Mitchell Faccinto Wins Third Race Of The Week In Round #5 At Cottage Grove; Faccinto 2019 Speedweek Northwest Champion
By Ben Deatherage
(Photo Courtesy of Devin M. Photography)
Cottage Grove, Oregon- All roads of Speedweek Northwest converged once again to Cottage Grove Speedway on Saturday, July 13th for one final time. The historic ¼-mile clay oval hosted the fifth and culminating round of the 2019 calendar for the series. Is the third race to take place at the CGS during the week. Twenty-six cars were in attendance with teams traveling from all over Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, and Oklahoma as well as British Columbia in Canada.
The main event was a thriller as Colby Copeland was without a doubt a man on a mission. Despite heavy lapped traffic and several stoppages, the Rocklin, California chauffeur, driving for car owners Jim & Annette Van Lare, scorched the field for much of the race. Unfortunately, coming to accept the white flag his right rear tire started to lose a significant amount of tire pressure. That would result in the flatting of the rubbery object and losing a great multitude of speed.
Like the proverbial hungry pack of wolves chasing down their prey, a number of challengers came calling to take over the lead. Somehow Mitchell Faccinto won the dogfight on the final circuit and went on to win his third race of Speedweek Northwest 2019. The Hanford, Californi gasser had never won at Cottage Grove prior to the night and also recorded his fourth career series win. In victory lane, it was officially announced that Faccinto, and his car owner Stan Greenberg, were the 2019 series champions. That made Mitchell the fifteenth different champion in twenty-two years and the eighth different title winner from the state of California.
Seth Bergman, originally from Washington but now calling Owasso, Oklahoma home, ended his evening second while Paradise, California driver Kyle Hirst was third. The balance of the top five consisted of Colton Heath, from Marysville, Washington driving for car owners Kelly Welch and Alan Larson, in fourth and fifth finishing Justin Sanders of Aromas, California. Dirt Monthly Magazine/Hoseheads columnist Gary Costa put up $100.00 to the driver that passed the most cars in the main. John Clark, from Windsor, California, managed to pick up the Hard Charger Award by passing twelve cars after starting in twentieth and finishing the evening in the eighth-place position.
Burlington, Washington’s Greg Hamilton did phenomenal in time trials and picked up fast time of the night. Heat races were won by Harrisburg teenager Tyler Thompson, Jake Haulot from Cotati, California, Arlington, Washington traveler Chris Bullock, and Kyle Hirst. Greg Hamilton was victorious in the trophy dash to earn his front row inside starting position in the feature. Garen Linder, of Central Point driving for car owners Randy and Debbie Nunes, finished in first place in the consolation feature.
On behalf of the Western Sprint Tour, we would like to thank all the officials, drivers, crews, and most of the fans for making this year such a memorable Speedweek. We all are looking forward to 2020 already. For the latest news and information be sure and either visit the Western Sprint Tour Facebook page or the series website at http://www.cottagegrovespeedway.com/western-sprint-tour .
2019 Speedweek Northwest Schedule
Monday, July 8th-Siskiyou Motor Speedway-Yreka, California (Mitchell Faccinto)
Tuesday, July 9th-Coos Bay Speedway-Coos Bay, Oregon (Rained Out)
Wednesday, July 10th- Cottage Grove Speedway-Cottage Grove, Oregon (Justin Sanders)
Thursday, July 11th-Sunset Speedway Park-Banks, Oregon (Mitchell Faccinto)
Friday, July 12th-Cottage Grove Speedway-Cottage Grove, Oregon (Kyle Hirst)
Saturday, July 13th-Cottage Grove Speedway-Cottage Grove, Oregon (Mitchell Faccinto)
Race Results
Speedweek Northwest Round #5
Saturday, July 13th, 2019
Cottage Grove Speedway
Cottage Grove, Oregon
Quick Time: Greg Hamilton
Heat Race Winners: Tyler Thompson (1), Jake Haulot (2), Chris Bullock (3), Kyle Hirst (4)
Trophy Dash Winner: Greg Hamilton
B-Feature: 1. Garen Linder; 2. Jake Wheeler; 3. Ryan Robinson; 4. John Clark; 5. Matt Hein; 6. Don Waddell; 7. Nate Schank; 8. John Stuart; DNS J.J. Hickle; DNS Raquel Ivie
A-Feature: 1. Mitchell Faccinto; 2. Seth Bergman; 3. Kyle Hirst; 4. Colton Heath; 5. Justin Sanders; 6. Greg Hamilton; 7. Tyler Thompson; 8. John Clark; 9. Garen Linder; 10. Colby Copeland; 11. Emily Williams; 12. Matt Hein; 13. Jake Wheeler; 14. Tanner Holmes; 15. Devon Borden; 16. Justyn Cox; 17. Chris Bullock; 18. Kyle Miller; 19. Ryan Robinson; 20. Jake Haulot; 21. Tyler Dreiver; 22. Don Waddell
- Ben Deatherage on Jul 14, 2019
- Article Date: 7/14/2019