(TULARE, Calif.- July 10) – Joining an increasing list of postponed major events, the Abreu Vineyards Trophy Cup 27 presented by Rudeen Racing will not take place in October of 2020.

The decision comes as a result of continued limitations in California due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The Trophy Cup’s host track, Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway, has been unable to put a car on its three-eighths-mile oval this year, with no improvement in sight. That made it apparent the event would not be able to take place this October with fans in the stands.

Dave Pusateri, the founder of the Trophy Cup in 1994, does not want to run the event without fans.

As of now, the Trophy Cup is aiming towards Oct. 14-16, 2021, when the next chapter of the unique event will unfold at Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway. Winged 360 sprint car teams will race for a total purse of $200,000 – with the event champion guaranteed $27,000.

When the Trophy Cup resumes with the 27th annual race, the event’s support of Make-A-Wish will continue.

More than $2 million has been given to Make-A-Wish by the Trophy Cup event

by Ron Rodda

(Tulare, CA – 19 Oct) Rico Abreu did it all at the Trophy Cup when he won the Saturday night 50 lap main event along with the event championship, earning $26,000 for the three days of dominating sprint car racing.
 
The final night of the Abreu Vineyards 26^th Annual Trophy Cup Presented by Rudeen Racing assigns the top 48 point cars to a heat race.  These very tough 10 lap races feature a complete inversion by points.  The standard 36 points to win with a 3 point drop is used.
 
The Saturday payout is listed at $109,505 but it will be considerably more.  The Cup champion is guaranteed $26,000 and money will be added to the amount won to reach that level..
 
Each A main Saturday starter is automatically part of the point fund and will receive a minimum of $5000 for the three days of racing.  About half of the A main field will be paid additionally above the standard purse amount to reach the $5000 total earned.
 
Between the normal payout and the thousands of dollars in added payout, the total paid is approximately $200,000.
 
After the 6 heats, the top 20 in points go directly to the main event regardless of finishing position.  The next 20 in points earn a B main starting spot, and the final 8 go to the C main, joined by transfers from D main racing.
 
With the top 48 in points assigned to a heat, the remainder of the 78 cars on hand were split into a trio of D mains.  The evening started with these mains, moving the top 4 from each to the C main.
 
Six heats followed offering an opportunity to earn more points to improve main event positioning.  Rico Abreu had a larger than usual point lead starting the evening, 6 points over Shane Golobic and 7 ahead of Jac Haudenschild.
 
Abreu’s lead evaporated after 2 heats when Golobic finished 4th to Abreu’s 6th to tie in points at 304.
 
Third in points, Jac Haudenschild, was caught up in a nowhere to go situation in his heat and lost ground with a DNF and fewer points.
 
Kyle Hirst was high point car in heat 4 and finished 2nd from 8th to take the point lead at 305.  Willie Croft’s win from 7th put him near the top at 300.
 
Heat 5 was Jonathan Allard’ s heat and he helped himself with a 4th leaving him 6 points behind Hirst.
 
The final heat continued the trend when Cory Eliason won from 8th to tie Hirst for the point lead, creating a cluster of drivers at or very near the top.
 
With only one B main the field was even stronger.  When Bud Kaeding blew on lap 24, Tim Shaffer and D. J. Netto got caught in the smoke and oil.  Shaffer had a flat and Netto hit the wall hard and 3-5 in the order lost their transfer chance.
 
Finishing the last 2 laps sent Mitch Moles, Buddy Kofoid, RAndy Hannagan, and Jason Statler to the A main.  Statler transferred out of the C main and ran the entire 50 lap finale to finish 16^th after 95 laps of main event racing.
 
With a 20 invert by points, Kyle Hirst and Cory Eliason filled row 10 while Abreu and Shane Golobic started in row 9.  With one point separating the two rows, the champion would likely be one of these four.  The A main pays 150 points with a three point drop.
 
Aaron Reutzel led from his pole start with Jason Solwold and Chase Johnson in pursuit.  Johnson took 2^nd on lap 3 with a low line drive into turn 1 and contender Willie Croft got spun and hit, ending his night.
 
Tim Kaeding moved into 3^rd on lap 11 driving the high side out of turn 4 on the same lap that Rico Abreu used the low line into turn 1 to pass Shane Golobic and take the point lead.
 
The last 39 laps had Abreu in front of his three main challengers and he was in the point lead during that period.  Abreu kept 2 cars between himself and Golobic and a yellow on lap 32 led to the planned fuel stop.
 
Lap 35 was tough for Johnson when he flipped in turn 2 after running 33 laps in 2^nd.  The restart had Reutzel continuing to lead with Solwold now 2^nd and Jac Haudenschild 3^rd.
 
