Kevin Ward Jr.’s 2012 Season Getting Back on Track After Tough Start; Canadian Sprint Car Nationals at Ohsweken Speedway Coming up Next

The 2012 season may not have started out the way Kevin Ward Jr. had wanted it to, but mid season surge, and a break in the action during the heat of the summer has put him back on the top of his game going into the final few weeks of the season.  A strong top 10 finish at Selinsgrove Speedway last Saturday in the ultra-competitive 360 Sprint Car open event and then a second place finish in the Empire Super Sprint event at Utica Rome Speedway last Sunday has Ward and his team excited about their remaining events of 2012.

At Selinsgrove, Ward won a qualifying heat race, and started from the front row in their 360 open to kick off Labor Day Weekend.  A solid top 10 effort was the end result on a tough track, racing against some of the best 360 Sprint Car drivers in the nation.

The following day, Ward was back in familiar territory, making his fourth and final appearance of the season at Utica Rome Speedway in Vernon, New York.  In the three previous starts this season, his best finish was a ninth place, but with momentum shifting in his favor, he was confident that the final run would be much more successful.  The night started out with a win in his qualifying heat race, and after starting 11^th in the A-main he was quickly charging towards the front of the pack.  Sitting in third place with just a few laps remaining, Ward wanted more, and pulled off an incredible pass to take the second spot with just four laps remaining.

“I am really happy with that finish.  Things have changed for us lately and we have been running really well.  It is nice that things are finally starting to go our way”, says Ward Jr. after the race.  “I was just going to stay in third and ride it out and not taking any chances on ruining a good run, but my mind told me otherwise and it ended up working out for us”.

This coming weekend, Kevin Ward Jr. and his Westward Painting team will be on the road to Ohsweken Speedway for the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals.  Friday night will the 8^th annual Ohsweken Shootout and the “Night Before the Nationals”.  Saturday night will be the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals 35 lap $12000 to win main event.

Kevin Ward Jr. would like to thank all of his sponsors for their support during the 2012 racing season.  They include Westward Painting, Tioga Construction, Sherwin Williams, Lyons Falls Tire Inc., Young’s Auto Parts/Carquest, Cash for Cans, and Finish Line Web Design.

For more information on Kevin Ward Jr. including updated race results, photos, sponsors and more, please visit our website, www.kevinwardjr.com.  

Kevin Ward Jr. Gets First Win of 2012 With Impressive Performance at Mohawk International Raceway

It had been a frustrating start to the 2012 season for Kevin Ward Jr., but the team continued to work hard to turn things around.  With events at Mohawk International Raceway on Friday and Can Am Motorsports Park on Saturday, Kevin hoped for a strong performance during their SUNY Canton Weekend.

Mohawk International Raceway is located in Hogansburg, New York.  Ward Jr. returned to the track after getting rained out last month.  After a second place run in his qualifier, Kevin lined up for the 25 lap A-main from the fourth position.  Ward moved to third at the start, and stayed within touch of the leaders through the first 10 laps before moving into second.  Over the next eight laps, Ward Jr. remained within touch of the leader, made the winning pass on lap 18 as the leader tangled with a lap car.  Kevin ran the final seven laps up front to pick up his first win of 2012 and second career Empire Super Sprint victory.

“It feels amazing to get back here to victory lane. The car has been horrible for us all this year I could never get the thing to handle but tonight all of a sudden it was amazing”, says Ward Jr. after the race”.  “I am just really proud of this whole team and tonight the car went good.  He (Hebing) scared me a little bit there but I guess Cobras will do that to you,” joked Ward about Hebing taking a look on the final lap.  “I kept going and pushed the gas pedal down a little bit harder and brought the victory home.”

The SUNY Canton Shootout Weekend continued on Saturday night at Can Am Motorsports Park in Lafargeville, New York.  After finishing outside of a qualifying spot in his heat race, Ward Jr. had to qualify through the B-Main, which he was able to win, earning the 19^th place starting spot in the night’s 25 lap A-Main.  The entire 25 lap race went caution free, and with a 14^th place finish, Ward won the Hard Charger award for most positions gained from start to finish.

The next race on the schedule for Kevin Ward Jr. will be back at Mohawk International Raceway on Friday, July 20^th where he will be looking for a repeat performance in his Westward Painting machine.

Kevin Ward Jr. would like to thank all of his sponsors for their support during the 2012 racing season.  They include Westward Painting, Tioga Construction, Sherwin Williams, Lyons Falls Tire Inc., Young’s Auto Parts/Carquest, Cash for Cans, and Finish Line Web Design.

For more information on Kevin Ward Jr. including updated race results, photos, sponsors and more, please visit our website, www.kevinwardjr.com.  

