Hanestad wins second biggest title of his career with Silver Dollar’s 3rd annual Wingless Nationals

The Hammer holds of former champion Schank and the professor Jimmy Sills for win
  By Bill Sullivan 
CHICO, CA October 13, 2007 -   It was the fall of 1989 when Darrell Hanestad stood in victory lane to accept the biggest win of his racing career, the Gold Cup Race of Champions. Eighteen years later Hanestad became the winner of Silver Dollar Speedway’s newest fall classic, the third annual Wingless Nationals.
          “The Gold Cup is by far the biggest win for me and it always will be,” said Hanestad. “But I have to say this definitely second on my list. This is a special race for us and we really wanted to win it the last two years but just never quite had the car and the starting spot to get it done. Tonight we did it and it’s great to be standing here with a win like this.”
          Saturday’s event was originally scheduled to be a two-day event. However, a rain storm on Friday forced promoter John Padjen to cancel the first night of competition and pack all of the action into one full night of racing, and an action packed full night of competition it surely was. Sixty seven cars were tightly squeezed into the pit area to compete in an event that featured and interesting point format and had its share of wheel to racing and mishaps from the early green flags of the night.		 Picture Coming Soon!!

Due to the car count, qualifying was performed in a cluster fashion with three cars taking to the track simultaneously. Entering the event Hanestad was the track record holder at Silver Dollar Speedway with a 14:012 that was posted back in 2005. This year, the top three qualifiers all beat that previous number, one of which was Hanestad. Defending race champion Terry Schank Jr. of Antioch holds the new record of 13:541. Hanestad was second quick with a 13:708 while Marc Mackay of Cameron Park was third with a 13:964.
          Two red flags flew during qualifying. The first was for Tim Sherman Jr. of Rocklin who took a wild ride off of turns three and four. It took several minutes for track paramedics to remove Sherman from the car. He eventually climbed into the ambulance under his own power and was observed on site and later released. Todd Miller of Lafayette was the second red flag during qualifying when he took flight off of turn two without injury.
          Saturday’s program offered accumulative points for qualifying and heat races as well as passing points for the preliminary events to determine the feature event line ups. In the 30-lap A-feature, R.C Smith of nearby Biggs started on the pole with the veteran former USAC Silver Crown champion gone driving instructor Jimmy Sills of Elverta on the outside. The second row consisted of Hanestad on the inside with Schank on the outside aboard Matt Fontaine’s #2x that had won both previous Wingless Nationals.
          At the waving of the green flag Sills powered around the high side of Smith to take the initial lead and was joined in the front of the field with three laps complete when Hanestad overtook Smith on the inside of turns three and four. Sills stretched his lead to several car lengths over Hanestad but a red flag flew with 6 laps down for Justin Funkhouser of Paradise who rolled over in turn two.
          On the restart the race looked like a classic Northern Auto Club event with veteran drivers Sills and Hanestad dueling for the lead, racing side by side on several occasions, both using the high and low lines of the track. On the 12th circuit, Hanestad came out of the fourth turn with the momentum to overtake Sills for the lead while Schank maintained the third position watching the two talented veterans duel in front of him, awaiting and error by either to possibly become the first two time winner of the event.
          With 23 laps down Schank went to the inside of turn two to pull beside Sills and passed for the lead as they traveled down the backstretch just before a yellow flag flew for winged racing star Brett Miller of Chico. Miller’s night of wingless racing ended with a broken front end in turn one.
          Miller’s yellow flag was happy sight for Hanestad who was in heavy lapped traffic at the time and nearly lost his lead over Schank when he struck a deep hole in turn four and slid sideways towards the front stretch wall.
          “I’m usually one who likes non stop racing,” said Hanestad. “I hit that hole out there and the car went sideways and I thought it was all over because I knew those guys were right there. I was so happy to see that yellow flag, it might have saved me.”
           In the final laps Hanestad maintained his lead although Schank closed in on the lead in the closing moments to finish second between two of California’s best known veteran talents.
          “We really wanted to win another one of these deals tonight but I couldn’t get it done,” said Schank. “But to race out here with these two old guys was really great. I want to thank Matt Fontaine for another great car this year.”
          Much like Schank, Sills make light of the age gap between the top runners as well after finishing in third place behind Hanestad and Schank.
          “This was great tonight, running with Darrell was like old times out here,” said Sills. “Us old driving instructors have to actually get out and race once in awhile, otherwise my students start thinking I’m just some old guy that doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I need to keep them believing in me.”
          In preliminary action Saturday night Miller won the B-feature. Josh Bates of Carmichael won the C-main event and David Goodwill won the D-feature. Heat races were won by Kyle Hirst of Elk Grove, Cody Myers of Brown’s Valley, R.C. Smith, Tyler Wolf of Redding, Sills and Herman Klein of Sacramento.
          Silver Dollar Speedway will go dark until March of 2008 when the Mini-Gold Cup will open a new season of racing. The annual awards banquet will take place at Feather Falls Casino on the Saturday following Thanksgiving. Information on that event will be released in the coming days and available at www.johnpadjenmotorsports.com where you can also find complete results of Saturday’s race.

Joey Saldana Rides Rim from 12th to 1st giving him the Victory in night 2 of the Prelims at the 54th Gold Cup Race of Champions @ Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico CA!!
Story by:  Gaye Carmichael

Day two, World of Outlaw Sprint competition, second night qualifying/preliminary race at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, CA

 (Chico, CA, 9/07/07) Rim racing Joey Saldana of Brownsburg, IN pulled out all the stops as he raced from his twelfth place start in the second night, of World of Outlaw Sprint competition in the 54th running of the Gold Cup Race of Champions, to claim a big victory on the quarter mile oval at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, CA.  Saldana driving the Kasey Kahne, Open Joist Mopar #9, seemed to be the only driver who could make that outside groove work as he proceeded to pick off positions until taking the lead with two laps to go in this thirty lap qualifying, preliminary race.		 Picture Coming Soon!!

"That was a hell of a race.  We tightened our car up a lot for the feature.  I can't believe it! This track is very demanding.  To race Steve Kinser for the lead, who's the best there is, I'm shocked.  I have to thank Mopar.  They've done some great motors for us.  The team is working great right now and I'm glad to have the opportunity to race  for Kasey Kahne racing.  I'm very fortunate. I also want to thank all of the fans for coming out, 410 sprint car racing needs this."  said Saldana.

Steve Kinser of Bloomington, IN raced all laps in the lead of the Crane Cam Dash to earn the pole start and jumped out into a healthy lead on the opening lap of the "A" feature.  Kinser had a firm control of the lead until the final two laps when Saldana made his winning bid. Kinser scored in second with Brooke Tatnell (NSW)  claiming  a third place, podium finish at the line.

"We had a good car.  We talked before the race about  staying focused and earning as many points as we could for tomorrow night's race (Saturday nights $50,000. to win  and final night of this three day event, Points accumulated during the preliminary qualifying races, determine the line up of the $50,000. to win Gold Cup Race of Champions) I think we have a good package together for Saturday night." said Tatnell

  It was a very fast paced "A" Feature.  Just the slightest mistake could ruin what other wise would have been an outstanding run. Caution laps only snagged a very few of the drivers, starting with, Robert Ballou (CA)  who brought out the first caution on the seventh lap when he  spun in the second turn. Kerry Madsen (NSW) got off the track on the front stretch on the thirteenth lap .  With seven laps to go Matt Shelton (CA) slid into the infield for the third yellow and then in the closing laps,  Tim Kaeding (CA)  was up on two wheels racing in the fourth turn getting tagged by Daryn Pittman (OK) with other sprints looking like they were close enough to touch, but unbelievably, they all kept them going.  The caution finally had to come out for T. Kaeding, as his left rear tire shredded on the track, probably from contact when he saved his sprint from rolling  during his wheel stand.  The restart of the race had Saldana in second  chasing Kinser.  Kinser opted to race the inside line as the race went back to green in the final two laps and Saldana returned to the rim, which netted the win for this Kasey Kahne team.

Fourth place was picked up by Pittman, followed by Tim Shaffer (PA), Sam Hafertepe, Jr. (TX), Terry McCarl (IA), Brent Kaeding (CA), Evan Suggs (CA), Jeremy Campbell (MI), Jason Statler (CA), Paul McMahan (TN), Ronnie Day (CA), Mike Monahan (NV), Sean Becker (CA), Barry Martinez (WA), Kerry Madsen (NSW), Justin Henderson (SD), Shane Golobic (CA), Matt Shelton (CA), Tim Kaeding (CA), Jon Maiwold (CA) and Robert Ballou (CA).

Fifty-six drivers clocked in during qualifying with two non-World of Outlaw Sprint drivers, collecting the two fastest times.  Evan Suggs of Scotts Valley, CA turned a 11.738 second lap for fast time while Barry Martinez of Lynwood, WA, who just won the 410 Sprint car Championship Title at Skagit Speedway in Burlington, WA, scored a 11:805 second lap for the second fastest lap scored.

