5/7/2013
Sprint Source
ENSIGN COPS HUNT MAGNETO SHOOTOUT WIN FOR FIRST WIN IN 2013
The driver known as “The Human Highlight Reel” left the camera at home on Saturday night and let everyone else hit the post race highlights themselves. The only time Ensign will be on it from this night is as he crossed the finish line in front, checkers flying above him, his first win in 2013 and 18th overall in just over three seasons behind the wheel of a sprint car.
Ensign timed in 5th quick of the 22 Joe Hunt Magneto Wingless Sprint Cars on hand at a reconfigured Petaluma Speedway in the Johnson Custom Machine #32, a car he won his first two races of his career in. Heat race action saw Ensign come from 6th to 2nd and earning himself a spot in the dash, where he would finish 5th while trying to find lines on the hooked up Petaluma adobe.
Ensign would start 5th based on his dash finish, and with some advice from the night’s acting crew chief, all time winningest driver at Petaluma Speedway, Dave Lindt, Jr., Ensign went out with a plan. Stay on the bottom, and let things sort out before getting racy. It would prove to be prophetic, minus the staying on the bottom part.
The first green flag saw Ensign move from 5th to 4th quickly, then making a way up there on the topside pass in turns 3 and 4 for 3rd place. The race went under yellow at that point, and Ensign had two more spots to make up, and this is where the “let things sort out” came into play. On the restart, the top two cars got together and flipped, while Ensign barely made it through. “You saw it coming in turn 1. One was coming down, and the other was going up. It was a racing deal that all you have to do as a driver is avoid it. I got a piece of it going by, but no damage.”
From there it was a matter of laps clicking off as Ensign positively had the car on cruise control, pulling away in the end to win Round #2 of the Joe Hunt Magneto Wingless Sprint Car Series by about a straightaway in the end. “This guy here (Dave Johnson, the owner) gave me a fast hot rod to drive tonight. Thank you sir.” Ensign would say in victory lane.
Ensign’s next race is scheduled to be in two weeks at his home track of Petaluma Speedway, but he’s looking for something else in the meantime, a 410 ride for this week’s King of the West Sprint Car show at his home track, Petaluma Speedway. Stay tuned.
You can find Geoff Ensign on Facebook, search Geoff Ensign Motorsports, @ensignmotorsports on Twitter or on the web at www.ensignmotorsports.com.
Submitted By: Ron Lingron
