TULARE, Calif. – One of California’s crown jewels kicked off Thursday night when the 27th running of the Trophy Cup got started with the first of two preliminary nights.
While Buddy Kofoid won the race, Pennsylvania native Anthony Macri stole the show in front of the Golden State crowd in his Trophy Cup debut.
After showing consistent speed all night, Macri flipped a switch late in the feature to go from just outside the top-five to a runner-up result. Macri utilized his favorite line, the fence.
“He (Steven Tiner) kind of built my confidence heading into time trials to just go out there and run it wide open, and luckily we were able to lay down a lap,” Macri said. “The heat race went pretty good. I felt like I made some mistakes during the feature there, but it’s stuff that I can fix for tomorrow. There at the end I kind of found the top and kept running harder and we were able to get into second there.”
Macri came out tied for the most points with feature winner Kofoid. The win marked the current USAC NOS Energy Drink National Midget runner-up’s second Trophy Cup prelim win.
– Kofoid was making his debut in the Works Limited No. 57 and quickly got cozy aboard the Paul Silva-prepared machine.
“The feature, that was the most comfortable I’ve ever been here at Tulare,” Kofoid said. “I was the most comfortable to run the wall and the fastest I feel like I’ve ever been up there. And when I needed to run the bottom I felt like I was good down there.
“We didn’t qualify that great and kind of scratched our heads a little bit,” Kofoid continued. “We got it better for the heat race and found some good speed for the B-main and even more for the main event. It just kept getting more comfortable and comfortable.”
– Kyle Hirst sits third in points after night one of the Trophy Cup.
After qualifying second fastest in his group and charging from sixth to third in his heat, Hirst’s fifth place feature run was enough to place him on the points podium.
– Two of the top-three drivers in NARC-King of the West standings, D.J. Netto and Dominic Scelzi, tied for fourth in points.
Netto finished third to earn his second career Trophy Cup feature podium.
Scelzi surged into the top-five late but faded back to sixth at the checkered flag.
– Two-time Trophy Cup champ, Shane Golobic, seemed poised to be the high-point driver after solid qualifying and heat performances and early feature prowess.
Golobic had driven from ninth to second but contact with Kofoid in the battle for the lead ended his chanced at the win and ultimately dropped him to 11th in points.
Positions six through ten in points after the first night were occupied by Cory Eliason, Corey Day, Colby Copeland, Tyler Courtney and Justin Sanders.
A pair of impressive feature finishes were posted by Zane Blanchard (11th) and Bradley Terrell (12th).