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Kaeding looks to continue success at Pombo/Sargent Classic this Saturday night at Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway
By Gary Thomas
Tulare, CA – June 25, 2009…In the 20-plus year history of the Pombo/Sargent Classic no driver has experienced more success than Campbell, CA's Brent Kaeding and the veteran driver will look to continue that trend this Saturday night at the Thunderbowl Raceway, in what will be a pivotal round in the fight for the King of California title.
After his victory at the Cottage Grove Speedway on Monday June 15 Kaeding has closed to within 10 digits of current Golden State Challenge Series point leader Jonathan Allard and just two points of second place Tyler Walker. "We've got this car running really good right now and to be able to pass Sammy Swindell for the win feels pretty good because he's as good as they come," said Kaeding after his win at the Grove.
In his career Kaeding has won the Pombo/Sargent Classic 10 times overall and each of the past three years since the event moved to the Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway. "We've won a lot of these Pombo/Sargent Classic's and it's definitely nice to be able to continue this event because they were two hard nose guys who would beat and bang on each other and put on a show," the 13-time King of California said.
The Pombo/Sargent Classic first came to the Thunderbowl in 2006 and that first year featured a two-day show in which Kaeding won both nights, dominating the 30 lap finale on Saturday. In '07 it moved to a single night event in April and Salinas' driver Ronnie Day looked to have the win wrapped up, until mechanical issues parked him in the infield with just two laps left, allowing Kaeding the chance to zoom by for the win. Last season the event moved back to the traditional summer date and it saw the Campbell veteran easily win the main event, at one point having an amazing seven lapped car cushion between himself and second place.
In addition to winning the past three Pombo/Sargent Classic's Kaeding has also captured the event one other time this decade, with that triumph coming at the helm of the Al Peterson No. 2m in 2000 when he passed Tipton, CA's Mike Faria on the very last corner in the feature. That victory marked his final win at the race while it was still held at Hanford's Kings Speedway.
Other Golden State Challenge 410 Sprint Car Series entrants expected on Saturday will include Chico's Jonathan Allard, Los Angeles, CA's Tyler Walker, Scotts Valley's Evan Suggs, Elk Grove's Kyle Larson, Grass Valley's Jason Statler, Fresno's Tommy Tarlton & Craig Stidham, Placerville's Andy Gregg, Loomis' Kyle Hirst, Clovis' Peter Murphy, Sacramento's Willie Croft, Ripon's Brandon Carey, Fremont's Brent Bjork, Caruther's Garrett Ishii, Selma's Charlie Louden and more.
The Pombo/Sargent Classic has been going on for over 20 years and it honors California racing icons Al Pombo and Marshall Sargent. It originally started at nearby Kings Speedway in Hanford, before moving to the Thunderbowl in 2006. An interesting facet about the Pombo/Sargent Classic is the fact that the event was created while both legends were still alive. Marshall Sargent has since passed, but Al Pombo is still going strong and is seen at the majority of the Thunderbowl Raceway events at his booth behind the main grandstands.
The front gate at the Pombo/Sargent Classic will open up at 5 pm this Saturday with reserved grandstand tickets costing only $18 and general admission bleacher tickets just $15. Log onto http://www.thunderbowlraceway.com to view a seating chart and then call (559) 688-0909 to get the seats you want. The Thunderbowl Raceway is located at the Tulare County Fairgrounds on the corner of Bardsley and K Streets in Tulare.
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13-time King of California Brent Kaeding has won the Pombo/Sargent Classic three straight years and will come into Saturday's running of the event sitting third in the Golden State Challenge 410 Sprint Car Series standings, just 10 points behind leader Jonathan Allard. Photo by http://www.johnsracingphotos.com
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