King of the Wings Sprint Car Series Begins at Toledo Wednesday, July 2
King of the Wings Sprint Car Series Begins at Toledo Wednesday, July 2
(TOLEDO, Ohio – March 25, 2014) – A new, six-race sprint car series at tracks from Toledo to Irwindale, Calif., will open at Toledo Speedway on Wednesday, July 2.
The 40-lap Rollie Beale Memorial Classic presented by Hemelgarn Racing /Super Fitness will be the first race of the new “King of the Wing,” series. The announcement was made this afternoon at the Hollywood Casino in Toledo, Ohio, as part of a press conference introducing the 2014 schedule at Toledo Speedway.
“It’s going to be the best of the best,” said Davey Hamilton, a former IndyCar driver who is promoting the series. “I’m trying to get the short track industry back on the map, if you will.”
The King of the Wing series will be three races in the Midwest on July 2, July 4 and July 6. The second round of three races will take place in November in California.
“This is going to be the opener,” Hamilton said. “This will be the first one. The fans are going to see some faces they’ve never seen before – drivers from all over the United States plus Canada.”
Hamilton, who made 11 starts in the Indy 500, is a second-generation racer. He’s been a driver, owner and race promoter. He said he came up with the idea for this series about a year ago and the response has been great.
“Every track I have called has said yes,” he said. “I didn’t want to interfere with any of the local series. This is unique. The fans really are the winners here. And, we want this to be a big event for the drivers.”
Hamilton said one of his first tasks was to come up with a unifying rules package.
“I found everyone was running under a different rules package,” he said. “It made no sense to me.”
Additional information on the series will be announced at a later date. Hamilton said Winchester (Ind.) Speedway, Bakersfield and Irwindale speedways in California are part of the series, which will include a bonus for drivers who compete in all events.
Toledo and Flat Rock Speedway General Manager Scott Schultz made several other announcements about the 2014 season:
- BCSN will broadcast 11 races from Flat Rock and Toledo Speedways in 2014 as part of its Sunday Night at the races. Those telecasts begin April 21.
- Flat Rock Speedway opens its 61st season on Saturday April 26.
- Toledo Speedway starts its 55th season on April 12 with the 7UP 150, a combined race featuring the ARCA Midwest Tour and the ARCA/CRA Super Series. It is the second annual event which combines cars from the two touring series.