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King Racing and The Shop Motorsports work together for the 2007 racing season
October 23, 2006

King Takes Ethanol to Knoxville
August 2, 2006

NCRA 360 Sprint Cars to Race in Hutchinson Nationals
July 11, 2006

King and Maier Lead NCRA Sprint Cars in Action
June 2, 2006

King Promotes Ethanol at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
June 3, 2006

Steve King mixes racing, farming into single purpose
June 3, 2006

King Racing and The Shop Motorsports work together for the 2007 racing season

 Jetmore, KS – King Racing is extending its ethanol promotion efforts for the 2007 race season by leasing the blue and white ethanol truck and trailer to The Shop Motorsports and Jason Johnson Racing, Greenville, TX. As part of the agreement, the ethanol decaling will remain on the trailer for the 2007 season, allowing race fans to see the familiar truck and trailer travel the country for the 2007 National ASCS Tour races and NCRA races when possible.

“Steve believed in ethanol and worked hard to promote it. We decided to lease the truck and trailer to Jason to extend Steve’s work with ethanol across the country,” said Danny King, King Racing.

Steve, who drove the family-owned #88 sprint car sponsored by ICM/Ethanol, died after an August 9th accident during this year’s Knoxville Nationals in Knoxville, IA. He was the 2002 and 2003 NCRA 360 Sprint Car champion and was second in points at the time of his death.

For Jason Johnson, the 2006 season was his most successful to date. He finished the season second in the ASCS National Tour standings. A highlight of his season was his third place finish at The Knoxville Nationals. During 2006, Johnson amassed 21 feature victories.

“Steve and I were really good friends, and we really miss him,” Johnson said. “We are excited to be working with the King family to spread Steve’s ethanol message throughout the country this coming year.”

Johnson and his wife Bobbi are headed to Australia later this month to take part in the World Sprint Series tour.  They will return to the US just days before the ASCS National Tour opener at East Bay Raceway, Tampa, FL, on January 25, 2007.

“It is important to note that ICM/Ethanol was Steve’s sponsor,” said Johnson. “They agreed to this arrangement upon Danny’s request. This should not be misconstrued as a sponsorship of me or the #41 The Shop Motorsports sprint car. We simply want to help fulfill Steve’s vision.”

 

King Takes Ethanol to Knoxville

 

 


RacingOne Report
Posted Wednesday, August 2, 2006 on www.racingone.com

King is set to compete in both of Knoxville Raceway’s two classic weekends.

King is set to compete in both of Knoxville Raceway’s two classic weekends.

KNOXVILLE, Iowa – Steve King is ready to show that ethanol-blended fuel can run with the best sprint car drivers and cars in world when the Kansas competitor brings his Team Ethanol Maxim sprinter to the legendary Knoxville Raceway dirt half-mile oval for both the 360 (Aug. 3-5) and 410 (Aug. 9-12) Nationals.

King, the two-time NCRA 360 sprint car champion from Jetmore, Kansas, is set to compete in both of Knoxville Raceway’s two classic weekends with his No. 88 Team Ethanol machine in effort to show that a ten per cent blend of corn-based ethanol fuel can produce a winning combination.

King’s mount runs a similar fuel to that currently in the IRL IndyCar Series with ninety percent methanol and ten percent ethanol and King knows the ethanol-enriched fuel has proved to be powerful and economic.

“With the added ethanol fuel to our current methanol mix, we are able to get better fuel economy in our races,’ said King, who is a farmer during the week and a racer on the weekends. “The better mileage in the main events means we can use a lighter fuel load and many times that can be an advantage. In addition, the ethanol is good for the environment and helps the farming community. So the ethanol fuel is great for racing, the emissions and the economy. Being a farmer, the ethanol blend is good for our family business too.”

The Knoxville Double Header races are the biggest events of the year for King and he also is in a battle for the NCRA Sprint Car title, a championship he won in 2002 and 2003. He currently ranks second in the NCRA standings.

“We have had some tough luck lately with the No. 88 Team Ethanol King Racing car,” said King. “We have been in position to win main events this year and little things have kept us for getting to the winner’s circle. We are working hard on the engines for the 360 (c.i) and 410 (c.i) races at Knoxville. Knoxville is the Indy 500 of sprint car racing and every driver wants to do well at those events. It is no different for me. Putting in a strong effort in those races would make our season successful and also help us continue our chase for the NCRA title.”

