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Gary Thomas
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Posted: Monday Nov 12th, 2007 06:49 PM |
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Trophy Cup on deck for Thunderbowl Raceway this weekend
By Gary Thomas
Tulare, CA - November 12, 2007...The 2007 racing season at Tulare’s Thunderbowl Raceway is coming to an end and will officially conclude this Friday and Saturday Nov 16 & 17 with the running of the 14th annual Trophy Cup for winged 360 sprint cars. All the top 360 drivers in California are set to do battle with several competitors from the 410 ranks who will be looking to get their hands on part of the $90,000 purse.
The Trophy Cup’s unique format makes for "on the edge of your seat" racing all weekend long as some sort of larger than normal invert is featured during both night’s of action. Everything leads up to the big 40 lap main event on Saturday night that inverts the entire 24 car field based on points accumulated up till that point. The driver that gains the most points for the weekend will walk out of Tulare with a guaranteed payday of $15,000. The Trophy Cup also benefits the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the organization will be presented another check on the front straightaway this Saturday night.
Last season it was San Jose’s Tim Kaeding who took home his second career Trophy Cup title and he will be looking for number three this year behind the wheel of the Tom Rolfe Trucking No. 10. "TK" is coming off a third place finish during the Dave Helm Memorial World of Outlaw event at the Thunderbowl in October and is almost always the man to beat at the 1/3 mile clay oval. The 28 year-old also recently won Northern California’s other big 360 sprint car event, the Pacific Sprint Fall Nationals in Chico. He did so by charging from the 14th position, showing that he still knows how to get it done from the back, something very important at the Trophy Cup. "TK" has had much success at the Trophy Cup over the years and in addition to his overall point wins in 2002 and last season, he finished runner-up in 2003 and won the Saturday night main event in 2005.
Kaeding’s win in the Trophy Cup last season was boosted by a terrific drive from 18th to second in the 40 lap finale, but it was just enough to beat out Clovis driver Jason Meyers who put on a outstanding charge from 22nd to fourth. Meyers drove his Primerica Financial No. 14 to within just one position of taking home his first Trophy Cup championship. The dramatic ending saw Meyers finish fifth at the checkered, however, third place finisher Ricci Faria was dq’d for being too light at the scales, which moved Meyers up to fourth in the final order. Even more amazing was the fact that Meyers finished less than a ½ a car length behind the driver running in front of him at the line, making the difference between winning 15 grand that little. It’s just one of the many things that make the Trophy Cup what it is and keeps fans flocking back year after year. Just this past month Meyers captured victory at the Short Track Nationals in Arkansas, which paid $20,000 to win. He also finished the 2007 season fifth in World of Outlaw points and will be looking to add his name to the list of Trophy Cup champions this weekend. Meyers won just this past Saturday night at Kings Speedway when he dominated the 360 sprint car portion of the Cotton Classic.
No driver has had a better last few months of racing than Indianapolis, Indiana’s Shane Stewart who will be one of the drivers to beat at the Trophy Cup. Stewart hooked up with the Oregon based Doyle’s Harley Davidson team in July and experienced success right out of the gate. The crew chief on the Doyle’s No. 1hd is talented wrench Paul Silva and he & Stewart have proven to be a deadly combination. They won seven times in just 10 starts with the Northwest Sprint Challenge Series and have picked up several big wins including the Knoxville 360 Nationals, the Fred Brownfield Memorial Challenge, the Skagit Speedway 360 Nationals and have even won a World of Outlaws event in Elma, Wash. In late October Stewart led 39 laps at the Short Track Nationals in Arkansas, only to get passed on the final lap by Meyers for the $20,000 top prize. It was reminiscent of the Fall Nationals in Chico where he was also passed on the last lap of the main event. With that said you can bet that those will only make the former World of Outlaw Rookie of the Year hungrier for a Trophy Cup title.
Another driver to look out for at the Trophy Cup would certainly be Campbell’s Brent Kaeding who took home his 13th King of California title this season and has won four Trophy Cup championships making him the winningest driver in the event. BK has had a tremendous season at the Thunderbowl winning three times in four starts, including the Chris & Brian Faria Memorial & the Pombo/Sargent Classic. The living legend won the Trophy Cup in 2005 during the first year the event was held in Tulare and he would like nothing more than to close out a great season with another Cup title.
Brownsburg, Indiana’s Joey Saldana had the best year of his career in ‘07 and will be looking for his first Trophy Cup title behind the wheel of the Harold Main owned H.A.M. Construction No. 35. "The Brownsburg Bullet" drove Kasey Kahne’s Open Joist No. 9 to 13 main event wins en route to a second place finish in the final World of Outlaw standings this season. He finished eighth in last years Trophy Cup points and will look to better that position as he puts a cap on a terrific season. One of Saldana’s biggest career wins came at this years Gold Cup Race of Champions when he took home $50,000 for winning the event held at Chico’s Silver Dollar Speedway.
