Sacramento, CA -- The NARC Fujitsu General Sprint Cars begin their northern journey to Dirt Cup this weekend on Friday, June 17 at Chico’s Silver Dollar Speedway for night one of Road to Dirt Cup followed by night number two on Saturday, June 18 at Cottage Grove Speedway.

The two nights signal the beginning of a highly anticipated week of racing that will culminate with the 50th Annual Super Dirt Cup at Washington’s Skagit Speedway on June 23 through the 25.

The Chico visit will be the second and final appearance for NARC of 2022 at Silver Dollar Speedway, and Saturday’s Battle at the Bullring will be the series’ first trip to Cottage Grove Speedway in more than a decade. Cottage Grove will award $5,000 to the winner.

With some lucrative bonuses on the line, drivers will be eager to park in victory lane this weekend. There are six 410ci events composing the week of Dirt Cup– Chico and Cottage Grove this weekend, the Dirt Cup tune up at Skagit on Monday (not a NARC sanctioned event), and the three nights of Dirt Cup. If a driver can win three of the six, they’ll earn an extra $10,000. Winning four of the six nets $25,000. And claiming five of the six will award a driver with $50,000.

On Friday in Chico B Mods and Hobby Stocks will join NARC. Saturday at Cottage Grove three IMCA divisions will run alongside NARC, Modifieds, SportMods, and Stock Cars.

Championship Chase 

A pair of top-fives this past weekend kept Dominic Scelzi atop the standings with a healthy 44 point advantage. The driver closest to him, Willie Croft, has been on one of the best stretches of his NARC career with six straight top-five results heading into the Road to Dirt Cup. Croft will look to cut into Scelzi’s lead this weekend.

Bud Kaeding, who has only missed the top-10 once this year, sits third in points, 26 markers behind Croft.

Then it’s Justin Sanders in fourth, seven points behind Kaeding, and Mitchell Faccinto, 14 behind Sanders, completing the top-five.

Who to Watch 

Aromas native Justin Sanders is a threat at any track he shows up at, and that will especially be the case this weekend. Sanders has top-two finishes in three of his last four NARC races in Chico including a pair of wins, and he’s a former winner with the Western Sprint Tour at Cottage Grove Speedway.

2017 series champion, Bud Kaeding, has quietly put together a solid season thus far and should be in the running to earn his first win of the season. The Campbell native owns a pair of NARC wins in Chico. He’s also one of few with some 410 laps at Cottage Grove, picking up top-fives with NARC there in 2009 and 2010.

Mitchell Faccinto will be another to keep an eye on this weekend as he continues to pursue his first series title. The Tarlton Motorsports wheelman from Hanford doesn’t own a NARC win in Chico, but he did already claim the prestigious Silver Cup finale at the quarter-mile this year. He’s also a former winner at Cottage Grove Speedway, topping a 2019 Western Sprint Tour show.

Many of the Pacific Northwest natives who competed during the Fastest Four Days in Motorsports also plan to race at least at Cottage Grove this weekend if not tackle both nights. Former winners at Cottage Grove Speedway– Trey Starks, Tanner Holmes, and Tyler Thompson will be a few of the Oregon and Washington drivers on The Road to Dirt Cup.

Other drivers expected to compete include Benicia’s Billy Aton, Fresno’s Dominic Scelzi, Colfax’s Willie Croft,, Clovis’ Corey Day, Tanner & Blake Carrick out of Lincoln, Sebastopol’s Joel Myers Jr., Roseville’s Colby Copeland, Fremont’s Shane Golobic, Redding’s Max Mittry, Idaho’s Logan Forler, Hanford’s D.J. Netto, and more.

Fan & Competitor Info 

The NARC-King of the West Hoosier Tire Format on both nights will feature ARP Fast-Time Qualifying, 10-lap Heat Races, a six-lap Sunnyvalley Bacon Trophy Dash, a Kaeding Performance Semi if necessary, and a 30-lap Fujitsu Feature.

On Friday at Silver Dollar Speedway the pit gate will open at 1:00 P.M. with the front gate opening at 5:00 P.M. Racing will begin around 6:00 P.M.

On Saturday at Cottage Grove Speedway the pit gate will open at 12:00 P.M. with the front gate set to follow at 3:00 P.M. Hot laps are slated to start at 4:30 P.M. with racing beginning around 6:00 P.M.

Adult General Admission tickets at Silver Dollar Speedway will be $20. Seniors (ages 60+) and kids (ages 12-15) will be admitted for $15. Kids 11 and under will be admitted for just $5. Tickets can be purchased at the gate or via the following link: https://www.eventsprout.com/event/silver-dollar-speedway-2022.

Adult General Admission tickets at Cottage Grove Speedway will be $20. Seniors, Military, and juniors (ages 13-17) will be admitted for $15. Kids (ages 6-12) will be admitted for just $5. Kids 5 and under are free. Tickets can be purchased at the gate or via the following link: https://www.myracepass.com/events/398217/tickets/.

Silver Dollar Speedway is located on the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds at 2343 Fair St, Chico, CA 95928. For more information visit silverdollarspeedway.com or call (530) 891-6535.

Cottage Grove Speedway is located at 2150 North Douglas St, Cottage Grove, OR 97424. For more information visit cottagegrovespeedway.com or call 541-942-7561.

Both nights of the Road to Dirt Cup can be viewed live on floracing.com along with the entire NARC Fujitsu General Sprint Car tour.