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Harlan Osborne
PETALUMA, Calif. (August 28) - Defending Late Model champion John Silva, who's struggled at times this season, appears to have found the groove just in time for the post-season money races, namely Petaluma Speedway's prestigious 31st annual M. Maselli & Sons Late Model Classic to be held September 18. Silva, who's won the Maselli Classic a record four times, followed up his first triumph of the season a week ago with record-setting performance on Saturday night in which the Fremont driver chased down race leader Jeff Decker and passed him when Decker found himself blocked by lapped traffic eight laps from the finish. With their roles reversed Silva had to be perfect to hold off Decker who finished just .209 seconds behind the winner. The non-stop race, ran in 6 minutes, 35.203 seconds, established a new 25 lap track record for the Late Models. Dean DeVolder finished fourth, Rick Shafer was fifth, and Clay Daly sixth, followed by Rod Arnold, Guglielmoni, Steve Johnson, Matt Michelli, and Dennis Souza.
The victory was Silva's 34th at Petaluma Speedway, fourth best all-time, and lifted him to within 10 points of second-ranked Anthony Restad and six points behind third-ranked Paul Guglielmoni in the All-Pro standings. Decker leads the rankings by 49 points with one race remaining.
LATE MODELS
Heat 1--John Silva; Rick Shafer; Anthony Restad; Dean DeVolder; Rod Arnold; Matt Michelli.
Heat 2--Paul Guglielmoni; Jeff Decker; Dennis Souza; Steve Johnson; Clay Daly.
Dash--Decker; Shafer; Silva; Guglielmoni.
Main--Silva; Decker; Restad; DeVolder; Shafer; Daly; Arnold; Guglielmoni; Johnson; Michelli; Souza.
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