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Saturday recap-
"TK Express" wins one for grandma at the Thunderbowl
By Gary Thomas
Tulare, Ca - February 25, 2006... San Jose’s Tim Kaeding came into the World of Outlaw weekend at the Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway with a heavy heart following the passing of his grandmother last Sunday. Kaeding wanted badly to win one for his grandma and on Saturday night in front of his hometown fans, he did just that. The defending Trophy Cup champion showed once again why he is one of the finest sprint car drivers in the world with a performance that was one of the best of his career.
Kaeding started fourth on the grid in the 40 lap feature, but a mistake by pole sitter Jason Meyers in the opening corner jumbled everybody up on the high side, and Kaeding shot underneath all of them to take the lead before a lap was even completed. Lapped traffic came into play after four laps but as soon as it appeared, Craig Dollansky spun to bring out a caution. Kaeding’s car was a rocket ship and he had already gotten by a few lapped cars, but World of Outlaws rules put all lap cars to the rear of the field and it placed Fargo, ND’s Donny Schatz on Kaeding’s tail for the restart.
When racing got back underway Kaeding pulled away from the defending World of Outlaws champ, but once traffic came into play again, the action heated up. Kaeding and Schatz were nose to tail as they entered traffic and you could throw a blanket over them as they maneuvered their 410 winged sprinters through the thick and hectic lapped traffic. Schatz looked to the bottom multiple times trying to snag the lead from Kaeding, but TK fended him off every time and made several hair raising moves, splitting lapped cars. While the laps continued to click off, Friday night’s winner Joey Saldana joined the battle and made it a three car fight for the lead. The Thunderbowl Raceway track prep crew put together a great track, which had slicked off nicely in spots and made for great racing all over the speedway.
While the racing continued to be phenomenal up front between the leaders, Altoona, Iowa’s Terry McCarl was on the move from the 11th starting position and was riding the ragged edge of the Thunderbowl Raceway. McCarl was up to fourth when the yellow flag flew for Kerry Madsen who had come to a stop at the top of turn two on lap 31. The yellow gave everyone a chance to catch their breath after the intense racing that was seen during the long green flag run.
The restart saw Kaeding pull away from Schatz and all eyes were on the battle for third. McCarl attempted to pull a slide job on Saldana off of turn four but the pair touched wheels and it sent Saldana’s Open Joist No. 9 upside down. It brought out a red flag and moved McCarl up to third for the restart.
As the green waved again McCarl powered to the inside of Schatz to claim second in turn one. Schatz sliced back to the inside of T-Mac and re-claimed second immediately after, only to have McCarl take the spot back for good in turn two the next lap. Kaeding had to deal with traffic with a handful of laps left and this allowed McCarl to shorten the gap. McCarl’s Big Game Tree Stands No. 24 was wicked fast and he closed up to Kaeding’s rear bumper with a few laps left. As the pair crossed the line on lap 38 McCarl pulled a slider on Kaeding to take the lead in turn one, but he lost momentum in turn two and Kaeding shot back underneath him to re-take the lead.
The last lap was all Kaeding and he maneuvered through traffic expertly to pick up his first World of Oulaws Sprint Series win of the season. After going through the scales Kaeding roared back onto the track and executed some of his trademark donuts before sliding the Un-Sponsored Steve Kinser Racing No. 11k into victory lane. TK popped out of the car to one of the loudest roars in years at the Thunderbowl and was overcome with emotion dedicating the win to his Grandma Soap.
The win was Kaeding’s first with the World of Outlaws at the Thunderbowl. He came close in February of 2005 only to be taken out by a lapped car while leading with less than a handful of laps left in the feature. The victory also marked Kaeding’s sixth World of Outlaws Sprint Series win in California and moved him up to tenth in the WOO point standings. Some of Kaeding’s moves in traffic were jaw dropping but it’s nothing new for the California followers who have seen him grow up racing in the Golden State.
McCarl hung on for a very solid second place finish aboard the Bosma Poultry No. 24. McCarl had an overall great weekend with finishes of fifth and second, which have moved him up to second in the WOO point standings.
Schatz closed in on McCarl during the final lap but wasn’t able to make the move by and had to settle for a third place finish in the Parker Stores Racing No. 15. It was a great rebound for Schatz who had to take a provisional on Friday night and with the help of attrition finished 12th in the feature. The Saturday night run for Schatz was the fourth time in the last five World of Outlaws Sprint Series races he has finished on the podium at Thunderbowl Raceway. Schatz continues to lead the WOO standings by 25 points.
In only his second night of ever racing at the Thunderbowl, a very impressive run was had by Sioux Falls, SD’s Justin Henderson who finished fourth in the Jolt Energy Gum No. D1. It was Henderson’s best career World of Outlaws Sprint Series finish.
Rounding out the top five was Clovis’s Jason Meyers who started on the pole. Meyers slid up the track and jumped the cushion in turn one on the start in the Elite Landscaping No. 14 and fell back around mid-pack. Meyers charged forward after that to cap off a good weekend with a pair of top five finishes.
