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Allard passes Murphy to win Dirt Cup Friday main
Andrew Kunas
ALGER, Wash. - For the second straight year, Jonathan Allard is the Friday night preliminary feature winner in the Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup presented by Van’s Equipment.
With Peter Murphy leading with just a few laps remaining, the Australian-born star made an uncharacteristic mistake and got squirrelly coming out of Turn 2, and the two-time Dirt Cup champion Allard closed in and made the pass in Turns 3 and 4 with less than two laps left to score the victory after starting third.
Allard, out of Chico, Calif. and the two-time and defending Golden State Challenge series champion, has earned a front row starting position in Saturday’s A-Scramble as he looks to score his third Dirt Cup victory, which would put him in elite company. As he has for a number of years now, Allard was again piloting the Morrie Williams No. 0 Kistler-powered Maxim.
Murphy, visiting from his current home in California to drive the Anderson/Curtis No. 18m Shark-powered Rocket, lost two more spots on the last lap to finish fourth. San Jose, Calif. star Tim Kaeding finished second in the Dennis Roth No. 83 Kistler-powered KPC after starting in the eighth position. His finish came one night after not finishing Thursday’s feature when his driveshaft came undone.
Jared Ridge of Snohomish, Wash. did not make Thursday’s preliminary feature, but found himself on the front row of Friday’s feature. Ridge took the lead from pole sitter Jason Solwold on the start and led the first 19 laps before Murphy got him as they entered traffic on the 20th circuit. Ridge was later passed by both Allard and Kaeding but got third place back on the final lap in the No. 12 Belgum-powered JEI. Travis Rutz of Langley, British Columbia bounced back from a bad Thursday night and finished fifth in the Rudeen Racing No. 26 Shaver-powered Maxim. His effort was good enough to make the 16th and final driver locked into Saturday’s Dirt Cup Race of Champions.
Tyler Walker of Los Angeles entered the evening as the Dirt Cup points leader after winning Thursday‘s preliminary feature. He set fast time but had to start at the back of the heat race with electrical issues. Failing to transfer, he was forced to start on the pole of the B-Main, which he won. Coming from the 16th starting position, Walker drove his way forward to a sixth place finish in the SC Motorsports No. 24 Shark-powered JEI. With his run, Walker earned an unreal 1,100 points over two nights to secure the pole in the A-Scramble event. Walker is seeking his first Dirt Cup victory.
Another big run came courtesy of Medford, Ore.’s Roger Crockett, who came out of the B-Main, started 20th and finished eighth in the SKS Motorsports No. 11 Shaver-powered KPC. Bud Kaeding, Tim’s brother, finished ninth in his own No. 29 Shaver-powered Maxim. Another strong run came from three-time Dirt Cup champion Brent Kaeding, Tim and Bud’s father, who also came out of the B-Main and rounded out the Top 10 after starting 21st in his own No. 69 Shaver-powered Maxim. Kaeding, out of Campbell, Calif. had an unusually poor showing on Thursday, missing the preliminary feature.
Defending Dirt Cup champion Jayme Barnes finished in 13th with Skagit Speedway 410 sprint car points Jesse Whitney following him in 14th. Pole sitter Jason Solwold was running in the Top 10 when problems with his car forced him to park it. He was scored 19th. Former Dirt Cup champion Shane Stewart of Bixby, Oklahoma was involved in a multi-car accident on Lap 13 incident that involved several cars on the front stretch and was scored 21st.
The top six cars locked into Saturday’s A-Scramble are Walker, Allard, Murphy, Barnes, Tommy Tarlton and Crockett. The finish of that event will determine the first six starting positions in Saturday’s 40-lap Dirt Cup Race of Champions, which will pay $25,000 to win.
Walker’s victory in the 20-lap B-Main event came over Rick Fauver, Chad Hillier, Brock Lemley, Crockett, Brent Kaeding and Whitney, who earned the last transfer spot to the A-Main. Danielle Huson, who entered the night tied for tenth in the Dirt Cup point standings, had a tough Friday night. A slow qualifying effort put her far back in her heat race. She raced her way to a fourth place finish but missed the transfer to the A-main by one spot. Huson started on the pole of the 15-lap C-Main and won it, taking Eric Fisher and Nick Engberg with her to the B-Main.
Huson is one of the six drivers scheduled to take part in the B-Scramble, which sets the first three rows of Saturday’s B-Main, which will transfer eight cars to the Dirt Cup Race of Champions. The other five are Barry Martinez, Ridge, Marc Dupperon, Brent Kaeding and Jeff Hodgson.
Heat race victories went to Skagit newcomer Kyle Larson, Bud Kaeding, Rutz, Barnes and Tim Kaeding.
