Tulare Thunderbowl kicks off '09 season with World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series
By Gary Thomas
Tulare, California – March 17, 2009…The sound of racing engines will roar back to life at the Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway this weekend as the 2009 season will be kicked off in style with a double-header weekend featuring the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series on the always exciting 1/3 mile clay oval.
The event this weekend will mark the only occasion that the "Greatest Show on Dirt" will be in action at the Thunderbowl Raceway this season and if past events are any indicator, you certainly will not want to miss your only opportunity of the year to catch the World of Outlaws at the Tulare County Fairgrounds facility.
Heading the entry list will be current World of Outlaw point leader & three-time defending series champion Donny Schatz of Fargo, ND. The 31 year-old driver of the Tony Stewart Racing, Armor All No. 15 is off to another strong start this season. He will however, be looking to rebound after a tough Mini Gold Cup last weekend where his best finish over the two night show was 10th, which is very uncharacteristic for Schatz, who routinely runs near the front of the field. Schatz captured a main event victory at the Thunderbowl in October 2007 and also won a prelim feature in '05. Last season also saw him become just the second driver to win the Knoxville Nationals three consecutive times.
Coming into the weekend sitting second in points is none other than 20-time World of Outlaws champion Steve Kinser, who won the very first WOO event at the Thunderbowl in 2003 and has closed the gap to just 16 points between himself and Schatz for the series lead. "The King" scored a pair of top five finishes last weekend in Chico and has shown that he'll certainly be a threat for the title this season driving the familiar Quaker State No. 11 machine. In addition to his victory in '03, Kinser also swept the two-night National Sprint Tour event in Feb of '06 and was also leading a pair of other main events on two separate occasions at the Thunderbowl, when a blown tire and a blown engine took him out of contention.
After winning the Mini Gold Cup last weekend, Clovis, CA native Jason Meyers comes into his home track sitting third in points aboard the GLR Investments, Elite Racing No. 14 sprinter. Meyers has long been one of the top drivers whenever he competes at the Thunderbowl, but the locally based driver is still looking for his first career World of Outlaw win at the 1/3 mile speed-plant. His biggest career victory at the track came in November 2007 when he captured $15,000 as the winner of the annual Trophy Cup. Meyers is also coming off a career best season that saw him finish runner-up in the World of Outlaws point standings.
Brownsburg, Indiana's Joey Saldana, last Friday night's winner at the Mini Gold Cup, will be looking to gain ground in the standings from his current sixth place ranking. The driver of the Kasey Kahne Racing, Budweiser No. 9 made the switch back to Maxim Chassis in the off-season and comes into this weekend with two victories on the year. Saldana picked up a World of Outlaw victory in February of '07 at the Thunderbowl and also won a prelim feature at the Trophy Cup that same year.
Saldana's Kasey Kahne Racing teammate Craig Dollansky of Elk River, MN sits just behind him in the seventh position in the point standings and is still searching for his first victory of the season with his new team. The driver of the Direct TV No. 19 led a number of laps in the main event last Friday only to have Saldana pass him for the lead in traffic on the 26th circuit.
Germantown, TN's Sammy Swindell will bring the California based Tom Rolfe Trucking No. 10 into the weekend sitting eighth in the World of Outlaw point standings. The three-time WOO champ was very strong last weekend, but neither night ended with finishes indicative of just how fast he was. Swindell scored a World of Outlaw main event victory at the Thunderbowl in October of '05 and finished runner-up at the Trophy Cup last season.
Last October's World of Outlaw main event winner at the Thunderbowl was Jac Haudenschild of Wooster, Ohio who will be looking to gain ground in standings as he comes into the weekend 12th in points. Haud is coming off a strong season in the Carnahan Motorsports No. R19 and is always worth the price of admission when he is on hand in Tulare.
San Jose's Tim Kaeding is always a threat for victory at the 1/3 mile clay oval and is expected to be strong this weekend driving the Central Valley based Roth Motorsports, DTR Transport No. 83. "TK" won a Golden State Challenge Series feature last April at the Thunderbowl and also had a spirited charge through the pack during the WOO event in October until looping the car in turn four. The 30 year-old driver was the winner of the Trophy Cup in '06 and also picked up a World of Outlaw main event win at the track in February of '07.
Two-time defending King of California Jonathan Allard will be looking to score one for the locals this weekend aboard the Oakhurst, CA based Williams Motorsports No. 0 sprinter. Allard finished 10th at last weekend's Mini Gold Cup and was very strong during much of the weekend. The Chico native finished eighth in the WOO event at the Thunderbowl last October and will be looking to run near the front of the pack this Friday & Saturday.
Los Angeles, CA's Tyler Walker always runs strong at the Thunderbowl Raceway and is definitely a driver to keep watch on this weekend as he competes in the NMI Industrial Contractors No. 24. Last season T-Dub scored a victory and two-runner-ups in four Golden State Challenge Series starts at the track and also captured the first two prelim main events at the Trophy Cup in October. Walker is coming off a season that also saw him finish runner-up in the GSC standings.
Other drivers expected to compete this weekend include Danny "The Dude" Lasoski, Jason Sides, Kraig Kinser, Terry McCarl, Wayne Johnson, Kerry Madsen, Chad Kemenah, Lucas Wolfe, Randy Hannagan, Sam Hafertepe Jr, Brian Ellenberger, Kyle Hirst, Tommy Tarlton, Evan Suggs and many more.The front gate will open at 5pm both nights with racing expected to get underway around 7pm each night. Tickets will be on sale at the track by cash only starting at 1pm on Friday and 10:30am on Saturday. The Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway is located on the
Tulare County Fairgrounds at the corner of Bardsley and K
Streets in Tulare, California. For more info log onto http://www.thunderbowlraceway.com or contact (559) 688-0909
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