ROSEVILLE, CALIFORNIA (October 14, 2017) – Matt Wendt became first repeat Pacific Challenge Series presented by PenneyLawyers.com winner of 2017 in a near photo finish and Mike Beeler won his second series championship. It all made up for a thrill ride during Saturday’s October Classic 100 at All American Speedway in Roseville, CA.
Playing to a crowd of more than 3,000 fans at the one-third mile oval, the Pacific Challenge Series was paired with a five division program including NASCAR K&N Pro Series, West and North State Modifieds with close to 100 cars on the grounds.
Wendt was credited with leading all 100 circuits but many of them were spent with a familiar customer in tow – five-time Roseville PCS winner Jason Romero.
Romero led qualifying by breaking his existing track record with a 13.046 second lap. Wendt got the better of the duo in an exciting American Racer Tire dash. Points leaders Beeler and John Moore entered the evening tied but Beeler got an assist when he finished third in the dash while Moore was eighth. The dash set the lineup for the feature giving Beeler a head start in the battle.
The race was the nightcap and saw 19 PCS Super Late Models charge to the green flag with Wendt immediately sliding up the hill into Romero. Things got even more interesting in turn three when Cole Moore spun and was nearly hit by his father John while close to half a dozen other cars spun as well. Fluid from Shane Butler’s ride was the culprit for the incidents and it forced an extended red flag.
When action resumed Moore immediately climbed forward to challenge Beeler on the outside for fifth by lap three. Coming out of turn four side-by-side, Moore got sideways up against the front stretch wall and spun. Moore ended up hitting the turn one wall driver’s door first ending his championship drive.
Wendt picked the inside on each subsequent restart and managed to pull away from Romero on each try. Romero engaged with March Madera winner Carlos Vieira for second into turn one. Three-time track champion Matt Scott jumped inside Vieira to nab third in the wild scramble. 11 cars were still on the lead lap by lap 40 in the long green flag run with Vieira following Scott closely while Cole Moore battled with Beeler for sixth. Mike Hite spun from eighth for a caution on lap 45. Wendt washed up the track on Romero coming into turn one on the restart, with Scott briefly nosing inside for a three-wide move before settling into third. Hite spun again on lap 65 down the backstretch for another caution.
Travis Milburn began making his presence felt as he took over fourth from Vieira on lap 75 and started a back-and-forth duel with Scott for third.
Milburn grabbed third in the closing stages as the intensity picked up at the front. Romero ran on Wendt’s bumper and eventually side-by-side as they met traffic with two to go. Romero charged to the outside of Wendt down the backstretch on the final circuit. He was thwarted by lapped traffic momentarily before coming out of turn four side-by-side with Wendt. Wendt crossed the line a scant .017 seconds ahead of Romero to the approval of the big crowd with Milburn third ahead of Scott and Vieira. Beeler’s seventh place finish gave him the championship by 20 points ahead of John Moore’s DNF. Former Rose Classic winner Tim Bost made his Late Model return and drove from 19th to 11th for the Penney Racing Supply Hard Charger award.
The 2017 Pacific Challenge Series ran ten events at five different speedways with nine different race winners. Champion Mike Beeler was not one of the nine different winners, but ran second four times and fourth three times in a strong, consistent season. He finished every race of the year with a worst effort of eighth in the July Ron Strmiska Memorial at Stockton 99 Speedway.
For more information on the Pacific Challenge Series presented by PenneyLawyers.com, visit www.PacificChallengeSeries.com or follow them on Facebook or YouTube
The Pacific Challenge Series is presented by: Penney Racing Supply, Penney & Associates, American Racer Tires, Radio Law Talk, Compact-It, Northwest Compactors, Naake Suspension, Sunoco Fuels, Five Star Bodies, BrakeOMeter, Lefthander Chassis, ARP Bodies, Joes Racing Products, Bassett Wheels, Frank's Radio, WrapStar Pro, and Blakesley Sports Media. All PCS Super Late Models race ABC Bodies or Muscle Car bodies on American Racer Tires with Sunoco Racing Fuel.
2017 Pacific Challenge Series Schedule
March 18th - Madera Speedway (Madera, CA) Winner: Carlos Vieira
May 6th - Shasta Speedway (Anderson, CA) Winner: Derek Copeland
May 20th - Stockton 99 Speedway (Stockton, CA) Winner: Jeff Bischofberger
June 17th - All American Speedway (Roseville, CA) Winner: Cole Moore
July 1st - Stockton 99 Speedway (Stockton, CA) Ron Strmiska Memorial Winner: John Moore
July 29th - Ukiah Speedway (Ukiah, CA) Winner: Randy Hedrick
August 12th - Madera Speedway (Madera, CA) Winner: Jacob Gomes
September 2nd - Stockton 99 Speedway (Stockton, CA) Winner: Matt Wendt
September 16th – All American Speedway (Roseville, CA) Winner: Jason Romero
October 14th - All American Speedway (Roseville, CA) *2017 Championship Finale* w/ North State Modified Series & NASCAR K&N Pro Series, West) Winner: Matt Wendt
Pacific Challenge Series Round 10: All American Speedway results
Finish Car Driver Hometown Sponsors
1 1 Matt Wendt Galt, CA Cali Style Customs
2 8 Jason Romero Cameron Park, CA Folsom Lake Asphalt
3 19 Travis Milburn Eagle, ID NEU Energy
4 35 Matt Scott Pine Grove, CA Kamps Propane/Authority Heating
5 51 Carlos Vieira Livingston, CA 51FIFTY Energy Drink
6 20 Cole Moore Granite Bay, CA JM Environmental
7 6 Mike Beeler Modesto, CA Beeler Industries
8 75 Austin Gant Grass Valley, CA JD Motorsports
9 18 Jack Wood Loomis, CA Velocity Racing
10 11 Austin Herzog Clovis, CA RPM Mortgage
11 4 Tim Bost Paradise, CA
12 5P Ryan Peeples Anderson, CA Arizona Gold Exchange
13 70 Mike Hite Elk Grove, CA Stor-4-Less
14 61 Shannon Mansch Roseville, CA Mansch Motorsports
15 37 JR Courage Dublin, CA PODS
16 29 Randy Hedrick Reno, NV Sierra Speed
17 27 John Moore Granite Bay, CA JM Environmental
18 7 Michael Sandoval Ripon, CA Sandoval Backhoe
19 97 Shane Butler Sacramento, CA Finance of America
Sunoco Fuels Fast Time: #8 Jason Romero 13.046
American Racer Dash: #1 Matt Wendt
Penney Racing Supply Hard Charger: #70 Mike Hite
Lap leaders: #1 Matt Wendt 1-100
