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Statler scores podium in Chico & suffers late race dnf in Tulare
By Gary Thomas
April 29, 2007... San Jose’s Jason Statler has had a consistent start to the 2007 racing season and looked to continue that this past weekend in Chico and Tulare. Jason has routinely carved his way through the field during the majority of the races due to a struggle in qualifying, but "The Big Guy" caught everyone off guard during the weekend and earned a pair of his best qualifying runs of the season.
Jason was ninth out in qualifying on Friday night at Silver Dollar Speedway Point Race #5 and he turned a fastest lap of 12.379 to put the Tom Rolfe Trucking, DF Rios Construction, Pheasant Run Shopping Center No. 10 second quick overall in a field of 26 cars. The former King of California commented later in the night, "I knew it had to be a good lap when the guys came up smiling."
With the season best qualifying effort it put Jason on the outside of row three in heat race number two. The first lap saw Jason get loose in turn four and fall back to seventh, but a caution came out on lap two and bunched the field back up. "The Big Guy" got up on the wheel and moved around two cars on lap three to put the BR Motorsports, Platinum Powder Coating, Hansen Machine & Fab Maxim into the fifth and final transfer spot. Jason ran solidly in fifth the rest of the heat to transfer the No. 10 machine into the 25 lap main event.
Fast qualifier Jonathan Allard pulled the number four pill for the inversion, which put Jason on the inside of the second row for the start. Jason fell into line third on the start and ran in third until leader Andy Gregg flipped in turns three and four. It moved Jason up to second for the restart. He lost a spot on lap 15 and at the checkered flag Jason the brought the Northgate Rock, Yak Graphics, Trimble Motorsports No. 10 home in third place. It continued Jason’s string of top five runs in Chico and kept him as the only driver to finish in the top five in all five Silver Dollar Speedway Point Race races this season.
On Saturday Jason competed with the Golden State Challenge Series at the Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway in the annual Pombo/Sargent Classic.
Qualifying went well for the second night in a row and Jason looked comfortable in the car as the Tom Rolfe Trucking No. 10 team had the Kistler powered Maxim running strong and Jason cut a pair of a great laps. His quickest lap of 13.731 was good enough for third quick out of 29 cars
Jason lined up outside the third row in the third heat race. The track was quick in the heats and he got into fifth within the first couple laps. Leader Brett Miller flipped around lap four and it moved Jason up to fourth for the restart. As the green came back out he made a great inside pass of Ken Fredenburg to take over third, where he would go to finish.
With the great qualifying effort it allowed Jason to run in his second dash of the season with the Golden State Challenge Series. "The Big Guy" started from the outside of the second row and held off a strong late charge from Jonathan Allard to bring the Weld Racing, Stephanie’s Custom Interiors, Brad Scadden Design No. 10 home in fourth to earn a second row starting spot for the main event.
The track changed tremendously for the 30 lap main event as turns three and four got extremely dry and dusty. Some competitors even ran in the infield trying to find all the traction they could get. Jason settled into fourth early on and ran smoothly as he hugged the bottom of the 1/3 mile clay oval. Around lap 10 he lost a spot to J. Allard as he slipped a little high off turn four. Visibility was a huge factor as the cloud of dust made it so you couldn’t even see the cars coming off turn four in certain areas. Jason lost another spot to Sean Becker as the race wound down and disaster struck on lap 27 as he got sucked up into the wall in turn one and suffered damage to the rear end of the car which forced him to park the No. 10 machine in the infield. He was officially scored in 16th.
Even though the night didn’t end how Jason and the team would have liked, the improved qualifying during the weekend was a big bright spot and good step in the right direction. If Jason can continue to qualify and start up front it won’t too long until the No. 10 machine ends up in victory lane.
Next week will see Jason and the No. 10 team compete at Silver Dollar Speedway on Friday night for the sixth round of competition in the battle for the track championship. Gates will open one hour earlier at 5 pm on Friday as an autograph session will take place outside the main gate. Jason goes into the night second in points, six behind leader Jonathan Allard.
Saturday will be the Golden State Challenge Series first visit of the season to Watsonville’s Ocean Speedway. Jason always has a huge fan base in Watsonville as it’s so close to his hometown. Last July Jason nearly won the GSC stop at Ocean Speedway, as he led until the final corner when Bud Kaeding was able to sneak by down low to steal the win away. Jason goes into Ocean Speedway sitting fourth in the current Golden State Challenge Series point standings.
Please come by after the races and check out the new Jason Statler T-shirts. For more on Jason Statler visit http://www.statlerracing.com
www.sprintcarchallengetour.com
www.placervillespeedway.com
www.stocktondirttrack.com
www.thunderbowlraceway.com
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