By Bill Sullivan, Handy Racing Promotions Media Relations
PLACERVILLE, CA – Following a victory by mother nature last weekend, Placerville Speedway will return to action this Saturday night with an exciting night of racing action at the El Dorado County Fairgrounds that will wave the green flag on the weekly Red Hawk Casino weekly championship season presented by Hoosier Tires-Coors Light-Pepsi Cola and Riebes Auto Parts.
Four divisions of racing will be on hand for this event. The exciting midgets and midget lites of the Bay Cities Racing Association will return to the foothill bullring along with the brand new regional series for wingless sprint cars, the Joe Hunt Magneto Wingless Shootout campaign. The fourth division on hand will be the always eventful Pure Stock division.
As the mighty midgets of the historical BCRA tour return to the Placerville clay they will bring with them one of the area’s most beloved competitors as the veteran Jimmy Sills returns to the track he used to call home.
A former longtime resident of Placerville, Sills raced many event at Placerville Speedway in the early days of his career when he competed with the Northern Auto Racing Club Sprint Car tour. Since that time Sills has built a decorated professional career in auto racing. He has had great success in midgets, sprint cars, silver crown champ cars and even tested for the Indianapolis 500 before becoming a racing instructor.
Saturday, Sills returns to the track that always welcomes him with open arms. He will be behind the wheel of a Dave Thurston owned midget, the same team in which he scored a podium finish here last season.
“It’s always a pleasure to return to Placerville after all these years,” said Sills, who now resides near the town of Elverta where his family’s homestead remains. “The fans are great at that place and they always prepare a great race track. I’m looking forward to it and appreciate Dave Thurston giving me the opportunity.”
Sills will be joined by the top drivers of the BCRA including defending champion David Pricket and former multi-champion Floyd Alvis. Recent winner Scott Pierovich has confirmed an early entry along with Rick Young of Shingle Springs, Bill Lindsey and open wheel ace Matt Streeter among others.
The Midget Lites division will begin their 2010 championship campaign at Placerville this Saturday night. Look for defending champion Doug Nunes to lead the roster with the likes of bridesmaid Jason Sneep, Chris Glass, Brian Corso, Dakota Albright, Joey Hoover, Rick Holbrook and Richie Hoover and many more.
The Joe Hunt Magnetos Wingless Shootout Series will open it’s season Saturday as well and is new to California this year. The campaign was organized by Roger Gleeson of Hunt Magnetos along with Alan Handy the promoter of Silver Dollar and Placerville Speedway and Paul Hawes of Marysville Raceway Park. The threesome has joined forces to bring much needed promotion to wingless sprint car racing in California with its very own regional tour.
The Joe Hunt Magnetos Wingless Shootout opens Friday night and will consist of nearly a dozen events at three different California tracks. The series will race at each facility multiple times between now and October for increased payouts and a $5,000 championship bonus sponsored by Hunt Magnetos that will be distributed among the top drivers in the series at its conclusion.
In addition to the championship fund for the touringcampaign, Gleeson announced that the winner of each feature event in the shootout is guaranteed a $1000 victory each night. Additionally, Hunt Magnetos will award various product incentives throughout the tour including a pair of $50 vouchers during each event.
At the conclusion of the series, on top of the $5,000 bonus fund, Hunt Magnetos will award an additional $1000 bonus that will be divided up among the three highest performing drivers of the series. According to Gleeson this fund will be awarded as a $500, a $300 and a $200 bonus to three of the most successful drivers in the campaign.
In addition to the boosted winnings, the Joe Hunt Magnetos Wingless Shootout will determine the starting grid for the popular Wingless Invitational at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico which opens the Gold Cup Race of Champions on Wednesday night.
To be eligible for the high profile event drivers must finish in the top 30 of the series point standing. Additionally, according to Gleeson, must race a minimum of two events at each participating track in the series.
A stellar field of wingless cars are expected this week to begin this exciting series after the opener was rained out in Chico last weekend. It is unknown if that event will be rescheduled within the 2010 schedule at this time.
Joining the well populatied open wheel divisions will be the Placerville Speedway Pure Stock division. This traditional class provided one of the most exciting championship campaigns in history at Placerville last year and is sure to do so once again.
Last year Tom Tilford of Citrus Heights drove to the championship title after a hard fought battle with Yuba City’s Heather Bartlett that made headlines all season long. This Saturday, Tilford has confirmed he will not make the season opener as he is still making repairs to his #92 car that will race limited events during the year as the two time champion has a second child on the way and hopes to compete in a few Late Model races this season aboard his brother Jon’s car.
Even in Tilford’s absence the action is sure to be superior in this paint trading, grassroots division. Look for a number of locals to return to the track including Cameron Park’s Jared Vilt, Placerville’s Danielle Clauson, Dennis Armstrong of El Dorado, Kevin Wirth of Garden Valley, Kris Wirth of Pollock Pines and many more.
The grandstand gates to Placerville Speedway are set to open at 5 p.m. on Saturday. Adult tickets will be $12, Juniors and Seniors $10 and Children are $5 with those five and under free. Qualifying will begin at 6:30 p.m. For further information visit the official track website at www.placervillespeedway.com. Further information on the BCRA can be found at www.bcraracing.com.