Wells Fargo Championship Point Racing Resumes this Friday
(June 16, 2012)…The roar of the 410 winged sprint cars will be back in action this Friday night, June 22, as the Wells Fargo Point Championship races to the speedway after over a one month absence. Joining the 410 winged sprints during point race #7 are the dirt modifieds, limited late models, street stocks and economy sprints. Tonight will also mark the first time that a “360” bonus will be in effect for 2012. The three highest finishing 360 winged sprint cars in the main event will receive $300, $200, and $100 respectively.
Front gate opens at 6pm. Sprint car qualifying will start around 7pm with racing to follow. General adult admission is $12.00, seniors and juniors $10.00 and children $6.00. Kids 6 and under are free.
Sean Becker, now living in the Roseville area, holds a slim lead over Auburn’s Andy Forsberg in the point’s battle. Becker has 241 total points while Forsberg sits at 235. Chico’s Brad Bumgarner is right on their heels at 220. Fellow Chico resident Kenny Allen has 218 points and is in the fourth spot. Princeton’s Mason Moore rounds out the top five at 209.
Becker has been the class of the field in 2012. He has won three of the five Friday night 410 sprint car main event wins. Other winners include Justin Sanders and Tyler Wolf. Becker has won in two different sprint cars. One belongs to Dan Menne of Fort Jones and the other is M&S Racing Engines in Sacramento. As of now, Becker is locked into the M & S Engines #27 for the rest of the Friday night point’s season. The David Tarter Rookie of the Year battle is between B.J. Martin of Orland and Craig Swim of Chico. Martin holds a slight 13-point edge over Swim.
The top three dirt modified drivers are locked into a tight battle for the rest of the year. Marysville’s Randy McDaniel leads Petaluma’s Oreste Gonella by just one point. Chico’s Jeff Olschowka is right on their heels. Olschowka is six points behind McDaniel. Folsom’s Jay Bryant is the top Rookie contender and is fourth in points. Raymond Benekowski rounds out the top five. McDaniel and Gonella each have one main event victory a piece. However, it’s sixth place Ryan McDaniel who has the most with two wins. This will be the fifth point show of the year for the dirt modifieds.
Randy McDaniel is looking to do something no other driver has accomplished. Win two different championships in the same season. McDaniel holds a seven point lead over Live Oak’s Matt Micheli and Yuba City’s Jerry Bartlett. All three of them are winners this year at Chico. All three are championship caliber drivers. It’s going to be an old fashion shootout from here on out. Live Oak’s Ken Micheli is fourth and tied with Yuba City’s Charlie Marrs.
After taking a year off, Jake Vantol has emerged as the street stock driver to beat in 2012. Vantol holds a seven point lead over Shawn Smith and a 14 point lead over Bill Patterson. The always competitive Richard Workman is fourth while Mike Slightom is fifth. Both Vantol and Patterson have secured wins in 2012. This Friday night will serve at the street stocks fifth chance to earn championship points.
The Economy Winged Sprint class is starting to show some life. The last time Dennis Gage invited this upstart division the track had four shown up. Led by David Smalley, this division is basically an economy sprint car with a wing on it.
END
- troy hennig on Jun 18, 2012
- Article Date: 6/18/2012