Tulare Thunderbowl hosts World of Outlaws Next Weekend
Tulare, CA - The Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway will roar back to life this coming weekend on February 22 & 23 when the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series takes to the 1/3 mile clay oval for the first time in 2008. The two-night event will be the first of a pair of visits by the nations’ premier winged sprint car series to the Tulare County Fairground track this season.
Topping the entry list will be two-time and defending Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaw champion Donny Schatz of Fargo, ND, who captured the WOO sanctioned Dave Helm Memorial last October at Thunderbowl Raceway. This season Schatz is driving for Tony Stewart Racing under the sponsorship of Armor All as he tries to become just the second driver to win three consecutive titles in the 30 year history of the Advance Auto Parts World of Outlaw Sprint Car Series. Schatz comes into the event at the Thunderbowl sitting third in points, 23 digits out of the lead.
Last season Schatz had one of the finest years in the history of sprint car racing as he picked up 19 WOO wins, including big victories in some of the sport’s premier events such as the Knoxville Nationals, the Kings Royal, the Williams Grove National Open and the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup. The only major victory Schatz missed out on was the Gold Cup Race of Champions in Chico where he finished in the fifth spot after starting 16th. Schatz was also victorious at the Thunderbowl during a prelim main event in October of 2005 and has finished on the podium in five of the nine WOO main events contested at the Central Valley track.
The only driver that could seemingly keep pace with Schatz last season was Brownsburg, Indiana’s Joey Saldana who finished second in WOO points with 13 overall victories. Saldana is back for a third straight season behind the wheel of the Kasey Kahne Racing No. 9 machine as he looks to take home his first Outlaw driving title in the Budweiser sponsored JEI. In 2007 Saldana picked up his first career Gold Cup Race of Champions victory at Silver Dollar Speedway in September, and put up a great fight for the championship much of the season before Schatz pulled away near the end of the year. After the WOO season ended he made a stop at the 14th annual Trophy Cup in Tulare where he won the prelim main event on opening night and finished second in the overall weekend points.
Bloomington, Indiana’s Kraig Kinser will make his Thunderbowl Raceway return aboard the Bass Pro Shops, Tony Stewart Racing No. 20. The former Knoxville Nationals champ is competing in his first full WOO schedule since 2005, following a couple years in the NASCAR ranks where he ran in a number of races with the Craftsman Truck Series. K. Kinser last competed at the Thunderbowl in October of 2005 where he brought home a fourth place finish in the final night of the two-day program.
The front gate will open at 4 pm each night and racing is expected to get under way around 7. On Friday night tickets will be $35 for bleachers and $40 for grandstands. On Saturday they will be $40 for bleachers and $45 for grandstands. All seating is reserved during the weekend. For tickets call (559) 688-0909 and to view a seating chart, a list of hotels and directions visit the Tulare Thunderbowl website.
-Tulara Thunderbowl Raceway-