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Gregg Holds off Allard for Exciting Win at Chico |
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(Chico, CA 6-27-08)...Placerville driver Andy Gregg scored his first career 410 sprint car main event victory Friday night at Silver Dollar Speedway. Gregg held off a charging Jonathan Allard to get the win. Allard had caught and tried to pass Gregg coming out of the final turn on the final lap riding around the cushion. Gregg was able to slide up in front of Allard and hold on to the win. “I was having thoughts of two weeks ago,” said Gregg in victory lane. “After the race I went to apologize to Allard for not giving him any room off turn four and he was more upset that I was apologizing. He was telling me thats racing and no need to apologize.” Gregg also added, “This win is big because about three weeks ago I wasn't sure if I should even be racing because of the way things had been going.” As good as the 410 winged main event finish was the wingless main event was better. Marc Zieske led the main event as the white flag waived. However, he would not be the first car to the checkered. Keith Bloom Jr. had chased Zieske for the final four laps. Bloom Jr. also went to the cushion and built up his momentum. Going into the final lap Bloom Jr. passed Zieske going through turns one and two. Bloom Jr. then drove deep into turn three and beat Zieske to the finish line. It was a last lap pass that was executed to perfection. “That was an exciting finish,” said Bloom Jr. “Pete told me to go to the top and even though I didn't trust the top in turn three and four he was right.” It was Bloom's second win in a row and fourth for the year. Steve Hammett won an exciting street stock main event. He held his own and won his second feature of the year. Throughout the night two of the top in points Scott Rogers and Heather Bartlett each did not finish with motor problems. All together 55 race cars entered point race #13 during the Feather Falls Casino Friday night point series. Helping with the night's festivities was Riebe's Auto Parts. For the third year in a row Riebe's Auto Parts sponsored a night of racing at Silver Dollar Speedway. Fans received numerous raffle prizes, free tee-shirts and sports bottles. Riebe's Auto Parts continues to be very involved with Silver Dollar Speedway and we are very appreciative of their contributions for the fans and drivers. The winged sprint car main event struggled to get their first few laps complete. In the first five laps there were three separate red flags, three yellows and of the 20 cars that started only 13 remained. Dan Simpson had front end damage on the original start and he stopped in turn one. Lap two the red was needed when Mike Mossi flipped in turn one. Tyler Wolf was also involved. Lap four the next red came out when Emalee Ramirez and Matt Barber flipped. Brett Miller was involved and sustained front end damage. Mark Hall spun off the track in turn four on lap four. Then on lap five Colby Copeland flipped off turn two. Johnny Gray had top wing damage during the accident. After the field was reduced the next 16 laps went non stop. During the long green flag run Kyle Hirst challenged Gregg for the lead. Half way through the race Hirst banged into the front grandstand wall and tried to continue but spun into the infield and was done for the night. Jonathan Allard emerged as the new challenger. He closed in on Gregg while the two were engaged in lapped traffic. Gregg continued to emerge as the car to beat. On lap 21 the race was halted for the final time when Mason Moore stopped in turn four. Moore had been in the fourth spot until the a mechanical problem sidelined the driver. Jason York was placed in between Gregg and Allard on the restart. York did the sportsmanlike thing and moved out of the way to allow Allard and Gregg to decide the race on the restart. Gregg held his line lap after lap while Allard charged around the top of the track. With two laps to go it was shaping up as a possible last turn pass. Allard kept driving his car deep into turn three. On the last lap Gregg drove his same line and slid up the track coming out of turn four. Allard had a decision, try to go for the pass or dive to the bottom. He tried the bottom and couldn't pull off the pass. It was a remarkable finish. Andy Forsberg and Sean Becker finished third and fourth. They were almost a straight away behind the top two at the finish. Mark Hall rebounded to finish in the fifth spot. York came across in the sixth spot. Zack West had another solid run in seventh. The wingless main event started with Marc Zieske jumping out the lead. Following him closely was Keith Bloom Jr. and Cody Myers. The top three began to break away from the rest of the field. Chico's Jimmy Pettit and Orland's Reyna Krueger were battling for the fourth spot. The top three soon were racing with slower cars. Zieske seemed to use his experience and hold off Bloom. Not many drivers have been able to do that this year. Mitch Miller spun on lap 16 to bring out the caution. The single file restart saw Bloom Jr. jump to the top of the track and build up momentum. He used the extra speed to race Zieske for the lead. The two were side by side coming down to receive the white flag. Bloom Jr. was on the top and drove the car in a little harder than Zieske could. Coming out of turn two Bloom Jr. took the lead. He then proceeded to lead the charge through turns three and four and hold off Zieske for the popular win. Cody Myers hung on to finish third. The street stock main event began with Steve Hammett taking the early lead. It was spot on the track he never relinquished. Action was fierce between the competitors tonight. The first driver to show some wear and tear was Scott Rogers. The point leader lost a motor last week and now tonight he lost power on lap three. He continued around the track and pulled off on lap eight. On the next lap the second place car Phil Marino stopped on the back stretch. Not only did he have a fuel spillage problem but when the two truck hooked up the car to remove it the rear end came out causing a longer delay. On lap 14 Scott Longmire hit the front wall with force and a red was brought out to get to him safely. He would emerge from the car in good condition. On lap 18 Heather Bartlett's charge to the front ended when she stopped her car in turn three. She was surrounded by smoke pouring out of the engine. Even with her troubles she should still be the new point leader for the division. Jeff Olschowka moved into the second spot. He and Hammett rubbed fenders while battling for the lead. Hammett held on to win while Olschowka finished second but was sent back to a third place finish. That moved Gary Newman into the second spot and a career best finish for him. Mike Slightom was fourth and Ryan York was fifth. Andy Forsberg started the night off by turning the fastest lap in qualifying with a 11. 992. Jason York, Mark Hall and Tyler Wolf were all winners during heat race action in the winged sprint cars. Heather Bartlett and Jeff Olschowka each earned the win for the street stock heats. Wingless heat race winners were Jimmy Pettit and Brian Southers. Racing continues at Silver Dollar Speedway on Friday night July 4th. |