Kevin Ward Jr. Gets Top Ten Finish at Utica Rome Speedway; Big Weekend Coming up With Races at Mohawk Raceway and Can Am Motorsports Park

It has been a very busy week for Kevin Ward Jr. and his Westward Paining Sprint Car team.  They traveled to Thorold, Ontario’s Merrittville Speedway on Saturday night and then on the Utica Rome Speedway on Sunday.  Their action packed schedule continued on Tuesday night at Rolling Wheels Raceway Park in Elbridge, New York.

The first half of the 2012 season has been a struggle for Ward Jr. highlighted by just one top five finish last month at Autodrome Granby.  With a busy schedule in July, the team hopes to be able to turn things around with some solid finishes, and build some momentum as they enter the second half of 2012.

Kevin Ward Jr. made his first ever appearance at Merrittville Speedway on Saturday night, and the lack of experience was evident in the early going on one of the most difficult tracks on the tour.  Ward finished the race with a disappointing 24^th place finish.

After leaving Canada, Ward Jr. made his way to Utica Rome Speedway for the next race on the schedule with the Empire Super Sprints.  He finished fourth in his qualifying heat, and had a solid run in the A-main, placing ninth.

Rolling Wheels Raceway was next on the schedule, and Kevin was looking to build on their top ten finish from the previous night.  He qualified for the A-main through his qualifying heat race with a fifth place finish, but he struggled to a 19^th place finish.

This coming weekend Kevin Ward Jr. will be back in action for the SUNY Canton Weekend with races on Friday night at Mohawk International Raceway in Hogansburg, New York, and Saturday night at Chapman’s Can Am Motorsports Park in Lafargeville.

Kevin Ward Jr. would like to thank all of his sponsors for their support during the 2012 racing season.  They include Westward Painting, Tioga Construction, Sherwin Williams, Lyons Falls Tire Inc., Young’s Auto Parts/Carquest, Cash for Cans, and Finish Line Web Design.

For more information on Kevin Ward Jr. including updated race results, photos, sponsors and more, please visit our website, www.kevinwardjr.com.  

Kevin Ward Jr. Gets Back on Track With Top Five Finish at Autodrome Granby; Drummondville Rained Out

The last time Kevin Ward Jr. and the Westward Painting team made the trip to Granby, Quebec, their weekend ended early as they destroyed their primary car in a horrific accident at Autodrome Granby as part of the preliminary qualifying for the Can Am Nationals.  This time around, Ward Jr. was looking for better results as part of the regular stop with the Empire Super Sprints.  The weekend also included a stop at Autodrome Drummond.

In his qualifying heat race, Ward Jr. started on the front row and took the lead early and never looked back taking home the win.  In the 25 lap main event, Ward ran second for the first half of the race, but faded back to fifth as the final laps counted down.  Kevin battled back in the closing laps to score a fourth place finish.  This was his best run of the season to so far.

On Saturday, Ward Jr. was looking forward to returning to Autodrome Drummond.  This was the site of his first career win with the Empire Super Sprints in 2011 and he hoped to repeat this year.  A steady morning rain forced track officials to cancel early, and the race will not be made up.

“It is pretty disappointing that we got cancelled at Autodrome Drummond”, says Ward Jr.  “I was really looking forward to coming back here.  It is such a great place to race”.

This coming weekend, Ward Jr. will be in action at Mohawk International Raceway in Hogansburg, New York.  

Kevin Ward Jr. would like to thank their sponsors for their support during the 2012 racing season.  They include Westward Painting, Tioga Construction, Sherwin Williams, Lyons Falls Tire Inc., Young’s Auto Parts/Carquest, Cash for Cans, and Finish Line Web Design.

For more information on Kevin Ward Jr. including updated race results, photos, sponsors and more, please visit our new website, www.kevinwardjr.com.  

Ignition Problems Sideline Ward Jr. Before Green Flag at Fonda; Battles to 15th Place Finish at Utica Rome

The early season woes for Kevin Ward Jr continued as they brought their brand new car to Fonda Speedway on Saturday night and Utica Rome Speedway on Sunday.  The season has not started as well as they had hoped, but have continued to work hard in hopes of a change of luck.

Their last time out with the Empire Super Sprints ended with a nasty tumble at Autodrome Granby, so this weekend Ward Jr. was anxious to get back on track.  In his qualifying heat race, a spin late in the race would relegate him to the B-main, but he was able to out and win it.  In the A-main, Ward was to start 20th, and as they were about to go green ignition problems developed, forcing him to miss the feature.

