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.