5/21/2011
Sprint Source
Ensign and Terrell Blow the Roof Off of Petaluma Speedway
Saturday night, May 21st had a chance to be remembered, depending on who you talk to, for the apocalypse and the end of mankind. Instead, it will be remembered by lucky fans of Petaluma Speedway as the night The Human Highlight Reel and The BT Express tore the place down. The two young lions of the Sprint Car world, also named Geoff Ensign and Bradley Terrell set the place on it’s collective ear as they swapped the lead multiple times over the last four laps ending with a finish that couldn’t be separated by anything but the transponder scoring.
The night started innocently enough as Ensign showed up somewhat unannounced in Ted Finkenbinder’s #3f, a ride he didn’t even know was available until he actually asked Finkenbinder on Thursday night. Terrell, coming back to the races for the first time in 2011 after suffering a broken hand, was just hoping to make it through the night pain free.
Nothing at all foreshadowed anything spectacular on the horizon as Ensign timed in third quick overall and Terrell qualified fifth out of the 15 cars in attendance. Ensign finished third in his heat race while Terrell won his first heat race of 2011, and this is where things started to get interesting. A 10 was drawn for the inversion of cars, putting Terrell in the fourth starting spot and Ensign 6th in the 25 lap A main event.
As the green flag fell, early leader Jeremy Burt suffered mechanical woes and dropped out of the top spot. Trent Canales took over and flipped going into turn three, which handed the lead to Terrell. Ensign was now second, which set the stage for an epic battle that would last until the checkered flag flew. A restart on lap 18 saw Terrell shoot away from Ensign, but Ensign reeled in Terrell just as quickly and Ensign got underneath Terrell a couple times but the two Sebastopol drivers never touched nor swapped positions. A lap 22 restart had the crowd buzzing because these two had been throwing everything at each other for a few laps and with time running out, something had to give. The green flew for the last time, and Terrell stayed up on the high side as Ensign charged down low. Coming off of turn 2, Ensign had the lead but Terrell nearly ran around Ensign on the top in 3 and 4 as lap 23 clicked off. Ensign led into turn 1, but Terrell shot to the bottom and took the lead back and the fans roared as the two wheelmen threw it down on the backstretch. Ensign wasn’t having it and led off of turn four as the white flag flew and fans inched closer to the edge of their seats. Into turn one they went, Terrell on the bottom, Ensign through the middle. Terrell cleared Ensign just enough down the backstretch to take the lead, but Ensign then crossed over and to the inside of Terrell as they went into turns 3 and 4 together as Ensign threw a textbook slidejob on Terrell to wrest the lead….until Terrell came charging back on the top side. Off of turn four they charged together and the fans rose as one, willing their favorite to the finish line. Geoff Ensign, the do everything, race all surfaces with or without a wing Human Highlight Reel and Bradley Terrell, the BT Express and defending Petaluma Speedway track champion were locked in a moment that each will tell their children about years from now, a moment that only comes along in fairy tales and children’s dreams flying off of turn four together charging to the checkers….
To contact Geoff Ensign, search Facebook for Geoff Ensign Motorsports or email at geoffensign@rocketmail.com.
Article Credit: Ron Lingron - Ensign Motorsports
Submitted By: Ron Lingron
