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Topic: Tire issue costs Jonathan Allard at 54th Gold Cup
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September 09, 2007 at
07:27:39 PM
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This message was edited on
September 09, 2007 at
07:29:15 PM by Gary Thomas
Photo by Graph X designs
Flat tire costs Jonathan Allard podium at 54th Gold Cup Race of Champions
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA - September 8, 2007...Going into the final night of the 54th annual Gold Cup Race of Champions at Chico’s Silver Dollar Speedway, former King of California Jonathan Allard looked to become the first California driver to win the event since 1989. After winning a prelim night feature on Thursday he earned the right to start on the outside of the front row, making him the first local driver to start on the front row during Saturday night at the Gold Cup since 1998. Unfortunately for Jonathan and Williams Motorsports however, the bad luck gremlins resurfaced and it ultimately ended with the right rear tire on the GT Trends 0 going flat on the final lap of the main event pushing JA back to a 10th place finish. A total of 103 drivers competed at the Gold Cup, which is considered the most prestigious sprint car event on the West Coast.
Jonathan came into Saturday night sitting tied for high points with the Kasey Kahne Racing No. 9 of Joey Saldana, but Saldana sat on the pole by winning the tie breaker which was based on both driver’s individual qualifying times during the preliminary nights. Saldana qualified fourth on Friday and Jonathan timed in seventh on Thursday so JA sat on the outside of the grid. Following a two lap four wide salute which honored Ted Johnson, the late founder of the World of Outlaws Sprint Series, the 40 lap Gold Cup Race of Champions main event was set to begin.
The Silver Dollar bullring was very slick by main event time and had built up a large curb that drivers had to be careful of. As the green flag waved from starter Willie Williams, Jonathan fell into third as 3-time Outlaw champ Sammy Swindell was able to sneak under him. JA kept his composure though and ran strongly in third until a caution came out on lap 12. On the restart Jonathan stayed with Swindell and hounded him for several laps while also holding off a hard charging Steve Kinser. Racing with arguably the two greatest drivers in the history of sprint car racing, Jonathan was holding his own until Kinser was able to sneak under him in turn four to claim third. Immediately after that however, a caution flag flew which put Jonathan back in front of the 20-time King of the Outlaws.
The restart saw Jonathan make his move as he flung the K & N Filters, Red Line Oil, Chris Jones Racing No. 0 to the inside of Swindell and executed a beautiful slide job to take over the second position. Lap 17 saw a caution appear and it put Jonathan right on the rear bumper of race leader Saldana. Up till this point Saldana had dominated the race leading by a comfortable margin, but when the green flag came back out, Jonathan found the line to run and chased down the Kasey Kahne Racing No. 9. Jonathan was driving very smooth and getting around the track lightning fast as Saldana began to bobble on the cushion and it allowed JA to move up to the rear of the leader. As the pair entered traffic on lap 21, JA got the break he needed as Saldana got caught behind a lap car and Jonathan put the Williams Motorsports No. 0 into the lead off turn two.
As the crowd came to their feet, the red lights came on for a three car crash in turn two. It was a tough break for Jonathan because he was forced to go back behind Saldana as a full lap hadn’t been completed. Even tougher was the fact that Saldana now knew where the faster line was and when the restart came about, the track began to severely take rubber which made it a one lane expressway on the bottom of the track. Jonathan moved up to Saldana in traffic, but there just wasn’t any room to make a move and he had to follow the leader lap after lap. With about five laps remaining the right rear tire began to go away and after losing second to Jac Haudenschild on lap 37, the tire went flat with less than a ½ lap left in the race. Jonathan did his best to control the car but he lost multiple spots and limped across the line in 10th place aboard the Graph X Designs, Butler Built Performance, JP’s Paint & Body, Platinum Powder Coating No. 0.
