By Troy Hennig
(Chico, CA 4-30-10)…Sprint car champion Roger Crockett might call Oregon his home nowadays, but, the way he has been at Chico this year he might want to consider changing locations. Crockett won the 25-lap 410 winged sprint car main event presented by Feather Falls Casino and Riebes Auto Parts on Friday night. It was his second win of the year at Chico and when you consider most of the early season has been washed away due to wet weather, Crockett has now won two of the three sprint car main events races at Chico this year. Obviously he has also been doing well up North winning three of the past four races, but for him I think it is real special to get to victory lane at Chico. “We have seemed to find something here lately here and I will be back next Friday and Saturday to run the Bradway,” said Crockett. “I give Alan a lot of credit for getting this track as good as it was with all the rain he has had to deal with this year.” A total of 21 sprint cars attended the opening night of point racing at Chico. Other winners on the night included Marysville ace Ryan McDaniel, Yuba City champion Jerry Bartlett and Chico’s two-time champion Phil Marino.
The 410 sprint car main event got off to a slow start. On the original attempt Colby Copeland left his front row starting position a little too early and was sent back a few rows on the next start. On the ensuing restart, Mark Hall violently flipped down the front straight to bring out a red. The next attempt saw Brett Miller bicycle in turn one that led to him flipping off the edge of the track in turn two. The next start had Sean Becker grab the lead. Becker led the first two laps until a flat tire on Robert Stice’s car brought out the next yellow. Four more laps clicked off until Copeland landed upside down in turn four. Also on her lid was Danielle Simpson in turn three. Both drivers were uninjured.
Becker led the field down to the restart but a lap latter he pulled off the track with a front wheel problem. This gave the lead to Roger Crockett. Andy Forsberg moved into the second spot. Kevin Sharrah moved into the third spot followed by Brad Bumgarner. For the next 15 laps the top four would not change positions and that is the way they would finish. Crockett was masterful in dealing with slower traffic. That is where he really shined. Forsberg struggled just a bit to get by the lapped cars. Near the end of the race Crockett had three lapped cars in between himself and Forsberg. The fifth place battle was solid all night. At times Zack Mason held the spot. Unfortunately he ran out of fuel late in the race. As he slowed John Michael Bunch climbed his right rear tire and took a nasty little tumble. Jason York was also in the mix. He raced with Robbie Whitchurch for most of the night. At the line Whitchurch was scored in the fifth spot.
Chico’s Phil Marino led all 20-laps to win the street stock main event. However, it wasn’t an easy victory by any means. Heather Bartlett, the defending track champion, shadowed him for ever lap and near the end closed to within a car length to challenge him for the win. Marino was able to keep his lead and hold off Bartlett. “Heather is a tough as they come when it comes to competitors,” said Marino in victory lane. “Thanks to Alan and his staff for getting the track in good shape and allowing us to get out here and race. We all really appreciate it.” Jake Vantol stayed in the third spot the whole time and he was followed by Richard Workman.
The Dirt Solution Late Models appeared for the first time at Chico. This is a series that many of the locals had wanted to see come back to the race track. Unfortunately, only five cars showed up for the first event. When it was all said and done a familiar name was back in victory lane. Jerry Bartlett led all 12 laps to win the main event. He was challenged by Tom Arbogast for most of the contest. The third driver to participate was George Magenheimer. The Dirt Solution Late Models are geared to return to Chico this Friday night.
Marysville driver Ryan McDaniel has always been tough at Chico. Last night he admitted in victory lane that he had to change everything in the car to make it work. “We did things to my car that I have never done at Chico and it worked in the main event. We were not good in the heat race and so we decided let’s throw some drastic changing at the car,” said McDaniel. Jeff Olschowka led the first part of the race. On lap five he was passed by Ryan for the lead. After that it looked as if Olschowka had some sort of race car issue and he drifted back. He ultimately finished in sixth. Randy McDaniel moved in the second spot and tried to keep pace with his kid. But tonight it was Ryan’s deal. He extended his lead and looked like the champion he had become at Silver Dollar Speedway. Good effort and finish for Tom Purcell who finished in the third spot. Chico’s Darin Ruley came home in fourth and Wade Kennemore rounded out the top five.
Full results with starting order can be found at www.silverdollarspeedway.com
Next week points race number four will be sponsored by ManCamp Motorsports and the Mootz family. We will have two nights of racing and on Saturday night it will be the 20th annual Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial.