This message was edited on
April 21, 2007 at
08:32:28 PM by Gary Thomas
Jason Statler brings home another top 5 in Chico
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA - April 21, 2007... San Jose’s Jason Statler brought a one point lead into Silver Dollar Speedway Points Race #4 and had another stout night as he charged forward to pick up his fourth top five finish in four Chico point races this season. The 2004 King of California is the only driver to have finished in the top five at each Silver Dollar Speedway point race this year.
So far this season Jason and the team have had difficulties in qualifying which has forced them to come from deep in the field each night. Silver Dollar Speedway Point Race #4 however, saw Jason tie his season best qualifying effort by scoring the eighth fastest time of the night by turning a lap of 12.532 aboard the Tom Rolfe Trucking, DF Rios Construction, Pheasant Run Shopping Center No. 10.
"The Big Guy" lined up on the outside of the second row in the night’s third and final heat race. He settled into third as the green flag came out and ran in third for the duration of the heat and transferred the BR Motorsports, Platinum Powder Coating, Hansen Machine, Northgate Rock Maxim into the night’s 25 lap main event.
Jason started the feature from the inside of the fifth row and with the track being less choppy than it has been recently, it made for a little less treacherous conditions. Jason was up on the wheel from the get go and on lap four he took advantage of a couple cars getting out of gas in turn four to move the Yak Graphics, Trimble Motorsports, Ringers Gloves No. 10 into fifth. A red flag occurred shortly thereafter however, and on the restart Jonathan Allard was able to get around Jason to take fifth back.
Lap 11 saw fourth running Brad Sweet get tipped over on the front stretch to bring out another red and it moved Jason back up to fifth for the restart. It was then announced that the race would be cut back to 20 laps because the 11 pm state mandated curfew was nearing. As the laps wound down Jason began to put some pressure on Allard for the fourth spot. Jason was all over the back of the 0 car and on lap 16 he made a sweet move under the defending King of California to claim fourth where he would go on to finish.
Saturday’s Golden State Challenge Series event scheduled for Petaluma Speedway has been postponed due to rain and has been re-scheduled for Friday night May 25. This will make Memorial Day weekend a three night affair with two night’s at the Calistoga Speedway ½ mile on Saturday and Sunday May 26 & 27. It will be the first three night weekend for the Golden State Challenge Series in many years.
The Week Ahead:
With better weather forecasted for next week it looks like that we’ll get to run two night’s of racing this coming weekend. Friday night it will Silver Dollar Speedway Point Race #5 and on Saturday it will be on down to the Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway for the annual Pombo/Sargent Classic. The event honors California legends Al Pombo & Marshall Sargent and this year moves to April and has been cut back to a one day event, as opposed to two like it had been in the past.
Jason scored a pair of fifth place finishes at last year’s Pombo/Sargent Classic and will look to win the race for the first time this Saturday. Jason’s career best finish's at the Pombo/Sargent Classic have come in 2001 & 2005 when he finished runner-up to Blake Robertson and Ronnie Day respectively. He currently ranks fourth in Golden State Challenge Series points and finished 10th in the GSC event held at the Thunderbowl on March 31.
For more on Jason Statler visit http://www.statlerracing.com
www.sprintcarchallengetour.com
www.placervillespeedway.com
www.stocktondirttrack.com
www.thunderbowlraceway.com
|
