By Joseph Terrell

Olympia, Wash: The Trophy Cup. It is the final of what has become the three major Sprint Car races out west. Dirt Cup at Skagit, Gold Cup at Silver Dollar and Trophy Cup at Tulare’s Thunderbowl Raceway are three races that stand above the rest.

The Dirt Cup and Gold Cup are in the books. The Trophy Cup is all that remains, and somebody is going to leave with close to $30,000 in winnings.

The Make-A-Wish 29th annual Trophy Cup will pay $29,000 to overall points champion for the weekend. Every driver in Saturday’s Main Event is guaranteed $6,000 in winnings for the weekend.

Trophy Cup’s format puts its emphasis on qualifying and passing to get the most total points and creates a lot of action. The Thunderbowl Raceway only adds to that with its long straightaways, tight corners and the fact banging boards is the way to win more often than not.

The track can be tough on cars, though, and many drivers go home looking at a long offseason of rebuilding broken cars.

The race gets unprecedented support in regard to car count on the West Coast, as 80 plus cars usually check in. Fans love it because it has the feel of the good gold days with inversions in the heats and mains.

The format includes two preliminary nights that are identical with split qualifying groups each night. Points are 150 down by one in qualifying. Heat races are 36 down by three, with the winner and high point driver in each qualifier advancing to the Main Event. The A-Main pays 100 points to win and then down by two. A perfect night is 286.

A couple more things about the preliminary formats. Heat races are an invert of eight. The Main Event each night is inverted by Top 12. Driver gets their best night but must race both nights. On Saturday, the top 48 in points are put into six heat races, which are fully inverted.

Heat races award 36 points down by three. The top 20 in points after the heat races go to the Main Event and will be inverted. The field is rounded out by four transfers from the B-Main.

The Saturday night main event will be 50 laps, and the winner will get 150 points. From there, it goes down by three. The driver with the most points wins the overall championship.

The format requires a driver to have a good qualifying lap, efficient heat races, and the ability to pass all night without getting too impatient and wrecking. Finishing races is key.

Thinking about the format and recent success in this event, I ranked possible winners into three categories with the first being the most likely to win. They were the top five in overall points at the 2022 Trophy Cup, and it seems likely they will do the same in 2023.

The second tier has a former champion and two of the best in California, so there will be competition for the favorites should they not perform as expected.

The third tier would be a surprise, for sure, but they should be on everybody’s radar as each driver is young and already well regarded.

Favorites (in order)

Shane Golobic/Wood #17w: The 2016, 2017, and 2022 Trophy Cup champion is seeking a record-tying fourth title. No driver is better suited for this event than Golobic, who knows how to qualify, be patient, and stay out of trouble. All three are keys to winning the Trophy Cup.

Zeb Wise/Rudeen #26: Maybe the hottest driver in Sprint Car racing, the 2023 All Star champion has reached a new level in 2023. Last year the Rudeen Racing driver won the Saturday night Main Event and finished fourth in overall points.

Tyler Courtney/Works Ltd. #57w: Courtney makes his return to the Works Limited sprinter for the first time in 2023. In 2022, the two time All Star Champion was a problem in the Works Limited ride with a win at the Dirt Cup and a third place finish in Trophy Cup points.

Rico Abreu/Abreu #24: After 2019 saw the California native sweep all three main events on his way to the Trophy Cup title, Abreu will always be a favorite. He comes into the 2023 Trophy Cup on the heels of his best season ever in a Sprint Car.

Corey Day/Meyers #14: The Clovis, Calif., teenage sensation was second in overall points in 2022. So far in 2023, all Day has done is cement his status as the best driver on the West Coast. The only weakness in Day’s game has been qualifying, so it will be crucial he doesn’t stumble to start the night.

Contenders (in order)

Aaron Reutzel/RSR #8: The Clute, TX., throttle masher has never really been a contender at Trophy Cup. However, Reutzel comes to the event in 2023 with a team he is familiar with and has one of the best 360 programs in the country.

Buddy Kofoid/Roth #83: The 2021 champion could be higher, but it speaks to the competition at Trophy Cup that he is seventh on the list. The only concern has to be the lack of 360 starts for Koifoid with Roth Motorsports and some recent mechanical failures while running up front.

Chase Randall/Randall #9: The Crazy Chicken has been turning heads for about a year now, and he has morphed from good young driver into a contender. And that is exactly what Randall is for the Trophy Cup — a contender to win the whole thing.

Dominic Scelzi/Scelzi #41: Sclezi has struggled mightily the last two Trophy Cups, and the main reason has been qualifying. If the Fresno, Calif., ace can get that cleaned up, he should be in good shape for a solid 2023 run. Scelzi has been almost unbeatable in 360 competition since July.

Justin Sanders/Mittry #2x: Trophy Cup has been a struggle for Sanders over the years, and he never really has been in contention. So far in 2023, though, the Aromas, Calif., superstar has been at his best on the biggest stages with a win at the Dirt Cup and second at the Gold Cup this season. He has the chops to cap it off with a magical Trophy Cup performance.

Third Tier  (in order)

 Kalib Henry/McColloch #17: No driver will get more out of his equipment than Henry will at the Trophy Cup. He has done more with less the last two years than many. If he can just avoid an untimely mistake the Sacramento driver could be more than a nice story.

Tanner Carrick/Carrick #83t: Carrick has quietly finished in the top eight in points the last two years at Trophy Cup and has shown speed both years. However, Carrick has struggled in the second half of 2023, and that is the reason he is not higher on the list.

Ryan Timms/Timms #5t: No 17-year-old has gone from the next star to washed up as quickly as Timms. Don’t be confused, Timms is not washed up and 2023 is just part of the natural progression. Timms won main events in 2021 and 2022 at the Trophy Cup, so don’t be surprised if the Oklahoma driver makes himself known this weekend.

Cole Macedo/Tarlton #21t: Maybe the hardest driver to gauge. Macedo has struggled overall in 2023 but has been good in limited 360 starts with four wins. A lot like Scelzi, if the Lemoore, Calif., native can qualify up front, he might be a contender come Saturday. Macedo loves to bang the boards at the Thunderbowl.

Landon Brooks/Tiner-Hirst #94: Brooks has gone from an intriguing young driver to a superstar in the California 360 ranks. Last year, Brooks finished 12th overall in points driving for Tiner-Hirst. So far in 2023, the Outlaw Kart star has five 360 wins – all with Tiner-Hirst. He might not be the biggest name, but Brooks has proven he has the chops to compete on the big stages.

To be fair, many more drivers deserved consideration, but the line had to be drawn somewhere. Names such as Kyle HIrst, Justin Peck, Austin McCarl, Colby Copeland, and three-time Trophy Cup Champ Tim Kaeding are all proven commodities and could be contenders, but they didn’t make the cut for different reasons.

The truth is, for any driver to win the Trophy Cup, it starts in qualifying. If a driver doesn’t get a good lap, it is almost impossible to overcome the points loss to be a contender no matter what they do the rest of the weekend.