The finish was eerily similar to a Gold Cup prelim two season’s ago where Jonathan suffered a flat tire with just two laps left while running fifth. That night saw him limp across the line to a 16th place finish, which forced him to come through B-main on Saturday night. The late race tire issues have also come up two other times in the last couple weeks during WOO competition. At Cottage Grove on August 29 Jonathan went from 21st to 5th before a tire let go with three laps left and at Calistoga during opening night of the Harvest Classic he had a tire go down with just two laps left after charging from 19th to 11th.
It was disappointing to have a podium finish at the Gold Cup Race of Champions taken away, but it was still good enough to earn a career best Gold Cup finish for the 31 year-old Chico native. Jonathan showed that he can hold his own with the best drivers in the world and he has the team around him that can get the job done. Ashley Smith and the crew gave him a great car all weekend long and JA drove his heart out trying to accomplish something every California driver hopes for. It didn’t pan out with what everyone would have liked, but it was still a good show and we’ll now focus on the rest of the season that has less than a few months remaining.
The final night of the Gold Cup Race of Champions was taped by SPEED and will air on Sunday, September 23 at 10:30 am California time.
This coming weekend look for Jonathan to compete at the first ever Fred Brownfield Memorial Sprint Challenge at the Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash. The Brownfield Memorial was originally scheduled to be in July, but rainy weather forced the event to be rescheduled for September.
For more info on Chico driver Jonathan Allard log onto http://www.allardmotorsports.com
www.sprintcarchallengetour.com
www.placervillespeedway.com
www.stocktondirttrack.com
www.thunderbowlraceway.com
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September 09, 2007 at
07:57:19 PM
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Joined:
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Jonathan being interviewed by Sean Buckley for SPEED's broadcast. Photos by Davy Thomas
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www.sprintcarchallengetour.com
www.placervillespeedway.com
www.stocktondirttrack.com
www.thunderbowlraceway.com
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September 09, 2007 at
08:00:26 PM
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Photo by Graph X Designs Steve Cox
www.sprintcarchallengetour.com
www.placervillespeedway.com
www.stocktondirttrack.com
www.thunderbowlraceway.com
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September 11, 2007 at
11:48:23 AM
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Joined:
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This message was edited on
September 11, 2007 at
11:53:14 AM by team wright-one
Reply to:
Posted By: Gary Thomas on September 09 2007 at 07:27:39 PM
Photo by Graph X designs
Flat tire costs Jonathan Allard podium at 54th Gold Cup Race of Champions
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA - September 8, 2007...Going into the final night of the 54th annual Gold Cup Race of Champions at Chico’s Silver Dollar Speedway, former King of California Jonathan Allard looked to become the first California driver to win the event since 1989. After winning a prelim night feature on Thursday he earned the right to start on the outside of the front row, making him the first local driver to start on the front row during Saturday night at the Gold Cup since 1998. Unfortunately for Jonathan and Williams Motorsports however, the bad luck gremlins resurfaced and it ultimately ended with the right rear tire on the GT Trends 0 going flat on the final lap of the main event pushing JA back to a 10th place finish. A total of 103 drivers competed at the Gold Cup, which is considered the most prestigious sprint car event on the West Coast.
Jonathan came into Saturday night sitting tied for high points with the Kasey Kahne Racing No. 9 of Joey Saldana, but Saldana sat on the pole by winning the tie breaker which was based on both driver’s individual qualifying times during the preliminary nights. Saldana qualified fourth on Friday and Jonathan timed in seventh on Thursday so JA sat on the outside of the grid. Following a two lap four wide salute which honored Ted Johnson, the late founder of the World of Outlaws Sprint Series, the 40 lap Gold Cup Race of Champions main event was set to begin.
The Silver Dollar bullring was very slick by main event time and had built up a large curb that drivers had to be careful of. As the green flag waved from starter Willie Williams, Jonathan fell into third as 3-time Outlaw champ Sammy Swindell was able to sneak under him. JA kept his composure though and ran strongly in third until a caution came out on lap 12. On the restart Jonathan stayed with Swindell and hounded him for several laps while also holding off a hard charging Steve Kinser. Racing with arguably the two greatest drivers in the history of sprint car racing, Jonathan was holding his own until Kinser was able to sneak under him in turn four to claim third. Immediately after that however, a caution flag flew which put Jonathan back in front of the 20-time King of the Outlaws.
