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Traditional Sprint Car FanSite |
See You At The Races!!! |
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Interrogation
by Gary "Hammerdown" Costa |
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| Michael Faccinto Wins Kings Bandit Opener! |
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Hanford, CA – April 25, 2008…Frank Dias’ Kings
Speedway played host to the non-wing 360 Bandit Sprint Cars on
a fast and tacky 3/8-mile
surface. The rare Friday night show would have a nice 21-car
turnout. With a nice crowd on hand, they would be treated to an
exciting and drama filled evening of “back’n it in”
non-wing Sprint Car Racing. Surprise entries
on the evening included the always-exciting
Davey Pombo, who hails from nearby Kerman. Kingsburg’s
Austin Mero and Orange’s Henry Clarke, piloted sprinters for
Cory Kruseman. Kruseman, the popular non-wing warrior from
Ventura, was on hand to mentor his two young drivers. All of
whom towed the next day to Perris Auto Speedway to compete
with the USAC/CRA 410 Sprints. The evening started out with Pombo besting the 21-car-field
in qualifying with an impressive 15.702. Davey averaged 86mph,
in the #27 Southwest Contractors, Praxair, ITI Viper chassis
around the well-prepared
speedway. Three 10-lap Heat Races would be on tap for the evening. Heat Race #1 was all Rusty Carlile who was absolutely
hooked up and flying in the Southwest Contractors #51 Stinger.
While Bakersfield’s Carlile was in another zone, a blanket
could have been thrown over the rest of the field, as Steven
Williams, Michael Faccinto,
Davey Pombo,
and Wes Gutierrez all battled for position. Heat Race #2 was another entertaining one. Henry
Clarke took “Krusers” advice and did a masterful job by
winning the fast paced event. Fresno’s Kevin Barnes and
Peter Murphy followed the Lucas Oil, Sander Engineering #2
entry. Murphy made some fantastic moves to finish 3rd
in the Tarlton & Son, Inc. #21 after starting 6th.
Jace VanderWeerd, a young masher from nearby Visalia, took the
4th spot in the 10-lapper. Young female gasser, Justyne Hamblin was all business in
Heat Race #3. Hamblin ran away from the rest of the field in
the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino, KB Motorsports #8 Stinger.
Ricky Kirkbride, Jerry Wise, and Albert Pombo battled
for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th
positions, eventually finishing in that order. The 4-lap Trophy Dash was picked up by Heat Race #2 winner,
Henry Clarke. Faccinto and Richard VanderWeerd paced the 20-car field.
When the green flag
flew, cars got together on the front straightaway. Outside
front row starter VanderWeerd, Wes Gutierrez, and Heat #1
winner Carlile were eliminated. When the green came back out, the racing was intense. Davey
Pombo was on Faccinto’s rear bumper as Hanford’s Jonathan
Logan was on the gas and making moves. Faccinto, Pombo and
Logan were waging war up front, while Murphy was closing
in. On lap-10, Logan moved into the 2nd spot
and later wrestled the lead from Faccinto. On lap-17, Logan jumped the cushion going into turn one. He
fought his way back onto the racing surface and
proceeded to do a wheel stand. Still charging, Logan drag
raced three wide down the back straightaway with Faccinto and
Pombo. Just as this battle was heating up, the yellow flag
flew allowing the fans to catch their breath. When racing resumed, Kirkbride made a bonsai move on the 4th
place running Peter Murphy and contact was made in the north
turns. This left Murphy, the 2007 SCRA Champion, stopped on
the speedway and able to restart at the tail of the field. When the green was unfurled, again it was Logan, Pombo and
Faccinto going at each other. On the 24th circuit,
Logan, who was running 3rd stopped on the track. On the restart, it was Pombo leading with Faccinto on his
tail. However, heartbreak came for Davey as he left the
racetrack on lap-27. As all this was unfolding, Murphy worked his way into the
2nd position. A shootout for the Tom Tarlton owned Sprint Cars
was shaping up. Drama unfolded on lap-28 as Murphy was making
an outside move on Faccinto in turns 3 and 4. The cars got
together, resulting in Murphy stopped with a folded front end
on the racetrack. Michael Faccinto cruised the rest of the way, taking the
win in the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino #21T Maxim.
Rounding out the top 3 finishers were Justyne Hamblin and
Albert Pombo. “All I can say is that I’m glad that it’s over.”
Faccinto said in victory lane. “Luck went our way tonight,
and we’re going to keep this Tarlton & Son car up
front.” BANDIT SPRINT CARS – KINGS SPEEDWAY - HANFORD, CA TIME TRIALS: HEAT RACE 1: (10 laps) HEAT RACE 2: (10 laps) HEAT RACE 3: (10 laps) TROPHY DASH: (4 laps) FEATURE: (30 laps
- With Starting Positions) |
