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Becker Golden on Night 2 of the Gold Cup Race of Champions

The Californian nabs his first career World of Outlaws victory at Silver Dollar Speedway

CHICO, Calif. - Sept. 7, 2012 - As he climbed out of his sprint car and listened to the roar of the crowd, Sean Becker raised his hands in the air and let out a half yell.

With confetti raining down on Victory Lane, Becker was emotional and seemingly stunned after he recorded his first career World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series feature victory Friday night at Silver Dollar Speedway.

The win came on the second night of the 59th annual Gold Cup Race of Champions and it helped lock him into Saturday's $20,000-to-win feature.

"I grew up watching my dad race at this track in the late '80s, early '90s," Becker said. "(I) grew up watching Sammy Swindell, Steve Kinser, all these guys. It's a huge accomplishment for me. There's no greater moment right now."

While Becker nabbed the win it came at the expense of fellow Californian Kyle Larson, who led the first 19 laps before his right rear tire went flat during a red flag with 11 laps remaining. Larson repeatedly spun his rear tires during the caution laps in an effort to create more air, but he was doomed from the restart.

Becker powered by Larson at the flag stand to complete lap 20 only to see Larson slide back into the lead entering turns three and four. However, Becker again rocketed off the bottom of turn four to gain the top spot at the finish line before Craig Dollansky continued his rough weekend by spinning in turn four to cause a caution on lap 21.

Dollansky, who was running seventh on the previous restart, had to rejoin the field in 16th. He later finished 13th, which dropped him 35 points behind Donny Schatz in the World of Outlaws championship battle.

Larson continued to struggle with the flat tire as Tim Kaeding drove into second place on lap 23 and Joey Saldana passed Larson for third on lap 24. Larson lost several more positions before the tire gave out on lap 29. He ended up finishing 14th.

Becker outlasted a couple of late cautions to cruise to the victory, although it was much easier said than done.

"It was just gut wrenching," Becker said. "I knew if I held my line on the top, I knew it was going to leave an opening for them to pull some slide jobs on me. So I just wanted to make sure I got a good, clean restart and hooked up off the bottom and just railed around the top. I jumped the cushion a few times during that race so I was tiptoeing it in there quite a few times, but to finally be able to do it is just huge for me."

Kaeding, a fellow Californian, finished second to earn his second consecutive podium.

"We moved up one spot from last night and hopefully tomorrow we can move up one more," he said. "California guys have struggled here the last few years, so hopefully we can keep everything rolling and keep the California guys up in the front and having fun these next couple of days out here with the Outlaws."

Saldana rebounded from an early miscue to earn third place, which was his 21st top five of the season.

"On that restart I just totally screwed up, hit that infield tire and hit the second one so I should have took myself out," he said. "Just driver error. We've been struggling with our car, so when you finally get a good car it's pretty frustrating when the driver screws up. But it was definitely my fault tonight, so hopefully (we will) come back tomorrow and be a little better."

Schatz placed fourth to pad his championship advantage and Sammy Swindell finished fifth. Jason Sides was sixth, Jonathan Allard seventh, Jac Haudenschild eighth, Kraig Kinser ninth and Lucas Wolfe rounded out the top 10.

Kyle Hirst powered from last - 24th - to finish 11th, which earned him the KSE Hard Charger Award.

59th annual Gold Cup Race of Champions Night 2 Notebook

NOTES - Donny Schatz established quick time for the third race this season. … Kyle Larson picked up his second heat race win, Jonathan Allard his second, Tim Kaeding his seventh and Jac Haudenschild his second. … Jason York claimed his first C Main. … Larson won his second straight dash. … Rico Abreu earned his first Last Chance Showdown victory.

