By Ben Deatherage
(6/25/24 ) Chico, California … The cars and stars of the NARC 410 Sprint Series return to Silver Dollar Speedway on Saturday, June 29th, for the David Tarter Memorial. This is the last chance for fans to catch the 900+ horsepower fire breathing monsters of the NARC circuit kick the clay and take your breath away at the historic 1/4-mile oval.
The super competitive NARC 410 Sprint Car Series has featured nine different winners in as many events during the month of June and ten overall this season in 14-events.
“This is a really special race for this track,” said longtime Silver Dollar Speedway announcer Troy Hennig, “It’s a great honor to have known David (Tarter), and it’s fantastic that his family can come together and do so much for this race and be involved in making it better every year.”
The race is run in honor of David Tarter, who tragically lost his life on June 8th, 2012, in a freak pit accident at Silver Dollar. Since 2013, there have been five winners of the Tarter Memorial, including the all-time leader Kyle Hirst, who has had five triumphs. Corey Day is the defending champion, winning the most recent one in 2022, while Sean Becker, Craig Stidham, and Justin Sanders join him as one-time winners of the race.
Several raffle prizes will be offered, including a special David Tarter helmet, a pair of specially crafted embroidered quilts, several gift cards, and commemorative apparel. The money raised from these items will go into the purse and be put towards the 360 bonus. It will also go to the Enloe Medical Center, benefiting children with an extended hospital stay.
To purchase any merchandise, secure a lap sponsor, or contribute to the 360 sprint car bonus award, please get ahold of Shelly via her cell phone at (530) 513-1500 or directly on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/shelley.tarter.9.
The NorCal Dwarf Car Association will be the companion division for the entire weekend.
Friday, June 28th, kicks off the racing weekend and will feature non-sanctioned 410 Sprint Car, Hobby Stock, and IMCA Northern SportMod action for the Brownell & Herseth Memorial.
Who To Watch
Lemoore’s Cole Macedo enters the event as the series point leader and is coming off a third-place result at the Super Dirt Cup finale last Saturday. Macedo put the Tarlton Motorsports entry in victory lane last March when he won a thrilling Mini Gold Cup. With three wins on the year so far, he will carry a slim five-point advantage into Saturday night.
Out of Aromas, Sanders is looking to return to his winning ways at Silver Dollar Speedway after getting fourth on the last night of Dirt Cup. Already scoring three NARC wins in 2024, the pilot of the Mittry Motorsports team and current runner-up in the points table has two career wins with the series at Chico when the tour came to town.
Roseville racer Justyn Cox is looking to score his second win of the current campaign and will hope to add a NARC victory at Chico to his resume. Currently third in the title race, the Bates-Hamilton Racing driver is currently third in the championship, with his best SDS NARC finish being a seventh in 2013, and he was ninth back in the Spring.
Rookie runner Caeden Steele emerged fourth in points after the long Northwest Swing. The recent High School valedictorian graduate from Easton posted his first career NARC podium at the Mini Gold Cup in March, showing everyone that he is a young man who can contend for wins this year. Since then, he has been consistently fast and has been close to earning his first career series win.
When the series last visited Chico, 2017 NARC champion Bud Kaeding was fifth. The Campbell chauffeur has earned two NARC wins at the track since 2000, with wins coming in 2009 and 2015. He is fifth in NARC points.
Oakley’s Dylan Bloomfield had a great run at the Mini Gold Cup, ending his night fourth in the Vertullo Racing-fielded mount, and was second at the non-sanctioned Fair Race during Memorial Day weekend. Bloomfield is another young talent that has been close to achieving that breakthrough first career NARC win.
Chase Johnson was ultra-fast during the last Chico visit in March and led many laps. The Penngrove pilot is undoubtedly determined to win, as he showed cheetah speed in both Spring races and was the runner-up in the non-sanctioned Mini Gold Cup prelim on March 15th.
2019 NARC champion D.J. Netto has the most 410 wins at Silver Dollar Speedway in 2024. Winning the first night of the Mini Gold Cup weekend and the Fair Race in May, the Hanford racer hopes to score his first Chico win with NARC; his best finish was a second in 2017.
Fremont’s Shane Golobic is hungry for a Chico win in 2024 with NARC. He was second at the Mini Gold Cup and already has won with the series in the current campaign with a triumph at Thunderbowl Raceway in May. If he could score the victory on Saturday, it would be the first time he’s beaten the series at Silver Dollar.
