West Coast Chili Bowl Results - Wednesday Night

By Robert Haugh

Though West Coast entries comprised 13 of the 24 A-Main starters in Wednesday’s Chili Bowl qualifying feature, it was the Swindell show, with Tennessee’s Sammy Swindell, the five-time Chili Bowl champion cruising to the win from the pole position.

Swindell was briefly challenged by California’s Damion “The Demon” Gardner in Andy Bondio’s #47 Bondio/Barnes Chevy and Washington’s Gary Taylor in the Loyet Motorsports #05T Spike/Esslinger, but Sammy was simply dominant in taking the Wednesday’s US Fleet Tracking A-Main.

Gardner claimed second, securing himself into Saturday’s A-main, while Taylor claimed fourth after a late-race pass by “Wild Child” Jac Haudenschild who was third. “Fremont Flier” Shane Golobic (Fremont, CA) rounded out the Top five, claiming fifth aboard the AutoNet Mobile retro-Leader Card-themed Wilke-Pak #11 Stealth/Toyota.

California native Darren Hagen, the 2012 USAC-National Midget champion claimed sixth in the RFMS Racing #3 DCR/Esslinger, having narrowly edged California native Bryan Clauson at the line, who claimed seventh from thirteenth in the CTR-Curb Agajanian #39 Spike/Esslinger. Five-time USAC-CRA Sprint Car champion Mike Spencer took eighth aboard the Proflyer Enterprises #51S Spike/Proflyer with Indiana’s Brad Kuhn rounding out the Top 10 in Mason Cook’s Willit’s Towing & Recovery #10 Beast/Fontana.

Former BCRA champion Matt Streeter was having a strong run in his #14JR Spike/S&S Automotive Chevrolet before getting involved in an incident and flipping.

Former BCRA champion “T-Mez” Thomas Meseraull, Tyler Edwards (JFM entry), Jace VanderWeerd, David Prickett, Streeter and Stratton also made Wednesday’s A-main.

Arizona’s Stevie Sussex III, Taylor, Golobic, Meseraull and Hagen each recorded Heat race wins while Washington native and NASCAR star Kasey Kahne claimed a C-Main aboard the Darrah Motorsports #89 Spike/Chevy. Californian Jace VanderWeerd claimed a B-Main aboard Ron VanderWeerd’s #8v Spike/Stanton Mopar while Taylor and Hagen each recorded an A-Qualifier triumph.

After getting derailed in an incident-marred Heat 2, “Spirit of American Canyon” Travis Berryhill avoided multiple incidents to take the final transfer in C-Main 1 aboard the Manic Racing #11x Stealth/Fontana, finishing fourth after starting sixth in a race won by Kahne. Berryhill then fell short in B-Main 1, coming home 11^th after starting 16^th.

Chili Bowl rookie, 21-year-old Trey Marcham of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma learned first hand how much luck plays into the Chili Bowl. Pioloting the McQueen Racing #7 Spike/Esslinger by Duane McQueen, Marcham made one mistake in his Heat race, entering into a spin while running a strong second, getting collected by other cars, breaking a rear arm, bending a wheel and suffering a flat left front tire among other items, relegating Marcham to a disappointing eighth-place Heat finish, finishing with the flat tire. 

Marcham started nearly last in C-Main1. While moving foward the front, Marcham slowed for a spinning car ahead of him, getting plowed from behind, ripping off a shock mount, ending his evening.

Wednesday’s River Spirit Casino Qualifying Night West Coast Results

A Feature (25 Laps): 2. 47-Damion Gardner[3]; 4. 05T-Gary Taylor[2]; 5. 11-Shane Golobic[6]; 6. 3-Darren Hagen[7]; 7. 39B-Bryan Clauson[13]; 8. 51S-Mike Spencer[5]; 10. 10-Brad Kuhn[14]; 15. 57-Thomas Meseraull[16]; 17. 72-Tyler Edwards[22]; 18. 8V-Jace VanderWeerd[18]; 20. 015-David Prickett[24]; DNF 14JR-Matt Streeter[9]; DNF 2S-Danny Stratton[20]

B Feature 1 (15 Laps): 11. 11J-Travis Berryhill[16]; DNF 89-Kasey Kahne[13]; DNF 1AZ-Steve Sussex Jr[2]; DNF 3B-Jayme Barnes[3]

