(Photo courtesy L&J Photography)
Tarlton Motorsports Has Another Solid Weekend
By Gary Costa
Watsonville, CA – Tulare, CA – (May 14-15, 2010) --- Tommy Tarlton continued his string of strong finishes this past weekend at Ocean Speedway and at the Tulare Thunderbowl. Tarlton turned in a hair-raising drive after suffering a flat tire at Ocean Speedway during the Taco Bravo Series event, by charging from 20th to fifth. At the Tulare Thunderbowl, Tarlton led the wild 30-lap Golden State Challenge Series event until spinning on the white flag lap and finishing second. Peter Murphy was strong once again in West Coast 360 Non-Wing Sprint Car action by also finishing second.
Tarlton's busy weekend opened with him circling the ¼-mile Ocean Speedway in qualifying in the Corporate America Lending, Tarlton & Son, Inc. No. 21, turning in the fastest lap of the evening out of the 31 cars in attendance. Tommy then finished fourth in his heat race and would start the 30-lap feature from the sixth spot.
At the drop of the green, the 2009 Ocean Sprints champion would begin his charge to the front. Tarlton positioned himself in the third spot however, a flat tire would send Tarlton to the pits and he would rejoin the field at the back of the pack in 20th. When the green lights flashed back on, Tarlton was able to knife his way back to the front with a remarkable drive and finish in fifth. Tommy was able to hang onto the points lead by one point over Bud Kaeding. "That was a blast coming through the field. Paul and I have been together for three years now, and we just keep getting better and better together," said Tarlton. "We have a good team, and I think that we will be right there in the points chase at the end of the season."
The next day in Tulare, Tommy would continue to show speed in the Paul Baines wrenched No. 21 at the Pombo/Sargent Classic. Tommy qualified the third fastest out of the 20 car field. He finished third in his heat race and fifth in the dash. This would also start Tommy fifth on the field for the 30-lap feature event.
When the green flag came out, Tarlton immediately began to search for racing room and was looking to position himself into second by lap seven. On the twelfth go-around, the lead was in Tarlton's control. With around ten laps to go, Tim Kaeding began to reel in Tarlton and the fight was on. With the white flag waving and the win in sight, Tarlton looped the No. 21 in turn two, but was able to regain control and finish second in the wild feature event.
"That's tough to lose it that way. We need to finish these races, " a dejected Tarlton said who made no excuses. "We gave it away. We were still fast and the car wasn't even where we would've liked it. I take my hat off to Tim and those guys. No excuses here. We will just load it up and try it again next week!"
Peter Murphy would compete in the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino, Tarlton & Son, Inc. No. 21 with the West Coast 360 Non-Wing Sprint Cars. Murphy came into the evening second place in the points standings. After making adjustments to the car before qualifying, Tarlton Motorsports' Blaine Steele and Jason Wheelock sent Murphy out on the speedway and Peter would qualify third quickest out of 23 cars. Peter would also finish fourth in his heat race.
Murphy would start out of the sixth position for the 30-lap Pombo/Sargent Classic main event. When the green flag dropped on the 22 car starting field, Murphy began his charge toward the front on the tricky surface. Peter was eventually able to reel in race leader Bud Kaeding but, would run out of laps and have to settle for second. This would be the third consecutive second place finish for Peter Murphy and the Tarlton Motorsports team. "I can't thank the boys enough for all of their hard work, we just came up short," Murphy commented. "We would rather win one of these than finish second, but we'll take it and just keep giving it a go."
Tommy will race with the Golden State Challenge Series this Friday at Giant Chevrolet Speedway in Hanford, and then he will return to the Tulare Thunderbowl once again to race with the Taco Bravo Series on Saturday.
Be sure to catch "Team Tarlton" on Facebook! For schedule information, please visit www.tarltonandson.com
Special thanks to: Corporate American Lending, The Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino, Ridgeline Framing, Shark Racing Engines, Matt & Glass, M & S Motorsports, Sharp Insurance, Elite Racing, BG Products, Pro Signs, VMAC, Kaeding Performance, Pro Shocks, Sander Engineering, Astro Titanium, Simpson, BR Motorsports, Willwood, and Brown & Miller Racing Solutions.
- Gary Costa on May 18, 2010
- Article Date: 5/18/2010