Geving finishes second in curfew shortened All Pro points series feature event at Petaluma
By Bill Sullivan, Chicko Motorsports Media Relations
PENNGROVE, CA (7-12-08) – Saturday night Penngrove’s Alissa Geving and her Chicko Motorsports sprint car team overcame their short stint of hard luck finishes, but it wasn’t necessarily in the fashion they would prefer. Geving drove her Matt Cordeiro Enterprises, Pit Stop USA, Tillet Tool, Auto Repairs Unlimitedsponsored #3x sprint car to second place in a curfew shortened All Pro Point Series feature event at Petaluma Speedway.
“I’m happy that we finally got a top finish after all the bad luck, but this isn’t really the way I like doing it,” said Geving, who only raced three laps under the green flag Saturday before officials called the race. “There were a lot of accidents and delays during the night so they had to call the race. At least this helps me maintain my point lead after the last few weeks of bad luck but I still would have rather ran the full race, that’s what I love to do.”
Geving struggled in preliminary competition on Saturday night, qualifying in the 7th position in the 21 car field. In heat racing competition, the 16-year old Ursuline High School Senior drove to a 5th place finish which ultimately placed her in the second row to line up for the feature event.
From the waving of the green flag, Saturday’s feature was plagued with incidents that repeatedly brought out the caution flag. These delays followed an hour long pause in the program earlier in the night while track personnel worked to repair the extremely rough track surface and a total of six classes in competition for the night. The Sprint Car feature was the last of the night and took to the track just 15-minutes before the city mandated curfew.
After several yellow flags, a lengthy red flag would end the night when Klint Simpson and Brandon Ashe were involved in serious crash on the front stretch of the speedway. Simpson voluntarily sought treatment from the paramedics and the series of delays forced officials to call the race with just three laps complete. Geving was awarded the second position behind race winner Marcus Hardina. Geving started in the second row of the feature event and drove into the lead prior to one of the many yellow flags that placed her back in second place.
“I felt we had a fast car tonight by the time we got the feature,” added Geving. “I honestly think I could have gotten a win here tonight after I passed for the lead before the yellow.. I’m just glad we finished the night with the car in one piece, a lot of other drivers weren’t so lucky”
Saturday night, Geving’s Chicko Motorsports Back up car was in competition. With Jo Jo Helburg behind the wheel. Helburg is the 2007 CASA Asphalt Sprint Car Champion a friend of the Geving team. Helburg qualified 18th in the Gary Geving powered #3j. In heat race competition he finished in 6th. In the curfew shortened feature event he started deep in the field and was scored 13th in the event according the Petaluma Speedway results at www.mylaps.com.
“It was great to have JoJo on our team Saturday night,” said Geving. “I wished we could have had the opportunity to race together tongiht,.know he would have advanced through the field if we would have had a full race tonight.”
Next Saturday, Geving returns to Petaluma Speedway to continue her campaign in the weekly All Pro point series. The team looks forward to two weeks ahead when they compete with California’s best drivers as the Hoosier Racing Tires Civil War Series returns to Petaluma Speedway. Geving currently ranks 7th in that campaign.
Alissa Gevings’ title sponsors include Pit Stop USA, Matt Cordeiro Enterprises, Tillett Tool, Auto Repairs Unlimited. Additional sponsors include Flowmaster, A1A Performance Muffler, Parker Stores, Kalembas Tire Center, Rossi Auto Body, Afex Graphics, ALC Machine ,21stCenturyHealth Club, Butler Specialties, Vanlare Steering Repair, Jeremy’s Chair Repair, Hose Doctor, Fast Lube PlusALC Machine and Butler Built Safety Seats. 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.