B Feature 2 (15 Laps): 1. 8V-Jace VanderWeerd[1]; 2. 2S-Danny Stratton[6]; 3. 72-Tyler Edwards[2]; 4. 015-David Prickett[5]; 11. 12JR-Josh Pelkey[8]; DNF 44S-Clint Schubert[16]

A-Feature Qualifier #1 (10 Laps): 1. 05T-Gary Taylor[4]; 3. 14JR-Matt Streeter[7]; 5. 8V-Jace VanderWeerd[9]; 6. 72-Tyler Edwards[3]; 8. 12JR-Josh Pelkey[8]; 9. 1AZ-Steve Sussex Jr[6]

A-Feature Qualifier #2 (10 Laps): 1. 3-Darren Hagen[2]; 2. 11-Shane Golobic[4]; 5. 39B-Bryan Clauson[6]; 7. 015-David Prickett[3]

A-Feature Qualifier #3 (10 Laps): 2. 47-Damion Gardner[5]; 3. 51S-Mike Spencer[6]

A-Feature Qualifier #4 (10 Laps): 2. 10-Brad Kuhn[1]; 4. 57-Thomas Meseraull[3]; 5. 3B-Jayme Barnes[2]; 8. 2S-Danny Stratton[4]

C Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 89-Kasey Kahne[2]; 4. 11J-Travis Berryhill[6]; DNF 7T-Trey Marcham[12]

C Feature 2 (12 Laps): 4. 44S-Clint Schubert[8]; DNS 9F-Jared Carpenter

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 3. 12JR-Josh Pelkey[3]; DNS 9F-Jared Carpenter

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 1AZ-Steve Sussex Jr[6]; DNF 11J-Travis Berryhill[7]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 05T-Gary Taylor[2]; 2. 51S-Mike Spencer[5]; 6. 89-Kasey Kahne[6]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 2. 2S-Danny Stratton[4]; 3. 015-David Prickett[6]; 4. 3B-Jayme Barnes[7]; 8. 7T-Trey Marcham[3]

Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 11-Shane Golobic[2]; 2. 10-Brad Kuhn[1]; 7. 44S-Clint Schubert[4];

Heat 6 (8 Laps): 1. 57-Thomas Meseraull[1]; 2. 1-Sammy Swindell[5]

Heat 7 (8 Laps): 3. 47-Damion Gardner[7]; 4. 8V-Jace VanderWeerd[4];

Heat 8 (8 Laps): 1. 3-Darren Hagen[1]; 2. 72-Tyler Edwards[4]; 3. 39B-Bryan Clauson[8]; 4. 14JR-Matt Streeter[6]

Visit www.chilibowl.com for full results and entries.

Chili Bowl Thursday West Coast entries

1ST            J.J. Yeley                        Charlotte, NC                        McKinnie Motorsports Hacked/Toyota

2B            Tyler Reddick                        Corning, CA                        2B Racing Beast/Gaerte

3F            Tanner Swanson            Kingsburg, CA                        Ted Finkenbinder Bullet/Chevrolet

05K            Bud Kaeding                        Campbell, CA                        Loyet Motorsports Spike/Esslinger

5            Cole Whitt                        Alpine, CA                        Wilke-Pak Stealth/Toyota

6C            Michael Heberling            Centennial, CO                        Heberling Stealth/Hybrid GM

7D            Michelle Decker            Guthrie, OK                        McQueen Racing Spike/Esslinger by McQueen

7N            D.J. Netto                        Hanford, CA                        Frank Netto Stealth/Chevrolet

11R            Troy Rutherford            Ojai, CA                        Calvin Martens TCR/Esslinger

12F            Nic Faas                        Huntington Beach, CA            ABC Motorsports Spike/Esslinger

19S            Richard VanderWeerd            Visalia, CA                        Mike Sala Spike/Sala Chevrolet

26X            John Golobic                        Mountain View, CA            Douglas Bock Spike/Esslinger

27C            Kip Hughes                        Enid, OK                        Cliff Blackwell Stealth/Gaerte

47X            Tim McCreadie                                                     Andy Bondio Bondio/Barnes

56P              Jason Leffler                          Long Beach, CA            56 Inc. Beast/Esslinger 3-Wide Life

51X            Matt Lundy                          Phoenix, AZ                        Bobby Martin Ellis/Proflyer

