Several locals expected to compete at Dave Helm MemorialBy Gary ThomasTulare, CA - October 9, 2007...Many people know that there are few areas of the country that feature local sprint car competition strong enough to give the World of Outlaw Sprint Series drivers a run for their money. The Golden State however, has certainly shown over the years to be one of them and it shouldn’t be any different when the world’s best sprint car drivers invade the Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway on Saturday night October 13 for the Dave Helm Memorial. An exciting evening of action is planned as over 30 of the best drivers in the country take to the Central California track for the final time in 2007. Each time the World of Outlaws Sprint Series has competed in California this season, the local competition from the Golden State has more than held their own. The last time the World of Outlaws Sprint Series competed at Thunderbowl Raceway it was San Jose’s Tim Kaeding who raced to victory aboard the un-sponsored Steve Kinser Racing 11k. A lack of funding forced the car to be parked, however, and Kaeding then drove a few different cars before coming back to California to compete over the last couple months of the Golden State Challenge Series season. The always exciting 29 year-old driver took over the helm of the Tom Rolfe Trucking No. 10 in late June and won in his very first weekend aboard the car, which came at the Thunderbowl Raceway on June 30. After winning five of the final six Golden State Challenge Series races of the season, Kaeding and the 10 team headed back to the Knoxville Nationals and made the main event during the Saturday night portion of the weekend. At the World of Outlaw sanctioned Gold Cup Race of Champions in early September at Chico(the most recent WOO event in California), Kaeding was forced to run the alphabet soup on Saturday night and he thrilled the crowd with a final turn pass to get the final transfer spot into the 40 lap finale. He did so after winning the C-main and charging from the 17th starting spot in the B-main during a drive that had the entire grandstand on their feet cheering with approval. In addition to his two wins at the Thunderbowl this season, Kaeding also won the Make-A-Wish Foundation Trophy Cup last November and captured the National Sprint Tour finale last October at the 1/3 mile clay oval. He also picked up an exciting win last Saturday night in Chico after coming from the 14th starting position during the Pacific Sprint Fall Nationals. It was a drive that showed true determination and was just another memorable moment in the career of the man that provides excitement whenever he signs in at the back gate. Chico’s Jonathan Allard is also a driver that’s sure to contend when the World of Outlaws invade the Thunderbowl for the final time. The ‘06 King of California made headlines recently with a solid showing against the Outlaws at the Gold Cup in Chico. After winning his preliminary night main event on opening night of the Gold Cup, Allard came back on Saturday and sat on the front row of the 40 lap finale. After falling to third early on, the 31 year-old driver worked his way back into second and then looked to have taken the lead from Joey Saldana on lap 21, only to have a red flag negate the pass. He spent the rest of the race chasing Saldana and then suffered a flat tire on the final lap which pushed him back to 10th place at the finish. Allard has been one of the top drivers on the West Coast over the last few seasons and his win on Thursday night at the Gold Cup gave him his 10th victory of the year, which made it the third straight season he has captured double digit wins for car owner Morrie Williams. Allard hasn’t won at the Thunderbowl this season, but he always runs well at the track and will be looking for a good run to avenge the Gold Cup disappointment. Another California driver who had a lot of success at the Gold Cup Race of Champions was Grass Valley’s Brad Sweet. The likable 21 year-old driver of the Gary Perkins owned GP Development No. 6 scored a very impressive third place finish during the final night of the Gold Cup and looked strong all weekend. During his prelim night at Gold Cup Sweet qualified second fastest, finished second in both his heat and the dash and brought home a third place finish in the main event. The ultra versatile driver has also spent some time this season driving a midget for legendary car owner Keith Kunz and has been fast all over the country no matter if it’s a midget or a sprint, winged or non winged. Sweet also had a strong run in August with the World of Outlaws in Cottage Grove, Oregon where he won his heat race and finished a solid eighth in the main event. Campbell’s Brent Kaeding has had a tremendous season in 2007 winning the Golden State Challenge King of California Series title, the Ocean Speedway 360 track championship and the Calistoga Speedway title. BK has also been on fire at the Thunderbowl Raceway this season having won three of the four GSC events at the track and finished third in other one aboard his Al’s Roofing Supply No. 69. He has won 16 total races this year including nine 410 victories and seven 360 sprint car wins. BK’s best World of Outlaw finish this season came during his prelim at the Gold Cup where he charged from 18th to 8th in the 30 lap feature. BK has been rumored to be running another event next weekend, so his appearance at the Thunderbowl will be a question mark. Scotts Valley’s Evan Suggs also had a good showing with the Outlaws at the Gold Cup as the first year winged sprint car driver scored fast time and finished ninth during his prelim night in the Suggs Racing No. 33e. The 20 year-old has steadily improved as the season has gone on and will be a driver to look out for next year. Salinas veteran Ronnie Day always runs well in big events at the Thunderbowl and will be a driver to watch on October 13 as he pilots the potent Ridgeline Framing No. 1. Day scored a ninth place finish against the Outlaws in February at the Thunderbowl and also tallied a top 10 when they invaded Calistoga in September for the Harvest Classic. Other locals expected will include Elk Grove’s Kyle Larson, Visalia’s Ricci Faria & Danny Faria Jr., Fresno’s Craig Stidham and more. In addition to these drivers, all of the biggest names in sprint car racing will be in competition as well including defending champ Donny Schatz, Joey Saldana, Steve Kinser, Danny Lasoski, Jac Haudenschild, Jason Meyers and more. The World of Outlaw event on October 13 will pay honor to longtime car owner Dave Helm who passed away in February. Helm campaigned a sprint car on the World of Outlaws Sprint Series tour for many years and had an extreme passion for the sport. His family will be honored on the track during the event and it will be a special night for everybody involved. Tickets are on sale now and can be acquired by calling 559-688-0909. All seating will be reserved with bleachers costing $40 and grandstands $45. Gates will open at 5 pm with racing expected to get underway around 7.The Dave Helm Memorial will be the next to last event of the 2007 racing season at Thunderbowl Raceway. The year will come to a close next month with the 14th annual Trophy Cup on November 16 & 17. This will be the third straight year that the event has been held at the Thunderbowl and will be a can’t miss two nights of action. All entry fee money from the teams for the event goes to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The early entry fee is $175 until October 15, after that it will cost $225 at the gate. All your Trophy Cup info can be found at http://www.trophycity.com/trophycup/
The Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway is located on the Tulare County Fairgrounds at the corner of Bardsley and K Streets in Tulare. Internet information at http://www.thunderbowlraceway.com
|
