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Golden State Challenge Series set for 3-nights of action during Memorial Day Weekend
By Gary Thomas
Calistoga, CA - May 23, 2007....For the first time this decade the Golden State Challenge 410 winged sprint car series is set for three consecutive nights of racing action beginning this Friday at the Petaluma Speedway 3/8 mile clay oval. Following the event on Friday, the series will head for two nights of racing at the super-fast Calistoga Speedway with the traditional Memorial Day weekend double header at the historic ½ mile dirt oval.
Friday’s event in Petaluma is a make up date from the rain out on April 21 and will be the 13th Round of action for the Golden State Challenge Series. Leading the points coming into Petaluma is Campbell’s Brent Kaeding who has dominated the action over the past month ½.
The 12-time King of California has won five of the last six Golden State Challenge Series races and holds a 14 point lead over former champ Sean Becker of Oroville coming into the weekend. The Al’s Roofing Supply, Selco Heating and Air crew have had the No. 69 machine dialed in this season and BK has pushed his career GSC win total to 75 following last Saturday’s win in Tulare. In 11 GSC races this season BK has finished in the top five nine times and in the top 10 on 10 occasions.
The top 10 in GSC points coming into Petaluma is made up of Kaeding, Becker, Chico’s Jonathan Allard, Sacramento’s Willie Croft, San Jose’s Jason Statler, Salinas’ Ronnie Day, Chico’s Brett Miller, Gilroy’s Jon Maiwald, Campbell’s Bud Kaeding and Tracy’s Jason Botsford. GSC rookie driver Evan Suggs of Scotts Valley will be in action at Petaluma but will be taking the Calistoga weekend off. He’ll return in June with a new Maxim Chassis set to debut sometime during the month.
The pit gate will open up at noon on Friday and the front box office opens at 3 pm. Cars are expected to hit the speedway about 5 pm and racing to begin around 7. All seating is general admission and ages 12-64 will be $16, juniors 6-11 will be $12 and kids five and under are free. Seniors 65 and over will be $10.
To get to the track take take Highway 101 to the Washington Blvd exit. Then go West on Washington Blvd to Ellis St. and turn left into the fairgrounds.
On Saturday the Golden State Challenge Series will compete at the Calistoga Speedway for the first time this season with the annual Salute to Walter T. Ross, a night paying respect to the former Northern Auto Racing Club President and long time car owner. His famous #56 graced victory lane at Calistoga Speedway on 11 occasions and was one of the most recognizable sprint cars of its era. Ross passed away in 1987 from A.L.S. and this race recognizing him has become a tradition on Memorial Day weekend.
The Golden State Challenge Series will be in Calistoga again the following night for the 24th annual Tribute to Gary Patterson. Also known as the Dancing Phantom, the Preacher, the Hostile Hipee or just simply GP, Patterson was one of the most colorful characters of his time and considered Calistoga Speedway to be one his favorite tracks. He sits in a tie for seventh on the all-time Calistoga Speedway win list and once held the track record for an amazing 10 years. GP was unfortunately taken from us in an accident at Calistoga Speedway on Memorial Day weekend 1983, but his memory lives on and Calistoga has payed tribute to him on Memorial Day weekend every year since his death.
This year’s Memorial Day weekend in Calistoga will be a little different as 7-time Calistoga Speedway track champion and the defending winner of both the Salute to Walter T. Ross & Tribute to Gary Patterson, Steve Kent of Fresno, decided to retire in the off-season. Kent swept last season’s Memorial Day weekend double header and ends his career having won the past two Tribute to Gary Patterson main events and sits in a tie for fourth on the all-time Calistoga Speedway win list. Kent along with Brent Kaeding are the only two drivers to have won the Tribute to GP on four separate occasions. The driver formally known as "The Sock" also tied Ronnie Day last year for the most wins ever in the Salute to Walter T. Ross with his third career triumph in the race, as he held off World of Outlaw star Jason Meyers. Kent has won the last three GSC races at Calistoga and hasn’t finished worse than second since 2004. With Kent out of the picture, it will leave the door wide open for several hopefuls looking to continue the tradition of Memorial Day Weekend racing at the picturesque ½ mile dirt track.
The last driver other than Kent to win with GSC at Calistoga is the second all-time winningest driver in Calistoga Speedway history, Brent Kaeding. The Campbell veteran has visited victory lane 21 times in his Calistoga Speedway career and is tied with Kent for the most wins in the Tribute to Gary Patterson. The ultra versatile driver has won races with and without a wing at Calistoga in his more than 20 year career at the track. At certain times BK has struggled in Calistoga, but when on his game, he can be nearly unstoppable at the Napa County Fairgrounds Speedway.