With such a great turn out of sprints, the format required a Non-qualifiers race, four heat races, plus three Main events. The "C" Main,  had Andy Forsberg (CA) taking the win with James Sweeney (CA), scoring in second, for the two drivers earning the transfers to the rear of the field in the "B" Main.  Then during "B" main competition, on the second lap, Korey Lovell (CA) got upside down, with Shane Stewart (OK) and Johnny Gray, in the mix. All were okay.  As the "B" feature raced to the final lap, apparently a miss-communication between the drivers, Silver Dollar Officials and WoO Officials, caused some confusion as the field raced to take the checkered, battling to score in the top four, to earn their chance to race the "A" Feature.  The front four drivers, were Ronnie Day (CA), Shane Golobic (CA), Matt Shelton (CA) and Justin Henderson (SD), as they raced the final lap.  The drivers, wearing a one way radio, that allows officials to advise the drivers during a race, were told that the caution flag was out. Henderson responding to the caution alert, checked up.  Hirst raced by Henderson at that point, to have fourth at the checkered flag.  The Officials felt that their communication alerting the drivers of a yellow flag, was responsible for Henderson losing his fourth position run to the flag.  After deliberation, the Officials decided to have all the sprints, return to the track and assume their positions prior to the final lap and then re-race that lap. This decision was a surprise to the majority of those attending, as it seemed no one had heard of a race calling back the field of cars to re-run laps, that had already received the checkered flag. 

The excitement builds with the preliminary racing behind the one hundred plus drivers who have now qualified their starting positions for the big money race. When the Gold Cup Race of Champions, hosted by John Padjen MotorSports, roll out their sprints,on the final big night of competition with , $50,000. to win the offering up for grabs, the competition will be fierce.  Every driver wants to join the list of former Gold Cup winners  and will do all that they can to make it happen. 

Main events, the Dash and Heat race finishes, as follows:

Non-Qualifier Race: Kevin Sharrah (CA), Brad Baumgarner (CA), Mark Tabor, Sr. (NV), Shawn Arriaga (CA), Brandon Carey (CA), Cody Myers (CA), Mike Mossi (CA),  Mark Haynes (CA),  Brent Bjork (CA), Adrien Betournay (CA), Josh Keheley (CA), Tony Silveria (CA), David Silveria (CA), Bill Cornwell (CA), Ricky Wright, Jr. (CA), Brian Boswell.  Top four finishers transfer.

"C" Main:  Andy Forsberg (CA), James Sweeney (CA), Sharrah, Eddy Lewis (CA), Baumgarner, Arriaga, Peter Breshears (CA), Tabor, Sr., Jeremy Burt (CA), Matt Petty (CA). (Petty, racing in third at the time, flipped his #24m sprint racing into the third turn.  Petty was okay but the wing looked to be totally flat and had possibly other damage that retired Petty from the race.)  Top two finishers transfer into the "B" Main.

"B" Main:  Ronnie Day (CA), Shane Golobic (CA) Matt Shelton (CA), Justin Henderson (SD), Kyle Hirst (CA), Forsberg, Sweeney, Taylor Malsam (WA), Tyler Spath (CA), Shain Matthews (CA), Shane Stewart (OK), Johnny Gray (CA), Korey Lovell (CA), Mark Workentine (CA), Danny Bullock (BC), Kevin Pylant (CA).

Dash: Kinser, Tatnell, Pittman, T. Kaeding, Hafertepe, Jr., Suggs, McCarl, Campbell, Martinez, Monahan.

Heat #1:  McCarl, Kinser, Suggs, Willy Croft (CA), Bullock, Lovell, Gray, Petty, Workentine.

Heat #2:  Campbell, Monahan, McMahan, Madsen, Martinez.

Heat #3:  Pittman, Tatnell, Shaffer, Meyers, Ballou, Day, Golobic, Malsam, Sweeney, Pylant.

Heat #4: T. Kaeding, Hafertepe, Jr., Saldana, Maiwald, B. Kaeding, Hirst, Shelton , Matthews, Lewis, Burt.

 Opening Night of World of Outlaw Sprint Competition in the Fifty-fourth  Gold Cup Race of Champions at Silver Dollar Speedway, Chico, CA, (first night of a three day event.)
Story by:  Gaye Carmichael
(Chico, CA, 9/06/07)  There's no place like home to capture  the victory of an opening night of World of Outlaw Sprint competition in the prestigious running of the Fifty-fourth  Gold Cup Race of Champions and Jonathan Allard, did just that, racing the Williams GT Trend #0 sprint in  a dominant run, scoring every lap in the lead of his heat race, the Crane Cam Dash and the thirty lap "A" Feature on the quarter mile oval at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, CA.		 Picture Coming Soon!!
   "This has been a dream for a long time.  I can't believe it.  To run with the World of Outlaw's is so great. There are a lot of great drivers here and to win this is unbelievable. I tried to race this like a regular Friday night show (referring to Silver Dollar Speedway and their Friday night 410 Sprint races). I want to thank Morrie Williams for staying with me.  I also want to thank Padjen Motorsports for putting the Gold Cup on.  The team did a great job and we had a great car tonight. I just stayed focused and ran my race. The fans here are great and I can't thank them enough for staying with me." said  J. Allard, who was born and raised in Chico.

 After taking some time off from racing, Veteran driver, Sammy Swindell of Germantown, TN, climbed back into a car to compete at the Gold Cup and showed he was up for the task, scoring in second of the "A" feature race.  

 "Rod Fauver and the team did a good job on the car.  We seem to work well together. It's been awhile since I've been in a car, so it's really nice to be able to come out here and have a good result.  We have a good start for the race on Saturday (referring to the $50,000. to win Gold Cup Race of Champions race that every driver wants to win) and hope the track doesn't change much. The car tonight, seemed to get better and better, towards the end of the race." said Swindell.

 Having earned a front row, outside, start in the "A" main, Brad Sweet of Grass Valley, CA raced out into second place on the initial green flag  lap, chasing J. Allard from second place for twenty-six laps, before Swindell got beneath Sweet to make an inside challenge that was good.  Sweet put the nose of his sprint deep into the inside line to prevent any other bids and raced the last four laps to score in third at the checkered.

 "We had a great night. Everything kind of went our way.  I have to thank Gary Perkins who gave me a great car as well as Rod Tiner and the team.  Thanks to all the fans and congratulations to Jonathan (Allard) for winning." said Sweet.

 Forty-seven teams were on hand to qualify in this first of two nights of preliminary races, where points will be awarded for qualifying, finishes in heat and main events on both nights.  The points accumulated by the drivers will determine where they will start in the third and final, big money race.   This race is sanctioned by the World of Outlaw Sprints, with all three nights scored as individual point races in the WoO Sprint Championship Title race. Jason Sides of Bartlett, TN scored a 11.774 second lap to have quick time of the night.

 Ohio's Jac Haudenschild raced a flag to flag run in the first heat race to take the win and earn a start in the Dash and in the "A" feature.  Haudenschild raced most of the thirty lap "A" feature in fourth place. 

"The car ran really good tonight.  The track was a little hard to run an outside line on so I raced the bottom.  Hopefully we will have a third or fourth row start in Saturday's race  and have a shot at a win.  We were happy to finish in fourth." said Haudenschild.

 The feature was marred with five cautions.  Tony Bruce, Jr., brought out the first one on the ninth lap when he spun out. About four laps later Brett Miller went into a spin on the back stretch. Mason Moore, was stopped just out of the second turn, with ten laps to go and was towed off the track, but able to return later. As the race attempted to restart after this yellow, Chad Kemenah, Danny Lasoski and Sides, got together in the fourth turn losing valuable positions and needing to go to the work area. The final yellow was for Andy Gregg, spinning in the fourth turn.   

 This caution was very beneficial to Haudenschild.  Haudenschild was making a last valiant attempt to try the upper groove to make a pass. His car had the speed, but couldn't grab the upper line, so was in the process of falling back two or three spots when the caution flew.  Because the caution negated the lap, Haudenschild regained his position and settled in to run in fourth to the checkered.

 Finishing in fifth was Craig Dollansky (MN), followed by Jason Solwold (WA), Donny Schatz (ND), Greg DeCaires (CA), Colby Wiesz (CA), Mike Henry (CA), Jason Meyers (CA), Randy Hannagan (CA), Stephen Allard (CA), Chad Hillier (WA), Dan Menne (CA), Danny Lasoski (MO), Mason Moore (CA), Jason Sides (TN), Brett Miller (CA) Carl Droivold (CA), Tony Bruce, Jr. (KS), Andy Gregg (CA), Chad Kemenah (OH) and Kyle Larson (CA).

 Dash, Heat Races and additional main event finishes, as follows:

 "B" Main:  Gregg, Moore, Bruce, Jr., Miller, Brett Rollag (CA), Jeff Delte (CA), Zack West (CA), Jimmy Trulli (CA), Zack Mason (CA),  Herman Klein (CA), Mark Tabor, Jr. (NV), Colton Heath (WA), Chris Masters (CA), Robbie Whitchurch (CA), Dan Simpson (CA), Charlie Louden (CA).  (Top four finishers transfer to the "A" feature race)

 "C" Main:  Klein, Simpson, Robert Stice (CA), Ken Fredenburg (CA), Pat Harvey (CA), Jim Marsh (CA), Jeff Griffin (CA), Dennis Harvey (CA), Brandon Dozier (CA), Dan Ochs (CA), Mike Stallings (CA), Jeff Flure (CA), Jim Richardson (CA).  (Top two finishes transfer to the rear of the "B" Main) 

 Dash:  Allard, Sweet, Solwold, Haudenschild, Schatz, Swindell, Sides, Lasoski, Dollansky, Droivold.

 Heat #1:  Haudenschild, Droivold, Sides, S. Allard, Meyers, Whitchurch, Rollag, Gregg, Stice, Ochs, Heath, P. Harvey. 

Heat #2:  Dollansky, Sweet, Wiesz, Henry, Hillier, Bruce, Jr., Trulli, Klein, Moore, D. Harvey, Tabor, Jr., Richardson.