The question became would Abreu collect his 3^rd win and after some slider trading, Abreu was up to 2^nd on lap 39 with T. Kaeding 3^rd.  Abreu closed on Reutzel, eliminating a substantial lead in 6 laps, and Reutzel bounced off of the turn 2 wall on lap 44 to open the door for Abreu.
 
Reutzel recovered in time to hold onto 2^nd but Abreu was gone and led the last 7 laps for the sweep.  Reutzel finished 2^nd, T. Kaeding was 3^rd, Solwold took 4^th, and Haudenschild completed the top 5.
 
Abreu’s history making Trophy Cup performance had never been accomplished before. He won main events from starting 5^th, 10^th, and 17^th.
 
The 2020 Trophy Cup will take place at Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway on October 15-17.
 
A main–Rico Abrue, Aaron Reutzel, Tim Kaeding, Jason Solwold, Jac Haudenschild, Shane Golobic, Mitchell Faccinto, Kyle Hirst, Cory Eliason, Justin Sanders, Ryan Bernal, Jonathan Allard, Buddy Kofoid, Colby Copeland, Randy Hannagan, Jason Statler, Mitch Moles, Chase Johnson, Justyn Cox, Dominic Scelzi, Kalib Henry, Willie Croft, Colton Heath, Paul McMahan
 
Points results to follow.
 

by Ron Rodda

(Tulare, CA 18-Oct)  Night two of the Abreu Vineyards 26th Annual Trophy Cup Presented by Rudeen Racing offered a 2nd $29,630 purse with $4000 to the winner. Friday’s 30 lap main was won by Rico Abreu, becoming the first to win two preliminary mains.

The format was the same as Thursday’s except group B qualified first and the order within the 2 groups was reversed. An 86 car field returned, losing 3 from opening night.

Heat racing was frantic as usual since the first two rows must win to transfer directly to the A main since row 3 almost always provides the top point car after 8 laps.

Six out of 8 fastest time cars in the heats took high point transfer, very unusual to have two miss. Willie Croft and Justin Sanders accomplished the unlikely high point finish from 5th starting.

Very tough B mains moved four from each to the finale. The 12 inverted cars in the pair of B mains have claimed numerous wins but the very strong field and demanding format means loaded B mains.

The first B main had sliders galore with Cole Macedo winning over Colton Heath, 18th starting Bud Kaeding, and J.J. Ringo survived a last turn slider from  micro sprint star Mitch Moles for the final transfer.

The second B main went to Buddy Kofoid ahead of two time Cup champion Shane Golobic. Chase Johnson with wing and nonwing wins this year, and veteran Randy Hannagan.

Inverting 12 by points put Cole Macedo and Golobic on the front row while the top 2 point cars of Justyn Cox and Tim Kaeding filled row 6.

Golobic quickly established a lead while Cory Eliason and Cole Macedo chased. Justin Sanders took 3rd on lap 10 with Thursday winner Rico Abreu closing.

Abreu took 3rd on lap 14 as Golobic successfully maneuvered through traffic. Two laps a red flew for a tangle involving Dominic Scelzi, D. J. Netto and Chase Johnson.

As the green reappeared, it was let the sliders begin. Eliason and Abreu traded lap 17 sliders before Abreu made a turn 4 slid work on lap 18 for 2nd.

Another red was needed after Tim Crawley found how treacherous Tulare’s turn 4 wall can be.

The top 3 ran the cushion in turns 1 and 2 and the wall in 3 and 4. Neither line is forgiving of any mistake.

A lap 20 restart led to a battle of sliders between Golobic and Abreu until Golobic established a larger lead.

Lap 26 had Abreu right behind Golobic and when the leader went up the track a bit in turn 2, Abreu drove underneath and won the race down the backstretch. Abreu led the final 4 laps for the $4000 win over Golobic, Eliason, Jonathan Allard, and Justin Sanders.

Points…Rico Abreu 283. Shane Golobic 277, Jac Haudenschild 276, Kyle Hirst 272, Jonathan Allard 269, Cory Eliason 267, Colby Copeland 265, Justyn Sanders 265

by: Ron Rodda
Tulare, CA…The Abreu Vineyards 26th^th Annual Trophy Cup Presented by Rudeen Racing opened the 3 day event at Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway on Thursday and Rico Abreu captured the 30 lap main event for winged 360 sprints.
 
Abreu took the lead on the last corner to earn the $4000 winner’s pay as well as 100 points. The purse for Thursday night was $29,630.
 
