PETALUMA, Calif.
Jason Statler used some hard driving as well as a bit of good fortune early on in the main event Saturday night at  Petaluma Speedway and led the final 24 laps of the 30-lap feature to pick up his first Golden State Challenge Series win since Memorial Day of 2007.
Statler has had an admittedly tough start to the season, but has been gaining ground in recent weeks with some strong performances out of his Mark Bristow-led team.
The 30-lap event started with pole-sitter Tim Kaeding jumping out into the lead. T. Kaeding was in search of his third-straight GSC event victory, but hopes of that were dashed with a broken driveshaft occurring on a lap-three restart. While he was slowing after the problem occurred, the field stacked up and left Mike Henry with nowhere to go, ending with his No. 93 machine getting upside down to bring out a red flag.
With T. Kaeding out of the race, Tyler Walker was bumped into the top spot and he held the lead for three circuits after going green before tangling with a lapped car in turn four. Walker came to a stop and restarted, but was involved in another incident with the same lapped car later in the race, putting an end to his night. After all the madness was done, Statler found himself out in front of the race and had to deal with a number of cautions and reds, in addition to a fast moving Brent Kaeding late in the going.
After going green, Statler continued to hold the lead and, although “BK” applied some pressure towards the final few laps, the driver of the DF Rios Construction No. 00 never faltered and drove under Willie Williams’s checkered flag for his eighth-career GSC victory.
The win moved Statler into a tie with Sean Becker for eighth on the all-time Golden State Challenge Series win list and was a much needed confidence booster for the “Big Guy.”
B. Kaeding hung in for a second-place finish in his first GSC start since the Dace Bradway, Jr. Memorial a few weekends back.
“I caught up to Jason there at the end, but just couldn’t get by because the track was really tough tonight,” the defending King of California said. “Second place isn’t what we wanted, but I have to congratulate Jason and his team on winning tonight, and we’ll be up there before too long.”
Roger Crockett made his seventh GSC start of the season and picked up his third podium finish of the year aboard Roger Henderson’s No. 7n. Kyle Hirst and point-leader Jonathan Allard filled the top five.
The finish:
Jason Statler, Brent Kaeding, Roger Crockett, Kyle Hirst, Jonathan Allard, Bud Kaeding, Peter Murphy, Shawn Arriaga, Bradley Terrell, Evan Suggs, Dave Lindt, Alissa Geving, Art McCarthy, Brent Bjork, Tyler Walker, Mark Workentine, Ken Fredenburg, Mike Benson, Mike Henry, Colby Copeland, Christian Stover, Tim Kaeding.