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Big Trophy Night victories go to Greg Decaires, Ryan McDaniel, Dan Jinkersen and Shawn Jones at Placerville Speedway on Saturday
By Gary Thomas
Placerville, CA – May 20, 2017…Four-time Thompson’s Auto Group Winged Sprint Car champion Greg Decaires of Elk Grove put together a clean sweep of the night on Saturday, en route to bringing home his second victory of the season at Placerville Speedway.
Also sharing victory lane during “Big Trophy Night” at the quarter-mile was Ryan McDaniel with the Ltd. Late Models, Dan Jinkersen with the Pure Stocks and Shawn Jones with the Nor-Cal Dwarf Car Association. A total of 74 cars packed the pit area at Red Hawk Casino championship point race number four on Saturday.
Princeton’s Mason Moore and Decaires led the field down to green in the Thompson’s Auto Group Winged 360 Sprint Car feature. Moore got the jump on the start, as Placerville’s Jimmy Trulli snuck under Decaires to grab second. A couple of yellows and then a red flag on lap seven slowed things early, but once some green flag laps were clicked off things got interesting.
Decaires had found the top to his liking and charged back around Trulli on lap nine to reclaim second, prior to another red flag coming out with 13-laps complete. Auburn’s Andy Forsberg was also charging through the field after starting 14th on the grid and made his way into the top three by the time a caution waved on lap 15. Decaires eventually made his way past Moore to grab the lead around that same.
As the race wound down Moore ran the bottom with extreme patience, while Decaires railed the top with precision. The veteran Decaires hit his marks perfectly and fended off the relentless Moore to take the checkered flag by just 0.693 seconds margin of victory. Forsberg and Trulli also had an entertaining battle for third over the closing laps. The duo exchanged the spot back and forth, with Forsberg just beating him out at the line to claim third. Trulli and Placerville’s Andy Gregg rounded out the top-five.
“I have a great crew and team behind me so I can’t say enough about them,” Decaires commented to Placerville Speedway Announcer Brad Kennedy. “I was able to run the top really well in the feature and basically just tried to be as smooth as possible. After falling to third early on I had to get my composure back and settle down. We just love racing here in Placerville and always have a fun time.”
Decaires set the ADCO Driveline and Custom the Exhaust fast time to begin the night with a lap of 11.082 around the quarter-mile. The B-main was captured by Mike Benson, while heat races went to Decaires, Matt Petersen, Colby Wiesz and Mason Moore. A strong field of 25 Thompson’s Auto Group Winged 360 Sprint Cars were in action for round three on Saturday.
The Ltd. Late Models showcased a solid non-stop feature during the night, with Marysville racer Ryan McDaniel putting together a dominating drive for his second win of the year. It was also the second time this season that the division ran 20-laps caution free. Matt Micheli, Tyler Lightfoot, Tom Tilford and Ray Trimble completed the top-five.
A total of nine Ltd. Late Models were on hand during the night with the lone heat race won by McDaniel.
Current Pure Stock point leader Dan Jinkersen got the jump on the field at the waving of the green flag in the 20-lap feature and led the whole way, en route to his third win in four starts. Jinkersen’s only scare came midway through the race when a lapped spun directly in front of him, but he was able to take evasive action and continue on.
A great battle for the second spot was seen between Scott Grunert and Nick Baldwin. Grunert held the position until Baldwin overtook him on lap 13. The pair then went side-by-side for the remaining distance, much to the delight of the crowd on hand. With Jinkersen taking the checkered flag Grunert made a final corner pass of Baldwin to secure the second spot. Rick Grunert and Jason Palmer rounded out the top-five.
Fifteen Pure Stocks signed into the pit area with heat race wins going to Nick Baldwin and Orville Owens.
The visiting Nor-Cal Dwarf Car Association saw arguably the drive of the year up to this point, as Shawn Jones rebounded from an opening lap issue to bring home an impressive victory. At the waving of the green flag Jeff Fitch got the jump and led until Mike Reeder overtook him on lap-three. April 29 winner Ryan Winter then charged to the lead and held command until Jones, his brother-in-law, was able to get by for the lead on lap 17 after restarting last on the first lap.
Jones took the checkered flag to score the improbable win over Winter, Danny Wagner, Mike Grenert and Scott Dahlgren. The Dwarf Cars put on a great show in the main event. A total of 25 Nor-Cal Dwarf Car Association entrants were in action on Saturday with the three heat races going to Danny Wagner, Shawn Jones and Scott Dahlgren.
The Placerville Speedway will take this coming Memorial Day weekend off, before resuming things with the fifth Red Hawk Casino championship point race of the season on Saturday June 3. The Thompson’s Auto Group Winged 360 Sprint Cars, Ltd. Late Models, Pure Stocks and BCRA Midget Lites will be on hand that night.
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The Placerville Speedway is operated by Russell Motorsports Incorporated, which can be reached at the track business office at 530-344-7592. Contact Kami Arnold or Scott Russell directly for 2017 sponsorship opportunities at the office. Results can be found at our website www.placervillespeedway.com
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