Friday, September 30, 2016

Pit Stops


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Pit Stops

Championship point racing is in the rear view mirror at most tacks, and now the drivers can concentrate on running the bigger money races at various venues.  The one exception to the point rule is Antioch Speedway, where two rain out make ups have been booked. The big money John Soares Sr. Memorial Top Dog Race happens on October 8th and will feature DIRTcar Late Models ($1500 to win), A Modifieds ($1500 to win), B Modifieds ($850 to win) and Hobby Stocks ($850 to win).  We'll have more to say on the subject of what we feel is an important race for the track.  On October 22nd, the track is having another "kitchen sink" race with DIRTcar Late Models, A Modifieds, B Modifieds, Wingless Spec Sprints, Limited Late  Models, Hobby Stocks and Dwarf Cars.  We will pass along any important details as we get them.

Here is what we do know about Antioch Speedway at the moment.  Billy Aton is the Winged 360 Sprint Car champion.  Last week was the point season finale, and he won his third Main Event of the season.  Aton was running strong down the stretch, and he needed to be in order to hold off three time winner Art McCarthy.  Both of these drivers ran a great season, and Dan Gonderman wrapped up his best point season yet in third.  We also know that Guy Ahlwardt has clinched the Hobby Stock championship and "Rookie Of The Year" honors.  He could park, not that he will, and still be the champion.  He had a great season.  He had a bad week last time out, and one can't help but wonder what might have been had Danny Jones' car owner Ryan Thomason not pulled the plug on their title effort.  As for Ahlward, be battled through adversity and earned this championship.

We can also tell you that "Jammin" Jim Perry Jr. is the Wingless Spec Sprint champion.  This is his second title, putting him in the elite company of Darrell "The Hammer" Hanestad. "The Piledriver" Dan Gonderman and "Bullet" Billy Macedo.  Will he try for three?  The rumor going around has him putting a wing on the car and giving Aton, McCarthy and the guys a run for the money next year.  But, that's just the rumor.  Kevin Miraglio has clinched the Dwarf Car championship.  He was a consistent Top 3 finisher with two wins, and he definitely earned this one.  Larry Damitz only needs to start the final Limited Late Model Main Event to clinch the championship.  If he doesn't, he could lose it to either Kimo Oreta or Mark Garner.  What's remarkable about Damitz is he now has five championships in the past six seasons and now has over 40 wins in this division alone.  He is approaching two time champion Mike "The Blue Knight" Gustafson for the top spot on the division's all time win list.

Carl Berendsen II has not clinched the A Modified championship just yet, but a decent showing at the John Soares Sr. Memorial Race could clinch his second championship in three years.  With a guy like Scott Busby behind him, Carl knows he has to have a good showing.  Trevor Clymens is likely not thrilled about the idea of two more point races left.  Last week at this time, he thought he just needed to go out there and run some laps, but then came the Thursday announcement that it is not over yet.  Trevor missed a race for a vacation, came back and won a total of seven Main Events and about a dozen heat races as he overtook Al Johnson for the lead.  Last week, Johnson served notice that it's not over yet with his first career Main Event triumph and heat race win.  The Clymens lead is 32 points with two races remaining.

Richard Papenhausen and Jeff Decker are both two time Main Event winners this season in DIRTcar Late Model competition.  Decker, who is the defending champion, got his second win last time to pull to within 16 points of current point leader and 2014 champion Papenhausen.  It's not over yet, and this could get interesting.  Papenhausen hasn't been as dominant as he was last season, and that one got away from him at the end.  As if that isn't enough, Decker is being shown as the UMP DIRTcar West Region point leader by five points over Papenhausen.  Last season, that championship was worth $2000 to Decker.   Who will reach down deep and get the win when it's all on the line?  A win will also be worth $1500 in the John Soares Sr. Memorial Race on October 8th.

There are also a few battles to keep an eye on as racers still want to finish on the podium if the championship slips away.  Starting with Late Models, two die hard supporters are battling fiercely for third.  At the moment, Dennis Souza leads Mike Hynes by just 21 points.  Winning might be difficult for either of them, but a Top 3 in the Main Event may be what tips the scales either way.  Meanwhile, Mark Garner has to be wondering what he has to do to get by rookie Kimo Oreta in the Limited Late Models.  Oreta had consistently finished most of the races, including a season high second last week.  Garner has brought home five Main Event wins so far.  Yet, the third generation racer still trails Oreta by just two points.

Not much is expected to change in the Top 5 in B Modifieds as rookie Shane DeVolder is third and K.C. Keller is fourth.  Scott Busby has a 47 point lead in the battle for second in A Modifieds.  A really good battle for third finds second generation racer Sean O'Gara and rookie Bobby Montalvo tied, while Trent Wentworth is 20 points back.  With about a dozen feature winners, one of these three could get the upper hand if they were to get their first win in either of the last two races.  The Spec Sprints, meanwhile, have the October finale left.  Marcus Smith has three wins this season, but he's still just 12 points ahead of Roy Fisher and 20 in front of Rick Panfili.  Fisher has a win this year, while Panfili is still searching.  Last time out, Panfili had to overcome some mechanical issues just to be in the Main Event.

The Dwarf Cars is an interesting situation.  Rookie Buddy Kniss has crept up on one time winner Mike Corsaro.  Corsaro leads Kniss by 22 points, putting second place in play.  Kniss is only 20 points ahead of Tim Reeder for third.  In the Hobby Stocks, Lindsey Buirch has a 28 point lead over Jordan Swank, who is on a mission to earn his second straight runnerup season.  At 29 points ahead of 2010 champion Chris Sorensen, Swank could lose third if he has a bad night.  In fact, Jordan's brother in law, Michael Cooper, is 34 points back despite missing some races.  As you can see, there are still some point positions at play on the podium in most of the All Star Series divisions.

