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Photo by http://www.JohnsRacingPhotos.com
Jimmy Pettit runs 9th during penultimate Joe Hunt Magnetos wingless race of season
By Gary Thomas
Chico, CA – August 24, 2008…With the Joe Hunt Magnetos Wingless Sprint Car Series season slowly coming to its conclusion Chico’s Jimmy Pettit drove to a ninth place finish at the Silver Dollar Speedway Friday night.
While three of the regular track divisions crowned champions on the annual Coca Cola, Napa Auto Parts, Cherry St. Mini Storage, AAA Insurance Night, the wingless sprint car class held its penultimate event during the evening of action.
Pettit went into the night solidly holding onto the fifth spot in the John Padjen Motorsports wingless standings, despite missing six races during the year. The Chico driver also celebrated his birthday on the night and started it off by lining-up in the fourth position in the night’s final heat race.
The driver known as “Loveshack” is known to prefer the bottom side of the Silver Dollar Speedway, but in the heat race he decided to use the top shelf and made a great move on the start to charge his way into second aboard the Pep Boys, Kevin Sharrah Designs, Skyway Tool Center No. 24p. After one lap was completed Pettit stayed true to the high side and got his elbows up to take the lead of the race with another strong move off turn two.
He then had to deal with a quick moving RC Smith and Pettit was able to hold him off all the way until pushing a bit coming to the white flag, which allowed Smith to get underneath for the lead. Pettit stayed composed and ran smoothly over the final circuit to bring home a runner-up finish and give the Pro Machine Racing Engines, Ing Excavation sprinter a third row starting spot in the main event. Pettit dropped a few spots early on in the feature and motored on the rest of the way to cross the stripe in ninth at the checkered flag.
Up next for Pettit and the No. 24p team will be the annual Joe Hunt Magnetos Wingless Sprint Car Invitational that takes place on Wednesday night September 3. The event at Silver Dollar Speedway is held in conjunction with the California Civil War 360 Winged Sprint Car Series and is the kick off for the 55th annual Gold Cup Race of Champions week.
Going into the night Pettit will look to lock up fifth place in the wingless standings as well as go after that fifth victory of the season. On the year he has competed in 21 of the 27 events held and has tallied 18 top ten finishes, 11 top fives and a series leading seven heat race victories. “I’m looking forward to the invitational and it would be awesome if we could get another win, especially with it being on such a big stage,” Pettit said. “The Gold Cup is such a huge event and all of us always have a great time at it,” he concluded.
Gates open at 5pm on Wednesday September 3 with adult general admission tickets costing $20, juniors $12 and kids $5. More info on the event can be found at http://www.johnpadjenmotorsports.com
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Jimmy "Loveshack" Pettit will look to finish off the Hunt Magnetos Wingless point season in style at the upcoming Wednesday night Gold Cup Invitational on September 3. Photo by http://www.GraphXDesigns.com
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