PLACERVILLE, Calif. — Justin Sanders won a NARC sprint car thriller and a $5,500 payday with an exciting performance in the 40-lap Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial at Placerville Speedway.
He made a late move to get past race leader Shane Golobic to secure the impressive victory aboard the Mittry Motorsports-fielded Farmer’s Brewing Company No. 2x KPC.
Beacon Wealth Strategies Trophy Dash winner D.J. Netto set the standard once the initial green flag but had to deal with several restarts due to several stoppages in the early laps. NARC rookie driver Gauge Garcia drove like a seasoned veteran and began to pressure Netto for the point and passed the leader on the eighth trip past the flag stand.
Garcia, piloting the Keller Motorsports Monarch Ford XXX sprinter, established a commanding lead over the rest of the competition as Netto had his hands full with ARP Fast Timer Andy Forsberg in his Pacific Highway Rentals No. 92 Maxim. After a caution on the 22nd circuit, Golobic, driving the NOS Energy Drink No. 17w, played cat and mouse with the leader, eventually riding the cushion past the low-groove riding Garcia to take the point on lap 26.
Garcia did not go away quietly and kept Golobic honest. The script was flipped in the final 10-laps when the fifth-starting Sanders emerged as a late race contender. A lap 34 restart witnessed Sanders propel his car into the runner-up spot and get around Garcia, before performing a banzai move in the final set of turns to procure the lead at the wire on the 35th trip around the quarter-mile clay oval. Golobic returned the favor a lap later to retake the lead.
A red flag incident with only two-laps remaining set the stage for a green-white-checkered showdown. On the restart, Sanders would again throw caution to the wind and got around Golobic with a daring maneuver out of turn four as they raced toward the white flag. It proved to be the winning move as Sanders collected his third career Placerville NARC win and his 17th series victory.
“That was some hard racing,” stated Sanders in victory lane. “I thought when I passed (Shane) and then ran the top and got over the curb that it was over. When I saw him go to the top of three and four, that really surprised me, and I figured he would throw a blocking line on me, and that would have won him the race. Me and Shane have raced really hard for fifteen years now and he’s the guy I always look for on the scoreboard.”
Unfortunately, Golobic would jump the cushion on the final lap which allowed for a shake-up in the top five finishing order, with Garcia grabbing second.
“One thing about these guys like Justin and Shane is they have this place down,” commented an incredibly happy runner-up Garcia after his NARC career best finish. “I can’t thank this team enough, and it’s super great to see all this stuff paying off, and we’re starting to put results together.”
Two-time NARC champion Dominic Scelzi had an incredible run in the Whipple Superchargers No. 41 Maxim, earning Williams Roofing Hardcharger honors with a methodical 17th-to-third run.
Colby Copeland made a cameo appearance in the Clark Family entry and finished fourth in the CCI Electrical No. 12t Helix. Netto wrapped up the top five finishers.
The finish:
Feature (40 Laps):Â 1. 2X-Justin Sanders [5]; 2. 2K-Gauge Garcia [2]; 3. 41-Dominic Scelzi [17]; 4. 12T-Colby Copeland [9]; 5. 88N-DJ Netto [1]; 6. 17W-Shane Golobic [6]; 7. X1-Michael Faccinto [21]; 8. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield [10]; 9. 3-Kaleb Montgomery [15]; 10. 42X-Justyn Cox [18]; 11. 21-Cole Macedo [24]; 12. 21S-Shane Hopkins [23]; 13. 121-Caeden Steele [20]; 14. 2XM-Max Mittry [12]; 15. 26-Billy Aton [22]; 16. 02-Austin Torgerson [16]; 17. 29-Bud Kaeding [3]; 18. 92-Andy Forsberg [8]; 19. 7B-Sean Becker [4]; 20. 54X-Ryan Bernal [14]; 21. 10-Dominic Gorden [7]; 22. 83T-Tanner Carrick [11]; 23. 45-Jake Morgan [13]; 24. 93-Stephen Ingraham [19]
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