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Scott Pierovich from Alamo wins the Larry Burton Classic in Roseville

Roseville’s All American Speedway was the scene Saturday night of some of the best sprint car racing in California. The USAC Western Sprint Cars and the USAC Western Pavement Ford Focus Series including the Young Guns all competed. Here is a release from Blakesley Sports Media describing the action.

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA (May 15, 2011) – Alamo’s Scott Pierovich stormed to an impressive victory in Saturday night’s Larry Burton Classic at All American Speedway, leading the final 36 laps to win by 2.1 seconds over a field of 18 USAC Western Sprint Cars.

Pierovich’s win marked his third straight victory this season but his first in the USAC Sprint Cars in 2011. With the win, Pierovich extended his points lead in the overall USAC Western Classic Racing Series while he ranks second in the USAC Western Sprint Car Series on pavement.

Saturday’s action on the .333 mile asphalt oval opened up with Lincoln’s Tony Hunt taking the Echo Power Equipment fast-time with a 12.694 second lap. Hunt was awarded a gas powered leaf blower courtesy of Echo and Citrus Heights Saw & Mower. Pierovich, rookie Cody Gerhardt, Santa Rosa’s Brian McClish, and Audra Sasselli rounded out the top-five.

Luis Ramos III led the field to green while Pierovich began to move forward from fifth. By lap six, Pierovich had taken over second place from Sasselli.

The yellow came out on lap six when Shauna Hogg stalled in turn three after contact from San Francisco’s Tim Barber. Barber’s car suffered front end damage in the incident with his front bumper bar sticking straight out.

On the restart, officials attempted to black flag Barber while Pierovich went after Ramos. Pierovich made a diving pass inside Ramos in turn one to take the lead on lap 14.

The caution came out again on lap 17 when popular dirt sprint car driver Andy Forsberg tangled with the lapped car of Dave Dias. Forsberg was done for the night to the disappointment of his fans after driving from 18th to 12th in a dirt chassis that had been quickly adjusted for pavement earlier that day.

Sasselli back pedaled on the restart, eventually falling back to sixth place as she was freight trained by the leaders. That moved Ramos into second before Hunt passed him on lap 27.

Sasselli engaged in a thrilling back and forth duel with Sebastopol’s Geoff Ensign, as they did in Madera, finally taking fifth on lap 44.

Despite his large lead, Pierovich continued to run laps at pole speeds to stretch his lead to over two seconds. Pierovich ripped underneath the double-checkered flags with Hunt coming home a distant second.

Ramos fought off a challenge from Gerhardt to take third with Sasselli defending fifth over Ensign.

Heat race wins on the evening went to Hunt and Pierovich. Kaeding Performance awards for $50 were given to Gerhardt and Folsom’s Jerry Kobza.

The Sprint Car of the 2010 USAC Western Sprint Car Champion Tony Hunt from Lincoln

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 The USAC Western States is available at www.usacwesternstates.com with contact information and the latest news.

The USAC Western Classic Racing Series is brought to you by: Amsoil, Hoosier Tires West, and Kaeding Performance.

USAC AMSOIL WESTERN/WESTERN CLASSIC SPRINT RACE RESULTS: May 14, 2011 – Roseville, California – All American Speedway

QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Tony Hunt, 56, Phulps-12.694; 2. Scott Pierovich, 14, Pierson-12.713; 3. Cody Gerhardt, 40, Western Speed-12.796; 4. Brian McClish, 69, Kaiser-12.805; 5. Audra Sasselli, 77, Sasselli-12.829; 6. Luis Ramos III, 21, Kaplan/Gennuso-12.851; 7. Shauna Hogg, 5, Hogg-12.902; 8. Gordon Rodgers, 94, Dusin-12.934; 9. Tim Barber, 3T, Finkenbinder-12.945; 10. Tim Skoglund, 60, Western Speed-13.025; 11. Geoff Ensign, 3F, Finkenbinder-13.092; 12. Jerry Kobza, 93, Kobza-13.117; 13. Justin Kawahata, 15, Harvest Supply-13.998; 14. Bill Logan, 98, Logan-14.394; 15. Bob Diaz, 24, Diaz-NT; 16. Don Emory, 50x, Emory-NT; 17. Marvin Mitchell, 68, Mitchell-NT; 18. Andy Forsberg, 92, Forsberg-NT.

FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Hunt, 2. Gerhardt, 3. Hogg, 4. Sasselli, 5. Diaz, 6. Ensign, 7. Emory, 8. Barber. NT

SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Pierovich, 2. Skoglund, 3. Ramos, 4. Forsberg, 5. Kobza, 6. Logan, 7. Rodgers, 8. Mitchell, 9. McClish. NT

FEATURE: (50 laps) 1. Scott Pierovich, 2. Tony Hunt, 3. Luis Ramos III, 4. Cody Gerhardt, 5. Audra Sasselli, 6. Geoff Ensign, 7. Tim Skoglund, 8. Shauna Hogg, 9. Jerry Kobza, 10. Gordon Rodgers, 11. Bob Diaz, 12. Brian McClish, 13. Tim Barber, 14. Andy Forsberg, 15. Bill Logan, 16. Justin Kawahata, 17. Don Emory. NT
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-13 Ramos, Laps 14-50 Pierovich.

NEW AMSOIL WESTERN SPRINT POINTS: 1-Hunt-143; 2-Pierovich-119; 3-Sasselli-119; 4-Ramos-116; 5-Gerhardt-108; 6-Ensign-105; 7-McClish-97; 8-Kobza-87; 9-Rodgers-82; 10-Skoglund-80.
NEW WESTERN CLASSIC SPRINT POINTS: 1-Pierovich-164; 2-Hunt-159; 3-Kobza-126; 4-Ensign-123; 5-Sasselli-119; 6-Ramos-116; 7-Hogg-113; 8-Gerhardt-108; 9-Barber-101; 10-McClish-97.
NEW WESTERN CLASSIC SPRINT PAVEMENT POINTS: 1-Pierovich-164; 2-Hunt-159; 3-Kobza-126; 4-Ensign-123; 5-Sasselli-119; 6-Ramos-116; 7-Hogg-113; 8-Gerhardt-108; 9-Barber-101; 10-McClish-97.

NEXT WESTERN CLASSIC SPRINT RACE: June 11 – Madera (CA) Speedway

– A Blakesley Sports Media Release

T.J. Bell from Sparks has a sponsor for the Coca-Cola 600

MIAMI, May 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Green Smoke®, one of the nation’s leading electronic cigarette brands, is proud to announce that it will sponsor T.J. Bell in the 52nd running of the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, May 29th at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Bell, who is known to NASCAR fans in the Camping World Truck and Nationwide Series, will pilot the No. 50 Green Smoke® Toyota Camry in his first attempt to qualify for NASCAR’s longest race on the sport’s largest stage – the Sprint Cup Series.

Green Smoke’s sponsorship of Bell will mark its first NASCAR endeavor, as well as the first NASCAR sponsorship by any organization within the electronic cigarette industry.

T.J. Bell from Sparks, NV and the No. 50 Green Smoke Toyota Camry. — T.J. Bell from Sparks, NV and the No. 50 Green Smoke Chevrolet.

“One of the world’s signature televised sporting events, NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 is the ideal global platform to showcase the partnership of Green Smoke® and T.J. Bell, a talented NASCAR driver who is making the move to NASCAR’s premiere division, the Sprint Cup Series,” states Steven Arnold, VP of Marketing & Customer Satisfaction for Green Smoke®, an industry leader in providing an authentic, alternative smoking experience.

“NASCAR represents the passion and peak performance of American race car driving to a worldwide audience and T.J. Bell epitomizes the NASCAR competitive spirit at its very best,” continued Arnold. “A gifted driver at the threshold of an exciting career, T.J.’s talent has captured the attention of the American public in past performances in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Bell’s No. 50 Green Smoke® Toyota Camry will be state-of-the-art equipment. We look forward to seeing Bell and the Green Smoke® Toyota Camry competing among the biggest names in NASCAR.”

“Every driver goes into racing wanting to compete at the highest level possible. Green Smoke® has come on board to make racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series a reality for me and I’m looking forward to putting our No. 50 Green Smoke® Toyota Camry to the test at Charlotte,” said Bell, who currently resides in Mooresville, NC. “This is a big step forward for my career and Green Smoke® couldn’t have picked a more perfect market to promote its product. I’m looking forward to a great future with Green Smoke® and a very exciting Coca-Cola 600 debut.”

T.J. Bell (Timothy Peter Bell, Jr.), born August 25, 1980 in Sparks, NV, has raced in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR Nationwide Series. Prior to joining the stock car racing scene, he made a name for himself in the Toyota Atlantics Series. Bell has raced for more than two decades, accumulating 20 top-10 finishes in ARCA competition and 13 NASCAR career top-10s.

Green Smoke® will sponsor Bell’s No. 50 Toyota Camry for at least three Sprint Cup events this season.

About Green Smoke®

Green Smoke® Inc. is based in Miami, FL and was founded to provide smokers with an exciting new alternative to traditional cigarettes. As a leading electronic cigarette brand, Green Smoke® was amongst the first companies to deliver a simple two piece e-cigarette. Today, Green Smoke® continues to pride itself on consistently delivering the highest quality products and the most authentic e-cigarette smoking experience.

