Buddy Kofoid, Ray Trimble, Orville Owens and Ryan Winter pick off Bryan Carnett Memorial wins on championship night at Placerville Speedway
Placerville, CA – September 16, 2017…An entertaining evening of racing on Red Hawk Casino championship night at the Placerville Speedway saw Buddy Kofoid, Ray Trimble, Orville Owens and Ryan Winter earn wins, while Steven Tiner, Matt Michelli and Jason Palmer were crowned track champions.
Picture perfect weather greeted fans and teams on Saturday night, which featured 81 race cars packing the pit area of the El Dorado County Fairgrounds quarter-mile.
Penngrove’s Buddy Kofoid fired an early warning shot that he will be a certain contender at next week’s Nor-Cal Posse Shootout after picking up a thrilling victory on Saturday. The 15-year-old won out in a top-notch duel with Clarksburg’s Justyn Cox to claim his first Placerville win of the season.
Cox started on the pole in the 25-lap feature and took the lead at waving of the green flag. The first eight laps were clicked off caution free with Kofoid hounding the rear bumper of Cox’ No. 31c machine. Following a debris caution Kofoid charged around the high-side of turn four to grab the lead, prior to another yellow on lap 11.
At that time track champion Steven Tiner suffered a flat tire while running in the third position. On the restart Kofoid banged the turn one cushion violently and Cox sliced to his inside for the lead. The next corner saw Cox bang the cushion himself however, and Kofoid charged back to his inside to re-claim the point.
The exciting back and forth fight between Kofoid and Cox continued with the duo exchanging the lead multiple times, before Kofoid assumed it for good on lap 18. One final caution waved on lap 19 and after that Kofoid hit his marks to take the Ron Stahl checkered flag over Cox, 12th starter Sean Becker of Roseville, Colby Copeland of Roseville and 13th starter Greg Decaires of Elk Grove.
A total of 29 Thompson’s Auto Group Winged 360 Sprint Cars were on hand during the night with the B-main going to Matt Peterson. Heat race wins were picked off by Buddy Kofoid, DJ Freitas, Justyn Cox and Shane Hopkins. The ADCO Driveline and Custom Exhaust Fast Time Award went to Cody Lamar at a 10.852.
For the second time this season Ray Trimble picked up a victory with the Ltd. Late Models and took home a stout $1300 for his efforts. Tom Tilford took the lead on the start of the 20-lap Bryan Carnett Memorial main event. Trimble pressured Tilford over the early stages before taking the top spot on lap nine. Track champion Matt Michelli also followed along for second shortly after.
A caution waved on lap 13 and on the restart a wild three-wide battle was seen for second between Tilford, Michelli and Randy McDaniel. As the trio entered turn three Michelli got big time loose and dropped a few spots. Trimble clicked off the final seven circuits to claim the big win over Tilford, McDaniel, Michelli and Wayne Trimble. Fourteen Ltd. Late Models were in action on Saturday with heats won by Eddie Gardner and Randy McDaniel.
The $1100-to-win Bryan Carnett Memorial Pure Stock feature began with Jesse Van Roekel jumping into the lead at the green flag. Consecutive yellows on lap three and four were seen, which slowed things early.
On the restart track champion Jason Palmer charged to the lead. Scott Grunert then made his presence known by claiming second on lap seven, before carving his way by Palmer to take the top spot on lap eight. Grunert was in search of his first season win, but with five laps to go had to deal with a fast-moving Orville Owens.
The duo proceeded to put on a great show running side by side, which ended with Owens taking command and earning his fourth victory of the year, tying Palmer for the most in 2017. Grunert, Palmer, Rick Grunert and Ted Ahart rounded out the top-five. A total of 21 Pure Stocks were in competition on Saturday with heats going to Jason Palmer, Chris Van Roekel and Scott Grunert.
In the traveling Nor-Cal Dwarf Car Association main event it was Ben Wiesz taking the lead on the start. Ryan Winter showed his muscle on lap three however, closing in fast on the lead. The next time by Winter sliced his way into the top spot that he would never relinquish. Winter took the win over Mike Grenert, Mike Reeder, Scott Dahlgren and Kevin Bender. Good action was seen in the battle for second on back during the feature. The Nor-Cal Dwarf Car Association brought 17 cars on Saturday. Heats were won by Mike Grenert and Scott Dahlgren.
The Placerville Speedway is now ready to host the three-night Nor-Cal Posse Shootout presented by Autism Awareness this coming Thursday-Saturday September 21-23. Opening night will see injected Wingless 360 Sprint Cars and the C&H Veteran Ent. presents Hunt Magnetos Wingless Tour in action, while Winged 360 Sprint Cars and BCRA Midget Lites hit the speedway on Friday and Saturday. Camping reservations can be made by calling the El Dorado County Fairgrounds at (530) 621-5860.
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The Placerville Speedway is operated by Russell Motorsports Incorporated, which can be reached at the track business office at 530-344-7592. Contact Kami Arnold or Scott Russell directly for 2017 sponsorship opportunities at the office. Results can be found at our website http://www.placervillespeedway.com/