Moving onto the subject of introducing new racers to the track, we can't help but look at two possibilities.  The first is the infield track and running various Outlaw Kart classes, starting with the beginners.  It certainly takes some patience and putting the right people in place to oversee such an endeavor, but it could be a winner.  There's also the covered area at the fairgrounds that runs RC Cars during the winter.  Is an Antioch Barn Burner doable along the lines of what Chowchilla has?  It might not be big enough for some classes.  Could something be done there?  This has been something we've been contemplating for awhile now.  The best way to teach the next generation about cars and racing is to get them started young.

Another question we have is why there are no Hornets at the track.  It's baffling that Antioch sort of started the ball rolling on this class and doesn't have it now.  There's a story on this and the death of Street Stocks.  We certainly weren't happy with the Street Stocks being sacrificed to save a Limited Late Model division that still struggles at 6-7 cars.  And yet, it remains and is a purse paying class.  In 2014, the Hornets had 5-6 cars and weren't even a purse paying division.  Make no mistake, we're not saying anything against Limited Late Models, which we do enjoy.  We just wonder why not keep Hornets around as a gateway into the sport?  Merced has managed to keep it's own class around, which we will get into in a moment.

The other drum we beat that we know upsets certain people when we say it is the fact that Bay Area racing would benefit greatly if John M. Soares and John Prentice could work together again.  We've been vocal about our concern about Prentice having too much power to set schedules for certain tracks if they want to play ball with the series he controls.  What Antioch has going for it is a big enough roster that divisions can be parked for a week to work with the various series.  We've also wondered further if there isn't more potential here.  DIRTcar Late Models, for instance, are still popular with people in Watsonville and Petaluma.  So, Soares has something more to potentially offer.  A race or two at Watsonville at the right time could go over well, and a date at Petaluma could as well.

The Hunt Series needs another track that has its own cars.  Antioch has that.  It was baffling that when Prentice took over the Wingless series, he dropped his regular class at Watsonville, despite the fact that it was a 10-12 car division.  Antioch is a perfect site for a couple of these races.  The Civil War could work as well.  Perhaps even King Of The West.  As for the All Star Modified Series, Antioch can stand toe to toe with any track when it comes to promoting this division.  Soares' record speaks for itself.  A date or two here would be a winner.  There is also the possibility that Prentice could add B Modifieds, and we have an intriguing thought to add?  What about Hobby Stocks?  Antioch, Merced, Watsonville and Chico have them.

The point is, Soares, Prentice, Rick Faeth and Ed Parker all have something to bring to the table.  Parker has been flexible to the point of pulling dates to work with Prentice.  Faeth has as well.  From a business standpoint, this could work.  If nothing else, Soares and Prentice talking would be a good thing, even if only one or two things come out of it at first.  Now, will this happen?  We aren't holding our breath.  We're not pointing a finger.  It takes two to tango, and there is always more than one side to the story.  But, this wouldn't be The DCRR if we didn't put our opinion out there and weren't willing to back it up with any support we could offer.

The thing about being a promoter is it's not easy to do any of this.  You have to be prepared to lose money every week and have something set aside to cover those losses.  People go out of business all the time because they don't have the money to cover the losses.  We have a great appreciation for Soares and all of the promoters who risk their own money so that we have a place to go on Friday and Saturday nights to enjoy ourselves.

Ed Parker probably didn't seem like much to the racing community when he stepped forward to buy Merced Speedway.  He might have been expected to fail.  The track had its challenges going into the year, and he knew it.  Ed's first step was to bring in people like Doug Williams and Dale Falkenberg to help make it happen.  What's interesting about this guy is his humility.  He will share his thoughts on social media in an almost "Tom Sagmilleresqe" sort of way.  You can see that the man is genuine and feels grateful that he can provide a place for the racers to race.  It wasn't enough to just keep the gates open.  He wanted to do special things all season and to work with other promoters in a way where everybody could benefit.

We talk about promoters who have done pretty well.  Scott Schweitzer's name comes up quite a bit at Bakersfield.  Scott Russell at Placerville in his fist year.  Jim Naylor at Ventura.  The people at Perris Auto Speedway do an amazing job.  Ed has given us races like The Ted Stofle Classic, Matt Van Hoecke Memorial, Joe Fore Jr. Memorial and Legends Of Merced Speedway night.  He's put his heart into it, and the trend of things coming around late last year was more apparent this year.  He had a really good first season.  The DCRR always likes to acknowledge efforts that we see as making a difference, and we would honor Ed with the DCRR Racing News Award Of Excellence.

Randy Brown is Merced's IMCA Modified champion.  Randy had an amazing last eight races that never saw him finish outside of third.  Just to show how good he is, last week Randy beat Bobby Hogge IV for a Wastsonville win and then held off another one of the very best in Ramie Stone to win the Merced finale.  Randy is champion because he earned it.  We really salute Brown and Stone, who won the All Star Series race at Merced this year.  Bruce "Bubba" Nelson had a solid third place season, and two time winner Bill Egleston and Ricky Thatcher also looked good in the Top 5 this year.  Merced had one of the best IMCA Modified shows in the state this year.

Rick Diaz battled his own adversity when he lost a ride.  It might have been over, but he got another car without missing a beat.  If he wasn't winning, you generally had to beat him to get that win.  Diaz was very impressive in wrapping up the championship a week before the season ended.  We also have respect for the job Mike Drake did in piloting the George Medeiros owned car to a second place season.  George made a good choice in putting this talented second generation racer behind the wheel.  The Tucker family has also been a part of Merced Speedway for years, and Gary Tucker reminded everybody just how good he is when he held off Diaz to win the finale and keep third in the standings ahead of Tim Elias and Josh Hensley.

Michael Shearer grabbed a Hobby Stock win right out of the gate and finished second four times during the season.  He had such a point lead that he could have missed the season finale and still won the championship.  The thing about the Shearer team was they were enthusiastic supporters of the track and fielded four cars at times during the season.  2015 champion Kevin Joaquin posted back to back second place finishes before winning his first feature of the season to wrap up second in the standings.  A really strong showing in the finale propelled Ted Stofle Classic winner Phillip Vaughn into third in the final rundown ahead of Robbie Loquaci and Austin Van Hoff.

