3/28/2009
Silver Dollar Speedway
Crockett is Silver Cup Champion at Chico
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HRP Photos by Steve Cox[/caption]
Marysville dirt modified driver Randy McDaniel returned to Chico to try and win the big bucks on the line for the 25-lap feature event. McDaniel picks and chooses his races and tonight it was a good call to come back to Chico. McDaniel won the race and collected the $1000 payday. Eighteen modifieds made the call on night two.
Arvo Backholm was the surprise winner of the wingless main event. Backholm was in the right place at the right time to get the win. Most of the top runners had right rear tire issues that took them out of contention. But give Arvo credit, he managed his tire properly and .won the shortened main event. A total of 23 cars entered night two.
Sacramento's Willie Croft led the charge in winged sprint car qualifying by turning a lap of 12.334. By the luck of the draw the main event was started straight up by times. That placed Croft on the pole position. Crockett was second quick and started outside of Croft. At the start of the race it was Crockett who grabbed the lead. He not only took the lead but also began to stretch it out over the first few laps. Croft hung onto second until lap eight when Brad Sweet moved around him on the bottom of three and four. Stephen Allard was also moving to the front and at one time he had moved into second place with a spectacular pass coming out of turn four. Yet, he drifted back to fourth spot during the middle part of the race until he passed Croft once again on lap 13. By now the track had begun to take rubber and most cars were locked down in the sticky part of the track. A driver who impressed us this weekend was Wes Gutierrez. This driver dominated the semi-feature after starting in the seventh spot and started twelfth in the main event. Gutierrez drove just about as hard as any other driver tonight and by lap 14 he was in fourth. However his night ended on lap 24 and finished seventeenth.
Three other drivers were just as impressive tonight. The hardest charge of the night was Chico's Brett Miller. It was so great to see Miller have such a strong race. Miler started in the eighth spot of the semi and charged to a third place finish in twelve laps. Miller transferred to the main event and started eighteenth. He steadily worked his way through the field, survived the altercations and kept his tire alive. At the checkered he came across in the fourth position. Shain Matthews finished right behind Miller in the feature. He actually had the fourth spot on the last lap until Miller passed him. Matthews started 14th and finished fifth. Oregon driver Chad Groves had the best finish of his career at Chico. Groves started the main in the 16th spot and methodically picked off drivers ahead of him. He too was smart with his tire wear and moved through the field. On lap 28 he was fifth, however, Stephen Allard and Bobby McMahan each had tire failure on stopped. That moved Groves in third and it was where he would finish.
With track conditions the way they were it was a test of survival more than racing. Crockett was able to manage his tires and get he popular win. Sweet was able to shadow Crockett but never had a chance to make a pass. It was a good feeling to see Crockett roll into victory knowing what he and his father went through over the off-season.
The dirt modified main event struggled to get going because of the caution plagued start. It took over 15 minutes to get one lap complete. Drivers were having problems negotiating the slicked off racing surface that had been plagued all night due to the high winds blowing through the area. Josh Cullen was led the first three laps. Randy McDaniel moved around him on lap three. Prior to that, Mark Abouzeid was in the second spot and got tapped around on lap two. To Abouzeid's credit he restarted at the rear and charged back to a third place finish. Seventh place starting Jeff Olschowka moved into the second spot on lap five. Olschowka was so impressive all weekend long. He followed McDaniel for the next 20-laps and was not able to make a move for the lead. The top three had one final restart but McDaniel proved to be too much. The veteran and many time champion of the racetrack cruised into victory lane. Cullen finished in the fourth spot while Matt Murphy was fifth.
The wingless main event started with Terry Schank Jr. on the front row and leading the early stages of the main event. It was clear from the start that these drivers needed to try and conserve their tire the best they could. Unfortunately many of the top drivers had right rear failures that took them out of contention. On lap nine Pettit made a great move around Schank for the lead. Yet, two laps later Pettit's right rear exploded in turn four. Pieces of rubber were scattered on the track. Schank inherited the lead back. Schank led the next six laps until his right rear tire let go. At the same time BJ Martin's tire went flat while he was in the fourth spot. The yellow was brought out just in time for Arvo Backholm. Arvo had just passed Brian Bernal for second. After the Schank tire failure, Arvo was the leader. Under the yellow officials decided to pull the plug and call the race. Arvo was declared the winner. Bernal was close and finished second. Thirteenth starting Cody Myers finished third. The hard charger of the night went to Brandon Davis a former Chico champion. Davis started in the 20th position and finished fourth. Tony Richards finished in the fifth spot after starting in the ninth spot.