 Heat #3:  J.  Allard, Schatz, Swindell, Hannagan, Menne, Miller, Dozier, Delte, Marsh, Fredenburg, Stallings, Masters.

 Heat #4:  Solwold, Lasoski, DeCaires, Larson, Kemenah, Mason, West, Flure, Simpson, Griffin, Charlie Louden (CA).  ( Louden on the first lap of  this heat race, probably had some kind of contact, racing out to take the initial green flag, flipped up and over into a multi-spin, down the front stretch, looking to have demolished his car.  Louden was okay but so disappointed to not even score a lap before being side lined from the Gold Cup he so wanted to race. 
Colby Wiesz holds California Sprint Civil War Series in the Pacific Cup Invitational competition at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, CA
Story by:  Gaye Carmichael (Chico, CA, 9/05/07)  With only three races left on the schedule, Colby Wiesz of Colfax, CA, picked up the victory of the prestigious 360 Sprint, Pacific Cup Invitational in the California Sprint Civil War Series at the Silver Dollar Speedway, on the quarter mile clay oval in Chico, CA. 

"The track was pretty good, once it slicked off a little bit, it made it easier for passing and that was good. I was worried about Andy Forsberg before he passed me.  Once I passed him back, I felt a little bit more comfortable.  I want to thank my crew.  They do an excellent job and they gave me a good car tonight."  said Wiesz. 

 Picture Coming Soon!!

This was Wiesz's second victory in the Civil War Series this season and he currently is second in the Championship Title points race.  Wiesz said, "I'm probably twenty-one or twenty-two points behind Forsberg," as they race for the title.  There are three races left on the schedule. 

Placerville's, Jimmy Trulli raced his family owned #33T sprint from a seventh place start to take the checkered flag in second.  

"With another  couple of laps, we may have won it.  The car was good.  The track was  good and pretty racy.   We have a good crew and we're happy.   I want to thank my Mom and Dad, all of my Sponsors and all of my family and friends."  said Trulli. 

Third place was scored in by Mason Moore of Princeton, CA,  a sixteen year old "Rookie" driver, who's racing his first year in a 360 sprints. Moore started racing when he was seven in the Outlaw Karts, winning three track championships and four national championships. 

"I love these kind of tracks, dry, slick and a little dirt at the bottom. I'm currently eighth in the Civil War Series Championship Title points race and second in the "Rookie of the year" points race (trailing about ten points.behind Elk Grove's, Kyle Larson, in  the "Rookie" title chase)" said Moore  (Fifteen year old, Larson also ran with the Outlaw Karts, now racing his first year in 360 sprint competition, won his first sprint feature event in Civil War Series competition at Placerville Speedway,  establishing the record for being the youngest driver ever to win a race at Placerville Speedway and the youngest driver to ever win a Civil War Series race.) 

Moore plans to compete with World of Outlaw Sprints in The Gold Cup Race of Champions, for the first time in his career and went on to say, "I was happy to get into tonight's "A" Feature and then be able to race here at the Gold Cup."   The Gold Cup Race of Champions will have their  qualifying races on September sixth and seventh with the big $50,000. to win, WoO sanctioned "A" Feature race as the  finale  of this three day event, on September eighth. 

Forsberg, scored in a fourth place finish , having raced the outside line of the track trying to improve his third place starting berth.  Forsberg, in a rim shot, led about four laps before falling back a little but held on for his good top five finish.  

Matt Petty took a wire to wire victory in his heat race and then ran into trouble after two laps scored in the "A" feature.  Petty spun  off the track in  the fourth turn for the first caution. A few laps later a red flag was flying when Scott Russell rolled over multiple times, with Billy Wallace and Andy Gregg, getting caught up in it.  Only two more yellow flags would fly and they  were for spin outs.  There weren't any injuries reported for anyone. 

At the checkered flag, Wiesz, Trulli, Moore, Forsberg and Larson, logged into the top five finishes. Greg DeCaires finished in sixth, followed by Scott Kinney, Mark Hall,  Ricky Wondergem, Mike Monahan, Chad Compton, Billy Wallace, Mike Benson, Matt Petty, Dan Menne, Scott Russell, Andy Gregg, Kevin Klein, Richard Bailey, Brad Baumgarner and Jim Richardson.  

Additional results, as follows:  

Fast Time:  Herman Klien with a 12. 124 second lap. 

"B" Main:  Henry, DeCaires, Wondergem, Monahan, Wallace, Compton, Justin Johnson, Brett Rollag, Pat Henry, Carl Droivold, James Sweeney,   Stephen Allard, Adrien Betournay, Josh Keheley, Mark Tabor, Sr.

 

Heat #1:  Bailey, Baumgarner, Larson, Klien, Monohan, Rollag, Henry, Johnson.

 

Heat #2:  Petty, Russell, Kinney, Moore, Wallace, Droivold, DeCaires, Keheley.

 

Heat #3:  Gregg, Benson, Forsberg, Trulli, Compton,  Stephen Allard, Sweeney, Harvey. 

 

Heat #4:  Hall, Menne, Wiesz, Richardson, Wondergem, Betournay.

####     

 

Next Up Civil War Invitational to kick off World of Outlaws Gold Cup Race Of Champions @ Silver Dollar Speedway!!!

Greg DeCaires Wins 410 Sprint Main at Chico

 

(Chico, CA 8-3-04)...It had been a while since Elk Grove driver Greg

DeCaires had visited victory lane at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico. “I

can't remember the last time I was standing here,” said DeCaires. The

veteran driver who won a track championship at Chico in 1990 was very

complementary of his team and the fans that show up every Friday night.

“I want to say thanks to the the whole #24 NMI team and the fans that

make the long commute up here to watch us race,” said DeCaires. “This is

going to be a fun week of work because my car owner is also my boss.”

Also winning on the night was Tyler Wolf of Redding. Wolf led every lap

to win the wingless sprint main event. “I knew Sparky was coming,” said

Wolf referring to veteran driver Sparky Howard. “But I just kept my line

and it all worked out in the end.” It was his first career win at Chico.

Durham driver Mike Sohnrey captured the 15-lap dirt modified main event.

“The track was bad fast tonight, that was the hardest and fastest I ever

drove around Chico,” said Sohnrey. A total of 64 cars competed during

the Feather Falls Casino Friday night championship series race. The

night was sponsored by Miller Glass of Chico. Also, Pullins Cyclery

supplied a free BMX bicycle to one lucky fan. The winner was in town

visiting relatives. The child lives in New York and was already

wondering how to get the bike back to his hometown.

 

After two failed attempts to start the 410 sprint main event things

finally got up and running with Matt Shelton as the leader. Shelton, a

local product, took the lead over Princeton driver Mason Moore. Moore is

in his rookie season and already has shown the ability to run with the

top cars at Chico. A series of cautions slowed the racing on lap four

when Sean Becker spun in turn two and on lap five and six when Chris

Masters was involved with two separate accidents. On the seventh lap it

was DeCaires who passed Moore and was closing in on Shelton. It was only

a matter of time before DeCaires grabbed the lead. He pass Shelton on

lap 11 and never looked back. Shelton, to his credit, hung in with

DeCaires and proved to be a worthy challenger for the lead. On lap 13

championship point leader Stephen Allard came to a stop in turn two. The

problem was terminal and he exited to the trailer. Racing continued

until lap 23 when Evan Suggs brought out the yellow. Suggs had raced his

way into third and was battling Shelton for second when he entered turn

one too high and slid off the track. It was a tough break for Suggs who

made the long tow from Scotts Valley to race with the Friday night crowd

in Chico. The final two laps were no contest for DeCaires as he raced to

his first 410 winged sprint car win of 2007. Shelton had a career best

second place finish. Mason Moore tied his career best finish of third.

Moore and his Mike Clarke prepared #22 looks to finish the season on a

high note. It was nice to see Chico's Brett Miller finish in the fourth

spot. Miller's luck of late has not been good. He even raced for almost

one month on a 360 motor just to keep competing. Miller and team had to

feel good about the top five finish. Rounding out the top five was

Chico's Robbie Whitchurch. Another solid run for Whitchurch and company.

 

Tyler Wolf utilized his pole position start by taking the early lead of

the 20-lap wingless sprint main event. Wolf led Scott Hall and Charlie

Mars into the first lap. Lap six brought out the first caution when

Billy Wallace spun and collected Brett Youngman and Tony Boscacci. On

the restart it was Marrs moving around Hall for second. Also following

Marrs was Sparky Howard. Howard was now in third and Hall fell to

fourth. On lap nine it was Howard's turn to grab the second spot away

from Marrs. Drivers moving through the field included Matt Streeter and

Jimmy Pettit. Streeter wound up finishing third while Pettit had another

top five run and finished fifth. Brandon Davis, championship point

leader, made contact with another driver late in the race and retired to

the infield. On the race track he left behind what looked to be the

inside of the rear end that fell out of the car. The caution was needed

to remove the debris. The final five laps were fast and furious as Wolf

and Howard went at it for the lead. Howard closed but was never able to

make the pass happen. Wolf crossed the line with a car length advantage

to get the win.

