PLACERVILLE, CA (3-14-10) - Mother Nature looks to be in cooperative spirits and the crew from Handy Racing Promotions will be hard at work both day and night in the week to come to prepare Placerville Speedway for the highly anticipated opening to the 2010 Red Hawk Casino Racing Season sponsored in part by Hoosier Racing Tires, Coors Light and Pepsi Cola.

The March 20 event will host the fire breathing winged warriors of the traveling Civil War Race Series. This regional series for winged 360 cubic inch powered sprint cars will bring nearly 40 race teams to the El Dorado County Fairgrounds, among them will be some of the most talented open wheel drivers from California and the Pacific Northwest.

While the winged sprint cars are sure to bring their share of excitement to the eyes of nearly one thousand race starved spectators, the action doesn't stop there. One of Placerville's most exciting guest divisions will be joining the action in grand fashion. More that 30 dwarf cars are slated to be in competition as the Nor Cal Dwarf Car Association kicks of 2010 with their Silver and Gold Series. This event brings the popular California series face to face with the top drivers of the Nevada area that compete in the popular DART Series in a four race series at three different California tracks in the year to come.

"We're excited to be opening the 2010 racing season at Placerville with such a great combination of competitors this year," said Bill Sullivan of Handy Racing Promotions. "It's been a very long winter the drivers are stir crazy and the local economy is surely ready for racing to bring thousands of fans to El Dorado County and it's businesses.. Let's go racing!"

When it comes to high action thrills, the Hoosier Racing Tires Civil War Series will never let an avid open wheel race fan down and is sure to bring a new fan back to the track once they witness the spectacle. The latest version of California's premier series for 360 cubic inch powered winged sprint cars is sure to produce a stellar chase for the coveted statewide championship title.

This year, the Hoosier Tires sponsored series will compete for more than $240,000 over the year and nearly $25,000 in championship funds, barring any rained out events during the year. Additional contingency sponsors throughout the year are expected to exceed $30,000 in product awards as well. Next Saturday's event will pay $2000 to win and $300 to start the A-feature and each Civil War event during the year will follow suit in such numbers.

In 2009, more than 115 different drivers competed in various events in the traveling Civil War Series. The campaign consisted of 14 total events at six different California race tracks. Eight different drivers hoisted feature event trophies during the past season and one driver repeated in the form of a championship in grand fashion.

Sacramento's Sean Becker dominated the victory column to win his second straight Civil War Championship title. After winning five feature events in the 2009 campaign aboard the Scott Miller owned #2sb, Becker claimed the title with a 95 point margin when the season came to a close in September.

Becker will top the roster in Saturday's opener at Placerville Speedway. The two time champion will be behind the wheel of Miller's high performance machine for the Civil War Series and will also compete in various events behind the wheel of a Racing for the Troops Sprint Car. Next Saturday night not only marks the beginning of a new championship run for Becker, it also starts his qualifying efforts to be eligible for the $5000 bounty in the July 17th Mark Forni Classic at Placerville. Becker has won the last two rich events and this year drivers must race in a combination of five Placerville Civil War and weekly point races to have a shot at the bonus money.

While Becker begins his quest for a record breaking third consecutive series title he won't be alone. Former four time series champion Andy Forsberg of Auburn has announced his full time return to the series and the weekly campaign at Placerville Speedway with his new Brian Cannon owned Autism Awareness sprint car team.

The returning champions don't stop with Forsberg either, Sacramento's Mike Henry has also announced his return to the campaign. Henry won Civil War titles in 2002-03 and has raced on a somewhat limited schedule until last season when he teamed up with car owner Rudy Warrington. Despite missing 3 events on the tour, Henry finished fifth in the championship point standings.

Top runners from last year that are expected to return include second place point runner Brett Rollag of Rohnert Park. Sacramento's Herman Klein who finished third last year will return along with fourth place finisher Myles Bishop of Escalon and Chico's Kenny Allen who was the 2009 Series and Placerville Speedway Rookie of the Year.

Additional drivers that are expected to be on hand include a strong contingent of hometown heroes. Placerville drivers Jimmy Trulli, James Sweeney, Scott Russell, C.J Humphreys, Andy Gregg and Matt Barber are all likely to be on hand with the likes of Marc Mackay and Justin Johnson of Shingle Springs and many more.

In the Nor Cal Dwarf Cars look for defending Silver-Gold Series champion Patrick Wegar to return in defense of his title along with series champion bridesmaid Ryan Winter, Kevin Bender, Mike Grenert and many more.

The front gates to Placerville Speedway are set to open at 5 pm on Saturday. An early arrival is suggested as the anticipated season opener routinely becomes standing room only in quick fashion at the El Dorado County Fairgrounds.

Ticket pricing continues to be a great bargain for the entire family at Placerville Speedway for hours of great entertainment. Adult tickets for this special event will be $15, Juniors will be $10 and children are $5.00. For additional information on this event and the entire 2010 schedule at Placerville Speedway visit www.placervillespeedway.com.