|
Red hot Cory Eliason gets out the broom & sweeps King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series Hanford/Stockton double header
By Gary Thomas
Stockton, CA – July 11, 2016…So far this season Fresno’s Cory Eliason has been one of the most talked about drivers in the Golden State and this past weekend he certainly reminded everyone why that’s the case, by impressively sweeping the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series double header weekend in Hanford & Stockton.
Things began with the first visit of the season to Keller Auto Speedway at Kings Fairgrounds on Saturday, where Eliason battled with Hanford’s DJ Netto in the early stages of the feature, before having his way the final half of the race in an expert drive aboard the Reitz Almond Harvesting/ Driven Performance No. 00jr machine.
Eliason had earned his first career King of the West win at the same track last October at the Cotton Classic. “This is an awesome feeling to get another KWS win here in Hanford tonight,” he commented. “That was a great battle with DJ early on and after that I focused on running my own race. I know it was wild behind me, but I had a great seat where I was at. I want to thank all the people that support our race team. It’s been a great season and I’m pretty pumped up right now.”
The action behind Eliason was certainly intense with positions changing on a regular basis and drivers jockeying for position. Current King of the West point leader Kyle Hirst of Paradise was able to get by Fremont’s Shane Golobic on a late race double file restart to claim second at the finish. Golobic rounded out the podium while making his first ever start in the Roth Motorsports No. 83jr mount. Fresno’s Craig Stidham & Campbell’s Bud Kaeding rounded out the top-five. Two-time World of Outlaws champion Jason Meyers of Clovis made his season debut coming home in sixth.
Netto made a nice rebound to finish seventh after getting over the edge of the track in turn two and having to go to the rear of the field. Clarksburg’s Justyn Cox, Watsonville’s Justin Sanders and Tipton’s Danny Faria Jr. complete the top-10. Netto captured the dash, with heat race wins going to Hollister’s Ryan Bernal & Kyle Hirst. Los Angeles driver Tyler Walker opened the night by setting his first fast time of the season with a clocking of 13.769 around the Keller Auto Speedway.
Sunday night at the Stockton Dirt Track then saw one of the most exciting races of the season during the rescheduled Salute to LeRoy Van Conett. An expertly prepared track for the main event allowed drivers to race high, low and everywhere in-between on the 3/8 mile clay oval. Eliason continued his torrid pace and came out on top of a thrilling race-long battle with Kyle Hirst. His third career series triumph ties him with Shane Golobic, Dominic Scelzi, Roger Crockett, Robert Ballou, Stephen Allard & Brad Sweet on the all-time win list.
“I hope all the fans enjoyed that race because it sure was a lot of fun in the car,” commented Eliason. “It was an absolute blast racing like that with Kyle Hirst. He’s one of the best in the business and always tough to beat. On that final corner I saw him and just held on hoping we’d get to the finish line first. Thankfully we did and we’re standing up here again tonight in victory lane. Having the chance to win two King of the West races in one weekend is pretty special and again I really want to thank my entire team that supports me. I look forward to heading back to the Midwest now with Harley Van Dyke.”
The 30-lap contest started out with first-year King of the West driver Justyn Cox jumping into the lead, before Kyle Hirst was able to power his way by and grab the top-spot on lap two. Eliason then made his presence known while running the ragged edge of the Stockton Dirt Track and charged to second with three laps complete. He continued running the high-side to perfection and rocketed around Hirst off turn four on lap six. The racing throughout the field was fantastic all feature long, with passing prevalent all over.
The scintillating battle for the lead would then continue on as the race wound down, with Eliason & Hirst exchanging positions through traffic. When the white flag was unveiled it was Eliason out front, but Hirst would give it one more shot. As the pair went into the final set of corners Eliason went to the high side, with Hirst shooting to the inside, pulling even with the leader. The drag race to the checkered flag saw Eliason cross under it ahead of Hirst by just 0.324 seconds. For Hirst it was yet another consistent finish in the Roth Motorsports/ Tarlton & Son No. 21x mount. The two-time champ has finished on the podium in six of the nine races held.
Chico’s Jonathan Allard had a great run to come from the back of the field and charge forward to claim third at the finish while driving the Van Lare Racing No. 5v machine. The three-time series titlist made a final corner pass of Jason Statler to round out the podium. Statler also had a fine run to cross the stripe in fourth, with Tyler Walker rounding out the top-five. All three drivers were fun to watch all race long. DJ Netto also made a great charge after going to the rear of the field to come home sixth, followed by Penngrove’s Buddy Kofoid, Cox, Gilroy’s Jarrett Soares and Atwater’s Sean Watts completing the top-10.
Bud Kaeding won the night’s dash, before rear end issues knocked him out the feature. The three 10-lap heat races were picked off by Cory Eliason, Jonathan Allard and Ryan Bernal. Justin Sanders began the night by setting his first fast time of the season with a lap of 13.626 around the Stockton Dirt Track. Full results will be available at www.racepmg.com
The King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series will head next for the sixth annual Howard Kaeding Classic this Saturday July 16 at the Ocean Speedway in Watsonville. There is more than $10,000 in extra cash & prizes on the line during the night. In addition to the beefed up $4,000-to-win/ $700-to-start A-main, each heat race winner Saturday will receive a right rear tire courtesy of Hoosier! Norm Martin Motorsports has also donated a front wing, 4 sleeves of tear offs & 10 gallons of fuel to be awarded during the night.
Special thanks to Buster & Ziggy Enterprise, Alviso Rock, Kyle Larson Racing, Rico Abreu Racing, Riley Collins Body Shop, Emadco Recycling, Swift Metal, Williams Roofing, Roth Motorsports, Maxima Oil, High Five Pizza and FK Rod Ends for all their support of the HK Classic. Pre-sale tickets for the weekend are available at http://racepmg.com/tickets/
Photos courtesy Paul Trevino & Petersen Media
www.sprintcarchallengetour.com
www.placervillespeedway.com
www.stocktondirttrack.com
www.thunderbowlraceway.com
|
