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Three nights remain with Golden State Challenge Series making Petaluma Speedway visit this Saturday August 1
By Gary Thomas
Petaluma, CA – July 29, 2009…As the Golden State Challenge 410 Sprint Car Series makes its final three race swing Los Angeles, CA's Tyler Walker brings a seven point lead over Chico's Jonathan Allard into the Petaluma Speedway this Saturday night for what will be Round 22 in the battle for the King of California title.
Since returning to the Petaluma Speedway in 2005 the tacky & hooked up 3/8 mile clay oval has been a welcome stop for the Golden State Challenge Series over the last few years. The series has competed in eight nights of action since bringing 410 sprint car racing back to the track in '05, with the racing always being entertaining as heavy traffic in the main events create some of the most intense competition on the whole tour.
Walker utilized a victory and a third place finish last weekend at Silver Dollar Speedway to put himself back atop the Golden State Challenge Series standings, as the point lead changed hands for the fourth time in as many weeks. The win last Friday evening marked his 12th career triumph with the traveling 410 winged sprint car tour and put him in a tie for sixth on the all-time list with Santa Cruz' Kevin Pylant and Clovis' Jason Meyers. "T-dub" is now just three victories away from tying San Jose's Tim Green and moving into the top five in all-time career GSC wins.
The last time the Golden State Challenge Series competed at the Petaluma Speedway it was Walker who ended the night in victory lane aboard his SC Motorsports, NMI Industrial Contractors No. 24 after having a tremendous battle with Allard over the closing laps. In fact since joining his Scott & Kathy Chastain owned team the 30 year-old driver has been ultra fast in Petaluma with him leading both main events at the track last season however, luck wasn't on his side as contact in traffic took away both chances at victory. The win at the 3/8 mile clay oval in April though was sweet redemption for the Los Angeles throttle-masher and he'll be searching for a victory this weekend to tie Tim Kaeding's all-time single season GSC win record of eight.
Allard comes into the weekend looking to get back into GSC victory lane for the first time since May to try and help close the seven point gap between himself and Walker at the top of the standings. The two-time & defending King of California has been the most dominant driver at the Petaluma Speedway since the GSC return with three victories, a pair of runner-ups, a fourth and a fifth place finish in seven of the eight events. His lone finish outside the top five came in April of last year when he had charged from eighth to second, only to be collected in an incident between Walker and a lapped car.
Despite only having one victory on the season compared to Walker's seven, the pair has been very even for much of the year with five of those seven occasions having Allard finish a very close second at the checkered flag, as they have come down to the final laps in exciting fashion each time. Allard's 14 top-five finishes in 18 starts is the most of any driver and so far this season he has finished among the top 10 in every single race. The Chico driver has also scored a series high eight fast-time awards at the helm of his Williams Motorsports, Red Line Oil No. 0.
Last week's point leader Brent Kaeding of Campbell continues to sit within striking distance of the leaders and comes into Petaluma just 13 digits behind Walker for the point lead. "BK" suffered mechanical issues last Saturday in Chico aboard his Al's Roofing Supply, Kaeding Performance No. 69 that relegated him to a 15th place finish in the main event and leaves him looking to make up ground on Saturday. Kaeding has surprisingly not won at the Petaluma Speedway since the return in '05, but did finish in second during the June stop at the track last year and will be searching for GSC career win No. 84 this Saturday.
Scotts Valley's Evan Suggs is coming off a third place finish in the main event this past Friday in Chico and continues to sit fourth in the Golden State Challenge Series standings. The result last Friday marked the 22 year-old's best career finish at Silver Dollar Speedway and was also his second podium with GSC in the past three weeks. The driver of the Suggs Racing, Lucas Oil Products No. 33e scored a fifth place finish at the Petaluma Speedway last June and will look for his first GSC win this weekend.
Completing the top five in the Golden State Challenge Series standings is Elk Grove's Kyle Larson, who put on a tremendous show last Saturday night until getting upside down while running second in the main event. The talented youngster, who will turn 17 years-old this Friday, was charging hard after the leader on Saturday showing no fear driving through the very rough high-side, until the car biked hard and sent him for a flip off turns one and two. Larson will look for a strong run to rebound in Petaluma, a track he finished fourth at in April aboard the Vertullo Racing, Starr Property Management No. 83v.
Another driver who looked very strong once again last Saturday is fellow GSC Rookie of the Year contender Brandon Carey of Ripon, who spent time running in the third position during the main event and looked to be on way to a strong finish, until something on the left rear broke with just eight laps remaining and left him 17th in the rundown. During the first Petaluma event this season Carey impressed many by leading the first 15 laps in the main event, before finishing fifth at the checkered flag behind the wheel of his Carey Racing, Vernon Transportation Company No. 55.
Grass Valley's Jason Statler continues to have a solid season with the Golden State Challenge 410 Sprint Car Series and is coming off a fourth place finish last Saturday in Chico after getting his elbows up and charging from the 13th starting position in typical "Big Guy" fashion. The driver of the DF Rios Construction, YAK Graphics No. 00 scored his most recent GSC victory at the Petaluma Speedway in June of last year and the 3/8 mile clay oval also happened to be the site of his very first Northern Auto Racing Club 410 victory, which came during Speedweek 1996.
Other possibilities this Saturday night at the Petaluma Speedway will include Fremont's Brent Bjork, Penngrove's Alissa Geving, Morgan Hills Ricky Wright Jr, Calistoga's Mike Benson, Pittsburgh's Shawn Arriaga, Fresno's Mike Stallings and more.
The box office for tickets is scheduled to open at 4:30 pm on Saturday with all seating being general admission. Adult tickets will be $16, juniors $12, seniors 65 and older $10 and children 5 and under free. The Petaluma Speedway is located at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds just off Highway 101 in Petaluma. For more information visit http://www.petaluma-speedway.com
Up next- The Golden State Challenge King of California 410 Sprint Car Series will head for its third and final event of the season at the racy Ocean Speedway next Saturday night August 8. The night of action at the Watsonville quarter-mile will mark the penultimate event of the year for the traveling series and should be an exciting night of racing.
More news, info and results for the Golden State Challenge Series can be found at http://www.goldenstatechallengeseries.com
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After winning his seventh main event of the Golden State Challenge Series season last weekend Los Angeles, CA's Tyler Walker will bring a seven point lead into the Petaluma Speedway this Saturday night as he continues to search for his first career King of California title. The driver of the Scott & Kathy Chastain owned No. 24 machine is also one win shy of tying Tim Kaeding's single season GSC win record. Photo by http://www.stevesracingphotos.com
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