62            Dennis Howell                         Rancho Palos Verdes, CA            Stealth/Salsa Chevrolet

63            Jerry Coons Jr.                        Tucson, AZ                        Dooling Machine Spike/Esslinger

67            Rico Abreu                        Rutherford, CA                        Keith Kunz Bullet/Speedway Toyota

67X            Brad Sweet                        Grass Valley, CA            Gary Zarounian Stealth/Toyota

73X            Greg Edenholm                        Malibu, CA               JFM Inc. Ellis/Esslinger King Racing Products

115            Conner Kassik                        Lake Havasu, AZ            Neverlift Motorsports Spike/Chevrolet 

Golobic Hauls in the Cash at 1st Annual Johnny Soares Classic

“Fremont Flier” Shane Golobic Claims 1^st Annual Johnny Soares Classic 101-Lap Midget Race at Petaluma Speedway

By Robert Haugh

After overcoming adversity earlier in the evening, “Fremont Flier” Shane Golobic methodically piloted Doug Bock’s #26 Spike/Esslinger to the win in the inaugural 101-lap Johnny Soares Classic at the beautifully manicured 3/8-mile Petaluma Speedway on Saturday, October 6.

Having started 11^th on the grid after suffering a broken rocker arm in Hot Laps, Golobic overtook USAC-Western States points leader and track record holder Shannon McQueen, inching by her #7 McQueen Racing Spike/Esslinger on Lap 94 for the win in the race honoring one of Northern California’s most fabled and respected racing legends.

Petaluma Speedway General Manager Rick Faeth hopes that the event presented by 101 Casino (http://www.the101casino.com) of Petaluma and Western Performance Parts (559-485-7442) and sanctioned by both USAC-Western States and Bay Cities Racing Association Midget series transitions to becoming the premier Midget race West of the Chili Bowl. In addition to being sanctioned by both California Midget organizations, the race awarded points towards the series championships in both organizations.

Golobic began his race to the front from the 11^th position of the 20-car field after easily claiming Qualifier #1. Golobic cautiously worked his way to the Top 5 by the halfway intermission, moving into third on Lap 60 and second on Lap 77 before passing McQueen after catching her in heavy lapped traffic on the heavy, yet smooth track surface.

A caution unfurled on Lap 96, giving fans an exciting five-lap Dash to conclude the 101-lap race, with McQueen pressuring Golobic, with dicey racing action transpiring throughout the field in the waning laps – and through most of the race, with several two, and sometimes three-wide battles.

Golobic was all smiles in victory lane, picking up back-to-back wins after winning the previous night in a Winged Sprint Car. It was his second Midget win of the year for car owner Doug Bock.

Fighting a tight car towards the end of the race, McQueen admitted Shane [Golobic] had the “better car in the final laps,” and was pleased with the intense, clean battle her and Shane had for the fans. It was McQueen’s third consecutive second-place finish at Petaluma.

McQueen, who led 67 laps, picked up the $500 bonus for leading at halfway, as well as the $100 award for setting fast time with a 15.110 lap time. Though the track was extremely fast, McQueen’s track record of 14.360 went nearly untested on Saturday – with McQueen setting the fastest lap of evening with a 14.414 lap on lap 87 of the Feature.

Fresno’s Tanner Swanson, who started fifth on the grid in Dave and Wendy Thurston’s #11 Spike/Esslinger nearly fell from the Top 10 early, also fighting a tight condition, rebounding to score third in the BCRA Hall of Famer’s potent mount that had won the three previous BCRA Dirt races. It was Swanson’s first Dirt Midget start in over a year, having mostly been competing on pavement and in Sprint Car and Silver Crown races.

Current USAC-WS Dirt points leader and former BCRA champion David Prickett of Fresno charged from ninth to claim fourth aboard the Neverlift Motorsports #15 Spike/Van Dyne, followed by three-time 2012 BCRA Midget winner Gregg Bragg of Visalia aboard Dave LaMott’s #0 Stealth/Wirth Honda in the car’s first appearance in over six months.

Popular local Sprint Car veteran Sparky Howard of Santa Rosa had locals on their feet cheering wildly, masterfully chauffeuring Rick Faeth’s #3 Beast/Chevy V4 to third from his sixth starting position by Lap 13 where he remained until Lap 48, running fourth at the mid-point and remaining in the Top 5 until Lap 83 when he was involved in an incident. After restarting, the unique V4 entry was billowing smoke – as oil on the breathers were burning off of headers – the cunning veteran played it safe and pulled it in. 