The Corder Racing Team has been a hard core supporter of Mini Stock racing for the past few seasons.  Chris Corder's record now is three championships in a row as he won the title at Chowchilla last season while finishing a close second at Merced.  Chris won seven Main Events during the season, leaving no doubt who the champion was this year.  Paul Lauretti had a good showing in his fist year and used a second place finish in the finale to hold onto second in the final rundown.  Destiny Carter's dream of racing was made possible because of Chris Corder.  She had a good showing all season long and used her third Top 5 finish to solidify herself in third in the final rankings. Tony Peffer and one time winner Curtis Thornhill rounded out the Top 5 in the standings.

The Valley Sportsman division nearly got dropped last year, but they were recused from the brink because people like Kenny Birdsong and Jeff Bristow would not let it go.  The points were dropped during the season last year (though Marcus Lung earned the most points).  This year, Kenny Birdsong won three times to win his first championship in the Rod Poor tribute car.  Kenny loves the class, but he's talking about having others drive his car too next year and not chasing points.  Two time winner and two time champion Mike Friesen grabbed second in points after Bristow missed double point Legend's Night with a broken down tow vehicle.  One time winner and 2008 champion Mark Odgers and rookie Shannon Fry rounded out the Top 5.

The John Fore Jr. Memorial race is offering up a $1500 first prize on October 15th, which should draw some good racers to Merced Speedway.  After that, there's a November banquet to celebrate an amazing season and then comes the planning by Parker and Williams for the 2017 season.  The one thing people realized after this year is that after over 65 seasons, racing is still alive and well in Merced.

For whatever reason, management at Rocky Hill Speedway has lagged a bit on getting results out there, so we still don't know the finishes in two of the last three races at the track.  They did post the champion's names, and we can congratulate Jason Cook (Mini Stocks), Roy Atchison (Super 4's), Roy Maynard Jr. (Mod Lites), Bob Ellis (American Stocks) and Raymond Noland Jr. (Hobby Stocks) on their respective championships. Sonny Sell and his crew battled through some adversity this year, but they made it happen.  In fact, there are still more races left to go.

Some big races remain on the calendar, such at the Adobe Cup race at Petaluma Speedway on October 8th.  $5000 will be on the line for the winner of the PitStopUSA.com Winged 360 Sprint Car race and $1000 to the winner of the Wingless Spec Sprints.  The Lumberjack's Restaurant Super Stocks run for $800 that night as well.  We congratulate the champions, which include Bradley Terrell (PitStopUSA.com Winged 360 Sprint Cars)  Klint Simpson, (PitStopUSA.com Spec Sprints), Oresete Gonella (McLea's Tires IMCA Modifieds), Chad Mathias (General Hydroponics Dwarf Cars), Jim Beck (Santa Rosa Auto Body 600 Mini Sprints), Darien Balestrini (Jake's Performance Hobbies Mini Stocks) and Matt While (Lumberjack's Restaurant Super Stocks).  While beat Steve Studebaker by just three points.  Andy Foreberg (Winged 360 Sprint Cars) and Terry Schank Jr. (Spec Sprints) won their respective PitStopUSA.com Shoot Out Series titles.

A week before, Ocean Speedway has the Sixth Annual Pat Pettit Memorial Shoot Out on September 30 and October 1st.  That event will pay $3003 to win and $203 to start IMCA Modifieds, $1003 to win and $103 to start IMCA Sport Modifieds and $503 to win and $53 to start Hobby Stocks.  Friday's IMCA Modified Main Event will pay $1003 to win.  Naturally, many drivers are planning to complete in all divisions this week, end we also offer our congratulations to Brad Furr (Taco Bravo Sprint Cars), Bobby Hogge IV (IMCA Modifieds), Jim DiGiovanni (IMCA Sport Modifieds), Robert Gallaher (American Stocks) and D.J. Keldsen (Mini Stocks) on their respective track championships.

Naturally, The Pit Stop Reporter wants to go on and on since we rarely get to do one of these columns for The DCRR Blog.  The subject of bringing cars back to Chowchilla Speedway on the bigger track, even for Sport Modified, Hobby Stock and Mini Stock shows seems a good place to start.  The Fairgrounds was said to be getting a new Fair Manager, though we haven't looked at the information there.  We do know that Sanders Motorsports moved outside of "The Barn" for some races on the smaller track in front of the grandstands.  Though they decided to discontinue that, The Chowchilla Barnburner is coming back again during the winter.  There's no reason to expect it won't be successful.  

We've also gotten word that Hillferry Speedway is about ready to start racing Karts and other classes once again .  This has been about a three year process, and we're happy to see that something is finally happening.  Actually, some pretty big names have looked at the possibility of promoting car races on this track in the last 20 years, including John M. Soares, George Steitz and most recently Mike McCann,  The fact that Karts will return is good news, and we wish them success.  We'll be keeping our eyes out for information. Closer to the Antioch area comes the possibility of Kart Racing at Diablo MX (Formerly Sand Hill Raceway), once the legal issues are resolved.  We'll be monitoring this situation as well.

We end by talking about "the granddaddy" of all open shows, The Budweiser Nationals at Bakersfield Speedway.  It's set for October 7th and 8th.  Late Models race both nights for $2000 to win and $250 to start, IMCA Modifieds race both days for $1500 to win.  IMCA Sport Modifieds race both days with $1500 to win on Saturday.  Hobby Stocks race for $1200 to win on Saturday.  There is also a $1000 to win Pro Stock race and $600 to win American Stock and IMCA Stock Car races.  With championship point racing done, we congratulate Ricky Childress Jr. (IMCA Modifieds), Chris McKellar (IMCA Sport Modifieds), Mike Hill Jr. (Hobby Stocks), Steven Johnson (IMCA Stock Cars), Jerry Flippo (Mod Lites), Dakota Brown (American Stocks), Loni Spiller (Mini Stocks), Jett Yantis (Jr. Mini Dwarfs) and Chloie Jones (Sr. Mini Dwarfs) on winning their respective Bakersfield championships.

