1/7/2015
Michael Faccinto
Michael Faccinto Earns Second Career Golden Driller in Wild Tulsa Shootout Feature!
TULSA, OK - As he left his hometown of Hanford, California just one week ago, Michael Faccinto began the trek to Tulsa with only one thing on his mind: winning the Outlaw feature of the Tulsa Shootout. Already an A-Class champion of the prestigious event, an Outlaw victory had eluded the 24-year old veteran all until now, as after a wild 55 laps of action around the Tulsa Expo, Faccinto stood atop his CS9 Chassis victoriously in front of a capacity crowd.
The long week of racing started off as Faccinto claimed a second place run in his A-Class and Outlaw heat races. The 24-year old would follow that by earning a victory in both his A-Class and Outlaw qualifiers, as he garnered a feature start in both divisions.
Driving the Kasiner Farms No. 21G in A-Class, Faccinto rolled off in the 14th spot for the 25-lap championship main event. A long delay of track prep before the feature began would prove costly to the 2013 A-Class champion as he started near the back of the pack. Once the race went green it would stay that way until the checkered flag dropped as Faccinto crossed the line in 13th place. The track conditions that allowed hardly any passing combined with a green to checkered race thwarted any charge to the front.
With one feature already in the books, Faccinto was sitting pretty as the eighth and final Tulsa Shootout main event rolled onto the track. A strong heat and qualifier run had placed his CS9 Chassis, Factory Kahne, Seros Racing Engines No. 7J on the fifth grid as the 55-lap Outlaw feature hit the track.
As the green flag dropped Faccinto held his line early on, but as the race neared halfway he kicked his machine into high gear. He guided the No. 7J into fourth, then third, then second, and soon enough he was fighting for the top spot. On lap 25 as halfway approached, Faccinto was hounding the race leader, but a move to the bottom of turn one created a collision as Faccinto almost brought his CS9 to a stop against the wall.
Through a miracle, the Hanford native kept his car moving although a broken jacobs ladder and failing brakes were haunting him. With the help of some cautions and lap traffic, Faccinto found himself back in the second place as he closed in on the leader one more time. This time as the race had a mere 20 laps left, Faccinto would not be denied as he soared past the leader and took over the top spot.
The final ten laps would be a handful for the 12-time winner in 2014, as the brakes and jacobs ladder were creating quite the ill handling car. Through the drive and determination of a champion, Michael Faccinto wheeled his CS9 Chassis, Factory Kahne, Seros Racing Engines No. 7J to victory lane as he held on to claim his second career “Golden Driller.”
The phenomenal victory was Faccinto’s second career win at the Tulsa Shootout and first in the Outlaw division. Michael will again return to the Tulsa Expo Raceway in Tulsa, Oklahoma next week as he competes in the 29th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals.
Walker Racing Promotions thanks the entire CS9 Chassis crew for the support and allowing us to help out during the 2015 Tulsa Shootout. We look forward to working with this great group of people more in the future and covering Michael’s 2015 season.
EVENT RESULTS –
12/31-1/3: 30th annual Speedway Motors Tulsa Shootout at Tulsa Expo Raceway in Tulsa, OK – A-Class Heat: 2nd, Outlaw Heat: 2nd, A-Class Qualifier: 1st, Outlaw Qualifier: 1st, A-Class Main: 13th (14), Outlaw Main: 1st (5).
UPCOMING EVENTS –
1/13-17: 29th annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Midget Nationals at Tulsa Expo Raceway in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
SEASON STATS –
Feature Starts (2), Feature Wins (1), Top 5’s (1), Top 10’s (1), Heat Wins (2).
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT –
At Sero’s Racing Engines we specialize in micro sprint motors and accessories. We are here to help you get in victory lane. Our vast knowledge of race engines, carburetors, and fuel injection will improve your program immediately. We have years of research and development that has produced winner after winner. With cutting edge equipment from our ultrasonic cleaner to our dynostar chassis dyno, we have all the equipment needed to produce the best engine possible.
MEDIA LINKS –
Facebook: Michael Faccinto
Twitter: @MichaelFaccinto
Instagram: @michaelfaccinto
Article Credit: Walker Racing Promotions
