Benson wins at Placerville

Placerville, CA (July 4)…A total of 51 entrants over three divisions were on hand to celebrate the annual Fourth of July race at the El Dorado County Fairgrounds.

18 Thompson’s Auto Group Winged 360 Sprint Cars were in the pits, with Placerville’s Andy Gregg and Calistoga’s Mike Benson setting the pace for the night’s 25 lap feature. Benson grabbed the lead on the start over Gregg, while points leader Mason Moore was third over C.J. Humphreys and Tyler Walker.

Benson reached lapped traffic on lap 6, but maintained his advantage over Gregg. Gregg then pressured Benson on lap 12 in turns 1 & 2, but couldn’t make the move. The caution flew on lap 13, when Justin Johnson spun to a stop in the infield.

Restarting at the halfway point, Benson got the jump over Gregg, with Tyler Walker moving into 3rd. Mason Moore sat 4th and Greg DeCaires 5th. A second caution flew on lap 14 when Kyler Shaw spun at the exit of turn 2.

When the race restarted, Andy Gregg moved to the inside of Benson to take the lead exiting turn 2, but the red flag appeared when Jimmy Trulli spun backwards in turn 1 in front of  Brayden McMahan who then flipped over the top of Trulli. McMahan emerged unscathed, as did Trulli, but unfortunately the incident took away Gregg’s pass for the lead and put Benson back out front for the single file restart.

Andy Gregg tried to get underneath Benson in turn 3 when the race resumed, but spun sideways after contact with Benson’s left rear. The restart saw Benson ahead of Tyler Walker while Greg DeCaires moved by Mason Moore for third. Shane Golobic dispatched Moore to 5th one lap later, before another caution flew for Jake Morgan who spun in turn 4 on lap 16.

With just 9 circuits left, Benson took command and sretched a 1.5 second lead over Walker, and was never seriously challenged the rest of the way on his way to victory. Walker held on for second over DeCaires, Golobic and Ryan Bernal who took 5th from points leader Mason Moore on the final lap.

“This is unbelievable”, Benson exclaimed in victory lane. “I had a lot of words of encouragement tonight from a number of people that motivated me. Starting next to Andy Gregg tonight, he’s a stout runner who races you clean, and I knew what I was in for. When he got by me on the restart, that showed me something, which we used to win tonight”.

The three heat winners were DeCaires, C.J. Humphreys, and D.J. Freitas, while Andy Gregg earned the ADCO Driveline and Exhaust Quick Time bonus with his 4th Fast Time of the year. Justin Johnson earned the AL Driveline Hard Charger bonus by advancing from his 16th starting spot to finish 10th.

Only 7 Limited Late Models were in attendance for the 11th point race of the year. Points leader Eddie Gardner was on the pole with Ray Trimble outside. Trimble grabbed the lead on the start, while Gardner tried unsuccessfully to fend off the advances of Tyler Lightfoot, who started 4th. By the completion of lap 1, Trimble led comfortably over Lightfoot and Gardner. Action was halted on lap 3 when Jay Bryant spun to a stop against an implement tire in the infield of turn 2.

On lap 5, Wayne Trimble moved to 3rd when Gardner pushed wide on the exit of turn 4.  Over the course of the next 5 laps, Ray Trimble stretched a solid 2.197 second advantage over Lightfoot, when Del Trembley in the Mike Lightfoot owned #23 spun to a stop in front of the leader. Trimble managed to continue on after contact, but Tyler Lightfoot couldn’t missed the stopped vehicle owned by his father and piled in. After a small fire erupted, Lightfoot exited the car without injury but was clearly upset with Trembley.

On the ensuing restart, Ray Trimble led over his cousin Wayne, despite a sever tire rub on the right front of his car. On lap 14, Wayne got underneath Ray for the lead, but couldn’t make the pass. Ray led until the white flag where Wayne got underneath Ray to take the lead down the back stretch. Wayne Trimble came across the checkered as a popular winner over Ray Trimble, followed across the line by Ryan Peter, Jay Bryant, and Eddie Gardner, who continued to maintain his points lead with a solid fifth place finish.

“That was definitely one of the hardest races I’ve ever won”, a relieved Wayne Trimble said in victory lane. “My cousin (Ray) really made me work for it, but he gave me the opening on the last lap and I made him pay for it. This is the first race I’ve won in ten years. It feels real good”.

The lone heat race was won by Tyler Lightfoot, while Wayne Trimble’s feature victory from his 5th starting spot was enough to earn him the RMI Hard Charger Bonus.

26 Jay’s Mobile Welding and Fabricating Pure Stocks clamored into the pits at the El Dorado Fairgrounds. Dan Smith and Loren Chitwood II earned the front row for the 20 lap feature. Smith got the jump on the field with Jason Palmer moving up from his second row starting spot to take second from Chitwood. Points leader Nick Baldwin moved from his 6th starting spot to 4th on the opening lap, and then passed Chitwood for 3rd on lap 2. Smith continued to lead in heavy traffic with 8 laps complete when Dan Jinkerson came up from his 7th starting spot to move by Chitwood, then Baldwin to take over 3rd. The first yellow of the event flew at the halfway point when Chad Hammer spun into the infield in turn 3.

Smith got the jump on the restart over Palmer and Baldwin, who retook the 3rd position from Jinkerson. On lap 14, Palmer got sideways exiting turn 4 and slapped the right front of Baldwin, sending the points leader into a spin into the infield, which brought out the second caution of the race. Another stoppage occurred a lap later when Rick Campbell came to a stop on the front stretch with the rear end knocked out of his car.

Over the final 5 laps of the race, Smith held off numerous challenges from the runner up, until Palmer tried to split the leader and the lapped car of Danielle Clauson exiting turn four on lap 18. Smith pushed wide and kicked Clauson into Palmer, tying the two up together against the front stretch wall, bringing out another caution.

Smith held on over the final 2 laps to win his 2nd feature of the year over Scott Grunert, who passed Dan Jinkerson with 2 laps to go to take second. Dave Silva finished third from his 9th starting spot, while Mike McClure rounded out the top five. Grunert took over the points lead with his runner-up finish, and earned the RMI Hard Charger bonus after moving up from his 13th starting position.

“I just want to thank Scott Russell for taking over the track and giving us a place to race still. Thank you Scott for all you are doing”, a grateful Dan Smith said in the winner’s circle.

Smith also won the first heat, while Loren Chitwood II, Mike McClure, and Jason Palmer all won heat races, and Chris Van Roekel took the 12 lap semi.

Placerville Speedway returns to action next Saturday night, July 9th, with the 12th point race of the Red Hawk Casino Championship Series. A four division program features the Thompson Auto Group 360 Sprint Cars, the Domco Plumbing Limited Late Models, the Jay’s Mobile Welding Pure Stocks, and IMCA Sport Mods. Pit gates open at 2PM with the front gates opening at 3PM. Racing begins at 7PM.

For complete details of the 2016 Red Hawk Casino Championship Racing Season, visit Placerville Speedway’s official website at www.placervillespeedway.com.

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