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Aton, Foulger, Johnson Antioch Winners, Brown, Tucker, Joaquin Win At Merced


First of all...

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



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

Available on Lulu in Paperback And Hard Cover


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The DCRR Racing Radio Show

Aton Wraps Up Championship With Third Sprint Car Victory At Antioch Speedway

Antioch, CA...September 24...Billy Aton came through when the pressue was on for a championship clinching 25 lap Winged 360 Main Event victory Saturday night at Antioch Speedway.  Aton won his heat race and then set about winning his third Main Event of the season.  With three time Marysville champion Brent Dothage in the hunt, it wasn't easy.  Dothage was looking to join a long winner's list, but Aton drove a great race for the important victory.   Dothage settled for his second runnerup finish in three visits.  Art McCarthy wasn't far behind in third as Burt Foland Jr. and heat race winner Ryan Timmons completed the Top 5 at the finish.  Marissa Polizzi saw her night end early after she flipped in her heat race.

Troy Foulger won a thrilling battle for the 20 lap A Modified Main Event win.  The four time champion had been winless so far this season, but he finally broke through for the victory in the Bill Bowers owned car.  Foulger had to hold off some serious pressure from 2004 champion Aaron Crowell, but he prevailed at Bob Kempf's checkered flag.  Scott Busby maintained second in the standings with a solid third place finish ahead of Nick DeCarlo, Josh Combs and point leader Carl Berendsen II.

Jim Perry Jr. pretty much assured himself of his second Wingless Spec Sprint championship following his fourth 20 lap feature win of he season.  On this night, Perry had Roy Fisher pressuring him.  The 70 something year old Fisher won his heat race and was looking for his second win of the season.  However, Fisher was was no match for the flying Perry.  Shannon Newton held off point runnerup Marcus Smith for a third place finish, and Peter Carlotto made his first start of the season in fifth.

Al Johnson has had several second place finishes, but he finally scored his first career 20 lap B Modified Main Event victory.  The current point runnerup also kept himself in the championship hunt after also winning his heat race. Two time winner K.C. Keller also won a heat race and gave it a good effort before settling for a strong second place finish.  Kevin Brown enjoyed his best career finish in third.  Past Hobby Stock champion Megan Ponciano drove to a season best fourth place finish ahead of Chuck Golden.

Larry Damitz continued his drive towards his fifth championship in six years with his sixth 20 lap victory.  Damitz also won a heat race in yet another stellar performance for the 87 year old veteran of over 60 years of racing.  Kimo Oreta scored a season best second place finish as he continues to fight for second in the standings.  It remains close after heat race winner Mark Garner came from last to finish third in the Main Event.  Fourth went to Mike Gustafson as Placerville visitor Jay Bryant finished fifth.

Melissa Myers returned to action and won the 20 lap Hobby Stock Main Event.  Myers is running a limited schedule as family has kept her busy, but this was her second win of the season.  The two time Hobby Stock champion had a flat right rear tire for the last lap and had rookie Anthony Vigna chasing her, but she sped to the checkered flag.  Vigna crossed the line second after earlier winning a heat race, but he and apparent third place finisher Cameron Swank were both disqualified in post race tech.  This shuffled the finishing order and put 2010 champion Chris Sorensen into the second position.  Chris Long was third ahead of Frank Furtado and Rob Waldrop.

Racing returns on Saturday, October 8th with the John Soares Sr. Memorial Top Dog Race featuring big money races for DIRTcar Late Models, A Modifieds, B Modifieds and Hobby Stocks.  The Late Models and A Modifieds race for $1500 to win that night, while the B Modifieds and Hobby Stocks race for a $850 first prize.  Promoter John M. Soares announced that due to two rainouts earlier this season, this race and an October 22nd race will be for championship points as well.  On the schedule for the final October race will be DIRTcar Late Models, A Modifieds, B Modifieds, Wingless Spec Sprints, Limited Late Models, Hobby Stocks and Dwarf Cars.  For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.

Unofficial Race Results September 24
Winged 360 Sprint Car
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Billy Aton, Ryan Timmons.  Main Event (25 Laps)-Aton, Brent Dothage, Art McCarthy, Burt Foland Jr., Timmons, Jenna Frazier, Craig Frandsen, John Sullivan, Dan Gonderman, Aaron Miller, Shawn Laeber, Marissa Polizzi (DNS).

Wingless Spec Sprint
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Brandon Burd, Roy Fisher.  Main Event (20 Laps)-Jim Perry Jr., Fisher, Shannon Newton, Marcus Smith, Peter Carlotto, Jack Clark, Billy Macedo, Rick Panfili, Burd (DNS).

A Modified
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Anthony Slaney, Aaron Crowell.  Main Event (20 Laps)-Troy Foulger, Crowell, Scott Busby, Nick DeCarlo, Josh Combs, Carl Berendsen II, John MacDougall, Bobby Montalvo, Sean O'Gara, Slaney, Bobby Motts Jr., Gary Hetrick, Norman Boeck.

B Modified
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Al Johnson, K.C. Keller.   Main Event (20 Laps)-Johnson, Keller, Kevin Brown, Megan Ponciano, Chuck Golden, Trevor Clymens, Tim Hammett, Mike Mates.

Limited Late Model
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Larry Damitz, Mark Garner.  Main Event (20 Laps)-Damitz, Kimo Oreta, M. Garner, Mike Gustafson, Jay Byant, Billy Garner, Lori Brown, Chet Hammer (DNS), John Keith (DNS).

Hobby Stock
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Guy Ahlwardt, Melissa Myers.  Main Event (20 Laps)-Myers, Chris Sorensen, Chris Long, Frank Furtado, Rob Waldrop, Natalie Perry, Jordan Swank, Lindsey Buirch, Ahlwardt, Robert Niven, Anthony Vigna (DQ), Cameron Swank (DQ).


