By Gary Thomas
Placerville, CA…Shane Hopkins has shown the impressive ability to pass cars over the last few seasons with more hard charger awards than anybody at Placerville Speedway.
Starting on the front row last night, however, he battled Tony Gomes around the midway point of the feature, before taking the lead en route to his third career Winged 360 Sprint Car triumph at the track. Hopkins’ win came aboard the familiar High Sierra Industries/ Anrak Corp. No. 21 mount.
Sharing victory lane during the Independence Day showcase were Oakley’s Nick Baldwin with the Red Hawk Resort + Casino Pure Stocks and Yuba City’s Rod Oliver with the Kings Meats Ltd. Late Models.
Despite having no fireworks due to the Esparto warehouse tragedy, the Placerville Speedway faithful filled the grandstands for what was an excellent night of racing and celebrating America.
The 30-lap finale for the Thompson’s Dealerships Winged Sprint Cars saw last week’s winner Tony Gomes jump out front. The Modesto driver had won his heat race earlier out of starting position number four, which gave him the pole for the main event.
With gorgeous temps during the evening for Independence Day, the racing remained hot and heavy with several intriguing battles taking place throughout the field. A lap 12 double file restart set up a big moment in the race, as Shane Hopkins stayed right with the leader.
Hopkins blasted to the outside through one and two and grabbed the lead down the backstretch. Gomes wasn’t done yet though and returned the favor on the next lap to move back out front. As he rounded turn two on lap 14 however, he got over the edge and dropped to third, with Hopkins and Austin Wood getting by.
Hopkins drove a great race over the remaining distance and withstood a closing Gomes over the final couple circuits to accept the Ed Entz checkered flag. Gomes and Wood kept fans on the edge of their seats over the waning laps as they fought hard for the runner up.
Behind Hopkins the top five read as Gomes, Wood, Lemoore’s Gauge Garcia and Tucson, Arizona’s Nick Parker. Rounding out the top 10 were Dustin Freitas, Dylan Bloomfield, 15th starting Chance Grasty, Isaiah Vasquez and 17th starting Braden Chiaramonte.
With Andy Forsberg suffering a DNF we have a new point leader going into tonight, with young Austin Wood now up front. Forsberg is just four points back in second, while Gomes finds himself within six markers of the lead. Wood earned another ADCO Driveline Fast Time Award to begin the evening on Friday, pacing the 33-car field in time trials.
The Red Hawk Casino Pure Stocks once again provided thrills in their main event, especially over the initial 10 circuits. Wayne Trimble, Kevin Jinkerson, Nick Baldwin and Ryan Peter all ran tightly together up front.
The quartet put on a tremendous show for the fans with some good, clean, hard racing. On lap nine Baldwin grabbed the lead and would never look back on way to his 36th career Placerville Speedway Pure Stock win. In doing so, he tied Dennis Ahart for third all-time at the track.
Kevin Jinkerson, Ryan Peter, Tyler Lightfoot and Wayne Trimble finished second through fifth in the 25-lap contest.
The Kings Meats Ltd. Late Model main event was all about Rod Oliver, who raced away to claim his third career Placerville Speedway victory. Chris McGinnis led the opening two laps, before Oliver got by to grab the point.
After that Oliver was in cruise control up front and crossed the stripe for the win ahead of Matt Micheli, Tyler Lightfoot, Matt Davis and Mcginnis.
Placerville Speedway finishes off Independence Day weekend on Saturday July 5th with the inaugural Triple Crown presented by All Coast Construction and Avanti Windows & Doors.
On tap will be the Thompson’s Dealerships Winged 360 Sprint Cars, the Ultimate Sprint Car Series, the USAC Western States Midgets and Wingless BCRA Lightning Sprints. Tickets can be purchased at the gate or via www.placervillespeedway.com
Results
Placerville Speedway
Freedom Fireworks
July 4, 2025
Thompson’s Dealerships Winged 360 Sprint Cars:
1. 21-Shane Hopkins[2]; 2. 7C-Tony Gomes[1]; 3. 2A-Austin Wood[4]; 4. 28-Gauge Garcia[7]; 5. 15-Nick Parker[13]; 6. 9-Dustin Freitas[8]; 7. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield[5]; 8. X1-Chance Grasty[15]; 9. 83SA-Isaiah Vasquez[6]; 10. 94TH-Braden Chiaramonte[17]; 11. 12J-John Clark[10]; 12. 10-Dominic Gorden[3]; 13. 2XM-Max Mittry[11]; 14. 3-Cole Schroeder[12]; 15. 42X-Justyn Cox[14]; 16. 81-Steven Kent[16]; 17. 92-Andy Forsberg[9]; 18. 7P-Jake Andreotti[18]; 19. 17J-Josh Young[19]; 20. 56-Taylor Hall[20]
Red Hawk Resort + Casino Pure Stocks: