Haugh Claims Second ASCS Midget Feature at Silver Dollar Speedway

2010 ascs American Sprint Car Series

By Robert Haugh

Continuing his stellar rookie season by winning his second American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) Pacific region Midget race at the legendary ¼-mile Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, CA on Friday, August 20, Butte Valley’s Travis Haugh once again piloted his grandfather Rich’s #5h Maxim/Chevy to victory lane at the fabled race track.

Overtaking early race leader Tom Doherty on Lap 3, Haugh never looked back, finessing the dry, dusty, competitive track by running the low groove with a diamond pattern, rather than pushing the cushion in the high groove as Haugh has become known for.

Chasing Haugh to the checkers was young Sprint car ace Mason Moore, piloting Rick Young’s #12 RAM Racing Spike/RRE Chevy EcoTec, usually manned by three-time ASCS Midget feature winner and ASCS Midgets Pacific region points leader Dillon Silverman of Chico, who did not attend the race, as he, along with car owner Young were enjoying the NASCAR race weekend in Bristol, Tennessee.

Following Haugh and Moore to the checkers was Cameron Park’s Lonny Alton in Lana Alton’s #5a Stealth/Ford, Carson City, Nevada’s J.R. Williams aboard his #74 Spike/RRE Chevy EcoTec and Elk Grove’s Tom Doherty – who never rebounded from his Lap 4 spin in Turn 2 aboard the Walker Racing-Bay Muffler #10 Stealth/Ford.

Making just his sixth Midget start, 18-year-old Haugh is the eldest of 1987 Silver Dollar Speedway 410 Sprint Car track Champion Rick Haugh’s two sons. Haugh joins Chico’s Silverman as the only multiple-time ASCS-Pacific region Midget feature winners in 2010. Rick Young and Britton Bock have also found the winner’s circle this year. In addition to leading both the ASCS-Pacific region and ASCS Silver Dollar Speedway points, Silverman also sits second in the Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA) overall Midget points.

Moore claimed the Heat race over Haugh, Alton, Doherty and Williams.

The ASCS Midgets are Silver Dollar Speedway’s newest division, calling Silver Dollar Speedway their home track this year. The race was the final of nine scheduled appearances for the ASCS Midgets at the Silver Dollar quarter-mile in 2010. Two early-season races were rained out.

The ASCS Midgets are designed to one day become to Midget racing what the 360 has become to Sprint Car racing. While it may not be the fastest class of midget racing, the division provides 90 percent of the performance at nearly 50 percent of the cost to the competitor with most teams utilizing the new Chevrolet EcoTec racing engine developed by Southern California’s Revolution Racing Engines (RRE).

“The cost control nature of this class coupled with the regular races at the famed Silver Dollar Speedway will provide a foundation to build the ASCS Midget Division in Northern California,” says ASCS Pacific division Midget Director Young. “There are many outlaw kart and micro drivers in the area that now have an affordable alternative to Sprint Car racing and the best track in California to race at on a Friday night,” adds Young.

For more information on the budget-minded ASCS Midget-Pacific division, contact ASCS Midgets-Pacific region Director Rick Young at (916) 717-3122. For more information on the RRE Chevy EcoTec Midget engine, visit www.revolutionracingengines.com or call (805) 238-3930. For more information on Silver Dollar Speedway, visit the track’s official Web site at www.silverdollarspeedway.com

Summary: Feature (start) 1. Haugh (4), 2. Moore (5), 3. Alton (2), 4. Williams (3), 5. Doherty (1)
Lap leaders: 1-2 Doherty, 3-12 Haugh
Heat: 1. Moore, 2. Haugh, 3.Alton, 4. Doherty, 5. Williams