Inside Line Promotions – TULARE, Calif. (Oct. 10) – It was a wet week, setting up a pair of rough, hooked-up race tracks last weekend.
Tommy Tarlton didn’t mind. The Easton, Calif., resident took advantage with his elbows-up style to record a pair of top-five finishes on Friday at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif., and Saturday at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif.
“It rained last week so both tracks were really heavy,” he said. “The car was shaking and the wheels got packed with mud.”
After qualifying eighth quickest on Friday with the Ocean Sprints, Tarlton overcame a handling issue early by changing the steering box twice during the night. He won his heat race and started the feature in seventh.
Tarlton survived on a rough track that created a variety of crashes during the main event. He picked off a handful of positions and ultimately settled for fourth place.
“Fourth is pretty good for the stuff we dealt with there,” he said.
Tarlton made up two points on Ocean Sprints point’s leader Ronnie Day, who has a 30-point advantage going into the finale next Friday at Ocean Speedway. For Tarlton to have a shot at a third consecutive Ocean Sprints championship, he’d have to win the feature, finish higher than Day in the heat race and have Day not qualify for the main event.
However, Tarlton does have a championship for the third straight season as he wrapped up the inaugural ASCS Southern California Region heading into last Saturday’s finale at Thunderbowl Raceway.
He put on another impressive performance, charging from fifth to nearly claiming the main event with a last-lap pass. Tarlton passed veteran Jac Haudenschild for the runner-up position and closed on leader Tim Kaeding in the final laps. When the duo crossed the finish line under the checkered flags, Tarlton had pulled to the left rear tire of Kaeding.
“We passed ‘Haud’ and that guy is good,” he said. “To get around him and be bumper to bumper with Tim at the finish line, that means you must be pretty good.”
Tarlton finished with five victories, two runner-up results and a fourth place in eight ASCS Southern California events this season. He won the championship by a staggering 464 points, which was only six away from the all-time ASCS regional margin of victory.
“I’m excited to be a part of it,” he said. “I hope it grows in the future. That’s what I really want to see. It’s good to give guys an option down here.
“It’s also good to win the championship. It’s nice to have a title going into the offseason.”
In addition to Friday’s Ocean Sprints finale, Tarlton will compete next Saturday at Giant Chevrolet Kings Speedway in Hanford, Calif., with the King of the West Sprint Car Series for the prestigious Cotton Classic.
QUICK RESULTS –
Oct. 7 – Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif. – Qualifying: 8; Heat race: 1 (2); Feature: 4 (7).
Oct. 8 – Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif. – Heat race: 3 (4); Feature: 2 (5).
SEASON STATS –
37 races, 36 features, 9 wins, 27 top fives, 29 top 10s, 31 top 15s, 34 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif., with the Ocean Sprints and Saturday at Giant Chevrolet Kings Speedway in Hanford, Calif., with the King of the West Sprint Car Series for the Cotton Classic
FAVORITE NUMBER –
75: Percent of features this season that Tarlton has finished in the top five.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS –
Website: www.tommytarlton.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/tommytarlton21
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100001286852863
APPAREL –
Tarlton has black t-shirts, sweatshirts and hats, and white women’s shirts available for purchase at every race he attends. For information on where you can get them, visit http://www.tarltonandson.com/tarlton-racing-schedule.
ON THE AIR –
Tarlton was a guest on the Lucas Oil ASCS Show by Racinboys on May 3. Click on the link below to listen. Tarlton’s interview begins around the 32-minute mark.
http://www.meridix.com/mbp/general/index.php?liveid=Racinboys&recordid=18831
He was also a featured guest on the Dirt Cast podcast on June 29. The link is below:
http://dirtcast.com/2011/06/29/tommy-tarlton-ascs-sprint-cars-ocean-sprints-6-29-11/
Check out the link below to see highlights of Tarlton’s King of the West Sprint Car Series’ win at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif., on May 14.
http://vimeo.com/23805799
Here are a couple of videos from Tarlton’s victory and runner-up performance with the King of the West Sprint Car Series at the Howard Kaeding Classic at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif., on July 1-2:
http://vimeo.com/25952465 and http://vimeo.com/25950506
Here is a link to Tarlton spinning around on the back of his car during a heat race at Ocean Speedway on July 8:
http://youtu.be/HXLff-Fn55M
Check out this link to an in-car video of Tarlton winning the B Main at the Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore., on July 13:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwxAz8nEgzw&feature=channel_video_title
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – BG Products, Inc.
Located in Wichita, Kan., BG Products, Inc., produces various automotive, industrial and heavy equipment products. BG Products, Inc., which was established in 1971, focuses on adding efficiency, economy and reliability to your vehicle. For more information, visit www.bgprod.com.
“We have been with BG Products since 1996 because they have amazing products,” Tarlton said. “We run every product they make that a sprint car can run. And, knock on wood, I haven’t had a rear end failure in my whole career while using BG Products.”
Tarlton would like to thank his sponsors, including Tarlton and Son, Inc., Corporate America Lending, Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino, Bandy & Associates and Sharp Insurance & Bonding, Simpson for their continued support.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations, media management and merchandising services for sprint car teams. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and your sponsors’ return on investment.
To meet the media relations needs of your team, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or sprintcarreporter@yahoo.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit www.insidelinepromotions.com.
- Shawn Miller on Oct 10, 2011
- Article Date: 10/10/2011 by Shawn Miller