San Diego’s Chris Ennis claimed sixth in the Neverlift Motorsports #151 Spike/Chevy followed by hard charger Rick Holbrook of Vacaville aboard wife Peggy’s #6 Spike/RRE Stage II Chevy EcoTec and Rough and Ready’s Gary Conterno aboard Floyd Alvis’ #83 Stealth/Wesmar. Holbrook received the $100 hard charger award courtesy of M&M Racing Photos (www.mmracingphotos.com).

Past USAC and BCRA Midget winner “Nitro” Nick Chivello of Manteca claimed ninth in the Chivello Motorsports #27 Spike/Esslinger, despite having gone laps down early after a spin that caused damage to his right side nerf and right rear tire.

Former USAC-Western States Midget champion Alex Schutte of Redding rounded out the Top 10 aboard Mason Cook’s #10 Beast/Fontana, a team debuting a brand new Beast chassis after having a chassis severely damaged just two weeks ago. Schutte raced from 16^th to seventh by Lap 13 and moved into the Top 5 on Lap 56.

Early race leader and pole sitter Danny Parker of Oakdale claimed 11^th in Bob Roza’s #21 Spike/Esslinger followed by San Rafael’s Frankie Guerrini III in the F&F Racing #63 Stealth/Gaerte Ford, who finished the final several laps with no tear offs remaining. Guerrini started eighth and moved up to fourth by Lap 13 before spinning on Lap 27 and again on Lap 66. Parker was running strong for initial 50 laps, leading Laps three through 26 and running second at the refueling intermission at Lap 50, but his car went away and he eventually fell several laps down.

After being involved in a spin on Lap 13, multiple-time BCRA and USAC victor Scott Pierovich of Alamo fell a lap down aboard his #35 Spike/Wirth Mopar, eventually settling for a disappointing 13^th place finish. Pierovich has claimed three consecutive Midget features at Petaluma from 2009 through 2011 with Fast time in 2010 and 2011.

Angwin’s Britton Bock claimed 14^th in grandfather Doug’s #62 Spike/Esslinger, while Howard was credited with 15^th after dropping out when Faeth’s gorgeous home-crafted V4 mount billowed in smoke.

Seven-time BCRA champion and current BCRA points leader “Ageless Wonder” Floyd Alvis unofficially clinched his eighth BCRA Midget championship, despite exiting about two-thirds into the race with engine woes aboard his #18 Stealth/Esslinger.

Additional entrants included Arizona’s Connor Kassik in the Neverlift Motorsports #115 Spike/Van Dyne, Carson City, Nevada’s “Mr. Popular” J.R. Williams in his #74 Stealth/Brayton Chevy, Pete Davis of Pleasanton in his #00 Hothead Engine Heaters Spike/Esslinger and veteran Midgeteer Bill Lindsey of San Carlos in Stu Donaldson’s #8 Stealth/Pontiac.

Golobic handily claimed Qualifier 1 over Alvis and Bock while Bragg easily cruised to the win in Qualifier 2 over Kassik and Schutte.

Parker unofficially claimed the BCRA Dirt Midget championship while owner Roza unofficially clinched the BCRA Dirt owner championship.

Unofficially, there were six total cautions during the 101-lap race, with 15 of 20 cars running at the finish, a remarkable feat, with zero red flags or flips on the evening. The Top 5 at the refueling intermission was McQueen, Parker, Swanson, Howard and Golobic. Chivello led the first two laps followed by Parker leading 24 laps before yielding to McQueen, then Golobic.

The race format allowed caution laps to be counted up to Lap 80, with a refueling intermission at lap 50.

Visit http://www.petaluma-speedway.com/ for more information on Petaluma Speedway.

