Lonnie Wheatley, TULSA, Okla. (August 17, 2007) – No wings? No problem for California's Tim Kaeding, who leads the O'Reilly Sprint Bandits Tour 'N Topless Midwest Swing championship chase into two nights of action at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, KS.
The Third Annual Sprint Bandits TNT Midwest Swing champion will be crowned upon the culmination of Saturday night's $10,000 to win Ron Shuman Classic at Lakeside Speedway.
Tim Kaeding is best known for his prowess in winged Sprint Cars, racking up numerous titles and nearly 100 feature wins this decade, including a whopping 17 wins last season.
But prior to this week, Kaeding had made just one wingless Sprint Car start in his career, an SCRA appearance at the Thunder Bowl Raceway in Tulare, CA, on April 4, 2004, that resulted in a 22
nd place finish.
After getting rained out at Southern Iowa Speedway's Non-Wing Ultimate Challenge in Oskaloosa, IA, last Tuesday night, August 7, Kaeding kicked off his pursuit of the Sprint Bandits TNT crown this week aboard the Tom Rolfe Trucking/Northgate Rock No. 10k Maxim.
And he hasn't disappointed.
Displaying his natural talent, Kaeding has earned podium finishes in all three events completed thus far this week against the top wingless shoes in the nation by finishing second at both I-80 Speedway and Mid-America Speedway and then third at Creek County Speedway.
Entering Lakeside's double on Friday and Saturday, Kaeding's closest challenger is his brother Bud Kaeding, a two-time winner of Lakeside's Ron Shuman Classic. Bud Kaeding enters the TNT weekend finale just eight points off Tim's pace after putting the Kaeding name in the runner-up slot for the third night in a row at Creek County Speedway on Thursday night.
Just two points behind Bud Kaeding in third is another Northern California representative, Rocklin's Robert Ballou who raced to victory lane at Creek County.
Dave Darland, Tuesday's winner at I-80 Speedway, and Wednesday's Mid-America Speedway winner Chris Windom round out the current top five.
A total of $10,000 will be doled out to the top ten in O'Reilly Sprint Bandits TNT Midwest Swing points following Saturday night's finale, with $2,500 going to the champion. Other payouts include $1,500 (second), $1,250 (third), $1,100 (fourth), $1,000 (fifth), $800 (sixth), $600 (seventh), $500 (eighth), $400 (ninth) and $350 (tenth).
Defending Sprint Bandits TNT Midwest Swing champion and two-time Ron Shuman Classic winner Jesse Hockett of Warsaw, MO, enters the two-night stand at Lakeside Speedway seventh in points, 36 markers off the lead pace.
The ½-mile semi-banked Lakeside Speedway dirt oval is located off I-435 Exit 18, then one miles northwest on SR 5. Both nights of racing action go green at 7:30 p.m. For more information, call the track at 913-299-2040.
Third Annual O'Reilly Sprint Bandits TNT Midwest Swing Points (Through three of five events):
1. 10k-Tim Kaeding (Campbell, CA) 436
2. 29-Bud Kaeding (Campbell, CA) 428
3. 81-Robert Ballou (Rocklin, CA) 426
4. 10-Dave Darland (Lincoln, IN) 418
5. 17-Chris Windom (Canton, IL) 416
6. 29w-Cole Whitt (Alpine, CA) 406
7. 75-Jesse Hockett (Warsaw, MO) 400
8. 21k-Cory Kruseman (Ventura, CA) 384
9. 69-Jerry Coons, Jr. (Tucson, AZ) 380
10. 2b-Brady Short (Bedford, IN) 378
11. 4-Casey Shuman (Tempe, AZ) 374
12. 4n-Neil Shepherd (Warsaw, IN) 372
13. 21-Michael Trimble (San Jose, CA) 354
14. 71-Damion Gardner (Concord, CA) 340
15. 17n-Mat Neely (Robinson, IL) 338
16. 15-R.J. Johnson (Phoenix, AZ) 337
17. 21s-Charles Davis, Jr. (Buckeye, AZ) 335
18. 30-Chad Boat (Phoenix, AZ) 297
19. 10T-Hunter Schuerenberg (Sikeston, MO) 280
20. 76-Mike Leslie (Litchfield Park, AZ) 266
21. 71m-Jesse Mack (Fresno, CA) 264
22. 12-Trey Robb (Newcastle, OK) 264
23. 97-Bret Mellenberndt (Sioux Falls, SD) 262
24. 02-Matt Rossi (Peoria, AZ) 260
25. 2J-Don Droud, Jr. (Lincoln, NE) 260
26. 11d-Dustin Morgan (Collinsville, OK) 258
27. 92-Gary Taylor (Snohomish, WA) 250
28. 5c-Cody Cordell (Tulsa, OK0 240
29. 55-Tony Everhart (El Cajon, CA) 225
30. 4J-Jamie Passmore (Rose, OK0 197
31. 9x-Larry Carter (Independence, KS) 150
32. 15k-Kerry McAlister (Mustang, OK) 150
33. 8-Rodger Eckhardt (Tulsa, OK) 150
34. 27-Andy Shouse (Oklahoma City, OK) 150
35. 52-Roy Larkin (Tulsa, OK) 150
36. 42-Dean Franklin (Tulsa, OK) 150
37. 7s/71T-Tim Simmons (Houston, TX) 150
38. 71T/7s-Jake Simmons (Terre Haute, IN) 150
39. 9x-Kevin Battles (Collinsville, OK) 118
40. 71b-Robert Bell (Colfax, IA) 75
41. 45-Jeff Lowery (Eagle, NE) 75
42. 53-Brodie Tulloch (Queensland, AUS) 75
43. 4d-Danny Smith (Danville, IN) 75
44. 87-Brian McClelland (Tulsa, OK) 75
45. 10r-David Wheeler (Valley Center, KS) 75
46. 5$-Danny Smith (Sand Springs, OK) 75
47. 22J-Jasiel Randolph (Tulsa, OK) 75
48. 85s-Forrest Sutherland (Cherryvale, KS) 75
49. b4-Eric Baldaccini (Keller, TX) 75
50. 22-Koby Barksdale (Norman, OK) 75
51. 8k-Danny Jennings (Norman, OK) 75
52. 75x-Jac Wallace (Kellyville, OK) 75
53. 41-Brent Swift (Oklahoma City, OK) 75
Additional information regarding the O'Reilly Sprint Bandits Tour 'N Topless series is available at
www.sprintbandits.com.