A 89 car field jammed the pit area and was split into two groups for qualifying.  Each group had a fast time, therefore two drivers earned 150 points in qualifying with a one point drop per position.
 
Four invert 6 heats for the fastest 40 qualifiers in each group were held sending the heat winner plus the highest point car directly to the night’s A main.  Winning a heat earned 36 points with a 3 point drop per position.
 
After the 8 heats moved 16 cars to the A main grid, all remaining cars were assigned to a main event with the top 40 in points filling the front 10 rows of two B mains.  The pair of B mains inverted 6 by points and moved the top 4 to the night’s 30 lap A main.
 
The A main lineup inverted 12  by points with 100 points going to the winner with a two point drop per position.
 
Justyn Cox led group A qualifiers with a 13.672 to edge Aaron Reutzel’s 13.694.
 
Willie Croft, Colby Copeland and Kyle Hirst completed the top 5.
 
Group B qualifying fastest was two time event champion, Shane Golobic, with a 13.789 lap.  Jonathan Allard was .014 behind followed by Cory Eliason, Cole Macedo, and Jason Solwold.
 
Heat race action was frantic at times as drivers dueled for the win and A main transfer.  The fastest qualifier was the high point transfer from each heat and Rico Abreu won his heat plus was high point.
 
C main racing put 2 drivers at the rear of each B main creating tough 22 car fields.  Each B main transfer lines up in the A main based on point totals.
 
Invert 6 B mains moved 4 onward and Justin Sanders won the first B followed by Chase Johnson, Paul McMahan, and Kyle Hirst.
 
The 2nd B completed the 24 car A main field with Colton Hardy taking the win with a smooth drive.  Jason Solwold, Mitchell Faccinto from 16th starting and Dominic Scelzi with a last turn pass finished the transfer list.
 
The top 12 in points were inverted to fill the first 6 rows with just 10 points separating those dozen drivers.
 
The 30 lapper started with a narrow track but as laps were scored a racier surface developed.
 
Paul McMahan led from outside front row  with Kyle Hirst and Ryan Bernal in pursuit.  Freddie Rahmer found the turn 1 wall as did Justin Sanders 3 laps later.
 
Cox  dropped out by lap 11 and McMahan’s lead ended on lap 15 when Hirst used a topside drive out of turn 4 to take over.
 
A furious 3 car race for the win made for a few exciting laps before Jac Haudenschild used turn 4 sliders to move from 4th to the lead on lap 24.  When Rico Abreu took 2nd from Hirst with a low line drive into turn 1, team cars were set to duel for the win.
 
It came down the last corner when Abreu slid Haudenschild in turn 4 and won the race to the finish line by 3 feet.  Hirst was 3rd ahead of Shane Golobic and Cory Eliason.
 
Abreu added 100 points to his total to take the lead in the race for the Cup title.
 
Top 10 in points:  Rico Abreu 283, Shane Golobic  277, Jac Haudenschild 276, Kyle Hirst  272, Cory Eliason  267, Colby Copeland  265, Willie Croft 264, Paul McMahan 264, Ryan Bernal 257, Tim Kaeding 254
 

 
 

by Ron Rodda

(Lincoln, CA – October 16) The post-season series of winged 360 sprint specials reached the 4-weekend stage with this week climbing the pinnacle with the 26^th Annual Trophy Cup.
 
A record 110 entrants, the maximum allowed, will see some not make it to Tulare, but likely 90 or so will jam the pit area for 3 nights.  A $200,000 purse coupled with a demanding format on an unforgiving track plus the support the event gives to Make-A-Wish makes the Cup very special.
 
But specials have been going on for four weeks, starting with the NorCal Posse Shootout at Placerville Speedway the 3^rd weekend in September.  Over 40 sprints plus 20+ midget lites put on two entertaining nights of racing with Justyn Cox and Rico Abreu taking the wins.  As most of the year has been, track conditions were very good at the foothill quarter.
 
The next weekend Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico offered a two day Fall Nationals with 50 car fields for the one division special.  Again Justyn Cox won the opening night and Tim Kaeding took the finale, with track conditions that were conducive to good action.
 
One day shows took care of the next two weekends when Petaluma Speedway paying $5000 to win with a tick under 30 cars making the tow.  The format was different with a pair of heats using passing/finishing points to form the top 6 in combined heat points.  These top 6 then qualified in the traditional way to set the first 3 rows of the main, and it was Sean Becker winning and collecting the big check.
 
That brings the calendar to October 12 when a can’t miss doubleheader drew a large crowd to Keller Auto Speedway at Kings Fairgrounds in Hanford, or simply Kings Speedway to those of us still tied to the old name.
 
