Winged sprint cars are returning to Kalamazoo Speedway Thursday night.

The Royal Purple King of the Wing National Sprint Car Series presented by Auto Value Bumper to Bumper will draw drivers from the west and the south to Michigan for a full slate of racing.

Cassopolis’ Tom Hartsell, who has owned the Auto Value Series since 2007, joined forces five years ago with King of the Wing, which is sponsored by Royal Purple Synthetic Oil.

Hartsell is the King of the Wing Series director, while Jeff Hanley is the race director in New York, Mike Morel is the advertising director and Bill Adams is the administration director in Mountain Home, Idaho, the home of King of the Wing.

“Davey Hamilton and I went together to buy the Auto Value series,” Hartsell said. “Five years ago we teamed up with King of the Wing.”

Hartsell, who owns Cass Auto, says this is the most hectic time of the season.

“We usually start racing right after the Little 500 in Anderson, Indiana,” Hartsell said. “So we get started around June 1 and conclude in November with the national tour.”

Gates will open at 3 p.m. at Kalamazoo Speedway Thursday.

The King of the Wing Super Sprint Series will hold a pair of practices between 4 and 5:30 p.m.

The Outlaw Super Stock will have group qualifying from 5:35 to 5:55 p.m. to be followed at 6 p.m. by the Outlaw Super Stock Late Model group qualifying.

King of the Wing qualifying begins at 6:25 p.m. with the national anthem scheduled for 7:26 p.m. and racing set to go at 7:30 p.m.

The Outlaw Super Stock will have a pair of eight-lap heat races before the Super Stock eight-lap heat races.

King of the Wing will have three eight-lap heat races immediately following the Outlaw races.

A 10-minute intermission will proceed the Super Stock 30-lap feature, the 40-lap Outlaw Super Lake Model feature and the King of the Wing 40-lap feature.

Some of the drivers scheduled to race on Thursday are seven-time series champion Jason Blonde of Litchfield, Michigan; Ryan Litt of Ontario, Canada; Gordon Rogers of California; Jason Conn of Prince George, British Columbia; Mike Anderson of Nampa, Idaho; Johhny Giesler of Meridian, Idaho; Tristen Piers of Idaho; Ron Larson of Quesnel, British Columbia; Chris Neuerschwader of New Haven, Indiana and Jeff Bloom of Bangor, Michigan.

Hartsell is also busy calling the action for the National Tractor Pulling Association, which will make its annual stop at the Cass County Fair Aug. 1.

“I do about 70 shows a year,” Hartsell said of announcing at tractor pulls.

The tractor pulls in the grandstand at the Cass County Fair are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.