PETALUMA, Calif. – Nick Robfogel took command at the drop of the green flag and led wire to wire to win the 25-lap feature for non-winged sprint cars Saturday night at Petaluma Speedway.
In doing so, he spoiled a potential Hollywood moment for former track champion Geoff Ensign.
Ensign moved from fourth to second at the halfway point after sliding Shawn Arriaga and Bob Newberry off turn four and then planted himself on Robfogel’s bumper as they ran off to a multiple car length lead over the field. Over the second half of the race, Ensign could only chase after Robfogel, who drove flawless laps that never gave Ensign the opening he needed to make a bid for the win.
For Ensign, a former winged sprint car track champion and one of the winningest drivers at Petaluma over the last decade, the runner-up finish was .2 seconds shy of a made-for-the-movies ending of his career at the three-eighths-mile oval.
Ensign and his wife Shayna, the 2018 non-winged sprint car Petaluma Speedway champion, had announced earlier that they were driving their last race at the track before moving their home and racing operation to Indiana.
“If you’re going to win a race, that’s the way to do it, by going 25 laps non-stop,” said an enthusiastic Robfogel.
“Being that it was his last race here, I knew he would be the car to beat,” Robfogel acknowledged, referring to Ensign. “I knew he was back there and if I messed up, he was coming.”
Ensign, known as a hard charger through traffic, tried several times to dive under Robfogel on the entry to turns three and four, but said the car was “a bit snug getting into the corners” which slowed him just enough to keep him behind Robfogel and robbed him of the speed he needed to make the pass on the front straightaway.
Arriaga, a former winged sprint car track champion, kept pace with lead duo to claim the final podium spot.
“It’s been a lot of fun to take the wing off,” said Arriaga. “I’m a better driver without one.”
The finish:
Nick Robfogel, Geoff Ensign, Shawn Arriaga, Shawn Hopkins, Bob Newberry, Shayna Ensign, Cody Fendley, Nathan Schank, Ryan Siberlin, Marcus Hardina, Ethan Lanthrey, Sparky Howard, Jack McDonald, Zach Albers.