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Email Story to a Friend July 16, 2002 Kaeding cruises to Sprint Tour triumph By DON HUNT Mail Tribune WHITE CITY — The king of California proved to be the king of the track at the Southern Oregon Speedway on Monday night. Brent Kaeding, who has posted more than 300 victories during a distinguished 25-year racing career in California, romped to victory in a Northern Sprint Tour race that featured most of the top drivers in the Pacific Northwest. The race was the first during what’s known as Speedweek, a six-day, six-race blitz for the NST drivers on five tracks in Oregon and Washington. They compete in Cottage Grove tonight. Kaeding and polesitter Travis Hawthorne waged a furious duel for the opening 13 laps of the 30-lap feature event, trading the lead three times before Kaeding finally took control. Hawthorne spun out on the 18th lap and wound up in eighth place. Jeff Hodgson of St. Albert, Alberta finished second, followed by Andy Forsberg of Auburn, Wash., Johnny Rodriguez of Elk Grove, Calif., and Steve Kent of Fresno, Calif. The top local finisher was Jason Finley of Fort Jones, Calif., who managed 11th. "He (Hawthorne) was tough, but once I got past him I felt like the race was mine," said Kaeding, who has won nine Golden State Series championships and 13 Northern Auto Racing Club (NARC) titles during his career. "I almost ran over him trying to get the lead. "I’ve got a good car and it was set up well for this race." Kaeding normally competes in the Golden State Series events that feature 410-cubic inch engines as opposed to the 360- cubic inch engines that were used Monday. "It is a little different," Kaeding said. "You’re running about 100 less horsepower (with the 360) and the car reacts slower." But it didn’t take him long to adjust as he registered the fastest qualifying time at 12.186 seconds. Kaeding also finished second in his heat race and third in the trophy dash. Hawthorne, meanwhile, looked to be headed to his top NST finish ever until he spun out in loose dirt on the high side of turn No. 3 on the 18th lap. He was in second place at the time and challenging Kaeding for the lead. "He (Kaeding) was working through lapped traffic," Hawthorne said. "He went into the corner low and I went in high. I hit some of the loose stuff and it was like I was riding on marbles. The front of the car walked around on me." The spin-out produced a yellow flag and caused Hawthorne to go to the back, but he worked his way back to eighth place by the checkered flag. Hawthorne, who won the trophy dash to earn the pole position, knew Kaeding was bearing down on him from the get-go. "I could hear him underneath me," Hawthorne said. "I got through some lapped traffic pretty slick and hoped I’d created some breathing room, but I could still hear his pipes barking. "It’s a shame I spun out because everything was clicking tonight," Hawthorne added. Kaeding’s victory marked the 19th straight time that a California driver has won an NST Speedweek race dating to 1998. Kaeding and Kent have combined to win 12 of the past 13 events. NST series points leader and defending champion Roger Crockett had the second-fastest qualifying time at 12.276 seconds but managed only a ninth-place showing in the main event. After blowing both of his motors during an earlier NST race in White City on Memorial Day Weekend, Bill Nutter has run an abbreviated schedule this summer. He’s run a few races for a car owner in Cottage Grove, but Nutter didn’t plan to run Speedweek until he was approached by Will Kennedy of Snohomish, Wash., late last week. Kennedy has run motors in the cars of former NST points champion Shawna Wilskey and Rick Fauver. "He (Kennedy) has a reputation for being a good engine-builder and I feel honored to work with him," Nutter said. The only concession Nutter had to make was to change his car number from 3 to 39. Nutter failed to qualify for the feature event Monday but he did win the C main and finished 10th in the B main. Northern Sprint Tour Results FAST TIME — Brent Kaeding, 12.186. FIRST HEAT — 1, Jeff Hodgson. 2, Brent Kaeding. 3, Richard Brace. 4, Glen Borden, Jr. SECOND HEAT — 1, Cale Carder. 2, Jason Finley. 3, Steven Tiner. 4, Travis Hawthorne. THIRD HEAT — 1, Dawn L. Morrison. 2, Shawna Wilskey. 3, Johnny Rodriguez. 4, Chris Schmelzle. FOURTH HEAT — 1, Dale Smith. 2, Herman Klein. 3, Jason Solwold. 4, Scott Aumen. TROPHY DASH — 1, Travis Hawthorne. 2, Jeff Hodgson. 3, Brent Kaeding. 4, Jason Solwold. 5, Shawna Wilskey. 6, Scott Aumen. C MAIN (10 laps) — 1, Bill Nutter, Central Point. 2, Jay Cole, Shelton, Wash. 3, Robert McNulty, Mt. Vernon, Wash. 4, Matt Rogers. 5, Melissa Yates, Roseburg. 6, Ron Myska. 7. Charlie Thompson. 8, Jim Cress, Mt. Vernon, Wash. B MAIN (15 laps) — 1, Steve Kent, Fresno, Calif. 2, Andy Forsberg, Auburn, Calif. 3, Roger Crockett, Eugene. 4, Rick Fauver, Everett, Wash. 5, Dan Menne, Fort Jones, Calif. 6, Jayme Barnes, Everett, Wash. 7, Geoff Beck, Morinville, Alberta. 8, Todd Heikes, Ladysmith, B.C. 9, Chad Hillier, Sedro Wooley, Wash. 10, Bill Nutter, Central Point. 11, Ron Myska, Vacaville, Calif. 12, Tyler Pinceman, Morinville, Alberta. 13, Joe Ramaker, Chateau, Mont. 14, Matt Rogers, Medford. 15, Jay Cole, Shelton, Wash. 16, Tony Menard, Nanaimo, B.C. 17, Robert McNultey, Mt. Vernon, Wash. A MAIN (30 laps) — 1, Brent Kaeding, Campbell, Calif. 2, Jeff Hodgson, St. Albert, Alberta. 3, Andy Forsberg, Auburn, Wash. 4, Johnny Rodriguez, Elk Grove, Calif. 5, Steve Kent, Fresno, Calif. 6, Shawna Wilskey, Lake Stevens, Wash. 7, Jason Wolwold, Burlington, Wash. 8, Travis Hawthorne, Lake Stevens, Wash. 9, Roger Crockett, Eugene. 10, Glen Borden, Jr., Raymond, Wash. 11, Jason Finely, Fort Jones, Calif. 12, Steve Aumen, Duncan, B.C. 13, Travis Jacobsen, Lake Stevens, Wash. 14, Cale Carder, Gold Hill. 15, Chris Schmelzle, Victoria, B.C. 16, Herman Klein. 17, Steven Tiner, Elverta, Calif. 18, Rick Fauver, Everett, Wash. 19, Dawn L. Morrison, Millet, Alberta. 20, Dale Smith, Cottage Grove. Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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