Peterson Media
Though the season hasn’t gotten off to the start he wanted, Jonathan Allard has came alive the last three weeks, and on Saturday night the Chico, CA native picked up his first King of the West Series win of 2013.
“My guys have really rolled their sleeves up and got to work the last few weeks, and it is really showing,” Allard said.
Saturday night saw Jonathan time his Williams Motorsports machine in fourth fastest against the 26 cars that were assembled in the pit area.
On the extremely slick track, JA scored a third place finish in his heat race, to transfer him to the feature, but his time trial time made him eligible for the night’s dash.
Getting stuck with the eight pill, JA had his work cut out for him, and he did what he could in six laps, as he worked his way up to a fifth place finish, putting him in the third row for the 30-lap feature event.
On a track that was taking rubber much of the night, Allard knew the importance of the start, and when the race finally went green, he was able to grab a couple of spots, and jump into the third spot right away.
By the fifth lap, Allard had moved into the second spot as he began applying heavy pressure to series rookie, Cory Elliason.
With Elliason flawless out front, JA used a lap 13 restart to his advantage, as he snuck under Elliason, and never looked back, as he picked up his first series win of the season.
“We made some changes over the last few weeks and have really been awesome,” he said. “We bolted some Factory Kahne shocks on, and did some tuning on our engine, and it has been really beneficial.”
Friday night was eventful for Allard at the Nevada track.
Heat race action saw Allard tangle with Richard Brace, Jr, and forced him to the back of the pack, though he would rebound to score a third place finish.
Starting in the 10th spot in the feature event, Allard made contact with Cory Ellisason on the first lap, and damages forced him to the work area.
Making the call to restart, Allard would get up on the wheel as he drove from 22nd, to score a fifth place finish without a right front shock, as a bolt broke off right after he restarted.
“My guys did a great job of getting us back out after we wrecked at the start of the Friday feature,” he said. “We were really good, and I think we might have contended for the win if that didn’t happen.”
With the win and fifth place finish, Allard has moved into third place in the series standings.
2013 BY THE NUMBERS: Races-26, Wins-6, Top 5’s-14, Top 10’s-15.
ON TAP: Jonathan and his Williams Motorsports team will be in action for a pair of events this weekend at the Thunderbowl in Tulare, CA!
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.