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2009 Trophy Cup
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Race Results
October 23rd - 24th, 2009
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2009 Trophy Cup
October 23rd & 24th, 2009
Tim Kaeding Rules Trophy Cup
by Ron Rodda
Tulare, CA - Doing what no driver has done in the event's first 15 years, Tim Kaeding won the Saturday main event from 24th starting and became the 2009 Trophy Cup champion. Kaeding's amazing weekend also included being the first ever fastest qualifier to win the Cup. Several Cup champions had finished 2nd in the final main, but TK became the first to win from the last starting position.
Saturday saw 61 cars return from the initial 68 for a full night of action starting with a pair of D mains, each of which elevated four to the C main. Boise, Idaho driver Randy Pierce and Kurt Nelson won those 10 lap races and joined cars that were 41 through 48 in points following a set of heats for those top 48 drivers.
Inverting the entire 8 car field for 10 lap heats and offering 36 points for a win with a 3 point drop, the six heats were talent filled.. Geoff Ensign took heat one while Shane Stewart, the top point car, finished 7th. Jason Statler won heat 2 during which Tim Kaeding moved from his 8th spot to 4th to tie Stewart in total points. Steven Tiner had something break and hit the turn 1 wall hard to end his evening.
Paul McMahan picked up points by winning heat 3 from 6th starting while the top point car of Tyler Walker was 5th from 8th starting. Roger Crockett aced heat 4 but the top point car of Andy Forsberg moved up only one spot to 7th. Jonathan Allard did move up to 2nd from his 7th start to move up in the point standings.
Heat 5 went to Washington driver, Brock Lemley but Bobby McMahan started and finished in 8th. Brett Miller won heat 6 and late race progress saw top point car of Bud Kaeding take 4th from his last starting spot.
After the heats, the top 20 point cars went directly to the A main, the next 20 to the B, and the final 8 were joined by 8 D main cars for a 16 car, 15 lap C main the elevated the top 4 to the B. Bend, Oregon long tow Chad Groves led the C main before Zach Zimmerly used the bottom of turn 1 to lead the last 11 times around Thunderbowl's racy surface. Brett Miller, Chad Compton, and Brad Bumgarner took the other transfer spots.
A loaded B main inverted six by points, moved 4 forward to the finale, and was a 25 lap test. Seven yellows, two reds, and a fuel stop were all part of the lengthy battle that saw Randy Hannagan lead all the way. Shane Golobic ran 2nd until Peter Murphy took that away on lap 9 with a low turn 4 pass. Murphy ran 2nd the remainder and Mason Moore took 3rd in the same low spot in turn 4 on lap 14, all joined by Crockett as transfers.
The dramatic finale completely inverted the top 24 point cars so Shane Stewart and Tim Kaeding shared row 12, tied in points at 296. The B main transfers automatically get the first two rows as the are always the four lowest point cars so Crockett and Murphy enjoyed row one starts.
The main awarded 150 points to win with a five point drop and the 50 lap thriller featured a race up front for the checkers while the top point cars race their way from the back of the pack for the finishing points. Crockett led from the start with one lap scored before 2nd running Murphy's engine seized just out of turn 4 and Cory Eliason's hopes for a top finish ended when he clipped Murphy's left rear and flipped.
Hannagan and Moore chased Crockett on the restart and the very early stages showed Forsberg tops in points until Jonathan Allard took that spot over, moving forward from his 18th starting location to 10th after only 4 laps. The top 3 remained unchanged for 20 laps except for Grand Forks, ND driver Mark Dobmeier grabbing 3rd, using the top of turn 2 on lap three.
J. Allard had a large point lead during the first third of the main as he had made great progress while Stewart and T. Kaeding were slower at making passes. J. Allard met with agonizing misfortune after 15 laps when he bicycled in turn 2 and flipped to end his strong run. This cleared the way for the ensuing Stewart/T. Kaeding battle for Cup supremacy. The driver that finished in front of the other would break their point tie and capture the Cup title.
Crockett's leading effort ended after 21 laps with a turn 4 spin, one lap after Kyle Larson took 3rd, using the top of turn 2. Hannagan inherited the lead and Larson used the bottom of turn 4 to lead lap 26 before Hannagan came back a lap later to regain the top spot. Dobmeier was 3rd until spinning with 34 laps complete, putting Paul McMahan in 3rd.