Central Valley car owner Dennis Roth will field a car for Fairmont, Indiana’s Brandon Wimmer. The 21 year-old drove the Roth Motorsports No. 83 jr. to victory in the $25,000 to win Dirt Cup in June at Skagit Speedway and has had a multitude of top finishes this season. Other World of Outlaw drivers expected will include Mount Vernon, Wash’s Jason Solwold; Nashville, Ten’s Paul McMahan and San Jose’s Randy Hannagan. Solwold will be at the helm of the Rod Tiner owned No. 83 which is the car that T. Kaeding drove to victory last season at the Trophy Cup. Tiner is widely regarded as one of the best wrenches in sprint car racing and with Solwold as his driver the pair should be definite players during the weekend.
A couple former Golden State Challenge King of California’s are also expected to challenge for the Cup title this weekend. Chico’s Jonathan Allard has won 11 main events this year in the Williams Motorsports No. 0 including a prelim with WOO at the Gold Cup. Allard has never won the Trophy Cup but is a driver that can do it if he plays his cards right. Last Saturday night he won the Cotton Classic at Kings Speedway giving him momentum coming into the weekend. Salinas driver Ronnie Day won the Trophy Cup in 1994 and is coming off a stout fourth place finish in the Dave Helm Memorial at Thunderbowl Raceway. Day finished fourth in Trophy Cup points last year and is always one of the hardest chargers in Nor Cal as he competes aboard the Ridgeline Framing No. 1.
Medford, Oregon’s Roger Crockett won the NSCS title this season driving in his second stint for Vallejo based car owner Roger Henderson. Crockett has been fast from the get go this season as he and the Island Muffler & Brake No. 7n team have been one of the top combos on the West Coast in 2007. One thing that Crockett possesses is great qualifying skills and he has been the quickest qualifier an amazing 12 times this year, including once at the Thunderbowl and both night’s at Skagit’s Dirt Cup. With fast time awarding 150 points it’s always important to get the weekend started off on the right foot in a point system such as the one drivers will be dealing with. As a car owner Henderson won the Trophy Cup in 2003 with Fresno driver Steve Kent and this season Crockett appears to have his best shot yet at taking home his first Cup title.
Two-time USAC Silver Crown Series champion, Bud Kaeding of Campbell will be a top contender at the Trophy Cup aboard the Werbach Motorsports No. 20 machine. The younger of the two Kaeding brothers picked up his third career victory in the Oval Nationals a couple weekend’s back and also showed speed with the wing on at the Fall Nationals in October where he finished in fourth place. The 27 year-old has a knack for performing well in big races so it wouldn’t be a surprise for the former Hammerdown NARC Rookie of the Year to make some noise during the weekend.
Some of the top drivers in Northern California 360 sprint car racing will also be on hand looking to put their names near the front of the field. This year’s Civil War Series champion Andy Forsberg of Auburn will make his first Tulare start of the season in the A & A Motorsports No. 92. Forsberg finished third at the Pacific Sprint Fall Nationals in October and also won Coca Cola Championship night at Chico in August. Colfax’s Colby Wiesz finished runner-up in Civil War points and has been flawless during the last few events aboard the F & F Racing X1. Wiesz recently won a prelim feature during the Fall Nationals and finished in the second position during the 40 lap finale. In September he also picked up the win in the Pacific Sprint Cup Invitational during Gold Cup week in Chico.
Placerville drivers Andy Gregg & Jimmi Trulli have had some of the best moments of their career’s in 2007. Gregg has driven to four personal victories this season and finished third in both the Civil War standings and the Silver Dollar Speedway points. However, he will not be piloting his familiar Guts Racing 16x as he’ll be behind the wheel of the orange 24m normally driven by Jackson’s Matt Petty. In ‘07 Trulli picked up his first career Civil Win in June at his home track of Placerville following many years of competition. He also picked up a win during a Civil War event at the scary fast Calistoga Speedway ½ mile in August. Elk Grove’s Greg Decaires has also had a strong season. Decaires won the Placerville Speedway track title for the second year in a row and picked up the $5,000 to win Mark Forni Memorial in July at the El Dorado County Fairground track.
