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PRESS RELEASE, Silver Dollar Speedway – Chico, CA
FROM THE OFFICE OF JOHN PADJEN MOTORSPORTS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Monday, April 16, 2007
MEDIA CONTACT: Troy Hennig [email protected]
INTERNET INFORMATION: www.johnpadjenmotorsports.com
Silver Dollar Speedway Plays Host for Chico Volkswagen Night at the Races
The 2007 Feather Falls Casino / Hoosier Race Tire / Coors point championship season continues this Friday night at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico. The 410-winged sprint cars, dirt modifieds, pure stocks and wingless spec sprints all will compete on the same night for the second time in 2007. The night will feature a $2,000 payday for the winged sprint car main event winner. Chico Volkswagen, located 902 Main Street downtown Chico, will sponsor the night of racing. Both drivers and fans will benefit from the night of racing. Throughout the night Chico Volkswagen representatives will toss free goodies into the main grandstand.
Mark Abouzeid has been a racing fixture at Silver Dollar Speedway for many seasons. He has driven everything from sprint cars to dirt modifieds around the Silver Dollar Speedway. Abouzeid is the owner of the Chico Volkswagen in downtown Chico. Abouzeid might be best known as a modified driver but in the Nineties, he raced a sprint car and won main events. Even with the sprint car success he returned to predominately race dirt modifieds the past six years. He had seven main event wins in 2000 racing in the modified division. Today, Abouzeid stills owns a winged sprint car, purchased a non-wing sprint car recently and runs his dirt modified all while still handling the day to day operation of the Chico Volkswagen. His one relief of his stress filled days managing Chico's only certified Volkswagen service center. "When I strap on that helmet no one can get to me," Abouzeid said with a smile. "When it's you against the track there is nothing cooler than that for me."
Front grandstand gate will open at 6 pm. Sprint car qualifying is slated to start at 7 pm with racing to follow. Adult general grandstand admission is $10.00. Juniors and senior's are $8.00 while children are $4.00. Pit gate will open at 4 pm.
In the sprint car standings three drivers are within one point of the lead. San Jose driver Jason Statler is the point leader at 139. But right on his tail is Chico's Jonathan Allard and Auburn's Andy Forsberg. Both Allard and Forsberg are tied at one point behind Statler. Seven points behind them is another tie. Chico's Robbie Whitchurch and Grass Valley's Brad Sweet are locked together at 131. Oroville's Sean Becker jumped up six spots in the points after last Friday nights win. He is now in seventh.
Grass Valley's Billy Wallace is holding a 10-point edge in the wingless sprint division. Wallace has won two of the first three main events this year during Chico's point season. Jay Youngman, also from Grass Valley, is the driver chasing Wallace. Brandon Davis is third in line. Davis makes the long haul from Rohnert Park. Matt Streeter is the fourth place driver. Streeter led some of the main event on Friday night until an accident sidelined him. Cody Myers of Browns Valley rounds out the top five.
Chico's Richard Papenhausen is leading the dirt-modified charge. He holds a ten-point lead over Chico's Darin Ruley. Currently the third place car in points is Mike Sohnrey of Durham. Strangely, Sohnrey is 30-points behind Ruley for second. Sohnrey crashed real badly in the heat race on Friday night and was not able to start the main event. Thus he did not score any points. Chico's Joe Flower also attended the races but was not able to start because of mechanical problems. Fifth currently is Marysville's Randy McDaniel who won the past Friday night's main event.
Defending pure stock champion Jeff Olschowka of Marysville is the pure stock leader. But right on his bumper is the one of the most rooted for drivers this season at Chico. Heather Bartlett of Chico is only one-point behind Olschowka. Mike Slightom sits in the third spot. Jason Englund and Jason Rash each round out the top five. Just three points separate the two battling for fourth.
Full results and points are available through the tracks website at www.johnpadjenmotorsports.com
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