Marysville Resluts (Complete) 98-10-17

Weisz takes the gold in 1998 Civil War finale at Marysville

Despite finale absence, Roger Crockett is the 98 Civil War champion

MARYSVILLE (10-17-98) - The 1998 California Sprint Car Civil War Race Series came to it's conclusion Saturday night on the tight 1/4 mile Twin Cities Speedway in Marysville, California. This event, the 13th of the 1998 campaign, drew a total of 47 entrants, many of which were new to the series and traveled down from the Pacific Northwest to gear up for the Pacific Sprint Fall Nationals taking place later this week at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico.

Despite the added competition, Colfax racer Colby Weisz bested the field on the track he calls home and became the 10th different driver to score a Civil War feature win this season. Weisz drove to victory aboard the same Gary Weisz owned #21n machine that led him to much success in the 1998 Twin Cities championship campaign.

After placing fourth in his heat race, Weisz started on the pole of the 30-lap feature event by means of the Taylor Wings inversion which had Mark Hall, the tenth fastest driver to qualify for the main event drawing an eight. Kyle Schild of Sacramento started on the outside of Weisz with track regular Ricky Wondergem of Grass Valley starting on the inside of the second row and Diamond Springs' Jimmy Trulli on the outside.

At the waving of the initial green flag a pair of cautions delayed the start of the 30-lap feature event. The first delay was a yellow flag when Grass Valley driver Billy Wallace stalled on the track. The second delay was a red flag that flew when Jonathan Allard of Chico flipped on his side in the second turn and collected Grass Valley driver Jeff Halleib.

When the official green came out, Schild took advantage of his outside starting position to power ahead of Weisz. The first six laps of the feature went flawless until the seventh circuit when the first of several yellow flags began to fly when Washington visitor Mike Sapher suffered a broken front suspension. Once this incident was cleared green flag racing resumed until the 12th lap when a yellow flag came out for a stray muffler on the track forcing Mike Monahan into the pits by means of the black flag.

With 12 laps in the record book, the restart placed Weisz on Schild's tail for the green flag while Trulli maintained a strong third position. Schild maintained the point for the next lap and a half until he lost control of his Neil Schild owned #16 mount in the second turn. As Schild slid to the infield and fell back several positions before gaining control, Weisz took advantage of the situation and powered into the lead where he was followed by Trulli, Kevin Lovell of Yuba City and Chad Riolo of Roseville.

One lap after Weisz took over the top spot another yellow flag brought the event to a pause and cleared the track for the leader. This time the caution was for Nevada City racer Mark Hall who lost his drive train and retired to the pits for the evening. Two additional yellow flags delayed the remainder of the event. The first caution coming out on the 22nd lap when Wallace suffered a blown power plant. The final yellow flag flew on the 23rd circuit when fast qualifier Andy Forsberg of Auburn hit the wall but was able to restart and continue at the green flag.

Despite the challenging restarts, Weisz maintained the front position for the remainder of the race despite serious challenges by Trulli. During the last two laps, Weisz and Trulli raised the Twin Cities crowd to their feet as the two drivers raced side by side in a heated battle for the lead. At the finish line Weisz picked up his first Civil War victory of the year. He was followed by Trulli, Kevin Lovell, Riolo, Brent Dothage and Schild.

In preliminary action on Saturday fast qualifying honors went to Forsberg. In heat race competition Halleib, Wallace, Dothage and Wondergem all picked up victories. A trouble-free C-main event has Tim Sherman of Citrus Heights earning the win as he held off Troy Degaton, Shawn Whitney and Adam Mcarthey. Mike Monahan was the first driver to the checkered flag in the B-main event. Monahan was followed across the line by Steve Watts, Rich Tiner, Jonathan Allard and Jason Finley.

Series point leader Roger Crockett of Rio Linda was absent from Saturday's event to compete in the Trophy Cup at San Jose Speedway Crockett was joined by second place Civil War point-runner Shane Scott and third place David Robinson Jr. in this event. The season-long series point leader held a 63-point advantage prior to the final segment so he is undoubtedly the 1998 Civil War Series champion. Although official points will not be tallied until Monday morning, preliminary calculations indicate that Scott should maintain the second position as well. Official point standings for the 1998 Civil War Series will be released this week followed a complete event recap by the office of John Padjen Motorsports.

CALIFORNIA SPRINT CAR CIVIL WAR RACE SERIES TWIN CITIES SPEEDWAY, MARYSVILLE, CALIFORNIA SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1998 ROUND #13 (FINAL)

TOTAL ENTRANTS: 47

FAST QUALIFIERS: 1) Andy Forsberg 2.) Mike Monahan; 3.) Steve Watts

HEAT 1: Jeff Halleib; Mark Hall; Kyle Schild; Andy Forsberg; Jason Finley.

HEAT 2: Billy Wallace; Mike Wasina Jr.; Chad Riolo; Kevin Lovell; Korey Lovell.

HEAT 3: Brent Dothage; Jim Trulli; Alan Bradway; Colby Weisz; Dave Angus.

HEAT 4: Ricky Wondergem; Art Mcarthey; Mike Sapher; Mark Tabor Sr.; Mike Parsons.

C-MAIN: Tim Sherman; Troy Degaton; Shawn Whitney; Adam Mcarthey; Mark Tabor Jr.

B-MAIN: Mike Monahan; Steve Watts; Rich Tiner; Jonathan Allard; Jason Finley.

A-MAIN: Weisz; Trulli; Kevin Lovell; Riolo; Dothage; Schild; Wasina; Watts; Bradway; Halleib; Tiner; Tabor Sr.; Forsberg; Wallace; Wondergem; Hall; Monahan; Sapher; Allard; Whitney.

LAP LEADERS: Kyle Schild 1-13. Colby Weisz 14-30.