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Inside Line Promotions – SANTA MARIA, Calif. (July 10) – The more Tommy Tarlton races, the more things never change.

The veteran picked up another pair of top-five finishes last weekend to run his total to 18 top fives in 23 races this season.

“Things are going really well right now,” the Easton, Calif., native said. “We’ve had a few tough breaks and some minor issues, but that’s part of racing. Overall, we’re competitive every night and that’s all I can ask for.”

That was exactly the case on Friday, although the first half of the night didn’t start out very well in the Ocean Sprints event at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif.

Tarlton qualified fourth, but he noticed a steering issue in hot laps that culminated with a tough heat race. He started sixth and actually spun out trying to avoid taking another driver out when the car struggled to turn.

“We should have been fast time by two tenths of a second,” he said. “I thought maybe the car was messed up and the crew loosened it up for the heat race and still couldn’t get it to turn.”

Tarlton was forced to run the B Main, which he won to earn a transfer to the feature. However, the car continued to be way too tight despite the crew loosening it up as much as they could. After the B Main victory, the team changed the steering box and Tarlton started 11th in the main event.

He charged to fourth and caught up with a three-way battle for the lead on the final lap, but it was too little too late. Tarlton settled for the position one spot out of the podium.

He is now only 13 points out of the lead of the Ocean Sprints standings.

Saturday was more of the same for Tarlton, who finished second at Santa Maria Speedway in Santa Maria, Calif., with the King of the West Sprint Car Series.

Tarlton qualified ninth and won his heat race to advance to the dash. However, he hit the wall midway through the race and finished sixth, which is where he started in the feature.

“In the main event I just kind of picked my way up to second,” he said. “I didn’t really have anything for Jonathan Allard. He had it going pretty good. Maybe if we had a restart it could have been a little more exciting.”

In six races with the King of the West this season, Tarlton has two wins, three runner-up finishes and a 19th-place finish when he crashed.

He is scheduled to follow the ASCS Northwest Region Speedweek, which is six races in six days at five tracks throughout Oregon and Washington.

Tarlton will race at Southern Oregon Speedway in White City, Ore., on Monday, at Coos Bay Speedway in Coos Bay, Ore., on Tuesday, at Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore., on Wednesday and at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore., on Thursday.

Speedweek will then conclude with a Friday and Saturday event at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash., with the ASCS National Tour.

For live updates of Tarlton and the rest of the Speedweek races, visit www.insidelinepromotions.com throughout the week.

QUICK RESULTS –

July 8 – Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Calif. – Qualifying: 4; Heat race: 7 (6); B Main: 1 (1); Feature: 4 (11).

July 9 – Santa Maria Speedway in Santa Maria, Calif. – Qualifying: 9; Heat race: 1 (2); Dash: 6 (3); Feature: 2 (6).

SEASON STATS –

23 races, 23 features, 5 wins, 18 top fives, 18 top 10s, 18 top 15s, 21 top 20s

UP NEXT –

ASCS NORTHWEST SPEEDWEEK – Monday at Southern Oregon Speedway in White City, Ore., Tuesday at Coos Bay Speedway in Coos Bay, Ore., Wednesday at Cottage Grove Speedway in Cottage Grove, Ore., Thursday at Willamette Speedway in Lebanon, Ore.; and Friday and Saturday at Grays Harbor Raceway in Elma, Wash., with the ASCS National Tour

FAVORITE NUMBER –

18: Top-five finishes in 23 races this season, including five victories.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS –

Website: www.tarltonandson.com/racing and www.tommytarlton.com

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

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

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

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Sharp Insurance & Bonding

Established in 1977, Sharp Insurance & Bonding is a full-service insurance agency located in Visalia, Calif. Sharp Insurance & Bonding specializes in commercial insurance, contractors insurance, contractor bonding and personal lines. For more information, visit www.sharpinsurance.com.

“We’ve been doing business with Sharp Insurance & Bonding since 1995 and it has been a sponsor since 1997,” Tarlton said. “We’ve got a great relationship. He supports a lot of race teams, and has been a great support of me both on and off the track.”

Tarlton would like to thank his sponsors, including Tarlton and Son, Inc., Corporate America Lending, Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino, Bandy & Associates, 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.