Northwest car owner Kevin Rudeen will be fielding two cars at the Trophy Cup, one for 18 year-old Tayler Malsam of Bellevue, Wash and one for Langley, BC’s Travis Rutz. Malsam has driven for Rudeen Racing the last couple years and is set to move to the ARCA ReMax Series in 2008. Rutz will be making his first California start since February of 2006 and will be a welcome addition to the Trophy Cup. The 19 year-old has shown in the past that he’s not afraid to stand on the loud pedal and has become one of the most exciting drivers on the West Coast. The word through the grapevine is that Rutz will be moving to Rudeen Racing for ‘08 and this will be his first start for the team.
Other names expected will be Sacramento’s Willie Croft; Fresno’s Craig Stidham; Grass Valley’s Billy Wallace; Burlington, Wash’s Brock Lemley; Sedro Woolley, Wash’s Steve Kilcup; Carruthers’ Garret Ishii and many more. Reserved tickets can be purchased by calling (559) 688-0909 and general admission tickets can be bought at the door on race night. For more details visit http://www.thunderbowlraceway.com
There will also be an auction and a free spaghetti feed during Saturday afternoon on the fairgrounds. For the Trophy Cup race format, point breakdown and the pay out log onto http://www.trophycity.com/trophycup/
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Gary Thomas
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Posted: Monday Nov 12th, 2007 06:56 PM |
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Photos courtesy Johns Racing Photos and Steve Lamothe Racing Photos
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Gary Thomas
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Posted: Tuesday Nov 13th, 2007 01:53 AM |
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From: Richard Day
'TK' is Poised to Defend Trophy Cup Title
TULARE , CA (November 12) – Tim Kaeding has been knocking on the door of a major sprint car title the last several weeks. Now he's ready to kick it wide open.
The defending and two-time Trophy Cup champion will get his chance this weekend when the nation's best 360 sprint car racers converge on Thunderbowl Raceway for the 14th Annual Trophy Cup.
Kaeding's 18th-to-second-place run in last year's "A" Feature gave him the most points in the double-feature event and entitled him to the $15,000 first prize. He also won the Trophy Cup in 2002.
"We won it last year with Rod Tiner," said Tim, who drives the #10 Tom Rolfe Trucking Maxim. "We hope we can have another good weekend there."
Despite suffering the loss of each of his grandmothers several days before World of Outlaws events at Thunderbowl Raceway this season, Kaeding made his car owners proud. "TK" raced to an emotional victory for "King of the Outlaws" Steve Kinser in the "A" Feature at Thunderbowl Raceway on February 24th, within a week following his maternal grandmother's passing. Kaeding finished third for Tom Rolfe Racing in the Dave Helm Memorial on October 13th, one day after attending his paternal grandmother's funeral.
Kaeding raced past 13 drivers, including Shane Stewart on the last lap, to win the Pacific Sprints Fall Nationals on October 6th.
"Tonight, we showed why sprint car racing is the best sport in the world," Tim said in victory lane following the 360 race at Silver Dollar Speedway.
"TK" was the runner-up in the 410 main event and the third-place finisher in the 360 "A" Feature in last Saturday's Cotton Classic at Kings Speedway.
"We have a brand new Don Ott 360 motor, and it ran really well at the Cotton Classic," Tim said. "We hope we can make it run even better next weekend at the Trophy Cup so we can get the two extra spots we need."
The Trophy Cup features a $90,000 purse, a unique points format and tough inversions that produce exciting racing throughout the weekend. The 24 drivers scoring the most points are completely inverted for Saturday's 4o-lap "A" Feature.
The Trophy Cup, which has raised more than $370,000 for the Bay Area Make A Wish Foundation, originated in Kaeding's hometown at San Jose Speedway in 1994. The event was run at the now-defunct semi-banked, 1/3-mile oval until 1999, then at Watsonville Speedway in 2000. Kings Speedway hosted the event from 2001 to 2004, and it has been run at Tulare 's high-banked, 1/3-mile oval the last two years.
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Gary Thomas
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Posted: Tuesday Nov 13th, 2007 01:55 AM |
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Bud Kaeding set for Trophy Cup assault
By Gary Thomas
Tulare, Ca - It’s been a very solid last couple weeks for Bud Kaeding and he’ll now turn his attention to the winged sprint car ranks as he competes in the 14th annual Trophy Cup at the Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, California. Bud’s last event in a winged car came in early October at Silver Dollar Speedway’s Pacific Sprint Fall Nationals. That event saw the former NARC Rookie of the Year have his best weekend of action with a wing all season as he drove the Werbach Motorsports, Los Gatos Construction Company No. 20, the same machine he’ll be wheeling at the Trophy Cup.
During his prelim at the Fall Nationals Bud qualified third fastest out of a field of 32 cars and backed it up with a sixth place finish in the 30 lap feature. He came back on Saturday and had a very strong run charging from the 10th starting spot to finish the 40 lap main event in the fourth position. This weekend’s Trophy Cup will be a good test against some of the best winged sprint car drivers in the West as well as a handful of out of state travelers that will invade the lightning fast 1/3 mile clay oval. Bud’s best finish at the Thunderbowl this year came with the Golden State Challenge Series on March 31 when he came home in the fourth spot of the 30 lap feature.
