Three champions crowned at Placerville Speedway

PRESS RELEASE
PLACERVILLE SPEEDWAY, PLACERVILLE, CA.
FROM THE OFFICE OF HANDY RACING PROMOTIONS INC.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 2009
MEDIA CONTACT: BILL SULLIVAN: sullivanimages@sbcglobal.net           

 
Champagne showers pour in Championship finale at Placerville
 
Tilford takes Pure Stock title;Wiesz wins Sprints; Bartlett Late Models
 
Media Release from Handy Racing Promotions, Inc.
 
PLACERVILLE, CA – The 2009 Red Hawk Casino Championship season was one of the most closely watched racing campaigns in recent years at ASA Sanctioned Placerville Speedway. Saturday night the storybook season came to an end with an incredible display of celebrations, sportsmanship and camaraderie amidst champagne showers.
            Following the final checkered flag of the season, three different drivers were crowned. Colby Wiesz of Colfax won his second straight title in the sprint car division. Jerry Bartlett of Yuba City claimed his first Placerville title in the Late Model class and Tom Tilford of Citrus Heights claimed his second career championship in the highly contested pure stock division.
            Entering the final night of the season, the most anticipated championship chase of the year remained in the Pure Stock division. Tilford, a 2002 track champion here with deep roots in the history of Placerville Speedway as the brother of former Pro Stock champion Jon Tilford and the nephew of the legendary Super Stock ace Donnie Tilford.
            Tilford returned this season with a second championship insight and the journey to get there was one of the most competitive seasons at the 44 year old dirt track. Throughout the year, Tilford raced side by side with Chico lady racer Heather Bartlett. This was Bartlett’s first year at Placerville after winning championship in Orland, Marysville and most recently, Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico.
            Throughout the entire season, Tilford and Bartlett remained first and second in the standings, swapping the lead point position several times during the year. Tilford won a total of eight feature events while Bartlett won four. The famed duo that earned national media attention throughout the year entered Saturday night a mere 8-points apart in a contest where a driver can earn as many at 45-points in a single night.
            Much like every night this year, the action was superior from the waving of the green flag. Tilford picked up five championship points in his heat race with a win while Bartlett earned four points with second place in her race, one that saw a wild race to the finish and a last turn collision while challenging for the lead. Bartlett’s car received it’s share of damage in the incident but she managed a second place finish.
            “I couldn’t believe that finish in her heat race,�?? said Tilford. “That was wild. At first they didn’t think she was going to be able to start the main because her car was so damaged and I told them if she didn’t start the main I wouldn’t start it either. I knew I would still win the title but I didn’t want to win it like that with some kind of 50-point margin. It was close all year and I wanted it to stay that way.�??
            In the feature event, Bartlett managed to return to the line up and for one final time she and Tilford put on a top performance for the packed grandstand of fans that have fallen in love with this dynamic duo. Jason Englund of Citrus Heights took the lead at the start of the race and went on to win the feature event while Tilford and Bartlett dueled for the second position the entire 20-laps. Tilford finished in second place while Bartlett finished in third. In the end a mere 10-points separated the two.
            “This was the most incredible season for us,�?? said Tilford, who celebrated his first championship as a father with his youngter, Rogan, in his arms. “My family encouraged me to come back and run for another championship. I never imagined it would have been like this. Racing with Heather all season long like we did was great, I’ll never forget this year and this little boy sure has a lot of great videos to watch of Dad racing with her for this championship.�??
            Heather Bartlett finished in second place but claimed the Silver Dollar Speedway championship just two weeks ago. Following Saturday’s race the 23-year-old displayed her true class and sportsmanship, congratulating Tilford before the crowd.
            “This year has been so wonderful,�?? said Bartlett. “I have to congratulate Tom Tilford on this championship, he earned it and racing him for it all year has been an experience. I want to thank all the great fans here that supported me, it’s been incredible. I’ll never forget this.�??
            In the Sprint Car division, the celebration was quite mellow for the track championship compared to that of the night’s feature win that went to Camron Mendes of Rohnert Park. Mendes led all 25-laps of the race to claim his first ever feature victory. Following the win, Mendes got a handshake from Colby Wiesz who claimed the season championship for the second straight season here.
            Driving for veteran car owner John Taylor, Wiesz had his share of misfortune during the year. However, Taylor and his team maintained their resilient ways to rally to the title once again. The accomplishment was record breaking for Taylor as it marked his fourth straight championship as a car owner, a feat that has never been done at Placerville.
            Saturday night, Wiesz had hopes of celebrating the championship with a victory but after his car came to a stop late in the race he ended his season with a 16th place finish. Wiesz ended the season with a 16-point advantage over C.J. Humphreys of Placerville. Scott Russell of Placerville finished in third overall over Andy Forsberg of Auburn and Justin Johnson of Shingle Springs.
            “It’s been a tough year for us finish wise,�?? said Wiesz. “But we managed to stay in the point lead most of the season and I have this team to thank for that. Winning this title for John Taylor is an honor for me and I just want to thank his entire family for this opportunity and the crew for all their hard work this season. They deserve this for everything they do.�??
            In the Limited Late Model-Pro Stock division, Jerry Bartlett started the night with an 11-point lead over defending track champion Dan Brown Jr. of Nevada City. In heat racing, Brown closed the gap to 10-points, however, with a nine-car field all Bartlett had to do was simply start the 15-lap feature event to clinch the title. 
            Brown took the lead at the start of the feature event Saturday and never looked back as Bartlett chased him to the line one final time. Brown won the battle with his third feature win of the year while Bartlett won the war with the bridesmaid position and a 9-point advantage for the track title. Jay Norton of Shingle Springs finished third overall over Placerville drivers Forryst Carnett and John Krehbiel.
            Following his second place finish, Bartlett parked at the start finish line where he climbed on top of his purple #00 and took a formal bow while the well known song “Flying Purple People Eater�?? played over the PA at his request. All season long Bartlett has been the driver fans have loved or loved to hate. In his final appearance it seemed the majority of them enjoyed the moment.
            “This has been a great season for Heather and myself,�?? said Bartlett. “Racing with Dan Brown for this championship has been exciting for me and I hope it was exciting for you fans. The biggest thrill for me was watching my daughter do so well all year and I want  to congratulate her and Tom Tilford for their year. I’m not sure what our plans are for next year because we haven’t really picked a track yet but we’ll see where we end up.�??
Action will return to Placerville Speedway for two post season events on September 19th with Gene Romero’s Flat Track Series and September 26 for the Civil War Sprint Car Series