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Buddy Kofoid and Van Dyke Motorsports Tally Runner Up Finish at Sprint Car Challenge Tour Opener
By Gary Thomas
Placerville, CA – April 2, 2018…The Van Dyke Motorsports team with driver Michael “Buddy” Kofoid put together their best outing of the season this past weekend, highlighted by a strong runner up effort at the Sprint Car Challenge Tour presented by Elk Grove Ford and Abreu Vineyards season-opener in Placerville.
With Mother Nature finally cooperating with warmer weather Van Dyke Motorsports opened the double header by competing in the opening Winged 360 Sprint Car point race at Silver Dollar Speedway on Friday. After qualifying 15th, Kofoid went on to finish second in the heat race and then had a solid run in the feature to carve his way from 14th to sixth in the 25-lapper.
“We didn’t get qualified as well as we wanted early in the night, but to rebound and pass cars in the feature was a positive,” Kofoid commented. “We’ve had a really good handle on the car in both main events this year at Silver Dollar Speedway and we look forward to getting back there next Friday.”
On Saturday the team headed to Placerville Speedway for opening night with the Sprint Car Challenge Tour. A stout 46-car field was on hand during the event and Kofoid started it off by timing in fastest among his heat race group. The Penngrove racer went on to finish fourth in his heat race and then second in the Race Punk Dash to earn a front row starting spot in the 35-lap feature.
At the waving of the green flag he fell in line behind pole sitter Mitchell Faccinto and ran comfortably in the runner up spot for much of the race. Right around the midway point lapped traffic came into play and allowed him to close the gap, while also trying to fend off World of Outlaws regular Brad Sweet. The 16-year-old looked to have a couple opportunities to pounce on Faccinto and did pass for the lead at one point down the front stretch, but couldn’t hold the spot off the second corner.
The remainder of the race saw Kofoid keep Faccinto in his sights and close in over the final few laps but had to settle for a runner up finish at the checkered flag. View highlights from the A-main at https://bit.ly/2Iqdlwm
“We had a great run on Saturday with the Sprint Car Challenge Tour and even though I would have liked to finish one spot further up, we’ll take a second in such a strong field of cars,” said Kofoid. “A few times I thought I could get under Mitchell Faccinto for the lead and I did that one lap, but he did a really good job and earned the win. I’m thrilled to have a successful weekend for Harley Van Dyke, Gary Silva Ranches and everyone that supports this race team.”
Kofoid is now set for another double-header of action this weekend, beginning on Friday night with a return visit to the Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico. On Saturday the No. 5H team will make the trip down Interstate-5 to Kern County Raceway Park for the King of the West-NARC Fujitsu Racing Series opener.
Van Dyke Motorsports and Michael “Buddy” Kofoid would like to thank Gary Silva Ranches, Lucas Oil Products, NAAKE Suspension and JRI West, T&T Trucking, Rafter V Farms, Hansen Machine Works, Sonoma Paint Center, North County Plastering, Flowmaster and Kevin Sharrah Designs for their support this season.
Chico and Placerville Quick Recap-
Silver Dollar Speedway March 30: Qualified (15th), Heat Race (2nd), A-main (6th)
Placerville Speedway March 31: Qualified (1st in Flight 4), Heat Race (4th), Dash (2nd), A-main (2nd)
Upcoming Races-
Friday April 6: Silver Dollar Speedway (Winged 360 Sprint Cars)
Saturday April 7: Kern County Raceway Park (King of the West-NARC 410 Sprint Cars)
Social Spotlight-
Follow car owner Harley Van Dyke on Twitter https://twitter.com/HarleyVanDyke
Follow driver Michael “Buddy” Kofoid on Twitter https://twitter.com/MichaelKofoid , Instagram @michaelkofoid11 and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/michaelbuddy.kofoid
GT Promotions-
GT Promotions is a media company focusing on public relations and social media management for motorsports venues, series, race teams and more. Since 2006 we have worked with numerous clients to boost exposure through our various channels. To inquire about becoming a part of the GT Promotions team simply email [email protected] and to keep up with our work follow https://twitter.com/garythomasGT
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