From Peterson Media
Jonathan Allard capped off a very strong 2012 410ci campaign Saturday night at the Kings Speedway in Hanford, CA with a third place finish, but more importantly he was crowned the 2012 Cancen Oil King of the West champion, for the third time in his career.
“It is such a testament to our team to be standing here being crowned the champions of this series,” Allard said. “My guys worked so hard all year, and I’m happy to get this for them, as well as for Morrie and Katie Williams.”
JA Kicked the night off by timing his potent Williams Motorsports No.0 in eighth fastest, putting him in the second row of the fourth heat race. A fourth place finish in his heat transferred him into the 30-lap feature event, as he looked to pick up his second consecutive Cotton Classic Trophy.
Starting the feature from the 11th spot, JA was able to surge towards the front, once the race got into long green flag runs, after a very slow start. By the 10th lap, he had worked his way up to the eight spot as the caution bunched the field back up.
Using a strong restart, JA was able to gain two positions, as he climbed to the sixth spot, as he hounded Rico Abreu for the fifth spot. With Abreu dropping out of the race late with fuel issues, Allard overtook the fourth spot, and set his sights on Kyle Hirst, as the caution flew with just two laps to go.
The ensuing restart saw the leader, Kyle Larson, run out of fuel causing Hirst to check up, and JA was able to get under the duo, and take the third spot, earning the final step on the podium.
“It’s nice to be up here on the podium with TK and Jason Meyers and also be crowned the champs,” he said. “This is a special night for us, and I’m glad we could end it with a very strong run.”
ON TAP: JA and the Williams Motorsports team will be in action this weekend for the Trophy Cup in Tulare, CA on Friday and Saturday night.
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.