From Stanley Burbach
Marysville, CA – It’s been nail-biting time at MRP lately as the weather reports have pretty much painted a gloomy outlook for the big Spring Sprint Car Open. The race scheduled for this Saturday night seems to have been given a reprieve. We’ll take “cloudy to mostly cloudy” anytime. This observer talked to promoter Paul Hawes today and this race is definitely on. With the new forecast in the offing, the phone is “ringing off the hook” with inquiries and entries. Marysville Raceway Park will be the only racing facility from here to the Canadian border with the lights on this Saturday.
Champion drivers in the Outlaw Winged 360 division Korey Lovell (4 time MRP Champ), Andy Forsberg (Civil War, Silver Dollar and Placerville champ), Mike Monahan (MRP Champ), Jeremy Burt (MRP Champ) and Colby Wiesz (3-time MRP champ and 2-time Placerville champ) will be in the field. Ad Billy Wallace (2-time Placerville champ/multiple Civil War victories at MRP) and a few other top guns from this division like local hot shoe Brandon Dozier or top gun Andy Gregg and you’ve got a 1st class war going on. In addition to those listed, entries are on the way that will also include other big names in the sport. In the winged Outlaw 360s alone, some 30 cars are already being prepped for the event. A similar number of wingless cars have voiced their intent to participate.
For the first time in a “Spring Sprint Car Open” event, MRP’s new “Race for It” sprint car format will be in place. There will be no qualifying. A twin heat race format will determine starting positions in the feature. All cars will run two heat races. Heat race 2 will be fully inverted based on the 1st heat race’s starting line-up. Each additional heat race (with a maximum of 12 starters) will be run and then re-run with the complete inversion as well. Points will be awarded in each of the dual heat races the cars will run in. The drivers will be seeded into the feature based on the point total accumulated in the heat races… in other words you have to race for it. 20 cars will take the green flag in each of the main events. Heat race point totals will determine 16 of the feature event starters. The final 4 starters will be the top 4 finishers in the B main event.
The mighty Winged 360 Outlaw Sprint Cars will headline the show in a $2500 to win ($300 to start), 30-lap finale. Promoter Hawes will also offer a $1000 to win ($150 to start) Wingless Warrior Spec Sprint card on the same program.
As noted in other press releases, promoter Hawes has reconfigured a good portion of the raceway over the winter. The entire turn 3-4 complex has been revamped. The track is now entirely surrounded by a crash wall for safety protection purposes. In doing this Hawes still maintains the widest turns available in west coast short track, dirt track racing. The new wall and catch fencing on either end of the raceway should maintain a much nicer high line cushion than in the past. Rather than stripping the clay and throwing it over a bank, the new wall and screening should trap the clay and provide a build-up on the outside groove.
The pit gate will open at 3PM. The grandstands will open at 5PM. Hot Lap sessions start at 6 with the first race scheduled to hit the track at 7PM sharp. Get there early for the 1st major sprint car race of the new decade at MRP.
Note: Please make this observer aware of any names that are misspelled or incorrect. The text is based on information we have at the time of its release.