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Thunderbowl Raceway plays host to Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series this Saturday
By Gary Thomas
Tulare, CA – October 13, 2008…For the first time in over three months the Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway will light back up with racing action when the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series converge at the 1/3 mile clay oval this Saturday night October 18.
The upcoming event was supposed to be the second stop of the season at the Tulare Thunderbowl for the top sprint car drivers in the world, but the two-night double-header scheduled for earlier this year on February 22 and 23 fell victim to rain. The October 18 show will also be the final time that California fans will have a chance to witness the stars of the World of Outlaws Sprint Series on their 30th anniversary season.
Leading the traveling contingent into the Thunderbowl Raceway will be current Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws point leader and two-time defending series champion Donny Schatz of Fargo, ND. The 31 year-old has put together another strong campaign in his first season driving the Tony Stewart Motorsports, Armor All sponsored No. 15 sprinter and is on way to becoming just the second driver in World of Outlaw history to win three consecutive championships. Schatz has captured 16 WOO victories this season, in addition to picking up his third straight win at the Knoxville Nationals in August. He's also coming off a clean sweep of the most recent WOO event, held in New Mexico this past Sunday.
The night of racing on Saturday will mark the first '08 World of Outlaw Series start for Jason Meyers at his home track, in what has been a career year for the Clovis native having won eight main events and currently sitting second in points aboard the GLR Investments, Elite Racing No. 14. The driver known as “Hotfoot” also brought home a ninth place finish at the Thunderbowl Raceway in March, where he suffered a flat tire while running second in the feature during a Golden State Challenge Series event.
The last time Meyers competed in California he was leading the $50,000 to win, 55th annual Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway, until being taken out of the running by a spun lap car. In his career Meyers has had much success at the Thunderbowl, however, he has never been able to capture a WOO victory at his home track and although it wouldn’t make up for the Gold Cup disappointment, it would certainly accomplish a long time goal that the veteran driver has had throughout his career.
Brownsburg, IN’s Joey Saldana will look to keep up his recent trend of success at the Thunderbowl Raceway as he competes in the Kasey Kahne Racing, Budweiser No. 9 sprinter. The 2007 Gold Cup Race of Champions winner finished second in World of Outlaw points last season and also picked up his first Thunderbowl WOO win in February of last year. After the WOO season ended Saldana made a stop at the annual Trophy Cup in Tulare where he won the prelim main event on opening night and finished second in the overall weekend points. Going into the weekend he ranks third in the Outlaw standings with five feature victories.
When the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Series made their first visit to the Thunderbowl Raceway in September of 2003, it was none other than 20-time Outlaw champ Steve Kinser of Bloomington, IN who picked up the win. “The King” has put together a fairly solid season by racing his Q Oils No. 11 to six main event wins and currently sits fourth in points going into the weekend. In addition to his victory in ’03, Kinser also swept the two-night National Sprint Tour event in Feb of ’06 and was also leading a pair of other main events on two separate occasions at the Thunderbowl when a blown tire and a blown engine took him out of contention.
The last time the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Series stars were in California it was Wooster, Ohio’s Jac Haudenschild who left the Golden State $50,000 richer after winning his third career Gold Cup Race of Champions main event at Silver Dollar Speedway. In 2008 “The Wild Child” has put together possibly his finest season this decade as he’s driven the Carnahan Motorsports, Owens Corning Fiberglass No. R19 to four wins and sits fifth in the WOO standings. Many Thunderbowl fans will remember Haud’s stunning drive from deep in the pack using the high scary side to win the Saturday night Trophy Cup main event in ’06, en route to a third place finish in the overall weekend points.
Other World of Outlaw drivers expected this Saturday night will include Nashville, TN’s Paul McMahan; Findlay, Ohio’s Chad Kemenah; St. Mary’s NSW, Aust’s Kerry Madsen; Terry McCarl of Altoona, Iowa; Owasso, OK’s Daryn Pittman; Sunnyvale, TX’s Sam Hafertepe Jr; Bloomington, IN’s Kraig Kinser, San Souci NSW Aust's Brooke Tatnell, Bartlett, TN’s Jason Sides; Liberal, KS’s Tony Bruce Jr; Burlington, WA’s Chad Hillier and Mechanicsburg, PA’s Lucas Wolfe.
The traveling stars will be challenged by a number of local hopefuls including Los Angeles wheel-man Tyler Walker who has been extremely entertaining and consistent at the Thunderbowl this season. The driver of the NMI Industrial Contractors, SC Motorsports No. 24 has picked up a pair of runner-up finishes, as well as a victory at the 1/3 mile clay oval in 2008 and has shown no fear in attacking the cushion of Thunderbowl Raceway whenever he is on hand. Walker this season finished second in the Golden State Challenge Series point standings with five wins and should be a strong possibility to knock off the Outlaw travelers.
Another local driver that always has success at Thunderbowl Raceway and is sure to be a contender on the 18th is San Jose’s Tim Kaeding who will be making his first start at the track since re-joining the Roth Motorsports, DTR Transport No. 83 team. The former King of California scored a victory at the track on April 26 after a spirited final lap battle with Walker and Jonathan Allard that saw him fall back to third with just a couple laps left, before charging back around both drivers to claim the win. Kaeding also was runner-up during Walker’s win on May 10 following an exciting duel between the pair and finished third during the World of Outlaw October stop at the Thunderbowl last year.
During the previous World of Outlaws Series visit in California, ’08 Golden State Challenge Series King of California Jonathan Allard brought home a strong third place finish on the final night of the 55th Gold Cup Race of Champions. The Chico driver has been fast at the Thunderbowl this season, despite not tallying a win at the track, but he has scored a pair of podium finishes in the four starts aboard his Williams Motorsports, K & N Filters No. 0. In July Allard wrapped up his second career King of California title, making him just the third driver to win multiple championships in Golden State Challenge Series history, joining Brent Kaeding & Steve Kent.
Other California locals expected include father & son duo Brent Kaeding and Bud Kaeding of Campbell, Easton’s Tommy Tarlton, Fresno’s Craig Stidham & Mark Workentine, Fremont’s Brent Bjork and more.
All seating will be reserved for the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Series event on Saturday October 18 with grandstand seats costing $45 and bleachers $40. The front gate of the Thunderbowl Raceway will open at 5pm with racing expected to get underway sometime around 7.
Trophy Cup: Don’t forget tickets are still on sale for next weekend’s 15th annual Trophy Cup at the Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway on Oct 23, 24 and 25. Three-night reserved ticket packages are available for just $75 and it also includes free admission to Friday’s Teriyaki BBQ and Saturday’s Spaghetti Feed, both to be held in the afternoon at the fairgrounds.
The Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway is located on the Tulare County Fairgrounds at the corner of Bardsley and K Streets in Tulare, California. For a seating chart, directions and more log onto http://www.thunderbowlraceway.com or call (559) 688-0909
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