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Golden State Challenge Series brings hot point battle into Ocean Speedway this Saturday/ Please see earlier start times
By Gary Thomas
Watsonville, CA – April 21, 2009…Los Angeles, CA's Tyler Walker will bring a four point lead into the Ocean Speedway this Saturday night in what will be fifth round of action for the traveling Golden State Challenge 410 Sprint Car Series. The top five drivers in the point standings also happen to be separated by just 18 slim digits in the fight for the King of California title.
An earlier start time is scheduled for Saturday’s event with the front grandstand gate opening up at 3pm. The pit board meeting will be held at 3:45 with track packing at 4 and racing scheduled to get underway around 5.
Now in its fourth year of being promoted by John Prentice, the Ocean Speedway has seen a revival over the last few years. Prentice has put new life back into the quarter-mile mile clay oval and has brought it up leaps and bounds compared to where it was before he took over. He and his staff have helped mold it into one of the premier sprint car venues in Northern California.
The Ocean Speedway will see the Golden State Challenge 410 Sprint Car Series on three different occasions in 2009 and will also feature 12 nights of GLR Investments winged 360 action, with two of those being California Sprint Car Civil War Series sanctioned events. The track was also scheduled to host a World of Outlaws event in March, but wet weather unfortunately caused the night to be cancelled.
Following his second win of the season Walker will take a four point lead in the Golden State Challenge Series standings heading into the Watsonville bullring, a track he was very fast at last year. The 29 year-old driver of the SC Motorsports No. 24 captured the final two GSC visits of the season last year at the Ocean Speedway and also set fast-time during the final stop in July. Walker also picked up a victory at the Ocean Speedway last September when he dominated a Civil War 360 Series event at the speedway and will look to keep up the trend and extend his lead in the GSC standings this weekend as he guns for his third win of the year.
Two-time and defending King of California Jonathan Allard will look to give Walker a run for his money however, as he comes into the weekend second in points following his second runner-up finish of the season last Saturday in Petaluma. The Chico driver scored a best finish of second last season at the Ocean Speedway and didn't finish outside the top four in any of the events held at the track. Allard also raced his Williams Motorsports No. 0 sprinter to a top 10 finish with the World of Outlaws in October at the bullring and will attempt to close in on Walker's advantage in the standings this Saturday.
Going into Saturday sitting third in points is two-time defending Ocean Speedway track champion and current GLR Investments sprint car point leader Brent Kaeding of Campbell. The 13-time King of California is just one digit behind Allard for second and five back of Walker for the lead heading into his home track. "BK" scored a best finish of third last year with GSC at the Ocean Speedway and will be looking for a strong run on Saturday as he guns to get back on top of the standings. The driver of the Al's Roofing Supply No. 69 captured the prestigious Johnny Key Classic at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds track last season.
The most recent winner with the GLR Investments 360 sprints at Ocean Speedway happens to be Grass Valley's Jason Statler, who comes into the evening fourth in the Golden State Challenge Series points, just 11 out of the lead. "The Big Guy" raced to victory last Friday night at the bullring and continued his strong start to the season that includes a pair of runner-up finishes in the four GSC events so far this year. Statler's best finish with GSC at Ocean Speedway last year was sixth, which he duplicated three different times in the four events held and the driver of the DF Rios Construction No. 00 will look to change that this season.
Rounding out the top five in points heading into Watsonville is 16 year-old Kyle Larson of Elk Grove. The GSC rookie has been strong the last few weekends and has tallied back-to-back top five finishes as he sits just 18 digits out of the lead. Larson made a start during the Civil War Series event last September at the Ocean Speedway and was impressive coming from mid-pack to charge solidly into the top 10, until a pair of spins took him out of contention. He'll head into the track this weekend looking to put the Vertullo Racing No. 83v into victory lane for the first time in his GSC career.
Scotts Valley's Evan Suggs comes into his home track sitting sixth in the current standings. The 22 year-old driver of the Suggs Racing No. 33e set fast-time and finished fourth in the feature during last Friday's GLR Investments weekly event at the Ocean Speedway. Suggs' best finish with GSC last year at the quarter-mile was a fourth place result in April and he'll look to make up ground in points as he sits 17 digits out of the top five.
Sitting seventh in points heading into the weekend is Ripon's Brandon Carey, who led the first half of the main event last weekend in Petaluma before finishing fifth at the checkered. The result marked his first career top five finish with the Golden State Challenge Series and the 20 year-old GSC rookie will look for another strong performance on Saturday in Watsonville.
Completing the top 10 in points are Fremont's Brent Bjork, San Jose's Tim Kaeding and Fresno's Mike Stallings. Despite the Ocean Speedway being Bjork's home track, the youngster won't be in action due to attending his high school prom on Saturday. "I gotta go to the prom this weekend, I can't miss it!" Bjork commented when being jokingly razzed about missing a race at his home track.
Campbell's Bud Kaeding is coming off a runner-up finish last Friday at the Ocean Speedway and will be searching for his first win of the Golden State Challenge Series season at his home track this weekend. The driver of the BK Motorsports No. 29 scored a runner-up finish with the series at the Ocean speedway in May of last year and also picked up a pair of fifth place efforts in two of the other three nights of racing at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds facility last season.
Fremont's Shane Golobic returns to the site of his first career GSC victory this weekend as he'll look to put the family No. 57 into the winners circle. In addition to his win at the Ocean Speedway last April, the 17 year-old also tallied a fifth place finish during the July GSC event at the track. Other possibilities for this weekend in Watsonville include Easton's Tommy Tarlton, Clovis' Peter Murphy, Pleasanton's Brad Furr, Calistoga's Mike Benson, Morgan Hill's Ricky Wright, Gilroy's Ken Fredenburg, Rio Vista's Dan Simpson, Fresno's Anthony Simone and more.
The front gate at the Ocean Speedway will open at 3 pm on Saturday with adult tickets costing $20, children 6 to 12 will be $12, seniors 65 and older $18 and kids five and under will be free. The Ocean Speedway is located on the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds in Watsonville, California. For more info on the track visit http://www.oceanspeedway.com
For results, news and updated point standings please visit http://www.goldenstatechallengeseries.com
Coming up- Following this weekend's event in Watsonville the Golden State Challenge Sprint Car Series will head for the second stop of the season at the Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare on Saturday night May 2. After that event the series make its first visit of the season to the Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico for the prestigious Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial on Saturday May 9.
www.sprintcarchallengetour.com
www.placervillespeedway.com
www.stocktondirttrack.com
www.thunderbowlraceway.com
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Just five points separate the top three drivers in the Golden State Challenge 410 Sprint Car Series standings heading into the Ocean Speedway this Saturday night. Photo's by http://www.johnsracingphotos.com
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Leader Tyler Walker- SC Motorsports, NMI Industrial Contractors, BR Motorsports No. 24
2nd place Jonathan Allard- Williams Motorsports, K&N Filters, Red Line Oil No. 0
3rd place Brent Kaeding- BK Racing, Al's Roofing Supply, Kaeding Performance No. 69
www.sprintcarchallengetour.com
www.placervillespeedway.com
www.stocktondirttrack.com
www.thunderbowlraceway.com
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