(May
10, 2003) On
Saturday, May 10 we began our trip to Marysville under sunny skies,
at last. Upon arrival we met new track promoter Clyde Tipton, who
has made some changes to the ¼ mile clay, high banked oval track.
Twin Cities is the home of the famous Jimmy Sills driving school,
which is located right next to the track. Rookie driver Bruce Slover,
a recent student of the school, explained to me that the banking has
changed slightly since last year, much to his chagrin, and the turn
1-2 bank is somewhat higher now.
Twin
Cities hosts several divisions on a weekly basis: the winged,
injected sprints, stock cars, and mini stocks, and has several dates
also for sprint 100’s, dwarf cars, midget lights, and the Civil
War series. Thanks to pit board officials Colleen and Rick for
patiently answering my questions. Track officials were all friendly
and easy to spot in their bright yellow shirts. Crews can watch the
racing action in a section of bleachers next to the grandstands
along the front straight or in a section above the high bank of turn
1 and 2.
Tonight
the pits were full with 22 winged sprints, 14 stocks, 28 mini
stocks, and 16 NCMA sprints. Some new faces and cars were there: XX
Bernie Carter from West Sacramento, sponsored by Specialty Services
Racing, #1 Mike Martin from Lincoln sponsored by IncLynx, #91 Ultrax
of David Kinnard from Citrus Heights, #0 Charlie Correia from Tracy,
and welcome back to #12 Bill Felver, who had the recently retired
veteran driver Phil Pedlar helping his team. Missing from our
regular roster was George Terry, who had a business commitment, and
Scott Holloway was missing his #41 car. After discovering possible
engine problems in the morning, Scott called his father Leon, who
was towing his #0 car up for Scott to drive. Club president Pat
Ariaz, recovering from a recent surgery was unable to race, but his
ATV got lots of laps in the pits as he made the rounds helping all
the teams.
At the drivers’ meeting we checked out heat race lineups,
welcomed new drivers, and learned that club sponsor CL Bryant would
be generously donating fuel to members at every race, with 5 gallon
certificates awarded to the 5th, 10th, and
last place feature finishers. We also agreed to share a portion of
the weekly purse with the #38 team to defer the costs of their tow
from Bakersfield.
The
first heat race began with Western Tile/ CC Auto Parts #20 Shipherd
on pole, RPM #11 Wullenwaber next to him, and Marysville local #67
Eversult and #12 Bill Felver behind them in row 2. At the green
Shipherd took the lead with Eversult behind him. In turn 3 Eversult
caught a rut, went airborne over the #20, and flipped. The track
safety crews responded fast, drivers were both fine, but the cars
were another story. Special thanks to club officials Eddie and
Millie who quickly got on radios to inform the crews of drivers’
safety and repair needs. Racing resumed with Wullenwaber leading
Amador, Felver, and Kinnard. Track announcer Bob Burbeck’s
humorous attempts at pronouncing Wullenwaber’s name resulted in a
new nickname, “RPM man”, and it was fun to watch Wullenwaber win
his first heat race, and equally entertaining to see wife
Kasondra’s happy antics.
The second 8 lap heat race had Pizza Factory #17 Gandy and
Cargill’s Welding #38 Fenton on the front row, #6 Janssen, OCR #77
Siverling , and #0 Scott Holloway behind them. The race ran fast,
with Chappa Insulation #6 Janssen taking the win, and Holloway and
Siverling close behind him.
Crews
were busy making repairs and adjustments after the heats, and in
true form everyone helped or offered to help with parts and repairs.
We had ample time before the main to watch some racing in other
divisions, and there was some exciting action with the winged
sprints, including a few rolls and even a spectacular wheel stand in
the A main.
Our
20 lap feature had a 16 car field, as fortunately the #67 and #20
crews worked so hard to make repairs. Cargill’s Welding #38 Fenton
and #17 Gandy started on the front row. At the green talented young
Fenton took the lead and smoothly proved he is no longer a rookie.
Action stopped at lap 5 when new driver #42 Zarevich unfortunately
flipped and made contact with the RPM #11. Both drivers were Ok but
unable to continue racing. Racing resumed, and we were on the edges
of our seats watching Holloway power the #0 up to the front, as well
as 11th starting Western Tile #20 making steady progress
and moving up to 4th. Without a scoreboard, it was hard
to keep track of laps, but about lap 17 a yellow flew for a spin,
and the top 5 were Holloway, Amador, Siverling, Shipherd, and Gandy.
On the last lap Flying Farmer Ed Amador charged into the lead going
into turn 3, Holloway took the high groove, and his momentum coming
out of the high bank in turn 4 carried him to the checkers first in
another exciting finish. Final feature finishes were:
1.Holloway,
2.Amador, 3.Siverling, 4.Shipherd, 5.Gandy, 6.Fenton,
7.Felver,8.Janssen,
9.Kinnard,10.Eversult,
11.Martin, 12.Carter, 13.Slover,14.Correia,15.Zarevich.
16.Wullenwaber.
After the main it was fun to see Leon and the Holloway team
enjoying their win, and a pleasant surprise to visit with old friend
Rocky Robinson. I hope everyone has a great Mother’s Day, and
thank you, crew, for the pancake breakfast. Next week NCMA races at
Lakeport Speedway, and will return again to Marysville next
month.
Drive
safe, have fun, and take care,
Debbie
Shipherd
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