|
Photos by http://www.JohnsRacingPhotos.com
Stephen Allard claims 7th place finish in overall standings at 15th annual Trophy Cup
By Gary Thomas
Tulare, CA – October 28, 2008…Chico’s Stephen Allard finished off the ’08 racing season this past weekend at the 15th annual Trophy Cup and drove to a seventh place finish in the overall event points, in what was just his third outing aboard the Double D Customs No. 4d sprinter.
The 15th annual Trophy Cup saw one the most successful events in the history of the race and Allard went into it looking for redemption following his last outing, which had seen him get upside down at the Fall Nationals in Chico while racing on the rough and tumble quarter-mile. The two-time Silver Dollar Speedway track champ showed that he had put that behind him however, and put together a solid Trophy Cup at the Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway, which kicked off this past Thursday night.
Last season’s Trophy Cup had seen Allard very nearly pick up a main event victory during the final night as he led for 26 laps, before getting passed for the lead by Randy Hannagan. The 32 year-old didn’t let that deter him though as he regrouped and attempted a dangerous move to the high-side to get by Hannagan, which unfortunately didn’t stick and resulted in him finishing fifth at the stripe.
Going into this season’s running of the event he had confidence knowing that the Randy V tuned No. 4d sprinter had been fast during his previous two starts aboard the car and looked to get a good finish in the final Trophy Cup standings. A very competitive 58 car field showed up this past weekend for the Trophy Cup and Allard kicked off the event by timing in 17th fastest on Thursday night to put the Double D Customs, Garth Horn Construction No. 4d in the second row of the evening's fifth heat race.
Knowing that points are crucial in the Trophy Cup format, the veteran driver went to the ragged edge right from the get go and when all was said and done he crossed under the checkered in first place to transfer him into the opening night feature. Starting from around the sixth row in the main event Allard tried his hardest to make the high side work for much of the short 20 lap contest, but had some problems late in the going and brought home a 14th place finish at the stripe. With the unique three-night format this year however, Allard still found himself sitting 10th in the Trophy Cup standings at the end of the evening.
Coming back on Friday Allard drove from the fourth row in his heat race to score a fifth place finish and eventually came home 13th in the 30 lap main event to put himself among the top 15 in points heading in Saturday night. “We left some points on the table the first couple nights and it really began in qualifying where we had a problem that left us further back than we would have liked,” Allard said.
Saturday’s championship night began with a pair of scrambles for the top 20 drivers in points and Allard was able to score a fourth place finish in the first one to set him up with a mid-field starting spot in the 50 lap Trophy Cup main event. The racy 1/3 mile clay oval was prepared to perfection as drivers could run virtually anywhere they wanted on the raceway. Allard methodically moved forward as the race wound down and carved his way into eighth place by the time starter Willie Williams waved the checkered flag.
After the races points were tallied up and with Allard’s top 10 finish in the main event on Saturday night it was good enough to give him a seventh place finish in the final Trophy Cup standings out of 58 drivers. It was a nice way to finish off a season that has been a bit of a back and forth year for the Chico native while driving a few different cars, but finding stability with the Double D Motorsports team late in the season was a great thing for Allard and hopefully bodes well going into next year.
For more news on Chico, California’s Stephen Allard log onto http://www.stephenallard.com
------------------------------
Stephen Allard racing with four-time Trophy Cup champ Brent Kaeding during main event action at the event this past weekend. Allard ended the weekend seventh in overall points
www.sprintcarchallengetour.com
www.placervillespeedway.com
www.stocktondirttrack.com
www.thunderbowlraceway.com
|