Brown, Tucker, Joaquin, Win Matt Van Hoecke Memorial
Features At Merced Speedway
Merced CA...September 24...Saturday night was a special night of racing at Merced Speedway.  It was an event that was booked to remember long time speedway supporter Matt Van Hoecke, who lost a heroic fight with Cancer.  The event was also used to help raise funds to fight Cancer, and Promoter Ed Parker pledged that $1 for every ticket sold would be donated to the cause.  On top of that, it was the opportunity for the track to crown three more champions in Michael Shearer (Hobby Stocks), Rick Diaz (IMCA Sport Modifieds and Randy Brown (IMCA Modifieds).  Brown left little doubt who was the champion when he won his second 30 Lap IMCA Modified Main Event of the weekend.  Other 30 lap wins went to fisrt time 2016 winners Gary Tucker (IMCA Sport Modifieds) and Kevin Joaquin (Hobby Stocks).

IMCA super star Randy Brown has been on such a roll lately that he hasn't finished outside the Top 3 in his last eight Merced starts.  Feeling good about the way his car has been running, he went to Watsonville on Friday night to tune up for this coming week's Pat Pettit Memorial Shoot Out.  He outdueled that track's champion, Bobby Hogge IV, for an impressive victory.  When you're a champion, you want to know that you've beat the best.  Saturday night, it was the track's most decorated champion over the last two decades, Ramie Stone, providing the pressure.  However, Brown was not about to let this one get away from him as he drove another brilliant race for his fifth victory.  Stone settled for his best finish in recent starts with a strong second place effort.  Coming off of his winning performance last week, 2012 champion Bill Egleston finished third ahead of Ricky Thatcher and "Rookie Of The Year" Bruce Nelson, Harley Turner brought it home in sixth, followed by Ryan Larimer, Jarod Fast, Steve Streeter and his son Jeff Streeter.  Nelson grabbed a nine lap heat race win ahead of D.J. Shannon, while Ramie's brother Troy Stone won his first heat race of the year ahead of Turner.

A veteran of several divisions at Merced Speedway, IMCA Sport Modified star Gary Tucker still had a shot at second in the points, and he was also hoping to get his first win of the season.  As is the case most of the time this season, to get a win you have to get through Rick Diaz.  Diaz had already clinched the championship after last week, but he was in the hunt for another win.  This time, however, Tucker was there to score a well earned victory.  Diaz settled for second ahead of strong efforts by both Dwayne Short and past Pure Stock champion Andy Welch in third and fourth, respectively.   Chase Thomas wrapped up a Top 10 point season with one of his best finishes in fifth, followed by past Mini Stock champion Marisa Odgers.  With his seventh place finish, Mike Drake protected his runnerup point season in the George Medeiros car.  Tanner Thomas, Shane DeVolder and 2015 champion Josh Hensley completed the Top 10.  Diaz won a nine lap heat race ahead of Steve Stone, while Tim Elias got a heat win in front Welch.  Top 10 ranked C. Thomas outran Short to win his heat race.

Kevin Joaquin was definitely hitting his stride as the season came to a close.  The 2015 Hobby Stock champion made a late move up the point ladder into second, but he needed a strong effort on double point night to make it stick.  After winning his heat race ahead of Kodie Dean, Joaquin got a front row start for the Main Event.  After nine wins on the circuit last year, Kevin was without a win to this point of the season.  Coming off of back to back second place finishes, he was definitely showing signs that his time was coming.  Dexter Long had a win back in early August and was making a strong bid to do it again.  However, Joaquin stayed smooth and forced Long to settle for his third runnerup finish.  Shannon Nelson enjoyed her best finish of her brief season in third.  Ted Stofle Classic winner Phil Vaughn finished fourth ahead of Donnie Shearer, John Hensley, Austin Van Hoff, Bruce Nelson and Garrett Corn.  Dell Humbert was a star of Street Stock racing in the 1980's, and he was given the ride in the Mike Stockton owned car to race in memory of his brother in law, Matt Van Hoecke.  He finished tenth.  Van Hoff won his heat race ahead of Stockton.  Corn won his heat in front of Long.  Michael Shearer had already clinched the championship prior to the night.

On October 15th, the track will hold the John Fore Jr. Memorial Race, which is being billed as the biggest Sport Modified event in California at $1500 to win.  Hobby Stocks are also running a special race as part of the program.  For further information, go to www.racemerced.com.


Hogge Battles Stanford For Restad Memorial Race Victory 
At Siskiyou Motor Speedway

Yreka, CA...September 24...Siskiyou Motor Speedway saved the best for last Saturday night with the annual running of the Rod Restad Memorial IMCA Modified race.  Some of the top drivers on the West Coast came to make a run at the $3,000 first prize, and Bobby Hogge IV scored the victory in the 30 lap race ahead of Alex Stanford.  Rich McCoy made an appearance and won the O'Reilly Auto Parts IMCA Sport Modified feature while Ethan Killingsworth captured his second 20 lap McDonald's Mini Stock Main Event victory.

Bobby Hogge IV has won many championships and big races in his career.  A two time NASCAR Regional champion, Hogge won the $5000 first prize a few weeks earlier in Medford.  Hogge's win ahead of Ryan McDaniel in the eight lap heat race was a sign of things to come.  Luck of the draw gave Hogge the pole for the big money Main Event, and he raced into the lead at the start.  Soon, Hogge was joined by 2014 Wild West Speedweek champion Alex Stanford in a battle up front.  Try as he might, however, Stanford was unable to make a move around the flying Hogge.  Hogge's win was worth $3000, but Stanford pocketed $2000 for second.  Many time Chico champion Ryan McDaniel finished a $1000 third ahead of Jeremy Richey, Medford champion Mark Wauge, Zach Fettinger, Monte Bischoff, Albert Gill, 2015 champion Nick Trenchard and past Yreka champion Lenny Toolanen.