The King of the West-NARC series brought 21 winged 410s while the Sprint Car Challenge Tour had 33 winged 360s for a pit full of open wheel stars.  There were some drivers in both camps and the two Abreu Vineyards entries did not disappoint.
 
Jac Haudenschild, in California for the Trophy Cup, did his thing in the SCCT main on the top shelf while racing from 14^th to 3^rd and Rico Abreu used the same area of clay to win the 410 main in dominant fashion.
 
While Abreu sailed, Cory Eliason, Bud Kaeding, Chase Johnson, and Dominic Scelzi made it interesting in their position trading action for the other two podium spots.  It was Kaeding then Eliason at the checkers to join Abreu on the Kings podium.
 
The SCCT main had its ugly moments with two reds and six yellows, but the intense battle for the lead never stopped.  Justyn Cox led the first 14 before, on a lap 15 restart, Cole Macedo won the race to turn 1 and used the bottom for what became the winning pass.
 
Cox faded to 3^rd but charged back as the lap count reached 30 to pressure Macedo.  A yellow with 2 left led to a jumbled restart that saw Cox loose ground, but he closed the gap by the end of that lap when another yellow flew.  The checkers were thrown also and the race was complete one lap early with Macedo, Cox, and Haudenschild forming the podium.
 
How can the time not be taken to restart and run the final lap to complete the intense battle for the win after everyone waited an additional 5 minutes before the start of the race to give 1 car more time than the legal 8 minutes to get to staging?
 
Later this week it is a guarantee that all rules will be followed to the letter when $200,000 is on the line at Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway.  The number of people who make the Trophy Cup possible is huge and the vast majority are volunteers.  Then there are people like Kevin Rudeen and David Abreu without whose support the event would not be the same.
 
The crew of track officials will be on their A game, the push trucks and safety crew will professionally handle their part, and one person who most everyone in the stands will not even be aware of will perform a critical job.  That would be Lisa Becker, the scorer.
 
Lisa’s husband, Sean, has raced for years and when they started dating she had never been to a race.  Lisa lived in Chico and did not even know there was a track in town.  Sean’s sister was doing the points and lineups just for fun at the outlaw kart races and became Lisa’s tutor.
 
Taught how to hand score, Lisa then would score the races for herself to help calm her nerves when Sean was racing, by this time in sprint cars.  She started this activity in 2002 but it was 2013 before a call from Chico promoter, Dennis Gage, led to her first job, scoring an enduro fair race.
 
Chico scorer, Aron Jones, taught her how to use computer scoring prior to the debut but then her 2^nd time as head scorer technical issues led to a hand scoring night.  It was at Calistoga and now she was serving as the scorer for a race that Sean was entered.
 
With stopwatch scoring used for qualifying, Lisa did not want to handle that task with Sean also racing, so other officials handled that chore while Lisa hand scored all the racing action for her first open wheel night.
 
As to her first sprint car scoring, Lisa notes that, “I was scared to death, no computer I have to hand score this, I remember they went out there and I wasn’t thinking how Calistoga is a half mile track.  I thought there is so much pressure, this is my first time, and I don’t know what I’m doing.  But when they got strung out pretty quickly, I thought I can hand score this track.”
 
From there she was called upon occasion to substitute score until her first full time deal came at Placerville Speedway when Scott Russell and Kami Arnold took over the promotional duties in 2016.  Lisa recalls how the first race of the season the track had a new scorer, new announcer and new promoters.
 
Lisa has also served as a backup hand scorer for World Of Outlaw events and calls the outlaws “probably the best people in the world to work with.  They are very trusting and accepting of any help I can provide.  Eloy, the Outlaws scorer, has been a huge support for me.”
 
After scoring at Placerville 2 years she is now working when a track needs someone to score as well as being the scorer for the biggest winged 360 race in the world, the Abreu Vineyards 26^th Annual Trophy Cup Presented by Rudeen Racing.  This will be her 3^rd year of the pressure of scoring a $200,000 race.
 
Preparation for the Trophy Cup consumes time and if there was a format change it would take 3 weeks to rebuild all the spreadsheets.  There is no change this year so preparation takes less time but still around 15-20 hours of checking and rechecking and entering this year’s data.
 
Lisa’s workday on Thursday and Friday of Trophy Cup lasts from noon until about 3 am but Saturday takes less time. If the system crashes, then hand scoring can still handle the show, but it is certainly nice to have Lisa and Stephanie up in the scoring booth providing professional scoring for such a major event.
 

