Forsberg & Defending Champs Exhaust Competition on Flowmaster Night
A blustery wind swept night greeted patrons and competitors for the beginning of the 2015 Petaluma Speedway points season Saturday Night. Twenty-two winged 360’s signed in for the Pit Stop USA Series with Jake Haulot out-qualifying the field with a rapid 12.689 lap. The three heat race format saw Alissa Geving, Bradley Terrell, and Billy Aton claim the 8-lappers. The 25 lap feature saw a brilliant display of two groove, top and bottom racing. Andy Forsberg set the early pace with Terrell moving from fifth to second in the first lap. A couple of early single car spins kept the field tight and on a lap 8 restart Terrell timed his acceleration smartly to grab the lead from Forsberg. Lap 12 saw Terrell hiccup slightly and back in front went Forsberg. The top two were able to put some distance over a rim-riding Geving in third. A final caution with three to go set up the final run to the checkers, however Forsberg was not to be outdone as he claimed the victory over Terrell, Brett Rollag, Mike Benson, and defending track champion Herman Klein.
The Pit Stop USA Spec Sprints saw a nice seventeen car field tackle the 3/8th’s oval. Rapidly improving sophomore driver Shane Myhre netted quick time with a 14.216 effort. Brently Maggi and Klint Simpson were victorious in the pair of heat races. Myhre paced the field to the Scott Erwin green flag and quickly found the middle of the track to his liking. On the move were Simpson, Joe Stornetta, and Terry Schank Jr. Myhre led though lap 10 and then yielded to Simpson who dusted off an extremely high groove for himself. Laps 12 thru 18 saw Schank and Stornetta stage an epic battle mere inches apart with both displacing Myhre by the 20th circuit. A lap 23 restart found Simpson stick to his guns and blast around the top in turn 1. Schank threw a well timed slide job to steal the lead away from Simpson and capture his first feature event of the young season. A dejected Simpson held off Stornetta for second, Myhre was an impressive fourth, with veteran Jason McIntosh fifth.
The Lumberjack Restaurant Super Stocks got off to a competitive start with its new updated rules package. Roger Miller debuting his new car knocked down the fence in turn four and amazingly still ended up winning his first ever heat race. Defending track champion Brent Blackwood captured the second heat race. The feature was ultra-competitive with Blackwood asserting himself early only to see young Trevor Brady start picking off cars high and low until he got to the bumper of Steve Studebaker. The last half of the race saw Miller, having the race of his career pass Studebaker and set sail on Brady. At the finish it was Blackwood, Brady, Miller Studebaker, and Gary Adams.
The Larsen Racing Products Dwarfs saw defending track champion Dave Mosier and journeyman Adam Johnson nab the preliminary heats. The 20-lap finale was a textbook display of throttle control by Mosier and Travis Dutra. Mosier beat Dutra to the stripe by 3/10ths of a second. Third was John Peters over Johnson, and Chad Matthias.
The Jake’s Performance Hobbies Mini Stocks saw second year pilot Bob Davis win the heat race however all eyes in the main event were on rookies Darien Ballestrini and Zack Albers as they waged a torrid, side-by-side duel with a near dead heat at the finish. Eden McCormick was third, followed by Davis and Snazzy Duckworth.
Petaluma Speedway returns to action next Saturday Night, April 18th with Petaluma Auto Parts NAPA Night featuring both Pit Stop USA Sprint Car Divisions, the Larsen Racing Products Modifieds & Dwarf Classes, and the Jake’s Performance Hobbies Mini Stocks. For more information please go to www.petaluma-speedway.com.
