Rule and Boy's Drool" racing shirts.

A surprise entry in the pit area was the 69C car driven by Craven Cash of Shafter, California. The driver had a striking resemblance to 13-time NARC and KWS champ Brent Kaeding. Word got out later that BK was racing under a pseudonym (aka Jimmy Sills as Luke Warmwater) to get out of paying a $100 bet to former racer Anthony Simone. On top of that, the 2020 season was going to serve as a much-deserved "I wined 'em, I dined 'em, I'm ready to AARP 'em" BK farewell tour. Also forget to mention that Mr. Cash is running for rookie of the year honors. He timed in sixth fast.

So why the name change? With interest, Kaeding owed Simone $4,328 and didn't want his race winnings taken by a pending court judgement. By the way, I know you're dying to know what the bet was. Glad you asked! More than four decades ago, Kaeding bet Simone that he couldn't make it through a single NARC event without crashing. He lost that wager at the 1985 Pombo-Sargent Classic in Hanford when Simone blew a motor on the first circuit of hot laps and was done for the night. He's been chasing down BK ever since.

2019 King of the West champion DJ Netto was the first car out to qualify. But it was two-time series champ Tim Kaeding who set fast time in the Bates-Hamilton 42. He did it in less time than it takes to complete two pro rodeo bull rides (which is how they time things in Bakersfield.) Dominic Scelzi, Gio Scelzi and Gary Scelzi timed in second through fourth fast in a remarkable feat of family consistency. All three were driving matching number 41 race cars.

The new Sunnyvalley Bacon throw didn't go off quite as planned. To add some marketing flair this year, drivers line up on the front straightaway to throw 1.5 pound packages of frozen bacon into the grandstands. Fans were encouraged in advance to wear football helmets and goalie masks and to bring baseball gloves and fishing nets, but not everybody got the message. We apologize to Mrs. Pandemic from Santa Clara who caught a package of Sunnyvalley's fantastic tasting Sweet & Sour-flavored bacon - with her face. When she was revived by paramedics with smelling salts and a Coors Light, Sean Watts, in a terrific gesture of sportsmanship autographed her bacon package as a reminder to duck next time. On a side note, one vegetarian race fan complained about the lack of vegan bacon in the promotion. He was promptly arrested by Bakersfield finest for charges unbecoming an American citizen.

The first heat race was claimed by rookie Kyle Offill, the starting center of the NARC basketball team. The other three heats were claimed by Indiana's Spencer Bayston, Oklahoma's Shane Stewart and Roseville's Willie Croft. Gary Scelzi brought out the only red flag of the night in the fourth heat. Apparently, he forgot what kind of car he was driving, forgot to turn left, and crashed into the first turn concrete wall on the first lap. The good news is that his chutes deployed. He crawled out from his car unhurt, but hungry, after racing for 3.652 seconds. He was last seen chowing down on some tasty Italian food at this hauler.

Justin Sanders won the trophy dash, but was reprimanded for spraying officials with Alkaline water in a wild and very moist victory lane celebration. There was so much water on the track, it had to be wheel-packed again before the semi. Speaking of the semi, rookie Carol Baskin, driving the Big Cat Rescue-sponsored number 66 , was named the winner of the 12-lap event, but only after the top three finishers mysteriously disappeared. She insisted that all three left the pits on their own accord, headed to Costa Rica to start the aptly named Tiger King Speedway. Police are still investigating why Tyler Walker, Carson Macedo and JoJo Hedberg are still missing.

The feature was one for the ages. After starting fifth and sixth in the grid, the Scelzi brothers powered to the front with Gio taking the lead away from Sanders on lap 10. After that it was stimulating contest of the "S's" for announcer Steve Hughes. It went something like this for the final nonstop 20-laps: "It's Scelzi sliding Scelzi, Sanders, and Statler in some sensational side-by-side racing screaming down the backstretch on the 17th circuit." Hughes had to wipe the window down three times with a squeegee after providing play-by-play in this Sssssaliva-inducing spitfest. To complicate matters, just about every dog in Kern County came running to the track - most of them in heat. In the end it was Dominic who scored his third straight win at the Dirt Track, this one over his little brother in a photo finish. The winning margin was ... get this ... .667 seconds. (For those of you from Bakersfield, that is the time it takes to open the gate to start a bull ride.)

However, in victory lane, officials discovered that Dominic was mistakenly driving Gio's 41 car and vise-versa, resulting in instant DQ's for both. That meant third place finisher Bud Kaeding was named the winner and everybody moved up a couple of spots. Kaeding proudly announced in his interview that he was "going to Disneyland," but he does that all the time anyway.

