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(Photo courtesy L&J Photography)
Tommy Tarlton Clinches GLR Investments Series Championship
By Gary Costa
Watsonville, CA – (October 16, 2009) – Tommy Tarlton clinched the GLR Investments Sprint Car Series championship last Friday night at Ocean Speedway. He drove the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino, Tarlton & Son, Inc. Maxim to a fifth place finish in the 30-lap feature finale. Tarlton carried a slim five point lead over Brent Kaeding heading into the season finale. Tarlton drove hard when he needed to and was patient when times required it to bring home a series championship that he and the Tarlton Motorsports crew had their sights set on from the beginning of the season.
"I would like to have performed a little bit better, but we'll take it," said Tarlton. "We worked hard all year for this championship. Winning the championship was one of our goals, and we've achieved it – I'm very proud of everyone."
Tarlton had a rough start at the beginning of the season, but quickly began to string solid finishes together, and garnered four wins, which began to propel the Easton shoe to the top of the point standings. Tarlton would then become locked in a battle with the 13-time "King of California" champion, Brent Kaeding.
"These guys are tough out here. You have to be on your toes in every race," he said. "We started out kind of rough, but I settled down, and Paul Baines and the guys got this Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino No. 21 going."
Tarlton's championship run would begin with an 11.798 qualifying lap which would be good enough for sixth fastest out of the 21 cars that tripped the clock. Second place point man, Kaeding would put the heat on Tarlton as he would transfer through his heat race, but Tarlton came right back, and would charge from his third starting spot and win his heat race going away. Tarlton would earn six valuable points for winning his race.
"I knew no matter where Brent was going to start; I had my work cut out for me. I knew I had to finish well in the heat race and accumulate as many points as I could before the feature," Tarlton explained. "I had in my mind that I was going to go all-out, no matter what."
"BK" would start 12th, and Tarlton would start sixth in the climactic feature. When the green flag flew, Tarlton would immediately put himself in a safe position. However, Kaeding was charging from mid-pack, trying to chase down Tarlton. Tarlton eventually crossed the finish line in fifth and Kaeding in seventh. Tarlton had accumulated enough points for his first GLR Investments championship, clinching the title over Kaeding by a final tally of 12 points.
"It's been a great season. I've had my family with me, and I'm just having so much fun. The racing is so competitive out here. It's an honor to win this championship, and it's something that I will savor for years to come. I couldn't do it without my guys and my sponsors. I also need to thank my wife – she's so supportive of everything that I choose to do. I need to also thank all of my loyal supporters and fans – you guys are great!"
Tommy Tarlton will look to carry his momentum into this weeks Trophy Cup held at the Tulare Thunderbowl. Tarlton was the 2000 Trophy Cup points champion when he raced from his 16th starting spot to finish second in the final night of action at the now named Ocean Speedway.
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
Tommy Tarlton's charge to the 2009 GLR Investments Series championship
April 3 – 19th
April 17 – 8th
May 8 – 5th
May 15 – WIN
June 5 – 7th
June 26 – WIN
July 17 – 2nd
July 31 – 3rd
August 14 – WIN
August 29 – WIN
September 25 – 5th
October 9 – 4th
October 16 – 5th
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