Silver Dollar Speedway, Chico, CA
Geoff Ensign wasn't particularly thrilled with his last results in Dave Johnson's #32 Wingless Sprint car when he was nipped at the wire at the checkers at Petaluma Speedway the week prior and finished 2nd. The team hooked up again this night at Chico's Silver Dollar Speedway in hopes of erasing the sting of having the main event in your hands going into turn 3 on the white flag lap, only to get beat in a drag race to the wire. Mother Nature had her own plans and when the team unloaded, the unseasonable cool of the North Bay had been replaced by the seasonable hot, with temperatures hovering around 95 degrees and with some wind to boot.
With 27 cars on hand, and using a draw show format, Ensign drew the 5th starting spot in his heat race and, with track conditions going dry due to the weather, not much passing was done, a pattern forming for the night. A yellow here and a red there during heat race action slowed the proceedings, in which Ensign started feeling a right rear tire going down during the yellow flag laps with three laps remaining. Ensign rode the race out and held onto 5th, despite the tire being completely flat at the checkers. After the race, a tow was needed to get the #32 to the scales to make it official.
It didn't get much better come main event time when Ensign started 13th:
"We were so far back and it was hard to see because of the dust. It got one grooved, so you had to follow the car in front of you and hope they weren't driving off the track."
At the end of the night, Ensign picked his way to 9th spot.
Undeterred, car owner Dave Johnson threw a curveball at Ensign, asking if he wanted to go to Antioch the next night for their Wingless show. Ensign jumped at the opportunity and the crew packed up and headed for the races, back to back style.
Saturday, August 21 2010
Antioch Speedway, Antioch, CA
16 Wingless Cars showed up and again, the draw wasn't kind to Ensign, putting him 8th and last on the grid in his heat race. At this point, I refer you to the nickname "Human Highlight Reel", as Ensign put on a show, driving through the field up to third at the checkers. Ensign would be rewarded for the effort by starting on the inside of the second row after the pill draw.
The main event took awhile to get started after a couple false starts, but once it went green, Ensign seized the lead within three laps and was masterful on the front end all race long. Antioch Speedway point leader Tommy LaLiberte, running 2nd, threw everything he could at Ensign, including making some hard contact with him but couldn't make the pass for the lead as the Sebastopol driver held strong on the point, eventually flashing under the checkers for his first Wingless Sprint Car victory of the year.
"I'm happy to get the win for car owner Dave Johnson. I really appreciate the chance to stay in the car while I'm working to get my 360 back together to finish the season." a beaming Ensign said in victory lane.
Ensign's next race is scheduled to be in Johnson's #32 at his home track this upcoming weekend, Petaluma Speedway.
For more information on Geoff Ensign or to contact him, check his Facebook page (search Geoff Ensign) or email The Human Highlight Reel at [email protected].
- Ron Lingron, Heavy Metal Racing
PHOTO GASPAR PHOTOGRAPHY SPEEDWAY PHOTOS
