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The Summer Nationals at Antioch Speedway
The buzz probably hasn't been out there about the late June Summer Nationals races at Antioch Speedway, but here's what is on the schedule:
June 26 (Friday):
Antioch – Summer Nationals
– IMCA Modifieds, Limited Late Models, IMCA Sport Mods (no track
points but there will be national, regional, and state points), Hobby
Stocks, Dwarf Cars.
June 27 (Saturday):
Antioch – Summer Nationals – DIRTcar Late Models, IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods.
NASCAR
racer Kenny Wallace will be driving a Modified and a Late Model that
weekend and is willing to drive any other race car made available to
him. He'll compete in every class he can. The track traditionally runs
a big race on the weekend of the Sears Point NASCAR race, and this is
no exception.
Questions were asked to this reporter about the purse, and this is the word we got from John Soares Jr. at Antioch Speedway. The Friday night IMCA Modified race will pay $1500 to win and a minimum of $125 to start, which could end up being $150. The Sport Mods will race for $500 to win.
Expectations are for good car counts in both classes, and we are
already hearing rumors of cars coming down from Oregon for this event.
The Saturday night IMCA Modified feature will pay $2500 to win and will pay the same to start as mentioned above. Sport Mods get $750 to win. The Late Models get a minimum of $1500 to win and $150 to start regardless of car count.
John would like to pay $2000 to win if he can get 20 cars, and I'm
thinking that will include an increase in the start money, though I
didn't get clarification on that part. However, these two races should
be big.
A Brief Preview Of Summer Nationals At Antioch Speedway
June 26th and 27th are the dates you will want to mark on your calender. It's the Summer Nationals at Antioch Speedway. This is the weekend NASCAR comes to Sears Point Raceway and it's traditionally the weekend Promoter John Soares Jr. likes to book something special at Antioch Speedway. Last year, it was a $3000 to win Winged 360 Sprint Car race, won by Bradley Terrell, but frequently Late Models and Dirt Modifieds are part of the show. Soares and Oval Motorsports loves to do things up big for the drivers.
For that weekend, Soares has booked NASCAR racer and personality Kenny Wallace to compete and will be providing him with a ride in the House Late Model for the Saturday race. That Late Model show will pay $1500 to win regardless of car count and will grow to $2000 with a 20 car field. Wallace may have his eyes on the prize, but among the drivers who will likely be going for the big win are Richard Papenhausen, Jeff Decker, Troy Foulger and Paul Guglielmoni.
Unconfirmed rumors have Bobby Hogge IV considering an appearance. Only two drivers have won more Main Events than Hogge in Antioch Speedway history, and he won two Late Model features there last season. You never know who will compete in this race, but a bigger than usual field in the 16-20 car range is anticipated.
The IMCA Modifieds will race for $2500 to win on Saturday and $1500 on Friday. Interestingly enough, point leader Scott Busby has a more difficult time getting wins at Antioch when the big money is on the line, though he has won 61 times in this division at his home track. Can he bag some of the big bucks this time? In addition to this season's top point runners, such as Bobby Motts Jr., Carl Berendsen II, Dustin Humes, Alex and Kyle Wilson, Chis Elby and Jeff Thomas, several top names from other tracks are anticipated.
Petaluma point leader Nick DeCarlo, six time Petaluma champ Michael Paul Jr., Watsonville point leader Bobby Hogge IV and the Burke brothers, Cody and Austin, are others who could show. Troy Foulger, a four time Antioch champion, is rumored to be planning to compete, as is past Antioch champion Kellen Chadwick, who has a knack for winning the big races.
The IMCA Sport Mods also have two nights of racing that weekend. They even get extra money as they run for $500 to win on Friday and $750 in Saturday. When you hear big Sport Mod race at Antioch, you suddenly think Fred Ryland will be getting a little extra for his wins. Ryland leads the Antioch, State and National point races with several wins along the way. However, he can expect some stiff competition for this event. The monkey wrench in all of this is that Ryland is competing for points at Watsonville, but there is an out as Antioch's Friday race is being specified as a non track point race.
This means Ryland will likely not be at Antioch, opening the door for a new winner if the scheduling holds true. Top candidates from the point list include Keith Brown Jr., Ron Brown, Chuck Golden and Megan Ponciano on Friday, and F. Ryland, Patti Ryland, Paul Mulder and Al Sotomayor can be added to the mix on Saturday. From Marysville, stars like Jimmy Ford and Alan Furuta could be on hand for this, and other names to watch for include Jeremy Hoff, Bruce Nelson, Anthony Guiliani and possibly 2014 IMCA State champion Nick Spainhoward.
