Just Checking In With An Update And Some Comments

Can't let the 2009 season go without pointing out this is the 50th consecutive season of activity for Antioch Speedway. That means next year with be the 50th Anniversary of that track. Will there be any special plans? Guess we'll find out. Though I'm not optimistic about it, I am hopeful. It's just nice to see the track is still running and doing better in some areas than last year, from what I hear. It would be nicer if they had newspaper coverage here, but...

I'm very sorry for the lack of updates. To say my head has been elsewhere would be an understatement. I haven't given much thought to the book I was planning to write, to be perfectly honest with you. I have finished a non racing related book that I am editing. I have given some thought to pulling out some previously published material for a racing history book of sorts. Some of what I consider to be my best stories, along with Gary Jacob and other writers from past DCRR issues. And some photos, of course. Lots of them.

What would be the point of that? For starters, to get this stuff published and looking more professional than anything I had done previously with The DCRR. The print would be bigger. The look and feel of the book would be like a book you would get at Barnes & Noble. The areas focussed on would include Antioch, Chowchilla, Merced, Watsonville, Petaluma and other tracks. Driver profile stories, the classic 1989 DCRR Series Memorable moments, a look back at Antioch Speedway in the 80's. Never wrote the 1989 installment, but I might just break out an old story from my Antioch '87 magazine about the 1979 season to make it a full ten year series.

Big stories about Antioch and Merced history, some season review stories and other things. At this time, the "angry editor" stuff would NOT be a part of this. The book would be a celebration of racing on a short track level. That's all. How many pages? I figure at least 100 or 200. Is this something that would interest any of you who are lurking? If so, perhaps I can make this happen. The more positive feedback I see, the more inspired I will be to do this, so feel free to post.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Don O'Keefe Jr. not that long ago. It was good to see him again, and he looked great. Seems life in Indiana agress with him. It was nice to catch up with him on things and we of course recalled putting the Spec Sprint class together and the recent publicity we enjoyed in Norm Bogan's excellent story in Flat Out Magazine. It's nice to be remembered and even nicer to know the division is still going strong. Even Antioch has enjoyed some good car counts this season.

Petaluma is doing good things with the division as well. Incidentally, I understand Jim Soares has to renew his contract there. I certainly hope he gets to return. He has really turned the place around. I haven't been to a race in California in over five years, and frequently when I think of going to a race it's Petaluma. I've heard things about that bid. I won't mention here, but if it comes to light in the future, I definitely have an opinion. I support Jim at Petaluma. Yeah Jim, "there's no we" and I'm not looking to come back, but I do respect what you have done there. Pops would be proud of you.

Hopefully, we can keep the negativity at a minimum and move ahead. Some tracks aren't doing well, but others are. The main thng is tracks like Antioch, Watsonville and Petluma have made it throigh some tough times and even Chowchilla is doing okay from what I hear. There will be ups and downs, but there always has been. As long as the ones in charge don't do anything stupid, the drivers will come back and the show will go on.

Anyway, that's all for now. Best wishes to everybody and I hope whatever you're doing you are happy.

Wingless Spec Sprint Points From Antioch

I've got these for all the divisions, but since we had the recent story in Flat Out Magazine, I thought it would be nice to put the Spec Sprint points up here for the record. Note, I included the NCMA points from 1998 as Antioch management did honor the top point runners that year. Eventually I will get around to posting the other divisions.

Antioch Speedway
Wingless Spec Sprint Points

NCMA MODIFIEDS (1998)*

1 Scott Holloway 596
2 Ed Amador Sr. 543
3 Don O'Keefe Jr. 541
4 Duane Watson 534
5 Jeff PIke 514
6 Andy Archer 495
7 Bill Felver 481
8 Dave Cuhna 437
9 Del Quinn 432
10 Burt Siverling 412

* Official Antioch Standings

1999
Dan Gonderman 558
Andy Archer 456
Don O'Keefe Jr. 451
Travis Berryhill 381
Eric Mentch 339
Jim Perry Jr. 280
Larry Teixeira 215
Phil Pedlar 193
Terry DeCarlo Sr. 191
Rick Brophy III 189

