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Photo by Fletcher Motorsports
5th place at Skagit highlights NW Outlaw swing for Jonathan Allard as Gold Cup looms ahead
By Gary Thomas
Alger, Washington – September 3, 2008…A fifth place finish at the Skagit Speedway highlighted the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Series Northwest swing for Jonathan Allard and Williams Motorsports as the 55th annual Gold Cup Race of Champions is now upon us and just hours away from kicking off.
Allard and the rest of the teams waited through a rainout this past Friday before kicking off the Northwest Swing on Saturday at the action packed Skagit Speedway. Allard started off the night by timing in 11th fastest out of 42 cars aboard the K & N Filters, Village Green Resort, JP’s Paint & Body No. 0.
The Chico driver then won the third heat race and brought home a seventh place finish in the dash, before moving up a couple spots in the main event where he crossed the line in fifth to put an end to a great night of racing. The next few nights didn’t see the same kind of luck with results as he crashed out the following evening, didn’t make the main on Monday and finished 18th in the feature last night in Cottage Grove.
$50,000 to win Gold Cup on deck: Next up for Jonathan Allard and Williams Motorsports will be the grand daddy of California sprint car racing as the 55th annual Gold Cup Race of Champions at Chico’s Silver Dollar Speedway kicks off with the opening prelim on Thursday evening.
The Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series sanctioned event will award $50,000 to the winner of Saturday night’s A-main and this year’s edition of the event is also shaping up to be one of the biggest and best ever as a very competitive week of action is expected to be on tap.
Allard last year had a very successful Gold Cup of Race of Champions and had put himself in position to become the very first California driver to win the event since Darrell Hanestad’s triumph in 1989. The opening preliminary night last season saw Allard time in seventh fastest, before winning his heat race, the dash and dominating the main event en route to leading all 30 laps to claim victory.
The Chico native came back on Saturday night to sit on the front row of the A-main and spent much of the early stages of the 40 lap feature dicing it up among World of Outlaw legends Sammy Swindell and Steve Kinser. He then distanced himself from the pair, closed in on leader Joey Saldana and took the top spot with a pass in turn two on lap 21, but unfortunately a red flag appeared soon after and officials put Allard back behind the Kasey Kahne Racing No. 9 for the restart.
Soon after the restart, rubber began to develop thicker and thicker on the track surface and Allard held onto the runner-up spot until a deflating tire allowed Jac Haudenschild to get by with just a few laps left. The tire then ended up letting go as “JA” came to the white flag and he dropped back to 10th by the checkered. With last years race in his head Allard has looked forward to this season’s Gold Cup all year long. “The Gold Cup Race of Champions is our Knoxville Nationals out here on the west coast and to be that close to winning last year was a great feeling,” the 32 year-old said.
With more than 100 cars expected to compete in this years Gold Cup it will make for a very competitive week, but Allard goes into this seasons event with confidence from last year and will look to put his name in the cards for the $50,000 top prize. “Every California driver dreams of winning the Gold Cup and it would mean so much if we could bring home the title for the town of Chico,” the two-time King of California commented.
When talking about the Gold Cup Race of Champions there’s no one word to describe it, as it’s not just a race, it is truly a happening and Allard speaks highly of how much it means to the west coast. “There’s no sprint car event in the west that compares to the Gold Cup from a coverage and publicity standpoint, a prestige standpoint and obviously since the main event went to 50 grand to win it’s made it even that much bigger,” he said. “There are so many important people involved in our sport at the Gold Cup and there’s such a huge crowd of spectators that it makes it very important to put your best foot forward.”
With the high number of quality cars expected it will make the qualifying nights extremely important for drivers to have a shot at Saturday’s top prize. “We’re focused on coming out and laying down a solid lap in qualifying and just trying our best to give us a shot come Saturday. It would mean a lot if we could come out and put this car up front for all the sponsors and supporters of our team and definitely want to represent California well at the premier event in our state. The Gold Cup title belongs in California and we’ll be having some fun and giving it our best shot to bring it home,” Allard concluded.
The action at the Gold Cup begins tonight with an event featuring the Civil War 360 Sprint Car Series and Wingless Spec Sprints Invitational. Tickets are $20 for adults, $12 for juniors and $5 for children. All seating will be general admission on Wednesday night. The Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series portion of the Gold Cup gets underway on Thursday night September 4 and runs through Saturday September 6. All seating is reserved Thurs through Sat and all your ticket info can be found at http://www.johnpadjenmotorsports.com
For more information on Chico, California’s Jonathan Allard please visit http://www.allardmotorsports.com
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Jonathan Allard will look to put the Williams Motorsports No. 0 up front at the 55th annual Gold Cup Race of Champions. Photo by Graph X Designs
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