Antioch Speedway And Merced Speedway Race Results

First of all...

Just A Kid From The Grandstands:  My Time In Auto Racing

Available on Lulu in Paperback And Hard Cover

On Sale At Reduced Price

Don's California Racing Recollections:  Best Of The Blog And Beyond

Available via print on demand at Lulu in Hard Cover or Paperback


Also...

If You Like Reading Our Articles, Visit The Tip Jar at Go Fund Me to support our efforts

DCRR Racing Media And PR Consulting  HERE

DCRR Racing Radio Show
 
DCRR Racing Radio Show: Episode 93 by GenWhat

Aton, Perry, Furtado, Rosa Win At Antioch Speedway

Antioch, CA...August 27...Saturday night at Antioch Speedway offered something for everybody.  There was a big bike giveaway for the kids during intermission and new and familiar faces in the winner's circle.  Point leader Billy Aton rebounded with a win in the Winged 360 Sprint Car Main Event, while Jim  Perry Jr. protected his Wingless Spec Sprint point lead with a 20 lap victory of his own.  Point leader Larry Damitz caught a break late in the race to win the 20 lap Limited Late Model Main Event.  Frank Furtado also benefited from the leader's misfortune to win his first career 20 lap Hobby Stock feature.  Two drivers from the Marysville area came to town and won as Duane Cleveland (A Modifieds) and Phillip Shelby (B Modifieds) won their 20 lap features.  Stock Car veteran David Rosa won his first career 20 lap Dwarf Car Main Event.

Billy Aton won the 20 lap Winged 360 Sprint Car Main Event.  Aton needed a big night after he lost a wheel while leading last week and fell out of the running.  This time around, Aton got the lead and went on to score a much needed second win of the season.  Driving for Brett Lay, reigning champion Shawn Arriaga made a charge from the fifth row for a season best second place finish.  Burt Foland Jr. wrapped up his best night of the year by adding a third place finish to his heat win from earlier in the evening.  Art McCarthy and Dan Gonderman rounded out the Top 5.  Petaluma racer Roberto Kirby won a heat race and was leading the Main Event early before flipping.  He wasn't injured, but he was out of the race.

Jim Perry Jr. pretty much wrapped up his second Wingless Spec Sprint championship by winning his third 20 lap feature of the season.  The stage was set for drama early on.  After Shannon Newton won his heat race, Perry was black flagged from his heat for exceeding the state mandated DBA limit.  Title hopeful Marcus Smith was looking for the win, but instead he blew a motor in the Richard Basden owned car.  That gave rookie Adam Teves his first career heat race win.  Teves graciously stepped out of the Smith owned car, though Smith made no such request.

Smith started last in the Spec Sprint Main Event, which was led early by Newton before Perry went charging by.  Perry went on to victory from there.  Newton held down second until Smith finally made his move late in the race.  Officials ruled that Smith would only be allowed to race for money and not points as he was not competing in the car he started the evening with.  Newton settled for third ahead of Roy Fisher.  Brandon Burd rebounded from a hard flip last time out to finish fifth ahead of Rick Panfili.  Chris Magoon flipped his car on the opening lap of his heat race to end his night.

Duane Cleveland beat a competitive field of A Modifieds for the 20 lap feature win.  A past Chico champion, Cleveland led most of the race to become the tenth different feature winner of the season.  Second generation racer Sean O'Gara stayed in the Top 3 point battle with his season best second place finish as division legend Scott Busby came from the back to finish third.  Trent Wentworth and point leader Carl Berendsen II rounded out the Top 5.  Four time champion Troy Foulger and Nick Viscusi III were the heat race winners.

Larry Damitz won his fifth 20 lap Limited Late Model Main Event, but he had luck on his side.  Rookie Kimo Oreta won the heat race and set a rapid pace up front for most of the Main Event.  Coming out of Turn 4 with just five laps to go, Oreta lost power and coasted to a stop.  Damitz had managed to grab second from Lori Brown, and he found himself in the lead at that point.  Damitz led the rest of he way.  Brown surrendered second to Jeff Kendrick as she had a flat tire.  Mike Gustafson finished third as Brown limped home to a fourth place finish.

In the B Modified division, three time Marysville Stock Car champion Phillip Shelby made his first visit of the season and went home with a 20 lap Main Event victory.  After winning his 11th heat race of the year, point leader Trevor Clymens had his sights set on another Main Event win.  However, Shelby drove a great race for the victory as Clymens settled for second.  The Main Event had a red flag early on after a spectacular flip by Chuck Golden in Turn 3.  Fortunately, he was not injured.  Al Johnson kept his title hopes alive with a third place feature finish ahead of Shane DeVolder and Kevin Brown.

Frank Furtado has been a Hobby Stock competitor at Antioch for several seasons, but that 20 lap feature win had eluded him until Saturday.  It was rookie Anthony Vigna who set the pace up front from the start.  Vigna was running a great race ahead of Futado when motor problems put an end to what could have been a victory on lap 17.  Vigna's blown motor caught fire, but he was not injured.  Suddenly, Furtado had the lead.  Furtado held off Cameron Swank over the final three laps for the popular victory.  Point leader and heat winner Guy Alhwardt rebounded from a spin to finish third ahead of Lindsey Buirch and Chris Sorensen.

Two time Street Stock champion David Rosa finally collected his first career 20 lap Dwarf Car Main Event victory.  Rosa started his night by joining South Bay Dwarf Car visitor William Belfield in winning a heat race.  Come Main Event time, Rosa proved to be just a little too fast for Belfield as he led him for the 1-2 finish.  Buddy Kniss had third before spinning and ending up sixth.  David Michael Rosa finished third ahead of Tim Reeder and Timmy Ryan.

After a week off, racing returns to Antioch Speedway on Saturday night, September 10th.  The All Star Series program will include Winged 360 Sprint Cars, A Modifieds, B Modifieds, Limited Late Models, Hobby Stocks and Hardtops. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.


Unofficial Race Results, August 27
Winged 360 Sprint Cars
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Roberto Kirby, Burt Foland Jr.  Main Event (20 Laps)-Billy Aton, Shawn Arriaga, Foland, Art McCarthy, Dan Gonderman

A Modifieds
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Troy Foulger, Nick Viscusi III.    Main Event (20 Laps)-Duane Cleveland, Sean O'Gara, Scott Busby, Trent Wentworth, Carl Berendsen II.

Wingless Spec Sprints
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Shannon Newton, Adam Teves.    Main Event (20 Laps)-Jim Perry Jr., Marcus Smith, Newton, Roy Fisher, Brandon Burd.

B Modifieds
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Trevor Clymens, Nick DeCarlo.    Main Event (20 Laps)-Phillip Shelby, Clymens, Al Johnson, Shane DeVolder, Kevin Brown.

Limited Late Models
Heat Winner (8 Laps)-Kimo Oreta.  Main Event (20 Laps)-Larry Damitz, Jeff Kendrick, Mike Gustafson, Lori Brown, Orerta.

Hobby Stocks
Heat Winner (8 Laps)-Guy Ahlwardt.  Main Event (20 Laps)-Frank Furtado, Cameron Swank, Ahlwardt, Lindsey Buirch, Chris Sorensen.

Dwarf Cars
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-William Belfield, David Rosa.  Main Event (20 Laps)-Rosa, Belfield, David Michael Rosa, Tim Reeder, Timmy Ryan.

Brown, Diaz Continue Drive Towards 

Merced Championships With Victories

Merced, CA...August 27...The month of August ended at Merced Speedway with three point leaders scoring wins in their respective Main Events Saturday night.  In IMCA Modified action, Randy Brown won for the fourth time this year as he is slowly starting to put some distance between himself and second place in the standings.  IMCA Sport Modified point leader Rick Diaz gave the competition something to think about when he won his sixth IMCA Sport Modified Main Event.  Robbie Loquaci won his second 20 lap Hobby Stock Main Event, while Sportsman point leader Kenny Birdsong scored a much needed third 20 lap Sportsman Main Event win.

The IMCA Modifieds ran two heat races with rookies winning both of them.  Bruce "Bubba" Nelson won his nine lapper ahead of Ricky Thatcher, while Tim Cecil won his ahead of Mike Villanueva.  Brown made another charge to the front of the Main Event.  Once he got there, he was pursued by another rookie, past Sport Mod champion Ryan Larimer.  Brown seems to have hit on the winning combination lately, and he was not going to be denied the victory.  Larimer settled for a season best second ahead of Nelson.  Ramie Stone kept his championship hopes alive and moved into second in the standings by finishing fourth ahead of Fallon, Nevada visitor Travis White, Late Model veteran Derek Nance, Troy Stone, Steve Streeter, Joe Altig and Villanueva.

On the heels of his impressive IMCA Sport Modified feature win last week, Chase Thomas won his nine lap heat race ahead of reigning IMCA State champion Fred Ryland.  Chris Falkenberg was back in action and winning his heat race ahead of Marisa Odgers.  Rick Diaz has been on such a roll lately that he has enjoyed six straight Top 5 finishes and hadn't finished lower than second in his previous four starts.  His point lead has reached a level in which he could miss a race and still be leading.  However, the quest for more wins always keeps Diaz coming back, and Saturday night saw him battle Ryland at the front of the pack.  When the checkered flag flew, Diaz was increasing his point lead even more after his sixth victory.  Ryland settled for second ahead of Gary Tucker.  Mike Drake maintained second in the standings with his fourth place finish ahead of Thomas, Mark Squatrito, reigning champion Josh Hensley, Mike Shepherd, Odgers and Paul Espino.

Robbie Loquaci gave indication of things to come when he held off Kodie Dean to win one of the Hobby Stock heat races.  A good turnout of cars called for three nine lap heat races with Austin Van Hoff holding off Darren Miguel to win their heat race.  Jeff Lacy drove his Dan Marino Miami Dolphins tribute car to a heat win ahead of Cody Parker.  A past Mini Stock champion at Chowchilla Speedway, Loquaci was looking for his second feature win of the season.  He still has hopes of finishing second in the standings, but reigning champion Kevin Joaquin currently holds the position.  Joaquin is still looking for his first win of the season, but Loquaci held him off for the impressive victory.  Joaquin settled for second once again.  Van Hoff had his best finish of the season in third ahead of Phil Vaughn.  A two time winner last season, Cody Parker had his best finish of the year in fifth as point leader Michael Shearer, Garrett Corn, Lacy, Kyle Singleton and Donnie Shearer completed the Top 10 in the 19 car field.

After his tow vehicle broke down on Legend's Night and forced him to miss the race, Jeff Bristow was back winning the Sportsman division heat race ahead of point leaer Kenny Birdsong.  Birdsong was in need of a good night after his disappointing showing last time, and he got just what he needed.  Birdsong battled Bristow in the Main Event, but it was Birdsong prevailing at the checkered flag in the Rod Poor Tribute car.  Mike Friesen followed Bristow for the third place finish as Jeff West, Jesse James Burks and Tim Prothro completed the finishing order.

After a two week break, racing returns on Saturday, September 17th with IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Mini Stocks and the Valley Sportsman division.  For further information, check out www.racemerced.com.


