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Kyle Hirst Victorious At Brownell Memorial

CHICO, CA (5-5-17) - The 10th Annual Bill Brownell Memorial kicked off a big weekend of racing last night at the Silver Dollar Speedway. Five divisions signed into the pit area Friday night including 410 Winged Sprint Cars, Wingless Spec Sprints, Economy Sprints, Sport Mods, and the BCRA Midget Lites. In total more than 75 cars filled the pits.

Paradise, CA driver Kyle Hirst was a man on a mission during the 25 Lap winged sprint car main event as he led all 25 laps en route to the big win on board the Roth Motorsports #83. It was an emotional victory for Hirst as he welcomed his daughter Emma Mae Hirst to the world on Monday evening.

"This one is definitely for Emma Mae, Her and Amy will be here tomorrow night so hopefully we can get it done again tomorrow." stated Hirst in Victory Lane.

Roger Crockett made a rare appearance at the Silver Dollar Speedway and had a great run as well in his Rocket Designs #11 sprint car. The Oregon driver finished second in the Main Event after starting on the Pole. It is always great to see Roger back at Silver Dollar. The fight for third on back throughout the race was an absolute dogfight as sliders were being thrown left and right for the duration of the main event. In the end it was Fresno, CA driver Dominic Scelzi who finished off the podium in the third spot in the Red Rose Transportation #41 sprint car. Dominic started in the 13th position and was able to move up 10 positions in the feature. Michael "Buddy" Kofoid was another driver on the charge as he started 10th and was able to finish in the fourth spot after a hard fought battle to get into the top five in his Dan Simpson Racing #4S. DJ Netto finished off the top five finishing in the fifth position in the Tri-C Machine #3C. Rico Abreu looked like he was the only car that really had anything for Hirst. He had made his way up to the second spot on a restart halfway through the main. He tried to slide Hirst for the top spot in turn one but wasn't able to get there. The next lap he got up over the cushion and spun off the edge of the track in turn two. He was able to keep the car running and continue on but that was the end of his bid for the win. He would instead finish in the 10th spot.

The night began with 24 cars signing into the pit area for the 410 sprint cars. Time Trials were really fun to watch as the track was blistering fast. Rico Abreu just barely edged Kalib Henry for the top spot in time trials with a lap time of 11.066 seconds. Just a couple hundreths of a second off the Friday night track record. Heat race wins were claimed by Kyle Hirst, Roger Crockett, and Cory Eliason in the Antaya Motorsports #20. Chase Majdic piloted the Chuck Wolf Sand & Gravel #19 to victory in the B-Main Event.

The BCRA Midget Lites were a pleasant surprise last night as they drew a strong field of 24 entries. The night kicked off with Craig Dillard setting fast time in qualifying with a lap of 13.694 seconds around the clay Quarter mile. Heat Race Victories were claimed by Hunter Kinney, Danica Jo Parker, and Dakota Albright. On the opening lap of the third Heat Race, Emilee Lindgren went for a wild flip in turn three. She would climb out of the car and was able to walk off under her own power. That makes two years in a row she has had a wild ride at the Silver Dollar Speedway.

The Main Event was a wild one as Hunter Kinney jumped out to the lead early on but problems would arise as his top wing collapsed causing him to spin in turn one and collect the entire top five in the process on lap 7. When the race restarted it was Chris Dickey who would drive away for the big win as he crossed the line 5.3 seconds ahead of second place finisher Dakota Albright. Craig Dillard crossed the line in third. While Wendy Michnowicz and Eric Greco rounded out the top five.

The Wingless Sprint Car main event produced a first time Main Event winner as Kalib Henry broke through for his first career win in a wingless spec sprint. Kalib piloted the Intents Racing #33 car to victory leading all 20 laps. Kalib has shown a ton of speed in the wingless car this year and just hadn't quite put the whole night together. Last night though he had the whole package as he moved quickly from his 5th starting spot into the lead before the field even got to the back straightaway. Orland, CA driver Tony Richards had a solid night as he finished in the second spot. Terry Schank Jr. rebounded from heat race mechanical problems to finish in the third position. While Zachary Kavert and Angelique Bell rounded out the top five positions. Heat race competition saw Kalib Henry and Tony Richards each pick up wins.

The sport mods saw 10 cars sign into the pit area. A light car count for the class as many of the drivers chose to stay home in preparation for tonight's Sport Mod Tour race in Merced. Phillip Shelby was triumphant in the Main Event for his second career Sport Mod win at Silver Dollar. Shelby passed Justin Foux late in the race to pick up the win. Foux would hang on to finish second. Mark Abouzeid piloted the Chico Mazda #27 to a third place finish. While Jeff Fear and Keith Brown rounded out the balance of the top five. Heat race competition saw Mark Abouzeid and Phillip Shelby pick up wins.

The Economy Sprints drew a five car field last night as Adam Ermolenko picked up his first career Main Event win at the Silver Dollar Speedway. Adam was able to pick up the win over second place finisher Wyatt Brown in the Burkett's Automotive #2 car. Mike Ficklin was the only other driver to start the main event and finished third. The other two cars, Mike Sayre and Shawna Overton crashed in the Heat Race and were unable to make the call for the main event. Wyatt Brown was victorious in the one and only heat race.

Racing will continue at the Silver Dollar Speedway tonight with the 27th Annual Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial. The King of the West presented by NARC, Fujitsu Racing Series is in town and a full field of cars is expected. The Wingless Spec Sprints and Economy Sprints will join them as support classes as well. The front gate is scheduled to open at 5:00 pm with Qualifying scheduled to take place at 6:30 pm. For ticket information and/or directions to the racetrack please visit www.silverdollarspeedway.com.

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