For Immediate Release

 

                                                          Contact: Phil Henry 702-456-9660

                                                                        Phenry@phenry.com

                                                                     informs@silverstateclassic.com

                                                              --photos available at address above--

                                                                  

 

 

 

Ex-Winston Cup Racecar Averages 192 MPH to Win 90-Mile Open Highway Event

 

 

Longtime open road racer Dave Golder piloted his ex-Tony Stewart NASCAR Pontiac faster than favorite Rick Doria’s Corvette to win Nevada’s Silver State Classic Challenge September 17.

 

 

 

“The bumps felt really spooky,” said co-driver Mark Humphries about Dave Golder’s 90-mile drive against the clock on closed Highway 318 between the small towns of Lund and Hiko, Nevada. Overall, however, the event went “perfect”, Golder added. Golder, of Montgomery, Texas, averaged 193.7 mph at last May’s running of the semi-annual event until his run was stopped by a failing transmission. His slightly slower average for the September 17 event was likely due to the nearly 20-mph headwind that competitors faced.

 

California racer Rick Doria was the runner-up one year ago in his modified IMSA Supercar series Corvette racecar, and posted the same result at this year’s event. His driver’s window was sucked out of the car midway through his run down the two-lane paved highway, and the extra drag and wind buffeting hampered the car’s stability and limited his average speed to 185.7 mph, 8 mph slower than Golder’s average.

 

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page two                                            90-Mile Open Highway Event

                                                Contact: Phil Henry  702-456-9660

 

 

 

About 50 miles into the course, Golder said he saw Doria’s Corvette about a few miles ahead of Golder’s GM Orphans Team Pontiac. Doria started the course two minutes ahead of Golder, the normal interval that unlimited class racers are started on the course.

 

Doria holds the record for the fastest trap speed at the event, set at 227 mph at the May, 2000, event. Oregon racer Chuck Shafer set a 207-mph record average speed for the 90-mile course last May in a Chrysler LeBaron-bodied former NASCAR Busch series racer, but sat out the September 17 edition of the state-sanctioned highway event: “We’re kind of taking a break this fall, resting on our laurels.”

 

Five of the 230 cars racing the clock one-by-one on the course were in the unlimited division along with Golder and Doria, while the remaining teams were separated into “target speed” classes ranging from 170 mph down to 95 mph.

 

The event has run since 1988, and has had drivers from 38 states, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, England, Saudi Arabia, and Japan. Amateur drivers are encouraged to enter the event, and a qualifying school and practice session are mandatory. Cars are thoroughly inspected, and must meet strict safety equipment standards for each speed class. In the Touring Division stock vehicles are eligible to run. In the higher speed brackets more safety equipment is required including rollbars or full race cages, harnesses and fire suppression systems for the fastest cars. More information for potential participants and fans can be found at www.silverstateclassic.com or 702-631-6166.

 

 

 

 

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