 

The best race of the night involved two dirt modified aces. Mike Sohnrey

and Richard Papenhausen swapped the lead a few times and thrilled the

crowd with their close racing. Sohnrey started the race as the leader

but it was Papenhausen who took the lead away on lap five. On lap seven

Chris Compton stopped off of turn two to bring out the caution. The

restart proved to be the moment of truth for Papenhausen. On lap nine

the two were side by side racing for the lead. For the next three

circuits both cars swapped the lead. In lap 12, Sohnrey used the low

line to pass Papenhausen for the lead. Sohnrey led the final three laps

to get the win. Papenhausen limped across the line in second and looked

to have a flat tire. Darin Ruley finished in the third spot. Joe Flower

came home in the fourth spot. Janet King made a rare appearance and

finished fifth.

 

Cody Myers won the 10-lap wingless B main. Taylor Simas, Justin

Funkhouser and Cody Smith all transferred. Not transferring was Jay

Youngman who finished fifth. Youngman came into the night second in points.

 

Trevor Green dominated the 12-lap B main. Sean Becker finished in the

second spot.

 

Fast Eddy Lewis won the first heat race for the 410 sprints. Colby Weisz

debuted a new paint job and won heat two. Orland driver Zack Mason won

the third heat race. The win was number five for the season during heat

race action for Mason.

 

Papenhausen won the lone heat race for the modifieds.

 

Stephen Allard turned the quickest lap in qualifying. His lap time was

13.042.

_Free Barbecue Saturday at Silver Dollar Speedway _
By Troy Hennig

 (Chico, CA 7-10-07)...Saturday, July 14, John Padjen will offer a free barbecue and soda's to fans wanting to attend the newly formed Northern California Auto Racing Alumni (NSARA). The organization is dedicated to “Preserving the Past and Capturing the Future” of auto racing from its beginning's in the Chico and Anderson areas. The barbecue is open to all interested people and will be held in the Garden Court Area at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds. The event will take place from 12:00 – 4:00 pm. They will present a slide show, bench racing and memorabilia. For

further information contact Lloyd Burton (530) 221-3341 or visit the Internet at www.northerncaliforniaautoracingalumni.com 

The mission of this organization is to preserve the history and future of circle track automobile racing on dirt and pavement raceways principally in the Anderson and Chico areas. They want to recognize the race car drivers, teams, owners, officials and fans that have been and will be associated with the sport for years to come. The NSARA is also working on a Hall of Fame in 2007. 

Following the barbecue stick around for the King of California series racing at Silver Dollar Speedway. On Saturday night the front grandstand will open at 5 pm. Adult general admission is $16.00. Juniors are $11.00 and children will be $4.00. Sprint car qualifying is slated to start at 6: 30 pm with racing to follow. 

Campbell, CA driver Brent Kaeding leads the Golden State Challenge King of California sprint cars into Chico on Saturday night. The 12-time champion is leading Oroville's Sean Becker by 16-points. Kaeding has dominated the wins this year with eight. If he wins one more race this year it will break the record of eight, set by his son, as the most wins in one season. Adding to the allure is Tim Kaeding back in California and winning races. Tim comes into the race having one the last two races at Tulare and Antioch. Defending champion Jonathan Allard sits third

having won three races this year and coming off a second place finish at Antioch last Saturday night. Sacramento's Willie Croft has the fourth spot buckled down. Croft has one win and three fast time awards. Thetightest point battle involved Brett Miller and Jason Statler. Miller is one point ahead of Statler going into this race.

GT Trends Offering Free Trips to Two Lucky Fans This Friday Night
 

(Chico, CA 7-10-07)...Are you getting tired of the heat in Chico? How about bored with everyday life? Can you envision a trip in your future? How about the chance to win a free trip? Well look no further than attending the races at Silver Dollar Speedway this Friday night, July 13. GT Trends, a sponsor on Jonathan Allard's #0 sprint car, is stepping up in a huge way. Not only is GT Trends sponsoring the night of racing but they have offered two trips for two lucky fans to win. During a free raffle, fans will have the opportunity once inside the grandstands to get a raffle ticket. Later that night we will gather the tickets and along with Ron Armstrong, CEO of GT Trends, and driver Jonathan Allard, we will pick two winning tickets from the front straight away. 

If you are a lucky random winner, the prize package is quite incredible. You will win two free round trip airline tickets along with three days and two nights of hotel accommodation at many desirable destinations. Places that are offered on package include Las Vegas, Orlando, New

Orleans, Cancun and Puerto Vallarta among others. Usually these trips come along with some fees, but GT Trends will pay the added expensive for you. In all, these trips are valued at $2,000 each. Free flight and hotel accommodations and all you need to do is go to the races for a chance to win. It does not get a lot better than that.

GT Trends, Inc., doing business as GT Trends, is an Internet based business with management offices located in California-USA. We have expanded our distribution force around the world and we are quickly becoming a major provider in the on line travel industry. To date, we have expanded our network to /over/ 60 countries worldwide. GT Trends.com is your #1 on line travel source including 700 airlines, 75,000 hotel and hotel chains with over 50 International car rental agencies. The also offer deals on every cruise line imaginable. For more

travel information please go to gttrends.com.

On Friday night the front grandstand gate will open at 6 pm. Adult general admission is $10.00. Juniors and Seniors are $8.00 and children's price is $4.00. The winged 410-sprint cars will qualify at 7:00 pm with racing to follow.

 

Chico’s Stephen Allard Holds off Tim Kaeding for Win
By: Troy Hennig

(Chico, CA 6-29-07)…Chico’s Stephen Allard has had his ups and downs this year racing in Northern California. Tonight was no exception. After
finishing third in the second heat race the team decided to switch motors before the main event. It turned out to be the correct decision.
Allard led all 25-laps to record his second feature win of the season at Silver Dollar Speedway. Yet, it wasn’t as easy as it might sound. Allard
held off returning local hero Tim Kaeding to get the exciting win. In fact, with two lap’s remaining a single file restart featured Kaeding
right on Allard’s bumper. “I knew Tim was coming and under the yellow I looked up at the scoreboard and saw he was in second,” said Allard. “I
just told myself don’t over drive the car and hit my marks and I felt we’d be fine for the final two laps.” Allard did just that and never
gave Kaeding a chance to pull something out of his hat, as he has done so many times in the past. Allard drove the Skip Jones owned #1m into
victory lane. Kaeding is back at the helm of the Tom Rolfe Trucking #10 for at least until Gold Cup in September. A total of 24 drivers competed
during the Feather Falls Casino Friday night championship point race. Three other divisions took to the speedway tonight along with the sprint
cars. Wingless sprints, dirt modifieds and pure stocks all took turns at the speedway. In all, 82 different drivers raced around the beautifully
prepared quarter-mile clay oval speedway. All of this action took place in one night of racing and finished fifteen minutes ahead of the state
mandated 11:00 pm curfew.

      The original start pitted Allard on the front row with Auburn’s Andy Forsberg. As the two raced into turn one Forsberg set the car and the right rear dug into the clay. This catapulted Forsberg into the air and upside down. Major frame damage was sustained and he was finished for the night. Word is, the #92 machine will miss the next few Friday nights at Chico after this recent crash. On the second attempt things went much smoother. Allard took the lead from Colby Weisz who moved into the spot Forsberg vacated. Sean Becker raced into the third spot followed by Greg DeCaires in fourth. On lap four Chris Masters spun around and brought out the yellow. The next few laps brought great side-by-side racing and plenty of passing throughout the field. Kaeding began to move towards the front after starting in the fifth spot. On lap eleven he passed DeCaires for third. While the close racing was happening, Becker looped it in turn four but kept going only to spin out in turn one. The second spin was enough to bring out the yellow.

     Two laps later, Johnny gray came to a stop and brought out another yellow. Under the yellow, Jonathan Allard exited to the pit area with motor problems. Allard’s car had smoke coming out of the side of the motor during the previous few laps and ultimately something in the motor is what sidelined him from continuing on. However, up front older brother Stephen was making the Allard family proud and continued to lead the race.

 

     The race resumed with Allard pulling away from the rest of the field. In sprint car racing it’s the slower car’s that help bring the excitement level up a few notches. Allard was closing in on slower traffic on lap 19. This is when the lead started to shrink. On lap 20 Kaeding passed Weisz for the second spot. Kaeding continued to close on Allard as the two battled with slower traffic. On lap 23 Brett Miller stopped on the backstretch to bring out the yellow. The final two laps were about to unfold. Up to that moment, the transponders had Kaeding slightly faster than Allard. Yet, with a clear track ahead of him Stephen pulled away and comfortably won the race. Kaeding crossed the line in second. Weisz  finished a solid third. DeCaires crossed the line in fourth; notching him and the team their second top five in as many weeks at the speedway.  Trevor Green finally earned a top five. Green has battled gremlins all season since racing at Chico but tonight he looked as good as he had all year. It was nice to see the Australia native do well.

     Andy Gregg dominated the 12-lap B main event. Green ran second and Jason Botsford was third. Robert Stice and Jim Richardson rounded out the top five and transferred to the main event.

     Jeremy Phillips led all eight laps to win the first heat race. Kaeding started fifth in heat race number two and on the last lap passed Brett Miller to get the win. Zack Mason won his third heat race in as many weeks at the speedway. Mason and crew continue to improve as the team is starting to gel.

     Jonathan Allard starting things off by turning the fastest lap in qualifying at an 11.777. He was the only driver to reach into the 11-second bracket.

 

    We are racing on July 4th , Wednesday night, with another point’s race and fire works to celebrate America’s Independence.

