TULARE, Calif. – Shane Golobic is one of sprint car racing’s greatest tacticians.
The 30-year-old is calculated on and off the track. He strings together sentences the way he completes a feature event, carefully picking and choosing both the right words and spots each lap around the racetrack.
The Fremont, Calif., native’s personality coupled with his matching driving style have led to him being one of the steadiest forces on the West Coast in the last decade.
More recently, he’s become perhaps the most consistent racer of the famed Trophy Cup, finishing no worse than seventh in the final points in last four editions, including earning a pair of titles.
Heading into the 27th Trophy Cup this week, Golobic is the owner of another telling stat — he’s the only multi-time winner of the event that has never won a preliminary or final feature.
In fact, Golobic, the 2016 and 2017 Trophy Cup victor, hadn’t won a feature of any kind at Thunderbowl Raceway until 2018 when he won the Peter Murphy Classic.
So, why has this driver who is so calm and focused had such prosperity at the Trophy Cup, a spectacle where the stories of Haudenschild and Kaeding ripping the top on their way to victory echo through the decades?
The answer begins in the annual event’s design.
“I think the reason I’ve had success at Trophy Cup is the format kind of fits my style,” Golobic explained. “I’m definitely a consistency guy. The way the format works it’s all based on points, and they pay the money to the top points earner, so it works out well for me.”
The Trophy Cup points system emphasizes not only being fast each time on track, but also having an ability to pass cars.
The quickest qualifiers of each heat race are lined up at the back of their heat. While the qualifying time sets them up favorably to start the evening, moving forward in the heat is necessary as each spot gained adds three points to a driver’s overall total.
Then, in the prelim features, the top-12 points earners are completely inverted, again necessitating the fastest cars to charge.
Golobic enters the track each time with an analytic approach.
“To work your way through the field in each of the races you’re in you have to be smart,” Golobic said. “You have to be methodical and make your moves when you can. There’s a balance of being aggressive and smart.”
The balance Golobic mentioned has been a key catalyst to his success.
“The guys who have won a lot of features at Trophy Cup are usually the aggressive guys who really get after it and really pound the wall down,” Golobic noted. “But the guys who win the points are usually the ones that can be aggressive at those times and also be smart and use their equipment when they need it, positioning themselves to be the best car all weekend on a consistent basis.”
While maintaining a perceptive mindset and focusing on consistency have both played major roles for Golobic, he also pointed out that part of that equation is being aggressive at the right times.
Aggression at the Thunderbowl often equals putting the right-rear on the cushion only inches from the infamous fence, toeing the line between a great corner and a destroyed race car.
With Golobic’s approach, even he’s been puzzled at times when trying to understand why he’s been able to find speed at the three-eighths mile.
“When you think of my driving style it’s usually more of a smooth and not too wild of a style,” Golobic admits. “And usually when you think of Tulare, you think of guys like Kyle Hirst, Tim Kaeding and Rico Abreu banging the boards down with some wild, big moves. So, I’ve always kind of wondered why I’m good there.”
While the Tulare top line has made legends of the names listed, it has also gotten the better of them a time or two, and that’s where Golobic believes his advantage lies.
He may not be wowing fans by giving the wall an occasional love tap like some of the highline heroes, but Golobic is still potent on the cushion. His style allows him to maintain speed while not as often putting himself at risk, setting himself up to pounce when others make mistakes.
“With the way Tulare gets all the way up to the wall you don’t really have to be running it like those guys to run the top and do it effectively,” Golobic said. “You have to bang the boards and use the wall, but it’s not something you necessarily have to do one-hundred percent because if you do that, a lot of the time it will eat you up. It’s hard to run that wall for 30 or 40 laps straight.
“I think my deal with Tulare is I’m able to turn on that switch to be able to bang the boards with the best of them,” Golobic continued. “But also I’m able to make sure I last the race and am there at the end… I think that’s where my laid back, methodical style helps with that place.”
Golobic will bring his methodical methods to Thunderbowl Raceway this week in search of his third Trophy Cup triumph. If he’s able to pull it off, the feat will place him in elite and rare company.
The trio of names in the category of those who have won three or more Trophy Cups are Brent Kaeding, Tim Kaeding and Jac Haudenschild.
Even though Golobic values the history of the event and the significance of joining the exclusive three-time winners club, he’s approaching the week with a similar mindset to how he attacks each race, whether it’s a heat or a feature, he’s a part of.
“I’m into the history and the numbers, especially Trophy Cup but also all racing in California,” Golobic said. “Obviously Trophy Cup has been around a long time and to be able to win it was something I always dreamed of and to be able do it twice in a row was pretty cool. But going into this year those previous wins don’t really mean a whole lot, so I have to put those aside and focus on getting it done this year.”