By Troy Hennig
(Chico, CA 4-13-10)…The Feather Falls Casino / Riebes Auto Parts championship racing season begins this Friday night, April 16, at the Silver Dollar Speedway. The 410 winged sprint cars, dirt modifieds, street stocks and The Dirt Solution Late Model’s are all scheduled to appear. Tonight will mark the first point show of the season because bad weather washed away an April 2 night of racing. This night of racing will also bring awareness to Relay for Life. The Bumgarner family is responsible for bringing this organization to the speedway. Sprint car driver Brad Bumgarner will have the Relay For Life logo on his car. After the races fans are invited to his car to find out more information about this group.
Front grandstand gate will open at 6pm. Sprint car qualifying is slated for 6:30pm and racing will follow for all divisions. Adult general admission price is $12.00. Juniors and Seniors are $10.00. Child price is $5.00. More information can be found at www.silverdollarspeedway.com or by calling the track office at 916-969-7484.
The American Cancer Society Relay For Life is a life-changing event that gives everyone in communities across the globe a chance to celebrate the lives of people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against the disease. At Relay, teams of people camp out at a local high school, park, or fairground and take turns walking or running around a track or path. Each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times during the event. Because cancer never sleeps, Relays are overnight, events up to 24 hours in length.
This Friday night their will be representative’s from Relay For Life. They will have a booth set up downstairs and will be asking for donations or people to sign up. It’s a great cause and we are happy to be a supporter of the American Cancer Society.
A full field of winged 410 sprint are expected. With the cancellation of the Mini Gold Cup in March this will be the first time for drivers and fans to see 410 winged sprint car racing at Chico this year. This year could be the most wide open debate for who has a shot at winning the track title. Last year’s champion Bobby McMahan is expected to make a few races but will not defend his title. Former champions Sean Becker and Andy Forsberg are committed to the Civil War Series and will probably miss a show or two. Also committed to the Civil War is Mason Moore, a former rookie of the year of the speedway. Second place in points last year, Mark Hall, could be the front-runner. With 25 years of driving experience and a solid crew Hall should be considered one of the favorites. If the start of the year is any indication of how the rest of the year will play out then keep focused on Chico’s Brett Miller. He has been impressive and on the gas this first part of the season. Other contenders should be Robbie Whitchurch, Brad Bumgarner and Colby Copeland.
This Friday night’s sprint car main event will be dedicated to Larry Rohde. Larry was as dedicated of a race fan as anyone could ever find. He started attending races in Chico at the old speedway even before it was moved to the current location at the fairgrounds. He passed away over the winter and he will be sorely missed at the Silver Dollar Speedway. He sat in the turn four bleachers and rooted for the local sprint car drivers like Jonathan Allard and Sean Becker. “I’ve never seen him miss a race,” said friend DJ Greslie. In honor of Rohde, close to 100 friends and family members are coming to attend this Friday nights racing action.
The Dirt Solution Late Model Series will make is first appearance at the speedway this Friday night. The Late Models used to be a fixture at the speedway in the but disbanded in the late 90’s because of low car counts. Over the off season the series has been rejuvenated and we are bringing them back to run a point series. The title sponsor is Dirt Solution. Dirt Solution’s proprietary blend is specially formulated to repel mud from sticking to any surface. Dirt Solution has been tested throughout many different forms of dirt track racing. Dirt Solution has been used on Sprint Cars, Dirt Late Models, Off Road Trucks, Motor Cross, RC Cars and at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Dirt Solution has been compared to Mudd-Off, Mud-X, and Baby Oil and has out performed everyone! Find out for yourself at www.dirtsolution.com
The street stocks are also making their first appearance of the year at the speedway. It will be nice to see Heather Bartlett return to defend her championship. Other contenders will include former two-time champion Phil Marino, Richard Workman and Jake Vantol.
The dirt modifieds had an amazing start to the season at the Silver Cup. Over 30 cars attended and it provided some amazing racing. Mark Abouzeid is set to defend his title. It was stated at the Silver Cup that both Randy and Ryan McDaniel will be contenders this year. Local driver Richard Papenhausen and Darin Ruley are also slated to compete.