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Photo by Johns Racing Photos
Mason Moore moves forward to cap off weekend with top 10 GSC run
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA – July 15, 2008…Princeton’s Mason Moore fought through adversity during this past weekends double-header at the Silver Dollar Speedway and when all was said and done, the 17 year-old was able to transfer out of the semi and charge to a ninth place finish with the Golden State Challenge Series on Saturday night.
The two-night show at the Chico bullring began on Friday with the twelfth 410 point race of the season, which was also sponsored by Moore Insurance Services Inc. During the night a number of giveaways were presented to fans and it made for a fun time for all involved.
In addition to that Moore was interviewed on the front stretch and was able to give fans a little more insight to his busy lifestyle that includes playing a number of sports, in addition to his duties in the family sprint car. The Moore Racing team also featured a two car effort on Friday as Alissa Geving drove the back-up sprinter for the sponsor night.
A 19 car field competed on Friday and Moore kicked off the weekend by qualifying 11th fastest before driving the Rolling Hills Casino, Withrow’s Motorsports Eagle to a fourth place finish in his heat race. “Primetime” then started the 25 lap main event from the ninth spot, but encountered engine issues before too long and ultimately pulled off before the finish and was scored 13th in the rundown.
Geving’s special start in the Moore Insurance Services Inc, NOS Energy Drink No. 22b saw her time in 15th fastest and finish fifth in her heat race after leading nearly the whole distance, until issues popped up on the car with just a couple laps left. The 16 year-old then started 12th in the main event, but like Moore she also had engine woes and was unable to finish the 25 lap contest.
On Saturday the Golden State Challenge King of California Series returned to Silver Dollar Speedway for the second weekend in a row and Moore looked to rebound from the previous night. Unfortunately the evening started out much like the last one had ended as the Selover’s Paint & Body, Platinum Powder Coating No. 22 had engine problems during qualifying.
Moore was only able to get one lap in during qualifying and it put him 23rd fastest as the engine wasn’t up to full song. He was then set to start from the fourth row in his heat race, but as he was pushed off the car wouldn’t stay fired and was forced to head back to the hauler to have crew chief Mike Clarke and the team assess the situation.
After heat race competition was over the 17 year-old was able to get a few hot laps in before the B-main to test the car out and make sure everything was good to go. With the engine up to par Moore was able to hit the track for the 12 lap semi where he started from the ninth spot and drove to a seventh place finish to transfer into the main event.
The Silver Dollar Speedway remained very fast and rough for the 30 lap feature and Moore was forced to start from the very last row in the 21st position. The Princeton racer hung near the back early on and was involved in a multi car wreck on lap five that forced him to the work area. He was able to get pushed back off to rejoin at the rear of the field and was able to avoid a carnage filled final 25 laps to work his way up to ninth by the checkered flag.
It was a good way to finish off a weekend that had its share of difficulties and just rolling the car into the trailer in one piece was a good thing, as a total of seven red flag periods plagued the 30 lap feature. The upcoming weekend is not certain yet as the team isn’t expected to have the 360 engine back in time to compete on Friday in Chico with the Civil War Series.
The following weekend will find Moore in competition in another 410 double-header at the Silver Dollar Speedway. The two night affair will mark the final weekend of the season for the Golden State Challenge Series and is shaping up to be a big event at the quarter-mile bullring. News and details about the GSC finale weekend can be found at http://www.johnpadjenmotorsports.com within the next couple weeks.
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Mason Moore scored his second top 10 finish of the GSC season this past Saturday night in Chico. Photo by Graph X Designs
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