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MOTORSPORTS TEAM PRESS RELEASE – JOHN TAYLOR MOTORSPORTS-COLBY WIESZ
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, AUGUST 3, 2008
MEDIA CONTACT: Bill Sullivan: [email protected]
TEAM CONTACT: [email protected]
Wiesz and Taylor team place fourth in high octane Civil War feature event at Placerville Speedway
By Bill Sullivan
PLACERVILLE, CA (8-2-08) – Colfax driver Colby Wiesz continued his ‘take no prisoners” front running ways at Placerville Speedway Saturday night aboard the John Taylor Motorsports owned M&M Structures, Thompsons Auto and Truck Centers #35m JEI sprint car. Wiesz muscled his way to a fourth place finish in the 30-lap feature event but his story of success was action packed from the start of the night until the finish.
Wiesz and the Taylor Motorsports Team have led the weekly Placerville Speedway point lead all season long and currently do so by an impressive 56-point margin. On Saturday, the Hoosier Tires Civil War Series pushed weekly championship racing aside to bring California’s best drivers to the ¼ mile clay oval where Wiesz is eying his first track title and Taylor is looking to become the first car owner in track history to win three consecutive titles at Placerville Speedway. The previous two championships owned by Taylor were won with Elk Grove’s Greg DeCaires behind the wheel.
Entering Saturday’s event, which is a traveling race series consisting of 15 events at 5 different California tracks, Wiesz was 10th in the championship point standings in this venue. At the end of the night he advanced into eighth overall and what an incredible show he put on doing so. The success started in qualifying when Wiesz turned the fourth fastest lap in time trials with a 10:908 second lap. The effort was one of just five drivers who qualified in the 10 second bracket on Saturday as track conditions rapidly changed with the summer heat.
In preliminary competition, Wiesz took part in one of the longest heat races in recent history at Placerville, a 10-lap event that was plagued with red flags and accidents. Starting in the sixth position, Wiesz was involved in an opening lap incident involving five different cars in the fourth turn. It was a classic scenario of five sprint cars attempting to fit in a space with a maximum capacity of two to three. The incident sent fellow competitor Billy Strange Jr. upside down into the turn four wall and dog pile of cars following suit, Wiesz being one of them as he was unable to avoid the incident.
With a damaged front wing from the incident, Wiesz returned to the line up from the rear of the field and when the green flag dropped the three time Marysville track champion began driving like it was the last sprint car race to ever take place. Charging his way back to the front, Wiesz captured the checkered flag to win his second Civil War heat race of the year and his fourth heat race win overall in the season.
In the feature event, Wiesz started in the sixth position of a race that saw one of the most heated battles among the top four drivers in recent history. Wiesz managed to muscle his way to a fourth place position in the 30-lap affair, finishing behind point leader Sean Becker, David Robinson Jr. and Kyle Larson. The accomplishment was the team’s second top five finish in Civil War action and was the 11th top five finish overall at Placerville in the 12 events where Wiesz has competed.
This coming weekend, the John Taylor Motorsports #35 will not be in contention as they have chosen to forego the upcoming Calistoga Civil War event to focus on the Placerville Championship campaign. Wiesz will compete in his family owned car on Friday night at Silver Dollar Speedway, testing the 410 motor that the Taylor team will utilize in the upcoming Gold Cup Race of Champions where they plan to compete. Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday nights.
“We’re going to skip Calistoga this week, we aren’t worried about the Civil War point too much and we are locked in for the Wednesday show at Gold Cup,” said Taylor. “Right now our focus is the Placerville Championship and then we’ll move on to running the Gold Cup with Colby’s 410 in the car. We’re having a great year and running the Gold Cup will be a fun way to cap it off.”
Colby Wiesz will return to Placerville Speedway on Saturday, August 16th for “Morrison Concrete Kids Night” at Placerville Speedway. The event will mark the first of just three championship point races in the remaining season at Placerville Speedway.
Colby Wiesz and John Taylor Motorsports Marketing partners for 2008 include M&M Structures; Thompson’s Auto & Truck Centers; DSR Graphic’s and Signs; Rowes Auto Body; Ervin Sales Group; PT Shocks; Performance Plus Carpet Care; A.R.T. Enterprises; Joe Hunt Magnetos; JB Enterprises; and Tony Borello Racing Engines.
PRESS PHOTO ATTACHED
PHOTO CREDIT: Steve Lamothe, www.stevesracingphotos.com
Colby Wiesz drove the John Taylor Motorsports #35 sprint car to fourth place the Civil War Series event at Placerville Speedway on Saturday, August 2. Wiesz currently leads the standings in the weekly Placerville Speedway championship series and will take this weekend off from competition to focus on the closing weeks of the Hoosier Racing Tires championship campaign at Placerville.
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