PETERSEN MEDIA
Jonathan Allard spent his weekend battling for the lead in two races, as he scored a pair of top-two finishes over the weekend, highlighted by a win on Friday night at the Silver Dollar Speedway, before a second place finish with the King of the West Series on Saturday night.
“Any time you can celebrate on the front stretch twice in one weekend is a good weekend,” Allard said.
With a lighter car count on hand Friday night at the Silver Dollar Speedway, JA kicked his night off by timing in fourth quick before scoring a third place finish in his heat race.
Starting in the second row for the feature event, Allard quickly worked into the second spot as he chased down early leader, Willie Croft, on what was a lightning fast ¼ mile racing surface.
Getting into lapped traffic by just the fifth marker, Allard’s pursuit of Croft intensified greatly.
“The track was bad fast, and I knew my only shot was in traffic,” he said.
Around the halfway point, Croft got bottled up behind a pair of slower cars, and Allard pounced, as he muscled his Williams Motorsports machine to the lead, and never looked back.
Out in front Allard turned in some blistering lap times, as he picked up his second consecutive win at his home track.
“We have been having some issues with our engine, so we came back up here to get them sorted out, and I think we did,” he said. “My Dad was a huge help, so I cannot thank him and my guys enough.”
Saturday night, JA and the ‘Zero Heroes” were back in action with the King of the West Series as they returned to the Petaluma Speedway for the first time since 2010, a track Allard has had past success.
With 25 cars on hand, Allard continued to show speed at the Bay Area track, as he clicked off the fourth fastest lap during qualifications, putting him in the first heat.
On a very narrow, and greasy track during heat races, Allard maintained his third spot, and went on to finish third, which put him in the dash, and the night’s feature.
Trading his way to the front row during the Grudge Draw, Allard, would take advantage, and pick up the dash win, putting his machine on the front row of the 30-lap feature event, alongside, Willie Croft.
The initial start saw Croft beat JA to the first corner, as he rode in the second spot for the first five laps until the red flew.
The ensuing restart saw Allard jump out to a great start and grab the lead, as him and Croft battled for the next three laps, with Allard again falling into the second spot.
When the caution flew on lap 17, it was deemed Allard jumped the lap five restart, and he was penalized two spots, and dropped back to fourth.
Over the final circuits of the race, the Chico, CA wheel man, worked his way back up to the second spot, and was a bit displeased with the restart that he was penalized on.
“Sometimes you have to live and learn on how the guy you share the front row starts the race, and tonight we got bit, and will learn from it,” he said. “On the other hand it was a really good night for our team, and our engine continues to run strong, which is a great relief.”
2013 BY THE NUMBERS: Races-24, Wins-5, Top 5’s-12, Top 10’s-13.
ON TAP: Jonathan and his Williams Motorsports team will be in action for a pair of events this weekend at the Reno Tahoe Fernley Raceway in Fernley, NV.
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.