Bud Kaeding - HammerDown!

DRIVERS

Bud Kaeding

2003, 2004 & 2005 - All HammerDown! Team Member

Bud Kaeding wins USAC Silver Crown championship - KANSAS CITY, Kan. - September 30 - By Dick Jordan ...Aaron Pierce dominated the "KansasSpeedway.com 100" USAC Silver Crown Series presented by K&N Engineering race Saturday at Kansas Speedway, leading all but two of the 67 laps on the 1.5-mile track. And Pierce was credited with third in the point standings after Bud Kaeding earned the title by 44 points (665-621) over Brian Tyler to take his first ever USAC title.

Bud Kaeding again in Silver Crown - By Michael Harker - June 24, 2006 - Richmond, VA. ...Bud Kaeding collected more than $18,100 in race and posted prize money Saturday after winning his second straight USAC Silver Crown Series presented by K&N Engineering race, this the “Richmond Times-Dispatch 100” at Richmond International Raceway. Kaeding, of Campbell, Calif., led the final 24 laps, but his victory wasn’t for certain until the checkered flag dropped out, as he held off Jay Drake after the latter got by on the 99th lap, which followed the final caution period of the race. But a misfire in the engine nearly did Kaeding and his No. 29 Team ASE/Loan City DRC/Shaver in, as he lost the lead momentarily. Said Kaeding, who began suffering a misfire in his engine late in the race: “Two of the leaders seemed to have problems while leading, but we were just fortunate to bring it home.” (More)

Bud Kaeding snags 25 G's in Kentucky Silver Crown romp - HD Staff - Sparta, KY. - June 16, 2006 - Bud Kaeding of Campbell, CA walked away with the $25,000 top-prize for winning the 100-lap USAC Silver Crown event at Kentucky Speedway Friday. Wayne Reutimann Jr finished second, and Tim Barber of San Francisco was third. (Boxscore)

Bud Kaeding shines in MOPAR Nationals at Lowes - HD Staff - Concord, NC. October 12, 2005 ...Bud Kaeding, Campbell CA., won the MOPAR Nationals Wednesday night at Lowes Motor Speedway Dirt Track. Driving the BK/Leffler Racing #29, Kaeding took the lead on lap six of 30 from J.J. Yeley. The USAC National Sprint Car Series race was recognized as a points earning event in HammerDownUSA.com's Racers Racing Series. Josh Wise finished second in the feature and regained the RRS points lead with just eight races remaining on the 2005 schedule. Jay Drake finished third, Yeley was fourth, and Jon Stanbrough completed the top-five. (More)

'Let's go racing' says Leffler to Bud Kaeding - By Bill Foland - 03/17/05 - Mountain View, CA. ...Jason Leffler, former USAC National Midget and Silver Crown champion, announced today that he will back Bud Kaeding's quest for a 2005 USAC Sprint Car Championship. Leffler/BK Racing will field cars for Kaeding in all USAC National Sprint Car events, and in pavement Silver Crown races. Leffler, a star driver now running for Joe Gibbs Racing in the NASCAR Nextel Cup, follows a path laid by Dave Blaney, Tony Stewart, and Kasey Kahne as a driver giving back to his roots. (Read the press release)

Kaeding captures second Western World at Manzanita - By Dick Jordan - PHOENIX, Ariz. (November 6, 2004) ...Bud Kaeding of Campbell, Calif. chased down Levi Jones with four laps to go to win the 37th NAPA Auto Parts/Budweiser "Western World" title for the second time in front of an overflow crowd at Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix, Ariz. The 40 lap race had only one yellow flag as Kaeding used a lap car to squeeze by Jones and beat him to the checkered flag in his Loan City/High Five Pizza Maxim/Shaver. The excited Kaeding dedicated his win to a friend who passed away this past week. He said the Western is what it's all about. "I am so excited to win because Levi was faster than us," said Kaeding in victory lane. He let the crowd know he likes having his name up there with the many famous winners before him. He finished in second place in the USAC National points behind champion Jay Drake, who finished eighth in Saturday night's feature. (more)

