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Sprint Car Challenge Tour heads for Peter Murphy Classic this Friday and Saturday in Tulare

By Gary Thomas

Tulare, CA – May 14, 2019…With excitement filling the air the Sprint Car Challenge Tour presented by Elk Grove Ford and Abreu Vineyards is set to head for Central California this Friday and Saturday to take part in the sixth annual Peter Murphy Classic at Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway.

The Peter Murphy Classic has become one of the cornerstone weekends in California and a show that fans mark on their calendar from the get-go. For the first time ever the Sprint Car Challenge Tour presented by Elk Grove Ford and Abreu Vineyards will be in action both nights at the event this weekend. Each night will be co-sanctioned with the Kings of Thunder Winged 360 Sprint Car Series.

Friday nights event will be full Sprint Car Challenge Tour points, while Saturday is show-up points only. The top-four finishers in the main event on opening night will be locked into Saturday’s Pole Shuffle and the way you finish Friday is how you are seeded going into Saturday. There will be no qualifying for SCCT on Saturday night.

The standard tour muffler rule will also be utilized each night. Opening night will be a standard $2,500-to-win/ $400-to-start SCCT purse, with Saturday’s finale handing out $5,000-to-win and a stout $800-to-start.

Competing alongside the Sprint Car Challenge Tour on Friday May 17th will be the USAC West Coast Wingless 360 Sprinters, while the King of the West-NARC 410 Sprint Car Series blasts into the one-third mile clay oval on Saturday May 18th. The Peter Murphy Classic finale marks the first of four combo events that SCCT and KWS-NARC will take part in this season, which are guaranteed to be must see showcases!

This weekend’s event is organized by now retired racer Peter Murphy, who suffered injuries during a racing crash at the Antioch Speedway on July 20, 2013. The accident ultimately forced him to step out of the seat, having suffered a traumatic brain injury, ligament damage in his neck, shoulder and knees, along with a compressed T-3 vertebra. The following year he organized the inaugural Peter Murphy Classic and received rave reviews for it.

This season we celebrate the sixth anniversary of the event and it’s shaping up to be one of the best yet.

“I really want this weekend to be a memorable one for all the fans and teams once again,” said Murphy, who is originally from Australia and now resides in Clovis, CA. “I still can’t thank everyone enough for all they did after my accident. It was so humbling to have support from people all over the world. This is a way for me to continue giving back and show how much I appreciate the sport we all love.”

Defending Peter Murphy Classic champion Shane Golobic of Fremont leads the Sprint Car Challenge Tour standings into the sixth annual classic weekend. The former Trophy Cup titlist is the most recent winner in tour competition and holds an 18-point advantage over San Jose’s Tim Kaeding. Former Peter Murphy Classic winner Kyle Hirst of Paradise, Hollister’s Tony Gualda and recent Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial champion Justin Sanders round out the top-five in the standings. Sean Becker, Willie Croft, Andy Forsberg, Justyn Cox and Kyle Offill complete the top-10.

Commemorative Peter Murphy Classic shirts will be on sale at the event with proceeds going to the NARC Benevolent Fund, which aids injured drivers, crew members, officials and assisted Murphy immensely following his accident. There will again be a victory podium made up with champagne to help celebrate the winners in style. It will surely be a victory presentation that fans want to witness and gather around for.

Adult reserved grandstand seats for the Peter Murphy Classic cost $30 each night, while general admission bleacher tickets are $25 each night. Kids 6-12 will be $15 in the grandstands and $13 in the bleachers. Senior grandstand seats will be $28 and senior bleacher tickets are $23. The front gate will open at 3pm, with heat races scheduled to begin around 6pm. The drivers meeting will be held at 4pm both nights. To reserve your seats, contact 559-688-0909. Plenty of tickets will also be available at the gate on race day.

The Merle Stone Chevrolet Thunderbowl Raceway is located at the Tulare County Fairgrounds on the corner of Bardsley and K Streets in Tulare, California. From the junction of SR 99 and SR 137, go west on SR 137. At South K go south one-half mile to the Fairgrounds. Camping is available for fans off turns three and four.

