7/21/2024
Silver Dollar Speedway
Goloic Wins The Wolf Memorial
Golobic Wins the Wolf; Merrifield Wins First Career Hobby Stock Race
CHICO, Calif., July 19, 2024… Fremont’s Shane Golobic has grabbed several special wins in his Sprint Car career and on Friday night the veteran added another, by scoring the $5,000 top prize at the Tyler Wolf Memorial in Chico.
It was Golobic’s second consecutive triumph during SCCT Western Speedweek and marked his 15th all-time victory with the Elk Grove Ford Sprint Car Challenge Tour. Special thanks to Demo Mittry of Mittry Construction, along with Gary Perkins and Keith Arellano for bumping up the winner’s share at the 11th running of the Tyler Wolf Memorial.
The Silver Dollar Speedway showcased a terrific atmosphere during the penultimate round of Speedweek and the drivers certainly gave the fans on hand an intriguing feature.
Paradise driver John Michael Bunch began the evening by setting a new SCCT track record, before winning the High Sierra Industries Dash. One of the biggest roars of the night came when Bunch decided to take the Tyler Wolf Challenge and forgo his pole position, in favor of heading back to start 19th and have a shot at making some extra cheddar.
The 35-lap finale came to the line with Chico’s Kenny Allen and Golobic sharing the front row. A big pileup occurred on the opening lap however, and Bunch was among the drivers that needed to head for the work area. Once things got going it was Allen who jumped into the lead impressively and fended off every challenge that Golobic threw his way.
The former Silver Dollar Speedway Rookie of the Year hasn’t raced much the last couple years and did a fantastic job out front leading some of the top names in California Sprint Car racing. Golobic was patient as always though and waited for the opportunity to pounce, which came on lap 16.
With Allen getting a bit tight on the cushion Golobic dove below and grabbed the lead. After that he pulled away from the field but the action behind him was as hot as the weather outside. Dylan Bloomfield and Tanner Carrick were worth the price of admission on this night, battling back and forth for numerous laps.
Bloomfield solidified the runner up spot on lap 29 and then began to reel in the leader. The 18-year-old from Oakley looked like a rocket ship as he came after Golobic and when the white flag waved, he was right there. Rounding the final set of corners it looked to be a classic finish, only to have the yellow lights flash on, bringing things to a halt.
It set up a two-lap shootout that saw Golobic hit his marks to bring home the win ahead of Bloomfield, Carrick, Justin Sanders and Andy Forsberg. Finishing sixth through 10th were Chance Grasty, Shane Hopkins, Corbin Rueschenberg, Nick Parker and Allen. John Clarke earned the Pit Stop USA Hard Charger Award, while Bunch was able to finish 16th after taking the Tyler Wolf Challenge.
Thanks to the graciousness of several people during the night, extra money was added to the hard charger and the 19th place finisher among others. A strong field of 42 cars competed with SCCT on Friday night. Bunch took home a total of $300 for the Sierra Foothills Wine Services Fast Time to begin the program.
Oroville’s Toby Merrifield electrified the Silver Dollar Speedway fans with an all-out effort to win the 20-lap Hobby Stock main event. He started fourth, but Merrifield raced his way into the lead early, and never faltered during fast and furious main event. It was his first career win. “I am so excited to finally win,” said an elated Merrifield. Merrifield was joined in victory lane by one of his best friends Zack Lindgren who also mesmerized the crowd with an incredible race.
Lindgren went into the event with a one-point edge for the Silver Dollar Speedway belt over Aaron Flournoy. With one lap remaining Flournoy had passed Lindgren and was going to win the belt, but even with his radiator busted, Lindgren got up on the wheel and willed his No. 72L back around Flournoy. The dramatic last lap pass around Flournoy by Lindgren thrilled the crowd. Both Merrifield and Lindgren celebrated on the front stretch with their teams and family. It was a moment that won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
Kyle Allen was solid all night. Allen was in the mix for the win but settled for third. Jared Flower showed tremendous speed all night. Flower maneuvered his way into a solid fourth place finish. Flournoy drifted back to fifth at the finish line.
Merrifield also won the second heat race giving him a clean sweep of the night. Lindgren won the first heat. Tonight, as of now, is the final Hobby Stock race of the season. We want to thank the drivers who attended the Hobby Stock races this season.
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Submitted By: troy hennig