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Richard Wynne Photo
Eleventh starting Tyler Walker steals away clean sweep bid from Kyle Hirst in a final corner thriller at the Stockton Dirt Track on Saturday
By Gary Thomas
Stockton, CA – August 3, 2015…Going into Stockton last Saturday night Tyler Walker had been oh-so-close to a King of the West win on multiple occasions since making his return to action in early-June. With that in mind the Los Angeles, CA wheel-man proceeded to break into the win column by making a final corner pass to claim his first series triumph since 2009.
It was the 15th career King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series win for Walker, which ties him with Kyle Hirst & Tim Green on the all-time list. The 2009 series champion started from the 11th position and drove the Richie Rich Motorsports/ RRTP Customs No. 88 machine to the thrilling victory over two-time champ Kyle Hirst & last year’s Rookie of the Year DJ Netto.
“This is such an awesome feeling to be back in victory lane tonight and to do it like this is unreal,” said a jubilant Walker in victory lane. “I can’t thank Richie Rich Motorsports, Lee Lindgren and this whole 88 team for giving me the opportunity to drive this car. I want to thank all the people that have been so supportive of me. It really does mean the world. I couldn’t be happier to be back driving Sprint Cars and doing what I love to do. That was a fun race tonight and I also want to thank everyone for coming out tonight.”
A full moon kind of night made for a wild & interesting program on Saturday at the Stockton Dirt Track. Chico’s Kyle Hirst has been the hottest driver as of late and continued to show immense speed on Saturday. The two-time KWS champ set fast time, won his heat, won the dash and took the lead from the waving of the green flag in the feature. Early on Mitchell Faccinto kept pace with Hirst, but right rear suspension damage knocked him out of contention after a handful of laps. Various yellows & reds slowed the pace of the main event, but in-between them the racing was excellent during the 30-lapper. Carson Macedo showed his muscle after a number of laps and challenged Hirst for the lead.
Macedo & Hirst went wheel to wheel on a few occasions, with Jonathan Allard right there as well. Allard looked to be one of the faster cars on the track, until issues in turn two left him stalled off the exit. Macedo was looking for his first King of the West win and inched ahead of Hirst at one point, only to have his engine let go at that same time, putting an end to his race. As the race went on more drama occurred following a fuel stop when a push vehicle came in contact with point leader Bud Kaeding’s car, knocking out the front end among other things on the 0 machine. The red lights were then put back on to allow his crew to make repairs. Kaeding was able to restart the race in the fifth position.
Once going back green there was action all over the track, with positions changing regularly throughout the field. Hirst continued to sit out front, but Walker chipped away at his lead little by little. When the white flag waved Walker got a great run and made it a fight going into the final corner. Hirst went to the high-side and got just loose enough, which allowed Walker the chance to power his way to the inside and motor off to the checkered flag. Hirst was disappointed to finish second, but it was another great outing for the driver of the Roth Motorsports No. 83jr.
Hanford’s DJ Netto had a great run in the main event to come from 12th to third aboard the Netto Ag No. 88n, with Scotts Valley’s Evan Suggs also having a strong outing to come from 13th to fourth in the Suggs Racing No. 33e. Both drivers battled hard all race long and were exciting to watch. The remainder of the top-10 was filled out by Bud Kaeding, 16th starting Jason Statler, Bobby McMahan, Craig Stidham, Scott Parker and Brent Kaeding. It was a great rebound for Statler after getting upside down in qualifying. The Big Guy had his elbows up and put on one of his patented charges in the feature.
A-main finish: 1. 88 Tyler Walker, 2. 83jr Kyle Hirst, 3. 88n DJ Netto, 4. 33e Evan Suggs, 5. 0 Bud Kaeding, 6. 00 Jason Statler, 7. 25 Bobby McMahan, 8. 3 Craig Stidham, 9. 12x Scott Parker, 10. 69 Brent Kaeding, 11. 12 Jarrett Soares, 12. 3f Eric Humphries, 13. 17 Wayne Katen, 14. Richard Brace Jr. 15. 21x Carson Macedo, 16. 3c Jonathan Allard, 17. 37 Mitchell Faccinto.
The King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series will return to action on Saturday September 19 at the Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford.
www.sprintcarchallengetour.com
www.placervillespeedway.com
www.stocktondirttrack.com
www.thunderbowlraceway.com
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