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Two weeks ago, Sebastopol, CA’s Geoff Ensign had a break in
his schedule.The 22 year old and
two-time USAC Champion did what he always did in that situation, use his racing
contacts and found something to drive.Setting up an agreement with Petaluma regular Brett Lay and his Vallejo
Coin Exchange/A1A Performance Muffler/D&F Auto Body and Paint #24b, Ensign
came into Round 3 of the PitStopUSA 360 Series at Petaluma Speedway ready to
roll.Ensign is almost a throwback to
the days of yesteryear, working on the car and doing setups, his knowledge of
sprint cars far exceeding his young age.Brett Lay has an open trailer he hauls his sprint car around on, as old
school as it gets.The two meshed
immediately, with Ensign spending time at Lay’s home in Vallejo during the week
to work on the car and get it race ready.“We got the car dialed in during the week, so we knew it’d run
well.The rest was just getting the car
locked down.”
With the Petaluma Speedway’s typical tacky surface nowhere
to be found, drivers had to be precise where they put their mounts, and most of
them headed right to the bottom where the moisture could be found.During qualifying, Ensign qualified 10th
of the 18 cars in attendance, somethingEnsign would actually thank the heavens for later.“During qualifying, when coming off of four
for the green flag, I knew we were in trouble.We knew it was dry.We just
didn’t know it was that dry. Way too loose.” Ensign said.
Ensign would finish 2nd in his heat race, and
when the inversion draw was announced, the 8 pill put Ensign on the pole
erasing any worries about his less than stellar qualifying time.
At the drop of the green flag, Ensign opened up a five car
length lead on the field by the backstretch, and knew they hit the setup.“Joe (Stiles, Ensign’s crew chief) doesn’t
miss many.We got our heads together and
went with it.I actually wheelied off of
two once or twice, even with the track the way it was.”With Ensign setting the fastest laps of the
night while leading the main event, various drivers were working their way
through the field in an attempt to run down the runaway leader.Dueling with Ensign was never meant to be,
however, as the 22 year old wheelman won from start to finish to win his first
main event of the 2012 season, an emotional one to say the least.“This one’s for Ian.” Ensign posted on his
Facebook page Geoff Ensign Motorsports, remembering the loss of his crew member
Ian Bailey, who passed away a week prior.
Ensign is hoping to race in the PitStopUSA Wingless Sprint
Car Series Race #3 next weekend at Petaluma, but plans have not been solidified
as of yet.
To contact Geoff Ensign, you can reach him on his Facebook
page, search Geoff Ensign Motorsports, follow him via Twitter @EnsignMotorspts,
follow his exploits on the web at www.ensignmotorsports.com,
or contact him via email at [email protected].
L to R: Crew Member Ralph Ribera, Owner Sherry Lay, Geoff Ensign, Owner Brett Lay, Crew Chief Joe Stiles
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Good, hard-nosed racer, making a name for himself. Congratulations Geoff. This Saturday Night the Pit Stop USA.com. sprint cars are back in action. $14 adult, $10 juniors, and just $8 for seniors. Come see 5 divisions including Dirt Late Models, and Dirt Modifieds along with Sprint Cars this Saturday Night at Petaluma Speedway.
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