EASTON, California — By simply showing up and unloading on Saturday, Tommy Tarlton will clinch the inaugural ASCS Southern California Region.
"We’re not just there to wrap up a championship. I want to win the race."— Tommy Tarlton
The Easton, Calif., veteran has a 262-point advantage with two races remaining heading into this weekend’s race at Giant Chevrolet Kings Speedway in Hanford, Calif. – a track he is more than familiar with.
“I really like the ASCS and its format, so we’ve had this championship on our list of goals all year,” he said. “We’ve had great success this year in the series and I’m excited to return to Hanford.
“We’re not just there to wrap up a championship. I want to win the race.”
Odds are, Tarlton will. He’s won three of the four ASCS Southern California races at the 3/8-mile, semi-banked dirt oval. He also charged from 22nd to finish third with the ASCS National Tour on Feb. 12 at the track.
“I seem to get around that place pretty well,” Tarlton said. “I cut my teeth racing there and it’s close to home. So I have a lot of laps there and a lot of confidence whenever I hit the track.”
This will be the seventh ASCS Southern California event and fifth at Giant Chevrolet Kings Speedway. Tarlton recorded a top-two finish in each of the other two races, including a victory at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif., on April 30 and a runner-up performance on May 7 at Santa Maria Speedway in Santa Maria, Calif.
Tarlton, the two-time defending Ocean Sprints champion, is also in contention for another title with the Ocean Sprints this year. He trails by only seven points with three races remaining.
“As much as I would like to be the first ASCS Southern California champion, I want a third consecutive Ocean Sprints title,” Tarlton said. “But it would be something special to accomplish both this year. That’s our goal.”
SEASON STATS –
33 races, 33 features, 8 wins, 24 top fives, 25 top 10s, 28 top 15s, 31 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Saturday at Giant Chevrolet Kings Speedway in Hanford, Calif., with the ASCS Southern California Region
FAVORITE NUMBER –
4: Tarlton has finished in the top four in each of his five 360 races at Giant Chevrolet Kings Speedway in Hanford, Calif., this season.