2000
1 11 Travis Berryhill 531
2 10 Eric Mentch 516
3 15P Jim Perry Jr. 450
4 8 Dan Gonderman 417
5 29 Billy Fraser 332
6 7 Brian Gray 326
7 47B John Buccellato 296
8 02 Jimmy Lavell 255
9 21P Jim Perry III 244
10 64 Terry Tarditi 242
11 22 Roy Fisher 241
12 26 Dalton DeOrnellas 234
13 91 Eric Ferreira 227
14 12 Bill Felver 218
15 20 Keith Shipherd 214
16 6 Jeff Rose 211
17 4 Rick Panfili 187
18 2 Phil Pedlar 165
19 18 Rich Butler 161
20 44 Larry Teixeira 153

2001
1 64 Terry Tarditi 555
2 15P Jim Perry Jr. 398
3 29 Billy Fraser 394
4 3G David Goodwill 349
5 2 Brian Gray 304
6 11 Travis Berryhill 277
7 23L Mike Lokmor 270
8 26 Dalton DeOrnellas 263
9 47B John Buccellato 263
10 21P Jim Perry III 257
11 20 Keith Shipherd 247
12 24 Brandi Ford 246
13 16 John Hendrickson 236
14 22 Roy Fisher 222
15 6 Jeff Rose 180
16 55 Scott Merrell 163
17 4 Rick Panfili 159
18 1 Bill Wallace 157
19 77 Daryl Moore 145
20 19 Kraig Collins 144

2002
1 40 Darrell Hanestad 986
2 15P Jim Perry Jr. 935
3 3G David Goodwill 907
4 29 Billy Fraser 881
5 55 Scott Merrell 804
6 16 John Hendrickson 769
7 1M Joey Santos 672
8 64 Terry Tarditi 620
9 24 Brandi Ford 611
10 36 Bob Newberry 554

2003
1 40 Darrell Hanestad 1057
2 29 Billy Fraser 965
3 3g David Goodwill 829
4 36 Bob Newberry 788
5 21 Jim Perry III 768
6 55 Scott Merrell 764
7 11D Danny Olmstead 735
8 9 David Hays Jr. 674
9 4 Daryl Moore 604
10 25 Sal Mannina 588

2004
36 Bob Newberry 819
29 Billy Fraser 791
17 Joey Santos 765
40 Darrell Hanestad 761
15 Jim Perry Jr. 744
55 Scott Merrell 715
9 David Hays Jr. 675
57 Troy Caraway 669
22 Roy Fisher 633
6 Jeff Rose 620

2005
55 Scott Merrell 749
96 Arvo Backholm 743
17 Joey Santos 684
15p Jim Perry Jr. 663
32 Billy Macedo 598
22 Roy Fisher 554
41 David Press 522
18 Dennis Fraser 506
41h Scott Holloway 496
9 David Hayes Jr. 390

2006
1 21p Jim Perry III 694
2 04 Derek Overcamp 588
3 22 Roy Fisher 546
4 4s Dan Simpson 542
5 10 Brandi Ford 472
6 41 David Press 466
7 14 Jeff Kindt 424
8 8 Dan Gonderman 394
9 8x Anthony Ryan 382
10 6 Jeff Rose 360
11 2x Brian Gray 238
12 48v Brian Vaughn 196
13 9 David Hays Jr. 194
14 15c Steve Mannina 188
15 7s Danielle Simpson 168
16 41s Jack Clark 142
17 0x Dave Ellis 113
18 48 Michael Vaughn 104
19 7h John Keith 100
20 57 Troy Caraway 84
21 32 Billy Macedo 80
22 14jr Matt Streeter 80
23 33 Scott Dupont 70
24 41h Scott Holloway 42
25 96 Todd Miller 42
26 36 Bob Newberry 36
27 51 Dennis Fuller 35
28 23 Tyler Henriques 34
29 22d Nick Davis 33
30 17j Jim Riddell 32
31 99 Tom Dupont 28
32 41x Terry Miller 22
33 11d Danny Olmstead 16
34 90 Craig Smith 11

2007
1 15p Jim Perry Jr. 675
2 21p Jim Perry III 613
3 22 Roy Fisher 587
4 14 Jeff Kindt 572
5 26 Billy Aton 530
6 04 Derek Overcamp 525
7 41 David Press 443
8 8 Dan Gonerman 416
9 8x Anthony Ryan 388
10 9 David Hays Jr. 385
11 0x Dave Ellis 302
12 11 Ricardo Rivera 276
13 6 Jeff Rose 244
14 57 Troy Caraway 232
15 m1 Billy Macedo 224
16 41s Jack Clark 220
17 10 Chris Magoon 158
18 48 Micheal Vaughn 150
19 8t Troy Passama 146
20 44 Rick Panfili 139
21 10L Colby Rennert 134
22 23 Nick DeCarlo 82
23 36 Bob Newberry 78
24 22x Kris Koontz 70
25 81 Troy Foulger 64
26 22y Lee Yetter 56
27 41r Randy Lathrop 54
28 10m Eric Mentch 52
29 34 Steve Stein 48
30 9t Tony Boscacci 28
31 59 Tim Burcher 26
32 17t Dusty Green 24
33 3e Anthony Espinoza 24
34 2x Brian Gray 20
35 51 Dennis Fuller 5

