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Calistoga Speedway double-header up next for Golden State Challenge 410 Sprint Car Series this weekend
By Gary Thomas
Calistoga, CA – May 19, 2009…For the first time in two years the Golden State Challenge Sprint Car Series will roar into the historic Calistoga Speedway half-mile as the traditional Memorial Day weekend double-header returns to the Napa County Fairgrounds facility this Saturday & Sunday nights.
For many in Northern California, Memorial Day weekend is meant to be spent at the Calistoga Speedway, but come May of last year when it wasn't on the schedule things just didn't feel right not being at the picturesque track during the holiday weekend. In the off-season however, the agreement was made to bring back the traditional weekend and the state's top 410 winged sprint car drivers will attack the challenging half-mile this Saturday and Sunday.
The Calistoga Speedway runs as a special events track and will only hold three weekends of racing action this season. In addition to this weekend's Golden State Challenge Series double-header, the long half-mile will also run a California Civil War 360 Series event on August 8 and the Vermeil Classic on Labor Day weekend featuring the USAC/CRA Sprint Car Series and USAC Western States Midgets.
Leading the Golden State Challenge Series into the Calistoga Speedway this weekend will be Los Angeles, CA's Tyler Walker, who comes into the event fresh off his fourth win of the season last weekend. The 29 year-old driver of the SC Motorsports, NMI Industrial Contractors No. 24 picked up his first career win at Calistoga during a Civil War Series event last June and is known to be at his best on the intimidating high-speed tracks. Walker goes into this weekend maintaining a nine point lead in the standings as he appears to be a heavy favorite at the half-mile on Saturday & Sunday. Last season the always exciting competitor finished runner-up in the GSC standings and he'll continue the bid for his first King of California title this weekend at a track that should certainly suit his driving style.
Continuing to keep pace with Walker however, is two-time & defending King of California Jonathan Allard. The Chico native finished third last week in Tulare and goes into Calistoga looking to chip away at Walker's nine point advantage in the Golden State Challenge Series standings. The 32 year-old racer was victorious the last time GSC competed at the Calistoga Speedway in 2007, which also marked his very first victory at the track. Allard has driven his Williams Motorsports, Red Line Oil No. 0 to one win on the season so far and he'll look to improve upon that this weekend at a track he's been very successful at in recent years. "JA" has set fast time in three of the last four GSC events in Calistoga and also brought home a top 10 finish during the World of Outlaws sanctioned Harvest Classic in September of '07.
The second winningest driver in Calistoga Speedway history happens to be 13-time King of California Brent Kaeding, who goes into this weekend sitting third in points, 21 back of Walker for the top spot. In his career the Campbell driver has won 21 times at the half-mile, with those victories coming both with and without the wing. At certain times Calistoga hasn't seemed to be his best track, but when on his game, "BK" can be nearly unstoppable at the Napa County Fairgrounds Speedway. Last season Kaeding showed his versatility and brought home podium finishes at the track with Civil War and USAC/CRA respectively aboard his Al's Roofing Supply, Kaeding Performance No. 69. In March he picked up his 80th career GSC victory during the season opener at Placerville Speedway.
Golden State Challenge Series Rookie of the Year contender Kyle Larson will make his first career 410 sprint car start at the Calistoga Speedway this weekend at the helm of the Vertullo Racing, Starr Property Management No. 83v. The Elk Grove resident has made four starts in a 360 at the half-mile, as well as one in a midget, with his best night coming last June when he charged from the rear of the field to sixth in the Civil War Series feature. Larson is coming off another impressive showing last week in Tulare where despite getting upside down in the dash and getting hung up on the wall for a number of minutes, he was able to start scratch in the main event and move through the pack for a seventh place finish to help him move up one spot in the standings to fourth.
Making his first career Calistoga Speedway start this weekend will be Scotts Valley's Evan Suggs, who currently rounds out the top five in the Golden State Challenge Series standings. The 22 year-old is coming off an event that saw him complete just nine laps in the feature, due to pulling into the infield with a cracked valve retainer, but with pulling in it didn't sustain any serious damage to the engine in his Suggs Racing, Craviotto Percussion Products No. 33e. He goes into this weekend sitting just seven points back of Larson for fourth and he'll look for a strong weekend to close the gap. Suggs also currently leads the track standings at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville and his three fast qualifier efforts with GSC leads the series in that category.
A definite favorite heading into this Saturday & Sunday is San Jose's Tim Kaeding, who has come off the World of Outlaws tour to compete back home for a couple of weeks. "TK" has won four main events in his Calistoga Speedway career, with two of those being Golden State Challenge features. The other two happen to be an Outlaw prelim victory at the Harvest Classic in 2004 and an opening night win at last year's USAC/CRA Vermeil Classic in September. The 30 year-old driver of the potent Roth Motorsports, HR Cattle No. 83jr was running second in the main event last weekend in Tulare, until contact with another driver left him with a flat tire, which he got changed and charged back for a ninth place finish. The former King of California did win with the Golden State Challenge Series earlier this season in Tulare though, with that victory coming on April 11.
Grass Valley's Jason Statler will make his return to GSC competition this weekend aboard the familiar DF Rios Construction, YAK Graphics No. 00 after missing the event last Saturday at the Tulare Thunderbowl. "The Big Guy" won the '06 Calistoga Speedway title and has captured main events in each of the last three seasons at the track. Statler got his first career 410 win at Calistoga during the Saturday portion of the most recent GSC visit to the intimidating half-mile in '07.
Campbell's Bud Kaeding was the 1999 Calistoga Speedway champion and will look for his first ever win at the track this weekend at the helm of the Alviso Rock, K&N Filters No. 29. The two-time USAC Silver Crown champ will have a busy week as he'll also be in competition in Indiana on Thursday & Friday, before flying back home to compete at Calistoga during the weekend.
The Golden State Challenge Series return to the Calistoga Speedway will also mark the return of current Feather Falls Casino/Silver Dollar Speedway point leader Bobby McMahan to the long half-mile. The driver of the Steve Harris owned, Racing for the Troops No. 26 spoke very highly of the track last weekend in the pits at Chico. "When I was away from this sport the track I missed most was Calistoga," McMahan said. "When I got the deal to drive this car the one track I wanted to come to more than any was definitely Calistoga." In his career McMahan has won four main events at the Napa County Fairgrounds facility.
Other possibilities to take part in the weekend's action will include Loomis, CA’s Kyle Hirst, Ripon's Brandon Carey, Penngrove's Alissa Geving, Calistoga's Mike Benson, Fremont's Shane Golobic and Brent Bjork, Gilroy's Ken Fredenburg, Fresno’s Mike Stallings and more.
All seating will be general admission during the weekend with tickets going on sale at 4 pm on race day. Adult tickets cost $20 and kids 4-10 will be $10. Children under four will be free. For more info on the event contact 707-942-5111 or log onto http://www.napacountyfairgrounds.com/about_us.htm
For results and point standings visit http://www.goldenstatechallengeseries.com and for extra info on the Calistoga Speedway log onto Bobby Gerould's http://www.hammerdownusa.com/calistoga.htm
The Calistoga Speedway is located on the beautiful Napa County Fairgrounds in Calistoga, California and is located at 1435 North Oak Street. Don't forget to get to the track early each day as most of the teams will be on the grounds working on their race cars and many will also have merchandise for sale at the same time.
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