The IMCA Modified championship came down to the final night, and a crash on the opening lap eliminated incoming point leader Duane Orsburn.  With his eighth place finish, two time Medford champion Albert Gill was able to add the 2016 Yreka championship trophy to his mantle place.  Stanford won his heat race ahead of Tom Berry Jr., while Adam Walters won the other eight lap heat over Wauge.  Wauge claimed for lap Trophy Dash honors ahead of Stanford.

Two Medford stars left the speedway with most of the wins in the O'Reilly Auto Parts IMCA Sport Modified portion of the program. Rich McCoy's clean sweep performance started when he won his eight lap heat race ahead of Ryder Boswell.  He continued that momentum with a six lap Trophy Dash win ahead of rising Medford racing star Kalvin Morton.  Morton won the previous week's Main Event, and he won his heat race ahead of reigning IMCA Modified champion Colter Boswell.

The Main Event was at times not pretty, but the #95 Lightning McQueen Car car of McCoy looked good at the front of the pack.  McCoy grabbed the win with Morton second.  R. Boswell had one of his best finishes of the year in third, followed by Garrett Hamilton, Buddy McHargue, C. Boswell, Alan Furuta, Jimmy Lipke, Jack Waldon III and Gavin Gonzales.  With his eighth place finish, Lipke won the IMCA Sport Modified championship.  Waldon won the other heat race in front of McHargue.

With a pair of victories in the final three McDonald's Mini Stock 20 lap features, teen leadfoot Ethan Killingsworth strengthened his hold on second in the point standings.  Killingsworth won the Main Event by a straightaway in front of Terry Kendrick.  Dennis Jorgensen finished in third, just ahead of Aaron Jorgensen, Ron Morris, Mike Whitaker and Marilyn Yawnick.

Coming off of her impressive fourth win of the season last week, Yawnick needed just to take the green flag to wrap up her first career track championship.  Yawnick finished second in her heat race behind Kendrick and was second in the four lap Trophy Dash as A. Jorgensen won for the second straight week.  D. Jorgensen beat A. Jorgensen to win their eight lap heat race.


Note:  This article is based on live scoring is subject to computer error and official's decisions.  It is therefore unofficial.  Live scoring shut off prior to the Taco Bravo Sprint Car Main Event.


Brown Outduels Hogge In Thrilling Late Race Battle, 
Simunovich Dominates For Watsonville Victory

Watsonville, CA...September 23...Merced point leader Randy Brown invaded Ocean Speedway Friday night and left with a 25 lap IMCA Modified Main Event victory.  Austin Burke led one lap before Brown moved by for the lead.  Cody Burke moved in to challenge brother Austin before making a pass for second on lap three.  Many time champions Kenny Nott and Bobby Hogge IV settled into third and fourth.  Reigning State champion Alex Wilson took third from Nott on lap 13 with Hogge still fourth.  A lap 20 restart provided Hogge his opportunity to move into second, giving the fans a duel of the champions for the lead.  At times, the two cars ran side by side, but Brown managed to hold off the serious challenge from Hogge for an impressive victory.  C. Burke finished third ahead of Wilson, Stephen Hopf, Clay Daly, Raymond Keldsen, Nott, J.R. Harper and Todd Hermosillo.  Harper won his eight lap heat race in front of Wilson, while Hogge claimed a heat race win ahead of A. Burke.

Dennis Simunovich dominated the 20 lap IMCA Sport Modified Main Event for an impressive victory.  Justin McPherson led just one lap before Simunovich went flying by to take the lead with point leader Jim DiGiovanni also getting by for second.  Simunovich steadily pulled away from everybody in the non stop race and had a half-lap lead by lap 10.  Adriane Frost began a battle with McPherson for third as Simunovich was lapping slower cars.  Simunovich could actually see second, third and fourth in front of him as he took the checkered flag.  DiGiovanni finished second.  Frost had taken third from McPherson on lap 16, but McPherson raced back by on the last lap.  Frost settled for fourth as Igor Grandzuk was the final lead lap finisher.  Shane DeVolder finished sixth ahead of Duane Bieser, Charlie Hunter, John Ferro and Billy Robertson.  DiGiovanni won the eight lap heat race ahead of McPherson.

Billy Nelson won the 20 lap American Stock Main Event.  Nelson is a past champion in the division and returned to run a tune up race before the Pat Pettit Memorial Shoot Out race that is set for this coming Friday and Saturday.  Nelson grabbed the lead from Terry Campion on lap two and led the remaining 19 laps despite a few restarts during the race.  Campion managed to hold on for second ahead of William Kennedy.  Heat winner George Fernandez made a lap 18 pass on Robert Huckaby for fourth.  John Farrell finished sixth ahead of point leader Robert Gallaher, Katie Briggs, Jerry Skelton and Tony Olivera.  Campion won his heat race by a straightaway ahead of Gallaher, while Fernandez won his eight lap heat in front of Nelson.

Dennis Keldsen Jr. won the 12 lap Mini Stock Main Event to wrap up his championship season.  Kate Beardsley led two laps before Paul Lauretti gained the lead.  Unfortunately, Lauretti led just one lap before his race was over.  Keldsen took the lead at that point and led the rest of the way to win ahead of Nicole Beardsley, Bill Beardsley, K. Beardsley and Lauretti.  Keldsen won the heat race ahead of K. Beardsley.