The other big favorite heading into the Calistoga weekend is 2000 King of California Ronnie Day of Salinas. The veteran has tasted victory lane at Calistoga eight times in his career and will be tough to beat as he pilots the always potent Ridgeline Framing, Elite Landscaping No. 1. Day is tied with Kent for the most wins in the Salute to Walter T. Ross and this weekend will look to pick up his first sprint car win since July of 2005. At one point in the late 90's Day won three of four at the Salute to Walter T. Ross while he was driving the Welden Offill No. 88. The 48 year-old driver comes into the weekend sixth in GSC points. Last season Day finished fifth in the Salute to Walt Ross and third in the Tribute to GP. Last Saturday night in Tulare Day finished second to Brent Kaeding in the main event and has momentum coming into the Calistoga weekend.
Oroville’s Sean Becker comes into the Memorial Day weekend second in points and will look to turn up the heat on Kaeding. Last year’s Tribute to Gary Patterson saw Becker have the finest Calistoga Speedway run of his career as he got around Bud Kaeding & Andy Gregg to transfer through his heat and then scored a nice fourth place finish in the feature while driving the Family Auto Service No. 98x. This year will see Becker sit aboard the Fisher/Main Motorsports, Cherry St. Mini Storage No. 35m for the Salute to Walt Ross & Tribute to GP as he tries to win his first career Calistoga Speedway main event.
Defending King of California Jonathan Allard of Chico will also be looking for his first career Calistoga Speedway win this weekend aboard the Morrie Williams owned GT Trends No. 0. Allard has had some good moments at the ½ mile Speedway the last couple years, but he has also had some rough ones. Last year’s Memorial Day weekend saw Allard get upside down on the opening lap of the Salute to Walter T. Ross main event. The 30 year-old driver was able to restart the race and put on an exciting charge to the front as he eventually finished in fourth place. The following night at the Tribute to GP he was running in second place when a drive line failure forced him to stop and bring out a red flag during the feature. Allard also escaped a scary flip down the front stretch during the 2001 Tribute to GP while he was driving the Rick Wright No. 35. It hasn’t been all bad for Allard the last couple years, however, as he’s scored three fourth place finishes during the last four GSC races in Calistoga. Coming into the weekend his best career finish at Calistoga is fourth and he’ll look to improve upon that this Saturday and Sunday.
Sacramento’s Willie Croft heads into his first ever Memorial Day weekend at Calistoga Speedway having possibly the finest season of his career. Croft sits fourth in GSC points going into the three day’s of action and he is just three points behind Allard for third. Croft’s crew chief, former NARC champ Rick Hirst, continues to have the Holey Smokes BBQ, LRB Manufacturing No. 29 running strong and "Double Down" is doing an excellent job this season. Croft is a former Mini Gold Cup champion at Chico’s Silver Dollar Speedway.
Defending Calistoga Speedway champion Jason Statler will be looking to put the Tom Rolfe Trucking, DF Rios Construction No. 10 into victory lane during the weekend. Statler won his first career Calistoga Speedway feature during the August Civil War Series stop at the ½ mile last season. "The Big Guy" has been winless so far this season, but there’s no other track he’d rather win at to break into the win column.
Another driver that is sure to be a factor during the Calistoga weekend is the ARB Inc. No. 1k of Fairmount, Indiana’s Brandon Wimmer. This season Wimmer has hooked up with the Redi-Green No. 1k team owned by Shammi Kumar and the combo has won three races so far this year. Wimmer spent 2005 on the road full time with the World of Outlaws and that same season he scored a runner-up finish to Steve Kinser during opening night of the WOO sanctioned Harvest Classic at Calistoga Speedway. Wimmer will not be running Petaluma on Friday but is expected to be in action at both the Salute to Walter T. Ross and the Tribute to Gary Patterson.
Other drivers expected at Calistoga Speedway include Chico’s Brett Miller, Campbell’s Bud Kaeding, Calistoga’s Mike Benson, Sydney, Aust’s Trevor Green, Carruther’s Garrett Ishii, Gilroy’s Jon Maiwald, Tracy’s Jason Botsford, Discovery Bay’s Jim Skinner, Fresno’s Mark Workentine and more.
Something new for Calistoga Speedway this season is that all seating will be general admission during the Memorial Day weekend. Tickets go on sale at 4 pm on race day and gates open at 5. Adult tickets cost $20 and kids 4-12 will be $10. For more info on the weekend’s race contact 707-942-5111 or log onto http://www.napacountyfairgrounds.com/about_us.htm
The Calistoga Speedway is located on the beautiful Napa County Fairgrounds in Calistoga and is located at 1435 North Oak Street. Get to the track early each day as most of the teams will on the grounds working on their race cars. Also don’t forget about the annual pancake breakfast held on Sunday morning in the Tubbs Building on the fairgrounds. As always there will be a big screen TV set up to watch the Indy 500.
For more info on the Golden State Challenge Series visit http://www.johnpadjenmotorsports.com and for more info on Gary Patterson visit http://www.garypattersonracing.com/
For facts and figures about Calistoga Speedway log onto Bobby Gerould’s http://www.hammerdownusa.com/calistoga.htm
www.sprintcarchallengetour.com
www.placervillespeedway.com
www.stocktondirttrack.com
www.thunderbowlraceway.com
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