Race Results
IMCA MODIFIEDS - A-MAIN
1 16B Randy Brown Chowchilla
2 47M Ryan Larimer Merced
3 4B Bruce Nelson Winton
4 06 Ramie Stone Snelling
5 01 Travis White Fallon, NV
6 5N Derek Nance Merced
7 4 Troy Stone Winton
8 1X Steve Streeter Chowchilla
9 04 Joe Altig San Diego
10 69M Mike Villanueva Merced
11 61 Ricky Thatcher Mariposa
12 1C Tim Cecil Merced
13 09 Mitch Enos Manteca
14 59 Robert Miller 

IMCA Sport Mods - A-MAIN
1 714 Rick Diaz Los Banos
2 7J Fred Ryland Brentwood
3 10T Gary Tucker Delhi
4 O5 Mike Drake Turlock
5 209 Chase Thomas Atwater
6 31 Mark Squadrito Copperopolis
7 86 Josh Hensley Ballico
8 23 Mike Shepherd Atwater
9 57M Marisa Odgers Mariposa
10 33 Paul Espino Merced
11 22 Tanner Thomas Atwater
12 33G Gavin Espino Merced
13 51 Chuck Weir 
14 3CF Chris Falkenberg Merced
15 44 Tim Elias Los Banos
16 07 George Mederios Merced

Hobby Stocks - A-MAIN
1 70L Robbie Loquaci Madera
2 97 Kevin Joaquin Sonora
3 44 Austin VanHoff Chowchilla
4 76K Phillip Vaughn Merced
5 28 Cody Parker Merced
6 67J Michael Shearer Atwater
7 C29 Garrett Corn Cathey's Valley
8 13L Jeff Lacy Fresno
9 02 Kyle Singleton Clovis
10 37J Donnie Shearer Merced
11 86 John Hensley Denair
12 4B Shannon Nelson Atwater
13 86JR Darren Miguel Ballico
14 78 Brandon Pugh 
15 41 Jason Pugh Clovis
16 73J Kristie Shearer Atwater
17 4T4 Cody Brown Chowchilla
18 7 Kodie Dean Chowchilla
19 66 Tony Olivera Watsonville

VALLEY SPORTSMAN - A-MAIN
1 25M Kenny Birdsong Merced
2 14 Jeff Bristow Turlock
3 121 Mike Friesen Atwater
4 69J Jeff West Turlock
5 69 Jesse James Burks Le Grand
6 23M Tim Prothro Merced

Antioch Speedway Hall Of Fame 2019-2020

  Articles about the Antioch Speedway Hall Of Fame Inductees from 2019 and 2020

 

2020

Donna Soares Memorial Hall Of Fame Night 

At Antioch Speedway October 5th

Antioch, CA...In October, Antioch Speedway has a special event to close the 2019 championship point season. It comes a week before the big $12,000 to win A Modified show. On October 5th, Antioch Speedway will remember Donna Soares with the first Memorial race in her honor. Competing divisions will include a $1,500 to win A Modified race, DIRTcar Late Models, Limited Late Models, Hobby Stocks and Bay Area Hardtops. Furthermore, this will be Hall of Fame night at the speedway where a group of 15 individuals will be inducted into the track's Hall of Fame.

Donna Soares was the wife of Promoter John M Soares. The two had been married for 50 years, and when Oval Motorsports was formed to promote Antioch Speedway prior to the 1998 season, Donna was the one who ran the front office. She was very much John's partner throughout his storied racing career. She passed away last October.

Donna was a popular person among the racers at the speedway, and many people made it a point to go into the office just to say hi to her and enjoy a good conversation. She was the one who kept things running in the office while John was busy with track preparation and other duties. She is truly missed by the racers at Antioch Speedway, and this night will be a special night for all who knew and loved her.

During the intermission, there will be a Hall of Fame ceremony, inducting ten racers and five other individuals who played important roles behind the scenes in helping make Antioch Speedway the special place it has been for these past 59 seasons.

Leading the induction list this year is Dennis Furia, or as he was known throughout his racing career, Dennis "Foot In It" Furia. Dennis won an amazing 25 Sportsman Main Events throughout the 1970s and was the 1979 champion. You could start him last on the grid, and he would still find his way to the front. He ranked second behind only Gary Pacheco on the division's all time win list. After an absence of about 15 years, Furia came out of retirement and competed in the Dirt Modified class. He won ten Main Events and was also Top 5 ranked in points.

Richard Johnson will also be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Back in the 1970s, they called him "Rapid Richard" Johnson, and he was a two-time Stock Car champion at the speedway. Johnson traveled to other tracks and and won the State championship in Stock Cars in 1973 and was also the 1980 and 1981 State Sportsman champion. He won 26 Main Events during those years at the speedway. After going away and racing Sprint Cars, Johnson was one of the first drivers in the newly formed Dirt Modified division in 1990. He won the championship that year before retiring again.

The 1980s era has been opened for consideration this year, and Jim Pettit II becomes the first driver from that era to be inducted into the Antioch Speedway Hall of Fame. As a 16 year old Stock Car racer, Pettit won his first Main Event in Antioch in 1981. He went on to win 46 Late Model features, making him first on the all time win list. Pettit was the 1984 NASCAR Winston Regional champion and won track championships at Antioch in 1987, 1988 and 1991. He went on to a successful Southwest Tour career and currently still competes in Dirt Modifieds at Watsonville.

Pettit was always quick to credit "The Sun Drop Kid" Larry Damitz for his role in helping him win the 1991 championship. Larry had a storied career that started back in 1954 at the old Costra Costa Speedway in Pacheco. Damitz raced Hardtops for 20 years, and he was racing Late Models when he first started racing at Antioch in 1984. He'd already won several championships by then. In 1986, he won ten Main Events in finishing second in Late Model points. Larry raced until he was 87 years old and won five of the last seven Limited Late Model championships he completed for, winning over 50 Main Events at Antioch Speedway alone.

Bruce "The Phantom" Curl will also be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Curl raced Stock Cars at Antioch throughout the 1970s and was frequently Top 5 ranked, winning a total of 11 Main Events in that division. Teaming up with car owner Pete Paulsen, Curl won the 1981 Stock Car championship. He continued to be one of the top drivers and was even a car owner for JD Willis for two of his wins in the 1980s. Curl ran the successful Curl Racing shop, which repaired and built race cars throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s. He built some of the first Dirt Modifieds that competed in that division in 1990 and finished second in points that year.

Also being inducted this year is Jerry "The Maverick" Garner. Jerry started racing Stock Cars in the 1960s and won the prestigious 1969 California State Stock Car championship. Jerry continued to compete in Stock Cars and Sportsman cars in the 1970s and was Top 5 ranked during that time and a feature winner. He went back to Stock Cars in the 1980s and was still one of the top drivers, winning a 50 lap Late Model race in 1982. When Jerry retired, he mentored his son Mark Garner, who currently competes at the speedway. Jerry's grandson, Billy Garner, also competes as the family has been a fixture at the speedway for many years.

The Gonderman family has also been at the speedway for many years and is three generations strong. The patriarch, Ken Gonderman, started racing in the 1960s. He was one of those drivers who built his race car from the ground up, and he bears the distinction of snapping what could have been a four year championship streak for Gary Pacheco when he won the 1970 Sportsman title. Ken continued to race throughout the 1970s while getting his son Dave Gonderman involved in the sport. Dave was a two-time feature winner. In the 1980s, he got his son Dan Gonderman involved as well. Ken still took turns behind the wheel and had some good efforts throughout the 1980s. However, he was also somebody who built a good race car and was knowledgeable about engine building. Ken is still involved in his son Dan's racing program today, and Dan is a two-time Antioch Speedway Wingless Spec Sprint champion.

Dennis "Fireball" Close was one of the top drivers in the 1970s. Though not a champion, he was always in the hunt for the title and won ten Main Events. He was Top 5 ranked for four seasons, ranking second in 1975 and 1976.

From 1960s era, Dave Logan is being inducted into the Hall of Fame. Logan only had a brief career, but he won 17 Main Events at Antioch Speedway. During a two year span, he was the champion at both Vallejo Speedway in 1966 and Antioch Speedway in 1965. Sadly, Dave died in a race car crash at Calistoga Speedway. He was somebody many people believe could have been in an IndyCar at some point in his career and is still remembered as a great racer and gentlemen of the sport.

Lyle Lister will also be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Lister was the 1966 Sportsman champion at Antioch Speedway and won 14 Main Events. During that time, he was one of the big stars on the circuit, and he won two championships at Antioch's sister track, Petaluma Speedway.

Vic Noon will also be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Noon raced in the 1960s. He went on to pick up the flags and become one of the top flagmen in the state. He handled the starter duties at the speedway throughout the 1970s and was known as somebody who could control the race track and was a no nonsense flagman.

Bill Bowers will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Bill was a car owner, builder and engine man throughout his career at the speedway. He teamed up with Hall of Fame racer JD Willis, and they won several races and championships together. Bowers was somebody who helped many racers through the years, and they too were winners thanks to him. He was one of the most respected figures within the racing community. The Bowers family tradition continues on as his son Billy Bowers fields a successful championship winning Modified team.

Gerry Delanoy will also be going into the Hall of Fame. Gerry was known as the Dow Chemicals Goodwill Ambassador throughout the 1970s. He would give away different products to the racers and the fans every week. If the track needed him to help, he was quick to jump in. He did many things, including writing articles for the speedway. When he passed away, they started running the Salute to Gerry Delanoy 50 lap Stock Car race in 1982.

Charlie Zeno will be going into the Hall of Fame. One of the things that helps the sport is having somebody out there spreading the word about what is happening. Zeno wrote for the Contra Costa County Times and other newspapers from the 1970s until he retired at the end of the 1993 season. He would send his stories wherever he could get them printed and wrote many review, preview and driver profile articles throughout his decorated career. When he retired in 1993, management presented him with a grandfather clock in recognition of his service to racing.

Also being inducted is motorsports journalist Gary Jacob. Gary started writing about racing in the late 1960s when he saw that the Stock Car side of things wasn't getting the coverage that the open wheel side received. He started at one or two tracks, but Gary would soon be covering many tracks for Racing Wheels, DCRR Racing News and several racing publications. He continued to write until 2006. He wrote about Antioch at least a time or two every year during his career, and sometimes he was a regular at the speedway. The last race he covered was in June of 2006. It was a Late Model show, and it happened at Antioch Speedway.

One of the things that keeps the sport going is family and the people who show the commitment week in and week out. October 5th will be a special night because we will remember Donna Soares and the dedication she had to helping promote the sport. We furthermore honor 15 individuals who helped make racing memorable, fun and something people wanted to be a part of.

With the divisions that are running, this will be a special night that you won't want to miss. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.

2019

Hall Of Fame Night Comes At Antioch Speedway 

On October 13th

Antioch, CA...There's a long and storied history to Antioch Speedway.  The track has been open for weekly racing during the late spring, summer and early fall months for 57 years since it opened in 1961.  Before that, the track ran several races during 1952 and 1953.  The original promoters were John P Soares and Jerry Piper, and they worked under Bob Barkhimer's California Stock Car Racing Association.  It was eight years later when Soares was tabbed to run the track again for Barkhimer under the NASCAR banner.