King also is on the national ethanol bandwagon in 2006 as the renewable fuel has been in the national news much of the 2006 racing campaign.

“Just like Jeff Simmons and Rahal Letterman Racing are showing in the IndyCar Series this year, we, at King Racing, want to show how ethanol is a great performance fuel and can be a good fuel for the every passenger car too,” said King. “The President talked about how ethanol is a great fuel for the future. And we are showing how the fuel can work on the track and on the street.”

King’s Knoxville schedule begins this Friday evening (Aug. 4) in the 360 qualifying events with the 360 finals set for Saturday night (Aug. 5). In the 410 Nationals at Knoxville, King will qualify on Wednesday night (Aug. 9).

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King and Maier lead NCRA Sprint Cars in Action
 

Posted June 2, 2006 on www.ncraracing.org
  By Randy Fisher

PARK CITY, Kan. (June 2, 2006) – After disappointing finishes in the 2006 season opener, a pair of two-time champions has rebounded to stand 1-2 in points in the O’Reilly NCRA 360 Sprint Car Series, presented by ICM/Ethanol

Steve King, of Jetmore, Kan., and Garry Lee Maier, of Cimarron, Kan., lead the series back in action this weekend with shows at Dodge City (Kan.) Raceway Park on Saturday and 81 Speedway in Park City, Kan., on Sunday.

The 2002-2003 champion, King was running fifth late in the April 8 opener at Nebraska Raceway Park when his racecar broke, relegating him to a 14th-place finish. King finished second on May 13 at the Jetmore (Kan.) Motorplex to take over the point lead. He backed that up with another runner-up finish May 14 at the WaKeeney (Kan.) Speedway to maintain his lead Defending series champion Maier, who also won the title in 1991, fared even worse than King did in Nebraska. Maier just couldn’t ever really get going and didn’t make it out of the B feature. Since then, Maier notched his NCRA-best 52nd career win at Jetmore and was fourth at WaKeeney.

Sitting in third place behind the former champs is Tony Bruce Jr., who missed the opening night jinx and finished third. The Liberal, Kan., driver crashed in the feature at Jetmore and finished 18th. He bounced back the following night at WaKeeney to pick up his first career NCRA sprint car series victory.

With three events in the books for 2006, less than 100 points separate the top five in points. King leads with 683 points while Maier trails by only 40 points; Bruce Jr. has 630 points. Rounding out the top five are 2000 champion C.J. Johnson of Quinter with 609 points, and Wheat Ridge, Colo., driver Gary Taylor with 585.

So far, only five drivers have made it to each of the three features: Steve King, Tony Bruce Jr., C.J. Johnson, Gary Taylor, and A.J. Selenke, who is 10th in points. Stretching back into last year, King has made six consecutive features.

Brian Brown of Higginsville, Mo., picked up the other feature win in the April 8 opener but has not raced with the series since.

For more information about the NCRA, please visit their Web site at www.ncraracing.org. You can listen to a post-race report of selected NCRA events at www.racerpm.com/ncra.  

www.ncraracing.org/Advance6.htm
King promotes Ethanol at Indy
 Posted June 3, 2006 on www.ncraracing.org

Steve King (right) and U.S. Secretary of Energy, Samuel Bodman, discuss sprint cars and ethanol during the recent Ethanol Day promotion at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

INDIANAPOLIS, May 25 – On May 11, 2006, King Racing drove their truck and trailer through the gates of a legendary track to be part of "Ethanol Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” an excellent backdrop to educate the media about the benefits of ethanol.

Two-time NCRA Champion Steve King had his #88 ethanol-powered sprint car on display with other competition cars that are part of Team Ethanol. The others displayed included five-time Alcohol Funny Car World Champion Mark Thomas’ car and Jeff Simmons’ #17 IRL Ethanol car.

Steve spoke with the media about racing what he grows. He, along with his parents and car owners, Danny and Naomi King, got a first-hand look at the action in the garage as special guests of the Rahal-Letterman Race team, a three-car team including Jeff Simmons, former Indy Champion Buddy Rice, and Danica Patrick.

“We were excited to have the King family on hand to help us tell the ethanol story,” said Steve Rust. Director, Industry Relations for the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council.  “Consumers can easily make the connection between putting E-10 or E-85 in their cars when a winning race car driver talks about putting it in his.

