Forum: Northern California Sprint Car (go)
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Confident Carlile Team Overpowers Bandit Field at Kings, July 18^th 2008 by Peter the Pretty Good

Confidence cannot be overstated in just about any endeavor. No place is confidence more important that our world of sprint car racing. That isn't over confidence or cockiness. It isn't swagger either. It is the faith in what one has and possesses in the ability to attain the desired end (win). Every driver must have a ton of confidence to be successful, especially with the fields faced this year, both with the Bandit Series as well as the Grand Slam Challenge Series. Just flat out damn great drivers show up like magic on any given Saturday night with the Bandit series ready to mix it up with the best. The faces may vary a bit but consistently there is the faithful joined by a band of challengers to make each event a great one.

After the inversion draw for the main event was announced and Rusty Carlile drew the pole position, Carlile crew chief John Goldman commented " we need this one (win) to get our morale back up". They got their moral back in a big way! The always upbeat Carlile team of Rusty, John and Brother Randy Carlile has worked as hard as anybody and is back. After a devastating, car demolishing, morale busting flip back in April, results and top finishes have been inconsistent for this dedicated team. Rebuilding the red 51 allowed the team to compete but the ride just was not the same. Purchasing and building a new iTi Performance Bullet Chassis with the beautiful new green paint theme, the luck of the Irish blended with a great effort put the "go" back in the 51. Carlile was simply too fast to catch for the entire 30 lap feature event on the smooth, dusty and slick 3/8 mile oval. And the famous Carlile grin was ear to ear in victory lane as he was greeted with hugs and hand-shakes and lot's of well earned back-slapping fun by crew, family and congratulations by many friends.

Carlile demonstrated his quick reaction as he was coming up on lapped traffic with the presence of Peter Murphy pressuring on his tail. A lapped car spun right in front while the heady Carlile kept the car straight and undamaged as he came within a whisker of night ending contact. Murphy was hot on Carlile's tail all night and on every restart Carlile was aware but never intimidated by the dominating black Tarlton 21's presence. Every time drawing several length leads and negotiating lapped traffic masterfully. As hard as Murphy charged he did not have an answer to the Carlile puzzle. The area 51 team had the car prepared perfectly and the driver drove flawlessly- moral is high and confidence is full.

The brothers VanderWeerd got some serious mojo from Sister Jenna who had the honor of waving the green flag for the 30 lap race. Jace finished a well earned 3^rd after starting ninth right behind brother Richard who finished 4^th after starting on the inside of the fourth row. Tenth starting Justyne Hamblin smoothly and quietly picked her way through traffic and made a characteristic strong charge at the end to round out the top five. Fast timer Jeff Gardner dropped a few spots as his set up was a tick off but had a good 6^th place result while Albert Pombo fought a tight race car to a frustrating 7^th place end. Rookie T.J. Smith returned to the Bandit Series with his own ride and ran a nice race to finish on the tail of his former McCowan ride. Rookie Tyler Schmidt had another very impressive run on his way to an 9^th place finish even though he caused a yellow as he spun while in close contest on the 26^th of the 30 lap event. Hanford native Jonathon Logan had a great top five run suddenly go away as the handling disappeared and he had to cowboy up and manhandle the red 32 to a very disappointing 10^th place final position.

Resurgent Taft driver Jayson May drove a stellar race after starting 16^th and passing his way forward into 4^th place and threatening for 3^rd before a light fuel load and pick-up problems dropped him to 11^th place at the finish on the last lap. The final top finishing spots were adjusted as an error with the automated scoring system was corrected post race. The 49 Schmidt car was scored a lap down during the final caution but was in fact on the lead lap and correct placement was made in the final standings by Kings chief score keeper Candy Contente's great manual scoring.

