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Thunderbowl Raceway season opens up this Saturday
By Gary Thomas
Tulare, CA – March 25, 2008…The ’08 season at the Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway will get underway this Saturday March 29 when the powerful Golden State Challenge Series 410 Sprint Cars and the mighty warriors of the Western States Modifieds converge at the 1/3 mile clay oval.
This will mark the third straight season that the Golden State Challenge King of California Sprint Car Series will visit the Thunderbowl Raceway at least four times during the year. Big events featuring the traveling series at the Thunderbowl later on in the season will include the Chris & Brian Faria Memorial on May 10 and the Pombo/Sargent Classic on June 28. The series will also be in action again at the raceway in less than a month from now on April 26.
One of the hottest drivers in this early season has been local driver Jason Meyers of Clovis who will be making his final scheduled Golden State Challenge Series start of the season on Saturday. The driver of the GLR Investments No. 14 has won two of the first four GSC races this season and also sits just two digits out of the World of Outlaw Series point lead.
Meyers has been running a new chassis this season assembled by Kent Performance Center owner Steve Kent of Fresno. Kent is a former King of California who ranks third in career 410 wins at the Thunderbowl Raceway and is also third on the all-time GSC win list. Meyers has had much success so far with his KPC Chassis and has used the extended break in WOO action to test and tune on his new car.
Leading the Golden State Challenge Series point standings coming into the event is former King of California Tim Kaeding of San Jose. The driver of the J.F. McCray Plastering No. 10 has raced to top five finishes in all four events run so far this season, scoring a trio of third place efforts, including last Saturday in Placerville. Kaeding will be chasing his first win of the season this weekend at a track he has many great moments at, which have included winning the Trophy Cup title in ’06, a National Sprint Tour A-main that same season and also having a number of top finishes over the years. TK also captured a GSC win at the Thunderbowl last June.
Lurking back in second however, just seven points behind Kaeding is Chico’s Jonathan Allard who won the King of California title just a couple seasons ago. Along with Kaeding, Allard is the only driver to have finished in the top 10 during each race. The two hard charging racers put on a show for the fans last week battling it out on the tiny Placerville bullring. Last season saw Allard score a best Thunderbowl Raceway finish of second and he’ll be looking to one better that this Saturday aboard the Williams Motorsports No. 0.
Los Angeles gasser Tyler Walker has put himself solidly into the third spot in the GSC point standings during his return to winged sprint car racing in California. The driver of the NMI Construction No. 24 finished second last weekend at Placerville, which marked his season best finish. Last November Walker was involved in a scary accident at the Thunderbowl that saw him suffer a broken arm in the melee. He’s come back strong this year however, and will be chasing his first career GSC victory at the track on Saturday.
World of Outlaw regular Shane Stewart of Bixby, Oklahoma currently holds onto the fourth spot in points aboard the locally based Roth Motorsports No. 83. Stewart’s best finish with GSC this season came at Ocean Speedway on March 14 when he claimed second. Currently rounding out the top five in the point standings is Sacramento’s Mike Henry who will be looking to make it two in a row this Saturday. Last weekend in Placerville saw Henry pick up his first career GSC win with an inspired drive aboard the HMH Motorsports No. 93. It was a very popular win for Henry as it came at his home track and was the first victory with his new team, in what was just their fourth race together.
The Golden State Challenge Series action at the 1/3 mile clay oval was dominated last season by Campbell’s Brent Kaeding who won three of the four races, including the Pombo/Sargent Classic and the Chris & Brian Faria Memorial. BK went on to claim his 13th King of California title and comes into this weekend ranking seventh in points.
The driver of the Al’s Roofing Supply No. 69 is the all-time winningest driver with the Golden State Challenge Series and is also the man who has won the most all-time 410 races at the Thunderbowl Raceway. The living legend will be inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in late May along with fellow Northern California inductee, GSC promoter John Padjen.
Medford, Oregon’s Roger Crockett will make his Henderson Motorsports season debut this Saturday. In the off-season the Henderson team moved their base of operations to Grant’s Pass, Oregon and when the car hits the speedway this weekend it is expected to have a new look. Last year Crockett and the No. 7n team had a solid season by winning the Northwest 360 Series title, finishing third at Skagit Speedway’s Dirt Cup and bringing home a fourth place finish in the overall standings at the Trophy Cup.
Australian fan favorite Peter Murphy who resides in nearby Clovis will be making his ’08 GSC debut this weekend aboard the Rick Eberhardt owned No. 4 sprinter sponsored by Ridgeline Framing & V-Mac Racing products. Murphy won the SCRA wingless title last season and will be a welcome addition to the roster this weekend.
Other Golden State Challenge Series racers expected at the Thunderbowl this weekend will be former King of California Jason Statler of Los Gatos, San Jose’s Bud Kaeding, Scotts Valley’s Evan Suggs, Loomis’ Kyle Hirst, Tracy’s Jason Botsford, Easton’s Tommy Tarlton, Fresno’s Mark Workentine and more.
The Western States Modifieds are back for a second full-time season at the Tulare Thunderbowl and will compete in five regular season events at the track. Last year’s WSM title came down to the final event and it was eventually captured by Prunedale’s Tim Balding. Winton’s Paul Stone won the most races, but Balding used a remarkable amount of consistency to claim the inaugural WSM championship.
All of the early season events for the Western States Modifieds will be a lead up to the big three-night $20,000 to win U.S. Western Modified Nationals held on September 25, 26 and 27. Last season’s inaugural event at the Thunderbowl showed immense promise and the second edition is expected to be a can’t miss weekend of competition. Last year saw 110 dirt modifieds show up to try their hand at the action and in the end Oklahoman Jason Hughes took the victory on Saturday night.
The front gate at the Thunderbowl Raceway will open up at 5 pm this Saturday with Reserved Grandstand tickets costing $18 and General Admission Bleacher tickets $15. Tickets are on sale and can be acquired by calling the Thunderbowl Raceway office at (559) 688-0909. The Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway is located on the Tulare County Fairgrounds at the corner of Bardsley and K Streets in Tulare, California. Internet info is located at http://www.thunderbowlraceway.com
Trophy Cup News- A night of racing has been added on to make the 15th annual Trophy Cup a three-night event happening on October 23, 24 and 25 at Thunderbowl Raceway. Tickets for the huge event will go on sale April 1st.
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