Friendly rivals Becker and Forsberg to face off in $3000 WTF Cup this week
[i By Bill Sullivan, Handy Racing Promotions Media Relations]
[b PLACERVILLE, CA 6-30-10)] – He is one of the mildest personalities in the sport, but behind the wheel, Antelope's Sean Becker is one of the fiercest open wheel racers in Northern California. This Wednesday night, the driver known as "The Shark" will surely be a force to contend with as he returns to Placerville Speedway to add another high-paying victory to his list of accolades.
Wednesday night is the return of Wild Winged Wednesday for the "Who's the Fastest Cup" at Placerville Speedway. This event will be a non-points race for 360 sprint cars and will pay a healthy $3000 to the winner courtesy of added funds from track sponsor Riebes Auto Parts. Each driver who simply starts the feature event will earn $300 for their efforts.
For Becker, Wednesday night could mean another fine payday. The former Silver Dollar Speedway and Golden State Challenge Champion that is now a two time Civil War titlist has won several of Placerville Speedway's richest races. Becker is a former winner of the $3000 to win Tribute to Al Hinds at Placerville Speedway and is a two time winner of the annual $5000-to-win Mark Forni Classic here. Is the inaugural WTF Cup in Becker's sights? It certainly is.
"We've had a lot of success at Placerville in these big races and in the point races this year," said Becker, who has won three point races at Placerville this season. "Hopefully we can win this one and just carry the momentum into the Forni again and the Hinds race. We're going to give everything we've got."
Becker's success in the high dollar events has not come without a strong support system. For each of his rich wins he has been behind the wheel of Scott Miller's #2sb sprint car. Miller and his crew are a die hard team that never gives up and are always searching for that competitive edge no matter what the venue may be.
"I can't say enough about Scotty and this team, they are incredible," said Becker. "They make my job the easy one. They give me a perfect car to drive week after week and if things don't go our way they know how to bounce right back."
While Becker will surely be a top contender Wednesday night he will not be alone. Former track champion and current weekly Placerville Speedway point leader Andy Forsberg is a man on a mission. That mission is a first victory of the year at the track he calls home. So far in 2010 Mr. Excitement has put on some of his best performances but has come up short when it came time for the money shot at the end of the night.
Forsberg is the defending winner of Wild Winged Wednesday at Placerville. Becker has stolen Forsberg's glory at the track he has somewhat "owned" for many years. All in fun, Forsberg says he is ready to redeem himself to his winning ways this Wednesday night aboard his Brian Cannon Motorsports owned #47.
"We will be there for the money shot for sure. I might need to push that Becker guy out of my way to take that $3000 as long as nobody is looking," joked Forsberg. "But seriously, we are hoping this will be our night to turn it around. We have struggled to get further than second all season. It's really been an eye opener for us because we use to win at home so frequently."
While Forsberg credits some of the errors to his own team this year, he also noted that the level of competition at Placerville has greatly increased in 2010. Many top drivers have returned to fulltime action and a number of young guns are now gunning for a win each week.
"On any given night just about anyone in that main event at Placerville could take home a win," added Forsberg. "The car counts have been solid there, the track is always fast and the level of competition is really high. I'm not the only guy running the Fonz (highline) anymore, they figured out my secret weapon. No matter what I'm going to do what I can to bring home that WTF Cup Trophy."
Much like Forsberg, Becker has also noticed the increase in the level of tough competition on the quarter-mile bullring in 2010. Although he has won his share of events here, Becker let one lead get away with a trip off the track surface earlier this year and recently found himself out of competition in a Civil War event following a pair of uncharacteristic spins.
"Anything can happen in this sport no matter how well your prepared. When there's more money on the line everyone steps it up too, you can feel them driving harder on the track," added Becker, who, ironically, plays on a recreation basketball league with Cannon in his off time. "Brian and I are good friends and there is nothing I love more then going out and taking a win away from him and hopefully we can do it again. We have a great rivalry."
While the friendly rivalry between The Shark and Mr. Excitement is sure to light up the track all by itself, there will be plenty of competition to go along with them as some of the best drivers in the region are expected. One driver that is sure to join the competition will be Grass Valley native Brad Sweet who is returning for this special event aboard the Main Motorsports #35 car. Sweet no lives in Huntersville, North Carolina where he works and drives for Kasey Kahne Motorsports and Doug Stinger Motorsports, driving in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.
Sacramento's Mike Henry, a top runner in the Placerville Red Hawk Series and a former Placerville and Civil War Series champion is expected along with the likes of Mason Moore of Princeton, James Sweeney, Jimmy Trulli, Scott Russell, CJ Humphreys and Andy Gregg of Placerville are all expected with Justin Johnson of Shingle Springs. Fair Oaks lady racer Nicole Miller is a likely contender as well as opening Civil War race winner Herman Klein of Sacramento.
Further likely entrants will include Jeremy Phillips of Arboga, Sacramento's Billy Butler, Trevor Canales of Roseville, Craig Swim of Orangevale, Billy Strange and Troy Machado of Elk Grove, Cody Lamar of Rio Linda, Stephen Tiner of Visalia and Chico's Stephen Allard. and many more.
Wednesday's event will utilize the same format as a competitive Civil War Series race. Each driver will qualify, heat races will be 10-laps in distance and the feature event will be a 30-lap stretch. The winner will pick up $3000 and those who start the feature will earn $300.
Don't miss the action Wednesday night. The pit gate will open at 2 p.m. on Wednesday. Grandstands will open at the regular start time of 5 p.m. Qualifying will begin at 6:30 followed by racing at 7 p.m. Adult tickets are $15, Juniors $10, Children $5 and under six will be admitted for free. Watch for further information on this event in the coming days. For more information visit www.placervillespeedway.com.
- Bill Sullivan on Jun 28, 2010
- Article Date: 6/28/2010