The elder Soares had less than a dozen cars for the first race in 1961, but he had a full pit by the end of the season.  In those days, a promoter had to try many different things to entice the fans to come watch.  Thrill Shows, Special Powder Puff Races for the ladies and long distance races were some of the things promoted back then.  It worked well.  The grandstands were frequently packed with spectators, and there would be over sixty cars in the old Hardtop Auto Claimer class.

John P Soares guided the track for 20 seasons before retiring at the end of the 1980 season to focus on Petaluma Speedway, a track he promoted for 23 more seasons after Antioch.  The track went from featuring the Hardtops to the winged Sportsman class, to Late Models and eventually Modifieds.  There have been many other divisions that have competed on the clay oval.  In 1998, John M Soares followed in his father's footsteps as he promoted the speedway under Oval Motorsports.

The younger Soares, now 76, has seen it all in his time.  Like his father, he was a championship winning driver who won races on the NASCAR Cup circuit, built winning race cars and has excelled at track preparation.  Combined, both Soares men have promoted Antioch Speedway for 40 years.  Given the history of the race track, it was only a matter of time before people would start being inducted into the Antioch Speedway Hall Of Fame.  That time is now.

The occasion will be Fall Brawl on October 13th.  This is the season finale for the track, and its expected to attract some top notch competitors to the speedway for a run at the money.  It will also serve as an historical night of sorts.  On the concessions stand side of the main grandstands, there will be boards on display featuring clippings of several racing articles and pictures from through the years.  As this event grows, more boards will be added.  As a bonus, long time announcer John Myers will be there to announce.

Heading up the 2018 Hall Of Fame class with be John P Soares and John M Soares.  Without the vision of the elder Soares, the track may not have made it through the challenging early seasons.  So beloved was he that when he retired from Antioch in 1980, several top Antioch racers followed him to Petaluma Speedway a year later.  The younger Soares ranks third on the Sportsman division All Time winner's list with 20 victories.  Getting a win in that class was not easy with the competition  level as high as it was.  John won his first race in 1965, and he managed to win races in the 70s, 80s, 90s and 00s.  He's the only driver in track history to accomplish that.

Perhaps the greatest Sportsman driver of all time was "The Mighty Mite" Gary Pacheco.  Gary won three championships in a four years span and 30 Main Events at Antioch.  He's the All Time winner in that division. 

Another of the greats was Bill Brown.  He's the patriarch of one of the three Brown families that has been a part of the speedway for decades.  He was a two time track champion with 19 Sportsman wins.  Sons Dale and Keith and grandson Keith Jr. have all raced at the speedway and won Main Events.  The Brown family is third only to the Hogge family and the Perry family in feature wins at Antioch.

When it comes to who the greatest of all time was, JD "Ubetcha" Willis will get the vote of many.  His 72 career wins at the speedway is the most all time in a three way tie with Scott Busby and Bobby Hogge IV.  JD was consistently winning from the time he started in Stock Cars in 1968 through his final race in a Modified in 2004.  He won five track championships.

Championships were not the main goal for Dean "The  Blinker" Cline.  Having fun and winning races were the goal.  Dean built winning cars and twice sold them while leading the points, rather than winning those championships.  He won over 40 Main Events through the years and one championship.  His son Lance picked up his knack for building race cars and was known for building championship caliber cars as well.

Willie "The Silver Fox" Myatt was another driver who built winning cars.  He won a a Stock Car championship in the 1970's before moving up to the Sportsman division where he won multiple races.  In the 1980's, he returned to Stock Cars and continued to win.  His sons, Jeff Skaggs and Vince "Ratsoe" Skaggs, picked up his love of racing and got their own cars.

Chuck Smith was a top competitor in the Stock Cars in the 1970's.  He won races there and in later years in the Enduro class.  However, Chuck may be better known for his custom built push buggies that he's been building since the 1980's.  Chuck was a fixture at the speedway for many years pushing cars and helping keep the show running.  His wife Sharon, who sadly has since passed away, was a scorekeeper at the track for years, and son Ellis Smith raced Street Stocks.  As you can see, family is a very important part to what keeps racing going at Antioch Speedway.

One of the people announcing the show for years was John Myers.  John announced longer than anybody in the track's history at nearly 20 years.  He gave several drivers nicknames for the fans to identify with and had popular catch phrases that the fans sometimes chanted along with.  To many, he was the voice of Antioch Speedway, but he also spent time as a track official and worked on various pit crews before grabbing a microphone.

The Speedway has inducted two people into the Hall Of Fame.  Darryl Shirk was inducted after he passed away in 1999.  His wife Emily was presented with an award.  Harvey Mason was also inducted.  Harvey was one of the original local drivers on the 1961 roster.  He moved on to track maintenance and was known for providing smooth, hooked up racing surfaces for the drivers.  He served as assistant manager for several years as well.  The Family Section was named after him, but the Mason family was never presented with a Hall Of Fame award for Harvey.  That will happen on Saturday.

These ten people will be honored for their contributions on October 13th as the track has its final race of the season.  It will begin a new tradition at the speedway that will honor those who have helped make the track such a special place through the years.  For fans who want to get a taste of history to go with a great night of racing, the Fall Brawl season finale will be a race you won't want to miss. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.

Weekend Previews For Antioch Speedway and Merced Speedway

First of all...

Just A Kid From The Grandstands:  My Time In Auto Racing

Available on Lulu in Paperback And Hard Cover

On Sale At Reduced Price

Don's California Racing Recollections:  Best Of The Blog And Beyond

Available via print on demand at Lulu in Hard Cover or Paperback


Also...

If You Like Reading Our Articles, Visit The Tip Jar at Go Fund Me to support our efforts

DCRR Racing Media And PR Consulting  HERE


The DCRR Racing Radio Show


DCRR Racing Radio Show: Episode 92 by GenWhat

Sprint Cars, Modifieds Lead Seven Divisions Of Racing 

At Antioch Speedway

Antioch, CA...In what has become somewhat of a tradition at Antioch Speedway, there is a late season race in which management throws everything they can onto the schedule. This Saturday night, seven divisions of racing will compete on the three-eighths mile clay oval. Once again, the All Star Series Winged 360 Sprint Cars will headline along with the A Modifieds. The fans will also be treated to B Modifieds, Limited Late Models, Wingless Spec Sprints, Dwarf Cars and Hobby Stocks. If there is a night in which you want to see what racing is all about at Antioch Speedway, Saturday night is it.

In the Winged 360 Sprint Car division, Billy Aton can certainly feels the pressure of veteran Art McCarthy, who is creeping up on him. Aton carried a 21 point lead over McCarthy going into last Saturday night and was doing just what he needed to do. While leading the race seven laps in, Aton lost a tire in Turn 2. As luck would have it, he collected McCarthy in the incident. While Aton was done, McCarthy scored a third place finish to tighten the championship race to three points behind Aton.

While Aton and McCarthy enjoy a close championship battle, the trend of different drivers coming to town and winning Main Events continued last week as Petaluma Speedway title contender Riley Matson made a late pass on Brent Dothage to claim the victory. If the Dothage name sounds familiar to long time speedway fans, it could be because his father Gene Dothage is a three time Sportsman division point runner up in the early 1970's. Brent Dothage, who is a three time Sprint Car champion at Marysville, finished second.

They are attracting drivers from all over the map to come out and compete at Antioch Speedway, and Southern Oregon Speedway point leader Jake Wheeler even made a surprise visit. Jake was running in the Top 5 before front wing damage sent him to the pits. Dan Gonderman made his return, and though he struggled a bit at the back in the back, he did what he needed to do to maintain his third place point status over open wheel veteran Burt Foland Jr.

Promoter John M. Soares would have to consider this season a positive step for the class as a field of over a dozen competitors competed last week from a roster that has reached into the 40's. There is a local contingent, and other drivers to keep an eye out for this week includes rookie Tim Burcher, 2014 champion Chris Magoon, reigning champion Shawn Arriaga, Ricky Brophy and Adam McCarthy.

Carl Berendsen II continues to lead the A Modified championship. Berendsen has been doing it through consistency and has several Top 5 feature finishes to show for it, but there's still one thing the 2014 champion does not have. He is still without a win in his A Modified career at Antioch Speedway. During the season, he even made the switch to another car with the hopes of earning that win, but his most recent start resulted in a flip. Everything will be back together this week, and he'll be coming back strong for a shot at a win.

In his illustrious career, Scott Busby has won 64 A Modified Main Events at Antioch Speedway and 70 total, putting him second on the track's all time win list. When you start adding up the championships and big races that he has won at Antioch and elsewhere, it is very impressive. The future Hall Of Famer has had some problems this year that dropped him further back in second, but he won his second Main Event of the year last time out.

Antioch Speedway still has some competitive racers, including rookie Bobby Montalvo, who currently ranks third in the standings. Second generation racer Sean O'Gara is also in the Top 5 point battle, and Trent Wentworth seems to be on the verge of getting his first feature win of the season. The division has had nine different Main Event winners in 11 races, and the competitive nature of this class makes it hard to predict who might win next.

If not for a flip suffered at the season opener in Marysville and a blown motor at Antioch, second year racer Marcus Smith could very well be leading the Wingless Spec Sprint points at Antioch. Marcus had to spend the first few races get the handling and everything situated in the Richard Basden owned car, but now that he has, he is on a roll. With three feature wins, Smith has now closed to within 12 points of two time winner Jim Perry Jr., who settled for a third place finish last time. Though Perry has not been winning lately, he has still been finishing up near the front and keeping the damage down to a minimum.

It could just be that the winner of over 40 Wingless Spec Sprint Main Events in his career is due for a feature win this week, but after his second place performance last time, Jim's son Jimmy Perry III could also be in line for a win. The younger Perry has had even worse luck than his father with motor problems taking him out of the action for a few weeks. If these three drivers are a threat to win, there are some other talented drivers to watch for this week as well.

Third ranked competitor Rick Panfili is still battling for his first career feature win, and he maintained his hold on to third in the standings after rival Brandon Burd took a tumble out the Turn 1 exit gate during the heat race last time out. A past Chowchilla Speedway champion, Burd is another driver capable of picking up a win.  However, he fell to fifth in the standings behind veteran Roy Fisher after his recent misfortune.

Rookie Adam Teves should have his motor situated for a return this week, and other drivers to watch for include James East, Alan Miranda, reigning champion Kyle Bakkie, Shannon Newton and one time feature winner Jeremy Newberry.  Late word is that past Marysville Spec Sprint champion and 2014 Antioch Winged 360 Sprint Car champion Chris Magoon will be doing double duties in both classes this week.

It's a long battle in the Limited Late Model division, and third generation racer Mark Garner isn't ready to give up just yet. Making it difficult on Garner is the fact that point leader Larry Damitz is tenacious and is usually up near the front if he's not winning the race. Last week, Garner drove a flawless race and led from start to finish for his fourth feature win of the year, but right behind him was Damitz. Garner was able to use his finish to reclaim second in the standings from rookie Kimo Oreta, who finished back in forth.  Garner trails Damitz by 34 points and leads Oreta by four.

There were some fast cars competing last week, not the least of which was the 65 Roses car of past champion Lori Brown, who brought it home to a third place . Brown is a driver who also seems to be on the cusp of another feature win. Paul Hanley was back running strong, and the steady John Evans and Jeff Kendrick we're also among the field last week.  Evans currently ranks fourth in the standings and is still looking for that breakout night as he drives the car of former two time point runner up Mike Hynes.

