Geving is highest finishing 360 sprint car with sixth place in GoldenState Series feature
By Bill Sullivan, Chick-O-Motorsports Public Relations
PETALUMA, CA (4-19-08) – After suffering damage to her 410 cubic inch motor last weekend, Penngrove’s Alissa Geving was forced to bring a knife to a gunfight at Petaluma Speedway Saturday night. The 16-year-old leader of the Petaluma All Pro Points Series took to the track in her 360 powered Chick-O-Motorsports-Pit Stop USA #3x sprint car to compete against California’s best drivers, those in the fire breathing 410 sprint cars of the Golden State Challenge Sprint Car Series.
In an effort to maintain quality car counts, Petaluma Speedway awards accumulative points for the weekly All Pro Points series events to its regular competitors during special events such as the GSC and the traveling Civil War Series. As the current point leader who is setting her sights on her first series championship, Geving had no choice but to enter the event with her smaller engine to maintain her status in the championship campaign. When the checkered flag flew, it was another successful night for the Ursuline High School Junior and her family owned team when she became the highest finishing 360 powered car in the event, placing an impressive sixth place behind race winner Bud Kaeding, Jason Statler, Mike Henry, Kyle Hirst and Evan Suggs, all top drivers of the GSC series.
Geving’s night started with the 12th fastest lap in qualifying which placed her on the second row of her heat race. On the circuit of the 10-lap opener she initially powered into the third position but a caution flag reverted the race back to the previous lap. Once the official green flag waved Geving powered her Gary Geving powered Maxim into the fifth position and after several laps of pursuit, overtook Dan Simpson for the fourth position prior to the checkered flag.
By transferring from her heat race, Geving started the 30-lap feature event in the 12th position. At the waving of the green flag she trailed veteran driver Mike Henry and the two worked together to find the fast line of the track. After forfeiting a pair of positions early in the race, both Henry and Geving began pressuring their way through the field.
Fighting the challenges of an extremely tight car for much of the race, Geving spent several early laps of the event battling with track veteran David Lindt Jr., a winning force at Petaluma Speedway and one of the most respected drivers of the area. After passing Lindt, lapped traffic allowed him to overtake the driver known as “Chick-O” to her counterparts but Geving answered back in less than a lap to redeem the position.
Following the brief battle with Lindt, Geving closed in on Henry’s wake once again and continued to charge her way towards the top five. The duo overcame a hard fought battle with Fresno’s Shane Golobic. Henry managed his way around the young USAC Midget star while Geving trailed the second generation driver until a red flag flew in the final ten laps of the race for Brent Kaeding who went upside down in the first and second turns.
On the restart and side by side battle ensued between Geving and Golobic with Geving eventually getting the upper hand on Golobic for the sixth position. When the checkered flag waved Geving claimed the sixth position and became the highest finishing 360 sprint car in the event. The accomplishment earned her valuable accumulative points to contribute to her early season point lead in the All Pro Series.
“I had blast running with these drivers in the GSC tonight. I miss running with them on Friday nights at Chico,” said Geving.”Maybe after my dad re-builds our back up 360 motor we can run it at Chico Friday nights a couple of times. The more races I run with these guys the more comfortable I feel. We are focusing on the Civil War and Petaluma for points so we can't put too many races on the 360. Overall I had a blast tonight.”
The upcoming week is another busy one for Alissa Geving and the Chick-O-Motorsports team as they prepare for next Saturday’s weekly point race at Petaluma Speedway and begin setting their sights on the upcoming Civil War event at Placerville Speedway on May 3rd. This Tuesday, Alissa Geving will be a featured guest on the nationally known “Full Throttle Racing Show” on dirtvision.com. The program will air at easterns time and on the west coast. Next weekend, she will also be featured on the broadcast television series title “Trackside at Infinion Raceway” which airs in conjuction with the weekend coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Nextel Cup at Talladega Speedway. The program will air on KOVR 13 in the Sacramento region and on KTVU 2 in the bay area. Race fans are urged to check their local listings for the exact airing of the program to tune in.
Alissa Gevings’ title sponsors include Pit Stop USA, Auto Repairs Unlimited, Matt Cordiero Enterprises and A1A Muffler. Additional sponsors include Parker Stores, Sequoia Logistics, Tillet Tool, KalembasTireCenter, Rossi Auto Body, Afex Graphics, ALC Machine Century 21st Healthy Club, Hose Doctor, Spin Tech Mufflers, Fast Lube Plus and Kaeding Performance. ALC Machine. To learn more about Alissa Geving, her sponsors or how to become involved with the team as a sponsor visit her official website at www.chick-o-motorsports.com.
PRESS PHOTO ATTACHED:
Alissa Geving of Penngrove (3x) races three wide with David Lindt Jr. (52) for the sixth position in lapped traffic of Saturday’s Golden State Challenge Series event at Petaluma Speedway. Photo courtesy of Steve Lamothe, www.stevesracingphotos.com.
