|
Stephen Allard rebounds on final night of Mini Gold Cup
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA – March 10, 2008…Defending Silver Dollar Speedway track champion Stephen Allard came back on Saturday night at the 22nd annual Mini Gold Cup and passed eight cars in the 40 lap finale to score a 14th place finish in the opening weekend for the traveling Golden State Challenge 410 Sprint Car Series.
The Mini Gold Cup two-night program started out with Allard and the 1m Racing team struggling through motor issues that played havoc with the car right off the bat. With a large field of 65 winged sprinters on hand it made qualifying a crucial part of the night. Allard was forced to take one lap at the end of the session and with the car still not at full song he clocked the 51st quickest lap of the night.
With only the top 48 cars making it into the heats, Allard was placed into the non-qualifiers D-main. Starting third he put the JP’s Paint & Body, Miller Glass No. 1m on the tip top of the track and brought home a second place finish to transfer into the C-main, but unfortunately scratched from that event to put an end to the evening.
Looking for better things on Saturday night Allard came out 41st in the qualifying order and timed in 26th quick out of a stacked 64 cars, missing the inversion for the heats by just two spots. A seventh place finish in the second heat race then put Allard into the B-main where he lined up in the 10th position. After battling right around the transfer spot for the duration of the last chance race, the 35 year-old crossed the stripe in seventh place, one spot shy of making the feature.
This is when lady luck shined down on the 1m Racing team as Seth Bergman, who had already transferred to the A-main, scratched from the field with engine problems. With Allard being the first alternate he was allowed to tag the rear of the field and came forward to finish 14th after 40 hard fought laps of action on the ¼ mile bullring.
The weekend didn’t go exactly how the team had hoped, but bringing the car home in one piece and with a top 15 finish in his kind of field is definitely something to proud of. Allard will look to be up front when the Feather Falls Casino Friday night series goes green on March 28 at Silver Dollar Speedway. Last season saw the Chico native win three times during Friday point action and he'll look to have the same kind of success this season.
For more news and info on Chico’s Stephen Allard and 1m Racing visit http://www.stephenallard.com
----------------------
Photo by http://www.GraphXDesigns.com
www.sprintcarchallengetour.com
www.placervillespeedway.com
www.stocktondirttrack.com
www.thunderbowlraceway.com
|