Kevin Miraglo continues to hold on to the point lead in the Dwarf Car division ahead of Mike Corsaro. After missing a race and watching his lead get cut in half, Miraglio returned last time with a Top 5 feature finish. The two time feature winner will be hoping to keep Corsaro at bay this week, and the one thing he has had going for him all year is that his luck has been pretty good in the mechanical department. More often than not, Miraglio finishes in the Top 3.

Young Buddy Kniss is currently holding down the third point position in his rookie year, and another new star of the division isn't really a new star at Antioch Speedway at all. Two time Street Stock champion David Rosa has picked up a string of Top 5 feature finishes and seems to be on the verge of getting his first Dwarf Car win. Rosa has scored over 50 feature victories in Street Stocks, Limited Late Models and Figure 8 Racing, so a win in this division would not be a big surprise.

It has been a year of transition for the Dwarf Cars as new stars have emerged this season.  Other drivers to keep an eye out for this week include Tim Reeder, Brian Gray, Robert Coe, David Michael Rosa, recent feature winner Jenna Frazer, David Corsaro and ageless veteran Charlie Correia.

In the B Modified division, Trevor Clymens is on the verge of a track championship. In a somewhat rough Main Event last week, Trevor survived the carnage to collect his seventh victory of the season. With his closest rival Al Johnson finishing back in third, Trevor again added to his advantage. The main thing the son of speedway legend Debbie Clymens is trying to do right now is maintain things and avoid any big disasters. Clymens witnessed such an occasion earlier this year.

In one of his earlier season wins, Clymens had to battle Brian Pearce late in the race. Moments after he got the lead from Pearce, Pearce had contact with a slower car send him into the front wall.  The Pearce car was badly damaged and was out of the action for several weeks. In short, Trevor knows that there are things that can come up and take it away from you, and he's just trying to keep it all together and get it to the finish line as the season is nearing its conclusion.

Another driver who is doing a great job lately of getting it to the finish line is Stock Car veteran Danny Jones. Jones chased Clymens across the line in second last week in his B Modified to maintain his Top 5 point effort. Other drivers you need to keep an eye on this week include hard charger K.C. Keller, recent winner Shane DeVolder, Chuck Golden, Randy Brown, Kevin Brown and Lloyd Cline.

During the course of the Hobby Stock point season, the two title contenders have both met with misfortune in post race tech. Earlier this season, after winning a Main Event, Guy Ahlwardt was disqualified, giving the win that night to 2010 Hobby Stock champion Chris Sorensen. With bad luck striking not long after that, Guy surrendered the point to Danny Jones. Last week, after coming from the back to second, Jones was disqualified in tech.The disqualification handed the point lead back to Ahlwardt.

Ahlwardt was having a good night as it was. He led the Main Event from start to finish, and when Jones lost his points for the night, that put Guy back into the point lead. However, the team isn't celebrating anything just yet as they know there is still another month left in the season. Anything can happen. Word was that Jones's car owner Ryan Thomason was parking his car for the remainder of the season despite the fact that they are still in the hunt.

The Hobby Stock division has been enjoying a strong turnout this year, and last week saw a field of 20 cars take the green flag. With his second place feature finish last week, combined with the disqualification of Cameron Swank, Michael Cooper took a stronger hold on third in the standings. However, the points are so close from third to seventh that everything is still in doubt. Not too far behind Cooper in fourth after her solid Top 10 effort last week is rookie Lindsey Buirch.

There are some fast competitors in the field, not the least of which is 2015 "Rookie Of The Year" Jordan Swank, Chris Long, Natalie Perry, rookie Anthony Vigna, Rob Waldrop and Sorensen. You never know who could win on any given week.

The seven division show should be one that will entertain the fans from start to finish. Once again, the divisions that will be competing include the Winged 360 Sprint Cars, A Modifieds, B Modifieds, Wingless Spec Sprints, Hobby Stocks, Limited Late Models and Dwarf Cars. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.

Antioch Speedway Points
Winged 360 Sprint Car
Billy Aton 504
Art McCarthy 501
Dan Gonderman 350
Burt Foland Jr. 282
Shawn Arriaga 189
Rick Brophy 174
Matt Barber 166
Marissa Polizzi 146
Bobby McMahan 136
Zack Lynskey 126

Wingless Spec Sprint
Jim Perry Jr. 476
Marcus Smith 464
Rick Panfili 412
Roy Fisher 394
Brandon Burd 365
Dan Gonderman 290
Adam Teves 245
James East 244
Kyle Bakkie 224
Jeremy Newberry 213

A Modified
Carl Berendsen II 420
Scott Busby 369
Bobby Montalvo 350
Sean O'Gara 350
Trent Wentworth 340
Troy Foulger 278
Ray Lindeman 274
Norm Boeck 226
Brian Cass 200
John MacDougall 194

B Modified
Trevor Clymens 804
Al Johnson 776
Shane DeVolder 750
Danny Jones 636
K.C. Keller 542
Randy Brown 326
Chuck Golden 292
Brian Pearce 280
Lloyd Cline 271
Anthony Giuliani 269

Limited Late Model
Larry Damitz 570
Mark Garner 536
Kimo Oreta 532
John Evans 418
Mike Gustafson 382
Lori Brown 329
Jim Freethy 272
Jeff Kendrick 86
Paul Hanley 82
Billy Garner 80

Hobby Stock
Guy Ahlwardt 582
Danny Jones 537
Michael Cooper 500
Lindsey Buirch 472
Jordan Swank 450
Chris Sorensen 437
Cameron Swank 408
Rob Waldrop 368
Anthony Vigna 342
Natalie Perry 341

Dwarf Car
Kevin Miraglio 474
Mike Corsaro 454
Buddy Kniss 350
Tim Reeder 332
David Michael Rosa 310
David Rosa 282
Charlie Correia 280
Robert Coe 256
Jenna Frazier 254
Brian Gray 233

Merced Speedway Ends August With Five Division Program

Merced, CA...Merced Speedway is heading down the stretch of an exciting 2016 season. The racing has been just as hot as the temperature in the area, and last week illustrated the excitement and unpredictability of the racing program as the IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds and Hobby Stocks all delivered some great racing action. All three divisions are on the card this week along with the Valley Sportsman division and the Box Stock division, which will run on the infield track.

Last week, Randy Brown continued his march towards the IMCA Modified championship with his third win in his last five starts. Brown, who is a past Chowchilla Speedway IMCA Modified champion, has three wins and three seconds this season. However, he knows he can't relax just yet as many time track champion Ramie Stone and 2012 champion Bill Egleston are still not far behind him, battling closely for a second.

Last week, Karl Rose returned to action and finished second in the Main Event in what was his best run of the season. Rose was a Main Event winner last season, and two drivers hoping to get their first wins this year, rookie Bruce "Bubba" Nelson and Ricky Thatcher, also had Top 5 runs last week. Nelson is the current rookie point leader, while Thatcher is coming off of a tie for second in the point standings last year.

Merced Speedway had one of its strongest IMCA Modified shows of the year last week with 18 competitors in action, including rookies Jeremy Hoff and Tim Cecil. With the competition level as tough as it is at Merced Speedway, there are several drivers capable of scoring the victory. Other drivers to watch for this week include Mike Villanueva, D.J. Shannon, Ryan Porter, Mitch Enos and Harley Turner.
.
In the IMCA Sport Modified division, five time feature winner Rick Diaz seems to be headed for the track championship. Last week, though did not win, he continued to add more points to his advantage over Mike Drake, who has his hands full holding down second in the standings. The star of last week was second generation racer Chase Thomas, who scored his first career victory. Diaz and speedway veteran Mark Odgers were in close pursuit. Chase and his younger brother Tanner Thomas are both Top 10 ranked in the standings.

Drake continues to search for his first feature victory, and he may need it to hold onto second in points. Two drivers running closely behind him in the standings are veteran Gary Tucker and Tim Elias. Tucker won multiple Main Events last season and is following Drake and Elias closely in a good battle. All three of these drivers are capable of winning on any given week.

Diaz continues to be the man to beat in the Sport Modified division, but if there's a driver capable of beating him for wins it is Fred Ryland. The reigning IMCA State champion has three wins at Merced Speedway this year and is coming off of a fifth place finish last week. It's been a few weeks since Fred has won at Merced, and he's definitely due. You also can't count out 2015 point runner up Odgers. Anytime he's out there, he's a threat to win. There are some talented racers competing for feature victories, and other drivers to keep an eye on include Andy Welch, Danny Roe, reigning champion Josh Hensley, Dwayne Short, Chris Falkenberg and Steve Stone.

Even with Michael Shearer seemingly on his way to the Hobby Stock championship, there are some interesting things happening in the division. Recent races have seen first time winners in fourth generation racer Garrett Corn and Dexter Long, who impressed with his win last week ahead of Kevin Joaquin. Joaquin had to make a last lap pass on Corn to get that second place finish.
In picking up second, Kevin moved past Kristie Shearer for second in the standings. The reigning Hobby Stock champion is still on a quest to get his first feature win of the season. Last season, Kevin was one of the best drivers on the circuit with three wins apiece at Merced, Chowchilla and Antioch. With K. Shearer, Robbie Loquaci and Corn still not far behind him in the standings, he may need a win to hold on to second.

Another driver who is hot on the trail of a feature win is Top 10 ranked Kodie Dean. The second generation racer had a strong night last week with a heat race win and a fourth place feature finish. It could just be that Dean is the next driver to write his name onto the 2016 feature winner's list. Another driver out for redemption is Shannon Nelson, who was running in fourth last week when she spun. Shannon was making just her first start of the season, and she was a Main Event winner last year.

There are some competitors in the Hobby Stock division who are capable of winning, and other drivers to keep an eye on this week include Austin Van Hoff, Cody Parker, John Hensley, Donnie Shearer, Darren Miguel and 2016 Ted Stofle Classic winner Phillip Vaughn. You also never know when multi time champion Raul Rodriguez Sr. will show up to run for a win. He already has three victories this year.

There are just a couple of races left for the Valley Sportsman division this year, and it may come as a bit of a surprise that two time Sportsman champion Mike Friesen has moved to within striking distance of Kenny Birdsong for the point lead. Birdsong still holds a 12 point advantage over Friesen, who grabbed a nice trophy for his second win of the year at Legends Night two weeks ago.

Sportsman enthusiasts will note that there have now been 11 different cars that have competed this year, and car count is at its highest point in three years. With more of these cars are on the racetrack, the action gets that much more entertaining. After having his tow vehicle break down on him on the way to the track two weeks ago, Jeff Bristow is anticipated this week.

The Sportsman division has been honored to have past champion and Watsonville legend Jerry Cecil among the field for most of the races this year. It is hoped that Jerry will be there to compete with other such racers as Shannon Fry, Eric Seely, Jesse James Burks, Tim Prothro, Jeff West and Jeff Amos.

The youngsters in the Box Stock division will get a chance to run on the infield track one more time on Saturday night. Last time out, there were a half a dozen competitors, many of whom race at both Atwater and Chowchilla during the course of the year. One of the winners this year is third generation racer and Aiden Larimer. This is a great opportunity for these youngsters to compete on the big stage.