The Sprint Car Challenge Tour is proudly sponsored by Elk Grove Ford, Abreu Vineyards, Hoosier Racing Tires, Kyle Larson Racing, All Star Performance, A.R.T. Speed Equipment, BR Motorsports, King Racing Products, Pit Stop USA, Auto Meter, ADCO Driveline and Custom Exhaust, Bullard Construction, Bullet Impressions Inc., Chris Kenner Racing Specialties, CLT Logging, CRV Carbon Solutions, D&D Roofing, Garth Moore Insurance and Financial Services, High Sierra Industries, Keizer Wheels, Kevin Sharrah Designs, Moto Wear, Metal Works, PT Shocks, Quick Time Mortgage and Solar, SprintCarUnlimited.com, Ti 22 Performance and Walker Performance Filtration.

The Sprint Car Challenge Tour is operated under the Russell Motorsports Inc. banner, which also manages the Placerville Speedway in Placerville, California. For sponsorship opportunities and inquiries, RMI can be reached at 530-344-7592 or [email protected]

More information on the Sprint Car Challenge Tour presented by Elk Grove Ford and Abreu Vineyards can be found at our official website www.sprintcarchallengetour.com – Be sure to also like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/sprintcarchallengetour and follow on Twitter https://twitter.com/360SCCT for the latest breaking news regarding SCCT. You can also find us on Instagram by searching scct360.

Upcoming Sprint Car Challenge Tour presented by Elk Grove Ford and Abreu Vineyards events

Friday May 17: Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway (Sixth annual Peter Murphy Classic w/ USAC West Coast)
Saturday May 18: Tulare Thunderbowl Raceway (Sixth annual Peter Murphy Classic w/ KWS-NARC)
Saturday June 15: Keller Auto Speedway at Kings County Fairgrounds in Hanford

www.sprintcarchallengetour.com
www.placervillespeedway.com
www.stocktondirttrack.com
www.thunderbowlraceway.com

This Friday nights event at Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare will be a full Sprint Car Challenge Tour presented by Elk Grove Ford and Abreu Vineyards point show, while Saturday’s program features a special format and will award show-up points only. The top-four finishers in the main event on opening night will be locked into Saturday’s Pole Shuffle and the way you finish Friday is how you are seeded going into Saturday. There will be no qualifying for SCCT on Saturday night.

Event organizer Peter Murphy wanted to tie both nights together for the Sprint Car Challenge Tour and with a lot of special things planned for Saturday, eliminating qualifying should help save some time and extra abuse on the surface. Drivers meeting will be held at 4pm both nights with cars on track shortly after. We are shooting to have the first heat race on track at 6pm.

Opening night will be a standard $2,500-to-win/ $400-to-start SCCT purse, with Saturday’s finale handing out $5,000-to-win and a stout $800-to-start. Each position down the line has been doubled for the final night. Teams that have not missed a race up to this point are eligible for the $500 Kyle Larson Racing Bonus if they can win the main event either night.

Fast time will hand out $500 cash on Friday, plus the usual prizes from Quick Time Mortgage ($100 cash) and ADCO Driveline & Custom Exhaust ($100 certificate).

The Hard Charger Award on Saturday will be $500 cash plus the usual $200 certificate from Pit Stop USA. The Pole Shuffle on Saturday will be $500 cash to win plus the usual $100 cash from High Sierra Industries. The Hard Luck Award pay $500 cash plus the usual prize from CRV Carbon Solutions and the Longest Haul will receive $500 cash as well.

