Placerville, CA – June 1, 2019…An exciting night of racing at the Placerville Speedway on Saturday saw Fremont, California’s Shane Golobic claim victory in both the POWRi-BCRA Midget League main event and the Thompson’s Family of Dealerships Winged 360 Sprint Car feature to cap the evening.
Also picking up wins during “Dads and Grads” Night were Ray Trimble with the Ltd. Late Models and Dan Jinkerson with the Jay’s Mobile Welding & Fabricating Pure Stocks. Not even a few rain drops and questionable weather all around the speedway could dampen the spirits of teams and the raucous crowd on hand.
The 25-lap Thompson’s Family of Dealerships Winged 360 Sprint Car feature came to the line with Placerville veterans Jimmy Trulli and CJ Humphreys sharing the front row. At the waving of the green flag it was Humphreys who jumped into the lead, however, his bid at victory came to an end on lap four when he got over the edge and contacted the tire barrier in the second corner. Hanford’s Michael Faccinto, making a rare Winged Sprint Car start driving for Jim Richardson, inherited the lead and held the top-spot until Auburn’s Andy Forsberg got by on lap six.
The track surface had slicked off nicely by main event time and gave competitors multiple grooves to use in the feature. Side by side battles were prevalent throughout the field as eighth starting Shane Golobic snagged second with nine laps complete. He then began to hound the rear bumper of Forsberg and the two proceeded to put on a great battle for the top-spot. With 15-lap down Golobic made his move and sliced by Forsberg to claim the lead.
A couple more cautions were seen over the final 10 laps but Golobic was able to hang tough and cross the checkered flag to earn the $2,500 triumph with extra money coming in from track partner High Sierra Industries. Point leader Forsberg came home in second with Hollister’s Tony Gualda, Mather’s Kalib Henry and Visalia’s Steven Tiner rounding out the top-five. Tiner scored the Hard Charger Award by carving his way from dead last to fifth in 25-laps.
The remainder of the top-10 was filled out by Templeton’s Kaleb Montgomery, Aromas’ Justin Sanders who had to come from the rear after a yellow on lap four, Elk Grove’s Bobby McMahan, Lincoln’s Tanner Carrick and Grass Valley’s Billy Wallace. The evening’s B-main was snagged by Tanner Carrick, with the four heat races won by Jimmy Trulli, Zane Blanchard, Michael Faccinto and Shane Golobic. Tony Gualda began the night by pacing the 32-car field in qualifying with a lap of 10.752. It marked his fourth ADCO Driveline Fast Time Award in five events this season.
Current Ltd. Late Model point leader Ray Trimble began the night by signing autographs in the grandstands and ended it in victory after claiming his third win of the season. The 20-lap feature saw six cars make the call but those drivers should be commended for putting on an entertaining show for the fans on hand. A good race for the lead developed early but in the end nobody could stop the fast moving Trimble who took the checkered flag over Dan Brown Jr., Don Keenan, Tyler Lightfoot and Jay Norton in the top-five. The lone heat race was snagged by Lightfoot.
The Jay’s Mobile Welding & Fabricating Pure Stocks once again put on an exciting 20-lap main event, which ultimately saw Dan Jinkerson race to his third consecutive victory at the Placerville Speedway. The front row was comprised of Kevin Jinkerson and Ryan Peter. As soon as the green flag waved the action was hot and heavy with thrilling pack racing seen at the front of the field. Track prep had taken place prior to the Pure Stock feature and it made for some fantastic multi-groove racing.
Numerous close battles were featured throughout the field and eventually it came down to Dan Jinkerson and John Ewing who sliced their way to the front of the pack. Jinkerson eventually won out and went to earn his third win in six races this season. Ewing, Scott Grunert, visitor Rich Lindgren and rounds one and two winner Nick Baldwin rounded out the top-five. The remainder of the top-10 was filled out by Jason Palmer, Kevin Jinkerson, Ryan Peter, Dave Silva and Mel Byers. Heat races went to Dan Jinkerson and Jason Palmer.
The traveling POWRi Lucas Oil BCRA Midget League main event showcased a fairly close race at the front of the field for much of the 20-lapper. Shane Golobic ended up leading flag to flag but Anaheim racer Robert Dalby kept him within sights for much of the contest. Golobic as always was smooth as glass however on the extremely slick surface and kept the field at bay to win his second straight POWRi-BCRA feature. Dalby, Jake Morgan, Cory Elliot and Marvin Mitchell completed the top-five. Robert Carson, Alex Schutte, Shawn Jones, Shannon McQueen and Beau Lemire rounded out the top-10. The two heat races held were captured by McQueen and Golobic.
The Placerville Speedway returns to action this coming Saturday June 8th with Thompson’s Fan Appreciation Night. Divisions competing will include the Thompson’s Family of Dealerships Winged 360 Sprint Cars, the Jay’s Mobile Welding & Fabricating Pure Stocks, Mini Trucks and the Nor-Cal Dwarf Car Association. All tickets are just $5 during night so it’s a perfect opportunity to bring someone new to the races. Online tickets are available at https://www.universe.com/events/2019-championship-pts-race-7-thompsons-fan-appreciation-night-tickets-placerville-V1Y8G0
Photos courtesy of Cleveland Digital Imaging