Golden State Challenge Sprint Cars Rock The Thunderbowl!

By Gary Costa
 
April 26, 2008…The stars and cars of the Golden State Challenge Series visited the Thunderbowl Raceway, located in Tulare, CA, for round #9 of the 24-race series.
 
26 powerhouses pulled through the Thunderbowl pit gate to do battle on the fast 3/8-mile speedway.
 
Ashley Smith and GSC point leader, Jonathan Allard could be UFC fighters if they chose to be. They will never tap out under any circumstances. After taking a nasty one at Chico the previous night, they then hustled back down to Tulare. Wasting no time, Ashley rolled out the partially built Williams Motorsports #0, and went to work in the Tulare heat.

Surprise entrant’s on the evening were Ben Gregg who made the long tow from his Glendale, Arizona home to race his #22B, and veteran shoe Ronnie Day who was at the helm of a Dennis Roth missile.
 
Watching hot laps is just something that I absolutely love. Wheel packing just teases the hell out of me. They have a name for that you know? The anticipation of watching the cars rip down the straightaway and unleash the power that those bullets create just drives me nuts!
 
Qualifying was quite enjoyable. Tyler Walker stole the show however, with a 1-lap “bonsai trip” around the speedway. The NMI Contractors #24 was on a rail, and flashed under the flag stand with a 12.981, beating out Allard’s 13.208. Race fans, went wild as he was also the last car to go out!
 
Three heat races were set and we were ready to get serious.
 
Heat #1 rolled onto Steve Faria’s hooked up speedway, and they rolled past us like this;
 
Row#1-Mike Mossi Bud Kaeding
Row#2-Evan Suggs Ronnie Day
Row#3-Brent Kaeding Tyler Walker
Row#4-Ben Gregg Brent Bjork
Row#5-Stephen Allard
 
When the green came out, Evan Suggs pirouetted the #33E through turns 1-2, during lap-1. When we went green again, Walker wasn’t jacking around as he was making some fantastic moves, however, Day didn’t look too rusty after his brief lay off, as he fought off a Walker slider in 3-4. A tough break for Stephen as he pulled to the infield with mechanical woes. Bud was all business, as he was hooked up in the #29.
 
Top-5
1. Bud
2. Day
3. Walker
4. B. Kaeding
5. Gregg

After trying to catch our breath, heat race #2 would be another good one.
 
Row #1-Ken Fredenburg Kyle Hirst
Row #2-Garrett Ishii Mike Henry
Row #3-Craig Stidham Jonathan Allard
Row #4-Jason Statler Charlie Louden
 
When Willie Williams turned the green light on, Kyle Hirst jumped out to lead. Allard was looking confident as he was moving quickly through the field. It was heartbreak however on lap-4 for Kyle as he pulled the GP Development #6 to the infield. Kyle was absolutely smashing them in this one. As racing continued, Allard was putting on a show, and on lap-8 wrestled the lead over a racy Henry.
 

Top-5
1. Allard
2. Henry
3. Fredenburg
4. Stidham
5. Ishii
 
After watching Jonathan com from the back, we were again set for another great race. Heat #3 cars were nose to tail like this;
 
Row #1-Peter Murphy Mark Workentine
Row #2-Danny Faria, Jr. Tommy Tarlton
Row #3-Tim Kaeding Blake Robertson
Row#4-Dan Simpson Mark Barroso
Row#5-Jim Skinner
 
Murphy, who raced a non-wing 360 the night before at Hanford, got the jump on the green, but Blake had his elbows up, which made the fans scream! He went from his outside 3rd row starting spot to 2nd in 1-lap! Tim stopped on the race track on lap-2 sending him to the back. Never one to give up, TK made the fans pump their fists in the air as he moved himself into the 3rd spot. Murphy and Robertson were putting on a show, and on lap-6 Robertson got around Murphy and never looked back.
 
Top-5                                                                        
1. Robertson
2. Murphy
3. T. Kaeding
4. Tarlton
5. Workentine

Up next for us fans, was the all important 6-lap dash to determine the first 4-rows for the 30-lap main event. A pill draw would determine starting spots.
 
Row #1-Brent Kaeding Jonathan Allard
Row #2-Craig Stidham Tim Kaeding
Row #3-Tommy Tarlton Mike Henry
Row #4-Blake Robertson Ronnie Day
 
When we went green, Allard slid under BK going into turn-1. Then a slugfest broke out between Allard and TK. They raced side-by-side for most of the race! The fans were again going wild as these two guys were giving it all they had.
 
“I just held on and prayed,” Tim stated after the exciting win. I don’t know who he’s praying to, but thanks to whomever it is, what a great race!
 
1. T. Kaeding
2. Allard
3. B. Kaeding
4. Stidham
5. Tarlton
6. Day
7. Robertson
8. Henry
 
We were now set for 30-laps of wide open Sprint car racing!
 
It was time to get serious, as the yellow light went off around the speedway and flagman Willie Williams showed them the “1 to go” sign, they were bunched up like this;
 
Row #1-Tim Kaeding Jonathan Allard
Row #2-Brent Kaeding Craig Stidham
Row #3-Tommy Tarlton Ronnie Day
Row #4-Blake Robertson Mike Henry
Row #5-Tyler Walker Evan Suggs
Row#6-Garrett Ishii Danny Faria, Jr.
Row #7-Bud Kaeding Mark Workentine
Row #8-Ken Fredenburg Peter Murphy
Row #9-Ben Gregg Jason Statler
Row#10-Dan Simpson Brent Bjork
Row #11-Charlie Louden Mark Barroso
Row #12-Mike Mossi
 
When the green flag came out, it was Allard getting the jump on TK. TK fought back and took the lead on lap-3. Robertson, who was moving up, stopped on the 7th lap. When racing resumed, cars were going high and low. Walker was working his way through the field, when Day flipped through turns 1-2 on lap-11.
 
As TK and Allard were waging war, a lap-18 yellow slowed things down, while Walker moved himself into the 3rd position!
 
Racing resumed, and the race leaders were slowed down with lapped traffic, and Walker did a beautiful slide job on both TK and Allard! TK fought back, but Walker was able to stay ahead of Allard. The crowd was going crazy! Allard chased Walker to the checkered flag, in an absolutely fantastic and exciting race.

The win in Tulare marked back-to-back wins for TK, as a win came the previous night at Chico.
 
-The final rundown
 
1. T. Kaeding
2. Walker
3. J. Allard
4. Tarlton
5. B. Kaeding
6. Stidham
7. Ishii
8. Bud
9. Henry
10. Murphy
11. Statler
12. Gregg
13. Fredenburg
14. Bjork
15. Barroso
16. Simpson
17. Suggs
18. Faria, Jr.
19. Day
20. Workentine
21. Louden
22. Mossi
23. Robertson
 
Great racing, a fantastic crowd, and being around all of your friends, what else could a guy want!