Hanford, Madera finish off busy weekend of auto racing
Northern California racers Steven Tiner and Matt Erickson won the feature races Saturday night in Hanford and Madera.
At Keller Auto Speedway at Kings Fairgrounds in Hanford, Tiner, from Elverta in the Sacramento area, reclaimed the lead from Blake Robertson of Hanford on lap 10 and held on for victory in the 30-lap event.
Robertson was second, Ronnie Day of Salinas third, Giovanni Scelzi of Fresno was fourth and Mitchell Faccinto of Hanford fifth. Rounding out the top 10 were Jace Vander Weerd of Visalia, Steven Kent of Fresno, Cole Macedo of Lemoore, DJ Netto of Hanford and Scott Parker of Coarsegold.
It was graduation day for Scelzi and Macedo, younger brothers of rising stars Dominic Scelzi and Carson Macedo. Giovanni was driving the Roth Motorsports California car and Cole Macedo replaced his brother in the Tarlton Racing car.
Other Hanford feature winners: Bobby Hogge (Modifieds) and Nick Spainhoward (Sport Modifieds).
At Madera Speedway, Erickson, from La Grange east of Modesto, reclaimed the lead from Garland Tyler of Modesto on lap 25 and won the 40-lap main event. Polesitter Ryan Philpott of Tracy, who led early, rallied to take second. Tyler was third, Chad Holman of Stockton fourth and Loren Kutz of Madera fifth. Rounding out the top 10 were Del McIntosh of Madera, Rick Thompson of Fresno, Logan Zampa of Napa, Dillon Tucker of Madera Ranchos and Kyle Fortney of Fresno.
Other Madera feature winners: Kevin Thompson (MST), Jason Lawton (Toyota Sedan), Chuck Dozhier (Hobby Stock), David Etheridge (Enduro) and Dezel West (Jr. Late Model exhibition).
World of Outlaws – The national touring sprint car series finished its run through California with a Kasey Kahne Racing sweep as Brad Sweet won Friday night at Bakersfield Speedway and Daryn Pittman won Saturday night in Perris.
Joey Saldana of Indiana, driving the Fresno-based Roth Motorsports Outlaws car, had a good weekend with a second at Bakersfield and third in Perris. He was leading at Bakersfield before Sweet passed on a last-lap restart. Saldana made a last-turn pass Saturday night to finish third and left California fifth in season points.
Dominic Scelzi was 11th both nights. Bud Kaeding was 10th Friday in the Oakhurst-based Williams Motorsports car; also Friday, Kyle Hirst drove the Roth California car to a 12th-place finish and Netto was 21st after a midrace flip ended his night.
On the road – Kody Swanson of Kingsburg, seeking his third straight U.S. Auto Club Silver Crown national championship, started the season April 3 with a third-place finish in Terre Haute, Ind. The series is back in action April 30 in Toledo, Ohio.
Carson Macedo, campaigning in the Midwest, won Saturday night’s track season-opening 410 sprint car feature at Fremont (Ohio) Speedway. He’s also racing a midget for Keith Kunz Motorsports.
This story was originally published April 17, 2016 at 3:57 PM with the headline "Hanford, Madera finish off busy weekend of auto racing."