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HUNT TAKES 100 LAP GERHARDT CLASSIC
AT MADERA
SACRAMENTO,
CALIFORNIA (April 3, 2011) – After a wild back-and-forth duel with Scott Pierovich, Tony Hunt of
Lincoln, CA picked up his 52nd career United States Auto Club
victory by winning the 100 lap Fred Gerhardt Classic at Madera Speedway.
The event
marked the first pavement race for the USAC Western Classic Racing Series and
the eighth annual running of the Gerhardt Classic.
Hunt took
over the lead for good from Pierovich on lap 57, leading the final 43 laps to victory.The win gives Hunt the points lead in the
pavement portion of the series and just three points back from Pierovich in the
overall series standings.
Fair
Oaks’
Shauna Hogg led the 15 car field to green over Audra Sasselli.Local product Tim Skoglund of Fresno got a piece of the wall on the
opening lap and slowed dramatically down the backstretch with a large fire
underneath the Western Speed entry.Skoglund was pulled from the car uninjured but done for the night.
On the
restart Pierovich began to make his presence felt and he led briefly before the
caution came out for Cody Gerhardt spinning into the inside wall in turn four.
Gerhardt
was able to resume and on the restart Pierovich seized the lead from Hogg.A three wide battle ensued with Hunt making a
bid for the top spot
Pierovich
and Hunt traded back and forth with side-by-side racing for five consecutive
laps.The caution came out on lap 40 for
Shauna Hogg stalling on the backstretch, and Pierovich took off from Hunt on
the restart.
Hunt ran on
the rear nerf bar of Pierovich for the next 17 laps as their duel
continued.Hunt finally took the lead on
lap 57.
With Hunt’s
lead in tact, the action picked up through the field.Fast-time qualifier Brian McClish battled
with Sasselli, while rookie Geoff Ensign, Gordon Rodgers, and Luis Ramos III
traded blows for fifth place.
Pierovich
came to a stop for a broken throttle linkage on lap 90 to bring out a
caution.On the shootout to the finish
Ensign and Sasselli battled for the second position.Ensign, in his first ever pavement Sprint Car
race, settled for third in the Ted Finkenbinder owned entry.
Hunt
cruised to a comfortable victory over Sasselli, Ensign, McClish, and
Ramos.Sasselli recently became a mother
and spent the last three weeks working out extensively to prepare for the
rigors of a 100 lap Sprint Car race.Ensign was awarded the Kaeding Performance award for his run in the
feature.
McClish and
Skoglund were the heat race winners with McClish setting fast time at 13.888
seconds.The series will resume on April
23 at the three-eights mile ShastaRacewayPark in Anderson, Calif. with the “Jimmy Sills Classic.”
In other USAC
action at Madera on Saturday night, 13 year-old Brodie Kostecki from Perth, Western Australia won the USAC Young Guns feature
while the 50 lap USAC Ford Focus main event went to 14 year-old Ross Rankine of
Ohio.
More
information on the USAC Western Classic Racing Series is available on Facebook
at keywords “USAC Western Classic Racing Series”.The United States Auto Club is online at www.usacracing.comThe USAC Western States is available at www.usacwesternstates.com with contact information and the
latest news.
The USAC
Western Classic Racing Series is brought to you by: Amsoil, Hoosier Tires West,
and Kaeding Performance.
www.stevenblakesley.com
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