From Gary Thomas
PLACERVILLE, Ca. (April 17, 201) – With Mother Nature looking to work in its favor the Placerville Speedway is locked and loaded to finally open the Red Hawk Casino championship season this Saturday at the 15th annual Tribute to Al Hinds.
Divisions set to tackle the red clay on Saturday will include the Thompson’s Auto Group Winged 360 Sprint Cars, Ltd. Late Models, Pure Stocks, BCRA Midget Lites and Vintage Hard Tops.
Al Hinds was the second promoter of Placerville Speedway. He took operation of the track with business partner Richard Hirst from its founder, Bruno Romani, in 1968, three years after it first opened when the facility was built around an existing community football field.
The operator of a local machine shop by trade, Hinds loved the community where he lived. In his final years of life, he enjoyed sitting with some of his best friends every night in the grandstands at Placerville Speedway and loved watching young talent make a name for themselves in the sport.
Former track announcer, publicist and historian Bill Sullivan said of Al Hinds, “From the day he set foot on the red clay at Placerville Speedway to the very last race he attended, Hinds continued to display his true love for auto racing and the community in which he brought it to. Even in his final years he continued to help young drivers, entertain fans and most importantly he spent a great deal of time talking to and mentoring those that helped in speedway operations. When Hinds spoke, anyone who cared remotely about the future of the sport would sit down and listen.”
Visalia’s Steven Tiner captured last season’s Thompson’s Auto Group Winged 360 Sprint Car title at Placerville Speedway and is back to defend it in 2018. Tiner claimed a trio of victories last year and will look to park it in victory lane come Saturday. Five-time track champion Andy Forsberg also returns this season looking to add a sixth while driving for Friends and Family Racing. The Auburn driver last won the title in 2013 driving the familiar X1 machine.
Multi-time main event winner last season Justyn Cox of Clarksburg will also be favorite to bring home the championship. Last year Cox won twice in the Winged 360, including the prestigious Mark Forni Classic.
Last season saw Live Oak’s Matt Michelli dominate the Ltd. Late Model class by winning nine main events en route to the championship. Ryan McDaniel captured three victories last season while Ray Trimble earned two. Completing the top-five in points behind Michelli were Mike and Tyler Lightfoot, Trimble and Eddie Gardner.
Jason Palmer will get his driving title defense underway in the Pure Stock division this Saturday. Last year the Elverta driver scooped up four main event wins, which was tied for the most with Orville Owens, who also put together a breakout season in 2017. At season’s end Scott Grunert ended up being crowned as the Pure Stock owner champion. Nick Baldwin, Rick Grunert and Chris Van Roekel were other top-five point finishers.
Adult tickets this Saturday will cost $15, while seniors 62 plus, military and juniors 12-17 will be $13, children 6-11 are $6, five and under are free! Tickets can also be purchased online by clicking https://www.universe.com/events/2018-placerville-speedway-championship-points-race-3-tribute-to-al-hinds-tickets-placerville-VL36ZG
The pit gate will open at 2pm, with the front grandstand gate opening at 3pm. A happy hour will be offered from 4pm-6pm in the grandstands featuring discounted Coors Light and Coors Original at the beer stand. Drivers meeting will be held at 4:30pm, with cars on track for wheel packing at 5pm, ADCO Driveline and Custom Exhaust qualifying scheduled to begin around 5:30pm and heat races expected to fire-off around 6:30pm.
The Placerville Speedway is located on the beautiful El Dorado County Fairgrounds in Placerville, California. Take Hwy US-50 to Forni Road/Placerville Drive exit. Then go north on Placerville Drive to the Fairgrounds. The physical address is 100 Placerville Dr., Placerville, CA 95667. For more information on the Placerville Speedway log onto http://www.placervillespeedway.com
The Placerville Speedway would like to thank all of its partners for their support this season including Red Hawk Casino, Hoosier Racing Tires, Coors Light, Thompson’s Auto Group, Absolute Auto Glass, ADCO Driveline and Custom Exhaust, Bear Republic Brewing, Beef’N’Brew, Capital Ace Hardware, Carol Russell Bookkeeping Service, Chris Kenner Racing Specialties/ Security Race Products, Campora Propane, Davies Family Inn, High Sierra Industries, Poor Reds BBQ, Les Schwab Tires, the Paint Spot, Riebies Auto Parts, Shadow Ridge Ranch, The Critter Getter, Mountain Democrat, Union Mortgage and Windfall Media.
Since opening in 1965 the Placerville Speedway has been a favorite among fans throughout Northern California. Well known for its steep banks, distinctive red clay, loyal fan base and extremely close action, the track is located just 40-minutes up the hill from the capital city of Sacramento.
Join over 9900 followers of Placerville Speedway on Facebook, where you can keep abreast of updates for the 2018 season. You can also find Placerville Speedway on Twitter by following us https://twitter.com/pvillespeedway – In addition, Placerville Speedway is also on Instagram. Please follow us @PvilleSpeedway.
The Placerville Speedway is operated by Russell Motorsports Incorporated, which can be reached at the track business office by calling 530-344-7592. Contact Kami Arnold or Scott Russell directly for 2018 sponsorship opportunities at the office.