By Gary Thomas
Placerville, CA – April 2, 2019…After kicking-off the 2019 season last weekend the El Dorado County Fairgrounds based Placerville Speedway returns to action with the opening championship point race this Saturday April 6th, which also doubles as “Law Enforcement Night.”
This Saturday’s event will be complete with various agency mascots, agency vehicles and officers on site to discuss community involvement with spectators. As a special thank you for their efforts in keeping us safe, all law enforcement will get into the races this Saturday for just $10 with ID at the ticket booth. Divisions ready to tackle the speedway include the Thompson’s Family of Dealerships Winged 360 Sprint Cars, the Jay’s Mobile Welding & Fabricating Pure Stocks, Mini Trucks and the Hunt Magnetos Sprint Car Tour.
“We hope all the fans and teams are ready to open the championship season on Saturday,” commented now fourth-year promoter Scott Russell. “We are coming off a solid year at the track and have worked hard in the off-season to make sure 2019 is even better. We had a great show last week with the Sprint Car Challenge Tour and hope to keep that momentum rolling. We encourage all law enforcement to come out for $10 tickets this Saturday night.”
Auburn’s Andy Forsberg made a bit of history last season by tying Brian Crockett for the most Winged 360 Sprint Car titles at Placerville Speedway. The now six-time Thompson’s Family of Dealerships Winged 360 champion is fresh off his big victory last Saturday with the Sprint Car Challenge Tour and will be a favorite to make it back-to-back on Saturday. Placerville’s own Jimmy Trulli, Cameron Park’s Shane Hopkins, Hollister’s Tony Gualda and Placerville’s CJ Humphreys rounded out the top-five in points last year.
The Jay’s Mobile Welding & Fabricating Pure Stocks will also begin their season on Saturday. In total the division will compete on 15 occasions this year. Scott Grunert is coming off his third career Placerville Speedway track championship and is expected back for more in 2019. Grunert locked up the Jay’s Mobile Welding & Fabricating Pure Stock title by just nine-points over Jason Palmer at season’s end. Kevin Jinkerson, Nick Baldwin and Rick Grunert completed the top-five in the standings.
The Mini Truck division is back for a third season of competition at the Placerville Speedway. John LittleJohn brought home the title last year on the strength of two wins and several strong runs. The Mini Trucks have become a popular part of the night, most notably when they run their races the opposite direction on the track. Aaron Rupley, Tom Stanwood, Megan Curtis, Chris Schaaf and Derek Boarman are more drivers that have become common sights among the “truckers.”
The Placerville Speedway will also welcome in the traveling Hunt Magnetos Sprint Car Tour during Law Enforcement Night on Saturday. The Hunt Tour is expecting a healthy car count to launch the season this weekend. Dwarf Car ace turned wingless spec sprint racer Shawn Jones captured last years championship in what was a competitive campaign. The Hunt Tour offers $1,200-to-win/ $200-to-start the feature each night, which should bring out the top wingless drivers in Northern California.
Adult tickets this Saturday will cost $15, while seniors 62 plus, military and juniors 12-17 will be $13, children 6-11 are $6, kids five and under are free! Tickets can also be purchased online by clicking https://www.universe.com/events/2019-placerville-speedway-championship-pts-race-1-law-enforcement-night-tickets-placerville-R1SV2Z
The pit gate will open at 2pm, with the front grandstand gate opening at 3pm each night. 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 5. Hot laps, qualifying and racing will follow. Live music will be performed in the grandstand midway by Austin Payne from 4-6.
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 Family of Dealerships, Jay’s Mobile Welding & Fabricating, Absolute Auto Glass, ADCO Driveline and Custom Exhaust, Bear Republic Brewing, Beef’N’Brew, Capital Ace Hardware, Carol Russell Bookkeeping Service, Davies Family Inn, Doug Veerkamp General Engineering Inc., High Sierra Industries, Les Schwab Tires, the Paint Spot, Shadow Ridge Ranch, The Critter Getter, Foothill Tree Service, Mountain Democrat, Union Bank, Windfall Media, Arnolds for Awards and Sierra Arbor Worx.
Join over 11,000 followers of Placerville Speedway on Facebook, where you can keep abreast of updates for the 2019 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 quarter-mile clay oval is operated by Russell Motorsports Incorporated, which can be reached at the track business office at 530-344-7592. Contact Kami Arnold or Scott Russell directly for 2019 sponsorship opportunities at the office.
Upcoming events at Placerville Speedway:
Saturday April 6: Thompson’s Family of Dealerships Winged 360 Sprint Cars, Jay’s Mobile Welding & Fabricating Pure Stocks, Mini Trucks and Hunt Magnetos Sprint Car Tour | Law Enforcement Night
Saturday April 20: Thompson’s Family of Dealerships Winged 360 Sprint Cars, Ltd. Late Models, Jay’s Mobile Welding & Fabricating Pure Stocks, BCRA Midget Lites and Vintage Hard Tops
Saturday April 27: IMCA Dirt Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods, Ltd. Late Models and Jay’s Mobile Welding & Fabricating Pure Stocks | Tilford Tribute