Placerville Speedway kicks-off a huge Summer of racing this Saturday with Dads and Grads Night

Russell Motorsports
May 29, 2018
4 min read

Placerville, CA – May 29, 2018…For the first time in a month the Thompson’s Auto Group Winged 360 Sprint Cars are set to light up the Placerville Speedway along with the Ltd. Late Models, Pure Stocks and BCRA Midget Lites during “Dads and Grads” Night at the races this Saturday.

All dads that bring their kids to the races will receive admittance for just $10, while grads who show their 2018 senior class ID will also get into the stands for $10. Live music will be performed during Happy Hour in the grandstands by the Good Ol’ Boyz from 4pm-6pm.

This Saturday’s event also opens the meat and potatoes of the 2018 schedule, with only two off-weekends occurring through the end of August at Placerville Speedway.

With two races complete Placerville’s favorite son Jimmy Trulli stands atop the Thompson’s Auto Group Winged 360 Sprint Car standings going into Saturday. The veteran holds a five-point advantage over five-time track champion Andy Forsberg of Auburn, who is gunning to add a sixth this season. Defending champion and round one victor Steven Tiner of Visalia ranks third, while most recent winner Justyn Cox of Clarksburg stands fourth and Hollister’s Tony Gualda rounds out the top-five

The remainder of the top-10 is completed by Sacramento’s Bobby Butler, Cameron Park’s Shane Hopkins, Sacramento’s Billy Butler, Calistoga’s Mike Benson and Shingle Spring’s Justin Johnson. The Thompson’s Auto Group Winged 360 Sprint Cars will be in action a total of 10-times throughout the next few months and should feature a great battle for the title right down to championship night on September 15.

Reigning Ltd. Late Model champion Matt Michelli leads the field into Saturday’s “Dads and Grads” Night and will be searching for his second victory of the season. He maintains a slim two-point lead over 2016 Ltd. Late Model champion Eddie Gardner, who has earned a trio of top-five finishes, including a runner up on May 5. Matt Davis goes into Saturday sitting third in the standings and is just nine-digits out of the top spot, while Jay Norton and Tyler Lightfoot complete the top-five.

Mike Lightfoot, Kiely Ricardo, Chris Annas, Ray Trimble and Ryan McDaniel fill out the top-10. Trimble is the most recent winner in the division and McDaniel captured the opener on April 21.

Last year’s Pure Stock track champion Jason Palmer has started out 2018 on fire and will hope to continue his winning ways on Saturday. Palmer in fact, has not lost yet this season, having claimed the first four main events held. Several drivers will be hoping to change that however, including Scott Grunert, Orville Owens, Nick Baldwin and Russ Murphy, who occupy positions two through five in the standings. Kevin Jinkersen, Chris Van Roekel, Lonnie Lennard, Tommy Sturgon and Mike Stoeckle complete the top-10.

The BCRA Midget Lites will make their fourth appearance of the season on Saturday. The three previous visits have been picked off by Bradly Dillard, Dakota Albright and Adien Lange.

Adult tickets this Saturday will cost $15, while seniors 62 plus, military and juniors 12-17 will be $13, children 6-11 are $6, five and under are free! Tickets can also be purchased online by clickinghttps://www.universe.com/events/2018-placerville-speedway-championship-points-race-7-tickets-placerville-Y39N5T

The pit gate will open at 2pm, with the front grandstand gate opening at 3pm. A happy hour will be offered from 4pm-6pm in the grandstands featuring discounted Coors Light and Coors Original at the beer stand. Drivers meeting will be held at 4:30pm, with cars on track for wheel packing at 5pm, ADCO Driveline and Custom Exhaust qualifying scheduled to begin around 5:30pm and heat races expected to fire-off around 6:30pm.

The Placerville Speedway is located on the beautiful El Dorado County Fairgrounds in Placerville, California. Take Hwy US-50 to Forni Road/Placerville Drive exit. Then go north on Placerville Drive to the Fairgrounds. The physical address is 100 Placerville Dr., Placerville, CA 95667. For more information on the Placerville Speedway log onto http://www.placervillespeedway.com

The Placerville Speedway would like to thank all of its partners for their support this season including Red Hawk Casino, Hoosier Racing Tires, Coors Light, Thompson’s Auto Group, Absolute Auto Glass, ADCO Driveline and Custom Exhaust, Bear Republic Brewing, Beef’N’Brew, Capital Ace Hardware, Carol Russell Bookkeeping Service, Chris Kenner Racing Specialties/ Security Race Products, Campora Propane, Davies Family Inn, High Sierra Industries, Poor Reds BBQ, Les Schwab Tires, the Paint Spot, Riebies Auto Parts, Shadow Ridge Ranch, The Critter Getter, Mountain Democrat, Union Mortgage and Windfall Media.

Join over 10,000 followers of Placerville Speedway on Facebook, where you can keep abreast of updates for the 2018 season. You can also find Placerville Speedway on Twitter by following us https://twitter.com/pvillespeedway - In addition, Placerville Speedway is also on Instagram. Please follow us @PvilleSpeedway.

The Placerville Speedway is operated by Russell Motorsports Incorporated, which can be reached at the track business office by calling 530-344-7592. Contact Kami Arnold or Scott Russell directly for 2018 sponsorship opportunities at the office. Upcoming events at Placerville Speedway: Saturday June 2: Winged 360 Sprint Cars, Ltd. Late Models, Pure Stocks, Midget Lites | Dads & Grads Night Saturday June 9: Winged 360 Sprint Cars, Pure Stocks, Mini Trucks, Dwarf Cars | Thompson’s Fan Appreciation Night and Pit Party Saturday June 23: Winged 360 Sprint Cars, Ltd. Late Models, Pure Stocks, Mini Trucks | The Carnett Clash Saturday June 30: King of the West-NARC Fujitsu 410 Sprint Car Series and Sprint Car Challenge Tour presented by Elk Grove Ford and Abreu Vineyards | Salute to the Fans