 

Abreu Vineyards 26^th Annual Trophy Cup presented by Rudeen Racing fires-off Thursday at Merle Stone Chevrolet Thunderbowl Raceway

By Gary Thomas
(Tulare, CA – October 15, 2019) Excitement and buzz is floating through the air as one of the biggest weeks in California Sprint Car racing has arrived, which means only one thing, it’s time for the 26th annual Trophy Cup at Merle Stone Chevrolet Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare.

The Abreu Vineyards Trophy Cup presented by Rudeen Racing is not only known for featuring some of the best racing seen all year long, but it’s also well regarded for being held to benefit one of the truly great organizations around, the Make-A-Wish Foundation. With the Trophy Cup donating $200,000 at last year’s event it brought the total amount of donations up to a staggering $1,770,000 since the event was created back in 1994.

This weekend marks the 15th occasion that the Trophy Cup will be held at Merle Stone Chevrolet Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare. All cars that start the Saturday A-main are guaranteed at least $5,000 in weekend winnings and the overall champion is guaranteed a stout $26,000 in winnings. The three-day extravaganza features a $200,000 overall purse.

Past Trophy Cup winners entered for this weekend include three-time and defending champion Jac Haudenschild of Wooster, Ohio; three-time titlist Tim Kaeding of San Jose; two-time champion Shane Golobic of Fremont, along with single-time winners Bud Kaeding from Campbell, Willie Croft of Roseville and Fresno’s Craig Stidham.

Driver’s looking to take home the Abreu Vineyards Trophy Cup presented by Rudeen Racing for the first time will include Paradise, California’s Kyle Hirst; Fresno’s Dominic Scelzi; Clute, Texas’ Aaron Reutzel; Rutherford’s Rico Abreu; Aliquippa, Pennsylvania’s Tim Shaffer; Hanford’s DJ Netto; Penngrove’s Buddy Kofoid; Clarksburg’s Justyn Cox; Watsonville’s Justin Sanders; Roseville’s Colby Copeland; Hanford’s Mitchell Faccinto; Hollister’s Ryan Bernal; Mount Vernon, Washington’s Jason Solwold; Benton, Arkansas’ Tim Crawley; Knoxville, Iowa’s Wayne Johnson and many many more.

“It’s been great to see the fan support continue to grow at the Trophy Cup year after year, which has simply been amazing to watch,” said Thunderbowl Raceway promoter Steve Faria. “The extra functions on the fairgrounds have definitely created a happening at the event and one that people mark down on their calendar every season. I know we are looking forward to it and hope everyone else is too. Dave Pusateri and his entire team do an outstanding job with everything and I know we’re honored to host the Trophy Cup for the 15^th straight year.”

Tickets continue to be on sale for the Abreu Vineyards 26^th annual Trophy Cup presented by Rudeen Racing with all seating in the house reserved during the weekend. Adult grandstand tickets cost $50 on Thursday and Friday and $55 on Saturday. Bleacher tickets are $45 on Thursday and Friday and $50 on Saturday. Kids pricing and senior pricing is also available.

A seating chart is online at www.thunderbowlraceway.com and tickets can be acquired by calling 559-688-0909. The pit gate opens at 10am on Thursday October 17, with the drivers meeting at 3:30pm sharp. Qualifying is scheduled for 4:45pm, with first race at 6:15pm.

All the special events that have become so popular are returning once again, with a slight change up this year. Thursday night will now showcase the Spaghetti Feed sponsored by La Villa Delicatessen featuring spaghetti, meat balls, salad, bread and desert. Friday post-race will be the annual Taco Bravo Fiesta Night featuring tacos and burritos.

Driver and fan razor bike racing also returns after the races this year on both Thursday and Friday with tickets to compete available at the T-shirt booth or pit sign in booth. The cost is $20 a night to compete with all proceeds going to Make-A-Wish and is open to the first 60 people to sign up.

The post-race parties start 20 minutes after the checkered flag with beer, water and soft drinks also available for purchase inside.

The annual Breakfast/ Brunch sponsored by the Tulare County Fairgrounds and KRC Safety Company will now move to Saturday from 11am-1:30pm.

The Bean Bag/ Cornhole Tournament will begin at approximately 10am on Saturday with sign ups taking place at the T-shirt booth or by seeing Kim Offill in the pit area. Sponsors of this year’s tournament include HRP, Maxwell Industries, Tarlton Motorsports, Tiner-Hirst Enterprises, Offill Family Farms, Fire Protection Management, Hoosier Tire Midwest, Ancona Motorsports, A.R.T. Speed Equipment, Maxim Chassis, Capital Renegade, Scelzi Enterprises Inc., Smith Precision Products and Soares Racing.

A donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation at the door during all these events is appreciated. Fans and teams are all encouraged to attend the special eating events. More info on the Trophy Cup, as well as an entry list can be found at www.trophycup.org

Special thanks to Steve Faria with System 1 Filters and all our partners for making things happen at Thunderbowl Raceway including Merle Stone Chevrolet, Budweiser, Roth Motorsports, KRC Safety, Western Metal Company, Double “D” Towing and JD Heiskel & Company.

For more info on Merle Stone Chevrolet Thunderbowl Raceway visit www.thunderbowlraceway.com and like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Tulare-Thunderbowl-Raceway-392991907541396

 

The Merle Stone Chevrolet Thunderbowl Raceway is located at the Tulare County Fairgrounds on the corner of Bardsley and K Streets at 620 South K Street Tulare, California 93274. From the junction of SR 99 and SR 137, go west on SR 137. At South K go south one-half mile to the Fairgrounds. Camping is available for fans off turns three and four.

Image courtesy of Chuck Fry

by Ron Rodda

(LINCOLN, Calif.) Rachel Jacobs was not a race fan. Despite living within earshot of Placerville Speedway, she did not have any interest in racing. Yet it was through the races that Jacobs met Brad Sweet and they were eventually married.

Jacobs’ mom would try to get her to go to the races but to Jacobs, they were “too dirty and dust gets in our eyes and it’s loud,” so her mom and grandfather would go. “In 2003 he (her grandfather) passed away and Jimmy Trulli did a memorial lap for him at Placerville,” she recalled. “My entire family was there and Brad’s family was sitting behind us.” Jacobs and Sweet’s sister, Katelyn, became friends and three years later she and Brad started dating.
 
“At first I did not understand why people would like this stuff, you are getting dirty, mud in your hair, but when I met Brad I got to see a different side to it. Now I get it”, she said. “The people are so passionate no matter where you go. There is no being a casual fan, you either like it or you don’t.”

Brad Sweet had moved to Indiana for a season and upon his return, he started racing for Gary Perkins and Jacobs and Sweet soon began dating. But Sweet was not around very long as a Keith Kunz call saw him return to the Midwest to race a midget. “All my friends at that time had boyfriends and they were all going to movies and other teenage things,” she remembered. “I told them I had a boyfriend but for a while my friends were like, yeah right, because he was never around. Brad would be gone much of the summer and then when winter arrived he was off to Australia.”

That was how their relationship was until the call from Kasey and Willie Kahne. That led to Sweet moving to North Carolina, getting him even further away from home. “The entire group was so welcoming. I knew from Brad’s reaction that this was his big break,” she said.

For a period of time Sweet was racing in NASCAR and driving sprint cars, but eventually he went the open wheel route. Sweet and Jacobs bought a motorhome and traveled the circuit.

During this time Jacobs learned how, “Mentally and physically exhausting it is. The drivers, crew, wives, and everyone involved don’t get the credit for what they do. The Pittmans kind of took us under their wings and they were a huge blessing our three years on the road.”

Before the years on the road, Jacobs had graduated from the University of Colorado with a degree in health information management. She went from college to full time travel, which ended after buying a house in Placerville. They signed the papers for their eventual home while at the Knoxville Nationals in 2016. Jacobs and Sweet got married in March of 2016 during the Outlaw swing through California so their friends could attend. The following year she stayed home to monitor the house being rebuilt and their daughter, Savannah, was born.

She has stayed home coming up on three years, but her husband flies home between weekends when there is not a midweek race. Savannah’s first race was at Knoxville when Sweet won on a preliminary Knoxville Nationals feature. The 8 month old at that time also got to see Sweet’s championship win on Saturday.

“Brad is someone who works so hard and he is so focused so to see him win that it was like all his hard work paid off,” she said.

She has noticed that Sweet is recognized when among the public more than before, something that may be due to DIRTVision and other streaming services. Sweet has younger fans than she has seen in the past, important because the lack of youth at races is a growing concern.

As Savannah gets older, mother and daughter may travel with Sweet more to lessen the time apart. This year has been better since there are fewer midweek races to keep Sweet from being able to fly home for a few days. “I try not to get too nervous,” she said when asked how she handles Sweet’s racing endeavors. “I know Brad is in control and he is doing what he wants to do. Now Eldora, that’s a different animal. I learned this at Manzanita, do not sit on the front stretch. It shows you how fast they are going.

“I remember sitting next to Patty Haudenschild one night at Eldora and Jac and Sheldon were both racing. I asked her how she does it and she said that she trusts Sheldon’s ability and just watches Jac. I know that Tony Stewart has done all he can to make that place as safe as he can.”

