By Gary Thomas
Stockton, CA…Aromas, CA’s Justin Sanders fended off a late challenge from Shane Golobic to snag his third Sprint Car Challenge Tour victory of the season on Saturday at the Stockton Dirt Track.
Sanders and the Farmers Brewing Company/ Mittry Motorsports team took home $5,000 for their efforts thanks to extra money from High Sierra Industries, along with the Shop Kyle Larson Bonus Money. It was also his first victory in the 360 portion of the Tribute to Gary Patterson.
At the waving of the Ed Entz green flag it was Sanders who charged into the lead and ultimately pulled away to a sizeable advantage. For much of the contest he was able to put multiple lapped cars between himself and second place Golobic. Towards the end however, Sanders started to get caught up behind the slower traffic, which allowed Golobic the chance to close in.
Golobic got alongside the leader at one point, but Sanders held him off and eventually accepted the checkered flag for his third Sprint Car Challenge Tour presented by Elk Grove Ford and Abreu Vineyards triumph of the season. It marked his sixth career SCCT win, which places him in a tie with Dominic Scelzi for the second most all-time. Golobic, Fresno’s Dominic Scelzi, Heartland, Wisconsin’s Bill Balog and Oklahoma’s Ryan Timms rounded out the top-five.
Waco, Texas driver Chase Randall had nothing but problems all night long but got them figured out in time to earn the Pit Stop USA Hard Charger Award in the main event, carving his way from 21st to ninth.
Auburn’s Andy Forsberg ran a smooth race and finished in the eighth spot to bring home his first career SCCT championship. He becomes the third driver to do so, joining Kyle Hirst and Ryan Robinson. Forsberg, who also captured the Placerville Speedway title, wins the Russell Motorsports Double Down Bonus, giving him a total of $20,000 for both championships.
The Sprint Car Challenge Tour would like to thank Elk Grove Ford, Abreu Vineyards, Hoosier Racing Tires, Flo Racing, Shop Kyle Larson, Pit Stop USA, Tiner-Hirst Enterprise, BR Motorsports, King Racing Products, A.R.T. Speed Equipment, Bianchi Farms, D&D Roofing, Garth Moore Insurance and Financial Services, Quick Time Energy and Mortgage and High Sierra Industries for their support this season.
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SCCT 360 Sprints Results – Stockton Dirt Track
A Feature 30 Laps
1. 2X-Justin Sanders[2]; 2. 17W-Shane Golobic[4]; 3. 41-Dominic Scelzi[1]; 4. 7-Bill Balog[7]; 5. 5T-Ryan Timms[8]; 6. 16A-Colby Copeland[3]; 7. 75-Tony Gomes[6]; 8. 92-Andy Forsberg[5]; 9. 9-Chase Randall[21]; 10. 33-Dylan Bloomfield[10]; 11. 21X-Gauge Garcia[14]; 12. 87-Ashlyn Rodriguez[15]; 13. 17-Chance Grasty[20]; 14. 14W-Ryan Robinson[11]; 15. 88A-Joey Ancona[9]; 16. X1-Michael Faccinto[12]; 17. 02-Ashton Torgerson[18]; 18. 83SA-Isaiah Vasquez[16]; 19. 33H-Eric Humphries[17]; 20. 32-Caden Sarale[13]; 21. 5H-Josh Wiesz[19]
Dash 6 Laps
1. 41-Dominic Scelzi[3]; 2. 2X-Justin Sanders[2]; 3. 16A-Colby Copeland[4]; 4. 17W-Shane Golobic[6]; 5. 92-Andy Forsberg[5]; 6. (DNS) 75-Tony Gomes
Heat 1 8 Laps
1. 75-Tony Gomes[2]; 2. 7-Bill Balog[1]; 3. 41-Dominic Scelzi[4]; 4. 14W-Ryan Robinson[3]; 5. 32-Caden Sarale[5]; 6. 33H-Eric Humphries[7]; 7. 5H-Josh Wiesz[6]
Heat 2 8 Laps
1. 92-Andy Forsberg[2]; 2. 16A-Colby Copeland[4]; 3. 88A-Joey Ancona[1]; 4. 33-Dylan Bloomfield[3]; 5. 21X-Gauge Garcia[5]; 6. 02-Ashton Torgerson[7]; 7. 17-Chance Grasty[6]
Heat 3 8 Laps
1. 17W-Shane Golobic[1]; 2. 5T-Ryan Timms[2]; 3. 2X-Justin Sanders[4]; 4. X1-Michael Faccinto[3]; 5. 87-Ashlyn Rodriguez[6]; 6. 83SA-Isaiah Vasquez[5]; 7. 9-Chase Randall[7]
Qualifying 1
1. 41-Dominic Scelzi, 00:13.405[5]; 2. 7-Bill Balog, 00:13.504[6]; 3. 75-Tony Gomes, 00:13.603[2]; 4. 14W-Ryan Robinson, 00:13.809[1]; 5. 32-Caden Sarale, 00:13.833[3]; 6. 5H-Josh Wiesz, 00:13.922[4]; 7. 33H-Eric Humphries, 00:14.012[7]
Qualifying 2
1. 16A-Colby Copeland, 00:13.433[7]; 2. 88A-Joey Ancona, 00:13.578[3]; 3. 92-Andy Forsberg, 00:13.763[1]; 4. 33-Dylan Bloomfield, 00:13.991[2]; 5. 21X-Gauge Garcia, 00:14.014[6]; 6. 17-Chance Grasty, 00:14.136[5]; 7. 02-Ashton Torgerson, 00:14.213[4]
Qualifying 3
1. 2X-Justin Sanders, 00:13.637[1]; 2. 17W-Shane Golobic, 00:13.684[2]; 3. 5T-Ryan Timms, 00:13.739[3]; 4. X1-Michael Faccinto, 00:13.888[6]; 5. 83SA-Isaiah Vasquez, 00:13.990[7]; 6. 87-Ashlyn Rodriguez, 00:14.064[5]; 7. 9-Chase Randall, 00:14.064[4]