2008
1 M1 BILL MACHEDO 684
2 26 BILLY ATON 682
3 8x ANTHONY RYAN 602
4 11 RICARDO RIVERA 524
5 04 DEREK OVERCAMP 448
6 22 ROY FISHER 432
7 31 TROY FOUGLER 424
8 15P JIM PERRY, JR. 396
9 8 DAN GONDERMAN 373
10 41 DAVID PRESS 280
11 44 RICHARD PANFILLI 276
12 87 RYAN BERNAL 256
13 14 JEFF KINDT 198
14 95 ALAN CLARK 172
15. 21P JIM PERRY III 122

An Antioch Speedway Story

The Antioch Speedway website has been running stories about the races there. They aren't archiving them and there's still no newspaper coverage, but at least it's something. Perhaps they will send them to John Kelley's MotoRacing Magazine, which appears to be the last magazine of it's kind standing in this area. Who would have thought? It's a monthly magazine, but at least it's something to offer a snapshot of what's going on.

Anyway, here's the story from the web page. I'm not planning on doing this all the time, but figured I'd do it this once.

Sep 13 2009 - Welcome back Race Fans...

This weekend brought out some names from days of old; near and recent. Most notably was the return of Todd Tadiello making his return after what I am told was almost a decade of absense. Russ Seiber jumped back into the Dwarf Car and Chris Sorenson graced us with an appearance in a Hobby Stock. These three along with many other competitors picked a great weekend to come to the Antioch Speedway. The racing was thrilling and with limited yellows coming out, gave us some awesome non-stop action to witness. The competition was fierce as always.

Feature division and most entertaining for the night was the Dirt Modifieds. Nick DeCarlo jumped off to a quick start and set the pace for those behind him. He challenged the three behind him to get creative in their line selection. He definitely made Joe Carr and Scott Busby work for their positions. Once the two veterans got passed DeCarlo they managed to inch away from him and we were witness to glory in driving. It was intense to watch when Kenny Neu and Troy Foulger got into the mix of the top 5. There was a collective feeling of awe once the dust settled and Joe Carr was again in the winner's circle. Scott Busby, the winningest modified driver in California, gave him a good battle but settled for a stellar 2nd place finish. DeCarlo wound up in third, holding off the hard-charging and current points leader Neu.

Every week the Hobby Stocks come in and make the statement that they are a division not to be overlooked. As the season progresses, the racing action is becoming more and more notable. This past weekend was no exception and could arguably contend for the best race of the night against the monster machines of the dirt modifieds. Coming off the recent win, Jack Jonker led the pack. Nipping at his heals and waiting for any mistake to capitalize upon were current points leader Fred Ryland and prior winners Nick DeLuca and Erik Schantin. These four have stepped up their game and were put to the test as the lappers came into the picture. DeLuca was able to get past Jonker for a moment before being passed by Schantin. As they navigated around the 3/8 mile dirt oval it came down to who would be the most consistent. The track held up and has been coming in better and better as the year goes by. The hobbies took advantage of all the room and made many 3 wide passing turns. With a slight bobble from Nick DeLuca, Erik Schantin was the first to cross the checkers to the delight of the roaring crowd gaining his third win of the season. Amazingly Schantin won the race without tearoffs. It turned out in turn one of the starting lap, he went to pull a single tearoff and the whole thing came off leaving him without any for the entire A main event. Typically racers have to overcome mechanical and other obstacles but sight is normally not one of them. It makes the win even more thrilling when you find out about the battle inside the drivers seat.

Coming off a recent injury, we were unsure of the status of Daniel Mendes. The current Super Stock points leader underwent some intense medical tests and took some well received precautions prior to jumping back into the black #3. He brought his clearance and for those who were questioning; you were left without any doubts. He is here and he's not going anywhere. Bring it on you, can hear him say when you look at the drive in his eyes. Mendes started in 8th and made a quick charge to the front. Once he got past Larry Damitz and Michael Newman, it was over. He never waivered and was never challenged for the lead. Mitch Machado made a valiant effort following Mendes' move thru the pack but couldn't match the power he had and scored a second place finish. It is no surprise that Larry Damitz finished in the top three. He is as I call him, always Mr. Consistent.

