Cale Kanke Brings a Veteran Team and Winning Experience to SRL “Salted Metals Architectural Metals 150”
Bakersfield, CA – Cale Kanke spent much of his youth travelling the western states of the country with his father MK Kanke, in the pursuit of victories in one the toughest racing series in the country, the NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour Series. The senior Kanke gathered more than his fair share of victories, setting the all-time mark with 22 NFSWTS wins. Two of those victories were at Colorado National Speedway (CO), where he also added a “Colorado Challenge Cup” win as well. Cale will now head back to Colorado in his own Super Late Model, looking to add his name to Southwest Tour memory lore, by grabbing a $10,000 victory in the “Salted Metals Architectural Metals 150” on August 12th. It would be the two-time SRL Legend Series champion’s first Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series victory.
Cale began his Super Late Model career back in 2015, with a single start in the Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series. Since that time, he has gathered 44 starts in the series, with seven top-five and 22 top-10 results. He has yet to visit Victory Lane, but he has produced three second place finishes in the last seven outings, including June’s “Wild West Shootout 100” at Kern County Raceway Park (CA). Kanke hopes he can grab that first victory at a track he recalls fondly.
“I’m excited to race on a track that I grew up going to with the “Tour”, Kanke recalled. “I remember Colorado fans always being loud and packing it in. I am excited to put on a show. I look forward to running against Jace Hansen and Darren Robertson on their home turf.”
The RPM Motorsports, Dan Nikoli owned team, has been getting closer and closer to Victory Lane. With the leadership of Car Chief Mike Dunkleberger, engineer Dennis Olsen, who oversaw M.K.’s CNS wins, and the experience of Crew Chief Mike Kanke, that win could come on August 12th. They will bring “Coda” and “Trampled Under Foot” to the 3/8-mile oval looking for the best piece for Saturday. Cale will also be leaning on his father’s experience at the facility, in order to pull off that win.
“My Dad has been teaching me from the start”, Cale volunteered. “We work together. We have race talks each race to get better at the next one. We are excited for this next challenge. For my part, I am going to work on myself a bit to be meticulous with the line and figure out what areas of the track you can use and manipulate to race well. I think if we can systematically adjust the car, and capitalize on the characteristics of the track, we should gain some speed and put ourselves in a good position for a solid run.”
The team finished off the 2022 season with consecutive second-place efforts and third in the championship standings, behind Jacob Gomes and Jeremy Doss. But the first four events of the season found Kanke with a best result of eighth. But it looks like the Dirt Track Sport Mod winner has the momentum back, after finishing second at Kern and vaulting to fourth in the series standings.
“As a team we keep sharpening our pencil. The couple of races that we struggled, I don’t think we were way off, more so just had one thing or another that hindered us from having the total package. I am hoping to learn a lot and run up front”, Kanke stated.
Kanke continues to be supported by Willie Allen and W.A.R. Shocks, as well as Allie Bakes. He wanted to thank each of them, as well as the team that supports his efforts.
On August 12th, the teams of the Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series will return to Colorado National Speedway to compete for a $10,000 win, thanks in part to the “Winner’s Bonus” from PFC Brakes. An additional $500 will go to the Fast Qualifier, Longest Tow, Halfway Leader, and Hard Charger, thanks to David Nava Mulcahy (Homie) and Salted Metals. Starting money of $1,500 will go to any team on the Spears Frequent Flyer program, travelling over 500 miles.
The SRL will be joined by the local Super Stocks, Figure 8’s, and Grand American Modifieds. Qualifying is scheduled from 5:20 PM to 6:20 PM CST. Opening Ceremonies are set for 6:25 PM with Dashes for the local divisions at 6:30 PM. Intermission is scheduled for 7:30 PM with a Drifter Demo. Feature events are scheduled to begin at 7:40 PM for the Super Stocks (25 laps), Figure 8’s (20 laps), Grand American Modifieds (30 laps), at Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series (150 laps).
Celebrating its twenty third season in 2023, the SPEARS Southwest Tour Series is a regional stock car series competing on paved ovals in the southwestern portion of the U.S. “The SPEARS Southwest Tour Series…Where the Champions Race”.