Walker paced the 41-car field in qualifying with time of 11.312 seconds around the 3/10-mile high-banked clay oval. Walker became Jonathan Allard’s opponent for Saturday’s Industrial Resources & Follman Agency Qualifying Challenge. Each driver will take a number of laps around the track on Saturday, and whoever turns in the fastest lap will earn $1,000.
Saturday’s program, featuring the Qualifying Challenge, scrambles and main events, will also include an appearance by the Ford Focus midgets. Allison Journey won a Ford Focus midget race at Skagit Speedway last August. Saturday’s events will cap the 38th edition of Skagit Speedway’s crown jewel event. More information on Skagit Speedway can be found online at http://www.skagitspeedway.com.
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Night 2 - 2009 Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup presented by Van’s Equipment
Skagit Speedway - Alger, WA
June 19, 2009
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS
41 cars
Fast qualifier: 24 Tyler Walker, 11.312 seconds.
Heat 1 (8 laps): 1. 83v Kyle Larson, 2. 94 Zach Zimmerly, 3. 12 Jared Ridge, 4. F1 Rick Fauver, 5. 40 Brock Lemley, 6. 24 Tyler Walker, 7. 98m Mitch Olson, 8. 4e Nick Engberg, 9. 18 Steve Kilcup. First three finishers transfer to A-Main.
Heat 2 (8 laps): 1. 29 Bud Kaeding, 2. V8 Jeff Hodgson, 3. 11d Marc Dupperon, 4. FK1 Glenn Borden Jr., 5. 88 Jesse Whitney, 6. 7N Chadd Noland, 7. 59 Eric Fisher, 8. 4x Toni Lutar. First three finishers transfer to A-Main.
Heat 3 (8 laps): 1. 26 Travis Rutz, 2. 21 Tommy Tarlton, 3. 73 Jason Solwold, 4. 73h Danielle Huson, 5. 38 Chad Hillier, 6. 75 Kevin Smith, 7. 81 Kelleigh Johnson, 8. 5x Colton Heath. First three finishers transfer to A-Main.
Heat 4 (8 laps): 1. 33b Jayme Barnes, 2. 6 Kyle Hirst, 3. 18m Peter Murphy, 4. 66 Barry Martinez, 5. 35a Wayne Johnson, 6. 7s Cory Chamberlain, 7. 7b Brent Bjork, 8. 23 Steve Parker. First three finishers transfer to A-Main.
Heat 5 (8 laps): 1. 83 Tim Kaeding, 2. 7k Shane Stewart, 3. 0 Jonathan Allard, 4. 11 Roger Crockett, 5. 69 Brent Kaeding, 6. 57c Chris Schmelzle, 7. 25c Chad Groves, 8. 20 Ryan Benoit. First three finishers transfer to A-Main.
C-Main (15 laps): 1. 73h Danielle Huson, 2. 59 Eric Fisher, 3. 4e Nick Engberg, 4. 7b Brent Bjork, 5. 83 Kelleigh Johnson, 6. 25c Chad Groves, 7. 20 Ryan Benoit, 8. FK1 Glenn Borden Jr, DNS - 18 Steve Kilcup, 23 Steve Parker. First two finishers transfer to B-Main. Nick Engberg also transfer due to scratch from B-Main field.
B-Main (20 laps): 1. 24 Tyler Walker, 2. F1 Rick Fauver, 3. 38 Chad Hillier, 4. 40 Brock Lemley, 5. 11 Roger Crockett, 6. 69 Brent Kaeding, 7. 88 Jesse Whitney, 8. 35a Wayne Johnson, 9. 66 Barry Martinez, 10. 7s Cory Chamberlain, 11. 4x Toni Lutar, 12. 7N Chadd Noland, 13. 59 Eric Fisher, 14. 75 Kevin Smith, 15. 73h Danielle Huson, 16. 4e Nick Engberg, 17. 57c Chris Schmelzle, 18. 98m Mitch Olson. First seven finishers transfer to A-Main.
A-Main (30 laps): 1. 0 Jonathan Allard, 2. 83 Tim Kaeding, 3. 12 Jared Ridge, 4. 18m Peter Murphy, 5. 26 Travis Rutz, 6. 24 Tyler Walker, 7. 21 Tommy Tarlton, 8. 11 Roger Crockett, 9. 29 Bud Kaeding, 10. 69 Brent Kaeding, 11. 83v Kyle Larson, 12. F1 Rick Fauver, 13. 33b Jayme Barnes, 14. 88 Jesse Whitney, 15. 6 Kyle Hirst, 16. V8 Jeff Hodgson, 17. 38 Chad Hillier, 18. 40 Brock Lemley, 19. 73 Chad Hillier, 20. 94 Zach Zimmerly, 21. 7k Shane Stewart, 22. 11d Marc Dupperon.
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Skagit Speedway - Alger, WA
http://www.skagitspeedway.com
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