“People that see a promoter that puts effort into it, they want to support them,” Copeland said. Copeland takes inspiration from the better promoters he’s studied. ![]() Over the course of the night, he jumped around wherever he was needed in the pit area and helped check on drivers following crashes and assisted in the ensuing clean up. ![]() Once the skies cleared Copeland climbed aboard a tractor to help roll the surface in with the rest of his track crew. On the first night of the Silver Cup rain pummeled Chico for about an hour in the afternoon. At the John Padjen Classic Silver Cup back in March, Copeland showed his intentions to be a diligent promoter that helps wherever he can. It’s just super expensive, but hopefully one of these days soon we can get something new in there.”Īnother potentially beneficial element of Copeland’s promotional style is his approach to race day. You can’t hear anything in the pits to call races up or anything, so the sound system is another upgrade we’re trying to work on. The pit speakers, we hear from everybody, are horrible. In the grandstands the amp gets too hot, and then the volume loses. “The whole place is just hurting badly on sound. “One that we’re trying to work on, but it’s just so expensive is getting a new sound system in there,” Copeland said. Copeland says they’re already focused another major project. ![]() They’ve prioritized hearing out feedback from both racers and fans and acting accordingly. Those are definitely a few upgrades, I think, that have helped and made that area more inviting.”Ĭopeland and company have no intentions of slowing down on improving the Butte County bullring. In the concession stand we bought new equipment and brought our guy Julio in to try and make the food better. “And then we got the new fencing going and brought in some new dirt. Those are the kind of upgrades a lot of people don’t see but we see, just cleaning and organizing,” Copeland commented. “It was a lot of clean up at first, trying to organize and just really see what we had bought and what we had. After the deal became official, the new crew surveyed the facility and immediately got to work. When it comes to ideas for Silver Dollar Speedway, SLC Promotions has wasted no time in making some of their visions a reality. It’s cool to try your different ideas and see them come to life.” “I’ve actually done a couple of outlaw kart races up there at Red Bluff,” Copeland said. Copeland dabbled in promotion on a smaller level, and the desire to try more intensified. The three grew an interest in promoting as an avenue to get more involved in the racing scene of their home region. That’s where we mostly ran.”Īs he progressed through his early racing career Copeland developed lasting friendships with both Larson and Sweet. ![]() “And then when I started racing sprint cars that was where my first race was when they did 410 Friday nights at Chico. “The outlaw kart deal kind of moved out of there,” Copeland continued. “So, I actually started racing in the outlaw kart there in the pavilion at Silver Dollar Speedway… Justin Grant and I would race there every weekend, and I’d go back and forth with him. My dad was actually real close with Alan Handy and John Padjen,” Copeland explained. Photo source: unknown.įor the Roseville native, an important role at the Butte County facility that has close ties to his family and helped shape him as a racer is a special opportunity. Colby Copeland, Kyle Larson and Brad Sweet are at the helm of Silver Dollar Speedway. With their racing schedules taking Larson and Sweet across the country throughout the year, Copeland has been spearheading the hands-on efforts over the past few months and looks to continue doing so for the foreseeable future. The trio have set high expectations for themselves with ushering in a promising new era at Silver Dollar Speedway and helping the racing landscape in its entirety. Last November when it was announced that the group composed of California-born racers Kyle Larson, Brad Sweet, and Colby Copeland would collectively handle promotional duties, a palpable excitement swept across the Nor-Cal sprint car scene. While the sanctioning body has made more than 200 trips to the historic facility, April 30th will mark NARC’s first visit since SLC Promotions took command of the bullring. ( – Alex Nieten)… When the NARC Fujitsu General Sprint Cars arrive at Chico, California’s Silver Dollar Speedway for the David Tarter Memorial next Saturday, it won’t be just another race for the series and racetrack.
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