From Peterson Media
Willie Croft had quite the weekend. Using a late race restart to take command and win the Civil War Series Opener on Friday night, Croft backed his performance up by winning the season opener at the Petaluma Speedway.
“It was a great weekend for this race team,” Willie Croft said. “Friday night was a really memorable race to win, and Saturday it was pretty demanding. This is the best I have felt both physically and mentally and I think that showed over the weekend.”
Climbing aboard his Willie Croft Racing No. 29 entry for the weekend, Croft checked in at the Silver Dollar Speedway on Friday night to take on the Civil War Series presented by Flowmaster.
With 43 cars on hand, Croft timed the Holey Smokes BBQ/ButlerBuilt/Brown and Miller backed No. 29 entry in fourth fastest before finishing second in his heat race.
By way of his qualifying time, Croft would earn a spot in the night’s Dash, where a fifth place finish would put him in the third row of the 30-lap feature event.
Croft was good in the feature event as he quickly worked his way up into the second spot by the ninth lap and began chasing after the race leader, Kyle Hirst. Getting close to Hirst a few times in traffic, Croft wasn’t able to make a serious bid for the lead.
A caution flag flew with just five laps to go, and this would prove pivotal for Croft. Beating Hirst into turn one, Croft would take the lead as the duo would race side by side over the final five markers. Though Hirst would take a couple of shots at Croft, Croft was having none of it as he parked his machine in victory lane.
With momentum on his side, Croft and his team made the trip to the Petaluma Speedway to take part in the tracks season opening event. Timing in seventh fastest in qualifying time trials, Croft would pick up the win in his heat race.
Lining up on the front row for the 25-lap feature event by way of the redraw, Croft would jump out to the early lead as Rico Abreu gave chase.
On the heavy, and tacky Petaluma Speedway, Croft would continue to pace the field as he quickly come up on lapped traffic.
Things would get interesting in traffic as Abreu would show Croft his nose on a couple of occasions, but Croft would keep him at bay as he continued to lead the way.
A late caution would give Croft clear track and some breathing room as he would continue to lead the way as he went on to pick up his second feature event win of the weekend.
Willie Croft Racing would like to thank Holey Smokes BBQ, ButlerBuilt , Brown and Miller, FK Rod Ends, Hinchman Indy, Schoenfeld, Smith Precision Products, Kaeding Performance, Dan Olson Products, Vortex Wings, Amerikote, and GUTS for their support in 2015.