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The “Jimmy Sills Classic” is Saturday Night at Shasta Raceway Park


By Steven Blakesley from Blakesley Sports Media

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA (October 5, 2011) – The hotly contested USAC Western Classic and USAC Western Sprint Car Series points battles will continue on to Rick Faeth’s Shasta Raceway Park on Saturday night with the “Jimmy Sills Classic”.

The races will honor Northern California racing icon Jimmy Sills for his contributions for the sport. Sills is a North State legend who has won over 400 races around the world and more than 17 major race, track, or series championships. Sills’ USAC accomplishments include the Perris Oval Nationals and three USAC Silver Crown championships.

Geoff Ensign of Sebastopol won the USAC Western Classic Racing Series dirt championship on Sept. 8th at Chico

21 year-old Geoff Ensign of Sebastopol leads the USAC Western Classic points aboard Ted Finkenbinder’s #3F over six-time USAC champion Tony Hunt. After a close race at Madera in the “Harvest Classic”, Hunt finished the third ahead of Ensign in fourth allowing Hunt to close within nine points in the standings.

Alamo’s Scott Pierovich leapt to third in the USAC Western Classic standings after winning the “Harvest Classic”. Pierovich and Hunt put on one of the best pavement races of the year in the “Gerhardt Classic” in April before Pierovich dropped out with mechanical problems. The win at the Harvest was a redemption race of sorts for the #14 Ken Pierson-owned mount.

Hunt is not only chasing down Ensign but in the midst of one of the West Coast’s toughest points battles as he tries to win the USAC Western Sprint Car Series for pavement sprint cars. Hunt leads popular female racer Audra Sasselli by five points. 17 year-old rookie sensation Cody Gerhardt stumbled at Madera and fell to 36 points back from Hunt.

Tony Hunt from Lincoln, CA a 6-time USAC Champion.

The fast Shasta Raceway Park three-eights mile will come to life with a strong field of sprints expected. Clovis’ Luis Ramos is expected to return to action after missing Madera. Idaho standout Johnny Geisler will make his much anticipated return to California and is also expected to compete at Irwindale on October 15.

Ensign’s teammate Tim Barber of San Francisco will be back in the #3T car and Gerhardt’s teammate Tim Skoglund is also expected. Pavement regulars Gordon Rodgers, Don Emery, Marvin Mitchell, and John C. Anderson are planning to race this weekend.

Teams will participate in a Friday practice session from 4 – 8 p.m. before getting underway with racing activities on Saturday. Pit gates open at 1 p.m. with practice starting at 2 p.m. Racing is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $12 for adults ages 18-62, seniors 62+, juniors 13-17, and the military are $10, children 5-12 $8 while children under 5 are free. The family pass for two adults and four children is $30.

The Shasta Raceway Park is located at the fairgrounds in Anderson and online at www.shastaracewaypark.net.

More information on the USAC Western Classic Racing Series is available on Facebook at keywords “USAC Western Classic Racing Series”. The United States Auto Club is online at www.usacracing.com.

Our thanks to Steve LaMothe of Steve’s Racing Photos for the use of his photos.

Matt Scott Wins His Second Late Model Title, Moves up to NASCAR West Series


By Steven Blakesley from Blakesley Sports Media

PINE GROVE, CALIFORNIA (September 20, 2011) – On Saturday night, 19 year-old Matt Scott won his sixth Late Model main event of 2011 at All American Speedway to take the NASCAR Late Model championship. With the championship, Matt Scott Racing will now move into the NASCAR K&N Pro Series, West beginning at All American Speedway on Saturday October 15.

“The level of competition is a lot higher in the West so I’m really just looking for a good top-five finish or top-ten finish to get my feet wet,” Scott said.

The 2011 NASCAR Late Model championship is the second straight for the 19-time main event winner.

Scott not only won the race on Saturday but he also took quick time in time trials with a 13.80 second lap around the one-third mile asphalt oval. An invert of seven placed Scott seventh on the grid for the 50 lap main event with Scott jumping up to third by lap 12.

After taking second from NASCAR West regular Travis Milburn, Scott began to reel in rookie Dylan Hutchison for the lead. On lap 44, Scott moved past Hutchison to drive to a comfortable victory before a large crowd of supporters on championship night.

Matt Scott's No. 35 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS

“I was biding my time to get through pack so I’d have a car left for the leaders,” Scott said. “I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to reel in Hutchison because he was so far ahead so it was nice to get the win!”

Scott finished within the top-four in all 14 races for the NASCAR Late Models this year at All American Speedway and starting his NASCAR K&N Pro Series, West career at the speedway should give him a good opportunity for success.

“It would mean a lot to win the race as I’ve watched the series race at Roseville over the years and with it being our home track,” Scott said. “There’s definitely a bunch of nerves going into it as I want to do well.”

