(PETERSEN MEDIA- Calistoga, CA, )- Colby Copeland took full advantage of a restart on the 19th lap as he was able to find a little bit of rubber on the bottom of turns one and two to get by Willie Croft and race his way to his first ever win on the famed ½ mile Calistoga Speedway during the Civil War Series pres. by Flowmaster feature event.
By way of their one-two finishes in the Flowmaster Dash, Croft and Copeland would lead the field to green for the 25-lap feature event. While it was Copeland jumping out to the early lead, Croft would run second as Sean Becker, Cole Macedo and Kalib Henry rounded out the top-five until the races’ first caution flew on the sixth lap.
When the race came back to life, Copeland would continue to lead the way as Tanner Thorson, Shane Golobic, and Justyn Cox began to battle for top-five position behind the leaders.
An extended green flag run would see the leaders reach the back of the field and traffic would come into play and Copeland’s sizeable lead would shrink up as Croft closed in extremely fast.
In traffic on the 13th lap, Croft would dive low and Copeland got bottled up behind a slower car and he would surge to the lead as he made an appearance in the Mike Phulps No. 56 on this night.
Once in front, Croft began to leave the field in his wake until the caution flag flew on the 19th lap and put the field nose to tail for the six-lap shootout to the finish.
Back underway, Croft would lead the way over Copeland, Macedo, Golobic and Thorson. As the field raced into turns one and two, Croft continued to pound the top, but Copeland would try the bottom on a hunch. His hunch would pay off as he found some rubber that was down on the speedway and was able to blow past Croft and reclaim the top spot.
The final six laps would be all about Copeland as he was able to put the Canales Racing No. 5C in victory lane at Calistoga Speedway marking his first ever triumph at the ½ mile and his second career triumph with the Civil War Series pres. by Flowmaster.
Croft would hang on for second, points leader Cole Macedo would garner another podium finish, while Shane Golobic and Tanner Thorson rounded out the Top-Five.
With 22 cars on hand Saturday night for the series’ return to Calistoga Speedway, Copeland would kick things off by earning quick time honors.
In preliminary action, heat race wins would go to Willie Croft, Kalib Henry, and Collin Markle, as Croft would also win the Flowmaster Dash.
2018 Civil War Series presented by Flowmaster Schedule
7/20 Ocean Speedway- Howard Kaeding Classic
8/25 Ocean Speedway- 58th Annual Johnny Key Classic
9/5 Silver Dollar Speedway- Gold Cup Opener
9/15 Calistoga Speedway- Season Finale with World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series
ON TAP: The Civil War Series presented by Flowmaster returns to action on Friday, July 20th at Ocean Speedway where they will kick off Howard Kaeding Classic weekend.
2018 WINNERS: Justin Sanders (March 24th Marysville Raceway), Bud Kaeding (April 21st Thunderbowl Raceway), Steven Kent (May 5th Thunderbowl Raceway), Justin Sanders (May 26th Marysville Raceway), Kyle Hirst (May 27th Silver Dollar Speedway), Colby Copeland (June 23rd Calistoga Speedway).
STAY CONNECTED: Keep up with the Civil War Series Presented By Flowmaster, and find complete results and point standings by clicking over to www.racepmg.com, ‘Liking’ www.facebook.com/civilwarsprints, or following us on twitter at www.twitter.com/civilwarsprints. For more information on Flowmaster, please visit www.flowmastermufflers.com.
CIVIL WAR SERIES PRESENTED BY FLOWMASTER- Founded in 1991 as the North-South Series, the Civil War Sprint Car Series was born in 1993 giving 360ci Sprint Cars in California a sanctioning body. What started as just a handful of races at three different tracks has evolved into quite the series. In 2018, the Civil War Sprint Car Series will host 10 events at 5 different tracks around California.
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