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5th place finish moves Jonathan Allard to top of standings at Silver Dollar Speedway
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA - April 22, 2007... Chico’s Jonathan Allard brought home a top five for the second Friday in a row at Silver Dollar Speedway and it has pushed him to the top of the track point standings. The defending King of California now holds a one point lead over ‘04 King of California Jason Statler after four races.
Jonathan came into Silver Dollar Speedway Point Race #4 on the strength of a third place finish last Friday. He sat second in points to begin the night and qualified the Williams Motorsports, GT Trends, K & N Filters No. 0 fourth quickest overall with a lap of 12.314. It gave him two bonus points and put him past Jason Statler into the points lead.
JA lined up on the inside of row three in the night’s first heat race. He fell into fourth on the start and around lap four made a great move to get under Sean Becker and take over third. Jonathan continued to charge and gassed up the Chris Jones Racing, Graph X Designs, JP’s Paint & Body, Weld Racing No. 0 to move under Robby Whitchurch on the last lap and finished the heat race in second place.
Fast qualifier Sean Becker pulled the number six pill and put Jonathan on the outside of the second row for the 25 lap feature. The first lap nearly saw disaster strike as Jonathan hit a slick spot up high in turn three and nearly spun out. He was able to gather it up however, and he continued on in fifth. Lap two saw a red flag appear and the Sharp Insurance, Matt & Glass, Spy Optic Maxim sat in fifth place.
After going back green Jonathan lost a spot to Jason Statler on lap three. Another red flag happened a few laps later and on the ensuing restart Jonathan powered to the high side and re-claimed the fifth spot from Statler with a great outside move. Lap 11 saw fourth running Brad Sweet bring out a red flag and it moved the Red Line Oil, Kistler Racing Engines, BR Motorsports No. 0 up to fourth. During the red flag it was announced that the race would be cut to 20 laps since curfew was looming. The last part of the race saw Jonathan lose a spot to Statler on lap 16 and he went on to bring the Williams Motorsports No. 0 home in fifth.
Saturday’s GSC event in Petaluma was postponed because of rain. The race will now take place on Friday night of Memorial Day weekend. With Calistoga scheduled for May 26 & 27 it will make it a three night GSC Memorial Day weekend.
Chico Sportsman of the Year:
Jonathan recently found out that he is one of three finalists up for Chico sportsman of the year. This is exciting news as the only other race car driver that has won this award is seven-time Silver Dollar Speedway track champion Shane Scott. The ceremony will take place in May at the Elk’s Lodge in Chico. More info will be released soon.
The Week Ahead:
Mother nature appears to be letting up a little as the forecast for next week looks much better than the last couple weeks. Jonathan and Williams Motorsports will be running in a pair of events this coming weekend including Silver Dollar Speedway on Friday and the Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway on Saturday. Friday night in Chico will mark Silver Dollar Speedway Point Race #5. Saturday’s event in Tulare will be the annual Pombo/Sargent Classic and will also serve as Golden State Challenge Series Round #10.
The last two weekend’s have been washouts for the Golden State Challenge Series and the Pombo/Sargent Classic will hopefully get the fight for the title back underway. Jonathan comes into the Pombo/Sargent Classic sitting third in points, just 12 back of leader Sean Becker, and four back of second place Brent Kaeding.
Last year’s Pombo/Sargent Classic saw Jonathan finish fourth on opening night and 21st the second night. This year will be the first time the event has ever been held in April and also marks the first time it’s a one day show.
For news, photos and more on Jonathan Allard visit http://www.allardmotorsports.com
www.sprintcarchallengetour.com
www.placervillespeedway.com
www.stocktondirttrack.com
www.thunderbowlraceway.com
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