After fixing the problems from Saturday night, Ward Jr. and the Westward Painting team traveled up I-90 to Utica Rome Speedway in Vernon, New York.  Struggles continued in his qualifying heat, with a ninth place finish, and would be forced to qualify through the B-main.  He rolled off the starting grid from 20th for the 25 lap A-Main, and was running well, he was into the top ten by lap 18, but as the final laps counted down, the handling went away, and he would end with a 15th place finish.

This coming weekend, Ward Jr. will be back at Autodrome Granby on Friday night, and then on to Autodrome Drummond on Saturday.  Ward Jr. has had great success at Drummond in the past, and is the site of his first career ESS victory.

Kevin Ward Jr. would like to thank their sponsors for their support during the 2012 racing season.  They include Westward Painting, Tioga Construction, Sherwin Williams, Lyons Falls Tire Inc., Young’s Auto Parts/Carquest, Cash for Cans, and Finish Line Web Design.

For more information on Kevin Ward Jr. including updated race results, photos, sponsors and more, please visit our new website, www.kevinwardjr.com.

Kevin Ward Jr. Escapes Injury After Violent Crash at Autodrome Granby

The 2012 season has not been kind so far for Kevin Ward Jr.  After top ten finishes at Selinsgrove Speedway at the end of March, and Fulton Speedway in early April, Ward has been a victim of bad luck ever since.  Caught up in a wreck at Can Am on lap 1 of the feature, handling issues at Black Rock, and now a violent wreck that destroyed his primary car this past weekend at Autodrome Granby in Quebec.

The Westward Painting team traveled to Granby on the weekend for the 1^st annual Can Am Sprint Car nationals.  The two day event would see some of the best sprint car racers from both Canada and the United States battle for victory.  In the qualifying heat race, Kevin and another car made contact in turn three, sending him in a violent flip.  Kevin would be taken to the local hospital for observations, but would later return to the track before the end of the night.

“I am doing ok, just pretty sore”, commented Ward the next morning.  “We will get the other car ready for next weekend”.

This coming weekend, Ward Jr. will be at Fonda Speedway on Saturday night, and Utica Rome Speedway on Sunday with the Empire Super Sprints.  Hopefully his bad luck from the past few weeks is now behind him.

“It has been a rough couple weeks, but we will bounce back.  I am looking forward to racing at Fonda and Utica Rome this weekend”, adds Ward.

Kevin Ward Jr. would like to thank their sponsors for their support during the 2012 racing season.  They include Westward Painting, Tioga Construction, Sherwin Williams, Lyons Falls Tire Inc., Young’s Auto Parts/Carquest, Cash for Cans, and Finish Line Web Design.

For more information on Kevin Ward Jr. including updated race results, photos, sponsors and more, please visit our new website, www.kevinwardjr.com.  

Kevin Ward Jr. Finishes 15th at Black Rock Speedway; Looking Forward to Quebec Trip This Weekend With Can Am Sprint Car Challenge at Granby

With the Patriot Sprint Tour in action at Black Rock Speedway, Kevin Ward Jr. and the Westward Painting team made the short haul of less then an hour along Seneca Lake to Dundee, New York.


The evening started out well for Ward, winning his qualifying heat, and making the redraw for one of the top eight starting spots for the 25 lap main event.  Ward drew starting spot number eight, and would fire from the outside of row four at the drop of the green flag.  It didn’t take long to determine that the car wasn’t handling as well as it did earlier, and by the first caution on lap 11, he was struggling to maintain his starting position.  After the leader took a tumble on lap 17, Ward had now fell out of the top 10, and dropped back to 15th before the checkered flag.


“The handling really went away on the car as the race progressed”, admits Ward Jr. after the race.  “I am not sure why, but the car just wouldn’t perform like it did earlier in the night.  “We may look at going back to our 2011 car and seeing if we can get back to where we were”.


The next race on the schedule for Ward Jr. is this weekend at Autodrome Granby in the Canadian Province of Quebec.  They are hosting the Can Am Sprint Car Challenge on Friday May 11th and Saturday May 12th.  Ward has had a lot of success in Quebec, picking up his first Empire Super Sprint win last year at Autodrome Drummond.


“We love coming up to Canada to race.  We had a great time here last year, and hope to continue that success this weekend”, says Kevin.


Kevin Ward Jr. would like to thank their sponsors for their support during the 2012 racing season.  They include Westward Painting, Tioga Construction, Sherwin Williams, Lyons Falls Tire Inc., Young’s Auto Parts/Carquest, Cash for Cans, and Finish Line Web Design.


For more information on Kevin Ward Jr. including updated race results, photos, sponsors and more, please visit our website, www.kevinwardjr.com.