6/12/2009
Silver Dollar Speedway
A Night of Three's at Chico
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="420"] HRP Photos by Steve Cox[/caption]
Chico's Phil Marino capped off the the "three" theme by winning the 20-lap street stock main event. It was Marino's third win of the season.
A total of 42 cars entered point race number nine at the ASA Sanctioned Silver Dollar Speedway.
Zach Zimmerly jumped out the early lead of the sprint car main event. Zimmerly, driving the McMillen #2, has showed a lot of potential as a race car driver even with his limited time behind the wheel. The race also started with a barrage three wide racing as the new surface provided many lanes of racing. On lap two it was time for Allard to take the top spot. Allard jumped to the top of the race track and passed Zimmerly in turn two. Kyle Hirst started fifth and on lap three he was third. Four laps later his was in second. Hirst was then able to reel in Allard at times but never quite able to make a move around Allard. Placerville sprint car guru and part time petting zoo owner Andy Gregg was also impressive tonight. He started seventh and on lap eight he moved into the third spot. It was a position he held down until Sean Becker passed him on lap 12. Becker, as Allard, found the top of turns one and two to his liking. Becker seemed as if he would mount a charge on the top two but on lap 20 he was re-passed by Gregg. Gregg went on to finish third while Becker stayed in the fourth spot. Pole sitter Andy Forsberg drifted back a bit but still finished in fifth. Three drivers who seemed to enjoy the racing surface were Jason York, Brad Bumgarner and Brett Miller. York started 13th and finished sixth. Bumgarner went from 16th to seventh and Miller 18th to ninth.
Mark Abouzeid led all 20-laps to win the dirt modified main event. Abouzeid was never challenged and the "rocket man" continued his winning ways. His biggest nemesis was slower cars and negotiating lapped cars. He was able to stay clear of any incidents and brought the Chico Volkswagen #27 into victory lane. "I want to thank my crew who is here tonight," said Abouzeid referring to his big grandstand crowd on Chico Volkswagen night. Abouzeid has now won all three main events this year during the point series. The real battle was for second as Jeff Olschowka and Darin Ruley raced all 20-laps for second spot. Ruley held the line and the spot but it was Olschowka who found a faster groove and passed Ruley on lap 12. Olschowka was able to hold onto the position and finished second. Ruley came across the line in third. Eli Zucker finished in the fourth spot while it was Mark Hass rounding out the top five.
The street stock main event was the Heather Bartlett and Phil Marino show. Bartlett jumped out to an early lead while Marino was in second. Bartlett led the first eight laps until the two entered slower cars. Bartlett got bottled up behind a slower car and there was contact. Bartlett drifted up the track and this allowed Marino to dive to the inside and take the lead. Bartlett never gave up and resumed her charge to catch Marino. The final half of the race saw Marino negotiate his way through slower cars while Bartlett shadowed his every move. Bartlett closed in on Marino near the end of the race and at one point I looked to be faster than Marino. Yet, as the laps winded down it was Marino who held onto the lead and went on to win his third main event of the year. "I had a fun time tonight," said Marino. "I really liked how the new track raced and am looking forward to coming back next week."