This message was edited on
April 02, 2008 at
08:50:21 AM by Gary Thomas
Golden State Challenge Series hits Antioch Speedway Saturday
By Gary Thomas
Antioch, CA – April 1, 2008…After going to a track for the first time this season larger than a quarter-mile last weekend, the Golden State Challenge King of California 410 Sprint Car Series will now head right back to the bullring style of action with an event at the Antioch Speedway this Saturday April 5.
The Golden State Challenge Series brought 410 winged sprint car racing back to the Antioch Speedway in July of ’03, and including that night have competed in a total of eight events since. Last season saw some of the most exciting racing at the quarter-mile since the return in ’03 and it’s expected to be just as good this season with the series making a pair of stops to the track this year. For fans that like bullring action, Antioch is the place to get your fix.
The small confines of Antioch Speedway are some of the toughest on the Golden State Challenge tour with a usual tight racing groove and relative flat banking. The steepness in the turns has been raised over the last couple years, but compared to other tracks, the lower banking certainly makes it difficult to get drive off the corners. The bullring takes a good bit of finesse to get around and being smooth is paramount to cutting good laps when the track slicks off as the night goes on.
Leading the GSC point standings going into Saturday is San Jose’s Tim Kaeding who pilots the J.F. McCray Plastering, Tom Rolfe Racing No. 10. TK has used a solid amount of consistency so far this early season and has finished in the top five during every race held with GSC this year. The former King of California was part of an exciting main event at Antioch last July in which he and Chico’s Jonathan Allard battled it out for the lead. Kaeding ended up winning out for one of his six wins with the series last season and he’ll be gunning for his first ’08 win on Saturday. This will be his final scheduled GSC start until Mid-May however, as he and the No. 10 team are expected to compete with the World of Outlaws at Eldora next weekend.
Allard has been right there with Kaeding every step of the way this season however, and sits just seven points back of him for the point lead. The driver of the Morrie Williams Motorsports, K & N Filters No. 0 has finished in the top five during all but one race this season, and is coming off an event that saw he and his team show much resiliency. After getting upside down during hot laps in Tulare, Allard was able to rebound and score a fifth place finish in the feature, something that’s key in winning championships. With Kaeding expected to take off on the road next week, Allard will be the man that assumes the point if he plays his cards right on Saturday.
Sacramento’s Mike Henry has had a great to start to his first full season of action with the Golden State Challenge Series and has moved to fourth in the points aboard the HMH Motorsports, World Environmental No. 93. The former two-time Civil War Series champ picked up his first GSC win just a couple weeks ago and he backed that performance up with another solid one in Tulare last weekend. Henry qualified fourth fastest at the Thunderbowl last Saturday and brought home a nice sixth place finish in the main event.
Rounding out the top five in the current standings is Los Angeles driver Tyler Walker who will be looking to regroup in Antioch. The wheel man of the NMI Construction, SC Motorsports No. 24 had mechanical issues last weekend at the Thunderbowl that prevented him from competing in the night’s B-main. The problem dropped him two spots in the standings, but he has shown in the past that he can do great things in a race car and he will certainly be top contender on Saturday.
Sitting sixth in points, just five digits back of Walker though is 13-time & defending Golden State Challenge King of California Series champion Brent Kaeding. After struggling the first couple weekends the Campbell veteran has been making strides the last couple Saturday’s and is coming off his first podium finish of the season aboard his Al’s Roofing Supply, Kaeding Performance No. 69. Even BK himself however, has said that they are struggling a bit with the motor and set-up, but if there’s ever a track he can go to and get it right, it would be Antioch Speedway, a track he’s won at three different times since ’04.
The third of the Kaeding clan sits eighth in points, that being two-time and defending USAC Silver Crown Series champ Bud Kaeding. The Campbell driver has been a regular competitor on the GSC circuit this season and has accumulated three top 10 finishes in the first five events aboard his K & N Filters, BK Motorsports No. 29. He is also tied for the point lead in the USAC Silver Crown Series standings as he attempts to become the first driver to win the title three straight times. Last season the 28 year-old scored a best finish of ninth in GSC action at Antioch.
Scotts Valley’s Evan Suggs ranks ninth in GSC points and will be looking to put his Suggs Motorsports, Lucas Oil Products No. 33e near the front of the field on Saturday. Last July saw Suggs put together an impressive night at the Antioch bullring as he qualified fifth fastest and backed it up with a sixth place finish in the main event. In Tulare last weekend he fought through adversity as he was a flip victim in the main event, but his team went to work in the pits, got him back out and the 21 year-old charged back to score 11th place. The Suggs Racing team will be competing at Antioch with a little more power as their new motor arrived on Tuesday, following a few weekend's with an older power plant under the hood.
Los Gatos racer Jason Statler rounds out the top 10 in points and is expected to be back in action this weekend at the Antioch Speedway. The driver of the DF Rios Construction, Statler Racing No. 00 was fighting the flu last weekend and was unable to compete in Tulare. Wife Stephanie stated that this had to be a first for him missing a race because of being ill, so he must have been sick! She did say that he was feeling better on Sunday and they plan to be in Antioch. The time is also nearing for Jason & Stephanie’s first child to be born, which is due in just a couple weeks.
Local man Jim Skinner from Discovery Bay is a question mark for this weekend’s event at his home track. The former NARC Rookie of the Year got upside down last weekend in Tulare, which cracked the frame on his Skinner Motorsports No. 73. Skinner almost always performs well at the Antioch bullring and brought home an eighth place finish last April at the track.
Other possibilities for this Saturday will include Loomis’ Kyle Hirst, Fremont’s Brent Bjork, Tracy’s Jason Botsford, Fresno’s Mark Workentine, Gilroy’s Jon Maiwald & Ken Fredenburg, Rio Vista’s Dan Simpson, Petaluma’s Mike Mossi and more.
The front gate at the Antioch Speedway will open at 5 pm with adult tickets costing $16 while kids and seniors are $10. An early arrival is recommended as all seating is general admission and the Antioch grandstand tends to fill to capacity when the Golden State Challenge Series is in town. The Antioch Speedway is located at the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds on the corner of 10th & L Streets in Antioch. For more info on the track log onto http://www.antiochspeedway.com
For the full GSC point standings and more visit http://www.johnpadjenmotorsports.com
Up next- The Golden State Challenge King of California 410 Sprint Car Series will make a rare Saturday night appearance next weekend at Watsonville’s Ocean Speedway. This will be the only time during the season that the series competes during a Saturday at the track. Last month’s event at Ocean Speedway saw World of Outlaw driver Jason Meyers pick up the win over another fellow WOO driver Shane Stewart.
www.sprintcarchallengetour.com
www.placervillespeedway.com
www.stocktondirttrack.com
www.thunderbowlraceway.com
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