10/14/2010
Sprint Source
"Super" Blake Robertson returns to the saddle at Cotton Classic this Saturday night
Blake Robertson returns to action at Cotton Classic on Saturday behind the wheel of Steven Tiner Racing sprint car
By Gary Thomas
Hanford, CA – October 14, 2010…This Saturday’s Cotton Classic at the Giant Chevrolet Kings Speedway not only marks the final Winged 410 Sprint Car event of the season in California, but it will also see the return of Visalia’s “Super” Blake Robertson to the seat of a sprint car.
The $5,000-to-win/$500-to-start event on Saturday will be Robertson’s first time driving a sprint car in nearly two and a half years and will come aboard the Steven Tiner Racing, King Racing Products, BR Motorsports No. 94 machine.
The 1992 National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year winner captured the Cotton Classic in the year 2000 and will look to quickly knock off any rust on Saturday, in an attempt to hoist the cotton bail for the second time in his career.
“I’m really looking forward to getting back on the track at the Cotton Classic because over the last month or so I have started to get a bit of an itch to race,” commented Robertson. “It’s been a while since I’ve driven so we’ll just see what happens on Saturday, but hopefully we can come out of the box strong and have a good night.”
Throughout his career Robertson has routinely been a driver that has hit and missed races, however, among his accomplishments was the Silver Dollar Speedway 410 track championship in 2003 when driving full-time for Duke and Scott McMillen. In ’04 he picked up a victory at the annual Pacific Sprint Fall Nationals in Chico and that same year also charged to a top-five finish at the Gold Cup Race of Champions in the McMillen No. 10 mount.
This weekend’s Cotton Classic will be the third Winged 410 Sprint Car event at the Giant Chevrolet Kings Speedway this season and looks to be featuring the best field of cars so far this year at the 3/8 mile clay oval. “The Cotton Classic has always been a great show for the fans and I’m happy that everyone involved with the track is bringing it back to be a big money race this year,” said Robertson. “There should be a good field of cars so it’ll be a challenge for us, but we’ll be up for it and are excited for Saturday.”
In addition to Robertson a number of other competitors are expected to vie for victory at the Cotton Classic on Saturday, including San Jose’s Tim Kaeding, who has claimed the previous two Winged 410 Sprint Car events at the Giant Chevrolet Kings Speedway this season. The driver of the Roth Motorsports, DTR Transport Inc. No. 83 sprinter has picked up 12 main event wins overall in California this season and is fresh off a two-night sweep of the Pacific Sprint Fall Nationals in Chico just two weekend’s back.
T. Kaeding raced to victory at the Cotton Classic in 2002 when he made thrilling last lap pass of Easton’s Tommy Tarlton, who is also expected to be one of the many drivers to beat on Saturday competing in the Corporate America Lending, Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino No. 21 machine. Tarlton goes into this weekend looking to lock up his second straight Ocean Speedway 360 title on Friday, before entering Hanford on Saturday in search of his second Cotton Classic triumph, after winning the event in 1998.
Chico’s Jonathan Allard, a former two-time Cotton Classic champion, will be in search of his 10th Winged 410 Sprint Car victory of 2010 this Saturday night in Hanford at the helm of the Williams Motorsports, Sharp Insurance No. 0 mount. The two-time King of California came extremely close to winning at the Giant Chevrolet Kings Speedway in May, until T. Kaeding was able to get by off the final corner in heavy traffic to steal the win away.
Eighteen-year-old Kyle Larson will look to rebound at the Cotton Classic after tough luck took him out of contention at the Giant Chevrolet Kings Speedway in June, while running second in the main event at the time. The 2010 King of California had a great run during the event and had actually passed T. Kaeding for the lead at one point, but a yellow flag negated the pass, which was all a moot point as engine issues put him out of the race with just a couple laps left in the feature.
Other entrants expected to tackle the Giant Chevrolet Kings Speedway for the Cotton Classic will include 13-time King of California and recent Ocean Speedway main event winner Brent Kaeding of Campbell, five-time & current California Sprint Car Civil War Series champion Andy Forsberg of Auburn, two-time Civil War champ Sean Becker of Oroville, '04 King of California Jason Statler of Grass Valley, Scotts Valley’s Evan Suggs, Elk Grove’s Bobby McMahan, Sean McMahan and Billy Strange, Placerville’s Andy Gregg, Visalia's Cory Eliason and many more.
Teams will be allowed to run either Hoosier or Goodyear tires at the Cotton Classic. Hoosier tire rules will be according to the 2010 Golden State Challenge rulebook and allowed Goodyear tires will include the 100, 200 and 300.
The front gate will open at 5:30pm on Saturday October 16 with racing scheduled to start around 6:30. General admission bleacher tickets will cost $17 and Reserved Grandstand tickets $20. For advance tickets and more info contact 559-584-7223.
A drivers based fund raiser for Breast Cancer Awareness will be held at the event and a portion of each pit pass and ticket will also go to support Breast Cancer and the American Cancer Society. Camping is available on site and overnight camping will be allowed in the pits for free.
The Giant Chevrolet Kings Speedway is a lightning fast 3/8 mile clay oval and is located on the Kings County Fairgrounds in Hanford, California.
Visalia’s “Super” Blake Robertson will return to sprint car action during this Saturday night’s annual Cotton Classic at the Giant Chevrolet Kings Speedway in Hanford. The 2000 Cotton Classic winner will take to the 3/8 mile clay oval aboard the Steven Tiner Racing, King Racing Products, BR Motorsports No. 94 sprinter. Photo by Steve Lamothe of http://www.stevesracingphotos.com
Submitted By: Gary Thomas