acegear
Moderator
Joined: 22 Oct 2004
Posts: 973
Location: Enumclaw, WA
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 Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2004 6:20 pm Post subject: USAC Driver: Bud Kaeding |
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Bud finally cracked the winners circle in the Weld Racing Silver Crown Series during 2003, taking the 77-lap race at the Tulsa Fairgrounds Motorplex in September. He started three other Silver Crown races but was unable to crack the “top-10” in those. In the National Sprint Car Series he was fourth in the standings, winning the “Vince Osman Classic” Valvoline “Indiana Sprint Week” race at Kokomo, Ind. and adding 22 other “top-10s.” He also competed in a dozen National Midget races, with a fourth at Stockton, Calif. as his best finish, ending up 15th in the standings at season’s end. Bud emerged from an interrupted season of USAC racing in 2002 as the 21st-ranking Sprint Car Driver. An accident after posting the fastest qualifying time for the “Tony Hulman Classic” at the Terre Haute (Ind.) Action Track sidelined him for most of the season but he returned in late-2002 with a vengeance, winning several major events. Despite only seven USAC Sprint Car starts, he never finished worse than ninth, including a victory in the “4-Crown Nationals” at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio and a second at Joliet, Ill. His only Silver Crown appearance, in the “Copper World Classic” opener at Phoenix, Ariz., resulted in a disappointing 19th-place finish. Bud started every USAC Silver Crown race in 2001 and recorded his best finish of fourth in the series finale at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. Victories in four of the final eight USAC Sprint car features of 2001 helped boost him to sixth in that series’ final points. Included were back-to-back wins at Terre Haute, Ind. on the same night and the “4-Crown Nationals” at Rossburg, Ohio. His first season of Silver Crown competition in 2000 produced five "top-10" finishes in nine starts and a "Rookie of the Race" award for his second-place finish in the "Tony Bettenhausen 100" at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield. He finished 16th in the final standings and snared a pole position at Sacramento, Calif. as well. At Springfield, he led much of the race before yielding to Jack Hewitt near the end. He also won USAC's Sprint Car Series "Rookie of the Year" award, finishing seventh in that series' points after scoring his first feature win at North Vernon, Ind. in the opening event of "Indiana Sprint Week." Bud dominated the 1999 USAC Western Sprint Car Series, not only winning the seasonal championship but the "Rookie of the Year" honors as well! In 17 starts he scored seven wins and added three seconds and a third. In fact, he only finished out of the "top-10" once all year. In addition, he posted the fastest qualifying time six times. At the brand-new Irwindale (Calif.) Speedway, which became a sort of series "home," Bud was nearly flawless, winning six of seven races. His other victory came at Tucson, Ariz. In 2000 he returned to the Western Sprint Car series and in three starts posted a victory and a second at Tucson! The son of long-time USAC driver Brent Kaeding, Bud had a sensational USAC debut. In the 1997 series finale at Las Vegas, Nev. Motor Speedway he seemed headed for victory until Ronnie Day beat him on the final lap! In 1998, history repeated itself! In his only 1998 feature appearance he again appeared headed for victory at Las Vegas until Tony Elliott’s daring pass, again on the final lap!
 
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A win is a win, and second place is never good enough |
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