4/11/2022
Southern Oregon Speedway
NARC NEWSLINE
NARC NEWSLINE - March 30, 2022 - By Jim Allen ... In today’s racing world, the offseason seems to get shorter and shorter. It goes something like this: You wave the checkered at the final event, you stage an awards banquet, you wolf down some Turkey, negotiate a schedule, exchange some Christmas presents, set some New Year’s resolutions, buy some flowers for Valentines Day ... and BAMM … it’s racing season again. The turnaround barely allows enough time to dial in the details. And that applies whether you are a sprint car team, a track promoter, a sponsor, or a racing organization like us. But like almost every reality show, everybody seems to step up their game when there is a pressing deadline, like a NARC Fujitsu General USA Sprint Car season opener. With that in mind, here is a hit list of topics you may want to know about as you dial in your travel details:
2022 NARC SCHEDULE: For those of you perpetually stuck watching TikTok videos, there was a recent announcement regarding the 2022 Louie Vermeil Classic. There was bad news and good news. The bad news was that HMC Promotions announced that the awesome two-day event will not be run in 2022. A Chico-sequel didn’t make financial sense and Calistoga Speedway hasn’t reopened yet. The good news is that Tommy Hunt & Company are actively working to drive the process to get Calistoga Speedway open again with a full slate of events in 2023. There is a SAVE CALISTOGA SPEEDWAY campaign that could use your help. At this point, you race fans only have two choices: Condos ... or ... the best half-mile race track in California. I'll take Calistoga Speedway for $500 Alex. Log in to help HERE!
If you do the math the same way as I do, that means the official NARC campaign will consist of 25 racing events in 2022. We will not be replacing the Labor Day dates with another venue. When you add it all up, the NARC Sprint Cars will be racing for more than $800,000 in purse money, cash awards and product contingencies. That's a huge WIN!
BANG FOR THE BUCK: The Fastest Four Days in Motorsports just got more interesting. How interesting? How about $40,000 interesting in the form of a potential bonus to any driver who can sweep all four of the events. The Lloyd’s of London insurance policy is betting against the house on this one, figuring a lot that can happen at three different tracks in four consecutive days. Let's hope the stars line up for one of our drivers to do the “happy dance” in Grays Harbor Raceway’s victory lane on May 29th. There is also a possible step-down bonus. If a driver picks off three of the four shows, they can pocket an extra $5000 from Mr. Lloyds of London. (NOTE: It's one, or the other, not both.) For those needing a refresher, the four races are at Southern Oregon Speedway on Thursday, May 26th, followed by a Friday show at Willamette Speedway, and the May 28th and 29th shows at Grays Harbor. For win-list comparison purposes, the 2019 version of the FFDM produced four different winners. The 2021 edition produced three. As of right now, we have 15 California teams committed to this adventure, plus several locals.
Bob Montoya of Swift Metal Finishing has also kicked in an additional $500 to the team that can pass the most cars during those four races. That is on top of the regular Hardcharger Award that he sponsors to the tune of $150 per night. Throw in travel money for California teams and some healthy purses and it should be a great Memorial Day weekend.
By the way, there will be a race car hauler "Salute to the Red, White & Blue Parade" down main street in Elma, WA between the two-day newly-labeled FFDM Timber Cup shows Grays Harbor. For those of you who haven’t been there, Elma's sort of a "one stop light" kind of town (pop, 3300 or so) where the population triples on race day. The parade is Sunday. All NARC teams will be herded out of the pits to a high noon staging area at the Elma High School parking lot. It will dish up a nice dose of small-town Americana.
WHAT IF?: California continues to be the hotbed for great young open wheel talent. Unfortunately for us, that talent gets recognized on a national level and with a blink of an eye, they are gone. Just think what California 410 sprint car racing would be today if the likes of Buddy Kofoid, Gio Scelzi, Mitchell Moles, Cole Macedo were weekly warriors. Can’t fault any of them, because they are “living the dream.” Congrats to Giovanni on his two CA Outlaw wins. Keep your eyes on 16-year-old's Joel Myers Jr. and Max Mittry!
NARC STUFF: Here is an unusual moment in California sprint car history: Two of the biggest powerhouses in NARC motorsports … Roth Motorsports & Tarlton Motorsports are entering the 2022 campaign with drivers who have only three career NARC victories between them. How is that even possible? Don’t expect that to last very long though, because their drivers and equipment are really good. To date, Mitchell Faccinto has parked it three times in NARC victory lane and Australian Kerry Madsen is basically making his first foray on the NARC campaign. That is the same 50-year-old Kerry Madsen who has 28 World of Outlaw wins on his impressive resume’. The Roth cars are powered by Toyota-powerplants. If you are a betting man, take the ”over” at six wins this season for the Roth's and Tarltons. … It’s going to be nice to see Justyn “Indiana” Cox a few more times this year with NARC. His team is getting their two 410 motors back in May. For those of you who might not remember, Indiana finished third in final King of the West standings in 2016 behind Kyle Hirst and Bud Kaeding. … Australian Jessie Attard will be rolling into California in May with his race car team. He plans to race with us throughout the summer. Nobody will dispute that he was extremely fast last season. Just needs a break or two. … The Kimo's Tropical Car Wash Pit Crew Competition has been moved to June 10th at Ocean Speedway. $1000 is on the line for three teams; $500 to the winner! The first entry is the Mike Phulps Motorsports team.
