PETERSEN MEDIA
A rough couple of nights in Alger, WA at the Skagit Speedway, led to a third place finish at the Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, OR for a very determined Jonathan Allard.
“We were not very good at Skagit, and that was a very good feeling heading down to our home track, the Silver Dollar Speedway,” Allard said.
With a Labor Day weekend double header in Washington, JA was marred with bad luck, as he recorded sub par 15th and 24th place finishes. Struggling in time trials put him mid-pack both nights to start features, a place Allard doesn’t like to be.
On Monday, Allard looked to right the ship as the tour made their debut at the Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, OR.
The current Cancen Oil King of the West point leader started the night off by timing in seventh fastest putting him in the first heat race.
A second place finish put Allard in the feature event, but more importantly put him in the dash, where he found his Williams Motorsports entry on the pole.
An impressive run in the dash saw JA pick up the win, and earn the right to start on the pole for the 30-lap feature event.
Starting on the front row next to Kerry Madsen, Allard fell into the second spot as Madsen got a very strong start. While chasing down Madsen, JA would have his hands full with Sammy Swindell as he closed in on Allard.
On the sixth lap, Allard moved up the track heading into turn three as Madsen dove low, and contact ensued with Swindell leading to a flurry of flips for the veteran.
“I was chasing down Madsen, and when he went low, I moved up high, and didn’t know Sammy was there,” Allard said of the contact. “It was unfortunate and unintentional.”
Following the restart, JA remained in the second spot as he chased down the Australian, but as they entered traffic, he fell back to third as Donny Schatz was able to sneak by.
Allard would hold onto the third spot, as the race drew to a close, a nice run in his final Gold Cup Race of Champions tune-up.
“It was a much better night than we had up at Skagit,” JA said. “It’s nice to get some momentum heading into the Gold Cup. That is a race that means a lot to me, and that I would love to win.”
ON TAP: JA and the Williams Motorsports team will now follow the Outlaws into California as they take over Allard’s home track, the Silver Dollar Speedway for the 59th Annual Gold Cup Race of Champions.
STAY CONNECTED: For more information on Jonathan, including upcoming events, pictures, and news please check out www.allardmotorsports.com, or follow JA on twitter @Allard0.