 

END

Fast Time: Jonathan Allard – 11.777

Heat 1: Jeremy Phillips, Jon Allard, Robbie Whitchurch, Mason Moore,

Sean Becker

Heat 2: Tim Kaeding, Brett Miller, Stephen Allard, Greg DeCaires, Korey

Lovell

Heat 3: Zack Mason, Johnny Gray, Andy Forsberg, Colby Weisz, Chris Masters

B Main: Andy Gregg, Trevor Green, Jason Botsford, Robert Stice, Jim

Richardson, Zack West, Jeff Griffin, Bill Bates, Gary Paulson

A Main: S. Allard, Kaeding, Weisz, DeCaires, Green, Lovell, Whitchurch,

Gregg, Moore, Becker, Stice, Mason, Gray

END

 

 

Riebe's Auto Part Night at the Races this Friday Night
by Troy Hennig

CHICO, CA (6-25-07) - One of the best fan oriented nights will happen this Friday, June 29, at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico. For the third year in a row Riebe's Auto Parts will host a night at the races. The speedway will have four divisions racing around the quarter-mile clay oval speedway. Lots of great stuff will be offered to the fans courtesy of David Larabee and the entire Riebe's family of employees. The first 250 fans through the front grandstand gate will receive a free NASCAR hat. Prizes that the store will raffle off throughout the night include Maui Jim sun glasses, a tailgate barbecue and miscellaneous Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Jr. merchandise. One of the bigger prizes will include a four pack of tickets for the upcoming July 4th race at the Speedway. The Riebe's staff that will be on hand will through packs of Jelly Belly's into the grandstands for the crowd to catch. This night is usually one of the funnest nights for the racing crowd. David Larabee, a racer at heart, who has been driving at the Silver Dollar Speedway for over 14 years sums up the event. “We wanted people to have fun and win some cool stuff while enjoying the races,” said Larabee.

Front grandstand gate will open at 6 pm. Adult general admission is $10.00. Juniors and Seniors are $8.00 and children's price is $4.00. The winged 410-sprint cars will qualify at 7:00 pm with racing to follow. Accompany in the sprint cars will be the wingless spec sprints, dirt modifieds and pure stocks. There is a $100 bonus money for the winners of the wingless and dirt modified main event. The 410-winged sprint car main event winner will pocket $2,000.

The Allard brothers sit atop the 410- sprint point standings. Jonathan leads his brother by 15-points. Stephen is currently second, however, it is common knowledge in the sprint car community that Jonathan's team will be leaving in July to go back to the mid west and race against the World of Outlaws. This in turn means, whoever is behind Jonathan will inherit the point lead. Chasing Stephen in Auburn's Andy Forsberg. The defending track champion is looking to rebound after two recent disappointing finishes in the main event. Forsberg is just nine points behind Stephen Allard. Oroville's Sean Becker jumped two spots in the point standings after last Friday night. Becker now sits fourth. Jason Statler, even though he missed last Friday night, still sits in the fifth spot of points.

The wingless sprint car point battle is very intense. Only five points separate the top three. Rookie driver Brandon Davis leads Jay Youngman by one point. Sitting right behind them is Matt Streeter five points behind Davis. Streeter has two main event wins while Davis has one. Youngman is still searching for that first win. Taylor Simas won a popular 20-lap main event last Friday night. The win jumped him up one spot into the 12th position in points. Billy Wallace leads Cody Myers by just one point for the fourth position. Both of these drivers are nearly 50 points out of the lead.

Chico's Mark Abouzeid has won three of the last four main events this year at Chico. Last Friday night he won Mike Sohnrey to the finish line. Sohnrey is the only driver to break into victory lane in between Abouzeid's three wins. Richard Papenhausen still has a stranglehold over the rest of the division. He leads Darin Ruley by over 80 points.

Jeff Olschowka leads the pure stock division by twelve points over Mike Slightom. Both Olschowka and Slightom are six for six when it comes to finishing in the top ten of main events this season at Chico. Heather Bartlett sits in the third spot. Jeremy Stone and Jay Galvin round out the top five.

Riebe's Auto Parts features good parts, good people and great prices. Local Riebe's Auto Parts stores are located in Chico at 175 East 20th St. and 982 East Ave. In Paradise the store is located at 5990 Clark Rd and in Oroville at 2950 Myers Street.

Driver Autograph Night at Silver Dollar Speedway This Friday Night
by Troy Hennig

CHICO, CA (4-30-07) - This Friday night, May 4, the first Ashley Furniture driver Autograph night will start at 5 pm in front of the main grandstands at the Silver Dollar Speedway. Many of the top drivers racing at Silver Dollar Speedway will be on hand for this unique chance to meet them before the races. Drivers scheduled to appear will be San Jose driver Jason Statler, Auburn’s Andy Forsberg and current point leader Jonathan Allard of Chico. Statler, Allard and Forsberg are the top three drivers currently in the point standings. Others scheduled to appear include dirt-modified driver Mark Abouzeid, wingless spec driver’s Taylor Simas and Justin Funkhouser.
            Other top ranked sprint car drivers include Grass Valley’s Brad Sweet, Chico’s Brett Miller, Stephen Allard and Kevin Sharrah. Most drivers will have free autograph cards to hand out to the fans that arrive early and brand new t-shirts for sale. The autograph session will last from 5 pm until 6 pm. At 6 pm the drivers need to leave and get back to the pit area to suit up for hot laps.
            Front grandstand gate will open an hour early at 5 pm. Sprint car qualifying is slated to start at 7 pm with racing to follow. Adult general grandstand admission is $10.00. Juniors and senior’s are $8.00 while children are $4.00. Pit gate will open at 4 pm.
            This whole autograph session is the brainchild of Robert Myers, the President and CEO of Ashley Furniture Home Stores. “I wanted a way to get the fans a chance to see these drivers before the races and maybe connect more with them,” said Myers. “Plus this sport has the best fans and we thought this was a good way to let the drivers give something back to them.” The first driver autograph session took place last August and had good success. Myers driver will be the spotlight of the afternoon. Chico’s Fast Eddy Lewis has been Ashley Furniture’s sprint car driver for three seasons. Lewis will be there with most of his crew. Also attending will be the Blaze 103.5 fm truck with popular on-air talent J.T. handling the interviews of drivers and getting the fans riled up.
            Also, once racing starts, the good folks at Ashley Furniture will be giving away another free drawing for a mattress. The fans will receive a coupon once they enter the grandstands. The drawing will take place later in the night.
            Three racing divisions will be on hand for point race number six during the Feather Falls Casino championship series. The 410-winged sprint cars, dirt modifieds and wingless spec sprints will race on the quarter-mile clay oval.
            May 4th will be the first of three scheduled autograph sessions. The next Ashley Furniture night will take place June 8th and will feature an hour autograph chance. Drivers that will attend the next autograph night include Johnny Gray, Andy Gregg, Sean Becker, Willie Croft and Zack Mason. A different rotation of drivers will be at each session.

For updated points and results please visit www.johnpadjenmotorsports.com

Withrow’s Motorsports and JP’s Paint and Body Works Night at Silver Dollar Speedway
By Troy Hennig
April 23, 2007 - Three racing divisions highlight point race number five during the 2007 Feather Falls Casino / Hoosier Race Tire / Coors point championship season. The 410 sprint cars, pure stocks and the wingless spec sprints will race this Friday night at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico. The night will feature a $2,000 payday for the winged sprint car main event winner sponsored by Withrow’s Motorsports and JP’s Paint and Body Works. Both company’s are located in and are heavily involved with local racing. Prizes will be thrown out to the fans in the grandstands.
Front grandstand gate will open at 6 pm. Sprint car qualifying is slated to start at 7 pm with racing to follow. Adult general grandstand admission is $10.00. Juniors and senior’s are $8.00 while children are $4.00. Pit gate will open at 4 pm.
Chico’s Jonathan Allard leads the sprint car point standings for the first time this year. Currently a tight three-way battle is unfolding for the championship. Allard holds a slim lead over San Jose driver Jason Statler. Auburn’s Andy Forsberg sits in third and is two points behind Statler and three behind Allard. Allard is the only driver with a main event win in the top three, however, Statler has finished in the top five all four nights of racing and is the only driver to accomplish that this season. Behind the top three there is a cluster tied for fourth. Grass Valley’s Brad Sweet, Chico’s Robbie Whitchurch and Oroville’s Sean Becker each are tied with 172 points. Becker is the driver on a role. He has won the last two main events at Chico and looks to continue his streak this weekend.
Grass Valley drivers continue to show the way in the wingless spec sprint division. Billy Wallace holds an eleven-point lead over Jay Youngman. Brandon Davis holds down the third spot. Tracey driver Matt Streeter is in the fourth spot. Browns Valley driver Cody Myers rounds out the top five. Marysville driver Charlie Marrs holds the 14th spot in the points but earned the main event win last Friday night. He drives the Joe Hunt Magneto #7. Joe Hunt Magneto is the title sponsor of wingless spec sprint series at Chico. So far, 33 different drivers have earned championship points this season.
Chico’s Heather Bartlett won her first main event in the pure stock division last Friday night. With the win she is now the point leader of the class. She holds an eight-point lead over last years champion Jeff Olschowka of Marysville. Mike Slightom sits in the third spot and is holding his own against the two top cars. A total of 19 drivers have earned championship points. Other main event winners include Jeremy Blackshere and Phillip Shelby.
Withrow's Motorsports is located at 2501 S Whitman Place in Chico. You can call them at 892-8905. They specialize in personal watercraft vehicles, Artic Cats, ATV’s and snowmobiles. They also sell a new clothing line called FAST, which stands for From A Small Town. JP’s Paint and Body Works is located at 1840 Park Avenue in Chico. Owner John Perry handles the Knoxville Bound Benefit Fundraiser and has his name and logo plastered on many of the sprint cats at Silver Dollar Speedway.
Full results and points are available through the tracks website at www.johnpadjenmotorsports.com


Points Race Number Three Serves as GP Development Night at the Races
 By Troy Hennig

 April 8, 2007 - The 2007 Feather Falls Casino / Hoosier Race Tire / Coors point championship season continues this Friday night at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico.  Four divisions will highlight the night of racing.  The 410-winged sprint cars, dirt modifieds, pure stocks and wingless spec sprints all will compete on the same night for the first time in 2007.  The night will feature a $2,000 payday for the winged sprint car main event winner.  GP Development, of Sacramento, is owned by Gary Perkins and is the night’s individual sponsor of the sprint car main event. 

