This message was edited on
June 06, 2007 at
11:41:13 AM by Gary Thomas
Petaluma Speedway begins busy week for California 410 teams
By Gary Thomas
Petaluma, CA - June 6, 2007... Campbell’s Brent Kaeding will lead the way into a busy week of action for the Golden State Challenge 410 sprint car teams beginning with an event this Saturday night June 9 at the Petaluma Speedway. Saturday’s event will mark the final appearance of the season in Petaluma for the west coast’s premier traveling 410 winged sprint car series.
This past weekend in Watsonville and Placerville saw Kaeding sweep both events to push his season win total up to seven. BK’s win on Saturday in Placerville came during the most exciting main event of the season as the 12-time King of California battled wheel to wheel with Auburn’s Andy Forsberg for virtually the whole race. In the end Kaeding won out and scored his 77th career GSC win and pushed his lead in the series standings to 15. BK has had a terrific year so far aboard the Al’s Roofing Supply, Kaeding Performance, Selco Heating & Air No. 69 and is just one win shy of tying son Tim for the single season win mark which was set in 2004.
When the Golden State Challenge Series visited Petaluma on May 25, it was Oroville’s Sean Becker picking up his second win of the season aboard the Fisher/Main Motorsports, Cherry St. Mini Storage, Rolling Hills Reality No. 35m. Becker sits second in points and will look to close in on Kaeding’s 15 point lead at Petaluma. "The Shark" charged from 12th to third during last Saturday’s main event in Placerville putting on a great show for the fans.
Chico’s Jonathan Allard sits third in points and is building momentum following a pair of runner-up finishes last weekend. The defending King of California hasn’t finished outside the top four in the last five races and will be a force at Petaluma in the Williams Motorsports, GT Trends, K & N Filters No. 0. Allard swept both Petaluma GSC events last season and finished fourth at the track on May 25.
Willie Croft of Sacramento comes into the night fourth in GSC points. Croft drove his Holey Smokes BBQ, LRB Manufacturing, D & D Roofing No. 29 to a third place finish at Petaluma on May 25. The driver known as "Double Down" rebounded last Saturday at Placerville with a sixth place finish following a dnf the night before in Watsonville.
Rounding out the top five in the GSC standings heading into Petaluma is Las Gatos driver Jason Statler. Statler suffered engine problems last Saturday in his Tom Rolfe Trucking, DF Rios Construction, Pheasant Run Shopping Center No. 10, which forced him out of the feature early in the going.
Other drivers expected at Petaluma this Saturday will include: Salinas’ Ronnie Day, Chico’s Brett Miller, Campbell’s Bud Kaeding, Gilroy’s Jon Maiwald, Tracy’s Jason Botsford, Scotts Valley’s Evan Suggs, Fresno’s Mark Workentine and more. GSC regular Jim Skinner will miss his third race in a row after blowing an engine at Calistoga during the Salute to Walt Ross.
The front gate at the Petaluma Speedway opens at 4:30 on Saturday with racing set 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 Highway 101 to the Washington Blvd exit. Then go West on Washington Blvd to Ellis St. and turn left into the fairgrounds. For more info visit http://www.petaluma-speedway.com
After Petaluma the Golden State Challenge Series drivers and teams will get on I-5 and head North to the Southern Oregon Speedway in Medford, Oregon for an event on Monday night June 11. Last season’s event at Southern Oregon fell victim to rain. Previous winners of the event include Brent Kaeding, Tim Kaeding and Tim Shaffer. Gates open at 4 pm on Monday with general admission tickets costing $15. More info visit http://www.sospeedway.com
Dirt Cup looms ahead:
Following the event on Monday in Medford, many of the California 410 teams will continue heading North to Alger, Washington to compete in the 36th annual Dirt Cup presented by Foley RV & Camping World at Skagit Speedway. The Dirt Cup will take place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and will award $25,000 to the winner of Saturday night’s 40 lap main event.
Expected in the field will be four former Dirt Cup champions from the Golden State. They include Chico’s Jonathan Allard, Campbell’s Brent Kaeding, Salinas’ Ronnie Day and Santa Cruz’s Kevin Pylant.