P. McMahan got under Larson for 2nd on lap 40, again in the popular turn 4 spot while Hannagan continued leading. The race between Stewart and T. Kaeding was thrilling the large crowd as the pair made numerous passes of each other as they raced forward while knowing the champion would be which of the pair prevailed in their personal battle.
With 34 scored, T. Kaeding was 4th and Stewart 5th although Stewart was ahead on lap 38 for his next to last time as the overall leader. T. Kaeding got by Stewart yet again a lap later to retake not only 4th but become the Cup leader also. With 11 laps left, the very real potential of TK winning not only his 3rd Cup title but also the main event became a reality.
T. Kaeding swept from 4th to 2nd by driving under P. McMahan and Larson at one time on the bottom of turn 4 with still 10 laps to go. Kaeding and Hannagan battled back and forth for the lead and Kaeding go sideways coming out of turn 4 on lap 44 and came close to stalling his Dennis Roth owned mount. As they raced to the line the 46th time, Tim Kaeding moved into the lead with a low pass in turn 4 to become the first ever 24th starter to lead a lap.
Not content to just lead, Kaeding stayed on the gas to put space between himself and Hannagan and scored the historical win over Hannagan and Larson. Bouncing through some turn 2 bumps and nearly brushing the wall, T. Kaeding was not cruising to the Willie Williams checkers but making history with exclamation marks.
Stewart was 4th in the main and 2nd in overall points, trailing Kaeding by 15 in the final tally. Paul McMahan drove to 3rd in points with the help of a 5th in the main and Forsberg was 4th overall, finishing 9th on Saturday after winning Friday. The top 5 point cars were filled by Kyle Larson, helped by his 3rd place finish in the finale.
After last year's great main event at Tulare in the Trophy Cup finale, many wondered how this year would compare. Seeing Tim Kaeding accomplish what has not been done before makes that answer quite obvious.
D main 1---Randy Pierce, Jim Richardson, Roberto Kirby, Burt Foland Jr., Pat Harvey, Steve Jaquith, Albert Pombo (DNS)
D main 2--Kurt Nelson, Andy Ferris, Steve Dyer, Jonathan Logan, Rusty Carlisle, Koen Shaw
Heat 1--Geoff Ensign, Chad Groves, Randy Hannagan, Kyle Hirst, Bradley Terrell, Cory Eliason, Shane Stewart, Kyle Larson
Heat 2--Jason Statler, Mike Reinke, Davey Pombo, Tim Kaeding, Craig Smith, Brad Furr, Henry Van Dam, Steven Tiner
Heat 3--Paul McMahan, Brad Bumgarner, Tommy Tarlton, Shane Golobic, Tyler Walker, Greg DeCaires, Matt Barber, Ronnie Day
Heat 4--Roger Crockett, Jonathan Allard, Mark Dobmeier, Chad Compton, Stephen Allard, Mason Moore, Andy Forsberg, Matt Sargent
Heat 5--Brock Lemley, Peter Murphy, Stan Yockey, Brent Kaeding, Mike Henry, Andy Gregg, Zach Zimmerly, Bobby McMahan
Heat 6--Brett Miller, Sean Becker, Wayne Johnson, Bud Kaeding, Cameron Mendes, Justyn Cox, Craig Stidham, Anthony Simone
C main--Zimmerly, Miller, Compton, Bumgarner, Pierce, Nelson, Sargent, Ferris, Richardson, Foland, Kirby, Logan, Groves, Yockey, Dyer, Simone (dns)
B main--Hannagan, Murphy, Moore, Crockett, Golobic, Statler, DeCaires, Terrell, Becker, Miller, Reinke, D. Pombo, Day, Cox, Bumgarner, Gregg, Zimmerly, Barber, Compton, Smith, Lemley, Mendes, Ensign, Tiner (dns)
A main--T. Kaeding, Hannagan, Larson, Stewart, P. McMahan, Stidham, S. Allard, B. Kaeding, Forsberg, Henry, Van Dam, Crockett, B. Kaeding, Johnson, Tarlton, Dobmeier, Walker, Moore, B. McMahan, Furr, Hirst, J. Allard, Murphy, Eliason
Tim Kaeding puts on clinic at Thunderbowl Raceway to win thrilling Saturday night main event and collect third Trophy Cup title
By Gary Thomas
Tulare, California - October 26, 2009 - Over the past number of seasons no driver has been more thrilling at the Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway than 2002 King of California Tim Kaeding and this past weekend the San Jose racer lived up to that billing once again by putting on one of the greatest drives in recent memory to charge all the way from 24th to first in the feature on Saturday night aboard the Roth Motorsports, DTR Transport No. 83 jr. to capture his third career Trophy Cup championship.
