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| Hanestad Posts Second Win at
Placerville by Debbie Shipherd |
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Wingless Spec Sprints |
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(May 21, 2005- Placerville, CA)...S & S Automotive's
Darrell Hanestad of Clayton posted his second Placerville feature
win on Saturday, May 21, coming from a second row start to pass Delta Demolition's Bob Newberry around lap 10 of the 15 lap Wingless Spec Sprint main. Hanestad also won the first feature in the season opener at Placerville in another close battle with Oakley's Newberry. This was the second of the two '05 season scheduled races for the Wingless Sprints at the scenic 1/4 mile track, and the 13 Wingless Sprints were joined by Placerville's Winged 360 Sprints, the Pure Stocks, and Pro Stocks. Several new faces and cars were welcomed for this warm evening of racing. Gary Lewis from Cameron Park debuted his new Wayside Lumber car and drove his first race the night before at Sacramento Raceway. Placerville's officials didn't require rookie drivers to sport a flag to distinguish them as new drivers, but Lewis wisely had the yellow flag flying from his sharp looking sprinter. Rio Linda's Matt Fontaine was racing for his second time out, having raced his Skippersparty.com car once before at Chowchilla Speedway in April. Charlie Kemp piloted for his first time as he and Ralph Cortez of Rio Linda are sharing driving duties in their red, white and blue car, and Grass Valley's Jay Youngman is also a new driver this season. Two heat races ran accident free with Oakley's Bob Newberry taking the first win from a front row start. He was chased by Rods R Us's Patrick Russum, Rio Linda's Rick Eversult, and Contra Costa Auto Parts'Keith Shipherd. Darrell Hanestad won heat two also from a front row start, followed by J.A.G. Construction's David Goodwill, Livermore's Doug Brewer, and Johnson's Manufacturing Kenny Bair of Woodland. With a full field of Winged 360 Sprints as the headline division, the Wingless Sprints ran a short 15 lap feature. Rookie driver "Hot Rod" Patrick Russum and veteran driver David Goodwill shared the front row with Bob Newberry and Darrell Hanestad behind them in row two. At the green, Russum jumped into the lead but Newberry quickly overtook him on the first lap, followed by Hanestad, Brewer, and Goodwill. A yellow slowed the action when Lewis unfortunately tagged the wall, and Newberry throttled again into the lead on the restart with Hanestad hounding him. Navigating the bumps and ruts found everyone challenged to find a smooth line, and it was a bigger challenge for the less experienced. A second yellow flew as Fontaine met with some misfortune and damaged his new car. Newberry took the point again with Hanestad charging as Russum, Eversult, and Shipherd battled for the next spots. Hanestad throttled past Newberry around lap 10 and took the final checkers followed by Newberry, Russum, Eversult, and Shipherd in the top five. Kudos to Placerville's officials for some thorough after race teching. The top 5 cars were weighed and later the top 3 had their motors bubbled with the cubic inch tester, which all teams were happy to see. Racing sometimes gets bogged down with rules, but upholding the basic regulations is vital to the survival of the fast growing division of Wingless Spec Sprints and it's steady growth. Fair officiating and teching by tracks and clubs will ultimately encourage more drivers to compete in this exciting class. Drive safe, have fun, and take care. |
