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Thunderbowl Raceway hosts Pombo/Sargent Classic this Saturday
By Gary Thomas
Tulare, CA – June 24, 2008…For many years fans in Northern California have enjoyed paying honor to racing legends Al Pombo and Marshall Sargent as the weather turned sweltering hot in the Central Valley. Last season the event was held in late April and after a year’s absence from a summer date, the annual Pombo/Sargent Classic is back to tradition and will be held this Saturday night June 28.
The exciting night of action will feature the 410 winged sprint cars of the Golden State Challenge Series as well as the Western States Modifieds association in competition on the 1/3 mile clay oval. It will also mark the final point race for the Western States Modifieds and the main event will pay a nice $1,500 to win.
The Pombo/Sargent Classic has been going on for over 20 years and it honors the California racing icons Al Pombo and Marshall Sargent. It originally started at nearby Kings Speedway in Hanford, before moving to the Thunderbowl in 2006. An interesting facet about the Pombo/Sargent Classic is the fact that the event was created while both legends were still alive. Marshall Sargent has since passed, but Al Pombo is still going strong and is seen at the majority of the Thunderbowl Raceway events at his booth below the main grandstands.
Pombo began his career in the 1940’s and is credited with more than 500 main event victories, including multiple wins in the Gold Cup at Capital Speedway, the same event which is now held at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico. He also won five San Jose Speedway titles, seven NASCAR super-modified championships, nine titles at Kearney Bowl and six at Clovis Speedway.
Early in Sargent’s career he won a pair of San Jose titles, which included two wins in the Johnny Key Memorial, and also won the Australian championship in 1964. A pair of crashes unfortunately cut his career short and he enjoyed retirement until his passing in 1990. His legend and memory is kept alive each year as part the Pombo/Sargent Classic and on Saturday night we’ll once again pay homage to a pair of legends who helped set the foundation for the sport.
Leading the way for the Golden State Challenge Series will be former King of California and current point leader Jonathan Allard of Chico. The 31 year-old driver goes into the Pombo/Sargent Classic holding a 51 point lead in the GSC standings with just seven races left before the season ends next month. Allard has just one GSC victory so far this season, but has used a strong amount of consistency to put himself out front of the series standings. In 15 races he has finished outside the top 10 on just one occasion and is on pace to become just the third driver to win multiple King of California titles.
The most recent winner at the Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway was Los Angeles driver Tyler Walker who goes into the Pombo/Sargent Classic sitting second in GSC points and will look to cut into Allard’s lead. Walker comes into Tulare after challenging for the win at last weekend’s Jim Raper Memorial Dirt Cup, before being taken out by a lapped car midway through the race. The exciting driver jumped into the lead last Saturday night and proceeded to have a thrilling battle through traffic with eventual winner Jayme Barnes, until a car bounced off the wall and left him with nowhere to go, resulting in Walker contacting the car and coming to a stop while running second. He has been a show in himself at the Thunderbowl this season however, and will be one to watch this Saturday.
Two-time and defending Pombo/Sargent Classic champion Brent Kaeding of Campbell will go into this weekend looking to break into the winners circle for the first time in 2008. “BK” is also the man who holds onto the most Pombo/Sargent Classic victories as he’s won the event a number of times in his storied career. He’s been very consistent over the last couple months, but just hasn’t been able to crack victory lane thus far.
Cambell’s Bud Kaeding is a two-time Pombo/Sargent Classic champion in his own right and comes into this year’s running sitting third in the Golden State Challenge Series point standings. The 28 year-old has scored one win this season and is coming off a fifth place finish during the last Thunderbowl GSC event. Easton’s Tommy Tarlton is also another two-time Pombo/Sargent Classic champion and goes into this weekend as a legitimate contender as he’s had his best season in a few years. The veteran driver scored a season best fourth place finish when the Golden State Challenge Series competed in Tulare on April 26.
Other possible Golden State Challenge Series drivers in competition at the Pombo/Sargent Classic will include Sacramento’s Mike Henry, Scotts Valley’s Evan Suggs, Los Gatos’ Jason Statler, Fresno’s Craig Stidham & Mark Workentine, Medford, OR’s Roger Crockett, Fremont’s Brent Bjork, Gilroy’s Ken Fredenburg, Visalia’s Danny Faria Jr, Caruthers’ Garret Ishii, Rio Vista’s Dan Simpson and more.
The front gate at the Pombo/Sargent Classic will open up at 5 pm this Saturday with reserved grandstand tickets costing only $18 and general admission bleacher tickets just $15. Log onto http://www.thunderbowlraceway.com to view a seating chart and then call (559) 688-0909 to get the seats you want. The Thunderbowl Raceway is located at the Tulare County Fairgrounds on the corner of Bardsley and K Streets in Tulare.
Next Up- The next event on the docket for the Tulare Thunderbowl will be the second annual U.S. Western Modified Nationals, which will held on September 25, 26 and 27. Last season the event featured some outstanding racing and it should be even bigger and better in 2008. |
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