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Photo courtesy Paul Trevino Racing Photos
Defending KWS champ Kyle Hirst leads all 30-laps at the Pombo/Sargent Classic for his third King of the West Series victory in the last four races
By Gary Thomas
Hanford, CA – June 14, 2014…Defending King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series champion Kyle Hirst continued to be one of the hottest drivers in Northern California Sprint Car racing on Saturday night by scoring a flag-to-flag victory at the annual Pombo/Sargent Classic in Hanford.
It was Hirst’s third King of the West 410 win in the last four races and also marked his first ever series triumph at the Kings Speedway. The victory didn’t come easy however, as Cory Eliason and DJ Netto gave chase through traffic, during an A-main that went 30-laps straight following a caution on the initial start.
“It’s great come out here and a get a win in Dennis & Teresa Roth’s backyard tonight,” said Hirst on the front stretch. “I’ve been trying for a long time to win a race at Hanford so this is pretty awesome and to do it at the Pombo/Sargent Classic is really cool. This event has a ton of history behind it. I can’t say enough about this whole Roth Motorsports team. We’ve been clicking on all cylinders and it’s been a great season so far for us. I want to wish a happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there as well and I’m happy to get a win for my father Rick this weekend.”
Hirst lined up on the pole by way of winning the dash and got the initial jump in the feature, but a yellow flag for Craig Stidham created a complete restart. Once going back green the main event would go non-stop for 30-laps, as drivers showed some great skills on the 3/8 mile clay oval. Hirst did a masterful job through lapped traffic aboard the Roth Motorsports No. 83jr and kept the rest of the field at bay. Cory Eliason stayed within striking distance for much of the contest however, and forced Hirst to be perfect on the slicked off surface.
Just around the midway point of the feature DJ Netto joined the mix and made it a three-car battle for the lead through heavy duty lapped traffic. The Hanford, CA youngster had found the high side in the first & second corners to his liking and looked to be the fastest on the track at that point. Netto would pull off a slide job on Eliason to grab second on lap 17, but couldn’t stick the car off the exit of turn four and spun around sideways, nearly coming to a stop. He was able to keep the motor lit though and only dropped a couple of spots.
Netto regained his composure and marched back towards the front in impressive fashion, reclaiming third from Brent Kaeding on lap 22 and then charged into second with just three-laps remaining. He would run out of time though and the fast moving Hirst took the checkered flag by 1.406 seconds for the victory. It was his 10th career Golden State/ King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series win, which places him in a tie with Tommy Tarlton for ninth on the all-time list.
Netto’s runner up finish was a career best with the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series for the 18-year-old and came aboard the Netto Ag/ Penny Newman Grain No. 88n machine. “We’ve had a little bit of bad luck to start the year, but we’re really learning a lot as the season goes on and I’m pretty happy to get on the podium tonight at my home track,” commented Netto. “I feel that if I didn’t spin there in turn four, I might have had a shot at Kyle, but he was really fast tonight so I want to congratulate him. I have to thank my whole team for continuing to support me and I think we’ll have a shot at a win soon.”
Eliason came home third to score his second podium finish of the season with the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series in the Reitz Almond Harvesting, Eliason Racing Composites No. 00x mount. “I’m happy to be up here on the podium again, although I really thought we had a chance there,” said Eliason. “I caught up to Kyle a few times, but he never made any mistakes and drove a great race. DJ (Netto) also did a great job and I thought he was going to have a chance to win it too. All in all it was a great night back in my own car and we might even go to Calistoga next Saturday. I also want to wish everyone a happy Father’s Day.”
Easton’s Tommy Tarlton earned the KSE Hard Charger Award in the main event with a strong run from 17th to fourth aboard the Elite Landscape Construction No. 21 Sprinter. Rounding out the top-five in the 30-lapper was Campbell’s Bud Kaeding in the Williams Motorsports Zero machine. Completing the top-10 at the Pombo/Sargent Classic were Fresno’s Dominic Scelzi, Campbell’s Brent Kaeding, 15th starter Jonathan Allard of Chico, Roseville’s Sean Becker and Fremont’s Shane Golobic.
Capturing the night’s 12-lap Last Chance Qualifier was Tommy Tarlton, with the six-lap Dash going to Kyle Hirst. The three ten-lap heat races were captured by Brent Kaeding, Scotts Valley’s Evan Suggs and Dominic Scelzi. Cory Eliason began the night by setting his second fast time of the season by touring the 3/8 mile oval in 13.601 seconds to beat out a 25-car field. Full results will be available at www.kwssprints.com under the results tab and can also be viewed at http://www.mylaps.com/en/events/1033115
A-main finish: 1. 83jr Kyle Hirst, 2. 88n DJ Netto, 3. 00x Cory Eliason, 4. 21 Tommy Tarlton, 5. 0 Bud Kaeding, 6. 41 Dominic Scelzi, 7. 69 Brent Kaeding, 8. 3c Jonathan Allard, 9. 35m Sean Becker, 10. 121 Shane Golobic, 11. 37 Mitchell Faccinto, 12. 00 Jason Statler, 13. 25 Bobby McMahan, 14. 3 Craig Stidham, 15. 5v Colby Copeland, 16. 4 Mike Faria, 17. 33e Evan Suggs, 18. 12 Scott Parker, 19. 21j Richard Brace Jr, 20. 10 Anthony Simone, 21. 94 Gordon Rodgers, 22. 15 Pat Harvey
The King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series will head next for a double header weekend of competition next Friday & Saturday at the Ocean Speedway on June 20 and the Calistoga Speedway for the Wine Country Classic on June 21
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