"Green's demise may have been that he was simply too fast for the rest of the competition. The race leader was held back by Chico's Robbie Whitchurch and was unable to pass on the lower edge of the track. While Green tagged behind Whitchurch and the other slower drivers, Allard chipped away and closed the gap gradually."

July 5, 2007
By LELAND GORDON-Sports Writer

On a night where fans were celebrating America's independence from England, it was an Australian who claimed his independence from the rest of the pack in the 410 winged sprints main feature Wednesday. Only a miraculous pass on the final lap and some help from lapped traffic was going to beat Trevor Green, and that's exactly what Chico's Stephen Allard got, as he won the showcase race to claim his third victory of the season and put the trophy in American hands. Allard took the high road on turn 3 of the 25th lap and looped around a blob of lapped traffic to sprint to the checkered flag. That same blob was just cumbersome enough to slow Green and allow Allard to claim the triumph on a brutally hot summer night.

"It held him up a little bit but he was out there to a pretty big lead," Allard said right before the fireworks show commenced. "I didn't think I was going to catch him but lapped traffic played into my part."

Two Marysville drivers were the other victors before a crowd of 3,560 at Silver Dollar Speedway during the 14th edition of the Feather Falls Casino Friday night points series. Charlie Marrs won his heat and the main event in the wingless sprints competition while Ryan McDaniel topped a small field to take the dirt modifieds trophy.

Green's demise may have been that he was simply too fast for the rest of the competition. The race leader was held back by Chico's Robbie Whitchurch and was unable to pass on the lower edge of the track. While Green tagged behind Whitchurch and the other slower drivers, Allard chipped away and closed the gap gradually. By the 20th lap Green's lead had evaporated and the two battled amongst a group of lead-lap cars and lapped cars.

Then Allard went for the top on the third turn, and that was all the difference.

"That was the only way I was gonna be able to pass him because he was holding his line too good and the bottom was actually the fastest way around," Allard said. "I was just able to get a little momentum coming out of (turn) two and that lapped car bobbled him just for a second."

Marrs' ascent to the front of the field in the wingless sprints was fueled more by other drivers' mishaps and bad luck than by his own success. Two yellow flags and one red flag marred the action before a lap was even completed and both cars that started in the front row had bowed out of the race temporarily. Marrs started in the third row and was able to hold off Grass Valley's Matt Streeter for his second feature victory in eight tries this season.

The 20-lap jaunt had five yellow caution flags and one red flag in the first six laps, and just 12 out of 20 cars completed the whole race.

McDaniel's victory in the dirt modifieds was a lesson in domination, as he passed Chico's Darin Ruley on the second lap and didn't look back the rest of the way. Points leader Richard Papenhausen had to pull out of the main feature but his gigantic points lead isn't likely to shrink, and Marysville's Randy McDaniel won the only heat race in dirt modifieds.

Allard said Green is a good racer and is very capable of winning main features at Silver Dollar. Just don't think that Allard is going to let him win easily.

"He's had a little bit of bad luck and it would be nice to see him get one maybe, but I'll take it from him any time," Allard said.