by Troy Hennig
CHICO, CA – MAY 17, 2011…Even with the storms that have festered in and around Northern California this year it’s still not to early to think about the 100 degree weather that looms in the Chico summer months. Hence, this Friday night, May 20, is Care Free Pools Night at the Silver Dollar Speedway. Owners Bill and Jeanne Bell have continued to thrive in our local community. Their business is well-known. Their grandson Brett Miller is a top notch sprint car driver. The Bell’s have shown great support for the local Butte Humane Society raising thousands of dollars to help keep their doors open. Needless to say, Care Free Pools night encompasses a lot of things at the Silver Dollar Speedway.
Adult general admission to the auto races this Friday night is $12.00 for adults and $10.00 for seniors and juniors. Children are $6.00. Front gates open at 6 pm with racing slated to start at 7 pm. Racing on this night will include 410 winged sprints, dirt modifieds, street stocks and The Dirt Solution Limited Late Models. The track is also promoting a discount on Coors Light on this night. Just $2.00 for a beer will quench the thirst of our adult racing fans. We are also welcoming all Chico State Students and Alumni this Friday night to recognize their accomplishments during graduation weekend. Start the big Chico State weekend festivities this Friday night at the race track.
The hottest thing in Chico this year has been Sean Becker. The former champion is dominating winged sprint car racing this year at the speedway. Becker has won three of the six local sprint car races this season. He leads the point standing by 12 points over his nearest on track rival Auburn’s Andy Forsberg. The two championship drivers are also battling for the 360 Civil War Title. Becker leads those standings while Forsberg is in the third spot.
With so much on the line between the championships and racing each other on Friday nights and Saturday’s one would think that there might be a lot of animosity between the two. Yet, when talking to each of them, there is nothing but admiration for each other. “I think Sean is the perfect sprint car driver,” said Forsberg. “He goes out on the track and kicks all of our butts and it’s hard to not like him because he is so darn nice.” Becker added, “It seems we have been racing against each other week in and week out for the last few years. Usually, that means we should have had a lot of run-ins on the track. Yet, that hasn’t happened and we have built this mini-rivalry without any drama.” The two will continue their “friendly” rivalry this Friday night at Chico. Others expected are Sydney, Australia’s Ian Madsen, Chico’s Brett Miller and Redding’s Tyler Wolf.
Yuba City’s Jerry Bartlett leads The Dirt Solution Limited Late Models into their third appearance of the year at Chico. Chico’s Richard Papenhausen looks to win three-in-a-row dirt modified main events this Friday night. Chico’s Phil Marino will try to get back into victory lane as the point leader of the street stock division.
For more information please contact our track office at (530) 350-7275 or at our website www.silverdollarspeedway.com