Law and Shelby Repeat; Gordon Gets First Win
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Law and Shelby Repeat; Gordon Gets First Win at Marysville
(Marysville, CA 6/3/23)…The excitement of bigtime auto racing at Marysville Raceway showcased over 50 competitors who entered into championship point race No. 9 Saturday night, at the action track of the west. Led by 25-winged sprint cars, the fans were entertained with thrills and spills on a smooth but slick racing surface. Joining the sprint cars were 17 Hobby Stocks, and 12 IMCA Sport Mods.
The first six laps of the Hobby Stock main event were possibly the best start to a main event this season. Sebastian Davis was up front and leading. It was great to see him excel and be the leader. Behind him it was a battle between Brian Horn, Howard Law, Casey Gingerich, and others. Fast laps, tight racing, and action all over the Raceway. On lap six, Cheney spun while trying to get second. As he spun, he collected Lisa Shelby in turn one. At the time of the spin, Shelby was running in the fifth spot. As the yellow waived, Law had just passed Davis for the lead. Yet, the yellow flag allowed Davis to get the lead back. But Law would not be denied. By lap eight, Law was up front again. This time for good. Zach Lindgren was once again on the charge. At one point, there was a three-car battle for second. Davis got stuck in the middle, while Lindgren drove around the outside and into second. By lap 11, Cheney had raced back into the fifth spot. On lap 13 Cheney passed Davis for fourth. The final caution was waived on lap 16 when Jason Clayton Sr. spun in turn one. The final four laps were even amongst the top four, however, on the final lap going into turn three a massive crash saw Casey Gingerich flip violently through the air. Law was just crossing the finish line and the checkered was displayed. Race was over. The red was then waived. The race officially ended up in a checkered/red situation. Lindgren finished second. Moving into third was Mario Davis. Brian Horn finished fourth and Trevor Abella fifth.
KC Carpenter jumped out to the early lead of the IMCA Sport Mod feature event. Ten cars were set to go 20-laps. Carpenter led the first two laps, but going into turn two he did a half spin that enabled Mike Merritt to take the lead. But before lap three was complete, Phillip Shelby passed Merritt coming off turn four for the lead. A single file restart occurred on lap five that saw Shelby leading Merritt and Raymond Lindeman. By lap six, Lindeman maneuvered around Merritt for second. Jimmy Ford charged from the rear of the field into fourth by lap seven. Jason Clayton Jr held down the fifth spot. A yellow on lap nine was needed when Scott Savell spun and collected Ford. A lap earlier, Ford had tripped up over the infield berm and lost three spots. Numerous cautions plagued the race, but that didn’t stop Shelby from dominating the 20-lap race. Shelby won the race by over 4 seconds. The second spot went to Lindeman who was four-seconds ahead of third place Savell. Ford battled back to finish fourth. Carpenter rounded out the top five.
The sprint car main event was troublesome from the start. It took 20 minutes for the drivers to complete the first lap. Three failed, crash filled starts, took the enthusiasm out of the show. The only driver who originally started inside the top 10, who didn’t spin or crash before the first lap was Dominic Gordon. Keeping his car out of trouble for the 25-laps was impressive. Adding on to his great night, it was his first-time racing at Marysville. Gordon led all 25-laps and picked up his first career win at Marysville Raceway. Koa Crane shadowed Gordon for the entire race but was never able to get close enough for a pass. Crane finished second. Billy Wallace earned his best finish of the year by coming home in third. It was good to see the sprint car veteran Wallace get a podium finish. Justin Henry is always on the gas. Henry ran at the top of the racetrack for most of the main event and it worked. He finished fourth after starting deep in the field. Austin Torgerson completed a solid first night of work and finished fifth. In all, the main event took over 50 minutes to complete from start to finish.
Crane won the 12-lap sprint car B main event. Transferring with him into the feature event were Preston Carr, Cody Gray, and Mike Monahan. Crane went on to finish second in the main event. Carr ran inside the top five for a good majority of the feature event, but a flat tire sidelined his night. Gray was caught up in a wreck and finished 14th. Monahan charged to a tenth-place finish.
Full results for point race No. 9 can be found here: https://speedhive.mylaps.com/Events/2241179
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