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CHICO, CA (8-28-06) - A pair of second-generation drivers will
headline the Wednesday night opener for the 53rd Gold Cup Race of
Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway. Wednesday September 6th will be the
first of four consecutive nights of racing on the 1/4 clay oval located at
the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds. September 7 through 9 will feature World of
Outlaw winged sprint car tour. Auburn’s Andy Forsberg and Colfax driver Colby Wiesz lead the 32
eligible drivers for the California Sprint Car Civil War series that opens
Gold Cup racing action. Forsberg leads Wiesz by a slim 14-point margin in
the statewide series. What makes the challenge even more interesting is
the Forsberg’s father Richard and Wiesz’s dad Gary often found themselves
in a similar battle when they raced sprint cars in Northern California two
decades ago.
Forsberg also just won the Silver Dollar Speedway track championship a
week ago and Wiesz currently runs second in the Placerville Speedway
championship battle. Neither will be in for a cake walk as defending Civil
War and former Silver Dollar Speedway champion Greg DeCaires of Elk Grove
will join the action along with Yuba City twin brothers Korey and Kevin
Lovell. Add Jimmy Trulli of Placerville, Brett Rollag of Rohnert Park,
Calistoga’s Mike Benson, and Billy Wallace of Grass Valley to spice up the
action.
Joining the Civil War drivers for the first time will the wingless
sprints that have ran a northern California series all year to find the
top 24 drivers for this Wednesday night show. Current;y Bob Newberry of
Concord leads the wingless series by a 68-point margin over Justin
Funkhouser of Paradise. Former Gold Cup champion Darrell Hanestad has won
8 of the 12 events that he has entered that he has entered including four
in Chico. Hanestad, from Clayton, will try to add the wingless title to
his list of credits.
The World of Outlaws will hit the oval track on Thursday, as the field
will be split between the two preliminary nights. Over 100 racers are
expected and the split is necessary to qualify cars for the Saturday night
Gold Cup Race of Champions. Complete race programs including main events
will be held each night.
World of Outlaw point leader Donny Schatz of Fargo, ND, will be
challenged by Californian’s Brent Kaeding, Johnathan Allard, Willie Croft,
Sean Becker, Johnny Gray, Kyle Hirst and Jason Statler.
All Wednesday night seats are general admission and the ticket office
and front gate open at 5 PM. All other nights are reserved seating or a
first come basis at the gate. Information is available at 916-969-7484 or
from the track website at www.johnpadjemotorsports.com. The track may be
reached at 530-891-6535.
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