TULARE, Calif. (May 4) – Michael Pombo didn’t lead the most laps, just the one that mattered the most Saturday at Thunderbowl Raceway.
Pombo passed older brother Albert on the final circuit of a caution-free 25-lap contest to win his career-first Western RaceSaver Sprint Series feature.
He’d run third most of the way, catching Mauro Simone for second on the 18th lap; Pombo made his move to the front coming out of turn two on the white flag lap and took the checkers by a margin of just over three tenth’s of a second.
“It was like a dream come true. Ever since I was a kid, it’s always been one of my dreams to win a Sprint Car race,” said Pombo, promptly congratulated by his brother. “The first thing I thought when the race was over was ‘Holy cow, did this really happen?’ Especially at Tulare. That made it even better.
Simone, Kyle Rasmussen and Brooklyn Holland completed the IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car top five.
Pombo had been runner-up to Holland when she raced to her Western RaceSaver Sprint Car career-first victory on April 20 at Keller Auto Speedway.
Feature results – 1. Michael Pombo; 2. Albert Pombo; 3. Mauro Simone; 4. Kyle Rasmussen; 5. Brooklyn Holland; 6. Ryan Delisle; 7. Phil Heynen; 8. Grant Champlin; 9. Mike Schott; 10. Brandon Burd; 11. Brandon Emmett; Rod Bane.