May 2, 2014 — report by Managing Editor Jacob Seelman for Race Chaser Online — Phoenix Racing photo — JUPITER, FL — He’s back, boys. And for the rest of the Outlaws field, they ought to be scared.
Tim Kaeding, who took the last couple of weeks on the World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series trail off to tend to personal matters in his native state of California, will return to the tour full-time in 2014 with Phoenix Racing and car owners Tom and Sherry Leidig, effective immediately.
While the Phoenix team expressed that they would not be racing this weekend at Eldora Speedway and added that it may be a few weeks before their team is completely in position to resume traveling with the Outlaws tour, the Leidigs are excited about what the rest of 2014 holds one they are able to return to the race track.
“We are so excited to welcome back Tim Kaeding to the Phoenix team for the rest of the 2014 season,” the team expressed on Twitter Friday night.
“Tim was a good fit for us last year in Charlotte. We’re glad to welcome him back into the fold and look forward to sitting in Victory Lane with him for the remainder of this year,” the Leidigs expressed to Race Chaser Online following the announcement. “We think the world of Tim and he is an outstanding racer. He and Bonz (Bonzai Bruns, crew chief) work extremely well together and we anticipate seeing great things out of them for the rest of the season.”
Kaeding, who notched nine wins in 2013 with the Outlaws while driving part-time for Roth Motorsports, moves over to the Phoenix No. 59 from the Roth Enterprises No. 83, taking over the seat formerly held by Connecticut native David Gravel while Gravel assumes Kaeding’s No. 83 in the Roth stable.
TK competed with the Phoenix team during the World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte Motor Speedway last November, racing in the Last Chance Showdown both nights and using a valiant charge to come within a car length of qualifying for the Saturday finale A-main.
Kaeding currently sits 12th in the World of Outlaws sprint car points standings, with three top five and ten top 10 finishes to his credit so far this season.
