By Brad Kennedy
TULARE, Calif. (Mar. 28, 2026) — Conner Danell turned adversity into victory Saturday night at Thunderbowl Raceway, charging to his first California 305 Sprint Series win after rebounding from a violent crash just 24 hours earlier.
The Visalia driver and his team thrashed overnight to repair his car following a nasty tumble during Friday heat race action. Starting third in Saturday’s 25-lap feature, Danell wasted no time getting to work, ripping the middle groove in the early laps to take control.
Davey Pombo set the early pace, but a slip in turns one and two opened the door for Danell, who capitalized to take over the top spot. The two front-runners kept each other honest throughout the race. At one point, Danell stretched his advantage to a straightaway lead, but as the race reached the midway point, that margin began to shrink as Pombo mounted a furious charge.
Pombo erased a 2.5-second deficit in just a handful of laps and made multiple bids for the lead, including a strong move to the inside in turns one and two. He even attempted a slide job for the top spot, but missed the rubber off turn four, allowing Danell to maintain control.
Finding another gear in the closing laps, Danell pulled away once again to secure his first career Thunderbowl Raceway victory. Pombo finished second, while Friday winner George Tristao Jr. completed the podium in third. Anthony Pombo and Washington’s Jeff Westergard were fourth and fifth.
Westergard set quick time with a lap of 15.855 seconds. Heat race victories went to Westergard and Phil Heynan.
Tristao Outlasts Attrition-Filled Friday Main Event
George Tristao Jr. survived a caution-filled, hard-fought 25-lap feature on Friday night to score the victory.
Jeremy Alves and Kevin Barnes Sr. led the field to green, but chaos struck immediately when Alves drifted up the track on the opening start, collecting Barnes in a violent crash that sidelined both drivers.
On the restart, Davey Pombo jumped out front ahead of Tristao, and the two battled intensely over the opening laps. Pombo appeared to have the advantage until he missed the bottom exiting turn four, allowing Tristao to slip past and take control. Multiple cautions slowed the pace throughout the event, but Tristao remained steady out front while the battle for second heated up between Pombo and Jeff Westergard.
The duo traded the runner-up position several times before late-race contact ended both of their chances. A miscalculated slider attempt resulted in contact that folded Pombo’s front axle and damaged the rear end of Westergard’s machine.
With the challengers sidelined, Tristao cruised to the win over Maverick Myrick and Phil Heynan. Anthony Pombo placed fourth, followed by fifth-finishing Lance Jackson.
Davey Pombo set quick time earlier in the evening with a lap of 15.202 seconds. Heat race wins went to Davey Pombo and Tristao.
