News

PETALUMA, CA (7-23-11) -Fremont's Shane Golobic grabbed the lead from Steven Tiner of Elverta with just three laps remaining, in a race that began with a series of crashes before developing into a thrilling high-speed charge to the finish, and held on for the victory in last Saturday's 30-lap California Sprint Car Civil War Series feature at Petaluma Speedway.

Golobic's $2000 victory marked the third and final appearance of the season for the premier traveling sprint car series and the second straight year the talented 19-year-old has prevailed against some of the best sprint car drivers in Northern California.

Twenty-nine Civil War Series drivers competed for the 22 spots in the feature, with Tiner, second-ranked in the point standings, earning a front row start next to eighth-ranked Herman Klein of Sacramento. Golobic started third and five-time series champion and current points leader Andy Forsberg, of Auburn, who was gunning for his third straight series win at Petaluma Speedway, started ninth.

Klein led the first 10 laps before getting into the berm at the bottom of Turn 4 allowing Tiner to go around him for the lead. The two drivers briefly traded the lead again before Tiner took charge on Lap 13 with Klein, Golobic, Chico's Stephen Allard, and Trent Canales of Roseville giving chase. Klein was finished for the night after looping his car on Lap 20 and from that point on Golobic had his sights set Tiner. In lapped traffic, three laps from the finish, Tiner gambled that the bottom would lead him through the back markers but found his path blocked by a slower car while Golobic went high and soared into the lead.

"We were in lapped traffic where it becomes a guessing game and I guessed wrong," said a disappointed Tiner after the race. "We come here to win races, not to finish second."

Chasing Golobic and Tiner across the finish line were seventh-starting Trent Canales, 15th starting Kyle Hirst, Allard, Forsberg, Jake Haulot of Cotati, Penngrove's Alissa Geving, Jeremy Burt, and Sebastopol's Geoff Ensign. Greg DeCaires of Elk Grove finished 11th after starting 22nd.

Geving, ranked fourth in the Civil War standings, led the final four laps to win the 10-lap B-main and earn a transfer spot to the feature along with Eric Humphries, Ensign, Haulot, Ivan Worden of Cotati, and DeCaires.

Heat races were won on Saturday night by Steven Tiner, Kyle Hirst, Herman Klein and Jeff Parady. Sean Becker was the fastest qualifier of the night with a 12:780 second lap. Point leader Andy Forsberg was second quick with a 12:787 followed by Willie Croft with a 12:894

Following his sixth place finish on Saturday night, Forsberg continues to lead the point standings in the Civil War Series. The 2011 campaign is one of the most competitive in history as Forsberg holds a mere 5 point advantage over Tiner now. Hirst is third in the standings, 27-points out of the lead while Geving remains fourth, trailing the leader by 59 digits. Becker rounds out the top five with 10 events complete, 76 points out of the lead.

The Civil War Sprint Car Series will now head to it's biggest battle field, the half mile Calistoga Speedway on the Napa County Fairgounds. The Calistoga Cup is next on the schedule, Saturday, August 6. For further information on this great event watch www.civilwarsprints.com or www.calistogaspeedway.org.