---

Bergman Shines at Silver Cup

CHICO, CA (3-7-15) - Washington driver Seth Bergman wasn�t even supposed to be here. Bergman reported through social media that a racing event in Mississippi that he had planned to attend was canceled because of bad weather. With that news Bergman and team decided to head towards Chico and enter the two-day Silver Cup. That decision was a smart move as Bergman dominated the 30-lap sprint car feature on Saturday night and won not only his first main event at Chico but was also crowned the Silver Cup Champion.

Tim Kaeding started on the pole position and had to be the odds on favorite to win. Yet, it was outside front row starter Willie Croft who took the lead. Croft had set the fastest lap earlier in the night and rocketed out to the lead. The track was starting to get choppy in turns one and two. The first sight of wear and tear was on Croft�s car as his front wing post had broken. A few laps later he would bring the #29 to a stop in the infield with mechanical problems. Numerous drivers had issues because of the choppiness in turns one and two. However, it was Bergman who seemed to excel. Passing Kaeding was one of the highlights of the race. Once Bergman was up front it was clear he was the driver to beat. Sean Becker, as usual, charged from the back and moved his way towards the front. Becker went from 14th to third. Last night winner Justin Sanders went from 18th to sixth. Mason Moore started 19th and finished tenth. A driver who impressed the crowd was Matt Peterson. In the end the box score will show he started eighth and finished fourth, not overly impressive. Yet, to witness his charge up to second and passing Kaeding and Becker at one point was outstanding. With that said, all accolades need to fall upon the winner Bergman. Even a late race restart didn�t hamper his shot at the win. Bergman pulled away from Kaeding and won in decisive fashion.

Shane Golobic won the 12-lap B main event. Rim-riding Jake Morgan scored a second place finish. Johnny Reeves and Chris Martin rounded out the top four and earned transfer spots into the A main. John Michael Bunch won the 10-lap C main. Heat race winners included Craig Stidham, Peterson, Bergman and Kaeding. A total of 39 winged sprints attended.

Ryan McDaniel won his third Silver Cup Championship in the IMCA dirt modified division. Previous night winner Troy Folger lined up on the pole position and led the first part of the race. Two-time track champion Duane Cleveland, who started tenth, quickly drove to the front and pressured Folger for the lead. As the two raced, Folger slowed going through turn four and contact from Cleveland sent Folger around. During the caution Cleveland was sent to the rear of the field for the assist. Folger continued on and finished 11th. Up front it was time for McDaniel to shine. He drove around Albert Gill, Tom Berry Jr. and Jesse Bailey. It is hard to put into perspective how great of a driver McDaniel has been at Chico and what he means to the sport. Adding a third Silver Cup win cements his name as one of the best to ever strap into a race car at Chico. James Hite had a solid Silver Cup and finished in the fifth spot. It was a good showing for one of the good guys in our sport.

Kinzer Cox won the B main event. Chris Nieman, Randy McDaniel and Brett James all transferred to the feature event. Kevin Pendergrass, Bailey, Cleveland and Jeff Olschowka each won heat races.

Santa Rosa, CA product, Joe Stornetta had his elbows up on Saturday night as he tamed a tricky Silver Dollar Speedway, and survived a wild feature event to score the Silver Cup Race of Champions win during the Wingless Series Presented By Joe Hunt Magnetos season opener.

The start of the feature event saw Angelique Bell jump out to an early lead as behind her Colton Slack and Gary Nelson, Jr battled for the second spot. On the rough and tumble Silver Dollar Speedway, the action up front was exciting in the early laps as Tommy LaLiberte and Nick Larson battled for the fourth spot. With Bell up front, Laliberte made a couple of big moves as he moved into the third spot on the fifth lap, and set his sights on Bell and Slack.

Lap six saw Slack make his move on Bell to take the race lead, as Laliberte took the second spot on the seventh lap before clipping an infield tire and flipping wildly to bring out the red flag.

The red for Laliberte would trigger a wild chain of events that would change the complexion of the race. Under the caution, race leader, Colton Slack would suffer and right rear flat, and go to the tail end of the field. When the race restarted, new leader, Angelique Bell would come to a stop atop turn two, and Joe Stornetta would find himself in command of the race.

With Stornetta now up front, Nick Larson found himself in the second spot and Gary Nelson ran in third as the race came back to life. The restart saw Scott Hall go to the high side and get around Shane Mhyre and Nelson to take over the third spot as he began his pursuit of the race lead. As Hall chased down the lead pack, Slack was quickly working his way back forward as he was back into the seventh spot by the 10th lap. Reds on lap 13 and 14 would bunch the field back up, and what would be the races� final restart, saw Hall slide off the track with some damage, as Stornetta continued to fend off Larson�s charge up front.

With Stornetta in command of the race, Slack would work into the third spot just before the race�s final caution flew on the 17th lap, and with that the checkered waived giving Stornetta his first career win at the Silver Dollar Speedway, and the opening night win with the series. �It is great to win in Chico,� Stornetta said. �Our car was awesome all night long, and that was huge with the way the track was. It was pretty technical, and I think that made it exciting. I really have to thank everyone who supports this deal for all of their hard work.� Nick Larson would hang on to finish second, with Colton Slack rebounding nicely to finish in the third back. Nelson would finish fourth followed by Shane Myhre, Shawn Jones, Bradley Clark, Bryan Grier, Bill Hopper, and Josh Vieira rounding out the Top-10. With 21 cars on hand for the season opener, Joe Stornetta set the standard in time trials as heat wins went to Shawn Jones, Tommy Laliberte, and Nick Larson.

Back to News