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Silver Dollar Speedway – Chico, CA
Contact: Troy Hennig – [email protected]
Allard's Last Turn Pass Gets Him Bradway Jr. Win
(Chico, CA 5-09-09)...It's one of those things that words can not express. For the fans at Silver Dollar Speedway last night I think it's safe to say we will all remember this night of racing. The whole night had an electric charge in the air not only because it was one of the biggest nights of the year, the Dave Bradway Jr., but also Rod Tiner Racing turned back the clock and detailed his sprint car to mirror the 1986 Tri-C Machine #3c driven by Bradway Jr. As fate would have it Tiner's driver, Brad Sweet, started on the front row and led the main event. In fact, Sweet didn't just lead the race, he led every lap of the race except the most important part, the last 100 feet. Going into turn three Sweet stuck to the bottom like he had done the previous 39 laps while Jonathan Allard decided to let it all hang out. Allard went to the top of the track and in his own words he “never lifted.” Allard said after the race, “I was either going to win or wear it out,” said Allard. “I'm not sure if I have driven a last turn harder in my career.” Allard made the amazing move stick and drove by Sweet coming out of turn four. “He went for a Hail Mary and he got it,” said Sweet in his post race interview. Allard's momentum pushed him by Sweet and crossed the finish line first. While some people might have wanted the Tri-C car to win the race for sentimental reasons it was still a no-brainer to just be excited as a sprint car fan to have that kind of finish. As a huge fan myself of Dave Bradway Jr., I know he was still smiling somewhere as he watched this race and was probably just as excited about the finish with or without his old car winning. Somewhat lost in the amazing finish was the drive put on by Brett Miller. The Chico prodigy started on the outside of the front row, however, spun off the track going into turn one and brought out the yellow. Miller restarted the race in the 22nd spot. Throughout the rest of the race Miller passed cars, kept out of trouble and brought his Care Free Pools #1x back to a third place finish. “Even after the spin it turned out to be an amazing night,” said Miller.
This was the 19th running of the Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial at Chico. Allard's win now gives him four Memorial wins that places him in a tie with Brent Kaeding for the most of all-time. While the Hirst family helped start the tradition the Durica family has helped keep this race not only alive but thriving. Each lap in the feature and semi-feature paid lap money to the top three. Allard's win earned him $4,000 off the top. Add in the $1200 in bonus money and it raises it to $5200. Earlier in the night Allard set fast time with an amazing lap of 11.119. The lap broke his old King of California qualifying record of old. That single lap earned him an extra $1500 because of the annual qualifying bonus for the Dave Bradway Jr. Allard and the Morrie and Katie Williams owned #0 took over $6700 out of Chico during this one night of racing. Sweet, while still probably feeling a little down, had to be happy to finish second. With all the laps led and the second place payday in a King of California race he won nearly $3500.
Adding extra money and parts to the Bradway was Fast Trak Wings. For the win Allard will receive a free HRP top wing. Fast Trak Wings also gave an HRP nose wing to the heat race winners and dash winner.
HoservilleCA played an important once again at the Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial. For the sixth year in a row the Internet Message board fans of sprint car racing donated a right rear tire, sleeves of tear-offs and a plaque to each heat race winner. The heat race winners also stopped on the front stretch for an interview and to give a trophy to one young fan. This year that young fan was also taken to the front stretch to take a picture with the winner. The four heat race winners included Andy Forsberg, Sean Becker, Robert Stice and Kyle Hirst.
Many great fans throughout the night of racing came up to donate extra money to the racing program. Big Daddy's Race Center added $100 to the final finisher in the C main that turned out to be Jason Statler. Also adding money to the B main were racing fans Roger and Linda. Qualifying sponsors were in no particular order; NMI Industrial Contractors, F & F Racing, John's Racing Photos, GT Promotions, Graph X Designs, HoservilleCA, CarWash Mike and Stumble, GT Trends.com, The River Glenn, Dennis Thomas, ManCamp, Fry's Metal, and Chowchilla.
