RETURN OF THE COTTON CLASSIC

Kings Speedway in Hanford is set to host the 26th edition October 3rd.

By Dan Harp
Kings Speedway:

Mention “Cotton Classic” and many memories are dredged from the aging gray matter. I remember the first one. Brent Kaeding, Steve Kent, Less Martella, and Wally Pankrantz are just a few that come to mind. Like today, in the early days, Cotton was King. Promoter Frank Dias is honoring and recognizing the place that valuable commodity has in all our lives, by keeping alive that long time tradition at Kings Speedway, the “Cotton Classic.” The popular race will be held October 3rd.

This year, as we all know, is a down year. Promoting races and fielding a race team is increasingly expensive and difficult. Everyone suffers, from the family coming out to the races and parting with their hard earned money, to the weekend warrior who tapes his car together for a chance to bring home the checkered flag. Keeping in mind dwindling sponsor dollars and the declining number of 410 race car teams willing to make the trip to Kings Speedway, the 2009 Cotton Classic will feature the 360 non-winged West Coast Sprinters.

Chasing the current point’s leader Justyne Hamblin, will be locals Jared Little, Rusty Carlile, T.J. Smith, Jace & Richard VanderWeerd and Craig Stidham. Joining the locals, are Bud Kaeding, Wally Pankrantz, and Kory Kruseman & Company.

In addition, the always competitive BCRA and USAC Midgets will join together to compete at Kings Speedway. Point’s leader, David Pricketts, will be joined by Shannon McQueen, and the Sala Team will provide the ride for fan favorite Robby Flock.

The very popular Dwarf cars will return to Kings as well as the Mini Dwarfs. In May of this year, the Dwarf Nationals filled two nights of racing at Kings. Dwarf enthusiasts have been clamping at the bit to return to the new clay 1/5 mile track.

In keeping with tradition, the ever popular Cotton/Money trailer will provide a great opportunity for the youngsters in attendance to gather up some real greenbacks. The younger set, by age groups, will be invited to dive into the cotton and come up with cash.

Promoter Frank Dias has been out in the community getting commitments from sponsors, both old and new, to kick in lots of Freebies for this great tradition. Tower Dave will be jumping, giving away all the goodies. Remember, vocal wins, even if you aren’t a turn four rowdy.

Instead of saving the best until last, the icing on the cake will actually be before the races begin. A meet and greet will occur from 3:00 until 4:30 whereas the race cars, drivers, and crews will be gathered around the flag stand so the fans can get up close and personal. Bring you camera, your driver t-shirts, take lots of pictures and get that shirt autographed. This is great opportunity to see, smell, and feel, what a race car is like up close. Don’t miss it.

With the West Coast Sprinters Kings Crown up for grabs, the final WCS Race of the season on October 31 will be a double points race. Double points will guarantee a wild night of racing. By doubling the points, who knows who might vault into the lead. Current leaders, Rusty Carlile (1), Justyne Hamblin (2), Jared Little, (3) Richard VanderWeerd (4), and Jace VanderWeerd (5), will let it all out to capture the points lead and bragging rights for another year.

TICKET PRICES:

All races will be $10.00
Senior and active military will get $2.00 off
High school student with Valid High school ID will get in front gate for $5.00
Kids 12 and under free all races

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to our RSS feed!