California Hardtops Return To Placerville Speedway Saturday

Placerville, CA...The popular California Hardtop Association returns to Placerville Speedway for a race this Saturday night. Many drivers regard the quarter-mile bullring as their home track, and they always put on a good show for the fans when they're in town.

The group takes their show on the road to various different venues, both dirt and pavement. They continue to add new names to the winner's list this year. Last Saturday night, they headed to Antioch Speedway for what turned out to be a good battle between recent Petaluma Speedway winner Jason Armstrong and Terry DeCarlo. DeCarlo, was an original supporter of the association when it first started. He was also one of the last drivers to race Hardtops at Vallejo Speedway when the division was discontinued there. He scored the victory in a car that was originally owned by Southern Oregon racing legend Harold Hardesty.

Armstrong may have settled for second, but his win at Petaluma ahead of Ron Ruiz was quite impressive. That July event was the first win for Jason this season. In fact, the Hardtops have featured multiple winners this season, including Dave Reed, Ruiz, Ken Retzloff, Dave Stewart and Jason Clifford. You never know who's going to win. Clifford won the most recent Stockton race ahead of Roger MacShain, Joe Shenefield, Trophy Dash winner Dennis Armstrong and "The Rocket Man" Ken Clifford. Ken, who is the father of Jason Clifford, is just getting his car back up to speed following the crash he had at Merced earlier this year.

Jason Armstrong has won his share of races at Placerville through the years, and he may go into Saturday night as the driver to beat. Interesting enough, he has been shut out of the podium at the previous two Placerville visits this year. Reed won the first race ahead of Retzloff and Ruiz, but Ruiz outran Reed and Retzloff at the most recent race with Tom Grady a respectable fourth.

The Hardtops are actually experiencing a bit of a revival these days on the West Coast. The California Hardtop Association carries the banner for the movement in the Northern California area and races at many different venues. Down south in Bakersfield, the Bakersfield Hardtops race at Kern Raceway and Bakersfield Speedway and have a good following there. In Oregon, the Old Time Racers of Oregon run V6 motors with slick tires on the dirt, while PRA continues to compete on the pavement of Roseburg. Hardtop racing is alive and well in 2018!

Some of the drivers anticipated for this Saturday night's event include Jason Armstrong, Dennis Armstrong, Ken Clifford, Jason Clifford, Ken Retzloff, Dave Reed, Ron Ruiz, Tom Grady, Joe Shenefield and others. It's sure to be a good show.