She admits that being a wife of a World of Outlaws driver isn’t easy, but she respects the lifestyle her husband has chosen. “You have to understand and appreciate the lifestyle,” she said. “If you can’t do that, it’s not made for you. They are doing their career and their passion. I tell Brad that he is so lucky he found something he is good at that he is passionate about that can be his career.”

It seems that Sweet is also lucky for having an understanding and supportive wife.

By Gary Thomas

(Tulare, CA – October 1, 2019) The biggest event of the season at Merle Stone Chevrolet Thunderbowl Raceway is fast approaching with the much-anticipated Abreu Vineyards 26^th annual Trophy Cup presented by Rudeen Racing ready to invade Tulare on October 17^th, 18^th and 19^th.

The Trophy Cup continues to be one of the premier Winged Sprint Car showcases in the country and the 2019 version is sure to be another must attend weekend. The 26^th edition of the Abreu Vineyards Trophy Cup presented by Rudeen Racing once again boasts a $200,000 overall purse for the three nights.

The event originally started out at San Jose Speedway in 1994 and was held at the track until its closing in ‘99. It then moved to Ocean Speedway for one year, before heading to the Kings Speedway in Hanford from 2001-2004. In ‘05 the Trophy Cup was moved to Thunderbowl Raceway, where it has been held ever since.

With its unique format the Trophy Cup regularly produces some of the best Winged Sprint Car racing that fans will witness all season. Each time a driver hits the raceway for competitive racing there are points on the line. It’s all a lead-up to the 50-lap feature on Saturday night, which features the top-20 in overall points inverted, plus the four transfers out of the B-main making up the final four spots.

All cars that start the Saturday A-main are guaranteed at least $5,000 in weekend winnings and the overall champion is guaranteed a record $26,000 in winnings. The Trophy Cup is always an all-star showcase in California, with champions and winners from all over the state and beyond in action.

Tickets continue to be on sale for the Abreu Vineyards 26^th annual Trophy Cup presented by Rudeen Racing with all seating in the house reserved during the weekend. Adult grandstand tickets cost $50 on Thursday and Friday and $55 on Saturday. Bleacher tickets are $45 on Thursday and Friday and $50 on Saturday. Kids pricing and senior pricing is also available.

A seating chart is online at www.thunderbowlraceway.com and tickets can be acquired by calling 559-688-0909. The pit gate opens at 10am on Thursday October 17, with the drivers meeting at 3:30pm sharp. Qualifying is scheduled for 4:45pm, with first race at 6:15pm.

All the special events that have become so popular are returning once again, with a slight change up this year. Thursday night will now showcase the Spaghetti Feed sponsored by La Villa Delicatessen featuring spaghetti, meat balls, salad, bread and desert. Friday post-race will be the annual Taco Bravo Fiesta Night featuring tacos and burritos. Driver and fan razor bike racing also returns this year on both Thursday and Friday with tickets to compete available at the T-shirt booth or pit sign in booth.

The post-race parties start 20 minutes after the checkered flag with beer, water and soft drinks also available for purchase inside.

The annual Breakfast/ Brunch sponsored by the Tulare County Fairgrounds and KRC Safety Company will now move to Saturday from 11am-1:30pm.

The Bean Bag/ Cornhole Tournament will begin at approximately 10am on Saturday with sign ups taking place at the T-shirt booth or by seeing Kim Offill in the pit area. Sponsors of this year’s tournament include HRP, Maxwell Industries, Tarlton Motorsports, Tiner-Hirst Enterprises, Offill Family Farms, Fire Protection Management, Hoosier Tire Midwest, Ancona Motorsports, A.R.T. Speed Equipment, Maxim Chassis, Capital Renegade, Scelzi Enterprises Inc., Smith Precision Products and Soares Racing.

A donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation at the door during all these events is appreciated. Over the last 25-years Dave Pusateri and the Trophy Cup team have raised over $1,770,000 in donations for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Fans and teams are all encouraged to attend the special eating events. More info on the Trophy Cup, as well as an entry list can be found at www.trophycup.org

Special thanks to all our partners for making things happen at Thunderbowl Raceway including Merle Stone Chevrolet, Budweiser, Roth Motorsports, KRC Safety, Western Metal Company, Southwest Contractors, Double “D” Towing and JD Heiskel & Company.

