Placerville, CA – July 9, 2019…A busy month of July continues at the Placerville Speedway this Saturday night with the El Dorado County Fairgrounds quarter-mile playing host to the 16th annual Tribute to Al Hinds.
On the card this Saturday July 13th are the Thompson’s Family of Dealerships Winged 360 Sprint Cars, Ltd. Late Models, the Jay’s Mobile Welding & Fabricating Pure Stocks and the visiting Nor-Cal Dwarf Car Association.
Al Hinds was the second promoter of Placerville Speedway. He took operation of the track with business partner Richard Hirst from its founder, Bruno Romani, in 1968, three years after it first opened when the facility was built around an existing community football field.
The operator of a local machine shop by trade, Hinds loved the community where he lived. In his final years of life, he enjoyed sitting with some of his best friends every night in the grandstands at Placerville Speedway and loved watching young talent make a name for themselves in the sport.
Former track announcer, publicist and historian Bill Sullivan said of Al Hinds, “From the day he set foot on the red clay at Placerville Speedway to the very last race he attended, Hinds continued to display his true love for auto racing and the community in which he brought it to. Even in his final years he continued to help young drivers, entertain fans and most importantly he spent a great deal of time talking to and mentoring those that helped in speedway operations. When Hinds spoke, anyone who cared remotely about the future of the sport would sit down and listen.”
Auburn’s Andy Forsberg continues to lead the way in his bid for a seventh Thompson’s Family of Dealerships Winged 360 Sprint Car title. “Mr. Excitement” has claimed a trio of victories and used a runner up finish last Thursday to give himself a 36-point cushion back to second place Kalib Henry, who continues to search for that first career Placerville Speedway victory. Veteran Bobby McMahan has returned to the track this season and finds himself third in the standings, while Hollister’s Tony Gualda and 16-year-old Jodie Robinson round out the top-five.
On the Ltd. Late Model side of things Ray Trimble sits out front by 21-markers over Tyler Lightfoot. Trimble has gathered three wins this season and will be gunning to add a fourth on Saturday at the Tribute to Al Hinds. Dan Brown Jr., Fourth of July winner Jay Norton and Ryan McDaniel complete the top-five.
With the Jay’s Mobile Welding & Fabricating Pure Stocks it’s Nick Baldwin who leads the way, now with a 33-point lead over Kevin Jinkerson. The Pure Stocks will have three straight Saturday’s of competition, making it a crucial stretch in the battle for the championship. Jason Palmer, Mel Byers and Scott sit third through fifth respectively.
The popular Nor-Cal Dwarf Car Association will make their second Placerville Speedway visit of the year on Saturday. During their first appearance it was the ultra-talented Ryan Winter who picked up the victory over Ben Wiesz, Mike Grenert, Josh Wiesz and Kevin Bender. The colorful coupes always get around the red clay in solid fashion and bring great car counts each time.
Adult tickets this Saturday will cost $15, while seniors 62 plus, military and juniors 12-17 will be $13, children 6-11 are $6, kids five and under are free! Tickets can also be purchased online by clicking 2019 Placerville Speedway Championship Pts Race #10 | Al Hinds Tribute.
The pit gate at Placerville Speedway will open at 2pm, with the front grandstand gate opening at 3pm. A happy hour is 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 5. Hot laps, ADCO Driveline & Custom Exhaust qualifying and racing will follow. Live music will be performed from 4-6 in the grandstand midway.
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 Family of Dealerships, Jay’s Mobile Welding & Fabricating, Absolute Auto Glass, ADCO Driveline and Custom Exhaust, Bear Republic Brewing, Capitol ACE Hardware, Carbon Copy, Carol Russell Bookkeeping Service, Crystal Basin Construction, Doug Veerkamp General Engineering Inc., El Dorado Hills Landscaping, Hangtown Hardwood Floors, High Sierra Industries, Les Schwab Tires, the Paint Spot, The Critter Getter, Mountain Democrat, Windfall Media, Arnolds for Awards, Sierra Child and Family Services, Sierra Landscape Materials, Sierra Arbor Worx, SuperClean Xpress Car Wash and Taylor Hirst, Navigate Realty.
Join over 11,000 followers of Placerville Speedway on Facebook, where you can keep abreast of updates for the 2019 season. You can also find Placerville Speedway on Twitter by following us Placerville Speedway (@pvillespeedway) | Twitter - In addition, Placerville Speedway is also on Instagram. Please follow us @PvilleSpeedway.
The quarter-mile clay oval 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 2019 sponsorship opportunities at the office.
Upcoming events at Placerville Speedway:
Saturday July 13: Thompson’s Family of Dealerships Winged 360 Sprint Cars, Ltd. Late Models, Jay’s Mobile Welding & Fabricating Pure Stocks and Nor-Cal Dwarf Car Association | 16th annual Tribute to Al Hinds
Saturday July 20: Thompson’s Family of Dealerships Winged 360 Sprint Cars, Jay’s Mobile Welding & Fabricating Pure Stocks, Mini Trucks, BCRA Midget Lites and Vintage Hard Tops
Saturday July 27: Thompson’s Family of Dealerships Winged 360 Sprint Cars, Ltd. Late Models, Jay’s Mobile Welding & Fabricating Pure Stocks and BCRA Midget Lites | 14th annual Mark Forni Classic