Ocean Speedway Watsonville, CA
September 23, 2016

IMCA Modified
1     #16B Randy Brown
2     #2H Bobby Hogge IV
3     #20 Cody Burke
4     #36 Alex Wilson
5     #7H Stephen Hopf
6     #5D Clay Daly
7     #01 Raymond Keldson
8     #96 Kenny Nott
9     #8 JR Harper
10     #3 Todd Hermosillo
11     #94 James Alaga
12     #25 Austin Burke

IMCA Sport Modified
1     #5 Dennis Simunovich
2     #75X Jim DiGiovanni
3     #20 Justin McPherson
4     #22 Adriane deSousa-Frost
5     #9B Igor Gandzjuk
6     #44 Shane Devolder
7     #89 Duane Bieser
8     #22W Charlie Hunter
9     #14J John Ferro
10     #65 Billy Robertson
       
Hobby Stock
1     #11 Billy Nelson
2     #83 Terry Campion
3     #9 William Kennedy
4     #10C George Fernandez
5     #88S Robert Huckaby
6     #55 John Farrell
7     #1G Robert Gallaher
8     #89 Katie Briggs
9     #69 Jerry Skelton
10     #66 Tony Oliveira
11     #33 Terry Traub
12     #01 Dennis Keldsen
13     #(1) Ed Cain

Mini Stock
1     #01 Dennis Keldson Jr
2     #2 Nicole Beardsley
3     #5 Bill Beardsley
4     #45 Kate Beardsley
5     #13 Paul Lauretti
   
Taco Bravo Sprint Car
Main Event
1 17 Justin Sanders
2 56 Ryan Bernal
3 69 Brent Kaeding
4 0 Bud Kaeding
5 2 Brad Furr
6 20 Colby Copeland
7 12P Scott Parker
8 58 Jerry Bonnema
9 72W Kurt Nelson
10 3C DJ Netto
11 92 Koen Shaw
12 25Z Jason Chisum
13 1B Chelsea Blevins
14 99 Wayne Katen
15 3 Ricky Brophy
16 9J Dustin Golobic
17 4S Buddy Kofoid
18 M21 Kalib Henry
19 33 Lucas Ashe
20 41 Gio Scelzi
21 7 Nick Ringo Jr
22 7H Jake Haulot

B Main
1 0 Bud Kaeding
2 33 Lucas Ashe
3 M21 Kalib Henry
4 7H Jake Haulot
5 9 Wayne Katen
6 7 Nick Ringo Jr
7 3 Ricky Brophy
8 34 Darrell Taylor
9 73 Craig Frandsen

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Antioch Speedway and Merced Speedway Weekend Previews

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Note:  The Antioch Speedway preview article has been revised due to the announcement that the October 8th and October 22nd races will now be point races.

Two Classes Of Sprint Cars, Modifieds 
Compete At Antioch Speedway Saturday Night

Antioch, CA...Antioch Speedway wraps up the month of September with both the Winged 360 Sprint Cars and Wingless Spec Sprints as well as the A and B Modifieds on the schedule this Saturday night.  The six division program will be rounded out by the Limited Late Models and Hobby Stocks.  Promoter John M. Soares threw his All Star Series competitors a curve ball when he announced on Thursday that the October 8th and October 22nd races that were recently added to the schedule will be point races. The possible exception to this is the rumored Winged 360 Sprint Car date that may be added on the 22nd.  That division will in fact conclude a very close point battle this Saturday night.

The October 8th John Soares Sr. Memorial Top Dog Race is already slated to pay $1500 to win in both the DIRTcar Late Models and A Modifieds, while paying $850 to win in both the B Modifieds and Hobby Stocks.  As of now, all four divisions will award points for the regular track competitors.  However, before they get to that race, there is this Saturday night's race to consider.

Only one point race remains on the Antioch Speedway All Star Series racing schedule this week as the track gets ready to crown six more champions. After this race is the special October 8th John Soares Sr. Memorial Top Dog Race for extra prize money. This Saturday night, Winged 360 Sprint Cars, Wingless Spec Sprints, A Modifieds, B Modifieds, Limited Late Models and Hobby Stocks are all on the schedule. Two divisions have already crowned their 2016 champions as Richard Papenhausen is the DIRTcar Late Model champion and Kevin Miraglio is the Dwarf Car champ.

In no division is the championship more uncertain than in the Winged 360 Sprint Cars as Billy Aton has been battling veteran Art McCarthy all season long. The 2009 Wingless Sprint Champion, Aton took a step towards the championship last week when he finished second in the Main Event. If not for a lost wheel in a Main Event that he was leading recently, he would likely have three wins now. As it is, the second place finish he earned last week was his sixth Top 3 finish in his last eight starts as he added just a little bit to his lead over three time winner Art McCarthy.

McCarthy wasn't far behind Aton with a fourth place finish as the veteran of many years of open wheel racing battles to overcome the night in which he failed to start the Main Event due to mechanical issues. The fact that McCarthy has gotten this close to Aton is an indication of just how good of a driver he really is. With the steady stream of up and coming young talent that comes to town each and every week, these two drivers have maintained a good championship battle all season long.

Last week, the other big storyline of the division continued as Colby Johnson won his first Main Event in only his second start in this division. Johnson is the great grandson of Pacheco Hardtop legend Johnny Franklin, and the Micro Sprint graduate drove a great race to score the victory. The fans generally see anywhere from 10-14 Sprint Cars on any given week, and other racers to watch for this week include third place point competitor Dan Gonderman, Burt Foland Jr, Shawn Arriaga, Aaron Miller, rookie Tim Burcher, Ricky Brophy, Chris Magoon and previous winner Matt Barber.

In all of the drama that went down in the previous Wingless Spec Sprint race, the championship seemingly belongs to open wheel veteran Jim Perry Jr. Perry recorded his third win of the season last time, adding to his division all time leading win total of over 40 victories. This would be his second championship in the division, and a bit of a heart breaker for Marcus Smith.

Smith was steadily gaining on Perry in the point race until he blew a motor in his heat race last time out. With the Richard Basden owned car done for the night, Smith hopped into his own car and drove to a second place finish, only to find out that he would receive no points in that car since Adam Teves qualified it with his heat race win. Because of that, Smith has his hands full trying to hold off division original Rick Panfili and Roy Fisher in the battle for second.

Smith is clinging to a 10 point lead over Panilli and a 20 point advantage over Fisher. While Smith and Fisher both have feature wins, Panfilli is still searching for his first career feature win since starting in this class when it began in 1999. Rick has finished as high as second in the Main Event this year and is hoping to come up with a big finish to claim his highest career point ranking in second. It will be interesting to see what happens here.

