This message was edited on
May 11, 2008 at
04:07:33 PM by Gary Thomas
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Jonathan Allard finishes 2nd in Chico & 8th in Tulare
By Gary Thomas
Tulare, CA – May 10, 2008…Just one week after picking up his first Golden State Challenge Series win of the season, current point leader Jonathan Allard came back this past weekend and had an up and down go of it at a pair of his favorite tracks. Despite having a tough night on Saturday the Chico driver will maintain a steady lead in the GSC Series standings going into next weekend’s Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial.
Allard began the weekend with another Feather Falls Casino point race at Chico’s Silver Dollar Speedway. The last couple Friday’s had ended with him being upside down, but this go around found a much better night as he very nearly picked up another win. The ’06 King of California kicked off the night in grand fashion by blistering the quarter-mile in 11.551 seconds to score fast time aboard the Williams Motorsports, Red Line Oil No. 0.
A fifth place finish in the opening heat transferred him into the 25 lap main event where he lined up from the third row. Allard got up into third early on before making a great low side pass during a lap 14 restart to get under Kyle Hirst and move to second. He then had a long ways to go to catch up to leader Andy Forsberg, but a caution with just a handful of laps remaining gave him a shot.
Allard hounded Forsberg over the next few laps and any mistake by the No. 92 car would give him the shot he needed. The track was lightning fast and the only way to do anything was in traffic, but that chance never came and Allard had to settle for a second place finish as Forsberg won his first Chico feature of the year.
On Saturday Allard and Williams Motorsports headed down to the Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway for the GSC sanctioned Chris & Brian Faria Memorial. At the start of the night however, engine issues were apparent and the team was forced to change the Kistler power-plant early on during hot laps. Allard then went on to time in eighth fastest in qualifying, before driving the K & N Filters, Sharp Insurance & Bonding Maxim to third place finishes in both his heat and the dash.
The 31 year-old driver capped the night by finishing eighth in the main event as he focused on bringing the car home in one piece, which is a key in winning championships. “We were just a bit off tonight,” Allard said as this marked virtually the first night he wasn’t in contention for a win during the Golden State Challenge season. “But everyone has those nights and these guys have been working really hard all season and I know we’ll be back to normal next week. The Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial is always a special race to me and I’m looking forward to hopefully battling for the win come Saturday,” he concluded.
This coming weekend’s Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial is always one of the biggest events of the season as it pays tribute to the fallen sprint car driver. Allard has had a lot of success at the Bradway during this decade as he’s a three-time winner of the event and is one of only two drivers to have won it at least three times. His first victory in the race came in 2001 and it also marked his very first win with the Golden State Challenge Series. Wins in 2003, 2005 and a runner-up in 2006 have kept up his great runs at the Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial and he’ll look for more of it at the 18th annual edition this coming Saturday. Allard will also be in action on Friday at the Silver Dollar bullring during a regular Feather Falls Casino weekly point event.
For more news on current Golden State Challenge Series point leader Jonathan Allard log onto http://www.allardmotorsports.com
www.sprintcarchallengetour.com
www.placervillespeedway.com
www.stocktondirttrack.com
www.thunderbowlraceway.com
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