SUMMARY:
QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Shannon McQueen, 7, McQueen-15.110; 2. Chris Ennis, 151, Neverlift-15.343; 3. Nick Chivello, 27, Chivello-15.447; 4. Danny Parker, 21, Roza-15.509; 5. Tanner Swanson, 11, Thurston-15.543; 6. Sparky Howard, 3, Faeth-15.757; 7. Scott Pierovich, 35, Pierovich-15.803; 8. Frankie Guerrini III, 63, Guerrini-15.822; David Prickett, 15, Neverlift-16.005; 10. Bill Lindsey, 8, Donaldson-16.010; 11. Shane Golobic, 26, Bock-16.045; 12. Rick Holbrook, 6, Holbrook-16.074; 13. Floyd Alvis, 18, Alvis-16.092; 14. Greg Bragg, 0, Lamott-16.112; 15. Britton Bock, 62, Bock-16.186; 16. Connor Kassik, 115, Neverlift-16.231; 17. Gary Conterno, 83, Alvis-16.241; 18. Alex Schutte, 10, Cook-16.309; 19. Pete Davis, 00, Davis-16.353; 20. J.R. Williams, 74, Williams-16.687.

QUALIFIER #1: (10 laps) 1. Golobic, 2. Alvis, 3. Bock, 4. Davis, 5. Conterno.

QUALIFIER #2: (10 laps) 1. Bragg, 2. Kassik, 3. Schutte, 4. Holbrook, 5. Williams.

FEATURE: (101 laps, start position in parentheses): 1. Shane Golobic (11), 2. Shannon McQueen (4), 3. Tanner Swanson (5), 4. David Prickett (9), 5. Greg Bragg (12), 6. Chris Ennis (3), 7. Rick Holbrook (18), 8. Gary Conterno (19), 9. Nick Chivello (2), 10. Alex Schutte (16), 11. Danny Parker (1), 12. Frankie Guerrini III (8), 13. Scott Pierovich (7), 14. Britton Bock (15), 15. Sparky Howard (6), 16. Connor Kassik (14), 17. Floyd Alvis (13), 18. Pete Davis (17), 19. Bill Lindsey (10), 20. J.R. Williams (20)

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: 1-2 Chivello, 3-26 Parker, 27-93 McQueen, 94-101 Golobic.

Bottom of Form

Kruseman Scores Coastal Midget Triumph in Watsonville

By Robert Haugh

After overtaking Alamo's Scott Pierovich on Lap 16, 2011 USAC Western States Midget champion Cory Kruseman of Ventura cruised to victory in the Josh Ford Racing #73x Ellis/Fontana at the tacky ¼-mile Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, CA on Friday, July 6 as part of night one of the annual Howard Kaeding Classic event.

After a number of incidents in the first half of the 30-lap feature, including flips by Kruseman’s teammate Ryan Bernal of Hollister in the Josh Ford Racing #72 Ellis/Bob Wirth Chevy and San Rafael’s Frankie Guerrini III in the F&F Racing #63 Stealth/Gaerte, Kruseman cruised to the win by a second over USAC-Western States points leader Shannon McQueen of Bakersfield in the McQueen Racing #7 Spike/Esslinger.

Fremont’s Shane Golobic claimed a close third in Doug Bock’s #26 Spike/Esslinger, followed by Danny Ebberts in the Van Dyne Racing #5 Ellis/Van Dyne and Ronnie Gardner in Mitchell Johnson’s #68 Six-8 Motorsports Ellis/Fontana rounding out the Top five.

McQueen, Ebberts and Gardner all transferred to the feature through the Semi.

Bakersfield’s Sean Dodenhoff finished sixth in Brad Dodenhoff’s #9d Spike/Fontana ahead of hard chargers David Prickett in the David Prickett Racing/Neverlift Motorsports #15 Spike/Dyne and Manteca’s “Nitro” Nick Chivello in the Chivello Motorsports #27 Spike/Esslinger. Rounding out the top 10 were Pierovich in his #35 Spike/Bob Wirth Mopar who was battling ignition issues after setting fast time and Jimmy Christian in the Walker Racing/Bay Muffler #10 Stealth/Esslinger. Prickett started 16th while Chivello started 18th.

Anaheim’s Jake Swanson battled his way through the field in his #05 Spike/Honda, finishing 11^th followed by Pleasanton’s Pete Davis in his #00 Hothead Engine Heaters Stealth/Esslinger.

Three time BCRA champion Nick Foster, Jr. of San Jose placed 13^th, two laps down in his #1 “Blue Bayoo” Beast/Esslinger with Jimmy Voitel in his #21 Ellis/Chevy II in 14^th rounding out the cars running at the conclusion of the 30-lap feature.

Ebberts claimed the Semi over McQueen, Dodenhoff and Bakersfield’s Wink Schweitzer in Dodenhoff’s #9b EMC/Fontana. Just missing the transfer was 7-time BCRA champion “Ageless Wonder” Floyd Alvis in Bob Roza’s #21 Spike/Esslinger.

