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Bud Kaeding's 2023 goal: Win. Just win.
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JW: How would you rank your NARC 410 season going as we hit the latter half of the season?
BK: We started off decent, but we got into a bit of a slump. It’s been a bit of an inconsistent season to be honest, but since then, we have regrouped from the Skagit performance as our speed wasn’t there. Lately, it’s been good. Because of the schedule lately, we have mainly been doing 360 stuff on our off weekends from NARC, but we are getting ready and focusing on the last handful of races for the NARC 410 season. The end of September to November is when NARC really picks up again and keeps us quite busy, so we are just getting ready for that last push to the end of the year.
JW: The Howard Kaeding Classic has become a staple year after year on the West Coast after Evan Suggs won the inaugural race back in 2011. You have even won the event on two occasions (2014 & 2019). From the outside looking in, it seems like you guys are really building that event up year after year, especially, after the success of the 13th annual running of the event this year. What goals do you have for the event moving forward from 2024 and beyond?
BK: The key draw with this past Howard Kaeding Classic was that the starting pay for the race was $1,200 [min.]. It’s becoming the best-paying race on the West Coast for the entire field, even though it was $6,900 to win this year. The main goal for our HKC team is to continually make the event better year after year and make the main focus an “event” rather than a race, for everyone involved (fans, teams, drivers, sponsors, etc.). My dad [Brent Kaeding] is a big help when it comes to the business relationship side of the event as he is well known in this area, which is a big asset when it comes to calling people or trying to set something up. We are really proud of the work we have put in over the last thirteen years to turn the race into more of an event for anyone to come and check it out, not just race fans. The entertainment options (live music, activities, etc.), the high-quality choice of food (pizzas, steaks, food trucks, etc.), and the camping experience is something we are trying to improve each year. When I look back at the first event, we had 12 campers the entire event weekend. If we compare that to this year, we had 35 campers parked out before the event started on Thursday. We have a lot of people coming out to support the event now which is great. The growth is at a slow and steady pace, but we are building it better each year for both the racer and the fan.
JW: You are currently fifth in the standings with the NARC 410 Series, with only 80 points separating you and Corey Day, who leads the points at the moment. Are you confident that you can finish off the season strong and move up a few positions in the points, especially, after your last couple of solid, consistent performances?
BK: I don’t think it’s farfetched to say that third isn’t achievable for us with the last handful of races yet. We need to be consistent and even put a win together which will help with that. To catch Corey for the Championship is a little out of range, he has been in a league of his own this year. As far as first place, that’s way out. Corey would have to not show up for at least one race [Bud laughs]. But, third place for us is really achievable especially if we can get a win under our belt.
JW: Do you think that the competition level and quality of teams and drivers in the Pacific-Northwest Region (British Columbia down to Northern California) gets overlooked by a lot of people, considering so many great drivers, teams, and owners have come from this region and thrived at the highest level? The most recent example, Bobbly Allen & Shark Racing announced yesterday that Tanner Holmes will replace Jacob Allen in the 1a for the rest of the World of Outlaws season. Yet again, we see another opportunity for West Coast driver to thrive at the top.
BK: There are a lot of good teams, equipment, and youth on the West Coast. The drivers that have come out of this area that race either with the Outlaws, All Stars, or all over the country, Rico, Larson, Sweet, Scelzi [Gio]. Even guys like Justin Sanders, Robbie Price, and Corey Day are on that list. Tanner is another one. He has a great opportunity with Shark Racing and has grown up a lot as a driver on this side of the continent. I hope one day the West Coast is given more credit to the quality of drivers and teams that come out of here when it comes to competing on a national level.
JW: To add on to that question, is there any one or two driver(s) that you enjoy racing against the most; specifically, within the last couple of years?
BK: Kyle Hirst was always one of my favorites to compete against. It was always hard, tight fought racing, but it was always fair. Sometimes we wouldn’t even give each other an inch! He is a guy you can have a beer with after the race and chat about what happened. I also like racing with Dominic [Scelzi] and Justin [Sanders] lately too. It’s cool to see how far they have come over the years. Both have developed into really good drivers, and we have seen both do well, including what Sanders has done most recently in the Macri Motorsports 39M.
JW: Even though you didn’t attend the Eldora Million, what did you think of the event as a whole? Pros? Cons? Any improvements that could be made from what you saw?
BK: It was awesome. A lot of buildup. It was great to see the media buzz around the event. It’s been a while since we have seen a sprint car event that has had as much intrigue around the event as we had for this one. Obviously, the crew [Eldora staff] had to deal with weather issues when it came to keeping up with the track for the event, but everyone their did great job on putting together the whole show. We will have to see if there is another million-dollar race again at some point.
JW: For a lot of sprint car fans; especially, the old school ones who have been watching for years, you drive the classic Al’s Roofing Supply #69 that many people recognize your dad once drove. Therefore, I have to ask; how is Brent doing these days?
BK: Brent has been good. He is actually texting me now asking where I’m at [Bud laughs]! Kaeding Performance takes up most of our time as that’s the day-to-day for him and myself. He is involved with a few different projects, including helping out with the annual Howard Kaeding Classic that we talked about earlier. He always keeps busy and still keeps a foot involved with my racing, helping out here and there. When the opportunity came up a few years ago for me to put together this package with the throwback look of my dad’s car, the fans really gravitated towards it and loved the tribute to my dad’s original scheme. Even though I own all of the equipment, we are able to keep the same paint scheme and style thanks to his old sponsors such as Al’s Roofing which want to stay onboard which keeps the original style going forward.
JW: To round off our chat, what goal(s) do you have for the rest of the season?
BK: Win. Just win. That’s all we need to do. We have had plenty of good runs this year after getting things back on track from the poor start, but we just need a win. With the last few races getting our groove back, it all comes down to winning a race before the season is out.
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When you take the roof off of a super late model, does it affect the handling? We talked about that on the Thursday Daily show with the Topless 100 on tap this weekend, plus I've got an update on the future of Sharon Speedway, a new driver for the 69K sprint car and more.
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Over in the DIRTRACKR shop stock is getting very low on the logo Flexfit hats. At last check, only three were still available. Grab one now before they are gone, and snag a shirt or sticker with your order. Shipping is free in the US for orders of $20 or more.
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