HANFORD, Calif.— Shane Golobic won the 30-lap Dave Helm Memorial for the 360 sprint cars at Keller Auto Speedway on Saturday night.
Golobic drove his familiar blue and orange No. 17w supported by NOS Energy Drink and Elk Grove Ford to a $2,000 payday.
In a battle of the “Diaper Dads,” Dominic Scelzi settled for runner-up honors after a fierce battle with Golobic during the latter part of the race. Outside-front-row-starter Chase Majdic finished third after leading the first eight circuits before being passed by Scelzi.
Grant Duninkerken and Craig Stidham rounded out the top five.
Dash winner Ryan Rocha and Majdic brought the 21-car field to the green flag with Majdic taking the lead as the duo completed the first lap.
Scelzi quickly moved to the second spot after starting third while Justin Sanders would take the third spot on the next lap. The race’s first caution would come out on the fifth lap for Mauro Simone who stopped in the fourth turn.
On the restart, Sanders nearly went over the first-turn banking when his car wouldn’t turn. He stopped and brought out another quick yellow.
Scelzi took the lead with a first-turn pass on Majdic. Two laps later Majdic regained the lead in lapped traffic. The battle allowed Golobic, who started ninth, to make it a three-car tussle as the race had reached his halfway point.
On the 15th circuit, Scelzi made a first-turn pass to take back the lead. On the next lap, Golobic also picked the first turn to pass Majdic and take over second.
Five laps later, Golobic passed Scelzi as the two not only were fighting among each other, but also had to deal with lapped cars. Once Golobic got around Scelzi, the slower traffic thinned out and Scelzi wasn’t give the same opportunity to take the lead back.
A lap-26 caution flag for a stopped Connor Danell set up one last chance for a lead change, but Golobic was too strong and took the win.
The finish:
Shane Golobic, Dominic Scelzi, Chase Majdic, Grant Duninkerken, Craig Stidham, Ryan Rocha, Max Mittry, Tucker Worth, Brendan Warmerdam, Michael Pombo, Zane Blanchard, Brooklyn Holland, Caeden Steele, Brandon Stidham, Ashlyn Rodriguez, Gauge Garcia, Mauro Simone, Jared Faria, Connor Danell, Kurt Nelson, Justin Sanders