From Troy Hennig
CHICO, Calif., June 13, 2022 — Chico’s own Jonathan Allard returns to Silver Dollar Speedway this Friday night, June 17th, as part of the Northern Auto Racing Club’s Road to Dirt Cup. Allard, who on September 7, 2014, shocked the racing community by beating World of Outlaws and winning the coveted Gold Cup Saturday night finale, is returning to his home track after a three-year absence. “It will be great to see old friends and fans this Friday,” said Allard. “I am also hopeful to stand on the podium after the main event on Friday night.” Allard has 65 career sprint car wins at Silver Dollar Speedway putting him third on the all-time list. Best of all, and geared towards those nostalgic sprint car fans, Allard will pilot the iconic Williams Motorsports No. 0 that he successfully drove to three NARC titles and numerous main event wins.
SLC Promotions is excited to welcome back the NARC Fujitsu General Sprint Cars this Friday night. The race is billed as The Road to Dirt Cup. The NARC drivers start in Chico on Friday, then head to Oregon, eventually landing at Skagit Speedway in Washington as part of the Super Dirt Cup, paying the winner a whopping $50,000. “We really believe in revitalizing 410-winged sprint car racing in California and wanted to schedule a race with NARC as they headed up to Washington,” said Brad Sweet, part of the SLC Promotions team.
The Friday night race will also feature the B Mods and the Shelby’s Pest Control Hobby Stocks. Both series are vying for an overall 2022 Silver Dollar Speedway championship. Points are updated at our website www.silverdollarspeedway.com.
Allard hasn’t raced at Silver Dollar Speedway since 2019. In fact, Allard hasn’t been in California since 2019, due to the Covid-19 restrictions still in place where he also resides near Auckland, NZ. “Up until recently, the problem wasn’t that I couldn’t come back to race in California, it was that once I flew here, I couldn’t get back to my wife and family in New Zealand,” said Allard. Even though Allard has not raced sprint cars in California for these past three years, he has amassed over 20 wins in New Zealand driving the Dalton’s No. 11USA sprint car. Now with the restrictions relaxed, Allard is hopeful to come back more often. “This will always be my home and look forward to continuing racing here for years to come.”
The NARC Fujitsu General Sprint Cars are led by Fresno’s Dominic Scelzi who holds a 44-point lead over Colfax’s Willie Croft. Scelzi recently won the Brownell/Herseth Classic on April 29th. With that win, Scelzi now has four career wins at Chico. Croft has an impressive nine career wins at Chico, his last came in 2018. Campbell’s Bud Kaeding sits third in the NARC points. Kaeding, the 2017 NARC driving champion, has amassed seven wins at Chico, his last being in 2016. Aromas driver Justin Sanders is fourth in points but comes into this Friday night as one of the favorites to win. Sanders won the Friday night John Padjen Classic in March and has earned 10 wins over his career in Chico. Fifth place in points is Hanford’s Mitchell Faccinto. This year, Faccinto earned nearly $6,000 by winning the Saturday night John Padjen Classic main event. He holds two career wins at Chico.
With all of that mentioned, and the return of Jonathan Allard, fans could also be tempted to see the next big thing in sprint car racing, Clovis driver Corey Day. The 16-year-old is coming off back-to-back wins at Ocean Speedway and Placerville Speedway. Back in April, Day won the David Tarter Memorial at Chico. With last weekend’s triumphs, Day has now won five NARC features in just his first 19 starts. In comparison, it took Kyle Larson 16 races to get his first NARC win. Brad Sweet won two NARC main events in 19 starts. Larson, last year’s NASCAR champion, and Sweet, now a 3-time World of Outlaw Champion, can give some glimpse into the possibilities of how special Day is, and could be, going forward at just 16-years-old.
Pit gate for the competitors will open at 2 PM on Friday. Front grandstand gate is set to open at 5 PM.
Fans can skip the lines on race day and purchase their tickets on-line by following this link https://www.eventsprout.com/event/silver-dollar-speedway-2022
Fans can also purchase tickets at the track on race day. Adult general admission for Friday night is $20.00. Juniors/Seniors aged (12-15) or (60+) are $15.00. Kids 11 and under are $5.00. If you purchase ticket on-line, a small user fee is attached to each ticket purchased.
TICKETS
https://www.eventsprout.com/event/silver-dollar-speedway-2022
RACING
The Road to Dirt Cup, featuring the best of 410-winged sprint drivers competing with the NARC Fujitsu General Sprint Cars. Sprint car qualifying, heat races, The SunnyValley “Powered by Bacon” trophy dash, and the Fujitsu General USA main event. The B mods and Shelby’s Pest Control Hobby Stocks will draw for heat race starting positions, race 8-lap heat events, and a 20-lap main event.
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ABOUT SILVER DOLLAR SPEEDWAY
Silver Dollar Speedway is a high-banked, quarter-mile clay oval race track located on the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds at 2357 Fair St., Chico, California. Opened in 1962, the track hosts multiple high-profile events including the marquee Gold Cup Race of Champions, Silver Cup, David Tarter Memorial and the Fall Nationals.
silverdollarspeedway.com • facebook.com/sdspeedway • twitter.com/sdspeedway
ABOUT SLC PROMOTIONS
Founded in 2021 by championship auto racers Brad Sweet and Kyle Larson—along with business partner Colby Copeland—SLC (Sweet Larson Copeland) Promotions is dedicated to leading grassroots dirt track racing into the future while preserving the sport’s rich history. SLC manages and operates Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, California.