High Limit | Sanders Storms to Gold Cup Night 2 Victory at Silver Dollar Speedway
Written on 08/23/2025
Nick Coward
High Limit | Sanders Storms to Gold Cup Night 2 Victory at Silver Dollar Speedway
Watsonville native charges from seventh to outduel Scelzi and Thorson in Friday thriller; sets stage for Saturday’s $100,071-to-win finale.
CHICO, Calif. — Justin Sanders delivered a dramatic victory Friday at Silver Dollar Speedway, capturing Night 2 of the Gold Cup Race of Champions preliminary action. The Watsonville, Calif. driver surged from the seventh starting spot to snatch the lead in the closing laps, holding off a furious charge from Giovanni Scelzi and Tanner Thorson.
Gold Cup Preliminary Night 2 - Silver Dollar Speedway August 22, 2025
410 Winged Sprints • Kubota A Feature (30 Laps)
87-Justin Sanders [7]
7BC-Giovanni Scelzi [5]
88-Tanner Thorson [11]
21-James McFadden [1]
W-Spencer Bayston [6]
click to see full results
Kubota A Feature (30 Laps) — Full Field
87-Justin Sanders [7]
7BC-Giovanni Scelzi [5]
88-Tanner Thorson [11]
21-James McFadden [1]
W-Spencer Bayston [6]
0-Tim Kaeding [10]
42-Sye Lynch [2]
41-Dominic Scelzi [22]
X1-Chance Grasty [9]
121-Caeden Steele [13]
73-Ryan Bernal [14]
35KM-Tyler Thompson [4]
13-Daison Pursley [8]
7C-Tony Gomes [18]
24-Rico Abreu [15]
5-Brenham Crouch [16]
14E-Mariah Ede [20]
9L-Luke Hayes [19]
17S-Jace Park [12]
3-Kaleb Montgomery [21]
76-Jennifer Osborne [23]
21S-Jesse Schlotfeldt [3]
21W-Jake Wheeler [17]
9F-Dustin Freitas [24]
Winters Performance B Feature (10 Laps)
3-Kaleb Montgomery [1]
41-Dominic Scelzi [3]
9F-Dustin Freitas [2]
76-Jennifer Osborne [4]
21X-Shane Hopkins [5]
7W-Dennis Scherer [6]
TJ Forged Heat 1 (10 Laps)
121-Caeden Steele [2]
X1-Chance Grasty [4]
21W-Jake Wheeler [1]
35KM-Tyler Thompson [5]
13-Daison Pursley [6]
9F-Dustin Freitas [3]
21X-Shane Hopkins [7]
DMI Heat 2 (10 Laps)
5-Brenham Crouch [1]
73-Ryan Bernal [2]
88-Tanner Thorson [4]
87-Justin Sanders [6]
21S-Jesse Schlotfeldt [5]
41-Dominic Scelzi [3]
7W-Dennis Scherer [7]
BR Motorsports Heat 3 (10 Laps)
17S-Jace Park [3]
W-Spencer Bayston [6]
9L-Luke Hayes [1]
42-Sye Lynch [5]
7C-Tony Gomes [2]
3-Kaleb Montgomery [4]
Rod End Supply Heat 4 (10 Laps)
0-Tim Kaeding [4]
21-James McFadden [5]
7BC-Giovanni Scelzi [6]
24-Rico Abreu [3]
14E-Mariah Ede [2]
76-Jennifer Osborne [1]
Capital Custom Trailers Qualifying (2 Laps)
13-Daison Pursley — 00:11.573 [19]
87-Justin Sanders — 00:11.599 [18]
W-Spencer Bayston — 00:11.603 [21]
7BC-Giovanni Scelzi — 00:11.713 [1]
35KM-Tyler Thompson — 00:11.715 [2]
21S-Jesse Schlotfeldt — 00:11.732 [12]
42-Sye Lynch — 00:11.741 [10]
21-James McFadden — 00:11.741 [13]
X1-Chance Grasty — 00:11.752 [9]
88-Tanner Thorson — 00:11.756 [24]
3-Kaleb Montgomery — 00:11.799 [5]
0-Tim Kaeding — 00:11.886 [7]
9F-Dustin Freitas — 00:11.889 [11]
41-Dominic Scelzi — 00:11.906 [4]
17S-Jace Park — 00:11.936 [3]
24-Rico Abreu — 00:11.947 [23]
121-Caeden Steele — 00:11.961 [14]
73-Ryan Bernal — 00:12.003 [26]
7C-Tony Gomes — 00:12.022 [15]
14E-Mariah Ede — 00:12.088 [16]
21W-Jake Wheeler — 00:12.093 [17]
5-Brenham Crouch — 00:12.126 [25]
9L-Luke Hayes — 00:12.226 [20]
76-Jennifer Osborne — 00:12.231 [6]
21X-Shane Hopkins — 00:12.405 [8]
7W-Dennis Scherer — 00:12.427 [22]
The feature opened with James McFadden on point and early pressure from Sye Lynch and Jesse Schlotfeldt, who made bold moves in traffic to briefly steal the lead. Schlotfeldt, in particular, was sensational in the early going — slicing past Lynch and then stunning the crowd with a daring outside pass on McFadden to grab control. For several laps the young Washington driver looked poised to score the biggest victory of his career, carving through traffic with confidence before slipping off the backstretch. The mistake set up a chaotic sequence that saw contact, cautions, and a wounded McFadden still clinging to the front.
From there, Sanders methodically carved through the field, capitalizing on Bayston and McFadden’s struggles to grab control with nine laps to go. A late yellow set up a green-white-checkered showdown. Scelzi launched a final bid down low, and Thorson surged from 11th into the top three, but Sanders kept his line perfect to the checkered flag. McFadden hung on for fourth despite front-end damage, with Spencer Bayston rounding out the top five.
Earlier in the night, Kaleb Montgomery and Dominic Scelzi advanced through the B-Main, while heat race victories went to Caeden Steele, Brenham Crouch, Jace Park, and Tim Kaeding. Daison Pursley set quick time in qualifying at 11.573 seconds, edging Sanders by just .026.
The 71st Gold Cup Race of Champions now heads into its climactic final night on Saturday, where the stars of High Limit Racing and California’s best will battle for one of sprint car racing’s crown jewel prizes. Fans can watch the $100,071-to-win finale live on FloRacing.
📊 Key Event Stats
Entries: 26 cars
Feature Distance: 30 laps
Winner: Justin Sanders (started 7th)
Top 5: Sanders, G. Scelzi, Thorson, McFadden, Bayston
