By Troy Hennig
(Chico, CA 4/03/12)…The roar of dirt track racing returns this Friday night, April 6, with opening night festivities at the Silver Dollar Speedway. Friday night will serve as point race #1 for the 410-winged sprint cars, dirt modifieds, street stocks and mini stocks. Adding to the excitement of opening night for the drivers is the early celebration of Easter for the kids. All kids 11 and under will be admitted free to the races. During one of the intermissions we will have the kids come down and participate in the annual Easter egg hunt. There is also a chance that the Easter Bunny will make an early surprise visit on this night.
Front grandstand gate will open at 6pm. Adult individual prices are $12.00. Juniors and seniors are $10.00. Kids 11 and under will be free on this night. We are offering two internet website coupons for this race. You can find these discounts at www.silverdollarspeedway.com. The speedway is also offering a discounted family pass and a meal deal option. Please feel free to call the office at 530-350-7275 to inquire. The season pass has also been heavily discounted.
Sprint car qualifying is slated for 7pm with racing in all four divisions to follow. Pit gate is scheduled to open at 4pm. Fans are invited to stay after the races to visit the pit area and meet the drivers.
An abundance of 410 winged sprint cars are expected. Tyler Wolf, Andy Forsberg, Brad Bumgarner, Jason York, Robert Stice, Robbie Whitchurch, David Tarter, John Michael Bunch and Sean Becker will all be in attendance to try and recapture their magic from 2011. Becker will pilot a car supplied by Dan Menne out of Fort Jones. Menne is also slated to race. Kevin Sharrah will make his return after a one-year hiatus. While Matt Shelton will miss this Friday’s race, he will be back for the remainder of 2012. Kyle Hirst, Mason Moore and Tim Kaeding have all been rumored to show up on opening night. St. Helena fan favorite Rico Abreu has confirmed he will be here for opening night. Abreu has already raced with the World of Outlaws and USAC National Midget shows.
Chico’s Richard Papenhausen is set to battle a diverse group of dirt modifieds this Friday night. Many Susanville regulars are expected to attend the opening night. A large turn out is expected in addition to the McDaniel family, Ira Compton cars and numerous cars from the Marysville and Yuba City. It will be interesting to see who will get the advantage on opening night. Street stocks and mini stocks will provide numerous door banging incidents that always thrill the grandstand fans. Both divisions will run for a Silver Dollar Speedway track championship in 2012.