Photo by "Tailgate" Rodriguez
A look back at the 2011 King of the West 410 Sprints Royal Court
Driver Number Nine- “Hoseheads/ Grant’s Fine Art” Rookie of the Year Kenny Allen
Rio Vista, CA - January 7, 2012…Playing the role of youngest driver on tour with the Golden State King of the West Series in 2011, Chico, California’s Kenny Allen raced to a ninth place finish in the final standings and earned Rookie of the Year honors.
Thus far in his young career Allen has been a Rookie of the Year machine, having also won the award at Silver Dollar Speedway, Placerville Speedway and the Civil War Series. This past season marked his third year in sprint car racing after graduating from the outlaw kart and micro ranks.
“We had a great time racing with the King of the West Series this season and really learned a lot,” Allen said. “When you’re racing with guys like the Kaeding’s, Jonathan Allard, Jason Statler, Evan Suggs and all the KWS guys, it really does make you a better driver. The competition level was really high.”
During the year the 16-year-old tallied four top-10 finishes with a best result of seventh, which came at the Santa Maria Speedway, a night that also saw him win a heat race. Another highlight on the year for Allen came in June at the Southern Oregon Speedway, where he set his first ever Grant’s Fine Art fast time award with KWS.
“Going into the season our goal was to make all the races and win Rookie of the Year so to do that was a good accomplishment for our team,” Allen commented. “The fast time in Medford was a big highlight for us as well. The support we got from people like Ashley Smith, Brent Kaeding and the Dan Simpson Racing team helped out a lot in trying to get up to speed at the different tracks.”
Allen’s father Dan, owner of Chico Truck and RV, also spoke highly of the various teams that made up the Golden State King of the West Sprint Car Series roster. “The guidance that all the KWS teams gave us definitely meant a ton, so I wanted to thank all of them for taking us in as one of their own,” he said. “It was a real pleasant year and it seems like one big family traveling down the road.”
Allen is also looking forward to the coming season and getting back to certain tracks for the second or third time in what will be his sophomore year with KWS. “We’re excited about next season because we learned some things with the car and shocks that will benefit us on the track,” he commented.”With a year under my belt we’ll be hoping to move further up in the points so we can’t wait.”
The Kenny Allen Racing team would like to thank mom Nanci and dad Dan, crew members Sean and Darrell Fogarty, LRT Graphics, ART Enterprise, Kaeding Performance, Don Ott Racing Engines, the Thomas family, HoservilleCA, Dan Simpson, all the KWS supporters, the fellow race teams and everyone that supported the team this past season.
For more information on Kenny Allen log onto his website at http://www.kennyallenracing.com and check out his appearance on “KWS Tonight” that can be viewed at http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/16002035
The Golden State King of the West 410 Sprints would like to thank the following companies for their support this season: Goodyear Racing Tires, Pit Stop USA.com, Kaeding Performance, Hoseheads.com, Grant’s Fine Art, Auto Meter Products Inc., Contingency Connection, Maxim Chassis, Amerikote, Abel Chevrolet, Bully Dog, Red Horse Performance, JE Pistons, KSE Racing Products, Hunt Magnetos, Weld Racing, Racing Optics, Butler Built Performance, HoservilleCA, Angellos ATV Rental, Rogue Regency Inn, Williams Motorsports, DES Inc. and Simpson Percherons.
Don't forget to “like” the Golden State King of the West Series on Facebook and follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/kwssprintracing for the most timely and up to date information on the series.
Also check out our official website at http://www.kwssprints.com for the latest news, results, history and more on the Golden State King of the West 410 Sprint Cars.
Be sure to catch archived shows of “KWS Tonight,” along with special highlight clips from the 2011 season at http://vimeo.com/user5784994/videos and http://www.ustream.tv/channel/king-of-the-west-today/videos
- Gary Thomas on Jan 07, 2012
- Article Date: 1/7/2012 by Gary Thomas