---

Tarlton endures toughest night of season

Inside Line Promotions – WATSONVILLE, Calif. (Sept. 25) – Tommy Tarlton characterized it as a “complete breakdown.”

“It’s like we forgot how to race,” he said.

The Easton, Calif., resident had a disastrous night last Friday at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif., where his hopes for a third consecutive Ocean Sprints championship suffered a severe blow.

Entering the Ocean Sprints vs. California Civil War Sprint Car Series event, Tarlton trailed Ronnie Day by only seven points in the Ocean Sprints standings. However, after failing to advance to the feature for the first time this season, Tarlton is now behind by 32 points with two races remaining.

“I think it’s pretty much over,” a dejected Tarlton said. “Now I’m just going to try to win. I want to get to 10 wins this season and we’re awfully close. And if we can’t win the championship, it’d be neat to win the most races.”

He currently has nine wins and three in Ocean Sprints’ competition – tied for the lead with Tim Kaeding. Heading into Friday’s race, Tarlton had claimed two of the last four Ocean Sprints events. That momentum was short-lived as Tarlton qualified 17th and fell from third to fifth place in his heat race.

“I just couldn’t drive it,” he said. “No matter where I ran, the thing wouldn’t go.”

The troubles continued in the B Main, which Tarlton started eighth – two positions out of a transfer to the feature. After quickly moving into the top five in the opening laps, Tarlton slid back to eighth by lap five.

“I was able to make crazy moves at the start,” he said. “But I had no forward bite and no side bite. And when I did, the car got tippy.”

Around lap six Tarlton caught the cushion in turn three and flipped, damaging the car beyond repair and missing a transfer to the main event.

“I tipped over trying to make something work,” he said. “I did my best; drove as hard as I could. And that wasn’t good enough.”

Tarlton will take this weekend off before the next Ocean Sprints’ race, which is Oct. 7 at Ocean Speedway. He’ll conclude that weekend on Oct. 8 at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif., which hosts the final ASCS Southern California Region race of the season.

Tarlton has clinched the ASCS Southern California championship and has won five of the seven races this season, including the last three.

QUICK RESULTS –

Sept. 23 – Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif. – Qualifying: 17; Heat race: 5 (3); B Main: 10 (8).

SEASON STATS –

35 races, 34 features, 9 wins, 25 top fives, 27 top 10s, 29 top 15s, 32 top 20s

UP NEXT –

Oct. 7 at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif., with the Ocean Sprints and Oct. 8 at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif., with the ASCS Southern California Region

FAVORITE NUMBER –

1: Feature missed this season, which happened last Friday after Tarlton crashed in the B Main at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS –

Website: www.tommytarlton.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/tommytarlton21

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100001286852863

APPAREL –

Tarlton has black t-shirts, sweatshirts and hats, and white women’s shirts available for purchase at every race he attends. For information on where you can get them, visit http://www.tarltonandson.com/tarlton-racing-schedule.

ON THE AIR –

Tarlton was a guest on the Lucas Oil ASCS Show by Racinboys on May 3. Click on the link below to listen. Tarlton’s interview begins around the 32-minute mark.

http://www.meridix.com/mbp/general/index.php?liveid=Racinboys&recordid=18831

He was also a featured guest on the Dirt Cast podcast on June 29. The link is below:

http://dirtcast.com/2011/06/29/tommy-tarlton-ascs-sprint-cars-ocean-sprints-6-29-11/

Check out the link below to see highlights of Tarlton’s King of the West Sprint Car Series’ win at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif., on May 14.

http://vimeo.com/23805799

Here are a couple of videos from Tarlton’s victory and runner-up performance with the King of the West Sprint Car Series at the Howard Kaeding Classic at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif., on July 1-2:

http://vimeo.com/25952465 and http://vimeo.com/25950506

Here is a link to Tarlton spinning around on the back of his car during a heat race at Ocean Speedway on July 8:

http://youtu.be/HXLff-Fn55M

Check out this link to an in-car video of Tarlton winning the B Main at the Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore., on July 13:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwxAz8nEgzw&feature=channel_video_title

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Bandy & Associates

Located in Fresno, Calif., Bandy & Associates is a CPA firm run by Dan Bandy. This is the first year Bandy & Associates have been a sponsor, but its relationship with the team dates back 20 years.

“We’ve been working together since 1991 as a business relationship,” Tarlton said. “We are more than thrilled that Dan and Bandy & Associates are partnering with our race team.”

Tarlton would like to thank his sponsors, including Tarlton and Son, Inc., Corporate America Lending, Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino, Sharp Insurance & Bonding, Simpson and BG Products for their continued support.

INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –

Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations, media management and merchandising services for sprint car teams. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and your sponsors’ return on investment.

To meet the media relations needs of your team, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or sprintcarreporter@yahoo.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit www.insidelinepromotions.com.

---

Back to News