Colby Copeland was the new runner-up and DJ Netto filled out the extended line of cars lined up on the front straightaway representing the podium finishers. Justin Sanders, who drove the feature wearing scuba gear and a snorkel, was fourth, chased by Jodie Robinson. With her first career 410 finish top five, Robinson's autographed merchandise was now selling on EBay for record amounts.

Chase Johnson and Mitchell Faccinto were next to cross the checkered. Their efforts were remarkable in that neither driver was actually at Kern County Raceway Park. Both were hooked up to remote iRacing rigs in their homes that automatically drove their cars, while they casually sipped ice cold brews in Penngrove and Hanford, respectively. Johnson said he would have finished higher but a computer glitch kept switching his 68 car from a winged car to a non-winged machine throughout the event. Faccinto's drive was impressive in the fact his 37 car was damaged during the parade lap when he ran into the "non-virtual" pace truck. And again on lap 22 when he was shunted by Bubba Wallace.

Was that Jason Statler's name you heard earlier? Yup, like in "Big Jason Statler," who came to the conclusion that the only thing better than 30-years of racing with Dave Rios, was 31-years. He finished eighth, followed by Croft and TK. It was a great race. Too bad you couldn't make it.

MARCH 21st - The Stockton Dirt Track Salute to LeRoy Van Conett: After all the tremendous hoopla that surrounded the first race of the season, race fans packed the ex-horse track in Stockton. Secretariat, Seabiscuit, Man 'o War and Trigger were kid favorites as they grazed in the victory lane paddock area before the races kicked off.

Promoter Tony Noceti made good on his promise to get a jump on promoting the upcoming Asparagus Cup. His idea was to make sure that all of the food concessions featured asparagus. That included everything from the nachos and ice cream to the popcorn and beer. Surprisingly, it all tasted good, but the bathrooms began to smell funny as the night progressed.

An auto-correct error on the text invitation to Leroy Van Conett for the autograph session turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Joining Van Conett was the band Van Halen, singer Van Morrison, the cast from Van Helsing and National Lampoons Van Wilder, and some guy selling a 1976 Chevy Van on Craigslist. A good time was had by all and the music and CGI special effects were great. Gary Scelzi also took the opportunity to announce he was retiring from sprint car racing and had legally changed his name to Gary Van Scelzi to honor the eight-time NARC champion. He was last seen eating asparagus-stuffed canalloni in the pit area.

By the way, it was open muffler night at Stockton and Jodie Robinson's new "Girls Rule and Boys Drool" earplugs were a steal at $29 per set. Each set came with a complimentary bushel of asparagus and they sold out right after wheel-packing. At this rate, she will be independently wealthy before she is 30.

Tim Kaeding was the fast qualifier for the second time and debuted his brand new "Bates Hotel-Hamilton the Musical" racing t-shirts in the pits. According to TK, the shirt represents the ups and downs of sprint car racing. One side is kind of scary and the other makes you want to sing rap music and dance through the pits. Nobody was seriously injured during the bacon throw.

Heat races were picked off by DJ Netto, Cole Croft, Craven Cash, and Anthony Simone's grandson, who now races under the pseudonym of BK Stillowesmoney. Sean Watts, who secured a special sponsorship from the Stockton Police SWAT team and "Bullet" America won the dash in a shootout with Shane Golobic.

Carol Baskin won the semi again in the same fashion as Kern County. She finished fourth, but Buddy Kofoid, Cole Macedo and Jenna Frazier haven't been seen since. Baskin was last seen in the pits explaining to Director of Competition Mike Andreetta how they left for a dirt track in Costa Rica. Andreetta was last seen walking a full grown lion to the scoring tower for the A-main. As a side note, Simba loves bacon.

Wouldn't you know it, the 30-lap feature was one for the ages! (Of course it was!) It was a clash between RA, TK, DJ, and SB battling for most of the race. A flat tire took TK out of contention with five to go and Abreu pulled in the pits a lap later to restock his apparel truck. Bayston and Netto mixed it up pretty good, but in the end it was the old guys who ruled. Van Conett "backed it in" with a classic Calistoga racing move and got past both frontrunners with only two laps remaining. A lap later, Brent Kaeding and Shane Stewart did the same setting the stage for an old (pardon the pun) storybook ending. The three cars crossed the finish line together in Ford vs Ferrari style. Tony Hunt handled the victory lane interviews.

