By Gary Costa, Johns Racing photo
TULARE, CA (April 10, 2010) — Tommy Tarlton and Peter Murphy both flexed their muscles in their respected classes at the Tulare Thunderbowl last Saturday evening during the Chris & Brian Faria Memorial. Tommy would compete with the Golden State Challenge 410 Winged Sprint Cars while Peter Murphy was competing with the West Coast 360 Non-Wing group.
Tommy, who has not raced since the World of Outlaws visited the 3/8 high-banked oval back in early March, would show that no signs of rust have settled on the No. 21, as he wheeled the Corporate American Lending, Tarlton & Son, Inc., Paul Baines prepared Maxim around the tricky speedway and clocked-in with a 13.668 qualifying effort which would be quick enough for sixth-quick out of the stellar field of cars.
During heat race three action, Tommy looped the No. 21, but kept his “foot in it” and continued on, unfortunately dropping him to the back of the pack. Tarlton was able to move into the fourth spot, which would set him up for the all-important six lap dash that assembles the first four rows in the 30 lap feature event. Tarlton started third in the dash and immediately moved into second where he finished, which earned him the right to start on the outside of the front row, next to the fourth quick qualifier and dash winner, Bud Kaeding.
The stage was set and when the green flag waved to start the feature, Bud would take the point, with Tommy in tow. Early in the event, Tarlton and Kyle Larson would become locked in a duel, on the sixth lap the two would make contact while entering turn three with Tarlton spinning. Amazingly Tommy was able to regain control and continue on, but dropped back to 11th spot, with the event staying green.
Tommy would begin his charge and began to pick-off cars with precision, utilizing the extreme top of the slick surface and the bottom of the racetrack. It was clear that Baines hit the set-up, as Tommy was able to get by Brent Kaeding for third with only a handful of laps left.
“I want to thank everyone for coming out tonight. I hope we put on a show for everyone. We have some people from Forcum/Mackey Construction with us tonight, and I want to thank them for coming out,” a fired-up Tarlton said. “I had a blast tonight, and this has really become so much fun! We had a good car tonight and we’ll just load it up and head to the next one.”
A meeting of the minds would take place in the Tarlton Motorsports Non-Wing pit, as pilot Peter Murphy, Blaine Steele, Jason Wheelock, and KPC chassis builder, Steve Kent all bounced ideas off of each other. The ideas seemed to work, as Murphy timed-in at 16.680 which was good enough for third quick. When Murphy hit the speedway for his heat race, the car became faster and faster, as he obliterated the field from his sixth starting spot.
Steele, Wheelock and Kent did their homework before the 30 lap feature. After making a few changes to the car, Murphy slid the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino, Tarlton & Son, Inc. No. 21 into his sixth starting position. When the field charged off of the fourth turn and toward the green flag, Murphy had already moved past a couple of cars before coming around and completing a lap.
Previous weekends West Coast 360 winner, Craig Stidham was out front and looking for two-in-a-row, but Murphy reeled him in and would have other ideas as Peter tried to pass the racy Stidham. Murphy eventually crossed the finish line in second position, with Stidham capturing his second consecutive main event. The second place finish would be the highest that the team has finished in the five West Coast 360 events entered this season.
“The car was real good. I think that we are starting to figure this car out. The boys tried some things and they seemed to work great,” said Murphy, who was also competing with the Golden State Challenge Winged 410s. “Craig drove a good race. This is our best finish of the year, and I think that it’s just a matter of time before we get one of these.”
Up Next For Tarlton Motorsports!
Tommy will be at Ocean Speedway this Friday, April 16. Tarlton was the 2009 Ocean Sprints Winged Sprint Car champion.
Peter Murphy will be in action with the West Coast 360 Non-Winged Sprint Cars at the Santa Maria Speedway Saturday, April 17.
For schedule information, please go to www.tarltonandson.com
Special thanks to: The Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino, Corporate American Lending, Sharp Insurance, Ridgeline Framing, Shark Racing Engines, Matt & Glass, M & S Motorsports, Elite Racing, BG Products, Pro Signs, VMAC, Kaeding Performance, Pro Shocks, Sander Engineering, Astro Titanium, Simpson, BR Motorsports, Willwood, and Brown & Miller Racing Solutions.