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Tarlton ends season with 9 wins, 30 top fives

Inside Line Promotions – EASTON, Calif. (Oct. 30) – Tommy Tarlton knew he was going to have a good season on Jan. 1.

That’s when he became the first sprint car feature winner of 2011 in the world with a victory in Baypark, New Zealand. After wrapping up the runner-up position in the New Zealand Sprint Car Championships a couple weeks later, Tarlton headed home for a prolific season in the United States.

The Easton, Calif., native picked up nine victories in 41 races, with an astounding 30 top fives. He won 22 percent of his races and finished in the top five in 73 percent.

“The success we had in New Zealand really carried over to our season here,” he said. “It’s pretty cool that we were the first winner of the year and that we continued to race up front most of the season.”

Not only did Tarlton win a lot, but he won big. Tarlton claimed the inaugural Howard Kaeding Classic race, the first-ever ASCS Southern California Region race, his third Pombo/Sargent Classic and a trio of Ocean Sprints events. He also won the Johnny Key Classic dash for the second consecutive year and earned the inaugural ASCS Southern California Region championship by an astounding 463 points.

Additionally, Tarlton recorded a pair of top-five finishes with the ASCS National Tour on nationally televised broadcasts by the VERSUS network. He also finished 10th in his first-ever ASCS Northwest Region Speedweek and 10th out of 70 drivers in overall points at the 18th annual Trophy Cup.

Tarlton places 10th overall at Trophy Cup

Inside Line Promotions – TULARE, Calif. (Oct. 24) – Tommy Tarlton was behind before he even started.

“We drew a 71, so we were like the 60th car out for qualifying,” he said. “So the track wasn’t nearly as good as it was early.”

It was all uphill from that point for the Easton, Calif., veteran at last weekend’s 18th annual Trophy Cup at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare, Calif. In the prestigious event where every position determines points for the 70 competitors, Tarlton opened the weekend by qualifying 32nd on Friday.

“Getting behind the eight-ball right out of the gate makes it tough,” he said.

The woes continued in the heat race when something in the valve train in the engine broke and pumped fuel all over Tarlton, who maintained second place to lock himself into the feature. The team changed engines before the main event, but a loose race car resulted in a 16th-place finish.

Tarlton was 19th in overall points after the first night.

“That was a rough way to start it,” he said. “We had high expectations going into the weekend.”

Tarlton nearly wins again -- twice

Inside Line Promotions – HANFORD, Calif. (Oct. 16) – Tommy Tarlton did what Tommy Tarlton does best: he didn’t mix words after a pair of great finishes.

“I gave away two more races,” he said.

The Easton, Calif., native picked up a pair of top fives last weekend – he has 29 in 39 races this season – but was candid about letting two opportunities at victory slip away in the closing laps.

“I did a lot of passing and got passed a little bit,” he said. “But when I got passed, it was at the wrong time. It’s tough to finish them off.”

Tarlton wrapped up the Ocean Sprints campaign with a runner-up performance at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif., last Friday. It also sealed a second-place finish in the series and halted his charge toward three consecutive Ocean Sprints championships. Veteran Ronnie Day claimed the crown by 27 points.

“I’m happy Ronnie won because Ronnie actually taught me how to drive at Ocean Speedway,” Tarlton said. “When I was really young, I watched him blaze around that place and asked him how he did that. I’ve learned a lot from Ronnie. If anybody is going to beat me there, it’s ok that it is him.”