By Joseph Terrell

Tulare, Calif: Shane Golobic isn’t the normal California throttle masher. Instead, he is known more for being technical and smooth. But Friday night of the 29th annual Make-A-Wish Foundation, Golobic showed he can sit up in the seat.

Driving the Matt Wood sprinter, Golobic navigated the tricky Tulare Thunderbowl cushion to score his 10th win of 2023, leading all 30 laps from the pole. In the process, he showed that he can bang the cushion with the best when called upon even if it is not his forte.

“Banging the boards down isn’t exactly like my cup of tea like it is for these two young guns up here on this stage, but luckily my car was really good,” Golobic said after the race referring to second-place Corey Day and third-place Ryan Timms.

The three-time Trophy Cup champion has been so good at this event because of his ability to be consistent. This label has been used, at times, to criticize Golobic for not driving hard enough or going all in on winning. Friday night should quiet some of the detractors.

Even more important, Golobic’s win left him with 273 total points for the night, which will have him tied for third going into Saturday. Amazingly, it was his first ever Trophy Cup Main Event win, something he was quick to point out.

“It is tough being a three-time champion and not being able to say you’ve won a prelim. So, I am happy about that. Got lucky with the invert and were able to capitalize on that. It

felt good to rebound after a tough night last night.”

Just Another Day: As Golobic was salvaging his night, Corey Day was just being, well, Corey Day. When the dust settled Friday night,the Clovis, Calif., sensation had scored 281 points. This put him first overall, seven points ahead of Abreu and eight ahead of Golobic going into Saturday.

Most impressive is how Day continues to pass cars at will, specifically using the bottom of the track. While many perceive Day to be a bang-the-board teenager, in reality, he knows the importance of using the bottom to be successful.

“I love running the bottom. You pay your bills there,” Day said as we talked in the camp area after the races.

Paying the bills is exactly what Day is doing, especially in the biggest races. His results in the seven main events he has contested at Dirt Cup, Gold Cup and Trophy Cup this year are: first, first, third, third, first, third, second.

Don’t Sleep on Timms: Day is stealing the headline, but 17-year-old Ryan Timms has been almost as impressive and shouldn’t be counted out going into Saturday night.

The Oklahoma driver had a perfect night going Thursday and seemed like he on his way to a big night until he was a DNF. However, Timms came back Friday unfazed and qualified second, finished fourth in his heat, and then ended the night third in the Main Event. It was good enough to total 272 points.

That puts him in a tie for fifth overall with Landon Brooks. Timms seems to like the Thunderbowl with Main Event wins at the 2021 and 2022 Trophy Cup. Even more important, his team is giving him a car capable of winning if he can do his job.

“Every time we come here, you know, we always have a good enough car to contend to win. We were really good tonight, and we had a really good car last night. I just messed up.”

Freitas Learns Hard Lesson: Dustin Freitas had a dream night when he won his heat race and qualified for the Main Event. Friday was not so dreamy as his night ended as a result of a hip check from Dominic Scelzi in Heat Four.

Freitas had started the qualifier on the pole and raced hard as he looked to qualify for his second straight Main Event. After leading the opening lap, Bud Kaeding got by, and Scelzi tried to follow.

Freitas, though, blocked at every point. Scelzi finally drove through him in turn four, sending Freitas into the turn four fence. Freitas was surprised but with points so valuable, Dom was not going to be patient.

“Yeah, he just used me in turn didn’t he. He raced me hard into turn two and barely gave me but I thought it was just racing. Then he drove through me. I don’t usually know Dom to race like that. We are going to pull down the other car and put this engine in and be ready to go for tomorrow,” Freitas said as they got ready to pull down the backup car.

Tulare Takes Laps: One thing many drivers struggle with is that they only race Tulare once a year. Just as their weekend is ending, they are getting comfortable with how to race the unique track.

This is especially true for the drivers from Oregon and Washington who spend most of their year running tracks with short straightaways and sweeping turns. The Thunderbowl is the exact opposite, and it takes time to get used to the different style it requires.

“It is nothing like what we run at home where everything is momentum based. We don’t run hard down the straight and then slow into the turn anywhere like we do here. Every year I feel by Saturday night we are just getting the hang of it and it is time to head home and not come back for a year,” Colton Heath explained, echoing the sentiment of the northwest drivers.

The results show this as all five drivers from Oregon and Washington have failed to make the Main Event either night.

The Battle for the Cup:  Going into tomorrow, the top 10 in points are: Day (281); Abreu (274); Golobic (273); Koifoid (273); Brooks (272); Timms (272); Reutzel (269); Courtney (269); Sanders (269); Scelzi (269).

Tomorrow’s format will have the top 48 in points inverted in six heat races. This means Day will start eighth in the first Heat Race. The Heat will pay out 36 points to the win and go down by three. Given the closeness of Abreu through Scelzi the heats will play a big role in determining the contenders going into Saturday’s Main Event.

The top 20 in points will be inverted in the Main Event, which will be 50 laps with 150 points to the winner going down by three. Traditionally to win a driver will need to finish in the top five of his heat race and the Main Event. Sometimes it is the top three in each race.

Saturday night of the Trophy Cup is here. The overall champion will get a $29,000 paycheck and to do it they will have to pass a lot of fast cars. No easy chore but one driver will do it and for their effort they will be crowned Trophy Cup champion.