March 2004: ...Shane Anderson is now working for Bud Kaeding. Anderson is a hard working, top crewman that spent last year with former Skagit champ Jimmy Carter, and worked for the Schatz family before that. ...Bud Kaeding scared us twice at Manzy on Saturday. Two fence damaging flips on the half-mile left our boy unscathed. The first one was totally a fluky deal as Mike Kirby broke just in front of Bud, leaving the Willis #45 pilot nowhere to go. After some spirals tighter than John Stockton's shorts, Kaeding was knocked back onto the track by the wall that keeps cars from the junkyard over the three and four fencing. My deal is that I like to see a guy's eyes after he crashes. It's sort of a sixth sense. You can always tell if the cat is still in there or if he needs to call it a night. Bud was truly okay to me. He admitted being a bit dizzy but said he'd been hit harder by his girlfriend. The second flip was more about cartwheels than spirals. This time in turn one. Dick Jordan, the USAC stat-man with the work ethic of marathon runner had to ask veteran scribe Tim Kennedy if could ever remember such damage being done to the wall in turn one. Kennedy said he remembered some doozies but nothing jumped to mind that bent the wall like Bud just did.

Bud Kaeding Non-Wing World Champion - By Bill Woodside - 11/21/03 ...Bud Kaeding wrapped up the Non Winged World Championship point title at Perris Auto Speedway Sunday. Kaeding, of Campbell, California, drove the BK Motorsports/Loan City/High Five Pizza MAXIM to the NWWC $16,000 title. "We were really good through the tour," said Kaeding Tuesday. "We used a standard 86/40 MAXIM and we put ourselves in a position to win the points. I actually thought we would be chasing my dad in Sunday's final. He (Brent Kaeding) would have won if he would not have broken a Jacobs ladder. The bottom was just too good, and while those guys were running down there, they were throwing the junk up on top where I was gonna run. I just couldn't get a hold of anything up there." Kaeding, the high point driver after finishing second and first in two Perris preliminary events, did advance from sixth starting to finish third in the Sunday finale and secured the NWWC point title. Kaeding is scheduled to compete with the USAC Midgets at Tuscon Raceway Park November 22 and also in Turkey Night competition at Irwindale November 27.

Bud Kaeding Masters Perris Prelim #2 - Perris, CA. 11/14/03 ...Brandon "Bud" Kaeding, the two-time defending champion of the Perris Oval Nationals posted quick-time and the A-main victory in Friday night's non-wing sprint car racing at Perris Auto Speedway. Kaeding started sixth in his BK Racing Maxim #29. J.J. Yeley was runner-up, and Brent Kaeding worked the high side to a third place finish. Tracy Hines, and Cory Kruseman were fourth and fifth. 58 cars timed-in on night two of the the three day extravaganza.

At the Million: …Bud Kaeding transferred through the B-Main, and hustled up to eleventh in the feature before a tangle with Jonathan Vennard. Bud was brave, running the high scary side of the Big E.

Bud Kaeding Scores First USAC Silver Crown Win, Yeley Clinches - By Dick Jordan, 09/14/03 - Tulsa, OK. ...Bud Kaeding of Campbell, Calif. recorded his initial USAC Weld Racing Silver Crown race victory in Sunday's O'Reilly "Tulsa 100" at the Tulsa Fairgrounds Motorplex in Tulsa, Okla. Kaeding was leading when the race was halted for the second time due to track conditions and checkered flagged after 77 of the scheduled 100 laps. The race had been halted 24 laps earlier for track conditions and maintenance. J.J. Yeley finished second and emerged with a 72-point lead in the series standings with only 66 available in the series finale October 10-11 at Syracuse, N.Y. "I had the dominant car today," admitted a happy Kaeding in victory lane. "We gambled with softer tires at the start and I was worried about them in the later laps but we never got to where I had to abuse them. We were lucky when the red came out at lap 53 because I had broken a shock and we were able to fix that. It's been a while since I've run these cars on dirt and we were really confident, so I don't think things would have changed if we'd run the full 100." (read it all)