Dodenhoff claimed Heat 1 over Pierovich, Kruseman and Davis.

Christian claimed heat 2 over Cody Swanson, Jake Swanson and Guerrini.

Golobic claimed Heat 3 over Troy Rutherford in Calvin Marten’s #86 Stealth/Esslinger, Atascadero’s Randi Pankratz in her #8 Edmunds AutoResearch/Fontana and Foster.

Bernal claimed an incident-marred heat 4 over Chivello, Prickett and Voitel, with only the top three finishing the Heat.

Pierovich topped 27-car field in qualifying, posting a 13.463 lap followed closely by Cody Swanson, Golobic, Cole Carter in Mason Cook’s #10 Beast/Mopar and Ebberts. The Top 10 were separated by only two tenths of a second!

Summary:

FEATURE: (30 laps) 1. Cory Kruseman, 2. Shannon McQueen, 3. Shane Golobic, 4. Danny Ebberts, 5. Ronnie Gardner, 6. Sean Dodenhof, 7. David Prickett, 8. Nick Chivello, 9. Scott Pierovich, 10. Jimmy Christian, 11. Jake Swanson, 12. Pete Davis, 13. Nick Foster, 14. Jimmy Voitel, 15. Wink Schweitzer, 16. Randi Pankratz, 17. Frankie Guerrini, 18. Cole Carter, 19. Cody Swanson, 20. Ryan Bernal, 21. Troy Rutherford. NT

LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-2 Pankratz, Laps 3-15 Pierovich, Laps 16-30 Kruseman.

SEMI: (12 laps) 1. Ebberts, 2. McQueen, 3. Gardner, 4. Schweitzer, 5. Alvis, 6. Kaeding, 7. Wood, 8. Shupe. NT

FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Dodenhoff, 2. Pierovich, 3. Kruseman, 4. Davis, 5. Wood, 6. Ebberts. NT

SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Christian, 2. C.Swanson, 3. J.Swanson, 4. Guerrini, 5. Kaeding, 6. Shupe, 7. Gardner. NT

THIRD HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Golobic, 2. Rutherford, 3. Pankratz, 4. Foster, 5. Schweitzer, 6. Alvis. NT

FOURTH HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Bernal, 2. Chivello, 3. Prickett, 4. Voitel, 5. McQueen, 6. Carter. NT

QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Scott Pierovich, 35, Pierovich-13.463; 2. Cody Swanson, 71, Swanson-13.531; 3. Shane Golobic, 26, Bock-13.614; 4. Cole Carter, 10, Cook-13.626; 5. Danny Ebberts, 5, VanDyne-13.640; 6. Frankie Guerrini III, 63, Guerrini-13.657; 7. Randi Pankratz, 8, Pankratz-13.659; 8. Shannon McQueen, 7, McQueen-13.661; 9. Cory Kruseman, 73, Ford-13.679; 10. Ronnie Gardner, 68, Johnson-13.688; 11. Troy Rutherford, 86, Martens-13.735; 12. Ryan Bernal, 72, Ford-13.861; 13. Sean Dodenhoff, 9D, Dodenhoff-14.006; 14. Jimmy Christian, 10c, Walker-14.002; 15. Wink Schweitzer, 9B, Dodenhoff-14.034; 16. David Prickett, 15, Neverlift-14.037; 17. Pete Davis, 00, Davis-14.114; 18. Jake Swanson, 05, Swanson-14.180; 19. Floyd Alvis, 21x, Roza-14.231; 20. Connor Kassik, 115, Neverlift-14.483; 21. Adam Kaeding, 27c, Blackwell-14.796; 22. Nick Foster, 1x, Foster-14.871; 23. Jimmy Voitel, 21, Voitel-15.040; 24. Cole Wood, 17w, Wood-15.308; 25. Ryan Shupe, 10x, Shupe-19.162; 26. Nick Chivello, 27, Chivello-NT; 27. Alex Schutte, 28, Martens-NT.

Shane Golobic Captures Gold in Placerville

By Robert Haugh

After taking the lead on Lap 20, Fremont’s Shane Golobic chauffeured Doug Bock’s #26 Spike/Esslinger to victory lane, capturing the incident-marred 30-lap Bay Cities Racing Association Midget triumph on Saturday, June 30 at the ¼-mile Placerville Speedway.

