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RISING USAC STAR VISITS SCRA SPRINTS
By Dan Fleisher
HANFORD, CA --- Michael Faccinto, the 2006 USAC Ford Focus National Champion will step up in class size when he joins the SCRA 360 wingless Sprint cars this Saturday night at Kings Speedway in Hanford, CA. The 17-year-old Faccinto, who drove for former NHRA World Champion driver Gary Scelzi on the USAC trail last year, will buckle-up in one of Tom Tarlton’s Sprinters as a teammate to popular Peter Murphy. Included in Faccinto’s Focus championship last year were five features wins. He was previously the 2004 Plaza Park (CA) 600cc micro-sprint champion.
Faccinto will join a host of exciting “teenyboppers” including 16-year-olds Justyne Hamblin, who has recorded two top-ten SCRA feature finishes this season, Myles Bishop, who has one “open” 360 Sprint feature win this year, Jace VanderWeerd and Adam Frith-Smith.
While learning their trade, this foursome isn’t expected to challenge all the top contenders like back-to-back main event winner Davey Pombo, Rusty Carlile, Richard Harvey Jr. or the previously mentioned Murphy, who's been a “bridesmaid” three times this season, but they will vie for Rookie of the Year honors.
John Niggli, another rookie and the most improved driver of the series so far in 2007, looks to duplicate or improve upon last week’s impressive showing when he recorded third quick qualifying time, a third-place finish in his heat, fifth in the Dash and sixth in the 30-lap feature.
Other top contenders expected to compete include 2006 series champion Jonathan Logan, who got “untracked” last week with a fourth-place finish in the main, 2006 Rookie Champion Kevin Barnes, Brian Schuler, Dean Alexander, Matt Day and Albert Pombo, Davey’s cousin, who returned to the SCRA fold last week for the first time in nine months. San Jose’s Burt Foland Jr. is also scheduled to make his first local appearance of the year.
Saturday’s event will be the third week in-a-row SCRA has appeared at Kings Speedway and the tour is just heating up. The “Wingless Warriors” will invade Bakersfield Speedway the following Saturday, May 12th.
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