Bud Kaeding USAC National Sprint Winner at Kokomo - see the summary

From Bobby Gerould's Positivity column, 2002 ...Bud Kaeding captured another big win in the Perris Oval Nationals. The 22-year old son of Brent Kaeding is proving to be a 'BIG-Race' driver, coming through when the spotlight is on. His 2002 win backs up last year's triumph in the same race. He also won the 2001 Eldora USAC Four Crown Sprint Car race. Bud will be looking to rebound at Manzanita's Western World. Last year, Bud suffered the heartbreak of falling out on the white flag lap while leading. Bud was the 1997 HammerDown! NARC Rookie of the Year, and winner of first ever sprint car race at Irwindale Speedway (`99). And the road hasn't been easy. Bud bounced back from a horrible crash at the `98 Mini Gold Cup where he suffered a cracked elbow and third degree burns on two fingers. This season, Bud had to sit out for months after a terrifying ride at Terre Haute, left his vision blurred for weeks. HammerDown! gives a big congratulations to Bud, and the entire BK Racing team.

100 Lap Oval Nationals to Bud Kaeding - For the second straight year, Bud Kaeding walked away with the winner's check at the end of the Perris Auto Speedway's, annual Oval Nationals. Bud's Saturday night victory was a bit tougher this year, as the SCRA sanctioned, non-wing field had to complete 100 laps on the fast Perris 1/2 mile. Troy Rutherford finished second, and J.J. Yeley was third. Kaeding earned $30,000 for the win!

Bud Kaeding works Fonzi's groove as J.J. Yeley pressures in the #76 (Jim Fleming)

Summer 2002: …Bud Kaeding, who was returning from an eye injury at Terre Haute should also be commended. Bud has a HUGE list of accomplishments already in his young career, including the 2001 Perris Oval Nationals that paid $25,000 to win.

Bud Kaeding Masters Eldora USAC 4 Crown Sprints - HD Staff, 09/21/02 - New Weston, OH. ...Third generation sprint car star, Bud Kaeding won the USAC Sprint car portion of the 4 Crown Nationals for the second year in a row, Saturday at Eldora Speedway. The son of California sprint car legend, Brent Kaeding, whipped around the dangerous high-banked half mile dirt track in his own, BK Racing Maxim #29. The top five was Kaeding, J.J. Yeley, Cory Kruseman, Jonathan Vennard, and Travis Rilat. (summary)

Bud Kaeding's winning form at Eldora!

BUD KAEDING WINS ELDORA 4-CROWN, ANTICIPATES TERRE HAUTE Bud Kaeding won his second consecutive USAC 4-Crown Nationals sprint car feature event at Eldora Speedway September 21, 2002 and is eagerly anticipating his return to Terre Haute's USAC sprint car event October 5, 2002. Kaeding took the $6,000 4-Crown win at Eldora Speedway with the BK Motorsports Shaver-powered MAXIM after starting third on the grid. He qualified fourth quick then ran third in his qualifying heat race.

"We were real good," related Kaeding after the event at Eldora. "Three yellows over the last three laps closed up the field on us, but we had enough tire left to get the win. I look forward to getting back to Terre Haute now." In USAC midget action during the Four Crown Nationals, Kaeding piloted Dino Tomassi's Midget to a 10th place finish after winning his qualifying heat race. Kaeding, who was sidelined with eye problems for close to three months after being injured at Terre Haute May 11, will pilot the BK Motorsports entry at the Indiana facility when the USAC sprint cars return to Terre Haute October 5, 2002.