After years of sponsoring all forms of racecars, this year Perkins formed his own sprint car team and hired Brad Sweet to drive. Sweet and Perkins currently sits only a few points out of the championship lead as they head into this weekend’s race.  Sweet wants nothing more than to give his car owner the win on their night of sponsorship.  “It would mean a lot to this team to be able and get GP Development / LRB Manufacturing / Circle Race Wheels #6 into victory lane, especially on the night we are sponsoring,” said Sweet.  On opening night Sweet finished second to Jonathan Allard and last Friday night they ran seventh.  “Silver Dollar Speedway has always been Gary’s favorite place to go and so far we have ran real good up there,” said Sweet.  The team is also following the Golden State Series King of California tour before heading to the Midwest sometime in early June.  They plan on spending a few months on the road before heading home and racing at the Gold Cup Race of Champions in September.    

          Front grandstand gate will open at 6 pm.  Sprint car qualifying is slated to start at 7 pm with racing to follow.  Adult general grandstand admission is $10.00.  Juniors and senior’s are $8.00 while children are $4.00.  Pit gate will open at 4 pm.   

Sprint car driver Brett Miller scored his second career main event victory of his career at Silver Dollar Speedway last Friday night.  With the win he unofficially moved into a tie for third in the point standings.  Leading the point battle is the defending champion Andy Forsberg of Auburn.  Forsberg and second place driver Jason Statler of San Jose are the only two drivers to finish in the top five on both nights of competition this year.  Statler is only three points behind Forsberg for the lead.  Miller is currently tied with Robbie Whitchurch of Chico.  Whitchurch is in his second season of driving sprint cars at Chico and right now is the leading candidate for most improved driver of the early season events.  Whitchurch drives for Lowell Moural Sr., owner and operator of Cycleland Speedway just South of Chico.  Cycleland is a feeder system for many of the sprint car drivers at Silver Dollar Speedway.  Whitchurch is also one of those drivers who enjoyed success driving outlaw karts.

The dirt modifieds will return to the speedway after taking a week off.  Durham’s Mike Sohnrey leads the division into this Friday night’s race.  Sohnrey is in search of his first ever championship in the modified division.  Right on his tail and only one point behind is Chico’s Joe Flower.  Chico’s Richard Papenhausen and Scott Lenz are tied for the third spot.  Chico’s Mark Abouzeid rounds out the top five.  Look for Abouzeid to get a win soon as he continues to get acquainted with the modified division after sporadically racing the past few years. 

Grass Valley’s Billy Wallace won the most recent main event in the wingless spec sprint division.  Wallace is known as a winged driver for most of his career, however, this year he is concentrating on the wingless series this year.  Wallace has always been in my opinion one of the most under appreciated and over-looked drivers in Northern California racing.  Always a front-runner, Wallace has earned championship at Placerville driving a winged sprint car.  Billy is a second-generation driver who learned the ropes from his father Larry.  

Marysville’s Jeremy Blackshere is back at Silver Dollar and winning races.  Blackshere led and dominated the pure stock main event.  He also drove in the Dwarf Car division last Friday.  Blackshere finished second in the pure stock division last year and won a handful of main events.  He made his 2007 debut at Chico a success and looks to continue his winning ways.  Heather Bartlett of Orland seemed to be the crowd favorite in this division.  She received most of the applause during introductions and racing.  Hopefully she will continue racing at Silver Dollar Speedway.  It’s hard to miss her hot pink colorful #99. 

         For more information and updated points check out www.johnpadjenmotorsports.com


Teenager Brett Miller Wins Second Career Main Event at Chico
By: Troy Hennig

(Chico, CA 4-6-07)…Chico driver Brett Miller won an action packed sprint car main event Friday night at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico during point’s race two of the Feather Falls Casino series.  Miller, who last year became the youngest driver to win a 410-winged main event at Silver Dollar Speedway, survived a heap of accidents on his way to parking the Care Free Pools 1x in victory lane.  For the win he pockets a cool $2,000.  Ashley Furniture Home Stores sponsored the night’s event and added the extra money to the winners share.  The night of racing attracted 30 sprint car drivers in front of a packed grandstand.  The night also served as an Easter Egg hunt for kids 11 and under.  Ashley Furniture Home Stores also gave away a free mattress to one lucky fan.   

          Oroville’s Sean Becker led the first lap of the race.  Pole sitter Matt Shelton of Chico fell into the second spot.  Chico’s Jonathan Allard and Indiana’s Brandon Wimmer ran third and fourth but would have issues later in the race.  Brett Miller ran in the fifth spot.  Becker began to pull a way slightly and with most main events at Chico’s quarter-mile speedway on lap 5 he was already dealing with slower cars at the rear of the field.  On lap seven the night began to go south for many of the top drivers.  The red was needed when Shelton flipped in turn two.  It was a heartbreaking situation for a driver who continues to improve as a sprint car driver.  He was running the best he had and it’s unfortunate the night ended on the tow truck.  On the restart Brad Sweet jumped a rut going into turn one.  On his outside Shain Matthews was charging.  Sweet’s car ran up the track and collected Matthews who then flipped wildly off turn one.  Matthews was uninjured but unable to continue.  Sweet had a flat to change and restarted at the rear of the field.  He ran back up to a seventh place finish.  On lap nine it was Willie Croft’s turn to have bad luck.  The Sacramento driver spun in turn two.  He was running fifth at the time.  Croft restarted and finished tenth.   

          With another restart looming, Allard and Wimmer were nose to tail behind Becker.  As the race resumed both Allard and Wimmer were racing hard for the second spot.  The racing ended up getting too close for comfort and contact was made entering turn three.  Wimmer flipped upside down while Allard spun off turn three with damage.  Involved in the wreck was Johnny Gray who was collected in the aftermath of the Allard and Wimmer tangle.  Gray had a top five going until the involvement.  Gray would make repairs and tried to restart but pulled off quickly before taking the green flag.   Allard and Wimmer were done for the night.  Once the cars were cleared the rest of the field was pushed off.  Yet, another strange twist of fate would happen.  Becker’s car did not respond.  He was pushed for a full lap until he turned the car to the right and exited off turn one.  The problem was terminal and Becker’s night was done. 

          In stepped Brett Miller.  He inherited the lead by being in the right spot at the right time.  Starting behind him was San Jose driver Jason Statler.  This driver is always known for how many cars he passes.  Tonight Statler started in the 12th spot and now found himself in second.  Another driver with a great night was Stephen Allard.  He started in the 17th spot and was now third.  Robbie Whitchurch went from 16th to fourth.  Andy Forsberg started sixth and wound up fifth.  The top five did not change the final few laps.  In fact, Miller pulled away from the veteran Statler to get the win.  Miller gave the fans a big wheelie after the races to celebrate his win.  The whole Miller racing crew and family are a big part of Silver Dollar Speedway and it was nice to see the youngster get another win under his belt. 

          Placerville driver Andy Gregg dominated the nights B main event.  Johnny Gray ran second.  Chico’s Kevin Sharrah put on some of the best moves of the night.  He drove the top of the racetrack like a driver possessed to finish third.  During one lap he passed a car for third, then slid off the track and fell back to fifth.  He charged back up and had one of his most inspired runs of the year.  Fast Eddy Lewis took the fourth spot in the Ashley Furniture 7x.  All of these drivers transferred into the main event.

          Robbie Whitchurch won the first heat race of the night.  Toni Lutar made the long haul from British Columbia to get the win in heat two.  Shain Matthews ran away with the heat three win.  Shawn Wright won his first heat race at Chico by leading all eight laps in the fourth heat. 

          Andy Forsberg started the night off by turning the fastest lap of 12.362.