Andy Forsberg is always a driver to watch. Winning the 410 track championships in 2006, 2008, and 2017, the Auburn driver has only achieved a single NARC win when the series came to town—that was back in 2003. But Forsberg is a driver you can’t discount and is always a threat to win when he shows up in the pit area.
The aforementioned Becker is another veteran who should not be written off as he has six 410 track titles to his credit including five in a row from 2012-16. Living in Roseville, he wowed everyone with an impressive runner-up at Stockton’s Salute to LeRoy Van Conett in May. The 2005 NARC champion has yet to finish the year outside the Top 10 in the three 410 shows Chico has put on and was seventh at the Mini Gold Cup after starting a deep in twenty-second. He has four NARC victories at Chico, getting winner’s checks in 2003, 2005, and twice in 2006.
The rest of the NARC 410 regular contingent includes Skagit Speedway Super Dirt Cup preliminary winner Dominic Gorden of Clovis, Gauge Garcia of Lemoore, Chico’s Nick Parker, Billy Aton representing Benecia, and Lincoln gasser Tanner Carrick.
Other Californian competitors in the crowd will be Wilton’s Ashlyn Rodriguez, Michael Ing from Chico, Concord teenager Joey Ancona, Jarrett Soares of Gilroy, and many more.
Fan & Competitor Info
Silver Dollar Speedway, managed by SLC Promotions, is located at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds at 2357 Fair Street in Chico, California. For ticket information, log on to June Memorial Weekend 2024 (ticketspice.com) for online purchases. Tickets are priced at $30.00 for Adults, Juniors (13-17) at $20.00, and Children (12 and under) are FREE. Also, be sure to visit the track website at www.silverdollarspeedway.com.
Front gates open at 4:00 p.m.
Pit Gates open at 2:00 pm, with the Pit Meeting at 5:00 pm. Qualifying will get underway around 6:15 p.m. with opening Ceremonies at 7:00 p.m.
The David Tarter Memorial, along with every NARC 410 Sprint Car Series race, can be viewed live on Floracing.com.
Former winners of the David Tarter Memorial:
2013 -27 Sean Becker
2014 -83jr Kyle Hirst
2015 – 3 Craig Stidham
2016 – 21x Kyle Hirst (2)
2017 – 83 Kyle Hirst (3)
2018 – 83 Kyle Hirst (4)
2019 – 94th Kyle Hirst (5)
2020 – NO RACE – COVID
2021 – 4sa Justin Sanders
2022 – 41x Corey Day
2023 – 17w Shane Golobic
The NARC 410 Sprint Car Racing Series is also sponsored by Hoosier Racing Tires and Floracing.com. Associate and product award sponsors include Automotive Racing Products (ARP), Beacon Wealth Strategies, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Bullet Impressions, Diversified Machine Inc., Jim Allen Promotions, Kaeding Performance Center, Kimo’s Tropical Car Wash, KSE Racing Enterprises, Lifeline LLC, Maxim Racing Products, Mettec Titanium, Pyrotect, Saldana Racing Products, Schoenfeld Headers, Scelzi Enterprises, SCI Racing Products, Starr Property Management, System 1 Ignition, Ultra Lite Brakes, Williams Roofing, Wilwood Disc Brakes, and Winters Performance Products.
NARC 410 SPRINT CARS SERIES
CHAMPIONSHIP POINT STANDINGS
(AFTER 14 EVENTS IN 23-RACE SERIES – 6/25/24)
Cole Macedo, Lemoore – 1780
Justin Sanders, Aromas – 17752
Justyn Cox, Clarksburg – 1731
Caeden Steele, Fresno (R) – 1717
Bud Kaeding, Campbell – 1716
Dylan Bloomfield, Oakley – 1708
Tanner Carrick, Lincoln – 1689
Gauge Garcia, Lemoore (R) – 1684
Nick Parker, Chico – 1660
Dominic Gorden, Clovis (R) – 1655
Chase Johnson, Penngrove – 1435
Billy Aton, Benicia – 1328
Dominic Scelzi, Fresno – 1327
Tanner Holmes, Jacksonville, OR – 1200
Shane Golobic, Fremont – 1112
John Clark, Windsor – 1066
Robbie Price, British Columbia – 1046
Jessie Attard, Australia – 885
DJ Netto, Hanford – 820
Ryan Bernal, Roseville – 818