The standard Sprint Car Challenge Tour muffler rule will also be utilized each night.

www.sprintcarchallengetour.com
www.placervillespeedway.com
www.stocktondirttrack.com
www.thunderbowlraceway.com

As usual GT, an event to get pumped up about. SCCT throws all kinds of contigency money & what not at the racers giving them even more reasons to be competitive. And anyone who's known Pete for any amount of time knows he's pretty entertaining himself and he wants to put on the best show possible...should be good! We'll be camped right down the way from you guys, stop by & say hi. BTW, are you announcing at all? Hope so, you're one of the good ones

Thank you I am excited for it and can't wait! I'll be on the call for the SCCT portion both nights. Much nicer this time of the year than when we did it in July that is for sure!

www.sprintcarchallengetour.com
www.placervillespeedway.com
www.stocktondirttrack.com
www.thunderbowlraceway.com

KING OF THE WEST-NARC SPRINT CARS CHASE BIG PETER MURPHY CLASSIC PAYDAY

5/14/19 – Jim Allen, Sacramento, CA … The winged 410 sprint car teams of the King of the West-NARC Fujitsu Racing Series will be focused on claiming a stout $11,000 payday at Saturday’s (May 18th) Sixth Annual Peter Murphy Classic. This marks the second night of a popular two-day open wheel racing event that also features the Sprint Car Challenge Tour 360’s and USAC West Coast wingless 360’s sprint cars at the exciting Thunderbowl Raceway in Tulare.

The Peter Murphy Classic awards the biggest one-day purse of this season’s King of the West 60th Anniversary campaign presented by the Northern Auto Racing Club. The event, the namesake of the former Northern Auto Racing Club sprint car driver who face life-threatening injuries in a frightening 2013 crash, is extremely popular with race fans and teams alike. Murphy has become the consummate ambassador for the sport and his efforts have helped raise tens of thousands of dollars for the NARC Benevolent Fund, a non-profit organization that assisted his family during his recovery.

“We have some great surprises lined up for sprint car fans this year,” said Murphy. “We know the racing is going to be great so we have added several new promotions and celebrations to compliment the show. I would love to tell you what some of them are in advance, but I want you to show up and experience it for yourself. And bring a friend with you.”

Heading a large contingent to the one-third mile bullring will be current championship point leader DJ Netto of nearby Hanford, CA. Although Netto has been a steady fixture in the King of the West-NARC top ten over the past five seasons, he has never led the championship chase. However, he has been a model of consistency at the first two-races of the season and owns a slim 229-228 margin over Shane Golobic of Elk Grove. Golobic captured last year’s Peter Murphy Classic in a wild shootout during the final laps.

But with 17 more events remaining on this years campaign, it’s still anybodies ball game. While consistency is necessary for a championship runs, open wheel teams have already stated that they are locked and loaded, and extremely focused on the largest winners share of the season. In addition, there is another $10,000 bonus up for grabs if an eligible driver takes and completes the Aussie Pole Shuffle challenge. Murphy will be laying out that challenge at Saturday’s drivers meeting.

“We definitely have everybody’s attention,” continued Murphy, “ensuring that it will be a great show. Nobody is going to want to finish second on Saturday.”

Others expected to compete in the star-stuffed line-up include Hollister’s Ryan Bernal; 2017 series champ Bud Kaeding of Campbell; Fresno’s Dominic Scelzi; Willie Croft and Colby Copeland from Roseville; Penngrove’s Chase Johnson; Rookie drivers Geoff Ensign (Sebastopol), Kyle Offill (Tracy), Stephen Ingraham (Fair Oaks) and Matt DeMartini (Oakley); Atwater drivers Nathan Rolfe and Sean Watts; Hanford’s Mitchell Faccinto; Chico’s Kenny Allen; Jason Statler of Grass Valley; and women drivers Jenna Frazier of Sacramento and Chelsea Blevins of Susanville.

Aromas driver Justin Sanders, who won the May 4th Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial race in Chico, will also be in the field.

The King of the West-NARC racing format includes qualifying, four heat-races, the Aussie Pole Shuffle dash, and the high dollar 30-lap Fujitsu headliner co-sponsored by Daltons, Four C’s and Tarlton & Son.

www.sprintcarchallengetour.com
www.placervillespeedway.com
www.stocktondirttrack.com
www.thunderbowlraceway.com