 

Results

Fast Time- Andy Forsberg: 12.362

Heat 1: Robbie Whitchurch, Brad Sweet, Jason Statler, Forsberg, Jim Richardson

Heat 2: Toni Lutar, Stephen Allard, Sean Becker, Willie Croft, Johnny Gray

Heat 3: Shain Matthews, Brandon Wimmer, Matt Shelton, Brett Miller, Kevin Sharrah

Heat 4: Shawn Wright, Jonathan Allard, Robert Stice, David Tarter, Korey Lovell

B Main: Andy Gregg, Gray, Sharrah, Eddy Lewis, Richardson, Mason Moore, Lovell, Dan Ochs, Mike Stallings, Zack Mason, Chris Masters, Zack West, Jeff Flure

A Main: Miller, Statler, S. Allard, Whitchurch, Forsberg, Gregg, Sweet, Lutar, Stice, Croft, Wright, Lewis, Becker, Allard, Wimmer

     

 

Neil Stinson Wins Dwarf Car Main at Chico While Blackshere Takes Pure Stock Win
By: Troy Hennig



(Chico, CA 4-6-07)…The traveling Dwarf Cars came into Silver Dollar Speedway with 19 drivers ready to attack the famed quarter-mile speedway. In the end it was Neil Stinson who recorded the win during the 15-lap main event. Stinson took the lead on lap nine when early leader Daniel Weger had a tire come off his #07. Also involved was Brett Barstow who had to restart at the rear of the race. Weger never made it back into the race. Stinson, started tenth, held off seventh place starting Josh Hiatt for the win. Zack Hurst, starting in the 13th spot, finished in the third position. Mitch Sheeler took home fourth place while Scott Dahlgren rounded out the top five. The race started with Patrick Weger as the leader. But he had issues a few laps into the race. He restarted at the rear of the field and drive up to the eighth spot. Stinson collected the win in grand fashion as he crossed the finish line to a thunderous roar from the crowd.
Patrick Weger won the first heat race while Daniel Weger captured the glory in heat two. The Dwarf Cars have two more appearances at Chico on May 18th and June 15th.
A total of 13 pure stock drivers attended their first race of the season at Chico. Jeremy Blackshere took the win in the 15-lap race. Blackshere held a full straightaway lead over Jeff Olschowka for the win. Blackshere also raced in the Dwarf Car division where he finished 12th. Jason Englund was the early leader of the event. One of the stars of the night was crowd favorite Heather Bartlett. Earlier she won the second heat race for the division and tonight was racing for third when she slid off the track. She regrouped and continued her charge back up to the third spot. That is where she finished. Englund stayed in the top five and finished fourth. Mike Slightom rounded out the top five. Olschowka battled back from a flat tire that sent him to the pits early in the race. Finishing second was a tremendous feat. Blackshere dominated the race and looks poised to be a contender at the speedway this year. Olschowka won the first heat race to get things started for the pure stock division.

 

 

Come Celebrate Easter This Friday Night at the Silver Dollar Speedway
By Troy Hennig

Monday, April 2, 2007 - The 2007 Feather Falls Casino / Hoosier Race Tire / Coors point championship season continues this Friday night, April 6, at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico. Four racing divisions including the 410 sprint cars, pure stocks, dwarf cars and wingless sprints will compete during point’s race number two. Ashley Furniture Home Stores will serve as the nights sponsor and will help push the 410-sprint car main event winners check to $2,000. Ashley Furniture Home Stores will also conduct a drawing for a free bed that one lucky fan will win at the races.  Ashley Furniture will sponsor four other nights this year at the racetrack. We want to thank Robert and Vera Myers, owners of the popular stores, for their continued support of dirt track racing and Silver Dollar Speedway. The night will also be geared towards children. Kids under the age of 11 will be admitted free. During the racing intermission, the gates will be opened and the kids will hunt for Easter Eggs in the infield of the speedway. If the infield is not usable, then the hunt will take place behind the main grandstand. 
    Front grandstand gate will open at 6 pm. Sprint car qualifying is slated to start at 7 pm with racing to follow. Adult general grandstand admission is $10.00. Juniors and seniors are $8.00 while children 11 and under are free. Pit gate will open at 4 pm. 
    Chico’s Fast Eddy Lewis needs to find some racing luck. The driver of the Ashley Furniture Home Stores #7x has been involved in two big-time wrecks at the speedway this season. Last Friday night Lewis was involved in a hair raising high-speed crash down the back straight. He was uninjured but the car was destroyed. Lewis and Ashley Furniture Home Stores are entering their third season of racing together. The team is led by veteran crew chief Rod Fauver. The team’s race shop is located in a spacious building on the North End of Chico. Hopefully the luck will turn around and good things will happen for this team on Friday night.  You can visit the Ashley Furniture Home Stores web site. Chico’s Jonathan Allard won an exciting 25-lap sprint car main event this past Friday night. Allard held off a charging Brad Sweet, of Grass Valley, late in the race. Sweet actually passed Allard for the lead but a red flag because of an accident neglected the pass. Allard won the $2,000 winners check. The red flag was for Sean Becker. The team stayed in Chico after the races to repair the damaged car. They then sleep for a few minutes before heading down the road for the next night’s race at Tulare, CA. Placerville’s Andy Gregg was spectacular during qualifying and beat out the other 26 drivers to earn his first fast time award at Chico.

    The pure stock division will make their first appearance of 2007 at the speedway this Friday night.  Joining the racing action will be the traveling Dwarf Car division. You can visit their site for more information at http://www.dwarfworld.com/

Silver Cup Set For This Weekend at Chico
Chico, CA-March 19, 2007--By: Troy Hennig, Silver Dollar Speedway PR Director

    This weekend Silver Dollar Speedway will host the Silver Cup Race of Champions. This years race is scheduled for March 23 and 24. The race will feature 360 winged sprint cars, dirt modifieds and wingless sprints. This year the annual event will get a face-lift. Individual qualifying has been scratched from this year's event. Now drivers will draw for starting positions in their heat races. A new points format has been instituted to revitalize the Silver Cup.
    Leading the sprint car charge is the defending Silver Cup sprint car champion Dan Menne of Fort Jones. The race itself has been rained out the last two years. Menne won the event in 2004. He enters this weekends race as the most recent winner. Menne is always a strong charger who adapts well to the quarter-mile clay oval racing surface at Chico. Placerville youngster James Sweeney is set to go this weekend. Sweeney shared rookie of the year honors at Placerville Speedway last season. Chico will be represented by Brad Bumgarner. The NorCal Performance/Platinum Powder Coating #88 has a rich tradition in Chico. Nearly 30 sprint car drivers are expected.
    Added to this years racing is the wingless sprints. Fresh off a successful campaign in 2006, this division continues to gather steam with new drivers and young talent. Young Taylor Simas in the Mike Simas owner #7t is scheduled to battle with fellow youngster Justin Funkhouser of Paradise. Veterans like Bob Newberry, last year's wingless point champion, and Darrell Hanestad, eight wins at Chico last season, are assumed to be racing this weekend.
    Dirt modifieds will be led by the locals looking to start off their season with a win. Richard Papenhausen, Duane Cleveland and Chico Compton all will battle for the prized win on Saturday night.
    Tradition Silver Cup format involved individual qualifying for all divisions on Friday night. This years version will eliminate qualifying. Drivers will now draw a pill for starting positions in their respective heat race. Drivers will earn points in the heat race depending on their finish and how many cars they can pass. Passing points will be awarded to the total outcome of the points earned in the heat races. On Friday night, the top 20 in points will run an invitational main event in all three divisions. Main events will dominate Saturday nights format. The top six in points will have an inversion, while the remaining starters will line up based on Friday's points. The 360 winged sprint car main event will pay $2,000 to win on Saturday night. The dirt modifieds and wingless main event will pay $1,000 to win on Saturday night.
    Front gate opens at 5 pm on Friday and Saturday nights. Pit gate opens at 3:00 pm. Racing will start at 6:30 pm. Friday night adult grandstand admission is $13.00 with juniors $10.00 and children $4.00. On Saturday night adults grandstand prices are $20.00 with juniors $10.00 and children $4.00.

Silver Dollar Speedway Playday This Sunday

 
Chico, CA-March 13, 2007--By: Troy Hennig, Silver Dollar Speedway PR
Director
 
On Sunday, March 18, Silver Dollar Speedway will host an open play day
for all dirt divisions looking to have practice sessions on the
quarter-mile clay oval track. All dirt racing type cars are welcomed to
participate in this Sunday's activities on the track.
 
The pit gate opens at 11 am. Practice on the speedway will start at
noon. Drivers and crews will have until roughly 4:30 to get track time
and gather important setup knowledge. Pit passes are $25.00 per person.
 
Information about our racetrack can be found at
www.johnpadjenmotorsports.com
 

Tim Kaeding Defends Mini Gold Cup Championship
By Troy Hennig

 (Chico, Ca 3/10/07)...Driving a with an eleven year old motor Tim Kaeding wins an action packed final night during the 21^th Annual Mini Gold Cup at Silver Dollar Speedway on Saturday night. Kaeding dominated the 40-lap race driving the Taco Bravo #72w. “It just shows you that you can still come out here and win without having the biggest budgets and the newest equipment,” said Kaeding in victory lane.

     With last night's win, Kaeding has now won back-to-back Mini Gold Cup Saturday night championships. The win, Kaeding's 29^th of his career during the Golden State Challenge, moved him into second place on the all-time win list. The driver he trails is his father Brent, with 70 career wins, who finished second in the main event. "I may be behind him (in career wins), but I haven't even been racing half as long as him," Tim Kaeding joked.

     The younger Kaeding also jabbed that his dad was trying to use some of his old tricks to get inside the kids head. "He's learned all my tricks," Brent Kaeding said. "That's why he's in the winners circle tonight." The Kaeding Performance, Maxim chassis, Al's Roofing Supply #69 was a contender all weekend long.

     The night's highlight belonged to Brent and his long-time crew chief and friend Billy Albini. After the dash was complete, John Padjen and staff was able to present Albini with the Dave Bradway Jr. Inspirational Award. Albini has battled and is beating cancer that sidelined him for a while. While Billy spoke the crowd listened more intently than any other interview I have ever been around. While the crowd erupted with applause with Billy's incredible words, Padjen also brought out Brent Kaeding to present him a framed article about the Kaeding family. It was truly a special moment for two of the biggest ambassadors of sprint car racing. It was nice to not only recognize Brent but also give our love to Albini, a true inspiration to the sport of sprint car racing.