Matt Scott Racing took delivery of a NASCAR K&N Pro Series, West car last week and will carry co-primary sponsorship from Kamps Propane and RPM NorCal in its debut on October 15. Additional sponsorships are needed to fill out the car for October 15 and for the 2012 season where Matt Scott Racing intends to run the entire season.

“This is a good chance to partner up with a corporate sponsor or maybe even an up-and-comer who would like to grow with us as we go up the NASCAR ladder,” Scott said.

Race fans can help support Matt Scott Racing by making a $5 donation towards tickets for the October 14 Late Model race at All American Speedway. The $5 donation can be made at www.mattscottracing.com. Matt Scott is also in contention for the national Most Popular Driver poll on Speed51.com where fans can vote once daily.

Nineteen year-old Matt Scott from Pine Grove, CA.

Potential sponsors are urged to contact Steven Blakesley at steven@norcalmedia.com or (916) 509-7049 for details on sponsoring Matt Scott Racing.

Matt Scott Racing’s 2011 NASCAR Late Model championship was made possible by BJB Enterprises, Inc., RPM NorCal, Karp Capital, Kamps Propane, Jimboy’s Tacos, CatchYourEye.com, Halm Metal Fab, Pardee Lake Recreation, DoubleTree Hotel Monrovia, Hobbs Construction, T.A.S. Construction, Sumseeds, Red Corral Auto, and Blakesley Sports Media. Matt Scott would like to thank his crew, sponsors, and fans for their support this season.

Race fans can learn more about Matt Scott Racing at www.mattscottracing.com or “Matt Scott Racing” on Facebook.

J.R. Hildebrand of Sausalito Finishes 7th on the Road Course in Japan

National Guard Panther Racing Driver Extends Rookie of the Year Lead, Moves Up to 13th in the Championship

J.R. Hildebrand at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA.

MOTEGI, Japan (September 18, 2011) – National Guard Panther Racing driver JR Hildebrand collected his best career road/street course finish Sunday at Japan’s Twin Ring Motegi, where the IZOD IndyCar Series rookie collected a seventh-place finish. Hildebrand finished one spot better than his previousnon-oval best of eighth place, which happened earlier this year on the Streets of Toronto. With the result, Hildebrand extends his lead in the IZOD IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year standings to 14 points over Newman/Haas driver James Hinchcliffe, and moves up to the 13th position in the overall points’ championship.

Hildebrand qualified in the 19th position and had moved to 11th-position on the track following a quick pair of cautions for the stalled car of Joao Paulo de Oliveira (Laps 22-24) and contact between Ryan Briscoe, Dario Franchitti and Graham Rahal (Laps 26-26) – both of which occurred almost immediately after the team’s first pit stop on Lap 20. Hildebrand maintained that position until the team made its final stop on Lap 42, and returned to the field in the 11th position chasing local favorite Takuma Sato, and with three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves and defending series champion Dario Franchitti in hot pursuit behind him.

In the final 10 laps, Hildebrand moved past Mike Conway and then drove through an incident between Ryan Hunter-Reay and Sebastian Bourdais that caused the final caution flag of the race on Lap 58. A restart on Lap 61 saw teammates EJ Viso and Sato collide into Turn One and former Panther driver Vitor Meira spin off course in Turn Three, causing local cautions in both turns on the final lap. Castroneves passed Hildebrand going into Turn Three on the last lap for seventh position, but was penalized for passing under the local yellow and sent to the end of the lead lap, securing Hildebrand’s seventh-place result.

The IZOD IndyCar Series will have a weekend off as teams return to the United States before traveling to Kentucky Speedway on October 2nd for the Kentucky Indy 300, which will be broadcast live on VERSUS at 2 pm with additional coverage provided by the IMS Radio Network, XM channel 94 and Sirius channel 212.

JR Hildebrand, No. 4 National Guard Dallara Honda:

“We all worked together this weekend to get a car that wasn’t necessarily the fastest in the field, but one that was easy to sit back and rip off some laps. And for today’s race, that’s what you needed. The National Guard boys gave me a good car and we were able to be smart about where we were at on the track and pick points to be aggressive. Really happy with the way it worked out and that we were able to hold off Helio (Castroneves) and Dario (Franchitti) at the end, and all-in-all a good run for the boys here and a great way for us to end the road course action for this season. I’m happy to see Dixie (Scott Dixon) get a win here. I know how hard he works and on top of that he’s one of the nicest guys in the paddock. It’s cool to see that pay off for him; he’s had a lot of tough luck this year, so big ups to the No. 9 car boys.”

www.JRHildebrandRacing.com – www.PantherRacing.com – www.NationalGuard.com.

– Panther Racing, Press Release