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Becker leads Civil War Race Series back home to Silver Dollar Speedway for round eight
by Bill Sullivan

CHICO, CA (7-16-08) - This Friday night the Hoosier Racing Tires Civil War Sprint Car Series returns to action at John Padjen's Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico. The event will be the eighth round of competition in the 15 race series for winged 360 cubic inch powered sprint cars and will mark the second appearance of the year at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds.

Friday night, Sean Becker of Sacramento will lead the roster of contenders to the Silver Dollar clay as he heads back to the track where he made his racing debut several years ago and won the 2006 track championship. A native of nearby Oroville, Becker always looks forward to returning the track he calls home.

"I always look forward to racing back at Silver Dollar, whether it's a Friday night points race, a Civil War or a Golden State event," said Becker, who has spent this season focused on the 2008 Civil War title aboard the Scott Miller #2sb. Sprint car.

Becker, who recently became a new father, will return to the driver's seat this week with the momentum of the largest win of his racing career, the 3rd Annual Mark Forni Classic that he captured last Saturday night, winning a whopping $5000.

"I can use that money, that little girl of mine wants a lot of things already," said Becker. "To win the Forni race is a true honor and I owe it to this great team, they give me a great car every track we race."

Becker enters Friday's competition with a 34 point lead over Auburn's Andy Forsberg in the Civil War point standings. Forsberg is another Silver Dollar Speedway track champion and is the defending four time Civil War Series champion. Becker has one win his name this season in the series while Forsberg has two victories.

Kyle Larson of Elk Grove is third in the standings, just 35-points from the lead. Herman Klein of Sacramento ranks in fourth place, just 53-digits away from the lead. Sitting in the fifth position is Placerville driver Andy Gregg. Gregg has been on the injured list for the past week and a half following knee surgery. At press time it was unknown if Gregg would return to the seat, but likely Sacramento's Willie Croft will be behind the wheel in his absence.

Former two-time series champion David Robinson Jr. of Foresthill has slipped three positions in the standings recently. Robinson has suffered a series of hard luck about the FnF Racing #X1, most recently suffering a vicious roll over in round six at Petaluma Speedway.

Sitting in the seventh position is Penngrove lady driver Alissa Geving, the 16-year-old third generation driver that has been dominating the point lead at Petaluma Speedway since the start of the season. Following the sixth round of competition, Geving advanced three positions in the Civil War point standings and sits an even 100-points behind the leader.

Mike Benson of Calistoga advanced three positions in the recent Petaluma event as well. Benson enters Friday night's event in eighth place in the standings ahead of Escalon's Myles Bishop. Much like Geving, Bishop is in pursuit of the Civil War Rookie title in 2008 and sits 112-points from the leader. Willie Croft of Sacramento rounds out the top ten in the current series point standings.

The gates to Silver Dollar Speedway will open at 6 p.m. on Friday night with qualifying starting at 7:30.Adult tickets will be $15, Juniors will be $10 and Children will be $5. As a reminder to all drivers and fans attending the races this weekend, the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds is still being used as a home base for the firefighter fighting the area wildfires. All those attending the races will be required to enter the speedway off of Dr. Martin Luther King Parkway and then turn on to Silver Dollar Way near Costco. For further information on the Civil War Series visit www.johnpadjenmotorsports.com.