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8/28/10-Petaluma Speedway
Geoff Ensign keeps finding himself in the thick of things when the
checkered flags come out at the end of main events. He wouldn't have it
any other way considering just a few weeks ago, he was without a ride.
"The Human Highlight Reel" added another clip with a thrilling, white
flag lap pass on Petaluma Speedway Wingless Sprint Car point leader
Sparky Howard and put the Dave Johnson prepared #32 Wingless Sprint Car
into victory lane for the second time in as many races, this one at
Petaluma Speedway.
The night started out well for Ensign as he won his heat race which
included former Petaluma Speedway point leader Scotty DuPont and some
guy named Jimmy Sills who you may have heard of. When Sills' rear end
broke, Ensign, who had come from third on the grid to run a strong
second, inherited the lead and drove away from the field in an
impressive display of driving.
When the main event was drawn up, Ensign found himself again starting third on the grid and after four laps, he was still there.
"We were just trying to get some laps in and stay out of trouble early." Ensign would say later in the pits.
On lap 5, Ensign went high, wide and handsome in turns 1 and 2 to
grab the second spot and set his sights on leader Sparky Howard. From
lap 5 to lap 24, Ensign hounded Howard, and these two put on a show
never before seen at Petaluma Speedway in the Wingless Sprint Car
division, with Ensign throwing everything at the veteran, trying to get
to the front. Multiple times, they were side by side off of corners,
down the stretch and everywhere in between. The fans were electric for
the entire distance as these two pulled away from everybody but each
other, and each driver respecting the other with contact never being
made at any point. It was a true throwdown at P'Town as Ensign and
Howard would not waver, neither making mistakes. Finally, as the white
flag waved, Ensign got a great run off of turn 4 and hit the line in
front of Howard, but again, the pass was not complete until coming off
of turn 2 and down the backside, where Ensign finally completed his
quest for the top spot. Howard drove in deep to turn 4, but Ensign was
already there and gone by then, and the checkers flew and the stands
erupted after seeing one of the great battles in Wingless Sprint Car
history at the Petaluma Adobe.
Afterwards, Ensign said, "I just kept trying to time it right since
he had the better line. I finally got it right off of four and made it
work."
This makes back to back wins for Ensign as the Ensign/Johnson team won at Antioch the week prior.
Rumors of Ensign's 360 sprint car being back together makes one
wonder which car the Sebastopol driver will choose for Friday's 360
Wingless "Run What Ya Brung" show at Petaluma Speedway, as there is
added money for the highest finishing carbureted car, but the fans can
rest assured The Human Highlight Reel will be there.
To contact Geoff Ensign, go to his Facebook page (search Geoff Ensign) or email Geoff at [email protected].
Ron Lingron-Heavy Metal Racing
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