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Race at Twin Cities Speedway by Debbie Shipherd |
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(May 10, 2003) On Saturday, May 10 we began our trip to Marysville under sunny skies, at last. Upon arrival we met new track promoter Clyde Tipton, who has made some changes to the ¼ mile clay, high banked oval track. Twin Cities is the home of the famous Jimmy Sills driving school, which is located right next to the track. Rookie driver Bruce Slover, a recent student of the school, explained to me that the banking has changed slightly since last year, much to his chagrin, and the turn 1-2 bank is somewhat higher now. Twin Cities hosts several divisions on a weekly basis: the winged, injected sprints, stock cars, and mini stocks, and has several dates also for sprint 100’s, dwarf cars, midget lights, and the Civil War series. Thanks to pit board officials Colleen and Rick for patiently answering my questions. Track officials were all friendly and easy to spot in their bright yellow shirts. Crews can watch the racing action in a section of bleachers next to the grandstands along the front straight or in a section above the high bank of turn 1 and 2. Tonight the pits were full with 22 winged sprints, 14 stocks, 28 mini stocks, and 16 NCMA sprints. Some new faces and cars were there: XX Bernie Carter from West Sacramento, sponsored by Specialty Services Racing, #1 Mike Martin from Lincoln sponsored by IncLynx, #91 Ultrax of David Kinnard from Citrus Heights, #0 Charlie Correia from Tracy, and welcome back to #12 Bill Felver, who had the recently retired veteran driver Phil Pedlar helping his team. Missing from our regular roster was George Terry, who had a business commitment, and Scott Holloway was missing his #41 car. After discovering possible engine problems in the morning, Scott called his father Leon, who was towing his #0 car up for Scott to drive. Club president Pat Ariaz, recovering from a recent surgery was unable to race, but his ATV got lots of laps in the pits as he made the rounds helping all the teams. At the drivers’ meeting we checked out heat race lineups, welcomed new drivers, and learned that club sponsor CL Bryant would be generously donating fuel to members at every race, with 5 gallon certificates awarded to the 5th, 10th, and last place feature finishers. We also agreed to share a portion of the weekly purse with the #38 team to defer the costs of their tow from Bakersfield. The first heat race began with Western Tile/ CC Auto Parts #20 Shipherd on pole, RPM #11 Wullenwaber next to him, and Marysville local #67 Eversult and #12 Bill Felver behind them in row 2. At the green Shipherd took the lead with Eversult behind him. In turn 3 Eversult caught a rut, went airborne over the #20, and flipped. The track safety crews responded fast, drivers were both fine, but the cars were another story. Special thanks to club officials Eddie and Millie who quickly got on radios to inform the crews of drivers’ safety and repair needs. Racing resumed with Wullenwaber leading Amador, Felver, and Kinnard. Track announcer Bob Burbeck’s humorous attempts at pronouncing Wullenwaber’s name resulted in a new nickname, “RPM man”, and it was fun to watch Wullenwaber win his first heat race, and equally entertaining to see wife Kasondra’s happy antics. The second 8 lap heat race had Pizza Factory #17 Gandy and Cargill’s Welding #38 Fenton on the front row, #6 Janssen, OCR #77 Siverling , and #0 Scott Holloway behind them. The race ran fast, with Chappa Insulation #6 Janssen taking the win, and Holloway and Siverling close behind him. Crews were busy making repairs and adjustments after the heats, and in true form everyone helped or offered to help with parts and repairs. We had ample time before the main to watch some racing in other divisions, and there was some exciting action with the winged sprints, including a few rolls and even a spectacular wheel stand in the A main. Our
20 lap feature had a 16 car field, as fortunately the #67 and #20
crews worked so hard to make repairs. Cargill’s Welding #38 Fenton
and #17 Gandy started on the front row. At the green talented young
Fenton took the lead and smoothly proved he is no longer a rookie.
Action stopped at lap 5 when new driver #42 Zarevich unfortunately
flipped and made contact with the RPM #11. Both drivers were Ok but
unable to continue racing. Racing resumed, and we were on the edges
of our seats watching Holloway power the #0 up to the front, as well
as 11th starting Western Tile #20 making steady progress
and moving up to 4th. Without a scoreboard, it was hard
to keep track of laps, but about lap 17 a yellow flew for a spin,
and the top 5 were Holloway, Amador, Siverling, Shipherd, and Gandy.
On the last lap Flying Farmer Ed Amador charged into the lead going
into turn 3, Holloway took the high groove, and his momentum coming
out of the high bank in turn 4 carried him to the checkers first in
another exciting finish. Final feature finishes were: 1.Holloway,
2.Amador, 3.Siverling, 4.Shipherd, 5.Gandy, 6.Fenton,
7.Felver,8.Janssen, 9.Kinnard,10.Eversult, 11.Martin, 12.Carter, 13.Slover,14.Correia,15.Zarevich. 16.Wullenwaber. After the main it was fun to see Leon and the Holloway team enjoying their win, and a pleasant surprise to visit with old friend Rocky Robinson. I hope everyone has a great Mother’s Day, and thank you, crew, for the pancake breakfast. Next week NCMA races at Lakeport Speedway, and will return again to Marysville next month. Drive safe, have fun, and take care, Debbie
Shipherd |
