(5/18/24 – Ben Deatherage) Tulare, California … Shane Golobic outran rookie driver Caeden Steele and two-time series champion Dominic Scelzi to emerge victorious in the NARC 410 Sprint Car Series show at Thunderbowl Raceway. Golobic lead a majority of the 30-lap headliner, piloting the Matt Wood Racing-fielded NOS Energy Drink #17W KPC, and secured his 16th triumph in NARC competition.
Despite a pair of race stoppages that delayed the completion of the first circuit, the race went non-stop the remaining distance around the 1/3-mile clay oval. Golobic, who started on the pole by way of his Beacon Wealth Strategies dash win, seized the opportunity on the initial green flag chased by fellow front row starter Steele and the rest of the 23-car field.
The race was a thrilling nail-biter, with lapped traffic adding to the drama and keeping the contest close. Steele successfully overtook Golobic on the fifth trip past the flag stand, but Golobic quickly recovered and returned the favor on the following circuit.. This cat-and-mouse open wheel battle continued lap after lap.
Golobic kept the young pilot of the Cencal Demolition Services #121 Maxim in check, and began developing a rhythm of diamonding off the second turn, and generated a 10-car length advantage over the runner-up. Steele methodically worked his way back up to Golobic’s rear nerf bar at the halfway point, but was unable to get around the leader.
In the last eight trips around the track, Golobic kept riding the cushion, inches from the wall, and went on to score his second career Thunderbowl NARC win, the first time since 2018.
Reflecting on his victory, Golobic shared, “I was trying to get up to the top, but I was out front running the bottom and felt like I could exit really good but the #121 blew my doors off, and luckily he made a mistake, and I got back around him.”
Golobic continued, “There’s always an option here to do a big diamond move down across the racetrack off of (turn) two and catch the moisture. There was a ton of moisture down there, and I didn’t feel like I was getting squared up off the corner on the exits so I started diamonding off across and carrying good speed, but once I got to lapped traffic they were running down there so I had to change it up a little bit and luckily we were able to get it done.”
A thrilling battle for the runner-up spot unfolded late in the race between Steele and Dominic Scelzi, with Scelzi’s Whipple Superchargers #41 Maxim finishing second on a last-lap pass.
Steele, a rising star, was a noble third. The rookie runner notched his second third-place finish of this years campaign, equaling his best career NARC finish.
NARC championship point leader Cole Macedo brought the Tarlton Motorsports entry home in fourth, his fifth top five finish in five events. Justyn Cox scored fifth in the Bates-Hamilton Racing machine as the Lippert Construction #42X Maxim.
Ryan Bernal made impressive progress to the front to finish sixth for the Josh Ford Motorsports team. 2005 NARC champion Sean Becker managed a seventh-place effort in the Don Bjork-owned car. Gauge Garcia finished eighth after starting the Keller Motorsports car in the 19th spot, earning him Williams Roofing Hardcharger honors. Michael Faccinto and 2019 NARC champ D.J. Netto rounded out the top ten.
Piloting the famed Williams Motorsports entry, Tim Kaeding got upside down in the main event but walked away unharmed.
Cox managed to be fastest in ARP Qualifying earlier in the program.
Macedo, Golobic, and Oregon traveler Tanner Holmes won the three heat races.
HOOSIER RACING TIRES A-FEATURE (30 LAPS): 1. 17W-Shane Golobic [1]; 2. 41-Dominic Scelzi [3]; 3. 121-Caeden Steele [2]; 4. 21-Cole Macedo [6]; 5. 42X-Justyn Cox [4]; 6. 73-Ryan Bernal [12]; 7. 7B-Sean Becker [10]; 8. 2K-Gauge Garcia [19]; 9. X1-Michael Faccinto [8]; 10. 88N-DJ Netto [17]; 11. 2X-Justin Sanders [16]; 12. 29-Bud Kaeding [14]; 13. 18T-Tanner Holmes [5]; 14. 10-Dominic Gorden [20]; 15. 83T-Tanner Carrick [9]; 16. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield [18]; 17. 88A-Joey Ancona [11]; 18. 3-Kaleb Montgomery [13]; 19. 15-Nick Parker [15]; 20. 26-Billy Aton [23]; 21. 12-Jarrett Soares [22]; 22. 4-Burt Foland Jr. [25]; 23. 09S-Geoffrey Strole [21]; 24. 75-Bill Smith [24]; 25. 0-Tim Kaeding [7]
METTEC TITANIUM LAP LEADERS: Shane Golobic 1-4, 6-30; Caeden Steele 5
WILLIAMS ROOFING HARDCHARGER: Gauge Garcia +11 (19th to 8th)
BROWN AND MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS HEAT ONE (8 LAPS): 1. 21-Cole Macedo [2]; 2. 0-Tim Kaeding [1]; 3. 83T-Tanner Carrick [3]; 4. 42X-Justyn Cox [4]; 5. 3-Kaleb Montgomery [5]; 6. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield [6]; 7. 10-Dominic Gorden [7]; 8. 26-Billy Aton [8]; 9. 4-Burt Foland Jr. [9]
KIMO’S TROPICAL CAR WASH HEAT TWO (8 LAPS): 1. 18T-Tanner Holmes [2]; 2. 121-Caeden Steele [1]; 3. 7B-Sean Becker [6]; 4. 88A-Joey Ancona [3]; 5. 15-Nick Parker [8]; 6. 88N-DJ Netto [5]; 7. 09S-Geoffrey Strole [9]; 8. 12-Jarrett Soares [7]; DNS 24-Chase Johnson
WINTERS PERFORMANCE HEAT THREE (8 LAPS): 1. 17W-Shane Golobic [1]; 2. X1-Michael Faccinto [2]; 3. 41-Dominic Scelzi [4]; 4. 73-Ryan Bernal [5]; 5. 29-Bud Kaeding [7]; 6. 2X-Justin Sanders [3]; 7. 2K-Gauge Garcia [6]; 8. 75-Bill Smith [8]
BEACON WEALTH STRATEGIES TROPHY DASH (6 LAPS): 1. 17W-Shane Golobic [1]; 2. 121-Caeden Steele [2]; 3. 41-Dominic Scelzi [3]; 4. 42X-Justyn Cox [4]; 5. 18T-Tanner Holmes [6]; 6. 21-Cole Macedo [5]
ARP QUALIFYING QUICK TIME: Justin Sanders, 12.151 (26 Cars)