PLACERVILLE, Calif. — A packed house of enthusiastic race fans on Saturday night saw Shane Golobic race to his first Placerville Speedway victory of the year, while Andy Forsberg wrapped up his ninth Thompson’s Winged 360 Sprint Car title at the facility.
It was a memorable night as California natives Paul and Bobby McMahan wrapped up their long-time racing careers back home where it all started. It was an incredible glimpse at the history and evolution of racing at Placerville Speedway, which dates back to 1965.
Dan Jinkerson took over sole possession of second place in all-time in pure stock/super stock wins during the night. In the end, it was Nick Baldwin who locked up his fourth career Red Hawk Casino Pure Stock championship.
With the BCRA vs California Lightning Sprints, it was all about veteran Bobby Michnowicz who dominated the 25-lapper. Right around 90 cars filled the pits between the Winged 360s, Pure Stocks, Lightning Sprints and Vintage Hard Tops.
The 25-lap Thompson’s Family of Dealerships Winged Sprint Car finale saw Fresno’s Dominic Scelzi jump into the early lead ahead of Shane Golobic and Justin Sanders, who battled for second. Caution flags slowed the pace early on, as Golobic was able to get past Scelzi for the lead following one of the restarts.
Once out front, Golobic had no worries and went unchallenged as he picked up his first victory since early June.
It marked the 11th Winged 360 triumph at the bullring for the driver of the Matt Wood Racing/ NOS Energy Drink No. 17w. Roseville’s Colby Copeland has made limited starts at Placerville this year, but continued to show that he’s one of the best at navigating the red clay.
Copeland started eighth in the feature and drove up to earn his second runner-up finish of the season.
Michael Pombo continued to impress at Placerville as well, looking very racy in the feature, before coming home third. It marked his third podium effort of the season at the quarter-mile.
Andy Forsberg didn’t quite have the night he may have hoped for, but an 11th place finish in the feature was good enough to secure his ninth Placerville Speedway championship. With one title under his belt this year, the decorated competitor now looks to bring home the Sprint Car Challenge Tour championship with five races remaining.
A stellar field of 44 Thompson’s Winged Sprint Cars signed in for the final point race of the season on Saturday.
Winged Sprint Car Feature
1. 17W-Shane Golobic[3]; 2. 5B-Colby Copeland[8]; 3. 98M-Michael Pombo[4]; 4. 94X-Kyle Hirst[12]; 5. 83T-Tanner Carrick[14]; 6. 41-Dominic Scelzi[1]; 7. 17-Kalib Henry[5]; 8. 2X-Max Mittry[18]; 9. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield[11]; 10. 42X-Tim Kaeding[7]; 11. 92-Andy Forsberg[10]; 12. 121-Caeden Steele[19]; 13. 93-Stephen Ingraham[16]; 14. 21M-Michael Ing[13]; 15. 4SA-Justin Sanders[2]; 16. 29-Willie Croft[6]; 17. 5H-Blake Carrick[9]; 18. 34-Andy Gregg[20]; 19. 12J-John Clark[15]; 20. 22-Ryan Bernal[17]