     The 40-lap main event started with Tim Kaeding and Jason Meyers on the front row. The main featured numerous yellow and red flags. The race started with 22 cars but finished with only half of the main event drivers on the track. In fact, the whole night seemed to slug along with either early season jitters or a tricky track that caught these drivers off guard with it's rough and tumble surface.

     Kaeding and Meyers led the charge. Jonathan Allard moved into the third spot with Brent Kaeding fourth and Greg DeCaires in fifth. Sixth place running Chuck Gurney Jr. was sixth but slowed out of turn two and was done for the night.

     Jason Statler was once again on the move. Last night he passed 14 cars to finish fifth. Within 10 laps, Statler had moved from 19^th starting spot to sixth. His charge led him into fifth for a while but he ultimately finished seventh in the Tom Rolfe Special, DF Rios, Pheasant Run Shopping Center #10.

     Yet, the drive of the night belonged to a certain shark. Sean Becker started in the 18^th position. By lap 30 he was still charging to the front. While Becker should be commended for just avoiding all the accidents the former series champion got up in the seat tonight and brought the Tom Fisher/Kyle Main #35m sponsored by Cherry St. Mini Storage. Becker drove the JEI chassis to a fourth place finish. Remarkably, the night prior Becker passed 14 cars. Tonight, the same amount of cars. It's a wonder what his weekend would have been like if he started towards the front.

     Jason Meyers weekend was a mix of strong runs that resulted in unexplained bad luck. The night prior Meyers was running second until a slower car spun in front of him and ultimately crashed his car out of the win. Tonight he would encounter the same exact thing. While Tim Kaeding battled with slower traffic, Meyers closed in and looked to take the lead. However, coming out of turn four in the same spot and situation a car getting lapped spun and collected Meyers. To his credit and the teams unwillingnesses to not give up, they were able to repair the car and get him back on the track. Meyers continued on and marched back to the front. After two nights of bad luck Meyers finished in the sixth spot tonight.

     Greg DeCaires drove a solid race for the 40-laps. Never did he seem out of control or out of contention. The former Silver Dollar Speedway Champion finished the night in the fifth spot. Possibly the fastest car on the track belonged to Kyle Hirst. Last night he finished in the second spot. Tonight he charged from the rear of the field and moved into a top five spot. However, after two failed restarts on lap 28, Hirst was involved in a scary accident that Jason Botsford and Brett Miller. It was an unfortunate way to the end the weekend for the McMillen #2.

     Up front it became a family race. Tim led Brent to the final restart of the night. Tim was able to drive away from Brent who began a spirited battle with Jonathan Allard. The two raced nose to tail for the final 10 laps. After the race a tired Allard said, “If it taught me anything, (the racetrack) it was that I need to get back into the gym and I'll be in there Monday."

     Up front Tim was the class of the field and won the $6,000 pay day. Kaeding, usually an excited winner, was once again overcome with emotion in victory lane. “This one is dedicated to my grandma and Dennis (401k racing),” said Kaeding. “I will miss them both.”

     The 12-lap B main event looked to be the Brad Sweet show until the GP Development #6 pulled into the infield on the white flag. It was the second night in a row that the car sat helpless in turn one's infield area. The win went to Carl Droivold enjoying a good solid performance.

     Sweet was able to win the C main event. Finishing right behind him was Jeff Delte. Both of these drivers transferred to the B main. Delte's night came to a scary end when he flipped coming out of turn two. He was held up in the infield for observation by the paramedics and released about 20 minutes later.

 Teammates Ronnie Day and Jason Meyers each won heat races to open the night of racing. Brent Kaeding scored the win in heat three while DeCaires pocketed the win in heat four.

    Delte started the night off by turning the fastest lap. His time was an 11.885. It was his first fast time award for the Golden State Challenge.

 

RESULTS
 
Qualifying: Jeff Delte – 11.885
 
Heat One: Ronnie Day, Andy Forsberg, Brandon Wimmer, Jason Statler, Evan
Suggs
 
Heat two: Jason Meyers, Sean Becker, Stephen Allard, Willie Croft,
Johnny Gray
 
Heat Three: Brent Kaeding, Jason Botsford, Chuck Gurney Jr., Bud
Kaeding, Roger Crockett
 
Heat Four: Greg DeCaires, Jonathan Allard, Tim Kaeding Kyle Hirst,
Garrett Ishii
 
C Main: Brad Sweet, Jeff Delte, Kevin Sharrah, Robbie Whitchurch, Mike
Stallings, Craig Stidham, Ric McCormick
 
B Main: Carl Droivold, Mike Monahan, Jon Maiwald, Ishii, Crockett, Brett
Millers, Suggs, Matt Shelton, Jim Skinner, Taylor Malsam, Sweet, Gray,
Pat Harvey, Robert Stice, Mason Moore
 
Dash: Meyers, T. Kaeding, Allard, B. Kaeding, Croft, Gurney Jr., Wimmer,
Forsberg
 
A Main: T. Kaeding, B. Kaeding, J. Allard, Becker, DeCaires, Meyers,
Statler, Wimmer, Croft, Day, Miller, Crockett, Hirst, Botsford, B. Kaeding
 
 
END

Silver Dollar Speedway 2007 Race Season

 
Chico, CA-March 05, 2007--By: Troy Hennig, Silver Dollar Speedway PR
Director

An exciting 40 race schedule begins with the annual Mini Gold Cup on March 9 at John Padjen's Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico. Over the winter, Padjen was nominated and then won the 2006 National Auto Racing Promoter of the Year. “It was very exciting for me, my family and all of our staff and officials,” said Padjen. The National Auto Racing Promoter of the Year is ready for another great season of racing at the famed quarter-mile clay oval speedway at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds.


The season kicks off with the Mini Gold Cup. The race features 410-winged Sprint cars and offers a purse of $51,000. The race is also the first two point shows for the traveling Golden State Challenge King of California Series. This is the top sprint car series in California. Other King of California races at Chico are on May 12, the Dave Bradway Jr., July 14 and July 27,28. The track opens the season and then closes the points battle on July 28.
 
The Silver Cup returns March 23 and 24 with a new look. This year the format has been changed. No qualifying for the three divisions this year.  Competitors will now draw for their starting positions on Friday and run a heat race. Points are awarded for finishes and passing points. On Saturday, only main events will be raced.
 
The Feather Falls Casino point championship series gets under way on Friday night, March 30. In all, there will be 21 individual point races. The season will feature the 410-winged sprints, dirt modifieds, pure stocks and wingless sprints. On certain nights a special traveling division will be brought in. The Dwarf cars and Midget Lites will see action at the speedway this year.
 
The California Sprint Car Civil War Series, featuring 360-winged Sprints, will return three times this season. The first time will be Sunday, May 27, in conjunction with the Silver Dollar Fair. On July 20 the series returns for a second time. The final appearance will be the Wednesday show that preludes the Gold Cup Race of Champions on September 5. The World of Outlaws return to Chico on September 6, 7, and 8. This race will mark the 54th  year of this amazing event. For an entire week the fairgrounds will be filled with dedicated racing fans who continue to support this great race. Drivers and fans from all over the world travel to Chico for the history rich event.
 
The 16^th Annual Pacific Sprint Fall Nationals will once again be a three day event on the 4, 5, and 6^th of October. The race starts on Thursday and ends on Saturday night. Nearly 100 drivers attend this race from all over the Western United States.
 
The season concludes on October 12 and 13 with the third annual Wingless Sprint Nationals. Two nights of racing prevail during this relatively new event. On Saturday, the season closes with a 40 lap main event.

 

Our award winning website at www.johnpadjenmotorsports.com is always updated with all the latest and greatest information. Silver Dollar Speedway is located at
2357 Fair Street in Chico, CA.
Business office phone number is
(916) 969-7484.
John Padjen Motorsports
Media Division Dennis Gage, Bill Sullivan, Troy Hennig
Contact: Troy Hennig – [email protected]
 

Press Release
Silver Dollar Speedway
For Immediate Release
Contact: Troy Hennig – media relations – [email protected]
website: www.johnpadjenmotorsports.com

Oxford Suites and Silver Dollar Speedway Join Forces in 2007

(Chico, CA)...With the 2007 season just about ready to begin, we want remind our fans and race teams about our continued relationship with the Oxford Suites in Chico. Oxford Suites is the preferred hotel for John Padjen Motor Sports and the Silver Dollar Speedway. Oxford Suites offers a wide variety of amenities to help you when not watching the open wheel spills and thrills at Silver Dollar Speedway. “I love racing and enjoy being around the race track, fans and employees at Silver Dollar Speedway,” said Sandra Sim, Sales Manager at Oxford Suites. “We think it is a perfect situation for both us and the race track.” Sim is a big reason the relation between the race track and the hotel is so prominent.
When calling to reserve a room please inquire about the Silver Dollar Speedway rate. The Oxford Suites offer complimentary “full” hot breakfast each morning. Evening reception offers drinks and lite appetizers. Other amenities include heated pool, Jacuzzi, Sauna and Steam. Exercise room with cardio and weight equipment are popular attractions. Free Internet access and 24 hour business center. Also, four restaurants are within walking distance of the Oxford Suites.
The Oxford Suites is located less than 2 miles from the Silver Dollar Speedway. Exit off East 20th from highway 99 if you heading North. Turn right and then make the next quick right. Oxford Suites sits at 2035 Business Lane, Chico, CA 95928. Call them at (530) 899-9090 or (800) 870-7848. For more info go to www.oxfordsuiteschico.com.