Kaeding went into the 16th running of the event on the heels of back-to-back wins to close the GLR Investments 360 Series season at Watsonville's Ocean Speedway and parlayed the momentum into becoming the first driver to ever start dead-last in the Trophy Cup main event and drive all the way through the field for victory. "I feel a bit like Leroy Van Connet right now cause guys like him used to always start in the back and win races like this," said an exuberant Kaeding in victory lane. "That main event right there is what sprint car racing is all about and I hope all you fans enjoyed that one."
Going into the 50-lap, 24-car main event on Saturday night T. Kaeding and Oklahoma's Shane Stewart, arguably the two favorites going into the weekend, sat tied atop the Trophy Cup point standings. The totally inverted feature saw action right from the get-go as drivers tried to find the right spots to put their machines on as the Thunderbowl Raceway had slicked off nicely and created multiple-groove racing. Medford, Oregon's Roger Crockett jumped into the lead early on behind the wheel of his SKS Racing, Omlid and Swinney No. 11 sprinter as he looked to have things going his way out front in the opening stages.
During the first 15-circuits many of the drivers from the rear of the field hadn't made progress as much as expected, with the exception of Chico's Jonathan Allard however, who had been putting on a show from his 18th starting position. By the time a yellow flag on lap 15 became the mandatory stop for fuel and adjustments, the two-time King of California had charged all the way up into seventh at the helm of his Williams Motorsports No. 0 and was the high-point driver up till that part of the race. Things would change on the restart though as Allard appeared to bicycle in-between turns one and two, which resulted in him getting upside down to put an end to his Trophy Cup chances.
With Allard out of the race the focus was back on Kaeding and Stewart and when the green flag came back out the duo began picking their way forward as the competition intensified throughout the field. While eyes were focused on the point battle Crockett continued to lead out front, but his hopes at victory came to an end on lap 21 when he spun out in turn four. This handed the lead to San Jose's Randy Hannagan, who had also won the past two Trophy Cup Saturday night main events and was in search of making it three-in-a-row. Stalking Hannagan in second however, was Elk Grove's Kyle Larson as the 17-year-old racer looked for any kind of an opening to make his move for the top-spot aboard the Al's Roofing Supply, Stadelhofer Construction No. 99.
Larson looked to the bottom of turn four a couple times and finally got the bite off the exit he needed to slice by Hannagan and claim the lead at the stripe on lap 26, but the "Hurricane" would cut back to the bottom in turn two and put his Terry Hannagan Racing No. 1x machine back out front. At this point Kaeding and Stewart had been putting on a show as well with their thrilling battle for the Trophy Cup point title being a back-and-forth fight. By the time there were 15-laps to go both drivers had worked their way into the top-five with "TK" sitting in fourth and Stewart in fifth. With the race winding down Stewart was able to make his way by Kaeding and put his Paul Silva Motorsports, Probilt Construction No. 57 back atop the Trophy Cup standings, but Kaeding would have none of it and charged back to bottom of the raceway to take back fourth with a little over 10-laps left.
Kaeding though wasn't happy with just riding the race out and continued to show the aggression that has made him one of the most thrilling drivers in all of sprint car racing as he made an amazing move to the bottom of the raceway in turn three to thread-the-needle under Nashville, TN's Paul McMahan and Larson to claim second with just around 10-laps remaining. The 31-year-old then closed in quickly on Hannagan and the pair would proceed to put on an exciting duel for the win as they traded the lead a few different times on the one-third mile clay oval. As Hannagan appeared to not be able to hold the bottom off the exit in turn four "TK" took advantage on lap 46 to put his Dennis and Teresa Roth owned No. 83jr into the top-spot that he would never relinquish, as he pulled away and the large crowd gave Kaeding a standing ovation as he crossed under the checkered flag.
The performance was also reminiscent of a pair of other races at the Thunderbowl Raceway in which Kaeding put on similar charges to claim victories in the past, including a Thanksgiving weekend 410 event in 2002 that saw him come from 16th to first in the feature, as well as the '06 National Sprint Tour finale where he charged from 13th to pick up the win. "I have to thank Dennis and Teresa Roth for giving me the opportunity of a life-time and all my guys because this car was amazing again tonight," Kaeding said. "The Trophy Cup is one of the best races around and it's all about supporting the kids of Make-A-Wish and Dennis Roth just told me that he is going to donate the winnings from tonight to the foundation."
