Kofoid Claims Top-Five Finish at Silver Dollar Speedway

Buddy Kofoid. (RCM Design)

From Gary Thomas

CHICO, Ca. (March 8, 2017) – Making his Silver Dollar Speedway Winged 410 Sprint Car debut last Friday night Penngrove, CA’s Michael “Buddy” Kofoid proceeded to put together an impressive outing, capping it with a fifth place finish in the main event.

Although he did run part of a night last season in Chico, the annual Mini Gold Cup this past Friday was realistically considered Kofoid’s first career start at the famed quarter-mile.

A 20-car field signed into the pits at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds bullring to help open the Winged 410 Sprint Car season in Northern California. Kofoid kicked-off the evening by clocking the ninth fastest time in qualifying at the helm of the Dan Simpson Racing/ Gary Silva Ranches No. 4s machine.

Lining up in the front row in his heat race Kofoid got the jump at the green flag and would never look back, doing an exceptional job to fend off six-time track champion Sean Becker en route to picking up the victory.

After drawing the fifth starting spot in the feature he hung tough when the 25-lap contest got underway. Track conditions had changed considerably, as the surface began to take rubber midway through the main event. The 15-year-old showed definite speed though and sliced under Bud Kaeding with just a few laps left to secure the fifth spot by the time the checkered flag flew. The following night’s scheduled Mini Gold Cup finale then fell victim to rain, cutting the weekend short.

“It was definitely a solid night for us as a team and it was really exciting having the chance to compete at Silver Dollar Speedway,” Kofoid commented. “To be able to hold off a guy like Sean Becker in the heat and then get by Bud Kaeding in the feature was something that certainly helps out my confidence. The guys gave me a great car and I look forward to getting a couple more nights of racing in Chico this weekend with the 360 at Silver Cup.”

Kofoid and Dan Simpson Racing will open the annual Silver Cup this Friday night at Silver Dollar Speedway, during what is a non-sanctioned Winged 360 Sprint Car event. The weekend then concludes on Saturday with the first race of the season for the Civil War 360 Sprint Car Series presented by Flowmaster, which pays $4000 to the winner. More info on the weekend can be found at www.silverdollarspeedway.com

Buddy Kofoid would like to thank Dan Simpson Racing, Gary Silva Ranches, Sonoma Paint Center, Red Line Oil and Dr. Ray Ramos for their support in 2017.