|
Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
| Press Release |
|
|
|
Pombo Picks Cotton Victory at Kings
Speedway |
|
(MAY 21, 2005 - HANFORD, CA) Davey Pombo out drove the field at the Cotton Classic in Hanford, California to pick up his first victory of the still young season. The defending Bandit champion fended off strong challenges by 2003 Champion Greg Porte and a last lap charge by 1998 Champion Danny "Showtime" Sheridan, keeping the fans on their feet for the entire 30 lap main. Pole-sitter Jason Montgomery led in his 3K for the first 11 circuits followed by the 3 of Pombo, the 33 of Evan Suggs and the charging 3G of Greg Porte as it looked like the three's were going to dominate the game. Pombo showed his veteran patients by setting up Montgomery and making the pass on the down low heading into turn three followed by Suggs and Porte battling for position. Porte ended up in second and Suggs got shuffled back. Danny Sheridan who started 10th in the field got shuffled back to 16th and along with Andy Forsberg battled their way through the field. Forsberg, who did double duty, again took finished in the top 10 in both the Bandit feature and the Golden State Challenge features to showcase his considerable versatility. With 5 laps remaining Sheridan passed Forsberg and Montgomery to get into contention and reel in the Pombo/Porte tandem just ahead. Pombo was definitely not the fastest car in the top 5 but the wryly veteran kept the car smooth and straight, hugging the low line on the track daring Porte and company to pass up high. High flyers Sheridan and Forsberg used the Kings cushion to soar around the bottom dwellers to move up through the field. All of this jockeying led to a very climactic finish and had fans screaming over the roar of the cars. Just as Porte went to make his move up high on Pombo, Sheridan was right there and put a pass on Porte and as the trio steamed down the back chute the charging Sheridan looked as though he might just get by Pombo too, Porte drove in deep and took 2nd place back from Sheridan. Pombo drove off of turn four with the lead and victory with Porte, Sheridan, Forsberg and Montgomery in tow. After doing his Victory doughnuts on the front straight an excited and very popular winner Pombo leapt from his seat arms raised over his head to the huge crowds delight. After a myriad of top 3 finishes without a victory and a winless 2004 championship season, Davey finally has the monkey off his back. The Anthony Pombo maintained and tuned TCR Chassis is as good handling, as it is attractive in victory lane. The top three drivers drew a great cheer from the huge crowd during their respective trackside interviews in support of the race they were treated to. The night began on a high note from Sheridan as he paced the field with a blistering fast time of 16.030 in the Kittle Motorsports entry and a sour note by "The Hanford Hornet" Chad Boespflug as their powerplant blew out an exhaust header. Also Danny Olmstead damaged his chassis in a flip in turn two qualifying. This led to two potential contenders not having the kind of races they and the fans were hoping for. Boespflug's team made the repairs and replaced the header but lost a muffler upon being pushed off and was forced into the pits prior to the green flag on the first heat. This would affect the rest of his race. Starting from the 16th position, he was battling through traffic when he clipped his rear wheel on the back of the spinning Aaron Cheney on the 8th lap of the feature, tearing Cheney's bumper loose and ending his race. Grant Jones, Jimmy Reeves, Rusty Carlile, John Burnett and Suggs rounded ten in the feature out. The first heat was won by Laton's Jimmy Reeves followed by Sheridan, Suggs, Albert Pombo and Fresno rookie Jerry Wise. The second heat was all Porte's as Chaney, Montgomery, Carlile, Rick Gifford, Roy Guy III and Ray Knight chased him acrossed the finish line. The third heat was a quick one paced by D. Pombo who was harassed by challengers Forsberg, Burnett, Jones, Jonathan Logan and John Iturriria. Overall it was a great spectacle and great racing at the Central Valley's premier racing venue. It was a premium show and a treat to watch unfold. The next Bandit Show is at the very fast 1/3-mile clay oval
at Santa Maria on June 11th, then back to Kings for the Grand Slam Series race #
1 on the 18th of June. USAC-CRA 410s will be on hand on June 4th at Kings. Davey
Pombo and Evan Suggs are among the Bandit Aces who are going to be there in
their 360s to battle the behemoth 410s. |
