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 Press Release

USAC/CRA Wingless 410 Sprints on tap for Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway this Sunday night
By Gary Thomas

Tulare, CA – May 21, 2008…The Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway will host the Wingless 410 Sprint Cars of the USAC/CRA Series this Sunday night May 25 in the second annual “Salute to Indy” at the 1/3 mile clay oval. The event will be just the second time since 2004 that wingless 410’s have competed at the Tulare County Fairgrounds facility and will also mark the second appearance for the series at the track. 

The USAC/CRA Series was formed in 2004 and often produces some of the most exciting racing anywhere, with the traditional wingless “back ‘em in” style of racing that fans have loved for years. Other than the two-day show to be held on Labor Day weekend in Calistoga, the “Salute to Indy” at the Tulare Thunderbowl will be farthest North the USAC/CRA Series will get, so this will be a can’t miss evening of competition for fans around the Central Valley. 

Spicing things up for the night will be the fact that a total of $1,500 has been accumulated to award the top five finishing winged sprint car drivers who take their tops off for the event. The payoff will be: $500 for the highest finisher, $400 for the second, $300 for the third, $200 for the fourth and $100 for the fifth. The money for the bonus has come in courtesy Central Valley companies KRC Safety Equipment, Sharp Insurance and Elite Landscaping. 

Topping the entry list for this Sunday’s event will be Golden State Challenge Series regular Bud Kaeding who will be behind the wheel of the locally based Roth Motorsports No. 83jr. The two-time and defending USAC Silver Crown champion had been a wingless regular in the past, but the last couple years have seen him cut back on his wingless schedule due to financial reasons. The Campbell driver finished fifth at the Thunderbowl less than two weekends ago during the Chris & Brian Faria Memorial. 

Kaeding showed at the end of last season however, that he didn’t forget how to do it without the wing as he picked up his third career Oval Nationals win at Perris in November worth $25,000. In addition to that he also brought home a third place finish at Manzanita’s Western World Championships just a week after. During the ’08 season the 28 year-old has been a top five runner with the Golden State Challenge Series and has one main event win on the season. 

Current USAC/CRA Series point leader and defending “Salute to Indy” champ Cory Kruseman of Ventura will lead the charge for the wingless warriors. The super talented driver picked up the inaugural USAC/CRA main event win at the Thunderbowl Raceway last season and is expected to bring four of his Kruseman Motorsports sprinters this Sunday. Kruseman leads the series with three victories on the season and has also won a total of four main events at the Thunderbowl in his career. In addition to that he was the ’06 USAC/CRA Series champ and is also a two-time winner of both the Oval Nationals and the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals among others. 

Temecula’s Mike Spencer currently sits second in the USAC/CRA point standings as he competes in the famed Ron Chaffin Motorsports, Temecula Valley Pipe & Supply No. 50. Spencer finished second in points last year during his first season wheeling the “Little Red Sucker,” which has seen drivers such as Damion Gardner, Richard Griffin and Lealand McSpadden at the helm in the past. Spencer will look to cut into Kruseman’s point lead this weekend as well as improve on last year’s finish of 20th in Tulare. 

Thunderbowl Raceway wingless track record holder Blake Miller sits third in the points going into the weekend. The driver of the Black Widow Racing No. 93 finished fifth last season in Tulare during the main event, following his lap of 15.679 in qualifying, which broke the all-time wingless track record at the 1/3 mile clay oval. Former Bandit Series champion “Showtime” Danny Sheridan was the most recent winner in USAC/CRA competition and comes into the “Salute to Indy” sitting fifth in the points. The Santa Maria racer drove the Kittle Motorsports No. 18 to third place finish last season at the Thunderbowl. 

Defending USAC/CRA Series champion Tony Jones of Norco has cut back his schedule a bit this season, yet still sits eighth in the point standings aboard the Alexander Racing No. 4. “The Cowboy” dominated the early going of last season’s main event at the “Salute to Indy” in Tulare, before he caught the wall on a lap 12 restart and fell to sixth where he went on and finished. 

Fan favorite Peter Murphy of Clovis will be in action at the “Salute to Indy” aboard the Tarlton & Son No. 21t, the same car he has campaigned very successfully in the wingless 360 scene the last couple years. Murphy has made two Golden State Challenge Series starts at the Thunderbowl this season and has tallied finishes of 10th and 12th. Other possible wingless 410 entrants for this Sunday will be Garrett Hansen, Tyler Brown, David Cardey, Davey Pombo, Josh Ford and more. 

The Western States Modifieds will compete in their fourth point race of the season at the “Salute to Indy” this Sunday. Current WSM point leader Brian Cass will lead the charge into the event and will be looking for his third win of the season. During the previous event two weeks back at the Thunderbowl it looked like Cass might make it three for three on the season as he jumped out into the lead and led until lap 18. At that point he was passed by eventual winner Kenny Nott who would proceed to hold off a hard charging Bobby Hogge IV who started 23rd on the grid. 

Cass ended up finishing in the third spot to maintain his point lead over second place in points Paul Stone who finished right behind him in fourth. Stone won last years WSM main event at the “Salute to Indy” and will look to gain ground on Cass in the points this Sunday. The WSM point finale will occur on June 28 at the annual Pombo/Sargent Classic and will be the final tune-up at the track for U.S. Western Modified Nationals, which will be held on September 25, 26 and 27. 

The front gate will open up at 5 pm this Sunday evening with Reserved Grandstand tickets costing $18 and General Admission bleacher tickets costing just $15. To purchase tickets call (559) 688-0909. First race is scheduled for approximately 7pm. For a seating chart, directions, a list of hotels and more, log onto http://www.tularethunderbowl.com

The Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway is located at the Tulare County Fairgrounds on the corner of Bardsley and K Streets in Tulare.

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