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Fast
and furious action at TCS: |
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Marysville
CA - July 18, 2004.
Action was the operative
word at Clyde and Linda Tipton’s Twin Cities Speedway Saturday night. In a
program that featured the best wheel to wheel competition of the year, a
multi-groove surface allowed for great passing opportunities all night. The
exciting show was sponsored by Guidera’s Harley Davidson of Yuba City. Kevin Lovell
captured the Featherlite Pacific Sprint Car main event followed closely by twin
brother and point leader Korey Lovell. It was Lovell’s second victory of the
campaign. Kevin’s reputation as a hard charger was tested on this fast and
heavy track. In victory lane
Kevin said, “ I like tracks like this… really fast, and fun. I got a couple
of breaks, but it was great.” Yes, he got a couple of breaks. Pole sitter Pat
Harvey led the field off of turn four with Jeff Halleib at his side. Halleib
out-gunned the Grass Valley champion in to turn one and set sail. As the second
lap was being completed Harvey and Sacramento’s Troy Degaton got together,
checked up and Reno ‘s Mike Monahan clipped the left rear of Harvey’s car.
Monahan who is currently in second place in the point standings nursed a wounded
racer for the balance of the event. As the field
headed into the sixth lap Halleib began to pick up the first of the back
markers. Then, when Halleib approached Marysville’s Brandon Dozier, Dozier
bicycled in turn one. Dozier saved the bucking racer, but Halleib chugged to a
stop while avoiding the first year driver. While Halleib was
rocketing away from the field in the early laps, quick qualifier Brent Dothage
was on the high side picking off cars and found fourth place just before
Halleib’s demise. The order at the
new green, as Halleib re-joined the field in last, was Kevin Lovell, Degaton,
Dothage and Korey Lovell. Halleib’s misfortune was the crowd’s biggest
benefit as Halleib started a charge that had the fans cheering. Halleib picked off
cars two and three at a time as the last fifteen laps rolled into the record
books. Dothage,
meanwhile, was in a knock down-drag it out battle with Degaton. Degaton had his
best ride ever as he took to the track’s racy condition like a duck to water.
But, so did Dothage. He put a slick move on Degaton coming out of turn four on
the high side and powered into second. On the very next
circuit Harvey suffered a flat tire and headed toward the pit entrance at turn
one. Dothage didn’t know Harvey’s intention and tried to go around Harvey
into turn one. Harvey took Dothage high off the banking as he headed for the
pits. Dothage flew off the banking and he too chugged to a stop drawing the
event’s final yellow flag. The final five
laps were run off without incident. But, like Halleib who finally wound up
fourth, Dothage flew around the other competitors finding sixth at the finish; a
testimony to the racy track even in the late stages. Once again, misfortune
turned into the fan’s best friend as the crowd again voiced its approval for
Dothage’s great charge. While all this was
going on, point leader Korey Lovell broke free into second place and pressured
his brother for the final five laps. As the white banner flew Korey Lovell
camped on Kevin’s tail. The pair screamed into the final set of turns and
Kevin went a little high to protect his lead. Korey pointed his racer to the
bottom and he made up 20 yards. The pair raced across the finish line nearly
side by side. Kevin Lovell,
Korey Lovell, an impressive Degaton, Halleib and Galt’s Johnny Caughran were
the top five. Caughran posted his best sprint car finish ever. Four spectacular
flips punctuated the heat races in this division. Rick Kraushar bicycled, then
flipped in his heat in turn one. Rich Vant hammered the front stretch wall and
flipped while running in a credible third place in his heat. Tom Baker took a
hard ride on the front chute when he and Dothage got together while battling for
the lead. All three drivers are from Sacramento and all were all right after
they took a few minutes to get themselves together. The final heat
race flip was a strange one. Point contenders Dennis Wood and David Sprigg got
together on the front stretch with Wood taking a hard tumble. Sprigg’s car hit
the wall as he exited turn four. The car veered into the path of Wood. Would