The field as a whole did another great job of racing with so many wrecks that almost happened in the course of battle but talent and ability shone through. The drivers raced hard while keeping all the wheels on the surface. In fact as the line went lower and lower on the slick surface the dust level went markedly higher to the point where vision was a challenging proposition throughout the feature. The 100 degree weather took its toll on track prep but the surface was racey and for the most part rut-less. Racers doing what they do found their fastest way around the big track- and at times looked like the old tried and true dirt bike riding tactic of foot dragging to block out the vision behind. Although this wasn't the case it was reminiscent of the ye old tactic.

SPINTECH heat race 1 saw Justyne Hamblin drive smoothly to the lead as she benefited from pole sitter Josh Davis' dropping out of the event with mechanical woes. The sophomore sprint car driver drove away from the field as Rusty Carlile comfortably settled in behind the Tachi Palace 8 car for the pass to the feature. Richard VanderWeerd, Gardner and smiling Jared Little for the transfers to the main. Adam Frith-Smith and new rookie Geoffrey G-Man Strole in Ray Knights 9K followed behind.

STAINLESS STEEL STORAGE SOLUTIONS heat race 2 was action packed as Jonathon Logan was caught up in traffic before moving to the down low a blasting by three cars on the front straight in a daring move to run away with the heat race. He was followed by Murphy who deftly picked off cars from his sixth place start to finish 2^nd beating out a smoky Gutierrez, Smith and Kevin Barnes. Jayson May and Davey Knott trailed even though Jayson spun and continued and ran down the field in spectacular form.

The EXTREME MUFFLERS 3^rd heat was a crowd pleaser. The race looked to be firmly in the hands of rookie Tyler Schmidt until a late race caution erased a long lead and put Davey Pombo right behind him. As the race restarted the Bandit master tailed young Tyler like a true predator he pulled the slider and shut the door in turns 3 and 4 to steal away the rookie's first Bandito heat win. Behind the dynamic duo was Cousin Albert in the McCowan racer, Jace VanderWeerd and Tricky Ricky Kirkbride making the cut. Matt Day followed the bunch home while Quick Rick Eberhardt sat the last two laps out.

Fast time went to the speedy and able Jeff Gardner with a blazing 15.582 narrowly besting Peter Murphy's effort by a scant 11 thousands of a second.

My concluding observations and notes…

Davey Pombo's luck has been horrible of late. After a disastrous race last race where mechanical gremlins killed the week-end at Santa Maria. The Iturriria-Pombo team had the 27 singing at full song on the Kings oval. After a strong qualifying run and a heat race victory the team was prepared for the feature. Opening lap contact broke a suspension component and the team was caught in the pits on the restart. After returning two laps down on a subsequent restart- the effort ended as he was making his way through the field and got collected up in an accident with another car just a few laps later. The end result was two races in a row that was credited for last position. Look for this team to shake off the bad luck and turn their fortunes around soon. You can't keep good men down too long.

Again Murphy lost a battle but gained mightily in the war in his runner-up finish stretching his huge series point advantage both with the Bandit Series and Bandits at Kings track points. There has never been such a consistent and dominating season as has been in this 14^th Bandit season. So far the Tarlton and Son/Tachi Palace team has earned unprecedented success. For fans- it is an awesome spectacle to witness simply from it is historic and record setting perspective. For competitors- it is a big feather in the cap to top this team and a barometer by which to measure ones own talent. That is because although every one wants to beat Murphy with every ounce of their being, he is a very clean driver although he is a charger. He is no "stroker" cruising to victory in a fast car. He drives his mount to the extent of its limits and relies upon his and his teams vast talents. He is impossible to dislike too. That is the most confounding part. He doesn't wreck his mates, he doesn't collect enemies like trophies, we all too often see this in other similarly intense drivers and to boot he has a great way about him. He is a rare force the likes of which I have never seen to this degree.

