Forum: Northern California Sprint Car (go)
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Photos by Davy Thomas

Andy Gregg gets first California win

By Gary Thomas

July 11, 2007... Placerville’s Andy Gregg had been trying hard for years to win a sprint car race in California. Sure he won a weekly show in 2004 at the Southern Oregon Speedway in Medford, OR, but it wasn’t in front of his home state crowd. This year he’s came oh so close a few times, only for them to end with victory being taken from his grasp.

When the Golden State Challenge King of California 410 Series visited his home track of Placerville Speedway on March 24, Gregg led 29 laps only to have last lap contact leave his Guts Racing No. 16x upside down in turn two. Then just a couple weekend’s back Gregg found himself on the front row of a 360 Civil War Series main event on June 23 at Placerville. Like the previous race he blasted into the lead at the start and looked very fast early on. Gregg went on to lead for 15 laps before fellow Placerville driver Jimmi Trulli got under him for the lead. At the checkered flag Gregg brought home a fourth place finish.

Then came a warm July 7 at Marysville Raceway Park in Marsyville, CA. The night was once again sanctioned by the California Civil War Series and it was the third night of racing during the July 4^th week for Gregg. The 27 year-old driver began the night by qualifying 13^th fastest aboard the Myers & Sons Drywall, Nor Cal Vinyl Fence, Dale Miller Plumbing No. 16x. He then found himself on the inside of row two in his heat race and after 10 laps the driver known as the "Hurricane" brought home the win.

Starting 13^th in the feature, Gregg would have his work cut out for him on the 1/4 mile bullring. He was up to the challenge, however, and used a methodical charge forward to put himself into the top five by lap 11. "The Hurricane" continued charging forward and was doing a fantastic job as he moved into the runner-up position on lap 22. As the 30 lap contest neared the end, a million thoughts had to be going through Gregg’s head. After suffering his fare share of misfortune this year, this night would be different as he closed in on leader Greg Decaires with just a handful of laps remaining. With just a few laps left Gregg powered his 16x machine to inside of Decaires to take the lead that he would never relinquish. After taking the checkered flag Gregg did some celebratory donuts on the back stretch.

The victory means a lot to Gregg and he would like to thank all his sponsors including: Guts Inc, Myers & Sons Drywall, Nor Cal Vinyl Fence, Dale Miller Plumbing, JP’s Auto Body, The Paint Spot, Matco Tools, and BR Motorsports, as well as Shane Scott, Meyer Motorsports, Santana Interiors, The Tiner Family and The Thomas Family.

Gregg also shows a lot of appreciation for his crew and family. "I want to thank my crew for all their hard work: Bill and Ashley, Jake, Jim, Dave and Robert. I also want to thank my wife Lynde, my dad Jamey, my mom Christy, my brothers Jake & Ben and my grandparents." Gregg also wants to thank anyone who has helped him out along the way.

This weekend will see Gregg take part in two more night’s of racing. Friday night he’ll be at the Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico for Point Race #16. This has been his first season running a 410 winged sprint car weekly in Chico and he has done a great job currently sitting fourth in points with three top five’s and six top 10's. Gregg has also captured one fast time award and has shown to be one of the strongest qualifiers during the Friday night point series at Silver Dollar this season. This past week saw Gregg qualify second quick on two separate occasions at the track.

On Saturday he will be in competition at the Placerville Speedway for the second annual Mark Forni Memorial. The race is in memory of Mark Forni who was a special person to Gregg. In fact Gregg ran a large decal on his top wing for much of last season in memory to Mark Forni. The event will pay $5,000 to win on Saturday and its one that Gregg wants to win as much as any other. With several strong runs this season, winning the Forni Memorial is no far stretch for Gregg.

Stop by the 16x rig sometime after the races to chat with Gregg & his crew. They're all great people and fun to be around.

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