DJ Netto was fourth and Bayston fifth. The hardcharger award went to Bud Kaeding who started dead last in the 69 car after missing qualifying. Bud chartered a helicopter from the Disneyland parking lot directly to the track, but his pilot experienced a Vietnam flashback mid-flight and crash landed in the infield at Ocean Speedway. Bud finished sixth after a quick flight on Southwest. Speaking of Tim Kaeding, he was last seen in the pits spray painting "Bates Hotel" on the side of hauler. Car owner Joshua Bates plans to load TK's Spotify account with rap music before the next race.

And that was a wrap from the Van Stockton Dirt Track. An in-depth recap of everything you allegedly missed. And wouldn't you know it, there were a couple of twists and turns in the process. You should have been there!

Coming to you live from Auburn, CA. See ya.

LEGAL DISCLAIMER: The following column was meant as a parody. It was not intended to offend, upset, annoy, or outrage any of the alleged fictional characters in the story. Your spouse can do that a lot better than me! It was intended to provide cheap entertainment to fans desperate for a touch of open wheel racing sanity. It is not intended as a cure for COVID-19, VD, ED, ADHD, STD, IUD, IED, DUI, or the super explosive IBS. Names were not changed to protect the guilty. In the event you were offended by anything written here, your local Dungeons & Dragons Basement Dweller Fantasy League Draft is waiting for you. A Go Fund Me account has been set up to pay off Anthony Simone. Void where prohibited by law. Carol Baskin more than likely is a murderer. Not valid in China. For external use only. The names LeRoy Van Conett and Brent Kaeding are trademarked by the US Patent office and proudly displayed in the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame. The End!

NARC NEWSLINE - March 25, 2020, By Jim Allen ... And just like that, racing season and every other sport in America gets slam dunked by a China-borne virus named after a popular Mexican beer, which is hawked by a former Dallas Cowboy quarterback! What are the odds? Who saw that one coming? I didn't! You didn't! And that unique scenario led to school closures, mass panic, pantry raids at Costco, the instant demise of the travel industry, shelter in place, and toilet paper being hawked on the streets like it's crack!

So how does that effect all of you fanatic sprint car fans? Just scroll through the social media site of your choice and it rates somewhere between totally pissed off to predicting an open wheel apocalypse (whatever that is!) Many have wanted to revolt and race no matter what politicians and safety officials preach. That got even more complicated when many fans lost their minds after watching California's very own Carson Macedo win at Williams Grove in Pennsylvania. If they're racing, why can't we race? I get it. We all get it. But on the other side of the coin, nobody wants to actually get "it" - most specifically the COVID-19 virus.

The bottom line is it's pretty hard to stage a "successful" open wheel event with less than 250 people, all of whom must be social distanced by at least six feet, while all of the veteran (older) race fans are quarantined at home surfing Amazon for hand sanitizer and face masks. Yes, several promoters and sanctioning bodies have considered running renegade and staging racing events anyway. But deep down, short track promoters know they will take a financial bloodbath in the process and that is probably more dangerous for our sport than the actual coronavirus itself. By the way, in the time it took to read that, the recommended group body count has already dropped to 100 ..., no wait ..., make that 50. Now another press conference by the governor and it's down to 10 people, who now have to prove they haven't sneezed since the third grade. Heck, by the time you're done reading this piece, it will be highly recommended, suggested and legislated that you and your significant other can't sleep in the same bed.

At this point, promoters are between a hard place and a harder place because while we do this for fun and an entertaining break from reality, their livelihood is probably at stake. They are being forced to cancel everything, batten down the hatches, cut every expense, and sit tight and hope they can outlast the storm. That is pretty depressing because a lot of work goes into preparing a track, negotiating a schedule and sponsorships and gearing up for any season. And this knife cuts on both sides, because as of right now, the State of California is still expecting their facility lease payments to be mailed in a timely fashion. If a concession isn't made, we might be worrying about ALL tracks like we perpetually do about Calistoga (which may now be the most stable track of the pack after contracts were signed.)

Which brings us full circle to the slam dunk portion of the NARC King of the West Fujitsu Racing Series. Two races schedule, two races postponed indefinitely (which is Latin for cancelled.) And now that the State has mandated that no activities are to take place on any fairgrounds until May 10th, that officially scrubs the 30th Annual Dave Bradway Jr. race at Silver Dollar Speedway until 2021. Keep in mind that the May 10th date is the "best case scenario" timeline. That would tentatively make the May 16th Peter Murphy Classic the season opener, which is coincidental because it's Mr. Murphy who has been preaching for years to "Bring a Friend" to the track. Motorsports is going to need a lot of friends to recover from this. Let's hope that all of your friends are still employed by then.