For more information concerning Bud Kaeding please visit www.kaedings.com

Bud Kaeding Wins Lakeside Thriller by Robert Mayson KANSAS CITY, KS, AUGUST 17, 2002 - Bud Kaeding earned $10,000 after a hard fought 40-lap NAPA Auto Parts / Auto Trader Magazines SCRA main event win at Lakeside Speedway. Kaeding's victory marked the second year in a row that the eastern portion of Non-Winged World Championship (NWWC) has ended with a real nail bitter. (read it all)

Bud Kaeding returned to non winged competition on August 6 after suffering an eye injury during USAC competition May 11 that sidelined his efforts for close to three months. It did not take Kaeding long to find victory lane as he swept the Lakeside, Kansas 2-day SCRA/NWWC event with his BK Motorpsorts MAXIM, earning $12,500 for his two A-main wins August 15-16.

BUD KAEDING SET TO RETURN AT OSKALOOSA SCRA EVENT Bud Kaeding is scheduled to return to competition at the $30,000 to win SCRA/NWWC Ultimate Challenge at Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa August 6, 2002. Kaeding suffered eye injuries during a USAC sprint event at Terre Haute, Indiana May 11, 2002, and has been sidelined under doctor's care since then. "We decided to get a second opinion, and all indications look like I will drive the BK Motorsports MAXIM at Oskaloosa's Ultimate Challenge," said Kaeding. "We thought I would be OK to run the Belleville Midget Nationals, but the plan right now is to run a few laps in the non-winged sprint in Indiana this week and see how I feel. If everything is fine, I will be racing at Oskaloosa."

…Bud Kaeding was in the Eldora pits. He hoped to be racing by now after suffering a serious injury to his right eye earlier in the season at Terre Haute. Bud said, the doctors still will not clear him to race until his eye heals better.

Bud Kaeding Eye Injury Pits Young Champion - Third generation sprint car driver, Bud Kaeding was injured during a vicious flip in USAC Sprint Car competition in Terre Haute, Indiana May 11, 2002. Kaeding, driving the BK Motorsports MAXIM, flipped during the second lap of his time trial run and went over the guardrails in the process. Ironically, Kaeding had set fast time on his first lap on the clock. The ensuing flip injured Kaeding, who is under doctor's care for vision problems. "I got out of the car and it was black," related Kaeding. "I just figured I would shake it off and be OK, but the vision did not return very quickly and there was reason for concern. The eye specialist that I am seeing says it is the worst case he has ever seen. I feel great, but I am only at 60% vision in my right eye and about 98% in my other eye. I crashed back in 1998 and tried to come back too soon, so I am listening to the doctor now and hoping to get back in the car as soon as possible." Kaeding is hoping to return to action June 19, 2002 at Attica Raceway Park when the USAC Sprints and Midgets start a four-day swing through Ohio for a series of double-header shows. "I'd love to be at the Indiana State Fairgrounds or Eldora this weekend, but the doctor says no way at this time, and I am listening to him," said Kaeding.

04/30/02 - BUD KAEDING MAKES PAVEMENT PROGRESS, EYES USAC DIRT ...Bud Kaeding made pavement progress at the USAC Border Wars Sprint Car event at Winchester, Indiana April 28, 2002 advancing from 12th starting spot to a sixth-place A-main finish in the BK Motorsports entry. "We had to run the B-main at Winchester but it worked to our advantage," related Kaeding. "We got more laps and it helped me to figure out the track. The extra laps definitely helped our A-main run."

Kaeding will drive the BK Motorsports/High Five Pizza Shaver-powered Beast in pavement competition with the USAC Stoops Freightliner Sprint Car division this weekend at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Kaeding is anxiously anticipating a return to dirt track competition with the series May 11, 2002 when Terre Haute, Indiana plays host to the division. Kaeding swept a pair of Sprint Car A-mains at Terre Haute in the fall of 2001. "We ran good at Terre Haute last year," said Kaeding. "It will be our first USAC dirt track event of the season, and we are pumped up about our chances there."

www.BudKaeding.com