Sprint Car Racer Andy Forsberg Turns Crash at Silver Dollar to a Win for Cash in the Taco Bravo
- Jun 7, 2013
The seven-time and three-time defending California Sprint Car Civil War Series champion is in contention for his eighth championship this year, but a scary crash will keep Forsberg from challenging for his third Silver Dollar Speedway championship. "I have been very lucky in my racing career, in that I've always gotten out of the car after a wreck," Forsberg said. "But this year during a heat race at Chico (California's) Silver Dollar Speedway, I got upside-down…my crew was waiting to put another wing on the car, but when the car came back down, it hit square on the rear-end." "Sprint cars don't have much of a suspension, so when it landed, it slammed flat on the ground. I thought I broke my back, I was in and out of consciousness and I had to be pulled from the car and taken to the hospital for observation. I was lucky, everything was alright…but because it happened in a heat race, I missed the main and got no points for the night, ending my chances for a championship." Despite that scare, Forsberg also had a bright moment at Silver Dollar this year. After crashing his family-owned No. 92 car, Forsberg and longtime friend Cody Gainy of P.T. Shocks got together for the Silver Cup race.
"We kind of talked about it and said ‘what the heck, lets try it,'" Forsberg said. "We won our first night at the Silver Cup. Then we went down to Ocean Speedway in Watsonville (California) a few weeks later. The promoter was offering a $1,500 bonus to any Civil War Series driver to make the long haul to the track and win a Taco Bravo main event. "We won that night, and it was really funny because the promoter didn't recognize the car I was driving, and when he walked down on the track to congratulate the winner, I took my helmet off, and he just about had a heart attack. $1,500 out the door!" The one surprise for fans of Forsberg and the driver himself is the lack of victories in the F&F X1 entry. "That's the car I've had the most success in," Forsberg said. "I'm a little surprised we haven't won yet. We've had a lot of top five's, but no wins." A racer's racer, Forsberg runs as much as possible, and he says that's why he keeps coming back to tracks like Silver Dollar and to series like the Civil War. "Really we are not attracted to any one series, we just love to race," Forsberg said. "The Civil War does not travel long distances and the 360's are obviously less expensive than the 410, so we always end up racing for points. The 410's at Silver Dollar are on Friday's and the only other series that competes on Friday is Watsonville, and that's a long tow. The promoters set it up so the drivers competing for points don't miss races due to conflicting events, so we are always in multiple points chases." Forsberg credited K&N Filters for allowing his team to run as much as they do with minimal engine wear. "K&N has products that keep the motor clean and running efficient," Forsberg said. "We have a lot of money tied up in these sprint car motors and taking care of them is very important. K&N Oil and Air Filters keep our engines clean inside, which is great, because we can't afford to have issues because of dirt in our engines." |
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| Related K&N News Articles about Andy Forsberg: Andy Forsberg Continues his Journey of Dominance in Open Wheel Racing; Andy Forsberg Earns 9th Win of the Year in a History Making 100th Win 2012 Season; Andy Forsberg has Successful Weekend with Podium Finish at Silver Dollar Raceway; Andy Forsberg Wins Second Championship of 2011 at the Civil War Series Championship; Andy Forsberg Voted 360 Sprint Car Driver of the Decade |  |
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