To follow T.J. Bell, visit http://tj-bell.com or on Twitter @TJBell_Racing.

J.R. Hildebrand from Sausalito is the Fastest Rookie at Indy

For those of you following the progress of Northern California native, J.R. Hildebrand in his rookie year in the IZOD IndyCar Series, it has been an exciting week. J.R. has been impressive in each new challenge and it continued this week in Indianapolis. The leader in the Rookie of the Year standings all year, showed that he is not your average rookie, completing the rookie orientation in a little over an hour and was the fastest on the track. Another NorCal rookie is former NASCAR Sprint Cup and Formula One driver Scott Speed from Manteca, CA. The following is a press release from Panther Racing.

J.R. Hildebrand from Sausalito, CA on the track at Indy.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – (May 12, 2011) – It took National Guard Panther Racing driver JR Hildebrand just over an hour to complete the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s four-phase Rookie Orientation Program on Thursday afternoon, and by the end of the day the 23-year-old Californian was the fastest of the seven rookies who participated. Hildebrand was joined on Thursday by fellow IZOD IndyCar Series rookies Scott Speed, James Hinchcliffe, James Jakes, Ho-Pin Tung, Charlie Kimball and former Panther Firestone Indy Lights driver Pippa Mann.

“This is pretty cool being at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and part of the big show for the first time,” Hildebrand said. “This is why we’re all here – everybody wants to compete in the Indianapolis 500, and it’s a big deal when you get to be a part of this event. We were actually able to complete all four phases (of ROP) in just three runs so we’re happy to get that out of the way. You can definitely feel how much quicker it is compared to the Firestone Indy Lights car, 20-30 mph quicker, and that makes a big difference all the way around the track.”

Hildebrand posted a quick lap of 221.533 mph, 40.6260 seconds and he turned a total of 68 laps on the day. Hildebrand’s teammate Buddy Rice, driver of Panther’s No. 44 entry, was on hand for the majority of the day and was quick to assist Hildebrand with nuances of the Speedway’s tricky 2.5-mile oval. Rice and Hildebrand had come to the track on Wednesday afternoon and did some laps in a road car together in preparation of Hildebrand taking his first laps today.

“It’s such a big help having Buddy Rice around as well,” JR continued. “He and I have gotten along really well and we came out here yesterday just shooting the bull about what’s going on on the racetrack and he shared some little things he’s picked up over the years, I know he’s going to be a great teammate and a great addition all around to the team. The two of us together can definitely propel things forward for the entire team throughout the month.”

ROP consists of four phases a driver much complete to participate in practice for the Indianapolis 500. The driver must complete: five laps between 200-205 mph; 10 laps between 205-210 mph; 10 laps between 210-215 mph and 10 laps above 215 mph.

NorCal driver J.R. Hildebrand currently 16th in the IndyCar points standings. — NorCal driver J.R. Hildebrand, currently 16th in the IndyCar points standings.

Hildebrand is the current leader in the IZOD IndyCar Series Rookie of the Year point standings. He made two starts at Indianapolis during his Indy Lights career, finishing runner-up in 2009, the year he won the series championship, and led the race on two occasions for a total of 23 laps.

“In terms of the feel of the car; I’ve always said the Indy Lights car is a great proving ground for the IndyCar – the feel is very similar and they’re both on Firestone tires and both on Dallara chassis,” Hildebrand continued. “We were flat chat all the way around during our last run when getting through the last phase of ROP so it’s very special to be here and able to take this all in, especially on a day like today when there’s not a lot of people out here.”

He becomes the third Panther rookie to attempt to qualify for the Indianapolis 500, joining Tomas Enge (2005) and Mark Taylor (2004). Enge started in the 10th position and was running inside the Top Ten when he was taking out by Danica Patrick, who spun during a Lap 154 restart during her rookie season. Taylor started 14th and finished 30th after contact with fellow rookie Ed Carpenter early in the race.

Open Day at Indianapolis is Saturday when the track will be open for all drivers and teams hoping to make the 33-car field for the 100th Anniversary of the Indianapolis 500. Pole Day qualifications will take place the following Saturday with Bump Day commencing a week from Sunday to solidify the ‘500’ lineup.

The 95th Running of the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race will be broadcast live on ABC on Sunday, May 29th at 12:00 pm (ET) with additional coverage provided by the IMS Radio Network, XM Channel 145 and Sirius Channel 121.

www.JRHildebrandRacing.com – www.pantherracing.com – www.NationalGuard.com