Speaking of Murphy, everybody figured that Peter Murphy was one of the luckiest men alive when he took over the reigns at Keller Auto Speedway. I did! You did, we all did! He marched in with a new vision and passion, new paint, new sponsors, and a healthy bounce in his step. That resulted in an awesome season opener in front of a packed house at the Kings Fairgrounds. He also has some great plans lined up to help grow 410 sprint car racing in California with some additional non-KWS competing races. Fast forward a month and now he is in a permanent holding pattern over the Central Valley until the Fair Board and Health Department deems he can turn the lights on again. That stinks worse than being stuck on a quarantined cruise ship.

In the meantime, we all need to be patient and go out of your way to support all of those in your family and our racing family - while properly maintaining social distancing. Let's get through to the other side of this global catastrophe without having to perform any memorial laps for anybody. If you want to do something nice, send your local track promoter lunch (DoorDash or GrubHub); try to support the people and sponsors whose names adorn your favorite racing heroes cars, and with some luck, the 2020 season will not have a big asterisk next to it.

NARC NOTES: I nominate car owner/former NARC president Walter T. Ross to be inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame. #justsaying ... We are planning to honor the legendary LeRoy Van Conett at our March 21st event. That doesn't mean we can't acknowledge him now! The eight-time NARC champion claimed 65 feature events and was a dominating force any time he slipped into a sprint car. Those are some great memories, even if one can only remember a portion of them. ... Geoffrey Strole recently announced that he will be chasing the NARC King of the West schedule this season. The "G-Man" from Hanford cut his teeth as a series rookie in 2012 and finished 12th in points. He's aiming to improve that to the top 10 this season! ... While we are on the subject of nicknames, "Wild Bill" Anton will also be a frequent flyer this season. ... The cancellations have actually helped a few NARC-KWS teams. Chico's Kenny Allen wasn't going to be ready for the NARC season until May. Now he will be rolling in with with a new racing program, car and updated motor. ... Same thing with car owner Clayton Snow, who was tooling around in Arizona. ... And one of the newest teams who really appreciated the extra time was none other than Willie Croft. The Roseville driver has literally built a new team from scratch for the 2020* season. This includes everything from building a new hauler to buying the wrenches to put inside it. ...

RANDOM THOUGHTS: iRacing may become the most popular sport in America this year. Desperate times bring desperate measures. ... Do we take it for granted that every driver who buckles up in a sprint car has some kind of medical insurance? Not to single anyone out, but why would anyone even consider getting into one without insurance? All of us are invincible - until we get hurt - and then hindsight is the worst kind of reality check. For those of you without an option, take a look at stida.com, which stands for the "short track independent drivers and associates." For less than $300 bucks you can buy a policy. If you need it, I'll lend it to you. If you don't pay me back, I'll send Vinnie to break your kneecaps, which means you'll need insurance anyway. ... Have you every wondered how Cornhole Tournaments get televised on ESPN, but not many, if any dirt track races? ... Since most of us are spending a ton-o-time on social media these days, start posting some of your favorite racing memorabilia and photos. ... Wishing new Antioch Speedway promoter Chad Chadwick the best in his efforts to improve that facility. Like Peter Murphy, he has big plans to take motorsports to the next level at his Contra Costa Fairgrounds race track. We would like to plan a return trip. ...

... What do you with all of your spare time? I agree, you can only watch Netflix reruns of Breaking Bad, Rake, Dexter and Narcos so many times before you go bats**t crazy! For that reason, your NARC King of the West racing series entertainment guide highly recommends a subscription to SpeedShiftTV.com and/or MillsVideo.tv. Pick a random race, pour yourself a beer in a plastic cup and see if you can predict (if you are young) or remember (if you are old) the top three finishers. Make sure you throw some dirt in your face every few minutes for the full effect. Or take it to the next level and do it naked when the kids are in bed. What? I just threw that in to see if you were still paying attention! ... This is also a good time to surf the libraries of some of our great photographers; many of who have websites showcasing their work. Others you can reach on social media. I'm sure they would love an order for a nice photo of 2019 series champion DJ Netto to mount above your bed. ... There are also some great podcast available, a couple of which I've been on recently (sprintcarunlimited.com & Across the Groove.) ... Support those who support sprint car racing.

So let's steal a page from the Disney playbook, which is to end every story/movie on a positive note. There will be good news ahead - if we're patient. We will still be alive if we do the right thing. Race cars will be ready to go and your favorite dirt track(s) will be anxious to open their ticket booth. And when we finally take the first green flag in qualifying, we will have an 80-way tie for the NARC King of the West Fujitsu Racing Series championship point lead late in the racing season. A battle for the ages!

Coming to you live from Auburn, CA. See ya! Stay healthy and start lining up your friends for when this show gets on the road again.

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