It was Golobic’s third Midget win at Placerville in the last three years.

Lining up third on the grid, Golobic battled early with early race leaders Justin Grant in Dave Thurston’s #11 Spike/Esslinger and Sean Becker in Mike Sala’s #19w Stealth/Chevy as well as Matt Streeter in his #14JR Spike/Pink Chevy.

Running both high and low, Golobic surged past Becker on Lap 20, never looking back, taking the win by a half second over Streeter, Sean Dodenhoff in Brad Dodenhoff’s #9d Spike/Fontana, Becker and Atascadero’s Randi Pankratz in her #8 Edmunds AutoResearch coil over/Fontana rounding out the tope five. Pankratz steadily advanced from her 14^th starting spot to finish fifth while Dodenhoff also advanced from his ninth starting spot.

Rounding out the Top 10 were Oakdale’s Danny Parker in Bob Roza’s #21 Stealth/Esslinger, 7-time BCRA champion “Ageless Wonder” Floyd Alvis in his #18 Stealth/Esslinger, Manteca’s “Nito” Nick Chivello aboard his #27 Spike/Esslinger, Angwin’s Britton Bock in his #67 Spike/Esslinger and Vacaville’s Rick Holbrook in Peggy Holbrook’s #6 Spike/RRE Chevy EcoTec.

Bock had patiently worked his way from 11^th to seventh by Lap 4 and moved into sixth on Lap 20 before getting spun around by another driver on Lap 27 while running in sixth and battling for a Top 5 finish. After falling back to 19^th after a Lap 4 spin, Chivello rebounded to finish eighth. Holbrook’s night looked to have ended early in the Heat, after heavy contact with Lonny Alton’s #5a Stealth/Gaerte. Alton tipped it over and returned later, however, Holbrook suffered severe front-end damage. Thanks to the aid of several racers including the Alvis, Donaldson and Alton crews, plus Midget Lite racer Howard Adam West, Holbrook’s car was repaired in time to start the feature, and finish 10^th.

Gary Conterno in Floyd Alvis’ #83 Stealth/Wesmar Gaerte claimed 11^th with J.R. Williams takings 12^th in his newly acquired Spike/Brayton Chevy.

After running up-front early, and leading Laps 3 through 20, Sean Becker fell out of the Top 5 before coming home in fourth. Becker’s teammate Andy Forsberg started sixth in Mike Sala’s #19s Spike/Mopar and fell out of the Top 10 early, racing back to ninth before dropping out on Lap 27 after getting caught up in his second incident of the race.

Bakersfield’s Shannon McQueen was holding onto a Top 5 run in the McQueen Racing #7 Spike/Esslinger, despite fighting braking issues. McQueen cautiously exited the race on Lap 26 when she pulled the car in after a brick-sized boulder crashed through her front hood, severing a main water line.

Grant, a former BCRA Midget champion currently finding much success in Non-Wing Sprint Cars in Indiana dropped out on Lap 11 with mechanical gremlins in Thurston’s mount. Veteran Bill Lindsey pulled Stu Donaldson’s #8 Stealth/Pontiac in on Lap 21. Alton exited after two laps.

Rookie Bret Felkins made his Midget debut in Matt Streeter’s #14 Spike/Fontana Rhino, suffering a long night – first spinning on Lap 8 of the feature then bringing out the red with a Lap 13 flip. 

The Oh Sh*t hard luck of the night award goes to 21-year-old Howard Fergerson, Jr., who flipped in Turn 3 in Karl Hokanson’s #98 Stealth/Gaerte during hot laps after his rear axle snapped on the right side, ripping off the shock tower and damaging several panels.

McQueen dominated Heat 1, winning by over four seconds over Streeter and Dodenhoff.

The Sala teammates, Forsberg and Becker, two local Sprint car aces battled each other in in Heat 2, with Forsberg claiming the narrow win over Becker, who claimed the June 2 feature in Placerville. .

Golobic claimed Heat 3 over Grant.

Grant claimed the 6-ap Dash, of which featured the top 2 cars from each Heat race. The Dash did not pay cash or points.

