Contact: World Racing Group Chris Dolack, VP Media/PR Kevin Kovac, DIRTcar Racing PR 704-795-7223 * DIRTcar.com
Chico's Papenhausen Pumped For Saturday Night's Inaugural Western Allstars DIRTcar Late Model Series Event At His Hometown Silver Dollar Speedway
CHICO, CA - Aug. 13, 2008 - No one is more excited about the first-ever Western Allstars DIRTcar Late Model Series event at Silver Dollar Speedway this Saturday night (Aug. 16) than Richard Papenhausen.
A resident of Chico, Calif., Papenhausen is relishing the rare opportunity to run his dirt Late Model in actual competition at his hometown track.
Saturday night's 30-lap, $3,000-to-win A-Main for the region's premier dirt Late Model tour will mark the full-fender division's first action in nearly a decade at John Padjen's Silver Dollar Speedway, a high-banked, quarter-mile oval that's known as a haven of 410 Sprint Car racing.
"It's great to have Late Models back at Chico," said Papenhausen, a 42-year-old veteran racer who is a regular in Silver Dollar's dirt Modified class on Friday nights. "I've hot-lapped my Late Model there like three or four times this year, but that's not the same as racing it. I can't wait to get out there (on Saturday night).
"I think everybody (from the dirt Late Model division) will like the track a lot. It's real racy, so it should be a great show."
Papenhausen is an accomplished dirt Modified driver at Silver Dollar, standing as the defending track champion and current 2008 points leader. But his successes with his team's dirt Late Model, which he enters in selected events, have come far from his home, including his first career Western Allstars DIRTcar Late Model Series victory on May 31 at American Valley Speedway in Quincy, Calif.
"The closest track we run the Late Model is Antioch (Calif.), which is about two-and-a-half hours away," said Papenhausen, who travels to dirt Late Model shows in California, Nevada, Oregon and Arizona. "Most of the time we have to drive at least five or six hours to run the Late Model, so it's nice to finally have a race in our backyard."
A partisan crowd filled with family and friends will certainly be behind Papenhausen, who has visions of a big post-race celebration dancing in his mind as Saturday's race night approaches.
"We'll have a real good party if we win," smiled Papenhausen, who has two dirt Modified victories this season at Silver Dollar and a half-dozen more at other tracks in the Golden State.
Papenhausen's experience at Silver Dollar should give him an advantage, but he's taking nothing for granted. He knows he'll have to battle some of the West Coast's top dirt Late Model drivers, including Western Allstars DIRTcar Late Model Series points leader Bobby Hogge IV of Salinas, Calif., Chris Shannon of Merced, Calif., A.J. Kirkpatrick of Castroville, Calif., and Zack Forster of Bakersfield, Calif.
"The level of competition (with the Western Allstars) makes it tough to win any race," said Papenhausen, who campaigns a Rocket Chassis dirt Late Model owned by his father and uncle. "I'm expecting there to be 30 to 40 cars (at Silver Dollar) this Saturday, so nothing is going to come easy. We'll have to be on top of our game if we want to win."
With interest in Saturday night's special event running high among the Silver Dollar Speedway faithful, Papenhausen is confident that the first dirt Late Model program at the track since 2000 will be a big step for the division's regional prospects in general and the Western Allstars DIRTcar Late Model Series in particular.
"I think (Padjen) will get the fan support for the race," said Papenhausen, who makes his living operating an auto repair shop. "It means a lot to have a race at a well-known track like Chico, and hopefully we'll get more Late Model shows there next year."
For more information on the Western Allstars DIRTcar Late Model Series event at Silver Dollar Speedway, visit www.johnpadjenmotorsports.com<http://www.johnpadjenmotorsports.com/> or www.westernallstars.com.
Additional info on all of the series, sanctioning and member tracks of DIRTcar Racing is available by logging on to www.DIRTcar.com.