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Tracks >> PETALUMA SPEEDWAY >> Petaluma Speedway - 8/27 LM Results
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Message started by Media on 08/28/11 at 9:16pm

Title: Petaluma Speedway - 8/27 LM Results
Post by Media on 08/28/11 at 9:16pm

Petaluma Speedway
August 27, 2011
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Restad wins race, Decker repeats as Late Model champ

by Harlan Osborne
PETALUMA, Calif. (August 27) - Sequels are fine for the movies, and instant replay works well in televised sports, but the last thing Late Model driver Anthony Restad wanted to see Saturday night at Petaluma Speedway was a repeat of the conclusion last week’s feature race where Richard Papenhausen chased down Jeff Decker and passed him for a thrilling and dramatic last-lap victory. But everything was pointing towards that déjà vu moment on Saturday night as Restad, who led from the start, charged to the finish line with former track champion John Silva side-by-side with him on Lap 24 of the 25-lap event. As Silva tried to get past the leader on the bottom, and with their race cars scraping against each other, Restad held his ground and managed to pull ahead. One lap later he took the checkered flag .731 seconds ahead of Silva to notch his second victory of the season.

“We got into each other a little bit out there,” said Restad, of Santa Rosa, after denying Silva his bid for his 37th career victory at Petaluma Speedway. The win tied Restad with Papenhausen and Decker, who each finished the All-Pro season with two victories.

Third place went to Rick Shafer, who grabbed the runner-up spot from Silva on a Lap 8 restart before surrendering it four laps later. Decker, who needed just to start the race to secure his second straight Late Model track championship finished fourth. Although he struggled a bit on Saturday, Morgan Hill’s Decker vowed to be “running up front” when the Speedway hosts its prestigious 32nd annual M. Maselli & Sons Late Model Classic on September 17.

With Restad in top form, he’ll be among the favorites, along with five-time winner Silva, and two-time winners Decker and Papenhausen, in the Maselli Classic, the longest running event of its kind on the West Coast, that draws top competitors from throughout the state.

Results for August 27

Fast time—John Silva 14.698.
Heat 1—Anthony Restad; John Silva; Rick Shafer; Jeff Decker; Rod Arnold; Shawn DeForest; Randy Larsen.
Heat 2—Dennis Souza; Dean DeVolder; Paul Guglielmoni; Steve Johnson; Don Iverson; Jimmy Gallagher.
Main—Restad; Silva; Shafer; Decker; DeVolder; Arnold; Larsen; Guglielmoni; Souza; Johnson; DeForest; Iverson.