Hardtops Entertain At Placerville Speedway

Petaluma, CA...August 11...The California Hardtop Association will be part of the annual Johnny Soares Classic event set for Petaluma Speedway this Saturday night, along with the 50 lap Joe Hunt Wingless Spec Sprint series race, All Star Modified Series and Dwarf Cars.


The Hardtops invaded Placerville Speedway last week and put on a show for the fans that didn't disappoint. When the checkered flag flew on their Main Event, it was two time Antioch Speedway winner Dave Mackey picking up another victory. Mackey became the first three time winner on the Hardtop circuit this year. To get that win, he had to stay smooth to keep Placerville area resident Jason Armstrong behind him. Armstrong was debuting a new car and would finish a solid second in the Main Event. Armstrong led the third lap, but Mackey made a Turn 3 pass a lap later to take the lead. Moments later, Armstrong spun, but he quickly charged back to second after the restart. Earlier in the evening, Armstrong won the heat race ahead of Mackey.


Taking third place in the heat race and feature at Placerville was another Armstrong, Jason's father Dennis Armstrong. The longtime Placerville Speedway Stock Car competitor drove a smooth race for the podium finish. Ken Clifford got off to a rough start when he spun coming out of the second turn attempting a pass on leader Joe Hopp on lap two and was clipped in the rear end by Jason Armstrong, who had nowhere to go. Fortunately for Clifford, he was able to get it back going for the fourth place finish. Russ Kraft made a last lap pass in the 12 lap race to take fifth from Joe Hopp as both did a great job in earning lead lap finishes. Joseph Shenefield made his long awaited debut, but a transmission problem on the heat race pace lap ended his night early.


With the Placerville event in the books, the Hardtops head to the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds race track in Petaluma for the first time in a couple of seasons. The occasion is the Johnny Soares Classic. Soares is a name that Hardtop history buffs will remember as a two time champion with the Bay Cities Racing Association some 65 years ago. After retiring, Soares became a promoter and ran Petaluma Speedway for over 40 years. The race track has a good reputation as being hooked up, and it's likely to draw a decent field. Plus, drivers are not coming over the bridge to compete.


Two good possibilities for this event are Hardtop veteran Tommy Thomson and Dan Williams. The last time Thomson competed at the track in his Hardtop, he took a tumble in turns 3 and 4. Thomson has won many Main Events in his Hardtop in the modern era, and he also drove his current car to wins at the old Vallejo Speedway in the late 1970's. As for Williams, he is a past Mini Stock champion at Petaluma Speedway and competed in Mini Stocks there before that. Both of these drivers are generally running near the front of the pack when they compete. Other drivers to watch for this week include John Turner, Ron Ruiz, Steve Cloyes and John Turner.


This is the busy point of the California Hardtop Association schedule. After the Johnny Soares classic at Petaluma, they return to Antioch Speedway on August 20th. After that is the Louis Vermeil Classic at Calistoga Speedway on Labor Day Weekend. Then, the group revives the Chet Thomson Memorial Race, which ran from 1967-79 at Vallejo Speedway. This event will take place at Antioch Speedway on September 10th. It's an exciting time for Hardtop racing in Northern California, and the race at Petaluma Speedway should be a good one.