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Silver Dollar Speedway
Wolf Claims Track Championship at Silver Dollar Speedway
By: Troy Hennig
CHICO, CA – AUGUST 27, 2011...It was a fitting way to end the 2011 Wells Fargo point championship season Friday night. After the checkered was waived and the final main event concluded, the top three 410 sprint cars in the division were lined up side-by-side on the front stretch. Each of them winners in there own right. Andy Forsberg picked off his third main event win of the year and parked the A&A Stepping Stone #92 in victory lane. Joining him to his left was the Brian Sperry owned #51 driven by Sean Becker. Sperry was crowned the car owner champion by just one point over Chuck Wolf. But the biggest award and achievement of the night went to 19-year-old Tyler Wolf from Redding, CA. In just his second full season of 410 sprint cars, Wolf finished in the third position during the 25-lap main event, good enough to beat Forsberg by two championship points. “I was nervous coming into the track tonight,” said Wolf. “And a little nervous during the first dew laps of the main event but once we started clicking off some laps my nerves went away and I just tried to click off perfect laps.” Wolf was joined in his celebration by at least 50 friends and family members. “It’s an honor to win this championship,” said Wolf. “I might be the champ but Forsberg, he’s the man and so is Becker. I grew up wanting to be like those guys and now here I am on the front stretch with them and it feels great!” Wolf has come a long way in such a short time. He has been a pleasure to watch these past few years and the progression is just amazing to think about. “I wanted to win a race this year and pick up a couple fast times,” said Wolf. “The championship just adds some icing on the cake.”
The main event rolled along with Jonathan Allard as the leader. Allard made a rare Friday night start in preparation for Gold Cup. Allard cruised out to s sizeable lead. Jason York held down the second spot but on lap three was overtaken by Forsberg. At one point it seemed certain that the main event might go non stop. However, on lap 22, York had what looked to be a shock failure and began to lose spots. On the next lap a yellow was needed for Craig Swim. While circulating during the yellow it became evident that Allard’s right rear tire was going flat. It took a rather long time to get the line up correct before the green was waived again. As Allard accelerated the right rear was too flat and he began to get passed. Going down the back straight the tire let go and Allard stopped. This gave the lead to Forsberg. It also moved up Brad Bumgarner to second. Bumgarner and his team seemed to hit on the perfect set up tonight and he was on the charge. The race restarted and Forsberg led the final two laps to get the win. Bumgarner was second and Wolf third. Becker finished fourth and Robert Stice finished fifth.
“I saw Allard’s tire going down under the yellow and I was hoping we could get the race going soon because I wanted to pass him but didn’t want him to drop out of the race,” said Forsberg. “I knew I needed a few more cars in between myself and Tyler but in the end I have to give the kid credit. He and his family deserve this championship.” Sean Becker spoke about his team, “We had the tire problem early on and I thought we were done but we changed the tire and charged back up towards the front. I knew the points were going to be close. To win this car owner championship by one point means a lot to me and I have to thank my brother Daniel for filling in on those two nights I missed. Brian Sperry has given me a great car all year and I am honored to win this for him”
The Gold Cup Race of Champions kicks off on September 7 and runs through September 10th. Ticket information can be attained by called 530-350-7275.
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- troy hennig on Aug 27, 2011
- Article Date: 8/27/2011 by Troy Hennig / Steve Cox Photo