Completing the top 10 was Jac Haudenschild, Jason Solwold, Brooke Tatnell, Steve Kinser and Daryn Pittman.
Winning the B-main was Australian champ Tatnell with Chad Hillier, Randy Hannagan and Becca Anderson also transferring into the feature. The dash was picked off by Meyers who held off Schatz to pick up the pole position for the 40 lap main event.
Four 10 lap heat races were held with each providing its fair share of excitement. The opening heat was won by Kerry Madsen who held off a strong charge from Donny Schatz. The second heat saw Joey Saldana track down and pass Jonathan Allard to claim the win. Heat three saw Justin Henderson walk away from the field to take the victory. The fourth and final heat was picked off by 20 time WOO champ Steve Kinser who held off Jason Meyers and a hard charging, rim riding Jac Haudenschild.
Quick time was set by California native Paul McMahan who toured the 1/3 mile in 12.947 seconds.
Full results for both night’s can be found at http://www.worldofoutlaws.com
Next on tap for the Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway is the Golden State Challenge King of California 410 winged sprint car series, which will be at the track on March 31. Also competing will be the Western States Modifieds. For more info on Thunderbowl Raceway visit http://www.thunderbowlraceway.com
Friday Recap-
Saldana opens WOO weekend with first Thunderbowl win
By Gary Thomas
Tulare, Ca - February 24, 2007... When Joey Saldana and Kasey Kahne Racing acquired expert tuner Ricky Warner in the off-season, big things were expected and on Friday night at the Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway, they showed why. The Brownsburg, Indiana driver started on the outside of the front row and fell back to third early on but waited patiently, taking advantage of a couple of restarts to work his way to the top spot late in the race, and pick up his first World of Outlaws Sprint Series win of the season.
The 35 lap contest started out with Wooster, Ohio’s Jac Haudenschild storming into the lead from the pole position. Haudenschild was coming off of a spectacular run at the Thunderbowl’s final event of the 2006 season where he won the Trophy Cup main event from the 13th starting spot. On this night however, Haud won the trophy dash to give himself a much easier route to work from. Lap three saw San Jose’s Tim Kaeding, who was running in the top 10, spin in turn four. Also involved were Bud Kaeding and Danny Faria Jr.
The restart saw Aliquipa, PA’s Tim Shaffer take advantage of a bobble by Haudenschild to claim the lead off of turn two. The pass was all for naught however, as B. Kaeding spun around in turn four to bring out a caution and force another restart, which saw Haudenschild back in front.
When the green flag waved again Haudenschild took off and the rest of the competitors followed suit. Cold temps and rain the previous day made the 1/3 mile clay oval extremely fast, which made passing opportunities limited.
Another caution came out around lap 10 when Australian Kerry Madsen spun the Selma Shell Racing No. 11h. Earlier in the night after qualifying, drivers and crew members came out to the front stretch to observe a moment of silence for Dave Helm (long time owner of the Selma Shell 11h) who passed away last week. Helm, from nearby Selma, campaigned a car for nearly 10 years with the World of Outlaws Sprint Series.
The restart saw Saldana make the move around Shaffer and set his sights on Haudenschild. Several green flag laps were clicked off, which brought traffic into play for the first time. Right around the midway point of the race the top three drivers ran nose to tail as they navigated their way through the thick and heavy lapped traffic. The action was hot and heavy as Haudenschild expertly carved his way around the traffic running his trademark high line. The race changing incident happened on lap 23 though, as lapped car Jonathan Allard was tagged in the rear and spun around to bring out a caution. Under World of Outlaws Sprint Series rules all lapped cars are sent to the tail, which meant Saldana would be right on Haudenschild’s tail for the restart.
As the green waved Saldana stuck his Open Joist No. 9 machine to the rear of Haudenschild’s Wright One No. 35 and as the pair rounded turn four, Saldana slid under Haud to take the lead. From there on out it was all Saldana as he pulled away to convincingly pick up his first World of Outlaw Sprint Series win of the year.
Haudenschild hung on for second in the Wright One Construction No. 35 and Shaffer rounded out the podium in the Casey’s General Store No. 6t. Clovis driver Jason Meyers finished fourth in the Elite Racing No. 1 and Terry McCarl completed the top five in the Big Game Tree Stands No. 24. Finishing sixth through tenth were Craig Dollansky in the Caravan Racing No. 7, Brooke Tatnell in the Volcano Joe’s Coffee No. 2, Justin Henderson in the Jolt Energy Gum No. D1, Ronnie Day in the Ridgeline Framing No. 1 and Jason Solwold in the City Wide Insulation No. R19.
The dash was won by Haudenschild who held off a strong charge from Saldana to earn the pole position for the main event.
The four 10 lap heat races were picked off by Terry McCarl, Kerry Madsen, Jac Haudenschild and Joey Saldana.
Fast time was set by Tim Shaffer with a 13.136
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