To recap, Merced Speedway comes into this week with IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Valley Sportsman cars and Box Stock Karts. For further information, check out www.racemerced.com.

Merced Speedway Points
IMCA Modified
Randy Brown 360
Bill Egleston 337
Ramie Stone 335
Bruce Nelson 321
Ricky Thatcher 318
Jarod Fast 259
Paul Stone 188
Jeff Streeter 183
Mike Villanueva 183
Harley Turner 169

IMCA Sport Modified
Rick Diaz 451
Mike Drake 408
Tim Elias 397
Gary Tucker 394
Josh Hensley 356
Fred Ryland 341
Steve Stone 334
 Chase Thomas 312
Tanner Thomas 297
Dwayne Short 293

Hobby Stock
Michael Shearer 214
Kevin Joaquin 167
Kristie Shearer 165
Robbie Loquaci 157
Phillip Vaughn 154
Garrett Corn 153
Kodie Dean 149
Dexter Long 147
Austin Van Hoff 140
Darren Miguel 123

Valley Sportsman
Kenny Birdsong 127
Mike Friesen 115
Jeff Bristow 86
Tim Prothro 73
Jerry Cecil 60
Jeff Amos 59
Mark Odgers 58
Shannon Fry 58
Eric Seely 49
Jesse James Burks 34

Mini Stock
Chris Corder 165
Paul Lauretti 123
Destiny Carter 114
Curtis Thornhill 102
Tony Peffer 99
Lucy Falkenberg 79
Jennifer Corder 69
Joy Alger 66
James Stockton 59
Mike Germait 57

Sprint Car Championship Battle Heats Up 

At Antioch Speedway

Antioch, CA...August 26...The All Star Series Winged 360 Sprint Car division is coming off of one of its better nights at Antioch Speedway last Saturday night. There was lots of action during the course of the 20 lap race, and it would shake up the point battle even more heading into this Saturday night's pivotal event.

Antioch Speedway has built up a reputation for being a place for the up and coming Sprint Car drivers to come out and get good track time while competing for $1,200 to win each Main Event. With neighboring Petaluma Speedway dark for the week, a few of their competitors came to town. Among them was second ranked Petaluma Speedway competitor Riley Manson. Matson became the ninth different feature winner in 11 races at Antioch.

Point leader Billy Aton actually set the pace for the first seven laps as he was hoping to improve on his three second place finishes in his previous four starts. After completing lap number seven, Aton lost a wheel in Turn 2. Brent Dothage made contact with the wheel, and Art McCarthy spun to avoid Aton. At that point, Dothage was the new leader.

The son of Antioch Speedway Sportsman legend Gene Dothage, Brent carries an impressive resume with him, which includes three track championships at Marysville Raceway. Brent was doing a great job of leading the way with Matson running a strong second. Matson began to apply the pressure until making a high pass in Turn 4 of the 18th lap to get the lead and eventual victory. Dothage settled for second.

It turned out to be a great night for McCarthy as battled to a third place finish. McCarthy has closed to within three points of Aton in a great battle for the championship. Top 5 Petaluma competitor Jake Haulot was back and gave it a good run in fourth. Meanwhile, Marissa Polizzi has been making waves at Antioch lately and had a great night with a heat race victory and fifth in the Main Event.

Burt Foland Jr. has not given up on third in the standings, and his sixth place finish last week helped gain him a little bit of ground on Dan Gonderman, who ended up tenth. Gonderman was back following his second flip of the season in the previous race. John Clark took the checkered flag in seventh ahead of recent Dwarf Car Main Event winner Jenna Frazier. Aton was scored ninth.

The speedway also saw visits from a pair of Oregon based racers as Southern Oregon Speedway point leader Jake Wheeler finished 11th. Wheeler had a Top 5 run going until contact with another car left him with a bent front wing. Matt Barber finished 12th as Oregon visitor Aaron Miller completed the finishing order.

The Sprint Cars have been putting on a show all season long, and this week should be no different. The Aton-McCarthy battle should continue, while Gonderman and Foland have their own battle going for third. Other drivers to watch for this week include 2014 champion Chris Magoon, reigning champion Shawn Arriaga, rookie Tim Burcher, Adam McCarthy and Ricky Brophy. Plus, you never know who may show up for a visit from week to week. For further information on this and other happenings at the speedway, go www.antiochspeedway.com.

2016 Antioch Winged 360 All Star Series Points
Billy Aton 504
Art McCarthy 501
Dan Gonderman 350
Burt Foland Jr. 282
Shawn Arriaga 189
Rick Brophy 174
Matt Barber 166
Marissa Polizzi 146
Bobby McMahan 136
Zack Lynskey 126

 
2016 All Star Series Winged 360 Sprint Car Schedule 
August 27
September 10
September 17
September 24


Past Champions 
1998-Gary Geving
2007-Art McCarthy
2010-Craig Smith
2013-Chris Magoon
2014-Chris Magoon
2015-Shawn Arriaga


Recent Feature Winners
August 20, 2016:  Riley Matson
August 13, 2016: Art McCarthy
August 6, 2016:  Seth Nunes
July 30, 2016:  Art McCarthy
July 16, 2016:  Brayden McMahan
June 25, 2016:  Kaleb Montgomery
June 18, 2016:  Bobby McMahan
June 4, 2016: Shawn Conde
May 21, 2016: Koen Shaw
April 23, 2016: Billy Aton
April 2, 2016: Art McCarthy
August 29, 2015: Art McCarthy
August 8, 2015: Shawn Arriaga
July 11, 2015: Jake Haulot
June 20, 2915: Austin Liggett
June 6, 2015: Shawn Arriaga
May 16, 2015: Jake Haulot
April 25, 2015: Alissa Geving
March 7, 2015: Art McCarthy
August 2, 2014: Zack Lynskey
June 21 2014: Bradley Terrell
June 10, 2014: Chris Magoon
April 5, 2014: Kurt Nelson
May 4, 2013: Shawn Arriaga
April 13, 2013: Chris Martin
September 17, 2011: Billy Aton
July 30, 2011: Craig Smith
September 15, 2010: Jeremy Burt
August 25, 2010: Craig Smith
April 24, 2010: Craig Smith
March 27, 2010: Craig Smith
March 20, 2010: Ryan Risconi
September 26, 2009: Jeremy Burt
August 29, 2009: Jeremy Burt 

Matson, Garner Antioch Winners, Thomas, Brown Win At Merced

First of all...

Just A Kid From The Grandstands:  My Time In Auto Racing

Available on Lulu in Paperback And Hard Cover

On Sale At Reduced Price

Don's California Racing Recollections:  Best Of The Blog And Beyond

Available via print on demand at Lulu in Hard Cover or Paperback


Also...

If You Like Reading Our Articles, Visit The Tip Jar at Go Fund Me to support our efforts

DCRR Racing Media And PR Consulting  HERE

Matson, Garner, Clymens, Ahlwardt Share 

Antioch Speedway Spotlight

Antioch, CA...August 20...Riley Matson became the ninth different All Star Series Winged 360 Sprint Car feature winner with his 20 lap Main Event win Saturday night at Antioch Speedway.  A championship contender at Petaluma, Matson was riding along in fifth during the first ten laps when the complexion of the race changed.  The race was led early by point leader Billy Aton ahead of heat winner Brent Dothage.  After completing the seventh lap, Aton lost a wheel in Turn 2.  Dothage made contact with the wheel as he raced by, but Art McCarthy was collected in the incident.

With Aton out of the event, Dothage held the lead.  The son of Antioch Speedway Sportsman legend Gene Dothage, Brent continued so set the pace with Matson in close pursuit.  Matson began pressuring Dothage for the lead late.  On lap 18, Matson made a high pass in Turn 4 to grab the lead.  Matson led the rest of the way for the impressive victory.  Dothage settled for second, and McCarthy gained more ground in the standings with his third place finish. Jake Haulot and heat winner Marissa Polizzi rounded out the Top 5 finishers.

Mark Garner impressed with his fourth 20 lap Limited Late Model feature win.  Garner had a front row start with past champion Lori Brown and he raced into the lead at the start.  Heat race winner and point leader Larry Damitz raced by Brown for second on lap four and took up the chase of Garner.  However, Garner set a blistering pace in the non stop event and posted a much needed victory.  Damitz settled for second ahead of Brown, Kimo Oreta and Paul Hanley.  Previous feature winner Mike Gustafson won his heat race.

Point leader Trevor Clymens returned to the winner's circle in an eventful B Modified Main Event.  It was the seventh win of the season for the current point leader, and he also won his tenth heat race earlier in the evening.  The race had several yellow flags, and a yellow and checkered flag combo ended the race early with Clymens collecting the victory.  Heat race winner Danny Jones repeated his season best effort of a week ago in second ahead of Al Johnson, K.C. Keller and Chuck Golden.

Guy Ahlwardt returned to the winner's circle in the 20 lap Hobby Stock Main Event.  The top rookie has been in a bit of a victory drought in recent races, but this win will move him back into the point lead following the tech disqualification of Danny Jones.  Ahlwardt started up front and raced into the early lead ahead of Cameron Swank.  As the previous winner Danny Jones started back in tenth and worked his way into third, Ahlwardt led the way. Jones made a mid race pass on Swank for second.  A yellow flag on lap 15 bunched the field, but Ahlwardt withstood the Jones challenge for the victory.  Jones and Swank crossed the line in second and third, but both cars failed post race tech inspection.  This moved fourth place finisher Michael Cooper into second as Frank Furtado, newcomer Syd Smith and Jordan Swank rounded out the Top 5.  Rob Waldrop, Dan McCown and Robert Niven were heat race winners.

BCRA Midget Lites point leader Craig Dillard won the battle of attrition to claim the Main Event victory.  The current runaway point leader, Dillard won both Antioch events this season.  Hunter Kinney led the first three laps before mechanical problems struck in Turn 2.  At that point, Dillard had the lead, and he would lead the rest of the way.  The battle in points continues to be for second between recent Placerville winner Kyle Offill and Australian Scott Males, and they battled for second in the Main Event.  Offill claimed the runnerup finish as Males settled for third ahead of Roy Moody and Dave Dufa.

Racing continues this Saturday night with a loaded seven division program that will include Winged 360 Sprint Cars, Wingless Spec Sprints, A Modifieds, B Modifieds, Limited Late Models, Hobby Stocks and Dwarf Cars.  For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.

Unofficial Race Results, August 20

Winged 360 Sprint Cars
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Brent Dothage, Marissa Polizzi.  Main Event (20 Laps)-Riley Matson, Dothage, Art McCarthy, Jake Haulot, Polizzi, Burt Foland Jr., John Clark, Jenna Frazier, Dan Gonderman, Jake Wheeler, Matt Barber, Aaron Miller, Billy Aton.

B Modifieds
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Danny Jones, Trevor Clymens.  Main Event (20 Laps)-Clymens, Jones, Al Johnson, K.C. Keller, Chuck Golden, Kevin Brown, Tim Hammett, Burt Lyons, Shane DeVolder, Mike Mates.

Hobby Stocks
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Rob Waldrop, Dan McCown, Robert Niven.  Main Event (20 Laps)-Guy Ahlwardt, Michael Cooper, Frank Furtado, Syd Smith, Jordan Swank, Lindsey Buirch, Russell Shearer, Mitchell LoCicero, Chris Sorensen, Chris Long, Niven, Waldrop, Melissa Myers, Calvin Louis Jr., Chase Templeton, McCown, Anthony Vigna, Natalie Perry, Danny Jones (DQ), Cameron Swank (DQ).

