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(Photo courtesy John's Racing Photos)

Peter Murphy Finishes 2^nd at Santa Maria in West Coast 360 Battle

By Gary Costa

Santa Maria, CA – (September 19, 2009) – Tarlton Motorsports flexed their muscles over the weekend at Santa Maria Speedway as Peter Murphy would do battle with the West Coast 360 Non-Wing Sprint Cars. He finished in second place after battling Danny Faria, Jr. and Davey Pombo throughout the 30 lap feature event. Murphy, who had turned in a strong performance with the World of Outlaws at the Gold Cup in Chico, returned to Tom Tarlton's familiar No. 21 Maxim.

"We had a good run. We had a heckuva battle with Danny and Davey," Murphy said. "We were going back and forth. Davey and I must have swapped positions at least five times."

The Tarlton's would pay tribute to J&P Construction, and Murphy didn't disappoint the employees that took in the exciting event. Murphy wheeled the Jason Wheelock/Paul Baines wrenched Tarlton & Son, Inc., Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino rocket around the tacky speedway, turning in second quick time of the evening. Murphy would then excite the crowd as he charged from his fourth starting spot and proceeded to win his heat race.

Murphy put himself in a strong position to win his eighth Non-Wing feature of the year, as he would start on the pole for the 30 lap feature event, with good friend Davey Pombo flanked to his right on the outside front row. When the feature went green, Pombo would get the jump, with Murphy trailing. The car was pulling wheelies down the straightaway, exciting the fans with every lap. Murphy reeled Pombo in, and the two began to battle with each other. Faria, Jr. would slip by, but Murphy came right back to battle for the lead. Murphy eventually found his way around Pombo, and set his sights on race leader Faria, Jr. However laps would run out and Murphy would follow Faria, Jr. across the line finishing second.

"What a battle we had. I wanted to put on a great show for the folks from J&P Construction – I think we achieved that for them," he said. "The boys worked hard on this thing, and we just came up a little bit short. It was a real good race. Anytime that you're able to race like the three of us did, it not only makes it fun for us, but for all the fans too."

Tarlton Motorsports efforts are supported by: The Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino, Ridgeline Framing, Shark Racing Engines, Matt & Glass, M & S Motorsports, Sharp Insurance, McLellan Equipment, Elite Racing, BG Products, Pro Signs, VMAC, Kaeding Performance, Pro Shocks, Sander Engineering, Astro Titanium, Simpson, BR Motorsports, Willwood, and Brown & Miller Racing Solutions.

Be sure to follow Tarlton Motorsports on the web at www.tarltonandson.com