[i By Bill Sullivan/Sullivan Images Media]
[b ELK GROVE, CA (4-17-10) –] Billy Strange made his first appearance of the season at Placerville Speedway last Saturday night among a stellar field of competitors for the first championship point race of the season, When the checkered flag waved at the end of the night, Strange was satisfied with a 10th place finish in his first home track race of the season.
"We were really pleased with how the car ran," said Strange. "I think we ran our fastest qualifying lap we have ever had Saturday night. I'll take a top ten finish in a field like that anytime. I'm ready to do it again this week."
Saturday's race at Placerville featured heavy talent in the winged sprint car division for a weekly championship point race. In the pit area, Strange found himself in the company of top competition including former track champions Andy Forsberg, Colby Wiesz and defending Civil War champion Sean Becker to name a few.
With 30 cars in competition, qualifying was a fierce portion of the program on Saturday night. Strange turned a solid lap of 10:803 seconds. His time placed him 24th on the roster, illustrating how fast the track was as 26 drivers were in the 10 second bracket.
In the heat race, Strange started on the pole and salvaged a fourth place finish when the checkered flag dropped. The finish wasn't his preferred result but it secured him a starting position in the 25-lap A-feature later in the program.
"The heats are tough when you start on the pole, because the track is still slimy down there," said Strange. "But our main goal was to transfer into the A main, which we did. I knew Mason Moore and Sean Becker were going to be breathing on me in that heat race and it just took me a few laps to find a line where the car worked well."
In the A feature, Strange started deep in the field. He lined up on the outside of the ninth row in the 18th starting position. At the drop of the green flag Strange was well aware that patience would be a virtue in this event in order to work his way to the front.
"Starting so far back I knew we needed some yellow flags to help us progress forward, which we got," he said. "After a while we were in the top ten so it was really a good result. Saturday's field was like that of a Civil War race. We had some real heavy hitters there so I knew just making the A main would be difficult. It was really night for us."
Strange gained more positions than any other car in the field Saturday night. After his 10th place finish he was named the McDonald's hard charger of the night and sits in a three-way tie for the 11th position in the point standings, 12-points behind point leader Andy Gregg of Placerville.
Strange will return to Placerville this Saturday night and plans to continue to compete at Placerville on a regular basis in the weeks to come. He is now one step closer to eligibility to compete in the Mark Forni Classic in July. The $5,000 to win event requires that a driver compete in five previous races to be eligible for the rich bounty offered by area sponsors Strange now only has four events to compete in to be eligible for the bonus winnings in July. Strange also plans on making a handful of starts in the traveling Golden State Challenge Sprint Car Tour
Strange Motorsports has a number of marketing partners that they are thankful for. Among their supporters are QWK Racing Components, ART Enterprises, Rex Hutchison Racing Engines, Kevin Sharrah Designs, Swepco Lubricants, Pronol Race Fuels, MotoWear International, America's Tire, High Country Painting and Amerikote.
To learn more about Billy Strange visit his official website at www.billystrangejr.com.
- Bill Sullivan on Apr 22, 2010
- Article Date: 4/22/2010