Limited Late Models
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Mike Gustafson, Larry Damitz.  Main Event (20 Laps)-Mark Garner, Damitz, Lori Brown, Kimo Oreta, Paul Hanley, Ryan Cherezian, Mike Gustafson, Jeff Kendrick, John Evans.

BCRA Midget Lites
Main Event (20 Laps)-Craig Dillard, Kyle Offill, Scott Males, Roy Moody, Dave Dufa.

Point Leader Brown Wins Fourth, Thomas, Long 

New Winners At Merced Speedway

Merced, CA...August 20...There was a little something for everybody to enjoy last Saturday night at Merced Speedway as four divisions competed on the fast quarter-mile clay oval.  Point leader Randy Brown increased his lead with his third IMCA Modified Main Event victory.  With two of the best drivers running right behind him, Chase Thomas drove a flawless race to win his first carer IMCA Sport Modified Main Event.  Second year racer Dexter Long won his first 20 lap Hobby Stock Main Event, while Watsonville visitor D.J. Keldsen collected his first 20 lap Mini Stock Main Event victory.

The IMCA Modifieds had a strong showing of 18 cars.  D.J. Shannon won his nine lap heat race ahead of Karl Rose.  Ricky Thatcher held off title contender Bill Egleston to win his heat race, while Bruce "Bubba" Nelson out ran point leader Randy Brown to get his heat win.  Brown has hit his stride in the point race with a pair of seconds and a pair of victories in his last four starts.  A feature winner last season, Rose was in the hunt for his first win of the season, but Brown continued his momentum with an impressive Main Event victory.  Rose was a strong second, while two time reigning Petaluma champion Nick DeCarlo made a surprise appearance and brought it home third.  Nelson continued his march toward "Rookie Of The Year" honors with a fourth place finish, while Thatcher maintained his Top 5 point status with a solid fifth place effort.  Previous winner Mike Villaneuva finished sixth ahead of Harley Turner, title hopeful Ramie Stone, rookies Tim Cecil and Jeremy Hoff.

In IMCA Sport Modifieds, the nine lap heat races were a time for some of the established stars to shine.  The 18 competitors ran three heats with veteran Gary Tucker holding of Chase Thomas for a win.  Tanner Thomas had a good showing in the second heat race before settling for second behind point leader Rick Diaz.  Reigning State champion Fred Ryland won the final heat ahead of 2015 point runnerup Mark Odgers.  With five feature wins coming into the night, Diaz figured he would continue his domination in this race.  However, second generation racer C. Thomas has been on a roll of his own lately.  He progressed from third to second in the previous two races, and the numbers suggested what was next for this talented young man.  With two of the best drivers running behind him, Chase drove a brilliant race and collected his first career Main Event win.  Even younger brother Tanner Thomas had a Top 3 run going before being collected in a crash.  Diaz was up front providing the pressure, but C. Thomas would get a well earned victory.  Diaz settled for second with Odgers not far behind in third.  Tucker had a good night in fourth ahead of F. Ryland and his wife Patti Ryland.  Second place point runner Mike Drake finished seventh ahead of Dwarf Car graduates Chuck Weir and Igor Grandzuk.  Tim Elias finished tenth.

The Hobby Stocks were about to have an entertaining Main Event of their own.  The night started off with Kodie Dean winning the first heat race ahead of Garrett Corn.  Donnie Shearer won the second heat ahead of Shannon Nelson.  The Main Event started out as a good battle between Dexter Long, reigning champion Kevin Joaquin and Corn.  Making her first start of the season, Nelson was running fourth until spinning in Turn 2 and not drawing a yellow.  A Top 5 driver in his rookie season, second year racer Dexter Long has run strong all season with three second place finishes to show for it.  Saturday night was his night to shine as he pulled a away and won his fist career Main Event.  Joaquin made a last lap pass on Corn to grab the second place finish.  That finish should put Joaquin into second in the standings when the point list is released.  Corn settled for third, and Dean and Robbie Loquaci wrapped up solid nights in fourth and fifth, respectively.  Ted Stofle Classic winner Phil Vaughn finished sixth ahead of point leader Michael Shearer, D. Shearer, Austin Van Hoff and second generation racer Chad Radgsdale.

Saturday night was a night of firsts for the Mini Stock division.  In the heat race, Lucy Falkenberg held off point leader Chris Corder to win her first heat race.  Falkenberg has been making occasional starts at Watsonville this year and is rapidly improving as a result.  Speaking of Watsonville, that track's point leader, D.J. Keldsen, returned to see if he could improve on his second place finish of the previous race.  Winning would be a tall order with Corder running strong, but when the checkered flag waved, it was Keldsen prevailing.  The Keldsen family has been one of the top racing families going back to the late 1960's.  Corder settled for second, and Falkenberg wrapped up a great night with her third place finish.  Tony Peffer had another solid night as he drove his truck to a fourth place finish ahead of Curtis Thornhill, Jason Womack, Destiny Carter and Paul Lauretti.

Racing returns next Saturday night before another two week break for the holiday and the Boone, Iowa IMCA Nationals.  On the card will be the IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Valley Sportsman division and the Box Stock Karts, which run on the smaller track on the infield.  For further information, go to, www.racemerced.com.

Crismon, Merritt, Martin Orland Winners, Newman Wins At Hayfork

First of all...

Just A Kid From The Grandstands:  My Time In Auto Racing

Available on Lulu in Paperback And Hard Cover

On Sale At Reduced Price

Don's California Racing Recollections:  Best Of The Blog And Beyond

Available via print on demand at Lulu in Hard Cover or Paperback


Also...

If You Like Reading Our Articles, Visit The Tip Jar at Go Fund Me to support our efforts

DCRR Racing Media And PR Consulting  HERE

DCRR Racing Radio Show

DCRR Racing Radio Show: Episode 91 by GenWhat 

Crismon, Merritt, Martin Schmitke Memorial Winners At Orland Raceway

Orland, CA...August 13... Saturday night was the Thomas Schmitke Memorial '"Race For A Cure" at Orland Raceway and it was a night that brought out the highest race car turnout of the season.  It was also an opportunity for the Schmitke Memorial Charity to raise money for St. Judes.  In the 600 Micro Sprints, point leader Jeremie Crismon continued his march towards the championship with his Main Event win.  Marysville visitor Hunter Merritt won the Mini Stock Main  Event, while reigning champion Keith Ross captured his second Mini Truck victory.  Also joining the two time winner's club was Hobby Stock winner Steve Martin. The 250 Micro Sprint win went to Robert Baker.

Car count increased to ten competitors for the 600 Micro Sprint division, and Jeromie Crismon and Rick Gutzke were the heat race winners.  Reigning champion Crismon and Gutzke renewed their battle from the previous race with a similar result as Crismon held off Gutzke for another win.  Rick Alonso had a good showing in third ahead of Tony Alosi and Robert Bernard.  Scott McIntosh had the best showing of his three car team in sixth as Gary Adams and Skyler Richter followed.  Dolan McIntosh and Wingless Spec Sprint racer Jason McIntosh were Main Event scratches.

Crismon was doing double duties in the 250 Micro division, but his night didn't go so well there as he scratched early.  It was a good night for Robert Barker as he won his heat race and his second Main Event of the season.  Reigning champion Jesse Garland settled for second in front of Ronnie Heyer and Jackie Whitson.

This season saw the unfortunate cancellation of the Mini Stock division at Marysville, leaving Hunter Merritt without a home track.  Merritt brought his car to Orland and was happy he did as he held off point leader John Kirkpatrick to win his heat race.  Two time feature winner Donovan Chilton held off recent Shasta Hornet feature winner Dustin Hills to win his heat race.  Merritt had the momentum going into the Main Event.  Hungry for his first win of the season, Kirkpatrick gave it all he had, but he settled for a respectable second behind the flying Merritt.   Chilton grabbed the final podium position as Barbara Crane finished fourth ahead of Steven Spears, Hills and Kyle Britt.  Title hopeful Robert Hunt suffered a DNF, causing him to fall 34 points behind Kirkpatrick in the point battle.  Past Orland Raceway star Jake Van Tol was back, but he suffered mechanical issues in his heat race to force him to scratch from the feature.

Reigning Mini Truck champion Keith Ross followed the night's trend of heat winners getting feature victories as well.  Ross held off point leader Dan Webster to get a heat race win and then battled Trophy Dash winner Olin Crane to score his second Main Event win of the season.  Webster settled for third ahead of Nathan Skaggs and Jeremy Callen.  In his bid for a first career track championship, Webster leads William Fogle by 40 points after seven races.

Runaway pointy leader Steve Martin has been fast and consistent in the Hobby Stock division.  Saturday night, Martin kicked off the evening with yet another heat race victory over Jared Flower.  Martin then added a second Main Event win to his his four second place finishes as Flower again finished second.  Earl Adams was third ahead of two time winner Shannon Collins.  Cody Bundy saw his title hopes probably come to an end as he scratched from the Main Event.

Racing will take place on Sunday afternoon (August 21) with the five regular divisions in action.  On September 3rd, these same classes will return as the track also holds bike races for the kids in three different age categories.  There will also be a bike giveaway that night.  For further information, go to www.orlandraceway.org.

Orland Raceway
Point Standings

Pure Stocks
Steve Martin     353
Cody Bundy     232
Jeremy Langenderfer 208
Shannon Collins 201
Earl Adams     185
             
Mini Stock                                  
John Kirkpatrick 332
Robert Hunt     298
Jeff Bennett    250
Tom Davis     216
Donovan Chilton 161

Mini Trucks
Dan Webster     313
William Fogle     273
Keith Ross     265
Olin Crain     264
Nate Skaggs     183

600 Micro
Jeromie Chrismon 265
Skyler Richter     202
Toni Alosi     156
Rick Gutzke     106
Dean Slinkard     103

250 Micro
Andrew Love     242
Robert Baker     156
Jess Garland     146
Ronnie Heyer     142
Dave McKinnon     103 

Newman Grabs First Win In Clyde Cordell Memorial Race 

At Hayfork Speedway

Hayfork, CA...August 13...Hayfork Speedway held it's big Clyde Cordell Memorial Event Saturday night as part of the 95th Annual Trinity County Fair.  The event pays tribute to the man who was a driving force in helping establish the race track five years ago.  When the checkered flag flew in a competitive Hobby Stock feature, it was Russ "The Newmanator" Newman winning the Main Event.  Other wins were recorded by Ross Vige (Mini Stocks), Tressan Smith (Pro Stocks) and Donny Case and Joey Young in a tie (Enduros).

The field increased to 11 cars and made for a very competitive night in the Hobby Stock division.  Kevin Kasper was a double winner with wins in both his heat race and the Trophy Dash.  James John won the other heat race.  K. Kasper and Bill Kasper started up front in the feature with Russ Newman right behind them.  Newman has been running strong this season and was due for a win.  It just so happened that he picked the biggest night of the season to score that win.  K. Kasper settled for second ahead of B. Kasper.  Chico and Orland racer Jeremy Langenderfer was back to go for his second win, but his race ended in a crash.  A full finish was not available, but all of the racers who competed deserve credit for helping make it a great night at Hayfork Speedway. 

