Bumgarner Gets Emotional Victory at Marysville
(May 30, 2015) Marysville, CA…It was five years in the making for Chico’s Brad Bumgarner who earned a hard fought 25-lap sprint car main event win Saturday night at Marysville Raceway. Saturday’s triumph was his second career winged 410 sprint car main event win. His previous victory took place at Silver Dollar Speedway in 2010. “I am blessed to have my grandparents, parents, wife, brothers and my kids stick behind me all these years,” said Bumgarner in victory lane. “I’m just so lucky to get to do what I love every weekend. This sprint car win means so much to me.”
Bumgarner netted the win and deserves all the credit. It had to be nerve racking for the driver who was so desperate for a win. He had his entire clan of Bumgarner family members and friends watching him. His friend Roger Otten had sworn off shaving his beard until Bumgarner won a main event. Otten was in attendance and did get his “Santa Clause” beard shaved off. Entering tonight’s event Bumgarner knew that this was a golden opportunity for him to get back into victory lane.
Yet, up to lap 12 he wasn’t even the fastest driver on the track. That honor belonged to Rowdy McClenon of Anderson. McClenon led the first 12 laps with ease and at one point had amassed a huge lead over Bumgarner. Yet, a mechanical failure would end his night. McClenon’s left rear tire came off unexpectedly while he was sliding through turns three and four. This caused his car to dig into the track and flip over on its side. McClenon’s night was done but he did receive a ton of applause for his effort during the race. If McClenon could have held on, it would have been his first career 410 sprint car win.
On the ensuing restart Brandon Dozier was in the runner up spot. Up front Bumgarner brought the field very slow into turn one. Dozier tried to capitalize and pass Bumgarner on the inside. Unfortunately Dozier miss judged just how slow Bumgarner was going and the two made contact. Dozier suffered damage to his car and the next lap went to the pit area.
The two hard chargers of the night were Redding’s Keith Bloom and Colfax champion Colby Wiesz. Bloom started in the 11th spot and charged up to second late in the race. In fact, if Bloom didn’t suffer through motor issues during qualifying and his heat race, he might have started further towards the front of the main event. Wiesz rolled off the grid in 14th and worked his way up to third. Wiesz was the highest finishing 360 sprint car driver of the night and received a nice bonus from promoter Dennis Gage. Billy Butler continues to shine at Marysville and ran strong all night. His fourth place finish was a testament to his tenacity on the track. Butler also picked up his first fast award of the season at Marysville. His fast lap was a 13.220. Mike Monahan rolled up to a fifth place finish. Monahan deserves credit due to his love and dedication to Marysville Raceway.
Oroville’s Heath Hall and McClenon each were victorious in their heat race events. A total of 16 sprint cars competed during point race #6.
Only four cars showed up for the Limited Late Model race tonight. Marysville’s Ryan McDaniel dominated both the lone heat race and the 15-lap main event. He won the main event by nearly seven seconds over Ryan Peter. Scott Woessner finished in the third spot and Evan Scroggins was fourth.
The IMCA Sport Mods are quickly becoming a crowd favorite. An entertaining main event was captured by all around good guy Howard Law. Jason Ferguson led laps two through twelve. Matt Magenheimer led the first lap; however, his night ended early when he sustained too much damage on lap three. Law was able to pass Ferguson on lap 13. For the final seven laps Law was able to extend his lead over Ferguson. At the end of the race Law held an almost three second advantage. Brian Cooper was soon pressuring Ferguson for second. The two had a spirited by friendly battle the final few laps of the race. At the checkered flag Ferguson beat Cooper by less than a half second. Jimmy Ford and Jim Waller had the closest battle of the night. Ford beat Waller by .012 seconds at the finish line. Cooper and Ferguson each won their respective heat races.
Jerry “The General” Bartlett returned to his winning ways during the 15 lap Super Stock main event. Bartlett held off challenges from both Courtney Dozier and James Castleberry. Both Dozier and Castleberry had opportunities to pass Bartlett but neither was able to complete the job. Mike Walko deserves credit as he drove a solid race to finish in the third spot. Bartlett is a polarizing figure in the sport and his colorful yet creative post race interview was informative and full of bold statements. Castleberry won the lone heat race for the division.
Full results can be found at www.mylaps.com/en/events/1146580
