By Gary Thomas
Placerville, CA…The Sierra Foothills situated Placerville Speedway will be the destination for the Elk Grove Ford Sprint Car Challenge Tour this Saturday, as the always competitive Winged 360 series opens its 2024 campaign.
The annual “Spring Fever Frenzy” kicks-off a 17-race season for the Sprint Car Challenge Tour. It marks the first of three appearances at the popular El Dorado County Fairgrounds venue, which is located just a short drive from the capital city of Sacramento.
The famous Placerville Speedway Easter Bunny will also make an appearance for photos with the kids on Saturday to commemorate Easter weekend. Live music will be performed by the band Mix Up from 4-6pm to coincide with Coors Light Happy Hour.
With the www.shopkylelarson.com full-time Bonus automatically factored in, this Saturday’s 35-lap feature will award $3,000-to-win and $400-to-start. The tour will again hand out $10,000 to its champion at season’s end.
Last season saw the Elk Grove Ford Sprint Car Challenge Tour have its closest championship battle in series history, with the top-three in points separated by just 11 markers following the Stockton finale.
Clarksburg’s Justyn Cox ultimately fended off Templeton’s Kaleb Montgomery by four slim points to secure his initial SCCT title. Cox, who piloted the Bates-Hamilton Racing No. 42x, became the fourth driver to claim a Sprint Car Challenge Tour championship, joining Andy Forsberg, Ryan Robinson and Kyle Hirst.
Despite coming up just short, both Montgomery and Oakley’s Dylan Bloomfield made it an ultra-close fight right down to the end. Suisun City youngster Chance Grasty locked up the Garth Moore Insurance Rookie of the Year Award and finished fourth in the standings, while Clovis’ Dominic Gorden completed the top-five.
Dale Miller Racing also captured their first SCCT owner championship last season in dominating fashion. Aromas wheel-man Justin Sanders piloted the car for much of the year and book ended the campaign by winning the opener in Placerville, along with the finale at Stockton. Sanders has struck gold at the Spring Fever Frenzy each of the last two seasons.
Former Spring Fever Frenzy winners, Andy Forsberg of Auburn and Tanner Carrick of Lincoln will both be favorites on Saturday. Forsberg has claimed nine career Placerville Speedway titles and earned his 200th career victory at the Tribute to Al Hinds this past season. Carrick was a winner on the red clay in July of last year and has shown the propensity to get around Placerville as well as anybody.
Additional drivers looking to punch their ticket to victory lane at the Spring Fever Frenzy include Fremont’s Shane Golobic, Hanford’s Michael Faccinto, Modesto’s Tony Gomes, Roseville’s Colby Copeland and Sean Becker, Placerville’s Shane Hopkins; Glendale, Arizona’s Ashton Torgerson and many more.
Tickets and Details:
Grandstand seating for the Spring Fever Frenzy is Reserved this Saturday March 30th. Adult tickets cost $25, while seniors 62+, military and juniors 12-17 will be $22. Kids 6-11 cost $10 and those five and under are free. Purchase tickets online at https://www.eventsprout.com/event/psr-033024 or at the gate on race day.
The pit gate will open at noon, with the front gate opening at 3pm. The pit meeting will be held at 4:45pm with cars on track at 5:15. Hot laps, Sierra Foothills Wine Services qualifying and racing will follow.
For those who can’t make it to the track CaliDirt.TV provides live coverage of every Sprint Car Challenge Tour event. The service also covers every championship point race at Placerville Speedway. Fans can purchase through a cost savings monthly membership or on a per race basis via https://calidirt.tv/
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
More information on the Elk Grove Ford Sprint Car Challenge Tour can be found at our official website www.sprintcarchallengetour.com – Be sure to also like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sprintcarchallengetour and follow on X/Twitter https://twitter.com/360SCCT for the latest breaking news regarding SCCT. You can also find us on Instagram by searching scct360.