RESULTS:

FEATURE (30 Laps [Start]): 1. Golobic (3), 2. Streeter (4), 3. Dodenhoff (9), 4. Becker (2), 5. Pankratz (14), 6. Parker (12), 7. Alvis (15), 8. Chivello (10), 9. Bock (11), 10. Holbrook (18), 11. Conterno (16), 12. Williams (20), 13. Forsberg (6), 14. McQueen (5), 15. B. Lindsey (17), 16. R. Lindsey (7), 17. Felkins (13), 18. Schweitzer (8), 19. Grant (1), 20. Alton (19), 21. Wood (DNS)

LAP LEADERS: 1-3 Grant, 4-19 Becker, 20-30 Golobic

DASH: 1. Grant, 2. Golobic, 3. Streeter, 4. Forberg, 5. Becker, 6. McQueen

HEAT 1: 1. McQueen, 2. Streeter, 3. R. Lindsey, 4. Dodenhoff, 5. Felkins, 6. Conterno, 7. B. Lindsey, 8. Williams

HEAT 2: 1. Forsberg, 2. Becker, 3. Schweitzer, 4. Bock, 5. Pankratz, 6. Alvis, 7. Wood

HEAT 3: 1. Golobic, 2. Grant, 3. Chivello, 4. Parker, 5. Alton, 6. Holbrook

Three Generations Making Cross-Country Chili Bowl Trek

Three Generations Making Cross-Country Chili Bowl Trek

By Robert Haugh

With around 250 entries at the 26^th Annual Chili Bowl Midget Nationals, including three-time and reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup champion and reigning NASCAR Nationwide series champion Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., there are a myriad of families competing in the prestigious race that features drivers from an array of backgrounds.

One of the West Coast families making the trek in hopes of capturing the coveted Golden Driller trophy on January 14 is The North Bay Wine Country’s Bock family – Doug, Mike and Britton Bock. Doug is a longtime Midget car owner, with many Bay Cities Racing Association (BCRA) feature wins under his belt, and is also a former BCRA car owner champion.

Doug, who has fielded a Midget for 11 years at the Chili Bowl (and attended for 18 years) will once again be fielding his #26 Spike/Esslinger, sponsored by Get Som Sports, Bicycles Inc. (Ft. Worth, TX), Country Builders, Piners Welding Supply and Driveline Service for Fremont, CA’s Shane Golobic, a young gun who’s won in wing and non-wing Sprint Cars, Midgets and other open wheel race cars. Golobic is among only two-dozen drivers having qualified for the Chili Bowl finale in the past two years.

Britton, Doug’s Grandson has been racing for over 11 years, is hoping to follow in his Grandfather’s footsteps in becoming a Midget racing champion. Making his second Chili Bowl start, 19-year-old Britton will be piloting his own #67x McNamara Electric-Mike Bock-Crain Construction-General Engineering-Pete’s Tractor Service Spike/Esslinger. Britton is a recent graduate of St. Helena High School who plans on attending Northwest Lineman College (PG&E) in the Spring of 2012. The Angwin, CA native has been racing for 11 years, including four years competing in Midgets. Britton claimed eighth in the BCRA Dirt points in 2011, and was tenth in the 2010 BCRA owner and driver points.

Joining the Bock team at the prestigious five-day Chili Bowl Midget Nationals will be 19-year-old San Jose, CA native and current Oklahoma resident, Ricky Wright, Jr., who will be driving Doug and Britton’s #35w TCR/Esslinger. Wright, who claimed fifth in the 2011 ASCS Sooner Region points while capturing Rookie-of-the-Year honors, is a Bellarmine College Prep graduate, studying at Oklahoma State University, majoring in Sports Management and Marketing. Wright has five career Sprint Car victories. In 2009, Wright claimed seventh in points at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, CA and third in points at Petaluma Speedway, where he earned most improved driver. Wright is sponsored by Wright One Construction, Red Line Oil, Maxim Performance, Butlerbuilt and Bell Helmets.

Bill McNamara is Britton’s Crew Chief.

Britton and his grandfather Doug are leaving for Tulsa on January 3 while Mike is leaving on January 8.

The Chili Bowl kicks off on Tuesday, January 10, with the finale on Saturday, January 14. Britton competes in Tuesday’s prelim qualifying night with Wright competing on Wednesday and Golobic racing on Thursday, with all three competing in Saturday’s finale. The Chili Bowl takes take at the Tulsa Expo Center’s QuickTrip Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Visit www.chilibowl.com for additional information on the Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals. Check back here at http://wowracingnews.blogspot.com for updated information on West Coast results from the Chili Bowl.