[i It's Shark week as two time champion Sean Becker looks to change Civil War history]
By Bill Sullivan, Handy Racing Promotions Inc. Media Relations
PLACERVILLE, CA – Year after year the Civil War Sprint Car Series comes down to the final race of the season to determine the series champion. Such is the case in the present campaign for winged 360 cubic inch powered sprint cars as the season winds down this weekend with the highly anticipated grand finale at the always exciting track known as Placerville Speedway.
The 2010 Civil War Sprint Car Series will conclude with 13 races overall. The recent Gold Cup Invitational fell victim to weather and will not be rescheduled. The loss of that event could very well have an impact on the outcome of the championship series as drivers look at the cancellation being both positive and negative in different ways.
"You really could look at it either way," said defending two time series champion Sean Becker of Antelope. "If you had won that lost event it would have been more points in your favor but anything could happen and it could have hurt you as a driver with the points so tight. I really don't think it has an impact in the end."
Known to his counterparts and fans as "The Shark" after his childhood history in marine biology, Becker is the driver to beat in the coming weekend. As he concludes the 2010 series at Placerville Speedway he will be swimming in very familiar waters. Will those waters be friendly? Only four points separate first from second in the Civil War point standings. While most racing rivalries at Placerville Speedway are friendly in nature there is no doubt that Saturday night is going to produce one of the most electrifying season finales in recent history.
"This is going to come down to the final lap of the final race I am sure," said Becker, who looks to make history as the first driver to ever win three consecutive Civil War titles. "The drivers that are in the running for this are very talented and we all have great respect for one another which produces great racing. It's going to be a great show for the fans and that is truly what it is all about."
Becker is a former Silver Dollar Speedway as well as a Golden State Challenge Series Champion. He began dominating the Civil War Series back in 2008 when he teamed up with local car owner Scott Miller. It is the camaraderie among Miller, Becker and team member Scooter Lambert that makes their operation so successful. Becker is known as a calm, collective driver that can drive the wheels off a race car on any given night. Miller provides a car that is set up to perfection while Lambert insures that the power plant in the #2sb is always top rate.
"I can't thank these guys enough for what they provide me," said Becker. "They make my job seem easy because they work so hard to make this car perfect and I just show up and drive it. We're going to give our best to win our third Civil War title this weekend and no matter what happens the fans are going to get to see one of the best races of the year here."
In 2010, Becker started defense of his 2009 series title in calm waters. Despite failing to start in two feature events during the year he has driven back to the spotlight with seven top ten finishes, eight top tens and single feature event victory. Entering the weekend, Becker sits just two points ahead of Sacramento's Herman Klein. Klein has a feature win to his name this season along with six top five finishes and 10 top ten finishes. When is comes to personality traits, Klein is just as calm and quiet as Becker. However, with two points separating him from his first ever title he is sure to be a competitive force this weekend.
"This is definitely going to be a close one," said Klein, who drives for veteran car owner Dale Wondergem. "If we only had one event this weekend at Placerville I would say overtaking Sean Becker would be pretty tough to do there because both he and Andy Forsberg own that place. But we do well at Ocean Speedway and we run there Friday night so I am hoping we can gain an advantage Friday night and give it everything I have on Saturday. I would love to win this deal."
Sitting third in the standings is the only driver that has four Civil War Series titles to his name and there is no doubt that this weekend Forsberg will live up the name "Mr. Excitement as he will give it his all to steal this title. Forsberg trails Klein by just two points and sits a mere four points behind Becker. Forsberg was recently crowned the Placerville Speedway track champion and is looking to score twin titles this Saturday night..
"At the start of the season we planned on racing for both championships," said Forsberg, who recently won his second career Placerville Speedway title aboard the Brian Cannon Motorsports #47. "It's been a very competitive year for us and we haven't been dominating like we have in the past. This thing is going to come down the final checkered flag at Placerville on Saturday night and hopefully we're sitting on top when that happens. I can promise this, it's going to be one hell of a race for those fans in the standings no matter which one of us wins this deal."
Sitting in fourth place is Sacramento's Mike Henry. A former Civil War and Placerville Speedway Champion, Henry also remains in the hunt for the title. The driver of the Rudy Warrington owned #18 is just 19-points out of the lead entering the duel track event. Mason Moore of Princeton is sitting in fifth place and is not out of reach as well, trailing the point leader by 54-points.
The Civil War Sprint Cars will be joined by the Midget Lites of the Bay Cities Racing Association on Saturday night as they too conclude their 2010 Championship season. The evening is sure to dazzle race fans of all ages and provide enough great family entertainment to satisfy race fans over the long winter ahead. The evening will also mark the return of the impromptu "Hug your Flagman" event that is sure to produce plenty of fandemomium that Placerville Speedway is so famous for.
On Saturday at Placerville Speedway, Adult tickets will be $15, juniors will be $10 and Children $5. Five and under will be admitted for free. The gates to Placerville Speedway will open at 5 p.m. on Saturday night. For further information visit www.placervillespeedway.com.
- Bill Sullivan on Sep 21, 2010
- Article Date: 9/21/2010