Allard will be seeking his third straight Dirt Cup title and if he could accomplish that, he would become the first driver to ever win three in a row. The 30 year-old driver started out the season slowly which made it a question mark whether he would be a serious contender at the Dirt Cup, but over the last month he and his Williams Motorsports team have found their mark and have been very strong. Last season Allard held off San Jose’s Tim Kaeding in a heated battle to score his second Dirt Cup victory.
Brent Kaeding has had a remarkable season winning seven Golden State Challenge Series features prior to the June 9 stop in Petaluma. Kaeding is a three time Dirt Cup champ, but has struggled the past two seasons in the event and last year ended up 15th during the final night. BK has been a different driver this season, however, and has looked like the driver that has won 12 King of California titles and just about every major sprint car race on the west coast. Kaeding has scored big wins this season at the Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial, the Pombo-Sargent Classic and the Chris Faria Memorial. BK’s last Dirt Cup win came in 1999. The hogs have had the Al’s Roofing Supply No. 69 on a rail this season and it should be no different at Dirt Cup.
Day comes into this year’s Dirt Cup having a tough season, but the veteran driver has the potential to break out at any moment. Last year’s Dirt Cup saw Day fail to make the main event on Saturday night, but the previous year saw him win the Friday prelim and finish third in the finale. Day has been fast at times this year but seems to have bad luck more often than not. It has remarkably been nearly two years since Day has won a race, but if his Ridgeline Framing No. 1 team give him the right stuff, he can certainly change that at the Dirt Cup, an event he won in 2000.
It was announced in a Skagit Speedway press release on Tuesday that Pylant will be at the Dirt Cup as well. The 1995 champion of the event has made just one start this season, which came at Ocean Speedway on June 1.
Other California drivers expected to compete at the Dirt Cup include Sean Becker, Tim Kaeding, Bud Kaeding, Willie Croft, Jason Statler, Evan Suggs, Peter Murphy, Jason Botsford, and Jason York.
Aussi Trevor Green, who has been racing with the Golden State Challenge Series over the last month, will be another contender at Dirt Cup. Green won a prelim at the Dirt Cup in 2004 while driving the Williams Motorsports No. 0.
Elk Grove, CA native Kyle Hirst will be aboard the Harley Van Dyke 5h at Dirt Cup. The son of former NARC champ Rick Hirst has been very strong in limited California starts this season.
Medford, OR resident and Rio Linda, CA native Roger Crockett will be aboard the California based Henderson Motorsports 7n at the Dirt Cup. Crockett has scored one win, four top five finishes and two fast times with GSC while driving the 7n machine this season. Crockett has also had much success in the 7n with the NSCS 360 Series which races in Oregon and Washington. In 6 NSCS starts he has won three times, has finished in the top five at each race and has set fast time on four separate occasions. Crockett has never won the Dirt Cup but car owner Henderson has in the past, most recently in 2001 with driver Steve Kent. Henderson also has a remarkable amount of consistency at the Dirt Cup. Up till last season the 7n hadn’t finished out of the top five at Dirt Cup since 1999. In fact at one point this decade, the Kent/Henderson combination finished on the podium in five straight Dirt Cups.
Fairmount, IN driver Brandon Wimmer will be a strong contender at the Dirt Cup as he wheels the Roth Motorsports No. 83jr. Wimmer has won four races this season in California aboard the ARB Inc, Redi-Green Motorsports No. 1k, but destroyed the primary car at Calistoga Speedway during a hard crash in turn two over the Memorial Day Weekend. Last Saturday in Placerville Wimmer competed aboard the Billy Sellers owned No. 15x with the Redi-Green 1k engine in the car and scored a fifth place finish. He will be tough to beat in the always potent Roth 83jr.
It will all be kicked off on Wednesday night June 13 with the annual Dirt Cup Party in the parking lot at Haggen Food & Pharmacy in Burlington, Washington. A live band will be on hand as well as various teams and drivers that will competing over the three days of action. Come get some autographs, hang out and have a good time as the 36th annual Dirt Cup is kicked off in style.
Three day advance tickets for the Dirt Cup cost $65 for adults and $50 for juniors, seniors and military. For more info on the event visit http://www.skagitspeedway.com
www.sprintcarchallengetour.com
www.placervillespeedway.com
www.stocktondirttrack.com
www.thunderbowlraceway.com
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