By Gary Thomas
Placerville, CA – June 4, 2019…After opening the month of June last week the Placerville Speedway is right back in action this Saturday with the annual Thompson’s Family of Dealerships Fan Appreciation Night, which is highlighted by $5 grandstand tickets.
Divisions ready to thrill the crowd on Saturday include the Thompson’s Family of Dealerships Winged 360 Sprint Cars, the Jay’s Mobile Welding & Fabricating Pure Stocks, Mini Trucks and for the first time in 2019 the Nor-Cal Dwarf Car Association. An autograph session with drivers Shane Hopkins and Nick Baldwin will take place pre-race, along with live music by Alex Vincent and Coors Light Happy Hour from 4pm-6pm.
As a thank you to the great fans of Placerville Speedway grandstand tickets this Saturday cost just $5. As always, kids five and under are free. The convenience of online ticketing is available for this weekend’s event at https://www.universe.com/events/2019-championship-pts-race-7-thompsons-fan-appreciation-night-tickets-placerville-V1Y8G0
“Thompson’s Fan Appreciation Night is always an event we look forward to each season at Placerville Speedway,” said RMI President Scott Russell. “With grandstand tickets just $5 we encourage everyone to bring a friend and if they can, please introduce someone new to the races on Saturday. We’ve had an exciting start to the year and are hoping to continue that this weekend. The Thompson’s Family of Dealerships have been long-time partners with not only the track, but it even goes back to 2001 when I first started running Sprint Cars. We can’t thank them enough for their continued support.”
Auburn’s Andy Forsberg continues to maintain a nine-point advantage at the top of the Thompson’s Family of Dealerships Winged 360 Sprint Car standings heading into Saturday. The six-time track champion has accumulated a pair of wins and is coming off a runner up effort last week. Mather’s Kalib Henry sits just behind Forsberg and has been a mark of consistency all season, having tallied top-five finishes in every event so far. He has even done so while driving three different cars in the first five events.
Hollister’s Tony Gualda has been a qualifying machine this year but has also mixed it in with several consistent runs to put him just 16-points out of the lead. The 19-year-old has earned the ADCO Driveline Fast Time Award in four of the five events held. Rounding out the top-10 in points going into Thompson’s Fan Appreciation Night are Elk Grove’s Bobby McMahan, Roseville’s Jodie Robinson, Calistoga’s Mike Benson, Placerville’s Shane Hopkins, Napa’s Chris Masters, Elk Grove’s Bubba Decaires and Shingle Springs Justin Johnson.
Former Placerville Speedway champion Nick Baldwin brings the Jay’s Mobile Welding & Fabricating Pure Stock point lead into Saturday’s action. Baldwin, a two-time winner of the season, holds an eight-digit advantage over Tilford Tribute victor Kevin Jinkerson. Another past track titlist Jason Palmer has climbed to third in the standings, while Mel Byers and Jason Leonard round out the top-five. Completing the top-10 going into point race seven this weekend are Dave Silva, Scott Grunert, John Ewing, Jesse Bryant and Lonnie Leonard.
This Saturday’s event marks the third appearance of the season for the Mini Trucks, which feature a dead heat atop the standings. Tom Stanwood and Ryan Murphy are locked in a tie and are only five-points ahead of Aaron Rupley. Last year’s track champ John LittleJohn and Thomas Jensen rank fourth and fifth. For the first time this year Placerville Speedway will also welcome the Nor-Cal Dwarf Car Association. The colorful coupes are always fun to watch on the high-banked red clay quarter-mile.
Thompson’s Family of Dealerships include Toyota, Buick, GMC, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and RAM. Their local car dealers provide a choice of affordable cars and luxury cars for sale with the best prices in Placerville, near Auburn, Rocklin, Rancho Cordova, Folsom, Sacramento, Cameron Park, El Dorado Hills, Shingle Springs and Roseville. Auto dealership incentives and special offers are often available on new car sales and leasing, plus service, parts and repair at their nearby dealer locations. To learn more simply visit http://www.thompsonsauto.com/
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 5. Hot laps, ADCO Driveline and Custom Exhaust qualifying and racing will follow. Live music will be performed from 4-6 in the grandstand midway.
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, Capitol ACE Hardware, Carbon Copy, Carol Russell Bookkeeping Service, Crystal Basin Construction, Doug Veerkamp General Engineering Inc., El Dorado Hills Landscaping, Hangtown Hardwood Floors, High Sierra Industries, Les Schwab Tires, the Paint Spot, The Critter Getter, Mountain Democrat, Windfall Media, Arnolds for Awards, Sierra Child and Family Services, Sierra Landscape Materials, Sierra Arbor Worx, SuperClean Xpress Car Wash and Taylor Hirst, Navigate Realty.
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.
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Upcoming events at Placerville Speedway:
Saturday June 8: Thompson’s Family of Dealerships Winged 360 Sprint Cars, Jay’s Mobile Welding & Fabricating Pure Stocks, Mini Trucks and Nor-Cal Dwarf Car Association | Thompson’s Fan Appreciation Night
Saturday June 22: Thompson’s Family of Dealerships Winged 360 Sprint Cars, Ltd. Late Models, Jay’s Mobile Welding & Fabricating Pure Stocks, Mini Trucks | Mtn. Democrat Kids Bike Night
Saturday June 29: King of the West-NARC Fujitsu 410 Sprint Car Series and Sprint Car Challenge Tour presented by Elk Grove Ford and Abreu Vineyards | Summertime Sprint Salute/ Marcel Cassulo Classic
Thursday July 4: Thompson’s Family of Dealerships Winged 360 Sprint Cars, Ltd. Late Models and Jay’s Mobile Welding & Fabricating Pure Stocks | 4th of July Freedom Fireworks