The Trophy Cup began in 1994 and has grown into one of the biggest and best 360 sprint car races in the United States. The overall purse of $90,000 for two days has one of the best pay downs of any sprint car event in California and the format is made by the fans, for the fans, which make it one of the most exciting races around. A point system is put in place during the weekend and every time a driver hits the track he’ll be looking to gain points towards the overall Trophy Cup title that awards $15,000 to win.
Saturday night’s 40 lap main event is totally inverted based on the points accumulated up till that point of the weekend and following the feature, points are added up and the Trophy Cup champion is determined. Bud will be up on the wheel trying to steer the Werbach Motorsports No. 20 to his first career Trophy Cup title. For ticket info call 559-688-0909 and for more visit http://www.thunderbowlraceway.com
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Gary Thomas
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Posted: Tuesday Nov 13th, 2007 01:57 AM |
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Jonathan Allard looks for 1st Trophy Cup title
By Gary Thomas
Tulare, CA - With momentum after winning the Cotton Classic this past Saturday night, Jonathan and Williams Motorsports will now head to the 14th annual Trophy Cup at Tulare’s Thunderbowl Raceway to put a cap on the 2007 season.
Jonathan has never won the Trophy Cup but has been right there in the thick of things during the last couple seasons. Last year he qualified third fastest on opening night and was in the top five of points at the end of the evening. On Saturday he charged from eighth to third in his heat race and was moving forward in the feature before he became one of multiple victims of the turn one hole as he got upside down to put an end to the night.
In 2005 Jonathan finished third in overall Trophy Cup points despite suffering dnf’s in both the Friday main event and Saturday’s heat race. He and the Williams Motorsports team will look to finish off the season strong and take home the $15,000 top prize at the 14th annual Trophy Cup this Friday and Saturday.
The Trophy Cup will go green on Friday night November 16 with the front gate opening at 5 pm and tickets costing $22 for general admission bleachers & $24 for reserved grandstands. The event will conclude on Saturday Nov 17 and tickets are $24 for general admission bleachers and $26 for reserved grandstands.
Visit http://www.thunderbowlraceway.com to view a seating chart and then call (559) 688-0909 to reserve your tickets. Tickets will also be available at the gate.
The Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway is located on the Tulare County Fairgrounds at the corner of Bardsley and K Streets in Tulare.
Last edited on Tuesday Nov 13th, 2007 01:58 AM by Gary Thomas
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Gary Thomas
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Posted: Wednesday Nov 14th, 2007 06:11 PM |
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Trophy Cup Means Point Battle
by Ron Rodda
When the pits at the Tulare Thunderbowl fill this Friday for the opening night of the 14th Annual Trophy Cup, every team will know that earning more points results in a larger check at the event’s conclusion. If a driver is in any position other than first in a given event, more points are available by passing another car. There is no sitting in a transfer spot, content with that position, because one more pass might provide the points to become champion on Saturday night.
Qualifying is important, but being at the top is not necessary, just within shouting distance. With a one-point drop per spot, Tim Kaeding’s 20th fast effort last year left him only 19 points behind fast timer, Blake Robertson. Kaeding made up those points and more to become the champion of the 2006 version by 3 points over Jason Meyers.
Just how close the finish was for the title? About three feet is the answer, and it was Joey Magaruh that played a huge role in the outcome. When Magaruh held off Meyers for the 3rd finishing spot by that tiny margin, Tim Kaeding became the champion. Had Meyers been able to get past Magaruh, he would have earned 5 more points, enough to win the title by two points.
Very close point battles are the norm for the Trophy Cup and Tulare has been the site of two superb Cup events. In 2005, Thunderbowl staff stepped forward to take over hosting the event in a relatively late venue change, and the result was one of the more remarkable Cup battles. Mike Faria and Brent Kaeding were tied at the top of the point charts entering the 2nd days 40 lap main. As a result, they shared the 12th row of the fully inverted main.
Racing each other the entire distance, it was unique in that a two-driver battle was raging for 40 laps and whoever finished ahead of the other man would be champion. Brent made a series of late race passes to finish 4th compared to Mike’s 6th to win the title. The point lead changed hands more times in 40 laps than any previous year.
What will 2007 bring? You can count on a full field of very talented drivers, two days of intense competition, and the wonderful completely inverted main event on Saturday. Whoever comes from the back of the pack with the best drive will stand on the Thunderbowl’s front stretch to claim the huge trophy and honors.
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