From Bill Sullivan, Handy Racing Promotions Media Relations
PLACERVILLE, CA – When he was signed on as the new driver behind the wheel of John Taylor’s championship #35 sprint car, there was little doubt that Fremont’s Shane Golobic would find his way to success at Placerville Speedway. Saturday night this longtime successful team and their new young gun came together to score that victory that had eluded them for the early part of the season.
“I really want to thank John Taylor and this team for all their dedication and hard work,” said Golobic. “We’ve struggled for a while simply because we had a tough time qualifying and bad starting spots that ended up getting us caught up in things. This past week John and the crew made some changes on the car and I think we have figured out. It was perfect out here tonight.”
Golobic started on the pole of Saturday’s 25-lap feature event and charged into the lead at the green flag ahead of second place starter Troy Machado of Elk Grove. Once in front Golobic never relinquished his top spot in a race that saw the top runners quickly find their way into lapped traffic.
With a full moon above, the caution flags were flying on Saturday night and caused several delays and depleted the field of cars to nearly half of those who originally started by the time the checkered flag flew. Point leader Andy Forsberg was a victim of the caution flags as he ended his night in the pit area after being charged with two yellow flags. Rollover victims included Chad Compton, Cody Lamar and Trevor Canales and one caution period saw nearly half of the field pile up in turns one and two.
Despite the pauses in the program, Golobic drove his way to victory lane. The victory marked the first for the team since winning the 2008 track championship with Colby Wiesz behind the wheel. At the checkered flag Golobic was trailed by Placerville’s Scott Russell. Russell started third in the race was pressuring Golobic for the entire race while holding off the likes of Princeton’s Mason Moore who drove from ninth to third. Jimmy Trulli of Placerville powered from eighth to fourth to finish ahead of Steven Tiner of Visalia who started in the 10th position.
Saturday’s race added four new drivers to the July 17th Mark Forni Classic roster as they made their 6th overall start of the year Saturday night. New entrants for the season’s biggest race include Tiner, Machado, Stephen Allard and Cody Lamar.
In the Limited Late Model division Saturday night, Matt Davis of Auburn pulled ahead of second place started Doug Grandboise of Jackson to take a lead he would never relinquish. At the finish line Davis scored his second win of the season over Grandboise. Point leader Dan Brown Jr. of Grass Valley was third followed by Jay Norton of Cameron Park and Les Friend of Galt.
The Pure Stock division saw John Durrett of Pollock Pines continue his win streak as he scored his fourth overall victory of the year. Durrett started ninth in the field and worked his way to the front at the eight lap mark when he overtook leader Dennis Armstrong of El Dorado who had passed early leader Danielle Clauson of Placerville.
Saturday’s race saw an abundance of close racing among the top five drivers as they sliced and diced their way through traffic for several laps. In the end Durrett was challenged by point leader Chris Curtiss to the line. Chris Van Roekel finished in third followed by Armstrong and Eddie Gardner.
Brian Quilty drove to the win in an exciting Nor Cal Dwarf Car feature event. Quilty was followed by Ryan Winter, Kevin Bender and Danielle Wegar at the finish line.
Racing continues this Wednesday night with a very special event at Placerville Speedway. It’s Wild Winged Wednesday, the “Who’s The Fastest?” Cup at the El Dorado County Fairgrounds. This event is a non-point race that is all about the money as it pays $3000 to win and $300 just to start the feature race.
In the past “Wild Winged Wednesday” has produced some of the most memorable finishes in recent history at Placerville Speedway and this edition is sure to do the same. This is an all open competition event that will feature the best of best at Placerville Speedway as they race for the boosted winnings, the bragging rights and to be the recipient of the very unique “WTF Cup” trophy at the end of the night.
Wednesday’s event expects top 360 sprint car drivers from all over California and the Pacific Northwest and will utilize similar format and payout structure as the traveling Civil War Series. Gates will open at the regular start time of 5 p.m. Watch for further information on this event in the coming days. For more information visit www.placervillespeedway.com.