By Steven Blakesley /
Golden State Racing :. Photos by David Misco
Roseville, CA – Golden State Racing and driver Eric Schmidt captured
the 2006 SRL Wild West Shootout championship, Saturday night, at
Madera Speedway.
 The
title marks the second between team owner Frank Jordan and Schmidt
in their partnership. Schmidt previously was the 2003 NASCAR Western
Late Model champion at Stockton 99 Speedway.
Schmidt assumed the
lead on lap four on Saturday and led the remaining 96 laps towards
his second win of the season. Golden State entered the event leading
Roseville’s Jim Courage Jr. by five points.
“The hard-work
definitely paid off,” Schmidt said. “We knew what we had to do and
on paper we should have been able to do it. But racing has so much
luck involved.”
In eight starts in the
SRL series, Schmidt put together two wins, seven top-fives, and
seven top-tens.
After winning the
opening race of the season at Shasta Raceway, Schmidt maintained the
points lead throughout the entire series.
“When we got that
first win it carried us through the entire season,” Schmidt said.
“The key was consistency and it wasn’t easy by any means.”
Schmidt ran into
slight trouble when he was involved in an accident in the September
24th race at Altamont Motorsports Park, but was able to
recover for the championship.
“This is definitely at
the top of the list,” Schmidt said. “We’ve had some real big wins
but this was the best season we’ve ever had.”
In between racing the
SRL, Schmidt competed in four Westcar Late Model Series events,
taking home two wins.
“More than anything,
running the Westcar Series was a tool to keep me and the guys
fresh,” Schmidt said. “There was a lot of down time between the SRL
races.”
 Golden
State Racing now turns its attention towards Altamont Motorsports
Park on Saturday night for the $10,000 to win Late Model October
Classic. The 200 lap race will feature many of the top stockcar
drivers in the West Coast.
“This is all about
having fun,” Schmidt said. “We’ve done a few of these before. We
plan to stay in front because that’s the safest place. It’s about
being there at the end.”
Golden State Racing is
sponsored and supported by: AT&T, Yellowpages.com, Hugin Components,
Higgins Hardwood, Inventory Sales Company, Ramos Oil, Long Engine
Systems, Prestige Gunite, Joiner Motorsports, Racing Stripes,
Sew-Cal Monogramming, Blakesley Sports Media, Holiday Inn Express,
and Oxford Suites.
Race fans can follow GS Racing online at its
new website, www.goldenstateracing.com
GS Racing is pursuing
sponsorships for 2007. For more information, contact Frank Jordan at
(916) 786-0505. |
