MERCED, Calif. — The Central Valley is about to hear the roar of the 900+ horsepower powerplants of the NARC 410 Sprint Car Series on March 23 when the tour returns to Merced Speedway.
The high-banked quarter-mile clay oval will host the cars and stars of the NARC organization for the first time since August of 2021 and will be the lone visit to the facility in 2024.
This marks the second stop on NARC’s 65th Anniversary 25-race campaign, which is slated to visit 17-different dirt oval tracks in California, Oregon and Washington.
“I’m super excited to get to Merced,” said Lemoore driver Cole Macedo, hot off a big win at the Mini-Gold Cup in the Tarlton Motorsports No. 21 sprint car. “I know (promoter) Doug Lockwood has put in a lot of effort to make that place what it is today. I think Drew Warner (crew chief) will give me a fast race car, and if I do my job, we should come out with a good finish.”
Macedo is the current NARC championship point leader after scoring his second NARC feature win of his career in Chico, Calif.Â
Many of the NARC sprint cars stars will be competing on the action-packed bullring for the first time, including a strong class of rookie drivers. This year’s rookie field includes Caeden Steele, who finished third in Chico, Gauge Garcia, Dominic Gorden, Michael Ing and Ashlyn Rodriguez.
Who to Watch
Justin Sanders, expected to be a strong challenger for the NARC title, will be looking to rebound after a crash took him out of contention in Chico. Sanders hit pay dirt in the series’ last visit to the track and knows that a victory gets him right back into the title hunt.
Shane Golobic, who finished second in the NARC season opener in Chico, is looking to put the Matt Wood Racing No. 17W car in NARC victory lane for the first time at Merced Speedway. Golobic placed fifth in 2021 and was 16th when the World Of Outlaws visited in March of 2022.
Bud Kaeding, who claimed the series title in 2017, still doesn’t have a Merced victory on this impressive résumé. He came across the line in sixth when NARC was in Merced last time. With a retro look for the No. 29 team, the Campbell racer is looking to check off Merced on his win list.
Tim Kaeding, from San Jose, will no doubt wow the crowd in the famed Williams Motorsports No. 0 entry. The “Governor of Good Times” was fourth in the last NARC trip to Merced. Kaeding is hitting the NARC trail heavy this spring and the 2002 and 2011 series champion is hungry to revisit victory lane. He has 72 NARC victories to his credit.
Chase Johnson has a lot of laps and wins at Merced in many different types of cars, but the pilot of the No. 24 has yet to win in the 410 ranks. Johnson was third in a USAC-CRA race in September of 2019 and is in search of his fourth career NARC win.
Other NARC 410 Series stars expected to compete include Justyn Cox, Dylan Bloomfield, Billy Aton, Jarrett Soares, Kaleb Montgomery, Michael Faccinto and D.J. Netto among others.Â