... Hoosier Racing Tires is working their tails off to manufacture tires, but don't be surprised if there is a bump or two in the road (like everything these days.) The Hoosier team is very proactive in the process because nobody wants tire availability to become an issue. ... Motors are another issue. If you wanted to buy a 410 motor right now – or for that matter, a 360 block – it’s slim pickings right now. … Let's hope that gas prices drop soon for everybody's sake. ... The NARC410.com website has undergone a nice facelift during the off season. It's also ADA compliant. Use it as a resource for news on everything we do! To day, the site has been accessed by 409,000+ unique users. Now, if we can just get all of you to the race track! ... Stockton Dirt Track promoter Tony Noceti is hard at work repositioning and realigning his track lighting. He also added 10 new LED lights and has plans to add 10 more in the weeks to come! On the PR side of things, Noceti also got his racing highlight show going on local Sacramento-Stockton station FOX40. Its called "Racing with Lovotti," and features highlights from the Dirt Track and Stockton 99 Speedway. You can expect to see NARC highlights from our April 2nd show on Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. Make sure you tune in! ...
NARC NOTES: Dan Belton will be our Director of Competition this season. Mike Andreetta, who suffered a health scare in September, has been moved into a new Race Coordinator position. He will be driving safety compliance with competitors, conducting technical inspections and providing driver coaching. … We welcome Darryck Fairbanks to our team as our Pit Manager. … Brian and Alicia Garges will also be on the NARC staff when their schedule doesn't conflict with other racing events. ... Make sure you play in NARC’s fantasy league on MyRacePass.com this season. Log-in and pick your drivers before qualifying. We will be announcing prize packages shortly. … We've got a new look and a new logo this season. Make sure you invest in some NARC apparel from Jim Gardner of Bullet Impressions at the season opener. You can also shop online at onefasttee.com ... Thank you to all of the 28 sponsors who partnered with the NARC series this season.
BRADWAY MEMORIAL: The ever-popular Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial race at Placerville Speedway is about seven weekends away – June 12th to be exact. As you are aware, the event-promotion torch was passed from Dave and Dianne Durica to Julie Bradway Tuccelli last season. That transition was seamless so let’s make sure your support of this event is seamless as well. If you would like to sponsor a lap in the 40-lap feature or B-Main ($100), please contact Julie at kaytee17@comcast.net or by phone: 916-749-0556. You can also kick in money to the Hardcharger award, heat race winners, the semi-main, or whatever floats your boat, or opens your wallet. ... By the way, this will be NARC's only visit to Knoxville on the Hill this season and it's a combo event with the Sprint Car Challenge Tour 360's. It promises to be a great show.
SEASON PREDICTIONS & STUFF TO GET YOU THINKING: Chase Johnson will win his first NARC race this season at a place not named Petaluma Speedway. Both of his wins have come at the 3/8 mile oval. … Potential first-time winners on the NARC tour this season? Definitely Kerry Madsen. Let’s also add Michael Faccinto, Joel Myers Jr., Logan Forler, Tanner Holmes, and Tanner Carrick to the list. … With three victories, defending champion Dominic Scelzi would pass Tyler Walker for seventh place on the all-time list. … Tim Kaeding needs only 13 victories to tie Brent Kaeding on the same all-time NARC-King of the West win list. How many years of racing do you think it will take? … Willie Croft is overdue for a NARC victory. The last time he scored a “W” was at the May 5, 2019 Dave Bradway Jr. race in Chico. Croft plans to run the entire NARC schedule. … Brandon “Bud” Kaeding is also looking to end a NARC victory drought that dates back to August 2019. When you have a last name of Kaeding, that is an eternity. Let’s go Brandon! … Idaho’s Logan Forler is also planning to tackle the entire 2022 NARC campaign. He last competed with the King of the West series in 2014. He’s got over 30 feature wins to his credit, many with the ASCS. … Defending champ series champ Dominic Scelzi will have his hands full with multiple contenders this season. Can he make it two championships in a row? Crew chief Jimmy Carr thinks so! ... Who will win their second NARC feature event first? Sean Watts or Billy Aton? Place your bets! ... Do you think that Corey Day can double his win total of last season? Based on his recent runner-up finish with the WoO, it's an automatic. ... Justin Sanders will win four NARC races in at least two different cars. ...
So now it's officially time to get geared up for NARC's 2022 championship campaign. We’ve got the Stockton Dirt Track NARC season opener on Saturday, April 2nd. There will be a $6000 winners payday on the line for the winner of the Third Annual Asparagus Cup. We will back that up with a lucrative and always entertaining show in Hanford -- the Anthony Simone Classic. We cap off the month at Silver Dollar Speedway with the Tenth Annual David Tarter Memorial. Don’t miss a single of them. Make sure you bring a friend.
Coming to you live from Auburn, CA, see ya!
Submitted By: Ben Deatherage