I was graced to be a part of a team that had a pilot with similar qualities. Even in his remarkable domination it was not to this degree although its place in local lore is cemented and personal virtues are just as admirable. So it is my base of comparison. Five years with the team- four consecutive championships including eight straight feature wins still confound me. The other two seasons full seasons he competed he finished 2^nd in the final standings which represent remarkable consistency. What makes me wonder is how this driver isn't in a ride too (I can say that about several guys though), but maybe in the future…

I also would like to point out that the emergence of car owners bringing on drivers is a great collaborative direction. Tom Tarlton, Dennis McCowen, John Iturriria, Mr. Stiles, and Ray Knight are among the car owners providing a platform for drivers that everyone is benefiting from. I hope this trend grows in this series to allow more participation- one does not have to drive to derive pleasure from direct involvement with our sport- at any budgetary level. Diversity in resources does not correlate level of fun or success.

The aura surrounding this series and this season has been remarkably positive. That is by a combination of forces in my opinion. We with the Bandit Series are working with the venues to do the best we can for the fans and teams that is sure. But it is much more than that. Each and every team competing in this series has been a breath of fresh air. Through each and every race we have veterans and rookies happy to be racing. That is a rookie crop that is unprecedented in ability, experience and number. A group of veterans that have resumes representing a very diverse background and including eight different sprint car champions. Wow. When ever there is something to work on or work out there is a very cooperative relationship with the teams and this series. I have never been around that either- it is amazing. A great deal of credit goes to each and every team in the series, great and small. It is in their attitudes that this season has been and is so remarkably successful. Thank-you.

BANDIT SPRINT CAR SERIES Results – Kings SpeedwayJuly 19^th 2008

(22 Great Teams entered)

Qualifying: Fast-timer= 51T Jeff Gardner, Fresno, 15.582; 21 Peter Murphy, Clovis, 15.593; 11 "Fast Albert" Pombo, Fresno, 15.687; 51 Rusty Carlile, Bakersfield 15.728; 32 Jonathon Logan, Hanford, 15.737; 27 Davey Pombo, Kerman, 15.780; 10 Richard VanderWeerd, Visalia, 15.822; oo7 Wes Gutierrez, Gilroy, 15.939; 88V Jace VanderWeerd, Visalia, 16.042; 8 Justine Hamblin, Tulare, 16.052; 8M Jayson May, Taft, 16.108; 87 Ricky Kirkbride, Bakersfield, 16.335; 62 Adam Frith-Smith, Fresno, 16.347; 36B Kevin Barnes, Fresno, 16.392; 49 Tyler Schmidt, Hollister, 16.425; 98D Josh Davis, Atascadero, 16.639; 14 T.J. Smith, Visalia, 16.690; 4 Rick Eberhardt, Livermore, 16.754; 25 Jared Little, Hanford, 16.767; 28 Davey Knott, Fresno, 16.866; 97 Matt Day, Bakersfield, 17.03; 9K Geoffrey Strole, Avenal, 18.157

SPINTECH Heat 1: Justyne Hamblin; Carlile; R. VanderWeerd; Gardner; Little; Strole; Frith-Smith; Strole

STAINLESS STEEL STORAGE SOLUTIONS Heat 2: Jonathon Logan; Murphy; Gutierrez; Smith; Barnes; May; Knott

EXTREME MUFFLERS Heat 3: Davey Pombo; Schmidt; A. Pombo; J. VanderWeerd; Kirkbride; Day; Eberhardt

BANDIT SERIES "A" FEATURE: Rusty Carlile; Murphy; J. VanderWeerd; R. VanderWeerd; Hamblin; Gardener; A. Pombo; Smith; Schmidt; Logan; May; Barnes; Knott; Day; Strole; Little; Kirkbride; Gutierrez; Eberhardt; Frith-Smith; D. Pombo Davis (DNS)

BR MOTORSPORTS: Rookie of The Race: Jace "the Answer" VanderWeerd

iTi PERFORMANCE AWARD: Rusty Carlile

VMAC Award: Peter Murphy