This message was edited on
June 10, 2007 at
05:26:21 PM by Gary Thomas
Photo by Graph X Designs
Get out the brooms, Jonathan Allard sweeps weekend
By Gary Thomas
June 10, 2007... It’s safe to say that Jonathan Allard is back. After starting out the season a tad bit below standards, he and the Williams Motorsports team have come around full force and are gaining momentum as we have come upon a week we’ve been looking forward to all year. The 36th annual Dirt Cup at Skagit Speedway is just a handful of days away and JA will go into it on the strength of some very stout runs within the last few weeks. This past Saturday night saw Jonathan pick up the 16th GSC victory of his career and it moved him into sole possession of fourth on the all-time series win list. The only drivers that sit in front of him are Brent Kaeding, Tim Kaeding and Steve Kent.
This past weekend, however, saw Jonathan and Williams Motorsports kick off the weekend on Friday night at Silver Dollar Speedway. The Chico native qualified seventh quick and finished second in his heat to transfer the Williams Motorsports, GT Trends, BR Motorsports No. 0 into the main event.
Fast qualifier Dan Menne pulled the number eight pill and it put Jonathan on the inside of the second row for the 25 lap feature. JA was on the hammer early and took the lead on lap two, only to have a red flag negate the pass. Jonathan remained poised though and a lap after going back green he made the move again and took the lead from Robert Stice. After taking the lead it was all JA as the Ashley Smith prepared K & N Filters, Red Line Oil machine was on a rail. Jonathan was in a league of his own and easily picked up his fourth Silver Dollar Speedway point race win of the season. On the front straightaway Jonathan commented, "I can’t express enough how much hard work my team puts into this deal that allows me to just get in it and drive." Adding in his win on opening night during the GSC sanctioned Mini Gold Cup, JA has now won five races at his home track this season.
On Saturday the Golden State Challenge Series was at Petaluma Speedway and that was the destination for Williams Motorsports. The night started off solid with Jonathan qualifying second quick aboard the Sharp Insurance, Chris Jones Racing, Graph X Designs No. 0. He then started sixth in his heat race and was up to fourth when a caution came out after one lap was completed. JA then got up on the wheel and moved up to second by lap four and then began to hound leader Brett Miller. Jonathan put heavy pressure on the youngster and coming down to the white flag he made the move under Miller to take the lead. The defending King of California went on to pick up the heat race win in the Butler Built Performance, Tom Rolfe Trucking, V-Mac Racing Products No. 0.
The six lap dash saw Jonathan start sixth and finish third to give him an inside row two starting spot for the 30 lap feature. JA used traffic early on to make his move as on lap seven he got under Sean Becker in turn two to take over the second position. The 3/8 mile clay oval remained hooked up all night and on lap nine Jonathan used traffic to slip under leader Willie Croft in the second corner and slide him in turn three to take the lead of the race. As Jonathan got bogged down in traffic a few laps later though, 12-time King of California Brent Kaeding was able to get around him off turn two.
The rest of the race saw Jonathan try hard to get back by Kaeding as the two navigated their way through thick and heavy lap traffic. The pair were certainly the class of the field and as the race neared its end, we saw a bit of de ja vu, only this time it was the other way around. Last month in Tulare Jonathan was battling BK for the lead when the engine in the No. 0 machine began to lay over. Jonathan pulled into the infield on that night and suffered a dnf.
At Petaluma BK’s engine began to sour over the last few laps and as Kaeding suffered a big push in turn four on lap 27, Jonathan blasted by in the Kistler powered Maxim to take the lead and he went on to score the victory aboard the Williams Motorsports No. 0.
The win was Jonathan’s third of the year with the Golden State Challenge Series and seventh overall for the season. "With great support from K & N Filters, Red Line Oil and all our sponsors and crew, we’re all excited about heading up to try and win the Dirt Cup for the third time in a row," Jonathan said after the race.
No driver has ever won the Dirt Cup three times in a row and it would be a huge accomplishment if Jonathan were able to do it. The $25,000 first place prize will be chased by some very tough big name travelers, however, including Tim Kaeding, Brandon Wimmer, Shane Stewart and Tyler Walker. Nearly 60 cars, including all of California's best, are expected for the event which starts on Thursday and runs through Saturday.
Jonathan and Williams Motorsports will kick off the week on Monday night as the Golden State Challenge Series competes at the Southern Oregon Speedway in Medford, OR.
For all the latest news and info on Jonathan Allard and Williams Motorsports visit http://www.allardmotorsports.com
Photo by Steve Lamothe
Photo by Johns Racing Photos
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