took off into the air, slammed down and started flipping. The car came to rest
near turn one. Wood was uninjured in the spectacular high-flyer. Wood and his
crew then worked feverishly on the wrecked car. Wood actually got the car
running and was allowed to start later on in the evening. Wood’s limping car
was uncompetitive and he coasted to a stop in the infield after a valiant
effort. In TCS Stock Car
Series action, former track champion Billy Knoop of Yuba City captured the
feature event. Knoop’s victory was wire to wire as he started on the pole
flanked by John Johnson of Yuba City. Johnson slipped into second and that’s
the way they finished. But, there was a war going on behind them. In a race
remarkably free of yellow flags, point leader Jerry Bartlett and last week’s
main event winner Donnie Fortney were putting on a show. Marysville’s Kenny
Robinson hooked onto the battle and it was a barn-burner. The trio picked off
cars at will in their charge to the front. Charlie Duffey and
Chris Paquette were factors. Duffey suffered late race mechanical woes, and
Paquette slid over the top in turn three in a miscue that cost him a top five
finish. 4-time winner, Bartlett came to grief on lap twelve with another front
suspension failure. It was the final slowdown as the race went caution free from
that point on. Knoop and Johnson
stayed out front as Robinson, Fortney and hard charging Wayne Turk battled for
the next three spots. This battle allowed Knoop and Johnson to sail away. The
top five took the white flag in that order. As the field approached turn three
on the final lap Turk got into the back of Fortney. Fortney tried to save it but
a long, lazy slide ensued and he lost several positions. Turk was penalized for
the maneuver. George Magenheimer and Archie Flynn were placed in fourth and
fifth places respectively. The top three,
Knoop, Johnson and Robinson, are all former feature winners at TCS. Knoop was gracious
and, for Knoop, a little subdued. Knoop is known for his patented “roof
dance” when he wins main events. Knoop thanked everyone he could think of and
carted home the spoils. In the Speedway
Sprint Car main event, point leader Chris Magoon made it two in a row. Magoon
led every lap after a scary, aborted initial start. One of the original starters
came to a stop on the backstretch as the field came to the green flag. The
starter frantically waved the yellow flag…not everyone saw it. Petaluma’s Ty
Hawkins in his second start at TCS launched high in the air. The car made a
four-point landing and slid harmlessly into the infield. Hawkins apparently
got the adrenaline going, as he was the only one who pressured Magoon in the
feature. The feature was slowed only once after the initial problem for a minor
spin at half way. Hawkins glued
himself to Magoon and went high and low lap after lap. Antioch’s Scott Pagh
got into the mix and at one point slipped past Hawkins. Hawkins got back by and
set his sights on Magoon once again. In a last ditch effort to get By Magoon,
Hawkins cranked it sideway off of turn two and Magoon took the checkers two car
lengths ahead. Pagh stayed in
third. Two-time winner Daryl Moore finished fourth with Rick Eversult getting
fifth. The Nor Cal Dwarf
Cars were the traveling show hosted by TCS on Saturday. Steve Albirdi Jr, Zach
Hurst and Mike Grenert were the top three at the flag. Albirdi made a mid-race
pass to secure the lead and the victory. Hurst was in an
opening lap melee that sidelined three cars. Hurst was placed at the rear of the
field and charged to his second place finish. This Saturday, July 24th TCS will host Taco Bell Nite. Gates open at 5pm with qualifying runs slated for 6:15pm. Racing will follow qualifying. The mighty Pacific Sprint Cars will headline the program. The TCS Stock Car Series, the TCS Mini Stocks and the BCRA Midget Lites will also be showcased. Visit us on the web at the Official Web Site for Twin Cities Speedway www.twincitiesspeedway.net or call (916) 985-2089 to reach the business office. All the latest updates are always posted to the website first. FEATHERLITE PACIFIC SPRINT CARS, SPEEDWAY SPRINT CARS, STOCK CARSTWIN CITIES SPEEDWAY - MARYSVILLE, CA JULY 17, 2004 - POINTS RACE #13 - GUIDERA'S HARLEY-DAVIDSON NIGHT FEATHERLITE PACIFIC SPRINT CARS HEAT RACE WINNERS MAIN EVENT SPEEDWAY SPRINT CARS MAIN EVENT STOCK CARS MAIN EVENT |
