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(April 22, 2006- Chowchilla, CA)...D & D Racing’s
Danny Olmstead of
Tracy
swept the Wingless Spec Sprint season opener at Chowchilla Speedway
on Saturday, April 22, winning his heat race, the trophy dash and
the main event.
Twenty two teams gathered together for the first of six dual club
shows with the CSRA and NCMA Wingless Spec Sprints at Chowchilla’s
well prepared 1/3 mile track. There were some old faces, new
drivers, new cars, and shiny new paint jobs along with a general
feeling of excitement just to be racing after a month of rain delays
at most N.Ca. race tracks.
Three 8 lap heat races were held and Olmstead brought home the first
one after starting in the 6th spot. Ramos Oil’s
Gary
Koster of
Woodland
and Richard Harvey Jr. rounded out the top 3 in heat one. Heat two
had a bit of a rough first lap which found Michael Zarevich and
Shannon Newton pitting. On the restart
Sacramento
’s Jake Serven took the lead and the win, followed closely by
Contra Costa Auto Parts’ Keith Shipherd and pole starter Ed
Amador. The third heat went flag to flag as D & D Racing’s
Matt Streeter took the win with Hale Lumber’s Rob Hammond and RJB
Engines’ Larry Nelson behind him.
The six lap dash began with Olmstead and Streeter on the front row.
After two bad starts Koster and Serven took the front. Serven
throttled into the lead for the first lap but was overtaken by
Olmstead by lap two. Streeter piloted into 2nd on lap three, and the
finish order saw Olmstead, Streeter, and Serven in the top 3,
followed by Koster, Shipherd, and Hammond.
First race mechanical gremlins affected several teams. Oakley’s
Scott Holloway and Richard Harvey Jr. both had to scratch from the
feature event. The Lavell and Shipherd teams both had starter issues
and were relegated to back row starts all night as they needed push
starts. Part loans and camaraderie played a big part of the evening
as well.
Dash winner Olmstead pulled a 10 invert pill for the main event,
which put
Concord
’s Billy Macedo and
Santa Clara
’s Alan Clark on the front row. Larry Nelson and Ed Amador were
grid in row two, and Gary Koster and Rob Hammond sat in the third
row. Macedo got the jump at the green with Nelson, Clark, and Koster
on his tail. As the tight field settled in after the first lap,
Zarevich pitted. Macedo lost the lead around lap 5 as veteran racer
Larry Nelson throttled to the front followed by Clark, Koster and
Streeter. Olmstead skillfully worked his way to the front and took
command around lap 12. The laps rapidly ticked off to the lap 20
checkers and the field piloted across the line with Danny Olmstead
bringing home the win. Matt Streeter, Larry Nelson, Alan Clark, and
Gary Koster rounded out the top 5.
Kudos to all of the Wingless Spec Sprint teams for a super first
season race, and as always a big thanks to Chowchilla’s Tom and
Cindy Sagmiller and crew for the excellent track prep and
hospitality. CSRA’s next race will be Saturday, May 6 at Twin
Cities Speedway in Marysville. Drive safe, have fun and take care.
Results:
Heat 1- Danny Olmstead, Gary Koster, Richard Harvey Jr., Scott
Holloway, Billy Macedo, David Goodwill, Jimmy Lavell, Doug Gandy Jr.
Heat 2- Jake Serven, Keith Shipherd, Ed Amador, Alan Clark, Jeff
Meusch, Mike Zarevich, Shannon Newton
Heat 3- Matt Streeter, Rob Hammond, Larry Nelson, Dennis Fraser,
Jerry Cisco, Rich Crumley, Bobby Nichols
Trophy Dash- Danny Olmstead, Matt Streeter, Jake Serven, Gary
Koster, Keith Shipherd, Rob Hammond
Main- Olmstead, Streeter, Nelson, Clark, Koster, Amador, Hammond,
Fraser, Serven, Shipherd, Cisco, Meusch, Newton, Macedo, Goodwill,
Nichols, Gandy, Lavell, Crumley, Zarevich
* Holloway and Harvey Jr. scratched prior to the main
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