The semi-feature was won by Mark Hall. His 12-lap win gave Hall an extra $600 because of the lap money. Evan Suggs finished in the second spot and will receive an extra $340. Willie Croft finished third and should get an extra $260. The final three transfer spots went to Shane Golobic, Wayne Johnson and Bud Kaeding. Even though he finished sixth, Kaeding roused the crowd with a last lap pass over Jason Solwold for the final transfer. Kaeding would go on to start dead last in the main event. Kaeding was able to use his experience and work his way into a seventh place finish. That was good enough to earn the Southern Pacific Farms hard charger award and an extra $500. Other event product sponsors were BR Motorsports, Scribner Plastics and NorCal Performance.
Bobby McMahan dominated the eight lap C main event. Pat Harvey finished second and joined McMahan in transferring into the semi-feature. Mike Stallings finished third.
The six-lap dash was won by Allard. The only glitch in Allard's night was his fourth place finish in the first heat race. As already documented, Allard was quick-time, won the dash and win the main event. Miller finished second while Tyler Walker ran third. Sweet finished in the fourth spot and Jason York rounded out the top five.
The original start saw Brett Miller spin off the track in turn one. Sweet moved into the outside front row and got the advantage over Allard on the next start. Sweet led the first ten laps until Willie Croft brought the yellow on lap ten. Seven laps later Andy Forsberg had issues and another yellow was needed. Up to this point the leaders were involved with some traffic but each caution allowed the track to clear in front of them. On the next restart Shane Golobic ended up on his lid in turn four. Colby Copeland's restart did not treat him well and he too flipped. During this red flag the teams were able to add fuel to cars so it would not be an issue later in the race.
The race resumed with the top three being Sweet, Allard and Tyler Walker. Kyle Hirst up to this point was moving through the field. He started 17th and ran up to the eighth spot. Up to this point he was the leading contender for the Hard Charger. But on lap 21 he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and spun off the track. The driver starting to move up the track just a bit in turns three and four was Tyler Walker. The always exciting driver started closing on Allard for second. At one point Walker ran sided by side with Allard through the third and fourth turns. On the next lap Walker went back to try the high side but he entered a little too high and he slid off the track. At this point Allard then moved to the line Walker was running and tried it to see if it worked. Walker restarted in the rear and drove back up to finish in the fourth spot. The final caution waived on lap 31 when Andy Forsberg slowed on the front stretch and Hirst ran into the back of him. Both cars would not return to the race. It is important to note that on this yellow Allard once again used this opportunity to try the top of the track. It was something that would play a factor in the dramatic finish.
The final nine laps played out just had the previous 39. Sweet drove as hard as he could and never missed his driving line. The track was still so fast and while Allard tried to match Sweet's line he knew that the last lap he would have to try the outside to get any chance of a win. On lap 38 and as the leaders went through turns three and four Allard went to the top and at that moment he slid up the track and the looked to over correct just a bit. From my vantage point I thought that sealed his fate. Sweet took the white flag with a decent sized advantage. Down the back straight Sweet still seemed to have the win wrapped up. To Allard's credit he never gave up. Allard went to the top and never lifted. His car stuck and he never deviated from his plan. Allard caught Sweet and then proceeded to pass him coming out of turn four. With the crowd on their feet they were given probably the most dramatic Dave Bradway Jr. finish of all-time. Allard got the amazing win to cap off a memorable night of racing. The lasting moment for me will be the winner's lane photo of Jonathan Allard with Rod Tiner by his side. Allard had just beat Tiner's car but there the two of them were celebrating as friends in what turned out to be a great finish. It is a race that years from now people will say, “I still remember that Bradway when Allard passed Sweet on the final turn.” When it was all said and done that's what makes this sport so popular. The fans were treated to seeing the Tri-C Machine #3c ride again. In the end they were also treated to unthinkable pass by Allard for the win. On nights like these it helps make sense to me why we dedicate so much of our lives to this sport. Long live the memory of “Junior” and hopefully this race can continue to get bigger and better. Congratulations to all the competitors here tonight. We were able to celebrate the past while preserving the future.
Full results are available at www.silverdollarspeedway.com
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