This message was edited on
March 14, 2007 at
08:36:44 AM by Gary Thomas
Golden State Challenge Series make return to Kings Speedway this weekend
By Gary Thomas
Hanford, CA - March 14, 2007... After getting the season underway this past weekend in Chico, the Golden State Challenge King of California 410 sprint car series now heads south to Hanford, for Rounds three & four at the lighting fast Kings Speedway.
This weekend’s double header at Kings Speedway will be the first time that the Golden State Challenge Series has competed at the 3/8 mile oval since the Pombo/Sargent Classic in July of 2005. Less than a month after the Pombo/Sargent Classic that year, the former promoter of the speedway shut down operations at the track, which left much doubt if it would ever open again. A rather unsuccessful re-opening attempt occurred early in ‘06, however, but that was short lived and the track was closed down yet again.
Later in the year another try was made at re-opening the track, this time with Frank Dias at the helm. Success was found relatively soon and Kings Speedway was quickly brought back up to a level where the track could prosper and grow into the future. For 2007 Dias has scheduled an aggressive schedule that features just about every type of class a dirt track enthusiast could want.
When Dias inherited the speedway it was in disarray and he has brought about several ongoing improvements to the facility including new concessions, bathrooms and upgrades to the track surface. Dias has said that his goal is to mold Kings Speedway into one of the top 10 dirt tracks in the nation and with what has already taken place, that goal is not insurmountable.
There have been two winged 410 sprint car events at Kings Speedway since Dias has taken over as promoter at the track. A National Sprint Tour stop in September won by Danny Lasoski and the Cotton Classic won by Jason Meyers in October. The two-day event for the Golden State Challenge Series this weekend will be the first of two season stops at the Kings Speedway, with the next visit occurring on July 21.
Last weekend at Silver Dollar Speedway’s GSC season opening Mini Gold Cup it was Chico’s Jonathan Allard winning opening night and San Jose’s Tim Kaeding taking night two. Following Allard across the line on Friday and completing the top five were Kyle Hirst, T. Kaeding, Andy Forsberg and Jason Statler. T. Kaeding’s win on Saturday night was worth $6,000 and it was the second time in a row he has won the Mini Gold Cup. The top five on Saturday was comprised of T. Kaeding, Brent Kaeding, Allard, Sean Becker and Greg Decaires.
Coming into Hanford there is a two way tie between Allard and T. Kaeding for the point lead, but since Kaeding will be off to Texas to run with the World of Outlaws, Allard will inherit the lead when GSC invades Kings Speedway on Friday.
Allard, the defending Golden State Challenge King of California Series champion, had a great season in 2005 at Kings Speedway. He won the Spanky Matthews Memorial and the Cotton Classic that year and finished in the top five in four of five events held at Kings that year. Allard is coming off of a 2006 season that saw him win seven GSC races in 19 events and set fast time on 10 occasions. Even with the success last year, Allard and his Williams Motorsports team have made the switch to J & J Chassis this season and it didn’t take them long to find victory lane with their new manufacturer. The victory during opening night of the Mini Gold Cup was Allard’s 14th career win with GSC, which moved him to within one win of Tim Green for fourth on the all-time win list. Allard will be one of the expected near 25-30 entrants for this weekend’s double dip in Hanford.
The last time the Golden State Challenge Series visited Hanford it was Salinas veteran Ronnie Day picking up the win. Day has been winless with GSC since that night and this weekend should be a prime opportunity for the 2000 King of California to get back into victory lane. Last season he finished runner-up in the GSC point standings and led the series with 16 top 10 finishes. Day had a rough opening night at the Mini Gold Cup, failing to get out of the C-main but did rebound on Saturday with a 10th place finish in the feature. He currently sits 20th in points, 57 behind Allard for the lead and he heads to one of his best tracks to try and shorten the gap.
12 time GSC King of California Brent Kaeding is always a force to be reckoned with in Hanford and that should be no different this weekend. BK got upside down big time on Friday night in the feature at the Mini Gold Cup but came back strong on Saturday to score a second place finish.
San Jose’s Jason Statler made his debut in the Tom Rolfe Trucking No. 10 last weekend and scored a pair of top 10's to put himself fifth in the current GSC point standings. The 2004 King of California sits 13 points out of the lead. The Mini Gold Cup saw Statler struggle in qualifying and charge through the pack both night’s in what has become a trademark for the "Big Guy." Statler hasn’t won a GSC race since June 11 of 2005 and an improvement in qualifying this weekend will give him a great shot at getting back to victory lane. Three of the drivers that sit front of Statler in the point standings are not expected in Hanford, which will move him up to second on Friday.
This weekend’s event in Hanford will see the debut of a few new driver/owner combinations. They will include Medford, Oregon’s Roger Crockett in the Henderson Motorsports 7n, Kingsburg’s Kody Swanson in the Roth 83jr and Fresno’s Davey Pombo in the Davey Key Trucking 15. Crockett fills the seat of former two-time King of California Steve Kent who retired in the off-season. Swanson has had much success the last couple year’s in the USAC pavement scene and Pombo is a veteran of wingless 360 racing in the Central part of California.
Other drivers expected at Kings Speedway this weekend include: Visalia’s Blake Robertson, Sacramento’s Willie Croft, Chico’s Brett Miller, Fairmont, Indiana’s Brandon Wimmer, Chico’s Stephen Allard, Campbell’s Bud Kaeding, Tipton’s Mike and Danny Faria Jr, Clovis’ Peter Murphy, Fresno’s Craig Stidham and Tommy Tarlton, Caruther’s Garrett Ishii, Discovery Bay’s Jim Skinner, Scotts Valley’s Evan Suggs, Chico’s Matt Shelton, Gilroy’s Jon Maiwald, Tracy’s Jason Botsford, Stockton’s Shawn Wright, Clovis’ Mark Workentine, Redding’s Ric McCormick and Washington driver Steve Kilcup.
A couple more possible entrants include: Elk Grove’s Kyle Hirst and Grass Valley’s Brad Sweet. Both Hirst and Sweet weren’t 100% certain if they’d be at the event as of last weekend. Hirst was ultra impressive at the Mini Gold Cup finishing second on opening night and charging through the pack on Saturday before being involved in an accident that started in front of him. Sweet showed speed but had nothing but bad luck all weekend.
Gates open at 5 pm both night’s with cars hitting the track around 6. Reserved tickets will cost $20. Kids 6 and under are free. Seniors and military $16. For more info contact 559-587-1111.
For the full GSC point standings, results and more visit www.johnpadjenmotorsports.com
Next Saturday the Golden State Challenge King of California Series will be making a trip to the tight confines of the Placerville Speedway. The following Saturday they’ll close out the month of March with a visit to the Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway.
www.sprintcarchallengetour.com
www.placervillespeedway.com
www.stocktondirttrack.com
www.thunderbowlraceway.com
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