BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The Dirt Track at Kern County Raceway Park will play host to the King of the West-NARC Fujitsu Racing Series Saturday during the Fujitsu Spring Nationals.
The event marks the 60th anniversary season opener for the series in a schedule that features 19-races at 10 dirt oval tracks in California. All of the Golden State’s best sprint car teams are expected to compete for top honors in the 30-lap headliner. Up for grabs will be more than $23,000 in prize money and contingency awards.
Among those expected to participate Saturday include Fresno driver Dominic Scelzi, who has some big shoes to fill for the potent Roth Motorsports team. Scelzi took over the seat when defending four-time champion Kyle Hirst announced his semi-retirement last fall. Car owners Dennis and Teresa Roth are four-time King of the West-NARC champions with three different drivers.
“I’m excited to get the year going in the Roth Motorsports number 83 car,” admits Scelzi. “The bar for this team is raised very high and so are my performance expectations. I feel confident that we can compete for lots of wins and the King of the West-NARC championship.”
Others in the mix include 2017 KWS-NARC champion Bud Kaeding, a third generation, 19-time winning driver out of Campbell.
“There is definitely a buzz in the air and a lot of teams have their sights set on achieving championship glory,” said Kaeding. “However, it’s a long season and I feel experience pays bigger dividends in a pressure-packed title fight than just pure optimism. But there is only one way to find out and that is to leave it all on the race track on Saturday night.”
Others entering the title fray include Ryan Bernal, Willie Croft, Coby Copeland, D.J. Netto, Chase Johnson and Mitchell Faccinto. Collectively, this group has 15 KWS victories under their belt.
“Kern County Raceway Park is a fantastic venue to open the season,” continued Scelzi. “It has proven to be a very racy, multiple groove racetrack that allows drivers to charge to the front. I’m really looking forward to strapping into my race car.”
Also expected to compete on Saturday include Nathan Rolfe, Sean Watts, Kenny Allen, Jason Statler, Jenna Frazier, Jarrett Soares, Tim Estenson and others. The event will pay a minimum of $600 to start the A-Main, with $4,000 going to the winner.