Ricardo Rivera raced in the Dwarf Cars. He won, enough said. Tony Carmignani is staying within striking distance by maintaining his second place finishes. He pulled up on Rivera late in the race but the laps weren't there to make a definite challenge. Worthy of noting, is the improvement of Jerry Doty. He has been watching and learning from the top guys. It shows in his finishes from the past few months. Doty has nearly always finished in the top 5, this past weekend he gained a third place win. He is one to watch in the next year. It is not uncommon for a dwarf car driver to "move-up" to a dirt modified, but it is hardly ever seen in the reverse. This weekend we had last years dirt modified champion, Rob Norris, jump into a dwarf car. It was a nice change of pace for the modified driver. Unfortunately in every division mechanical woes will happen. Norris pulled off early in the main event, returning as it finished. Hopefully the car problems can get dialed in and we can see some more championship racing in the dwarf car division.

The Freedom Series was moved to Chowchilla for the last installment but that didn't affect our local boys. A big congratulations to Kenny Neu for taking the modified purse and Gene Haney for garnering the Hobby Stock win. The soon-to-be retired Haney was back in the familiar seat of his mini truck this weekend. He pulled out a solid third place finish and stayed in the points lead for this division. The Trophy Dash winner Tommy Brown came in second behind Mini Trux winner Mike Harman Sr. It was the first win for both men.

Prior to the Trophy Dash, we observed a moment of silence for those lost in the tragedies of years ago. It shall remain a reminder of loss and the unity of the nation. Let's all take this time to shake the hand of your neighbor, love yourself and your family. We hope that you come to the races with that same sentiment. This is a dying breed and we encourage you to cheer loudly for that which you love.

A reminder of the changes; the 2009 banquet has been cancelled. The Wingless Sprints have a $1500 to win show added to the Western All Stars Late Model event on October 3rd. Antioch Speedway management has added 2 additional dates of racing, the 17th and 24th of October. Divisions to be announced at a later date. As always, the opinion/statements made are not necessarily that of the speedway management.

Antioch Speedway Results

September 12, 2009

Dirt Modifieds
1. 12 Joe Carr
2. 73 Scott Busby
3. 17 Nick DeCarlo
4. 99 Kenny Neu
5. 49 Troy Foulger
6. 28 Chester Kniss
7. 68 Norman Beck
8. 16 Michael Paul
9. 00 Todd Tadiello
10. 44 Jon Haney
11. 61 Jeff Bettencourt
12. 2a Andy Angelo
13. 2 Mike Learn
14. 6 Dan Gonderman

Super Stocks
1. 3 Danny Mendes
2. 22 Mitch Machado
3. 15 Larry Damitz
4. 83 Michael Newman
5. 2 Mike Gustafson
6. 90 Jeremy Petrell
7. 65 Lori Brown
8. 11 Lloyd Cline
9. 8 Alan Beasy
10. 40 Steve Perry
11. 10x Eric Van Hooser

Hobby Stocks
1. 45 Erik Schantin
2. 99 Jack Jonker
3. 24 Nick DeLuca
4. 7 Fred Ryland
5. 03 Philip Gibber
6. 00 Chris Sorenson
7. 87 Wes Bentley
8. 98 Joe Cancilla
9. 56 Chuck Templeton
10. 11 Joanna Kujala
11. 57 Craig Ebert
12. 28 Anthony Roeder
13. 300 Jake Neu

Dwarf Cars
1. 45 Ricardo Rivera
2. 11 Tony Carmignani
3. 55 Jerry Doty
4. 3 Duane Jordan
5. 30 Joel Osias
6. 12 Butch Liston
7. 3s Chuck Golden
8. 1 Russ Seiber
9. 3n Clayton Dortbach
10. 41 Rob Norris

Mini Trux
1. 51 Mike Harman Sr
2. 99x Tommy Brown
3. 45 Gene Haney
4. 4 Ray Bunn
5. 99 Travis Dutra
6. 73 Ron Mayberry
7. 21 Frank Rosa
8. 37 Garrett Mayberry
9. 66x Joe Cambra
10. 11d Danny Wagner

Trophy Dash - Mini Trux
1. 99x Tommy Brown
2. 99 Travis Dutra
3. 21 Frank Rosa
4. 21d Danny Wagner