6/3/2012
Sprint Source
"Pombo/Sargent Classic" proves thrilling with Bud Kaeding holding off Suggs
Photo by Paul Trevino
Bud Kaeding outlasts field to win thrilling “Pombo/Sargent Classic” King of the West main event at Kings Speedway Saturday night
By Gary Thomas
Hanford, CA – June 2, 2012…The “Pombo/Sargent Classic” over the years has always provided no-holds-barred entertainment and on Saturday night the tradition continued at Kings Speedway, where Campbell’s Bud Kaeding came out on top of a wild and wooly 30-lapper with the Cancen Oil KWS Series presented by Goodyear.
The victory came after a thrilling final lap duel with Scotts Valley’s Evan Suggs and marked Kaeding’s first Cancen Oil King of the West Series presented by Goodyear win aboard the Brian Matherly owned SCI, Kaeding Performance No. 19 Maxim. It was also his third career triumph at the “Pombo/Sargent Classic.”
“This is just so great that I don’t even really know what to say, but I hope you fans enjoyed that one,” commented the three-time USAC Silver Crown Series champion. “I got around Tim (Kaeding) for the lead late in the race and then didn’t expect to see anyone after that, but Evan (Suggs) got under me coming down for the checkered and all I could do was cut back underneath, so luckily it worked out and we’re standing here in victory lane.”
Despite extremely gusty winds and warm temperatures during the day, Kings Speedway promoter Scott Woodhouse put together an exceptional surface and the main event provided some of the best racing seen all season long.
The 30-lap “Pombo/Sargent Classic” feature came to the line with KSE Dash winner Tim Kaeding of San Jose and Placerville’s Andy Gregg on the front row.
At the waving of flagman Willie Williams’ green flag it was “TK” finessing his way into the lead as the rest of the field sorted itself out on the slick three-eighths mile clay oval. Early on cars raced side by side all the way through the field, using every inch of the track surface, with it soon becoming the “Kaeding Show” up front. Bud Kaeding had climbed to second, but 11-time “Pombo/Sargent Classic” winner Brent Kaeding got the crowd on their feet, fighting with Bud for the runner up spot.
The father/son duo gave the fans an exciting slide fest as they battled for second, passing one another in every corner until a caution came out to slow things down. After going back green Tim Kaeding continued to lead Bud Kaeding, but Sacramento’s Willie Croft popped his way into third and Evan Suggs sliced to fourth. The action continued to be fast and furious as drivers exchanged positions with regularity, putting on a terrific display of unlimited 410 Sprint Car racing.
With 19-laps down Suggs found a nice groove towards the bottom of the speedway and maneuvered past Croft to claim third. As battles continued up and down the running order, Bud Kaeding stepped up his challenges and on lap 21 would charge by brother Tim to take over the top spot.
At that same time Suggs was all over the front runners and with just six-circuits remaining, was able to slide underneath “TK” and move into the runner up position. The 25-year-old then closed in on the leader little by little and when the white flag was unveiled he made his move.
Suggs cut to the inside of Bud Kaeding down the back stretch and as they entered turn three pulled off a beautiful slide job to grab the lead. Kaeding however, wasn’t done yet and sliced to the bottom off the fourth corner in exciting fashion and inched back ahead to cross the checkered flag by 0.157 seconds for victory. “Budly” then performed a sequence of donuts before climbing out of the car to a number of jubilant people on the front straightaway.
Just missing out on his first career Kings Speedway win, Suggs’ runner up finish also marked a season best effort for the driver of the Suggs Racing No. 33e machine. It was also his best ever finish at the Hanford based three-eighths mile oval. Completing the podium was Tim Kaeding aboard the locally owned Roth Motorsports No. 83 mount.
Finishing fourth and moving forward nicely from the sixth row was the Tarlton & Son Inc. No. 21 of Easton’s Tommy Tarlton. Completing the top-five and earning his best finish of the season was Clovis’ Peter Murphy in the Dalton’s Landscaping No. 11 sprinter. Rounding out the top-10 in the main event were 18th starter and Pit Stop USA Hard Charger Jason Statler of Grass Valley, Sacramento’s Willie Croft, Brent Kaeding, KWS point leader Jonathan Allard from Chico and Andy Gregg.
Tim Kaeding won the KSE Dash with Kaeding Performance heat race victories going to Andy Gregg, Peter Murphy and Willie Croft. Picking up the BR Motorsports Fast Time Award was Evan Suggs, who toured the three-eighths mile oval in 13.784 seconds. Suggs will also receive a custom KWS aluminum license plate courtesy of Tim Grant & Grant’s Fine Art.
The Cancen Oil King of the West Sprint Car Series presented by Goodyear will now get set for an exciting two-nights of racing next Friday & Saturday with the “Road to Dirt Cup” kicking off. On Friday June 8 the tour will be in action at Chico’s Silver Dollar Speedway for the second time this season and on Saturday June 9 it will be the lone appearance of 2012 at the Southern Oregon Speedway in Medford, Oregon.
Special guest stars for the Chico and Medford events this coming weekend will include National Sprint Car Hall of Famer Jimmy Sills and last year’s Knoxville Nationals runner up Shane Stewart of Bixby, Oklahoma. Sills will climb behind the wheel of the Dan Simpson Racing No. 4s, whereas Stewart is set to compete in the familiar and always potent Paul Silva Motorsports No. 57 sprinter. Info on both tracks can be found at http://www.silverdollarspeedway.com & http://www.sospeedway.com
Don't forget to “like” the Cancen Oil King of the West Series on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/kingofthewestsprints and follow us on Twitter @kwssprintracing for the most timely and up to date information on the series.Also check out our official website, which is under construction at http://www.kwssprints.com for the latest news, results, history and more on the Cancen Oil King of the West 410 Sprint Cars presented by Goodyear.
Article Credit: Gary Thomas
Submitted By: Gary Thomas