Kevin Pylant Back in Golden State Winners Circle - By Bobby Gerould, 07/18/03, Hanford, CA. … Santa Cruz driver Kevin Pylant captured the opening leg of the 20th annual Pombo/Sargent Classic at Kings Speedway Friday night. The man who is ranked fifth on the Golden State Challenge career wins list used an outside front row starting spot to lead all 30 laps of the winged sprint car event. Pylant's winning Maxim/Wes-Mar #14p is owned by his father, Don Pylant, and wrenched by Ken Costa.

"This feels great!" exclaimed Pylant to the appreciative Kings Speedway fans. "I feel like the monkey is off my back. I was starting to wonder if I had lost my touch."

Pylant outraced pole sitter Garrett Ishii to take the lead at the drop of the green. On lap five Ricci Faria, who was running third at the time; fell out of the race, taking his Nutrius sponsored #89 to the pits without causing a caution. Pylant hit traffic at lap seven, with Ishii a half straightaway behind in second place. On lap 10, the series hottest driver, Jason Statler, who had won the last two GSC features, took third place from Mike Faria in turn three. By lap 13, Pylant opened a full straightaway advantage as he worked the middle groove on the fast racetrack. The first yellow flag of the feature fell on lap 16 for Doug Lippincott who stalled in turn two.

On the restart, Pylant had the lapped Mike Quigley between himself, and Ishii. Third through fifth at the time were held by Statler, Mike Faria, and Jon Allard. Pylant stated, "I looked at the scoreboard to see who was running behind me. I saw that the order was basically the same so I figured we were okay. What scared me was that I saw the #4 (Faria), and #00 (Statler), up there, and I knew those guys would go to the top to try a pass."

Tommy Tarlton did a quick spin in turn four to cause the second caution period of the race on lap 17. Even though only one lap was run between yellow flags, Tim Kaeding moved by Allard to take over fifth. The final 13 circuits were caution free. Statler's #00 started to get loose on him, and Mike Faria put a bold inside move on Statler to take third position on lap 21. Five laps later, Tim Kaeding also got by Statler. With Pylant streaking away at the front of the field, Mike Faria and Tim Kaeding both continued to charge forward. Faria passed Ishii for second on lap 28, and moments later, Tim Kaeding moved by Ishii. Tim closed on Faria at the checkered flag but Faria was able to keep his nose in front for the runner-up.

The final top ten was Pylant, Mike Faria, Tim Kaeding, Ishii, Statler, Allard, Robertson, Forsberg, Brent Kaeding, and Dennis Moore Jr.

Pylant said following the event, "Kenny, my dad, Dave (Durica), and Greg (Freeman), I have to thank them for all of their hard work. Plus, this is the first time Heather (his wife) has ever seen me win. We were married almost four years ago (August 14, 1999)."

Andy Forsberg stomped the competition in the Last Chance race. Fellow transfers to the feature were Moore Jr., Craig Stidham, Brian Coelho, Shain Matthews, and Lippincott. The B&B oval Track Products heat was captured by Danny Faria Jr. Other heat winners were Jason York, Wayne Williams, and Destiney Hays. Tommy Tarlton paced the 29 car field in qualifying to earn the BR Motor Sports Quick Qualifier award. Tarlton turned the 3/8's mile oval in 13.313 seconds. The Golden State Challenge is sponsored by Hoosier Tires, C.L. Bryant, BR Motor Sports, and B&B Oval Track Products.

July 18, 2003.

Kings Speedway

Golden State Challenge Round 18 of 21

BR Motor Sports Qualifying: Driver Hometown Car Time

1. Tommy Tarlton Fresno Tarlton & Son #21 13.313
2. Tim Kaeding San Jose Cowan #7T 13.346
3. Blake Robertson Visalia McMillen #10 13.357
4. Dennis Moore Jr. Grinnell, IA. Williams #0 13.475
5. Andy Forsberg Auburn Family Auto Service #98x 13.635
6. Brian Coelho Tulare Coelho #5c 13.665
7. Brent Kaeding Campbell BK Racing #69 13.688
8. Jason Statler Los Gatos Statler #00 13.712
9. Jon Allard Chico Wright #35 13.757
10. Ricci Faria Visalia Faria #89 13.760
11. Mike Faria Tipton Faria #4 13.768
12. Kevin Pylant Santa Cruz Pylant #14p 13.775
13. Garrett Ishii Caruthers Ishii Farms #71G 13.782
14. Ronnie Day Salinas Stockbridge #1 13.804
15. Craig Stidham Fresno Stidham #3 13.812
16. Shain Matthews Marysville Matthews #67 13.867
17. Doug Lippincott Minden, NV. Lippincott #4L 13.928
18. Wayne Williams Monterey BK Racing #68 13.945
19. Jason York Chico York #25 14.058
20. Destiney Hays Oroville Hays #20d 14.122
21. Danny Faria Jr. Tipton Hasebe #2 14.233
22. Mike Schriver Campbell Taco Bravo #72 14.290
23. Tim Worth Coalinga Worth #33 14.322
24. Mike Quigley Gardnerville, NV. Quigley #75 14.348
25. Kirk Sargent Fresno Sargent #7x 14.441
26. Charlie Loudon Selma Loudon X 14.445
27. Dennis Binstock Napa Binstock #82 14.468
28. Jim Skinner Byron Skinner #73 14.734
29. Mark Barrosso Manteca Barrosso #78 14.823

B&B Oval Track Products Heat One: 1. Faria Jr., 2. Allard, 3. Ishii, 4. Tarlton, 5. Barrosso, 6. Forsberg, 7. Lippincott, 8. Sargent.

Heat Two: 1. Williams, 2. R. Faria, 3. Day, 4. T. Kaeding, 5. Louden, 6. B. Coelho, 7. Schriver

Heat Three: 1. York, 2. M. Faria, 3. Robertson, 4. B. Kaeding, 5. Worth, 6. Stidham, 7. Binstock

Heat Four: 1. Hays, 2. Quigley, 3. Pylant, 4. Statler, 5. Moore Jr. 6. Matthews, 7. Skinner.

Last Chance Race (12 laps.) 1. Forsberg, 2. Moore Jr., 3. Stidham, 4. Coelho, 5. Matthews, 6. Lippincott, 7. Louden, 8. Barrosso, 9. Sargent, 10. Binstock, 11. Schriver, 12. Skinner, 13. Worth

Feature (30 laps) - 1. Pylant, 2. M. Faria, 3. T. Kaeding, 4. Ishii, 5. Statler, 6. J. Allard, 7. Robertson, 8. Forsberg, 9. B. Kaeding, 10. Moore Jr., 11. Day, 12. Stidham, 13. Coelho, 14. Hays, 15. Williams, 16. Quigley, 17. York, 18. Lippincott, 19. Tarlton, 20. Matthews, 21. D. Faria Jr., 22. R. Faria