TULARE, Calif. — Shane Golobic won the 30-lap Sprint Car Challenge Tour Series event on the first night of the Peter Murphy Classic Friday at Thunderbowl Raceway.
Golobic drove the No. 17w Elk Grove Ford/NOS Energy Drink sponsored car for Matt Woods Racing.Â
Dominic Scelzi challenged Golobic late in the race but had to settle for the runner up spot ahead of Justin Sanders. D.J. Netto and Sean Becker rounded out the top five. Golobic and Scelzi started on the front row of the 24-car field with Golobic quickly jumping out to the lead going through turn two.
Colby Copeland got a great start passing Scelzi entering the first turn as he brought Sanders with him. Scelzi dropped back to fifth. Tony Gomes started strong and joined the mix as did Kyle Hirst.Â
The race would slow on lap four when Isaiah Vasquez spun in the first turn. After the restart, Gomes and Copeland battled it out for the second spot with Sanders lurking right behind. Lap eight saw Colby Thornhill get into Landon Brooks ending up with Brooks spinning and Thornhill kept running as the two were in a battle for the 17th spot.Â
With a double-file restart, Golobic would be leading Copeland, Sanders and Gomes. The race would stop on lap nine as a result of a hard crash when Chase Madjic bounced off the turn-two wall and came down the track in front of a pack of cars. Ryan Robinson rode over the spun around Madjic car, almost ripping off the top wing.
Jodie Robinson was also involved as her top wing also got bent as the pack of cars tried to slow and avoid the blocked track. Madjic and both Robinson’s were eliminated from the race due to the wreck.Â
The race would restart and produce some of the best battles for position as the cars of Netto, Scelzi and Gomes circled the track three wide at times. As the race went on, Scelzi seemed to get stronger and was soon battling Sanders for second.Â
As Golobic was working lapped traffic, Scelzi moved in closer to leader Golobic. Their battle was interrupted when Vasquez spun for a second time and again in turn two on lap 24.Â
Scelzi made a strong attempt to get round Golobic on the restart, but Golobic was too savvy and held on the win.Â
The finish:Â
Shane Golobic, Dominic Scelzi, Justin Sanders, D.J. Netto, Sean Becker, Tony Gomes, Chase Johnson, Joey Ancona, Caeden Steele, Kalab Montgomery, Kyle Hirst, Colby Thornhill, Michael Pombo, Andy Forsberg, Gauge Garcia, Greg Decaires IV, Landon Brooks, Isaiah Vasquez, J.J. Ringo, Jared Faria, Colby Copeland, Chase Madjic, Ryan Robinson, Jodie Robinson
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