CONTINGENCY WINNERS - Penske Shocks ($100 certificate): Jac Haudenschild; MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): Sean Becker; Comp Cams ($50 certificate): Sean Becker; Armor All (case of product): Sean Becker; STP ($50 cash): Tim Kaeding; UNOH ($50 cash): Sammy Swindell; Gravely Tractors ($50 cash): Jonathan Allard; VP Racing Fuel ($50 cash): Kraig Kinser; Comp Cams ($50 cash): Lucas Wolfe; JE Pistons (set of rings): Tyler Wolf; Cometic Gasket ($50 cash): Tyler Wolf; Wix Filters ($50 cash): Craig Dollansky; Superflow ($50 cash): Tyler Wolf; JE Pistons ($50 cash): Bill Rose; JE Pistons (set of rings): Kerry Madsen; MSD Ignitions ($25 cash): Cody Darrah; Klotz Synthetic Lubricants ($50 cash): Bill Rose.

WINNERS - Sammy Swindell - 11 (Grays Harbor Raceway on Aug. 29, Castrol Raceway on Aug. 25, River Cities Speedway on Aug. 17, Autodrome Granby on July 27, Eldora Speedway on July 14, Lakeside Speedway on June 30, Red River Valley Speedway on June 16, Eldora Speedway on May 5, Knoxville Raceway on April 28, Missouri State Fair Speedway on April 20 and Merced Speedway on March 30); Donny Schatz - 8 (Silver Dollar Speedway on Sept. 6, Nodak Speedway on Aug. 19, Junction Motor Speedway on Aug. 14, Knoxville Raceway on Aug. 11, Cornwall Motor Speedway on July 29, Farmer City Raceway on April 25, Silver Dollar Speedway on March 23 and Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19); Craig Dollansky - 7 (Castrol Raceway on Aug. 24, Lebanon Valley Speedway on July 22, Lernerville Speedway on July 17, I-96 Speedway on June 2, Hagerstown Speedway on May 20, Tri-State Speedway on April 21 and Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19); Kerry Madsen - 5 (Willamette Speedway on Sept. 3, Skagit Speedway on Aug. 31, Limaland Motorsports Park on July 11, Belleville High Banks on June 29 and Knoxville Raceway on June 9); Joey Saldana - 5 (Autodrome Drummond on July 28, Eldora Speedway on July 13, The Dirt Track at Charlotte on May 25, Paducah International Raceway on April 13 and Perris Auto Speedway on March 10); Kraig Kinser - 4 (Beaver Dam Raceway on July 7, Dodge City Raceway Park on June 23, River Cities Speedway on June 15 and Kokomo Speedway on June 5); Tim Kaeding - 3 (Cedar Lake Speedway on July 6, Thunderbowl Raceway on March 16 and The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 8); Steve Kinser - 3 (Dodge City Raceway Park on June 22, Orange County Fair Speedway on May 19 and Williams Grove Speedway on May 12); Chad Kemenah - 2 (Lawrenceburg Speedway on May 28 and Eldora Speedway on May 4); Tony Stewart - 2 (Ohsweken Speedway on July 31 and Lernerville Speedway on July 17); Sean Becker - 1 (Silver Dollar Speedway on Sept. 7); Cody Darrah - 1 (Williams Grove Speedway on July 21); Danny Dietrich - 1 (Lincoln Speedway on May 10); Mark Dobmeier - 1 (Huset's Speedway on July 3); Travis Jacobson - 1 (Skagit Speedway on Sept. 1); Danny Lasoski - 1 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 18); Paul McMahan - 1 (Rolling Wheels Raceway Park on May 16); Fred Rahmer - 1 (Williams Grove Speedway on May 11); Brad Sweet - 1 (Clay County Fairgrounds on June 8) and Lucas Wolfe - 1 (Bloomington Speedway on Aug. 3).

TIME TRIALS - Donny Schatz was the fastest qualifier around the quarter-mile oval with a time of 12.246 seconds to earn five championship points. Also earning points were Sean Becker (4 points), Sammy Swindell (3), Jason Sides (2) and Kyle Larson (1).

WE'RE ONLINE - Make sure to check out WorldofOutlaws.com for the latest news and results, plus exclusive driver interviews, video and pictures. Also listen to every event live at DIRTVision.com .

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