Past Orland Mini Truck champion Ross Vige has been having a blast at Hayfork Speedway this year and again made the trip for some Mini Stock racing.  Vige and 2015 Enduro champion William Young shared the preliminary glory as Young won the heat race and Vige won the Trophy Dash.  Vige has won most of the Main Events this season, and he won again in front of the big fair time crowd.  Young settled for second ahead of Andy Blackburn.

The same three drivers who have been working to establish the Outlaw Pro Stock division in Hayfork were back to do battle again.  When the checkered flag flew, it was Tressan Smith scoring another victory ahead of Josh Michaels.  Josh Smith was not listed in the results.

The wild Enduro division rounded out the show.  Donny Case and Joey Young actually scored a tie for the victory as Tim Kasper was listed in third.

Racing continues at Hayfork Speedway on August 27th with the Summer Sizzler.  All of the regular divisions will be back in action.  For further information, go to www.hayforkspeedway.com.

Antioch Speedway And Merced Speedway Weekend Previews

First of all...

Just A Kid From The Grandstands:  My Time In Auto Racing

Available on Lulu in Paperback And Hard Cover

On Sale At Reduced Price

Don's California Racing Recollections:  Best Of The Blog And Beyond

Available via print on demand at Lulu in Hard Cover or Paperback


Also...

If You Like Reading Our Articles, Visit The Tip Jar at Go Fund Me to support our efforts

DCRR Racing Media And PR Consulting  HERE

DCRR Racing Radio Show

DCRR Racing Radio Show: Episode 91 by GenWhat

Open Wheel Race Cars, Old Time Race Cars Highlight 

Six Division Show At Antioch Speedway

Antioch, CA...This Saturday night, the racing program at Antioch Speedway will again be loaded with great racing throughout the night. The headliners will once again be the exciting All Star Series Winged 360 Sprint Cars. Art McCarthy has hit his stride and Billy Aton will have to step up his game to keep the old veteran behind him in the standings. Also competing will be the Bay Cities Racing Association Midget Lites, B Modifieds, Limited Late Models, Hobby Stock and Hardtops.

The battle is heating up in the Winged 360 Sprint Car division between veteran Art McCarthy and Billy Aton. A past champion of this division at both Antioch and Petaluma, McCarthy seems to be making a run at point leader Aton. Art has won two of the last three Main Events and has now moved to within 21 points of the past Wingless Spec Sprint champion Aton in a good championship battle. Despite the fact that McCarthy has been winning, Aton is usually not very far behind him. Last week, it was Aton giving McCarthy all he could handle before the race ended abruptly.

What ended the race was a spectacular flip by Dan Gonderman. Gonderman was in the Top 3 battle when contact sent him flipping with three laps to go. It was the second flip of the season for the Top 5 ranked racer. Though he was not injured, we haven't heard whether he'll be ready to go for this race. Gonderman has been a regular competitor at the speedway for years and has also competed in the Wingless Spec Sprint division this season, earning two victories there.

Management has been growing this division over the past few seasons, and given the nice purse offered to the popular division, drivers seem to come in from various other places to compete every week. The local contingent continues to grow with other somewhat regular competitors including Burt Foland Jr., Rick Brophy, reigning champion Shawn Arriaga, Adam McCarthy, Tim Burcher and 2014 champion Chris Magoon.

The Bay Cities Racing Association Midget Lites pay their second and final appearance to the speedway this week. Last time, Craig Dillard scored the victory ahead of Australian Scott Males and Dakota Albright. Not surprisingly, the reigning champion Dillard has a comfortable lead in the championship battle, while the steady Kyle Offill and Males battle closely for second. Longtime competitor Scott Kinney, two time San Jose Speedway Sprint Car champion Charlie Caraccilo, Tim Kinser and Chris Hansen are other fast competitors in the group.

The Bay Cities Racing Association is a proud organization that has existed for over 70 years. The organization in its heyday sanctioned Midgets and Hardtop racing at several race tracks. When the Hardtop division was dropped, BCRA continued to sanction Midget racing.

It wasn't until the 1990s when the Midget Lites came to the bigger tracks. BCRA actually renamed the division, which was once called Mini Sprints and raced on the small one-eight mile tracks, including the one in Stockton. At that time, a group called The Northern Stars had a very competitive circuit and called Antioch Speedway a home track. By the late 1990s, that organization faded away and BCRA took over the group. The Midget Lites compete at several venues during the course of the season and usually put on a good show. Saturday night should be no exception.

Speaking of competitive shows, the B Modified division is more exciting than ever. Six time Main Event winner Trevor Clymens seems to be on his way to his first track championship. Though he was shut out of the Main Event winner's circle last week, he did win his ninth heat race of the year, keeping his lead over the steady Al Johnson, who finished fifth last week behind Clymens. However, these two drivers have company in the championship race, and it's far from over.

A young up and comer named Shane DeVolder has been making his presence known not just at Antioch but elsewhere on the circuit. DeVolder had five second place finishes going into last week, but he finally broke through to get his first career Main Event win. Shane's father is Petaluma Street Stock champion Dean DeVolder, and this young man got his start late last season at 16 years old. This is his first full season, and he is the top rookie in the group.

Saturday night was also a night to shine for Stock Car veteran Danny Jones. Danny had company in the battle for second place as the flying Brian Pearce was right there with him, but he still scored his division best second place finish. Jones is currently leading the race for the Hobby Stock championship, and Pearce is making a comeback from a hard crash suffered in his battle for a victory earlier this year. Both competitors should be out there this week. Other drivers to watch for include Chuck Golden, Randy Brown, Kevin Brown, Lloyd Cline and Paul Mulder.

The Limited Late Model championship battle may be in hand for 87 year old Larry Damitz. Damitz has four victories so far, and last week saw him come from the back of the pack to finish second behind another longtime racer, Mike Gustafson. In the point battle, Damitz put a little bit more distance between himself and second place, where the battle seems to be engaged at the moment.

After collecting a third place finish, rookie Kimo Oreta ended up passing three time feature winner Mark Garner for second in the standings. Garner had won his heat race earlier in the evening, but his luck in the Main Event went downhill from there. Oreta leads Garner by just six points at the moment, and both drivers will be hungry for victory this week. Other drivers to watch for include John Evans, John Keith, Jim Freethy and Lori Brown.

In the Hobby Stock division, it looked liked things might be over in the battle between rookie Guy Ahlwardt and Danny Jones back in early July. Ahlwardt was building what looked like it could be an insurmountable lead when things started to go bad for him. It just goes to show that you can't take anything for granted in points racing. Danny Jones has been on a bit of a roll lately with four Main Event wins to his credit, and he now leads Ahlwardt in a still very close championship battle. This race looks like it could go down to the wire, and either one of these drivers is capable of winning it. Though Ahlwardt comes out there with a fast race car, Jones carries years of experience with him.

Either one of these drivers knows that to win from week to week you have to beat some competitive racers. One of them is third ranked Michael Cooper, who recently scored that first career feature win after five seasons. Cooper has been having a lot of fun this year racing with his brother in law and last year's "Rookie Of The Year" Jordan Swank. Jordan's cousin Cameron has also been fast, and either one of these guys could win on any given week.

The last month has been a difficult one for Natalie Perry, but she continues to come back with much enthusiasm. She is hoping to get the bad luck behind her as she makes another run for a feature win this week. Veteran Rob Waldrop and 2010 champion Chris Sorensen are other hard chargers who seem to make their presence known at the front from week to week. Other drivers to watch for this week include Top 5 ranked competitor Lindsay Buirch, hard charger Jason Jennings, Chris Long, Mitchell Loccicere and the steady Frank Furtato.

The Hardtop division is coming up on some big races. Next month, they bring back the Chet Thomson Memorial race at Antioch Speedway on September 10th. They also have a big upcoming exhibition at Calistoga on Labor Day weekend. They are coming off of a big race that honored past Petaluma and Antioch Speedway promoter, John P. Soares. In that race at Petaluma, Placerville competitor Jason Armstrong collected a win in only his second start in that car.

It's uncertain who may show up to race in the group, but two Bay Area competitors anticipated finished second and third last week. Tommy Thomson made his first start of the season a good one as he drove his green #39 car to a second place finish in front of his friend, Dan Williams. Both of these drivers were pretty much on the ground floor of the Bay Area Hardtop movement nearly a decade ago. Williams comes with some experience as a past Mini Stock champion at Petaluma Speedway. Thomson is actually wheeling the car that he drove at Vallejo Speedway and won Main Events with in the 1970's.

.

To get a win at Antioch Speedway, however, you might have to go through Dave Mackey to get it. He has two wins in Antioch and three wins on the circuit. Another hard charger to watch for is the guy who won the most dirt track races with the group last year, Rob Waldrop. Rumor was that Waldrop might be piloting a different car for owner Bill McLaughlin when the division hits the track this week. Other competitors to watch for include Ken Clifford, Dennis Armstrong, Larry Damitz and Steve Cloyes.

Editor's Note:  The reports from last week of Rob Waldrop driving the other Bill McLaughlin car have changed.  The #36 car will be in action this week, but it will be a different driver.  The name of the driver was not available as of very early Friday morning...

Saturday night will be a great night for a race at Antioch Speedway. With Winged 360 Sprint Cars, BCRA Midget Lites, B Modifieds, Limited Late Models, Hardtops and Hobby Stocks on the card, it is a packed program you won't want to miss. For further information, check out www.antiochspeedway.com.

All Star Series
Antioch Speedway Points

Winged 360 Sprint Car
Billy Aton 474
Artt McCarthy 453
Dan Gonderman 326
Burt Foland Jr. 242
Shawn Arriaga 189
Rick Brophy 174
Matt Barber 136
Bobby McMahan 136
Zack Lynsky 126
Matt DeMartini 120

Limited Late Model
Larry Damitz 516
Kimo Oreta 488
Mark Garner 482
John Evans 382
Mike Gustafson 336
Lori Brown 279
Jim Freethy 272
Paul Hanley 82
Billy Garner 80
Steve Studebaker 54

B Modified
Trevor Clymens 748
Al Johnson 728
Shane DeVolder 712
Danny Jones 582
K.C. Keller 494
Randy Brown 326
Brian Pearce 280
Lloyd Cline 271
Anthony Giuliani 269
Chuck Golden 248

Hobby Stock
Danny Jones 537
Guy Ahlwardt 528
Michael Cooper 450
Lindsey Buirch 432
Cameron Swank 408
Jordan Swank 404
Chris Sorensen 403
Rob Waldrop 334
Anthony Vigna 322
Natalie Perry 321

BCRA Midget Lites
Craig Dillard    813
Kyle Offill    774
Scott Males    713
Chris Hansen    600
Tim Kinser    556
Scott Kinney    541
Nate Buffa    519
Emilee Lindgren    510
Hunter Kinney    460
Charlie Caraccilo 408

IMCA Modifieds Back In Action 

At Merced Speedway Saturday Night

Merced, CA...On the heels of the highly successful Legends Of Merced Speedway night, the regular program returns to the track this Saturday night. Having been out of action for the last three weeks, the highly competitive IMCA Modified division headlines the show along with the IMCA Sport Modifieds, Hobby Stocks and Mini Stocks.