The restart saw Jonathan make his move as he flung the K & N Filters, Red Line Oil, Chris Jones Racing No. 0 to the inside of Swindell and executed a beautiful slide job to take over the second position. Lap 17 saw a caution appear and it put Jonathan right on the rear bumper of race leader Saldana. Up till this point Saldana had dominated the race leading by a comfortable margin, but when the green flag came back out, Jonathan found the line to run and chased down the Kasey Kahne Racing No. 9. Jonathan was driving very smooth and getting around the track lightning fast as Saldana began to bobble on the cushion and it allowed JA to move up to the rear of the leader. As the pair entered traffic on lap 21, JA got the break he needed as Saldana got caught behind a lap car and Jonathan put the Williams Motorsports No. 0 into the lead off turn two.
As the crowd came to their feet, the red lights came on for a three car crash in turn two. It was a tough break for Jonathan because he was forced to go back behind Saldana as a full lap hadn’t been completed. Even tougher was the fact that Saldana now knew where the faster line was and when the restart came about, the track began to severely take rubber which made it a one lane expressway on the bottom of the track. Jonathan moved up to Saldana in traffic, but there just wasn’t any room to make a move and he had to follow the leader lap after lap. With about five laps remaining the right rear tire began to go away and after losing second to Jac Haudenschild on lap 37, the tire went flat with less than a ½ lap left in the race. Jonathan did his best to control the car but he lost multiple spots and limped across the line in 10th place aboard the Graph X Designs, Butler Built Performance, JP’s Paint & Body, Platinum Powder Coating No. 0.
The finish was eerily similar to a Gold Cup prelim two season’s ago where Jonathan suffered a flat tire with just two laps left while running fifth. That night saw him limp across the line to a 16th place finish, which forced him to come through B-main on Saturday night. The late race tire issues have also come up two other times in the last couple weeks during WOO competition. At Cottage Grove on August 29 Jonathan went from 21st to 5th before a tire let go with three laps left and at Calistoga during opening night of the Harvest Classic he had a tire go down with just two laps left after charging from 19th to 11th.
It was disappointing to have a podium finish at the Gold Cup Race of Champions taken away, but it was still good enough to earn a career best Gold Cup finish for the 31 year-old Chico native. Jonathan showed that he can hold his own with the best drivers in the world and he has the team around him that can get the job done. Ashley Smith and the crew gave him a great car all weekend long and JA drove his heart out trying to accomplish something every California driver hopes for. It didn’t pan out with what everyone would have liked, but it was still a good show and we’ll now focus on the rest of the season that has less than a few months remaining.
The final night of the Gold Cup Race of Champions was taped by SPEED and will air on Sunday, September 23 at 10:30 am California time.
This coming weekend look for Jonathan to compete at the first ever Fred Brownfield Memorial Sprint Challenge at the Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash. The Brownfield Memorial was originally scheduled to be in July, but rainy weather forced the event to be rescheduled for September.
For more info on Chico driver Jonathan Allard log onto http://www.allardmotorsports.com
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the outlaw tv schedule says chico race on sept 16 on speed at 1-2 pm eastern time. am i missing something? http://www.worldofoutlaws.com/~/media/BB09D81C26E24740917BF21AA74E63EC.ashx
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September 11, 2007 at
12:04:06 PM
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Joined:
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12/03/2004
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Posts:
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7413
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I thought that it was this coming weekend as well, but I was looking more and it says this weekend is Late Models. I believe it's on the SPEED website that I saw this in the WOO Gold Cup recap. But, I see on my TV that it still shows Chico for this weekend. I guess we should tune in this weekend just in case.
www.sprintcarchallengetour.com
www.placervillespeedway.com
www.stocktondirttrack.com
www.thunderbowlraceway.com
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