”The King family was also on pit row when Samuel Bodman, U.S. Secretary of Energy, suited up in a Team Ethanol fire suit and went around the speedway in a 2-seater Indy car. Bodman held a press conference about the benefits of ethanol and spent some time with Steve learning about the workings of a sprint car.

“This was a big deal for the Ethanol industry and for America’s farmers,” said Steve King. “It was fitting to be telling the important story of this renewable fuel source at a venue such as Indy. The more consumers understand that ethanol is good for America, the more ethanol I believe they will fuel their cars with.”

Steve is competing this year on the National Championship Racing Association 360 Sprint Car Circuit as well as the American Sprint Car Series. He will also race regional races on the National Sprint Tour and the World of Outlaws.  His sponsors include Ethanol/ICM, Kansas Farm Bureau Voice of Agriculture, Leiker Trucking, Liberal, KS; Blackburn Construction, El Dorado, KS, and Nusser Motors, Jetmore, KS. For his complete schedule, visit www.88king.com

Other resources:

www.drivingethanol.org
www.icminc.com
www.ncraracing.org

Steve King mixes racing, farming into single purpose

Posted June 3, 2006 on www.dodgeglobe.com 
By John Curtis
 

Rick Druse/Daily Globe Steve King rounds the track at Dodge City Raceway Park.

 Racing and farming go hand-in-hand in southwest Kansas, but chances are they are not intertwined to the point NCRA 360 sprints driver Steve King takes his love for both things.

Five years ago, King was willing to have his car and team become an experiment by using a mixture of methanol with 10 percent ethanol for races. Since that time, the Jetmore driver has won two NCRA season series and is the current leader of this years season series after three races.

"I feel fortunate that we got to run with it and experiment with it five years ago," King said. "That's led to bigger and better things for us."

Ethanol is distilled from fermented grain Q usually corn Q in production plants. It's used as an alternative fuel, or as an ingredient in gasoline that helps the fuel burn cleaner.

"It's also for the farmers, too," King said about his reasoning to race under the ethanol banner. "You can get rid of a lot of grain with ethanol, and I'm a farmer myself. That's why I like to promote it."

King has been associated with the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council's "Team Ethanol." He was part of the council's participation at "Ethanol Day" at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the month-long Indianapolis 500 celebration in May.

He stood alongside other ethanol-driven cars, including Jeff Simmons, the driver of the No. 17 Indy Car Series entry Jeff Simmons, part of the Rahal-Letterman Racing team. Among those in attendance that day was United States Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman.

"We took the car up there and put it on display," King said. "We got to talk with the secretary about all the advantages of ethanol. It was a neat deal."

The last couple of years haven't been kind to King on the race track. He was nudged out of the season series championship in 2004 (when Mike Woodruff won six main features to King's two), and then claimed only one feature win in 2005 as he finished third behind Garry Lee Maier and Preston Peebles in the season standings.

"It just seems to run like that where you have a good year, then a bad year," King said. "Some years you're in a groove or you try too hard and tear stuff up. We had some bad luck and didn't run very good last year," King said. "We got in a big wreck and that tore up a lot of parts."

And although he hasn't won any of the three features in this year's season series, King has been very consistent in heats and in placing high in features. Because of that consistency, King leads Maier by 40 points going into tonight's race at Dodge City Raceway Park.

He also ran very well in the recent National Sprint Tour series two-day event at DCRP, finishing 13th out of 26 cars on the first night, and 12th out of 24 in the second show.

"We've had some good races this year and we've been running fast," King said. "We won a weekly race and we've been running pretty good, but we just haven't hit the number one spot yet.

"Consistency is key on this NCRA deal. There are probably going to be 18 races, so if you fall out or break in one or two of those races, then the chances of winning that are pretty slim."

King feels there are two advantages for him going into tonight's race at DCRP, the first of two days of competition for the NCRA drivers. Most of them will also compete in another series race Sunday at 81 Speedway in Wichita.

"There's nothing really (different from last year) except we've had more seat time," King said. "We got to go to Florida and race about 10 times. The more chances you get to sit behind the wheel, the better you are.

"The biggest advantage I have is the number of laps on that track. I don't think anybody (in the series) has raced more laps there than me."