HANFORD, Calif. – Mitchell Faccinto won the 30-lap season ending King of Thunder Series feature at Keller Auto Speedway on Saturday night.
Racing on his home track in the Western Metal Company No. 37, the Hanford native picked up his 10th sprint car win of the year.
Michael Faccinto, in the Van Dyke Motorsports No. 5h, made it a one-two finish for the racing brothers. The two joined each other in victory lane with a rare double wing walk salute to the fans.
Tucker Worth finished third after a race long spar with Michael Faccinto. Both, however, were passed by D.J. Netto before the halfway point as his No. 88n set his sights on the race-long leader Mitchell Faccinto. With eight laps down, Netto targeted Mitchell Faccinto as the two had to work around slower traffic.
Netto’s race ended eight laps short of the finish when a turn four slide job went bad as his No. 88n hit the outside wall hard exiting the turn, flattening the right rear tire. His crippled car headed across the track and into the infield, but caused the race’s final caution.
With Mitchell Faccinto’s only challenger eliminated, eyes were again on the tussle between the Michael Faccinto and Worth. Worth picked the high and longer groove around the track while Michaell Faccinto hugged the bottom. It would be Faccinto who would win out to the pleasure of his hometown crowd and join his brother in a jubilant celebration.
The race’s most serious accident occurred on the 13th lap, when Brooklyn Holland flipped in the second turn. She was unconscious when the safety crew arrived at the scene and the top wing had to be cut off in order to remove her. The race’s only female entry was put on a back board as a safety precaution. She was later released from the ambulance after being cleared.
The only other slowdown was when Andy Gregg stopped his powerless car in the fourth turn.
The finish:
Mitchell Faccinto, Michael Faccinto, Tucker Worth, Jace Vander Weed, Grant Duinkerken, Landon Hurst, Kaleb Montgomery, Mitchel Moles, Keith Day Jr., Craig Stidham, Travis Coelho, Vaughn Schott, Danny Faria, Zane Blanchard, Mauro Simone, D J Netto, Jake Hagopian, Andy Gregg, Brooklyn Holland, Jake Haulot, Albert Pombo, Steven Tiner, Luca Romanzzi, Dominic Scelzi.