RACING ‘ROUND THE VALLEY

By Dan Fleisher
VSP Racing Columnist

Legend continues to win despite age!

When I first contracted with George Takata to write a weekly column, the assignment was to cover the Valley racing scene and/or Valley personalities. For the most part, 12 of 13 previous columns, I’ve adhered to the agreement and planned on composing story number 14 based on my attending the Golden State Challenge series event at Thunderbowl Raceway Saturday night (6/27). However, I was unable to attend at the last minute and ended up having no idea of what to write about.

I’m always interested in the results from both Kings Speedway and Thunderbowl so I went on-line the next morning and read with amazement that ageless Brent Kaeding won the Pombo/Sargent Classic once again. Bingo! My next story!

Although this varies slightly from the original agreed-upon concept, I must write about Kaeding, one of the greatest winged Sprint Car drivers ever to buckle into a race car. True, he doesn’t come from or reside in the Valley, (he hails from Campbell, CA), but he’s thrilled thousand of fans from Bakersfield, to Kings, to Thunderbowl to Chowchilla, among others. That covers the Valley aspect doesn’t it?

You ask, “why write about him?” and my answer is, why not? First of all, the guy must be 70 years old, right? He’s been around forever, right? Actually, he’ll only be 52 in September, and he’s only been around since 1978, but 31 years seems like forever. Do you realize drivers are in their prime during their 20s, and 30s, especially when it comes to dirt track racing? At that age they have no fear, no sense of vulnerability, no mortality, and have BIG cohunes, so they driver harder and faster. That’s another reason to write about a 52 year-old man who still kicks a_ _. When he does get beat, especially by his sons, Tim and Bud, it must be hell at the Thanksgiving dinner table.

BK, as he is warmly referred to, came on the scene way back as a 21-year-old, joining his famous father Howard in the wild and wooly world of Sprint Car racing, one of the most dangerous forms in all of Motorsports. He won his first feature at Santa Maria Speedway (’78) along with the track’s Rookie of the Year award. Over the next 31 years he’s made an indelible mark in racing history with a list of accomplishment that could fill an encyclopedia and take hours to read. Check out a short summary of his accomplishments:

He ranks number one all-time in wins at Silver Dollar Speedway, Thunderbowl Raceway, Watsonville’s Ocean Speedway, Antioch Speedway and Hanford’s Kings Speedway. He’s also number one in both the Northern Auto Racing Club (NARC) and the Golden State Challenge (GSC) series, notching 82 wins on his belt in the latter series.

His GSC championships include a run of four-in-a row, 1988-1991, goofed up in 1982 I guess, then started another streak of five-in-a row, 1993-1997 (how incredible is that?), then repeated in alternating years 1999, 2001, 2003, and again in 2007 after a dry spell (sic) of four years. I’d call that more than DOMINATION!

He’s captured the prestigious Trophy Cup on four occasions, 1996, 1998-99, 2005, a yearly event which has been held at San Jose, Watsonville, Kings and now Thunderbowl. He has also garnered an incredible 11 wins in the popular Pombo/Sargent Classic, including the last four-in-a-row, also at Thunderbowl.

His successes out-of-state include three Dirt Cup titles (Skagit Speedway, WA) 1991, 1996 and 1999 along with wins in Arizona, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and Wisconsin. Internationally, Kaeding has taken the checkered flag in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia in 1997, 2001, 2003 and again in 2004, and also claimed a feature win in New Castle, New South Wales, Australia.

Noted racing columnist Bobby Gerould calls him “The best sprint car driver in the history of California.” Hard to improve on that quote.

He has a fierce, “no holds barred” reputation on the track and generally doesn’t give an inch, unless it’s prudent to do so. Off the track, he is sometimes viewed as being cold and aloof but don’t let that mislead you. He is genuinely warm-hearted, and very generous. To prove the point, Kaeding showed his warm and fuzzy side by donating a $500 bonus prize after capturing back-to-back GSC Main events at Thunderbowl Raceway a few years back. The donation, designated for the Urias Children’s College Fund, was presented to the family of a former Ricci Faria pit crewmember, Alan Urias, who tragically passed away. Kaeding also presented both trophies he was awarded to the family as a gesture of kindness and support.

Mike Andreetta, long-time friend and fellow racer summed it up most appropriately, “What Brent is really best at is taking care of his friends, or anyone he cares for.” Example, Kaeding was largely responsible for saving the life of World of Outlaws (WoO) champion Donny Schatz when Schatz’s car exploded at Chico’s Gold Cup in 2005.

As owner and operator of Kaeding Performance, Brent has touched the likes of hundreds of racers looking to improve their results by using his equipment and/or listening to his words of wisdom, and he has pointed many budding young drivers in the right direction. This old guy’s a WINNER on and off the track!

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