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Photo's by Steven Cox
Kyle Hirst wins heat race & looks strong using
A4MP Engine at Cotton Classic on Saturday for DES Racing
By Gary
Thomas
Hanford, CA – October 19, 2011…Stepping out of the seat for the
final King of the West 410 event of the season this past weekend, series
Managing Director Dan Simpson tabbed Loomis driver Kyle Hirst to pilot the DES
Inc. No. 4s Maxim, utilizing the experimental A4MP Engine.
Despite some
tough luck in the main event, what transpired were very positive results for
Hirst with the engine, highlighted by an exciting last lap pass for victory in
his heat race. It was only the second start of the KWS season for the
23-year-old, but showed exactly why he’s one of top sprint car drivers in the
west.
“I really have to thank Dan Simpson for giving me the opportunity
to race his car on Saturday in Hanford,” said Hirst.”Richard Brown and the crew
gave me a great car all night long so I can’t thank them enough. The engine was
good and there are just a couple of little bugs to be worked out, but it ran
right up there with everyone else.”
Hirst began the evening by clocking
the 13th fastest lap in qualifying out of 28-cars, which put the DES Inc.,
Simpson Percheron’s No. 4s sprinter on the front row of the third heat race. At
the waving of the green flag in the 10-lap contest Hirst fell to third, but had
a toe to toe battle with Brad Furr over the opening two circuits.
He
eventually won out in the fight for second and then tried his hardest to track
down leader Peter Murphy. Driving the wheels off the car Hirst marched closer
and closer to Murphy and with the white flag waving, he would make his move.
Hirst set up Murphy beautifully in turns one and two and swept by the Aussi
native heading down the backstretch to pick up a thrilling victory.
Hirst was then running solidly among the top-five in both the dash and
the main event, until a pair of separate problems sidelined him from the action.
First off in the dash a broken drive shaft resulted in him scoring an eighth
place finish and then a broken rear end in the main event forced him to the
infield with nine-laps down in the 30-lapper.
“It was tough to have the
problem in the main event because we were really strong and I think we could
have been up there on the podium,” said Hirst. “The A4MP Engine definitely has
potential and I was happy to get the chance to give it a run at
Hanford.”
The A4MP is a motor package that derived from GM's LS engine
program primarily because of the high volume of production and after market
engine components. The motor can be built for less than $20,000.
The
A4MP encourages any interested engine builders to become certified A4MP
builders. Shaver Specialities and Schwanke Engines are currently certified
builders of the motor. Details regarding certification and more specifications
of the engine can be found by visiting the website: http://www.alternative410motor.com
Once a builder has
been approved and the motor builder has secured the required bond, which binds
them to maintain the integrity of the motor in each aspect or face financial
repercussions, the A4MP website will list them as certified builders and include
contact information. The site will also maintain a registry of all A4MP engines
built, making it easy for competition directors to find out details of a
particular motor at any given time.
The A4MP engine has been approved
for usage with a number of racing organizations and tracks across North America
including Knoxville Raceway, the All-Star Circuit of Champions, Interstate
Racing Association and the Golden State King of the West Sprints.
More
information on the DES Inc. Racing team can be found at http://www.dansimpsonracing.com
www.sprintcarchallengetour.com
www.placervillespeedway.com
www.stocktondirttrack.com
www.thunderbowlraceway.com
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