TULSA, OKLA. (December 27, 2019) – A squad of four highly-touted individuals have come together to form one of the most unique teams leading into the 35th annual Lucas Oil Tulsa Shootout next week. At the wheel, Michael Faccinto and Cale Thomas, two proven and accomplished racers in not only the micro sprint land, but throughout midgets and sprint cars. In the shop, Ted Peters and Brad Coleman, a mindful duo with a reputation for building the best of the best and an even bigger rep for backing up their equipment with hardware. With two CS9 Chassis’ and a round of Specialized Power Plant bullets under the hood, Faccinto & Thomas will have their sights set solely on the headlining Winged Outlaw division.
No stranger to Shootout success, Faccinto leads the group with a resume that makes him one of the accomplished racers in event history. Racking up 11 feature starts in the premier Stock/Outlaw classes, the Hanford, Calif. native has been consistent with five top-five finishes to his credit. His greatest moment(s) however? The Golden Driller. His first triumph came in 2013 with an A-Class title in the midst of the Team Green dominance. In 2015, however, he found a way to make it even sweeter. Driving for Rick Bray in a CS9 Chassis No. 7J, Faccinto topped a wild 55-lapper to tame the Winged Outlaw feature in memory of their late friend, Colby Solomon.
Most recently, his 2017 front row showing was hampered by the unforgettable on-track run-in with Frank Flud, which garnered national attention. In 2018, he came back with the Kasiner family and placed the No. 21G in 11th in the big dance. Last year, Faccinto was out-of-the-seat at the Tulsa Shootout for the first time since 2011, sending him to this year’s running hungrier than ever to get back behind the wheel.
For Cale Thomas, the Fairland, Ind. native has tasted his own share of Shootout glory before, but it was a time back in his teenage days before his rise into the sprint car ranks. He made his first-career Winged Outlaw feature at the Shootout in 2012 when he was just 15-years old. The next year, he exploded onto the scene with the national spotlight shining bright.
At the age of 16, the Hoosier hotshot was a multi-time POWRi winner, won the inaugural High Banks Hustle at Southern Illinois Raceway, won the preliminary of the $10,000/Win “The 66” at Belle-Clair Speedway, and then charged from 15th-to-4th for his best Shootout result ever. Since then, his only Tulsa trip came in 2018 when a partnership with Jake Mosley scampered to a stop in the B-Main. Now, CT91 becomes CT94 and comes back to Oklahoma next week fully loaded for his best shot at a Driller yet.
Set to embark upon this comeback together, plenty of eyes will be peeled on both Faccinto and Thomas as they walk back into the Tulsa Expo Center next week. Is this the year for Michael’s third Driller? Can Cale break through for his first-career title? We’ll have all the answers in only a week.
Walkapedia’s full-blown coverage of the 35th annual Lucas Oil Tulsa Shootout continues as we build-up to the micro sprint extravaganza and peaks when the racing begins on New Year’s. Follow along with our live updates, feature stories, interviews and more on Twitter @Walkapedia_.
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