TULARE, Calif. — The closing stretch of the NARC King of the West sprint car season is upon us.
The first of four races in five weeks is Saturday as the NARC teams tackle the famous Thunderbowl Raceway for the Chris & Brian Faria Memorial. This action-packed racing card will also feature the Sprint Car Challenge Tour 360s.
The race is one of the cornerstone events at the popular third-mile clay oval. First contested in 2002, the event honors a pair of brothers from the Faria family, longtime participants in California racing.
Chris Faria, who was an up-and-coming racer, passed away after a farming accident in 1993. His older brother Brian, who was active behind the scenes at Thunderbowl Raceway, tragically passed away in early 2006 in a traffic accident, and Brian’s name was soon put alongside his brother’s for this race.
The 2025 race was originally scheduled for April 26, but Mother Nature interfered and forced its postponement. NARC and Thunderbowl Raceway officials agreed to reschedule the event for October 4 to start a busy stretch to finish NARC’s season.
The event, held at one of California’s most challenging dirt tracks, has long been looked forward to by NARC competitors and fans, and the list of past winners of the race reads like a who’s who of west coast sprint car racing.
Jason Meyers, a future World of Outlaws champion, won the inaugural event in 2002. National Sprint Car Hall of Famer Brent Kaeding won it twice in the latter years of his legendary career.
A young kid named Kyle Larson, years before the NASCAR world got to know him, was the 2010 winner of the race. NARC champions such as D.J. Netto and Kyle Hirst are also past winners.
Last year’s event, ironically postponed by weather to a later date also, was won by Cole Macedo aboard the Tarlton Motorsports No. 21.
Speaking of NARC champions, former series champ D.J. Netto, who lives just down the road from Thunderbowl Raceway in Hanford, holds a slim 14-point lead over another former champion in Sean Becker.
Netto has two NARC wins to his credit this season, but hasn’t won since May. Netto, however, has seen success in Tulare over the years, including winning the 2015 edition of the Faria. Netto hopes his past success at Thunderbowl Raceway will continue as he seeks his second NARC championship.
After winning six NARC races during the summer with Australian ace James McFadden in cockpit, the Tarlton Motorsports team will welcome back Tanner Holmes, who piloted the car back in the spring.
Holmes was victorious in NARC competition with the Tarlton team in May when he took the first of the Twin 20’s at the Morrie Williams Memorial in Tulare. After piloting his family’s car during the summer, Holmes will rejoin the Tarlton’s and is hoping for a repeat of May this Saturday.
Between Holmes and McFadden, the seven NARC wins by the Tarlton Motorsports No. 21 team are tied for the most this season with the Mittry Motorsports No. 2x, all of theirs with Justin Sanders behind the wheel.
The second of the Twin 20’s in May was won by Caeden Steele, and it was the young Fresno-area driver’s first NARC win. Steele is another driver hoping that past history will repeat itself on Saturday.
Sean Becker, despite running second in points, is winless this season, but has been competitive all season and is coming off a podium run at the last NARC race at Placerville Speedway on September 6.
Another driver expected this Saturday include Campbell’s Bud Kaeding, a winner in August at the Johnny Key Classic at Ocean Speedway. Kaeding enters the night third in the points, just 23 tallies back of Netto with four races remaining.
Also expected this Saturday are Dominic Scelzi, Dominic Gorden, Mariah Ede, Gauge Garcia, Shane Golobic, Billy Aton, John Clark, Kaleb Montgomery, Tanner Carrick, Landon Brooks, Dylan Bloomfield and Cannon McIntosh.
Washington’s Jesse Schlotfeldt will be making the journey from the Pacific Northwest also to join NARC for its remaining races. Schlotfeldt won his first career NARC event in June at Cottage Grove Speedway.