The Friday portion of the show will also include Limited Late Models, Hobby Stocks and Dwarf Cars and will be a regular point race for all three divisions. Adding to the interest is the report that Kenny Wallace is willing to drive any and all divisions that are a part of the show. For further information, check the official Oval Motorsports Website.
Liggett, Papenhausen Impress With Antioch Speedway Victories
Austin Liggett impressed with a 25 lap Winged 360 Sprint Car Main Event win Saturday night at Antioch Speedway. Liggett engaged in a thrilling battle of slide job passes with Kurt Nelson midway through the race. For a couple of laps, Nelson and Liggett traded the lead in each turn.
Liggett finally made a Turn 2 pass on lap 16 stick as slight contact dropped Nelson back to fourth. From there, Liggett maintained the lead to score a hard fought victory. Eric Humphries was a strong second as a disappointed Nelson settled for third after making his way past fourth place finisher Art McCarthy.
Richard Papenhausen very quickly rebounded from an early tangle with Jeff Decker to win his fifth 20 lap Late Model Main Event. On a lap six restart, Papenhausen went between early leader David Newquist and Danny Malfatti on the back stretch and emerged with the lead. Once in front, Papenhausen pulled away to a straightaway advantage. Anthony Restad was a solid second as Newquist out dueled Malfatti for third.
It was not a good night to be the leader in the 20 lap Wingless Spec Sprint Main Event as no less than four leaders had problems. Three leaders spun, and Jimmy Perry III was on his way to his third win when he had to pit with a right rear flat tire during a lap 15 caution period. Suddenly, James East had the lead. East would lead the rest of the way to hold off Marcus Smith for the victory. Point leader Kyle Bakkie was third at the checkered flag.
Paul Mulder took the lead from Chuck Golden midway through the 20 lap IMCA Sport Mod Main Event. Once in front, he held off the pressure of Fred Ryland and Matt Hagio for the impressive victory. Ryland had an eventful race that saw him spin twice without a yellow flag and still finish a strong second ahead of Hagio.
David Teves maintained his Dwarf Car point lead with a nice drive from 10th starting to win the 20 lap Main Event. Teves took the lead from Travis Dutra on a lap nine restart and had his hands full holding off Dutra the rest of the way for the victory. Behind Teves and Dutra, it was defending champion Danny Wagner finishing third.
Kimo Oreta won his fifth 20 lap Hobby Stock Main Event of the season. Oreta briefly lost the lead midway through the race to Danny Jones, but Jones got sideways in Turn 2 to fall back to second. Oreta would hold off the constant pressure of Jones for the impressive victory as Michael Cooper and Natalie Perry enjoyed season best finishes in third and fourth, respectively.
Racing returns next weekend for the two day, Summer Nationals event. Friday night racing will feature IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Limited Late Models, Hobby Stocks and Dwarf Cars. The Saturday night show will have DIRTcar Late Models, IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Sport Modifieds. NASCAR Star Kenny Wallace will be driving an IMCA Modified on both nights and a Late Model on Saturday night.
Saturday Night, June 20, 2015
Race Results
DIRTcar Late Models
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Anthony Restad, Richard Papenhausen. Main Event (20 Laps)-Papenhausen, Restad, David Newquist, Danny Malfatti, Randy Shafer.
Winged 360 Sprint Cars
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Eric Humphries, Dustin Golobic. Main Event (20 Laps)- Austin Liggett, Humphries, Kurt Nelson, Art McCarthy, Shawn Arriaga.
IMCA Sport Modifieds
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Keith Brown Jr., Ron Brown. Main Event (20 Laps)-Paul Mulder, Fred Ryland, Matt Hagio, Chuck Golden, Patti Ryland.
Wingless Spec Sprints
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Marcus Smith, Alan Miranda. Main Event (20 Laps)-James East, Smith, Kyle Bakkie, Rick Panfili, Miranda.
Dwarf Cars
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Mike Corsaro, David Teves, Pat Urdahl. Main Event (20 Laps)-D. Teves, Travis Dutra, Danny Wagner, Urdahl, Mark Biscardi.
Hobby Stocks
Heat Winners (6 Laps)- Kimo Oreta. Main Event (20 Laps)-Oreta, Danny Jones, Michael Cooper, Natalie Perry, Jordan Swank.
