CHICO, Calif. – Northern California’s roughly nine-month sprint car season began last weekend and featured a few familiar faces in the winner’s circle.
Hanford’s Keller Auto Speedway provided a pair of sprint car programs with the Kings of Thunder 410 & 360 sprint cars.
Utilizing some added free time due to the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars being rained out, Carson Macedo climbed aboard a Tarlton Motorsports entry and won the 410 portion.
It was Macedo’s fourth victory in his last six sprint car races at his home track.
After a race-long duel with Macedo, Kerry Madsen, who was debuting in the Roth Motorsports No. 83 with the Toyota Racing Development engine under the hood, settled for runner-up.
Continuing his improvement at bigger tracks, Justin Sanders wheeled the Mittry Racing No. 2x to a fourth-place finish, his fourth top-five in his last five 410 races at Hanford.
Sanders plans to continue running select 410 events in the Mittry machine throughout 2022.
Perhaps the most notable name in the rundown could be found in the ninth position. Making just his second winged sprint car start, USAC/CRA veteran Brody Roa kept his nose clean and came away with a top-10.
– On the 360 side, Shane Golobic methodically worked his way to the front to earn his third Hanford triumph in the last year after waiting until early 2020 to score his first career victory at the three-eighths mile. The Matt Wood Racing driver also finished third in the 410 feature, making him the only competitor to podium in both events.
– Farther north at Marysville Raceway Andy Forsberg thrilled the opening night crowd with a final lap pass to top Tanner Carrick, marking Forsberg’s 12th win at Marysville since the beginning of 2019.
– With opening weekend in the books, race season is wasting no time ramping up as this week the focus turns to one of the state’s premier 360 sprint car races with the John Padjen Classic Silver Cup at Chico’s Silver Dollar Speedway.
The two-night event scheduled for March 4-5 will usher in a new era at the historic facility. The pair of races will be the first under the new promotional group composed of Kyle Larson, Brad Sweet and Colby Copeland (SLC Promotions).
With excitement brewing for the new leadership and the track’s hopeful direction, the weekend is sure to attract many of the state’s best bullringers.
Sanders is the defending Silver Cup winner having swept the event in 2021.
– Silver Dollar Speedway legend, Sean Becker is set to start his year in the Cook Motorsports No. 22x this weekend.
Becker is second on Chico’s all-time sprint car win list with 66 triumphs to his credit. Becker is also runner-up on Silver Cup feature win list with five, and he’ll have a chance to both tie and pass Roger Crockett’s Silver Cup record tally of six victories.
– Fellow Chico titan Forsberg hopes to start his year with victories on his first two weekends after winning at Marysville.
Like Becker, Forsberg is aiming to tie and potentially pass Crockett at the top of the Silver Cup win list. Forsberg’s most recent Silver Cup victory lane visit came in 2018 when he swept the two nights.
– Another driver with plenty of laps around the quarter-mile who plans to kickoff his race season at the Silver Cup is Tim Kaeding.
Kaeding will enter his fifth year driving for Bates-Hamilton Racing. The combo already own a prestigious victory at Silver Dollar Speedway after Kaeding claimed the 2019 edition of the Fall Nationals, marking his 61st sprint car victory at the Butte County facility.
– While it isn’t set it stone, Tarlton Motorsports tentatively plans to again unload a trio of cars this coming weekend with one minor adjustment to the roster.
Instead of Keller Auto Speedway winner Carson Macedo in their third entry, his younger brother Cole Macedo plans to be the pilot. Cole last raced at Chico in a late 2019 360 race and came away with a top-10.
– Mitchell Faccinto is coming off a sixth-place result at Hanford in his first race with Tarlton Motorsports. The 29-year-old is the owner of a 2016 Civil War Sprint Car series trophy that was earned at Silver Dollar Speedway.
Filling out the Tarlton fleet will be Gauge Garcia who made his sprint car debut this past weekend.