Randy Brown has hit his stride in a quest to win his first Merced Speedway championship. The past Chowchilla champion has rattled off two second place and two first place finishes in his last four starts and now carries a 13 point advantage over 2012 Merced Speedway champion Bill Egleston. Also in the hunt right now it is multi time Merced Speedway champion Ramie Stone, only 18 points out of the lead.

What has assisted Brown in his championship quest has been the hard luck encountered by both Egleston and Stone in recent races. Both drivers have finished outside of the Top 10 multiple times in the last four events. Stone finally broke out of his slump with a fifth place finish in the last July race.

While the Top 3 point competitors are all feature winners this year and drivers to watch, the same holds true for Mike Villanueva. Last time out, Mike won the Main Event in a good battle with Brown. He has only run the last four races, but he has finished no lower than sixth. He may be going for two in a row, but another driver hungry for victory is top rookie Bruce "Bubba" Nelson, who currently ranks fourth in the standings, just two points ahead of Ricky Thatcher. Nelson has now won three Main Events in the Hobby Stock division this year, but his high water mark so far in the Modified division is a third place finish earlier this year.

There are some tough competitors in the Modified division, and other drivers to watch for this week include fourth generation racer Ryan Porter. rookie Ryan Larimer, Jarod Fast, Jeff Streeter and Harley Turner.

Rick Diaz is on a roll in the IMCA Sport Modified division, and that's bad news for the competition. When Diaz won his first championship at the speedway back in 2014, he only beat Ramie Stone by a few points. After his fifth win of the season last week, he now leads Mike Drake by 38 points. While that is not an insurmountable lead, the odds of beating Diaz for this championship are not very good at the moment.

The battle is for second in the standings right now, and at this point it is a three car race between Mike Drake, Tim Elias and veteran Gary Tucker. All three of these drivers are still searching for their first feature win of the season and are fully capable of getting it. Drake now has a second and a third as his season high efforts and finished fifth last week. Elias had his best finish of the year last week in third, and Tucker now has three third place finishes and one second. Tucker was a multi time winner last year and could win on any given week.

Of course, when you have competitors like Diaz and three time winner Fred Ryland in the field, it's not always so easy. Ryland ended up fourth last week, but the other notable driver of the night was second generation racer Chase Thomas. The son of three time Street Stock champion Darren Thomas, Chase has been on a roll lately. Two races ago, he finished third, and last week saw him impress in his career best second place finish ahead of Elias. Could this be Chase's night to get the win?

The IMCA Sport Modified division is loaded with talent and there are several drivers capable of winning on any given week. Other drivers to watch for this week include Steve Stone, reigning champion Josh Hensley, Dwayne Short, Alex Odishoo, Chris Falkenberg, Danny Roe and Tanner Thomas. 

The good news for the Hobby Stock competitors last week was that Michael Shearer didn't have a very good night. The bad news is that nobody was able to make much of a gain on him in the championship race. Michael continues to lead his wife Kristie by 35 points in the battle at this stage of the season. He has one win and four second place finishes. The Shearer team has hit the winner's circle three more times with Bubba Nelson getting his third win last week.

Still looking for his first win this season is reigning champion Kevin Joaquin. Kevin only has one third place finish and three fourth place finishes so far this year, but he trails Kristie Shearer by just seven points in the standings. Despite an abysmal evening that saw him wrecked out of the Main Event last week, Robbie Loquaci is only seven points behind Joaquin and 14 behind Shearer in the battle for second. Two points behind Loquaci is Ted Stofle Classic winner Phil Vaughn, who is now coming off of back to back third place finishes.

Having won the Main Event the race before, Garrett Corn was hoping to carry his momentum into last week, but unfortunately the fourth generation racer blew a motor. While Corn figures out what his next move is, Dexter Long is hoping to come out and get himself a win. The second your competitor now has three second place finishes, including last week. He has finished second in two of the biggest Hobby Stock races in the state, the Ted Stofle Classic and the Mike Cecil Memorial that was held at Watsonville a week earlier.

Other competitors to watch for this week include 2016 feature winners Darren Miguel and Ben Lewis II, Austin Van Hoff, Kodie Dean, Cody Parker and John Hensley. You also never know when multi time champion and three time feature winner Raul Rodriguez Sr. will show up and race.

It doesn't seem to matter what car you put Chris Corder in, the result is usually going to be him running at the front of the pack. Corder fielded a new car last week with the same results as he won his sixth Main Event out of eight races. The Corder team fielded four different cars last week, although his teammates didn't do so well. A look at the standings finds one of his teammates, rookie Destiny Carter, only 10 points out of second behind the steady Paul Lauretti. Destiny had mechanical issues and didn't finish the Main Event, but she is still 14 points ahead of recent Main Event winner Curtis Thornhill.

One of the drivers on the move in the class is the truck driven by Tony Peffer. Tony finished third last week and was coming off of a second place finish the week before. Another driver who made a visit and looked impressive was three time Ocean Speedway feature winner D.J. Keldsen, who chased Chris Corder across the line in second last week.

The roster of Mini Stock drivers is approaching thirty different cars who have competed at least once this year, and other drivers to watch for include hard charger Jennifer Corder, Lucy Falkenburg, Mike Germait and James Stockton.

Once again, racing continuous at Merced Speedway this Saturday night with a four diversion program headlined by the IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Hobby Stocks and Mini Stocks. For the information, go to www.racemerced.com.

Merced Speedway Points

IMCA Modified
Randy Brown 320
Bill Egleston 307
Ramie Stone 302
Bruce Nelson 284
Ricky Thatcher 282
Jarod Fast 259
Paul Stone 188
Jeff Streeter 183
Mike Villanueva 148
Mitch Enos 136

IMCA Sport Modified
Rick Diaz 412
Mike Drake 374
Tim Elias 366
Gary Tucker 357
Steve Stone 334
Josh Hensley 327
Fred Ryland 305
Dwayne Short 293
Chase Thomas 272
Tanner Thomas 270

Hobby Stock
Michael Shearer 200
Kristie Shearer 155
Kevin Joaquin 148
Robbie Loquaci 141
Phillip Vaughn 139
Garrett Corn 135
Kodie Dean 132
Austin Van Hoff 128
Dexter Long 127
Cody Parker 115
Darren Miguel 115

Mini Stock
Chris Corder 146
Paul Lauretti 110
Destiny Carter 100
Curtis Thornhill 86
Tony Peffer 82
Jennifer Corder 69
Joy Alger 66
Lucy Falkenberg 61
James Stockton 59
Mike Germait 57

Valley Sportsman
Kenny Birdsong 127
Mike Friesen 115
Jeff Bristow 86
Tim Prothro 73
Jerry Cecil 60
Jeff Amos 59
Mark Odgers 58
Shannon Fry 58
Eric Seely 49
Jesse James Burks 34

Eleventh Event Of The Season For Winged 360 Sprint Cars 

At Antioch Speedway Saturday Night

Antioch, CA...August 18...The All Star Series Winged Sprint Car division comes back to Antioch Speedway this Saturday night with another $1200 prize on the line for the winner. It is the 11th event of the season. After ten races, there's been only one repeat winner, and that is Art McCarthy. McCarthy won his third event of the season after a battle with point leader Billy Aton last week.

McCarthy has been on a roll lately, and he also won his heat race earlier in the evening. McCarthy has won two of the last three Main Events . However, it's been very difficult for him to gain much ground on Aton, who has been a consistent Top 3 finisher lately. Four of Billy's six Top 3 finishes have occurred in the last four races, including three second place finishes. The race last week was a good battle between these two with McCarthy coming out just ahead after the red flag flew on lap 22. The race was called at that point.

Another battle for a Top 3 finish last week resulted in Top 3 point competitor Dan Gonderman flipping. Gonderman was not injured in the melee, but it was his second flip of the season. To that point in the race, he was having a good run after finishing second in his heat race. Ultimately, he was credited with a fifth place feature finish.

The third place finish went to Petaluma Speedway regular Jake Haulot. Jake was a somewhat regular competitor last season and won two Main Events. This was his first start at the track this year, and he finished third ahead of fellow Petaluma Speedway racer Marissa Polizzi.

Steven Ingraham was back again, and although he didn't get the best results, it was still better than his previous visit the week before where he had mechanical issues and was ubale start to the Main Event. In this case, Ingraham finished sixth ahead of heat race winner Zack Lynsky and Burt Foland Jr. Foland is quietly enjoying a Top 5 point season in fourth.

Higher up in the points, Billy Aton leads Art McCarthy by just 21 points in the championship battle. McCarthy is a past champion in the Sprint Cars at Antioch Speedway and finished second in the standings last year. He's doing all he can to put the pressure on Aton, who is also a Main Event winner this year on a list of 8 different winners.

If you are keeping track of the winners to date, the list includes McCarthy (three times) and Aton, Shawn Conde, Bobby McMahan, Brayden McMahan, Koen Shaw, Kaleb Montgomery and Seth Nunes.

Some of the local contingent at the speedway who could be there this week includes reigning champion Shawn Arriaga, 2014 champion Chris Magoon, Rick Brophy, rookie Tim Burcher, Adam McCarthy and Matt Barber. For further information on this event and other happenings at the speedway, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.



2016 Antioch Winged 360 All Star Series Points

Billy Aton 474
Artt McCarthy 453
Dan Gonderman 326
Burt Foland Jr. 242
Shawn Arriaga 189
Rick Brophy 174
Matt Barber 136
Bobby McMahan 136
Zack Lynsky 126
Matt DeMartini 120

 
2016 All Star Series Winged 360 Sprint Car Schedule
August 13
August 20
August 27
September 10
September 17
September 24


Past Champions 
1998-Gary Geving
2007-Art McCarthy
2010-Craig Smith
2013-Chris Magoon
2014-Chris Magoon
2015-Shawn Arriaga


Recent Feature Winners

August 13, 2016:  Art McCarthy
August 6, 2016:  Seth Nunes
July 30, 2016:  Art McCarthy
July 16, 2016:  Brayden McMahan
June 25, 2016:  Kaleb Montgomery
June 18, 2016:  Bobby McMahan
June 4, 2016: Shawn Conde
May 21, 2016: Koen Shaw
April 23, 2016: Billy Aton
April 2, 2016: Art McCarthy
August 29, 2015: Art McCarthy
August 8, 2015: Shawn Arriaga
July 11, 2015: Jake Haulot
June 20, 2915: Austin Liggett
June 6, 2015: Shawn Arriaga
May 16, 2015: Jake Haulot
April 25, 2015: Alissa Geving
March 7, 2015: Art McCarthy
August 2, 2014: Zack Lynskey
June 21 2014: Bradley Terrell
June 10, 2014: Chris Magoon
April 5, 2014: Kurt Nelson
May 4, 2013: Shawn Arriaga
April 13, 2014: Chris Martin
September 17, 2011: Billy Aton
July 30, 2011: Craig Smith
September 15, 2010: Jeremy Burt
August 25, 2010: Craig Smith
April 24, 2010: Craig Smith
March 27, 2010: Craig Smith
March 20, 2010: Ryan Risconi
September 26, 2009: Jeremy Burt
August 29, 2009: Jeremy Burt