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"TK Express" wins one for grandma at the Thunderbowl
By Gary Thomas
Tulare, Ca - February 25, 2006... San Jose’s Tim Kaeding came into the World of Outlaw weekend at the Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway with a heavy heart following the passing of his grandmother last Sunday. Kaeding wanted badly to win one for his grandma and on Saturday night in front of his hometown fans, he did just that. The defending Trophy Cup champion showed once again why he is one of the finest sprint car drivers in the world with a performance that was one of the best of his career.
Kaeding started fourth on the grid in the 40 lap feature, but a mistake by pole sitter Jason Meyers in the opening corner jumbled everybody up on the high side, and Kaeding shot underneath all of them to take the lead before a lap was even completed. Lapped traffic came into play after four laps but as soon as it appeared, Craig Dollansky spun to bring out a caution. Kaeding’s car was a rocket ship and he had already gotten by a few lapped cars, but World of Outlaws rules put all lap cars to the rear of the field and it placed Fargo, ND’s Donny Schatz on Kaeding’s tail for the restart.
When racing got back underway Kaeding pulled away from the defending World of Outlaws champ, but once traffic came into play again, the action heated up. Kaeding and Schatz were nose to tail as they entered traffic and you could throw a blanket over them as they maneuvered their 410 winged sprinters through the thick and hectic lapped traffic. Schatz looked to the bottom multiple times trying to snag the lead from Kaeding, but TK fended him off every time and made several hair raising moves, splitting lapped cars. While the laps continued to click off, Friday night’s winner Joey Saldana joined the battle and made it a three car fight for the lead. The Thunderbowl Raceway track prep crew put together a great track, which had slicked off nicely in spots and made for great racing all over the speedway.
While the racing continued to be phenomenal up front between the leaders, Altoona, Iowa’s Terry McCarl was on the move from the 11th starting position and was riding the ragged edge of the Thunderbowl Raceway. McCarl was up to fourth when the yellow flag flew for Kerry Madsen who had come to a stop at the top of turn two on lap 31. The yellow gave everyone a chance to catch their breath after the intense racing that was seen during the long green flag run.
The restart saw Kaeding pull away from Schatz and all eyes were on the battle for third. McCarl attempted to pull a slide job on Saldana off of turn four but the pair touched wheels and it sent Saldana’s Open Joist No. 9 upside down. It brought out a red flag and moved McCarl up to third for the restart.
As the green waved again McCarl powered to the inside of Schatz to claim second in turn one. Schatz sliced back to the inside of T-Mac and re-claimed second immediately after, only to have McCarl take the spot back for good in turn two the next lap. Kaeding had to deal with traffic with a handful of laps left and this allowed McCarl to shorten the gap. McCarl’s Big Game Tree Stands No. 24 was wicked fast and he closed up to Kaeding’s rear bumper with a few laps left. As the pair crossed the line on lap 38 McCarl pulled a slider on Kaeding to take the lead in turn one, but he lost momentum in turn two and Kaeding shot back underneath him to re-take the lead.
The last lap was all Kaeding and he maneuvered through traffic expertly to pick up his first World of Oulaws Sprint Series win of the season. After going through the scales Kaeding roared back onto the track and executed some of his trademark donuts before sliding the Un-Sponsored Steve Kinser Racing No. 11k into victory lane. TK popped out of the car to one of the loudest roars in years at the Thunderbowl and was overcome with emotion dedicating the win to his Grandma Soap.
The win was Kaeding’s first with the World of Outlaws at the Thunderbowl. He came close in February of 2005 only to be taken out by a lapped car while leading with less than a handful of laps left in the feature. The victory also marked Kaeding’s sixth World of Outlaws Sprint Series win in California and moved him up to tenth in the WOO point standings. Some of Kaeding’s moves in traffic were jaw dropping but it’s nothing new for the California followers who have seen him grow up racing in the Golden State.
McCarl hung on for a very solid second place finish aboard the Bosma Poultry No. 24. McCarl had an overall great weekend with finishes of fifth and second, which have moved him up to second in the WOO point standings.
Schatz closed in on McCarl during the final lap but wasn’t able to make the move by and had to settle for a third place finish in the Parker Stores Racing No. 15. It was a great rebound for Schatz who had to take a provisional on Friday night and with the help of attrition finished 12th in the feature. The Saturday night run for Schatz was the fourth time in the last five World of Outlaws Sprint Series races he has finished on the podium at Thunderbowl Raceway. Schatz continues to lead the WOO standings by 25 points.
In only his second night of ever racing at the Thunderbowl, a very impressive run was had by Sioux Falls, SD’s Justin Henderson who finished fourth in the Jolt Energy Gum No. D1. It was Henderson’s best career World of Outlaws Sprint Series finish.
Rounding out the top five was Clovis’s Jason Meyers who started on the pole. Meyers slid up the track and jumped the cushion in turn one on the start in the Elite Landscaping No. 14 and fell back around mid-pack. Meyers charged forward after that to cap off a good weekend with a pair of top five finishes.
Completing the top 10 was Jac Haudenschild, Jason Solwold, Brooke Tatnell, Steve Kinser and Daryn Pittman.
Winning the B-main was Australian champ Tatnell with Chad Hillier, Randy Hannagan and Becca Anderson also transferring into the feature. The dash was picked off by Meyers who held off Schatz to pick up the pole position for the 40 lap main event.
Four 10 lap heat races were held with each providing its fair share of excitement. The opening heat was won by Kerry Madsen who held off a strong charge from Donny Schatz. The second heat saw Joey Saldana track down and pass Jonathan Allard to claim the win. Heat three saw Justin Henderson walk away from the field to take the victory. The fourth and final heat was picked off by 20 time WOO champ Steve Kinser who held off Jason Meyers and a hard charging, rim riding Jac Haudenschild.
Quick time was set by California native Paul McMahan who toured the 1/3 mile in 12.947 seconds.
Full results for both night’s can be found at http://www.worldofoutlaws.com
Next on tap for the Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway is the Golden State Challenge King of California 410 winged sprint car series, which will be at the track on March 31. Also competing will be the Western States Modifieds. For more info on Thunderbowl Raceway visit http://www.thunderbowlraceway.com |
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