PETTIT GOES TWO IN A ROW AT REDWOOD ACRES
By Matthew Sullivan – Redwood Acres Raceway
Pettit Wins Two in a Row at Redwood Acres
Saturday night the Spears Southwest Tour Series competed at Redwood Acres Raceway in the Bear River Hotel And Casino 125. Local favorite, Brandon White set quick time with a 15.574. The invert for the race was six, which gave pole position to veteran driver, Craig Raudman.
Raudman used his starting position to his advantage as he took the lead over Jim Pettit, III at the start. The only incident of the race occurred on lap nine when White and Tracy Bolin got together coming off turn two. Bolin got sideways and tried to save his car down the backstretch to no avail. Bolin’s car clipped White’s as he was trying to get by on the high side sending White in the wall. Behind them the top two in points, Greg Voigt and Ryan Cansdale were collected. White’s car stopped in turn four and caught fire. White climbed out of his car and rolled on the track as safety officials were on the scene immediately to tend to him. Thankfully none of the drivers were injured and though White was taken to the local hospital due to inhaling smoke and fumes from his in-car fire extinguisher.
Pettit used the restart to his advantage, as he was able to take the lead from Raudman. Pettit slowly pulled away from Raudman while two NTS Motorsports drivers; Blaine Rocha and Parker Stephens were making moves to the front. Raudman appeared to be struggling with his car’s handling and was forced to give way to Bobby Hodges, Rocha and Stephens. It looked as though Hodges might have a chance of closing in on Pettit as the leader hit slower traffic but his gain proved to be minimal.
Just after the halfway point, Stephens was able to get by Rocha for third and began showing some strength. On lap 105, Stephens moved by Hodges for second after the two dueled for several laps. Stephens closed quickly on Pettit in the final 10 laps of the event and with five to go, the winner of the event was heavily in doubt. Stephens was right on Pettit until two laps remaining when he got loose between turns one and two. That was all Pettit needed to take the victory, his second at the Acres having been the 2013 winner.
“It feels great getting our second win in a row at Redwood Acres,” stated Pettit after the race. “We haven’t been able to race much this year as both my dad, and (Pettit’s crew chief) Duane’s dad have been battling health issues which has us staying close to home this season.”
Saturday’s win was Pettit’s 16th career SPEARS Southwest Tour Series victory. “We dedicated our win to Duane’s dad, Rich, and gave him the trophy on Sunday, that made this win really special for us.”
Stephens took second with Rocha third and Hodges fourth with Raudman rounding out the top five.