For more info on Merle Stone Chevrolet Thunderbowl Raceway visit www.thunderbowlraceway.com and like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Tulare-Thunderbowl-Raceway

The Merle Stone Chevrolet Thunderbowl Raceway is located at the Tulare County Fairgrounds on the corner of Bardsley and K Streets at 620 South K Street Tulare, California 93274. From the junction of SR 99 and SR 137, go west on SR 137. At South K go south one-half mile to the Fairgrounds. Camping is available for fans off turns three and four.

 

LINCOLN, Calif. – It began 25 years ago in a box stock kart at Prairie City’s dirt track. At age eight, Brad Sweet strapped into Rod Tiner’s kart and started a racing career on dirt that 20 years later reached the pinnacle of sprint car racing, the World of Outlaws. Tiner had built the kart for his son, but when completed it was Sweet who decided to try racing and see if it was of interest to him. As many current sprint car drivers have done, Sweet’s kart career proved to be a training ground for the next six years.

At age 15, moving on to something else was a wish, but age restrictions back then made moving up difficult. Sweet did race a few midget lite events until finally being told he could not race at that age.

A year later, it was a full season in Harley Van Dyke’s midget lite where wins started accumulating, including the championship at the 2002 Mini Sprint Nationals in Benton, Mo. Finally at age 17 – a time when today’s young drivers might be in their third year of sprint car racing – Sweet first climbed into a winged sprint.

Duane Scott put him in his car, with that very first race coming at Petaluma Speedway where Sweet believes he finished fourth. Later that year Scott “made my dad a really good deal on a mini 360 sprint operation; we really could not afford more than a local 360”. He raced about 20 times and he figures he only got one win, that coming at Marysville. The following year, now at age 18, Sweet got a ride from Dave and Debbie Vertullo and started to make significant advances with his results.

Racing about 40 times that year, Sweet felt he was “getting pretty competitive” and won a Civil War race at Placerville, at a time when car counts for the series were very large. Sweet’s big move came after graduating from high school, when he took off for Indiana. He noted that, “I felt I could be a really great California racer, but everybody out here wasn’t necessarily making a living doing it. I had the dream to make a living racing.”

During the year racing for the Vertullos, Sweet was building up their family little operation, adding a part here and there. Joined by Heavy D (Darin Smith), they drove to Indiana to run USAC, which “seemed the place to be at that point.”

They did not have the money to race with the World of Outlaws, but Indiana offered the chance to race three or four nights a week in non-winged sprints. Sweet said, “We bounced around running for different owners but the year did the job, making a bit of a name for myself. The next year Jack Yeley called and I brought my stuff home and drove for Yeley all of 2006.”

By the end of 2006, Sweet felt burned out, since he was not really going anywhere but racing a lot of local shows. He came home on weekends when he could and raced a winged sprint for owners such as Mark Flachman or Rod Tiner.

He decided to come back west in 2007, and that proved to be a game changer when he got connected with Gary Perkins. “I got back into winged racing, which is what I grew up doing and was very passionate about and had watched my whole life,” explained Sweet. Forming a team with Perkins, along with Kyle Hirst also driving, put the Grass Valley driver on a new path.

When Jeff Walker asked Sweet to return to the Midwest for a while, Perkins felt the timing was good, as a break for the winged team was needed. While racing for Walker, a call came from Keith Kunz to drive a midget.

Sweet had never raced a midget but his third race ever in one was the Belleville Nationals where he broke right after getting passed for the lead by Jerry Coons Jr. The midget seemed to fit his driving style, so he spent the rest of 2007 driving for Kunz and Perkins.

He finished 2007 strong and the phone rang and things changed dramatically. Willie and Kasey Kahne called because they needed a driver for 2008 to race their entire USAC program: dirt and pavement midgets and sprints. Sweet had no pavement experience, but that call led to a relationship that continues today.

Sweet summarizes the history by saying, “They gave me a chance and I’ve been with Kasey ever since. We kind of transitioned through USAC into more winged stuff and NASCAR stuff along the way and I kind of found my home with the World of Outlaws.”

A series regular since 2014, Sweet claimed his first Outlaw win in 2012 at Spencer, Iowa, running about 60 Outlaw shows prior to becoming a full timer.
Recognizing the number of years to be a professional sprint car driver is limited. Sweet is giving some thought to what he would do eventually.

Retirement in the usual sense would not be likely, as Sweet describes himself as “too much of a busybody to just retire. I’ll need to do something, whether it’s promoting races or whatever.”

No matter what he decides to do after his racing career has ended, it will likely be successful, as Sweet describes himself as “relentless” and he has always been interested in being an entrepreneur.

It was a long road from the homemade kart debut to battling for the title in the World of Outlaws, but Brad Sweet has used his passion for racing and the willingness to take a chance to get where he is today.