Five former event champions, as well as a host of other successful sprint car drivers, are in the field for the 16th annual Trophy Cup winged 360 races, set for Friday and Saturday at Tulare's Thunderbowl Raceway.
Hot laps start at 4 p.m., with racing at 6 each night for an event featuring an $80,000 purse.
The Kaedings -- Brent and Tim, who have combined to win the Trophy Cup six times -- headline the field, which reached its limit of 72 cars months ago.
Tim Kaeding is the most recent champion in the field, having won in 2006. The driver of the Roth Motorsports No. 83 car has a World of Outlaws victory this season, a fourth-place finish at the Knoxville Nationals in Iowa, and a Golden State Challenge event win in Tulare on April 11.
Other past champions include Fresno's Craig Stidham, Easton's Tommy Tarlton and Ronnie Day.
The field also will feature former Outlaws drivers Shane Stewart and Paul McMahan, current GSC champ Tyler Walker, two-time GSC champ Jonathan Allard, two-time California Sprint Car Civil War series champion Sean Becker, and up-and-coming drivers Kyle Larson and Cody Darrah, who will both be driving Brent Kaeding Motorsports-owned cars.
The Trophy Cup is a fund-raiser for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Catering provided by Taco Bravo will be available following Friday's races, with a spaghetti feed following Saturday's races, each for a $5 donation. Those with a two-day pass or pit pass eat for free.
Prickett's successful season
Fresno midget-car driver David Prickett now has something special in common with his grandfather, Clyde Prickett.
Both are racing champions.
David Prickett recently won the Bay Cities Racing Association season points title and sits fifth in the U.S. Auto Club's Western Midget Car series.
Clyde Prickett was a champion driver in the 1950s, racing hard tops at the Kearney Bowl among other venues around California.
"It's awesome," David Prickett said. "I've always wanted to follow in his footsteps."
Prickett wrapped up the BCRA title following a 10th-place finish in the season-ending race Oct. 3 at Hanford's Kings Speedway. He finished 11 points ahead of defending series champion Nick Foster.
"We're definitely pleased," said Prickett, whose father, Russ, is part owner and crew chief for the team. "We ran a limited schedule on dirt only last year. This is the first year we attacked the overall title. We went in thinking we have a good shot, but never felt comfortable."
The Pricketts now turn their attention to the final four races of the USAC Western Midget series. The first of those races is Oct. 31 at The Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and the season concludes Nov. 26 in Irwindale at Toyota Speedway.
At 677 points, Prickett sits 28 behind fourth-place Tanner Swanson of Kingsburg and 229 behind leader Garrett Hansen.
"I'm just looking to stay in the top five," said Prickett, who plans to race the California midget circuit again next season. "If we can do that, and win the other title, we'll call it a good year."
Locals in national eye
Jason Meyers of Clovis and Matt Crafton of Tulare are both taking aim at national championships.
*Meyers heads to Kilgore, Texas, for Saturday's World of Outlaws sprint car race, the last before the three-night season finale Nov. 5-7 at the Dirt Track at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.
Meyers trails three-time defending champion Donny Schatz by 18 points, 8,471-8,453. The pair are nearly equal in all the key statistical categories. Schatz, who drives for NASCAR star Tony Stewart, leads the series with 38 top-five finishes and has 12 A-main wins; Meyers tops the leaderboard with 52 top-10 performances and has eight A-main wins and one preliminary race win.
Schatz is tied for the series lead in fast-time honors, with Meyers second in that category. Meyers leads the series in dash wins to earn pole positions, with Schatz second on that list.
*Crafton's runner-up finish in the last NASCAR Camping World Trucks race brought him within 197 points of series leader Ron Hornaday Jr. with five races left.
The 33-year-old Crafton, who has won once (2008) in 10 seasons, is in the best shape of his truck-racing career. The 51-year-old Hornaday has 45 career wins and three season titles, both records.
Chowchilla finishes season
Pole-sitter Kellen Chadwick held off a final charge by Bobby Hogge to win the 40-lap Chowtown Pacific Dirt Nationals stock car race Sunday, the highlight of a busy weekend at Chowchilla Speedway. The victory was worth $5,000 for Chadwick.
Promoter Kenny Shepherd said the race drew drivers from Nebraska, New Mexico, Arizona, Oregon and all over California.
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