Motorcycle-racing Filice family scores big
Two area motorcycle racers named Filice claimed victories in the SunTrust Moto Series on June 6 and 7.
Modesto native Justin Filice, 22, teamed up with Venezuela's Armando Ferrer to win Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. The team was sixth overall, first in the GrandSports Twins class, with father Jimmy Filice and Jay Springsteen placing two spots behind in eighth.
The elder Filice, a three-time AMA champion, and Springsteen were first in the ST class, where they are defending a title.
The Filice-Ferrar team won the pole for Round 3 of the twin-cylinder cycle series on a Ducati PS1000LE. Filice and Ferrar also team with Jason Edmonds and John Linder, taking turns in the GST class, where they were fourth in the division.
The race was cut short — from three hours to an hour and 40 minutes — just enough time to complete 36 laps before a thunderstorm.
"This is my first road race win ever, and I am definitely pinching myself to make sure it is real," Justin Filice said in a news release. "The guys had our Ducati really hooked up. It had great power, and our Pirelli tires were unbelievable. I have to give a lot of credit to my dad. It was slippery out there in the beginning, but my dad led me around early on and showed me some spots (where) I could use a little more throttle. He really helped a lot."
The next stop in the SunTrust Moto Series is July 20 in Birmingham, Ala.
SHEPHERD FAREWELL — It's with a heavy heart that Merced stock car driver Kenny Shepherd ends his run of racing at Infineon Raceway this month.
Shepherd, the promoter and manager at Madera Speedway, competed in the West Coast series race during the Sonoma facility's NASCAR weekend 15 years in a row. Now called Camping World Series West, the road race is a popular date on the calendar for local stock car drivers.
Shepherd's best finish was second in 1998. He nearly won in 2002 and '03 — dropping out with a flat tire in '02 and crashing on the last lap in '03. Shepherd had seven top-10 finishes, including a third behind winner Kurt Busch in 1998.
In recent years, Shepherd has served as a teacher to track newcomers, including Busch and David Gilliland, who won the race last year.
Shepherd tested with Sprint Cup drivers Travis Kvapil and David Ragan to prepare them for the Bennett Lane Winery 250 at Infineon Raceway on June 21. His remembrances have been posted at www.racemadera.com.
MADERA — Hoosier Tire Night brings a triple feature to the track on Saturday with the 410 and 360 Supermodifieds, Bay Area Racing Association Midgets and Western Late Models serving as headliners. Also in action are the Legends of the Pacific, American Limited Stock Cars and Hornets.
ALTAMONT — Altamont Motorsports Park is dark this week.
This story was originally published June 13, 2008 at 3:49 AM with the headline "Motorcycle-racing Filice family scores big."