Finishing second through 10th in the 50-lap Trophy Cup finale were Hannagan, Larson, 23rd starter Stewart, Paul McMahan, Fresno's Craig Stidham, Chico's Stephen Allard, Campbell's Brent Kaeding, Friday night winner Andy Forsberg of Auburn and Sacramento's Mike Henry.
The final top-10 in the Trophy Cup standings for the weekend was comprised of Tim Kaeding, Shane Stewart, Paul McMahan, Andy Forsberg, Kyle Larson, Brent Kaeding, Randy Hannagan, Campbell's Bud Kaeding, Stephen Allard and Craig Stidham.
A total of 68 cars competed in the 16th annual Trophy Cup this season and had to be considered one of the most exciting in the history of the event, a trend that seems to be happening each and every year. "It was definitely a great Trophy Cup and it was great to see all the support this weekend," said event founder Dave Pusateri. "I want to thank all the drivers and teams, everyone with Thunderbowl Raceway, the sponsors, the volunteers, the announcers, the officials, the fans and everyone who helps support us. I also have to give a big thanks to Dennis and Teresa Roth for their generosity. We still have our golf tournament coming up, but no matter what we're going to be giving Make-A-Wish at least $50,000."
Next up at the Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway will be the season finale at the 1/3 mile clay oval when the USAC National and CRA Sprint Car Series' invade the track for the Pacific Coast Nationals on Saturday and Sunday November 14 and 15. Many of the top wingless 410 drivers in the country will be on hand at the event including Dave Darland, Levi Jones, Jerry Coons Jr, Cole Whitt, Bryan Clausen, Brad Sweet, Tracy Hines, Kevin Swindell, Jesse Hockett, Damion Gardner and many more. Tickets will be the same price both nights with Reserved Grandstand seats being $35 and General Admission Bleacher tickets being $30. Children under 12 will be half-price in the bleachers. Saturday's show will be a standard start time, while Sunday will be a twilight event starting around 4pm.
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Saturday 10-24-2009
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2009 Trophy Cup Winner - Tim Kaeding
Photo by Jack Hedstrom - JacksRacePhotos.net
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Randy Hannagan congratulates Tim Kaeding in Victory Lane
Photo by Jack Hedstrom - JacksRacePhotos.net
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Randy Hannagan
Photo by Jack Hedstrom - JacksRacePhotos.net
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Anthony Simone
Photo by Jack Hedstrom - JacksRacePhotos.net
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Peter Murphy
Photo by Jack Hedstrom - JacksRacePhotos.net
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Jason Statler
Photo by Jack Hedstrom - JacksRacePhotos.net
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Brad Furr
Photo by Jack Hedstrom - JacksRacePhotos.net
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Steve Jaquith
Photo by Jack Hedstrom - JacksRacePhotos.net
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Brad Bumgarner
Photo by Jack Hedstrom - JacksRacePhotos.net
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Henry Van Dam (outside) - Andy Forsberg (inside)
Photo by Jack Hedstrom - JacksRacePhotos.net
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3 Wide Racing Action
Photo by Johns Race Photos
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Steven Tiner
Photo by Johns Race Photos
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Jonathan Allard
Photo by Johns Race Photos
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Tim Kaeding takes the win
Photo by Johns Race Photos
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Friday 10-23-2009
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Friday Prelim Winner - Andy Forsberg
Photo by Paul Trevino
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Quite a few got upside down - Friday, 10/23/2009
Photo by Johns Race Photos
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2 more upside down - Friday, 10/23/2009
Photo by Johns Race Photos
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Kyle Hirst - Friday, 10/23/2009
Photo by Johns Race Photos
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After 2 Fantastic Nights of Racing... The Big Winner was the...
Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation
"It was definitely a great Trophy Cup and it was great to see all the support this weekend," said event
founder Dave Pusateri. "I want to thank all the drivers and teams, everyone with Thunderbowl Raceway,
the sponsors, the volunteers, the announcers, the officials, the fans and everyone who helps support us. I also
have to give a big thanks to Dennis and Teresa Roth for their generosity. We still have our golf tournament
coming up, but no matter what we're going to be giving Make-A-Wish at least $50,000."
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