Despite some rough luck this year, past Chowchilla Speedway champion Branden Burd has a solid hold on fifth in the standings. Other drivers to watch for in the competitive division include likely "Rookie Of The Year" Adam Teves, Shannon Newton, James East, reigning champion Kyle Bakkie and feature winner Jeremy Newberry.

In the A Modified division, Carl Berendsen II has reason to celebrate. The second generation racer is seemingly on his way to a second division championship in three years. Prior to last week, he still hadn't won a Main Event. Carl is a multi time point runner up in Street Stocks and a winner back in those days. He debuted a new car during the season in hopes of getting his first win, and that mission was accomplished last Saturday night as he held off heavy hitters Duane Cleveland and Troy Foulger for his first career victory. In doing so, Carl took a major step towards his second division championship.

Trent Wentworth recorded another Top 5 finish and gained a few points on point runner up Scott Busby, but Busby has a good chance of holding down the position as long as he has a respectable showing in the Main Event this weekend. Wentworth may have a shot at second, but he also has to hold off second generation racer Sean O'Gara, who is within striking distance of third. Unlike two time feature winner Busby, Wentworth and O'Gara are still looking for their first Main Event victories.

What is further amazing is the fact that Troy Foulger is still without an Antioch feature win this year as the winner's list includes 11 drivers at this point. Will there be another new winner to add to the list this week? Other drivers to watch for this week include rookie Bobby Montalvo, Norman Boeck, Brian Cass, Aaron Crowell and Josh Combs.

Trevor Clymens is on the cusp of his first career track championship after coming close to that goal back in his days in the Pure Stock division. With seven B Modified Main Event wins this year, Trevor has had an amazing season. Unless he has a major misstep this week, Clymens will beat Al Johnson for the championship, while Johnson settles for his second straight runner up season. Clymens lost his battle with two time Petaluma Modified champion Nick DeCarlo and would settle for second in last week's Main Event.

As it looks like Johnson will come up short in his championship bid, he would still very much like to score his first career victory. Johnson has multiple second place finishes. The third place driver, Shane DeVolder, has six second place finishes, but the likely "Rookie Of The Year" did get his first win earlier this season. With two Main Event wins to his credit, K.C. Keller maintains a Top 5 point position.

Last weekend was a milestone evening for one of the track's three famous Brown families. Long time Speedway competitor and two time Limited Late Model champion Ron Brown returned and got a Top 5 finish. Chasing him across the line in the next two positions were his brothers, Randy Brown and Kevin Brown. It was the first time that the three brothers had competed in a race together. Randy Brown has competed in most of the races this year and is currently sixth in the standings, while Kevin  has a pair of fifth place finishes this year.  The B Modified drivers have been putting on some good shows this year, and other racers to watch for this week include Chuck Golden, Anthony Giuliani, Tim Hammett and Mike Mates.

It has been an amazing rookie season for Guy Ahlwardt in the Hobby Stock division. Guy picked up his fifth Main Event win of the season last week to apparently clinch the track championship. He has further announced that it looks like his car has been sold and he will be moving up to the B Modified division next season. As good as he has looked all season, most people would agree that he is ready for this move.

Fellow rookie Lindsey Buirch has done a good job of improving from week to week this season. The talented teen competitor drove to another Top 5 finish last week and would appear to be headed for a second place point season. Last season's point runner up and second generation racer Jordan Swank also grabbed a Top 5 finish last week to move up into third in the standings.

What has been interesting to observe in recent weeks is the rise of Frank Furtado as a competitor capable of winning. It wasn't that long ago that Frank picked up his first career Main Event victory. Last week, the Top 10 point runner drove his battle scarred #81 car to a heat race victory before finishing second in the Main Event. Also looking good in third last week was 2010 champion Chris Sorensen. Sorensen was reportedly done for the year, but his fellow competitors chipped in to make sure he returned. The Sorenson team has been instrumental in the bike giveaways for the kids that have been happening at Antioch Speedway in recent weeks.

It should be another competitive field this week as drivers battle to see who can win the point season finale. Other competitors to watch for include Anthony Vigna, Top 5 ranked Michael Cooper, Cameron Swank, Natalie Perry and Chris Long.

Once again, 87 year old Larry Damitz seems to headed for the Limited Late Model championship. With five Main Event wins to his credit, Larry will be the champion for the fifth time in six seasons. The question now is who will end up second? The battle is on between Kimo Oreta and five time winner Mark Garner. Oreta has a two point lead despite having no wins in the Main Event this year. Basically, when Garner isn't winning, he's usually not finishing, but Oreta usually finds his way to the checkered flag.

Last time out, Garner won one of the more exciting battles of the year by holding off the impressive Ryan Cherezian, who drives the only pickup truck in the field. It was Ryan's best finish of the season. It should be another good race, and other drivers to watch for this week include Mike Gustafson, Lori Brown, the steady John Evans, Jeff Kendrick and rookie Billy Garner.

The All Star Series point finale at Antioch Speedway should be a good one, and the program will feature Winged 360 Sprint Cars, Wingless Spec Sprints, A Modifieds, B Modifieds, Hobby Stocks and Limited Late Models. For further information on this event and the coming John Soares Sr. Memorial Race, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.

Antioch Speedway
All Star Series Points

Winged 360 Sprints
Billy Aton 642
Art McCarthy 635
Dan Gonderman 392
Burt Foland Jr. 334
Shawn Arriaga 283
Matt Barber 220
Matt DeMartini 202
Marissa Polizi 201
Rick Brophy 174
Jenna Frazer 163

Wingless Spec Sprint
Jim Perry Jr. 526
Marcus Smith 464
Rick Panfili 454
Roy Fisher 444
Brandon Burd 411
Dan Gonderman 290
Adam Teves 251
Shannon Newton 248
James East 244
Kyle Bakkie 224

A Modifieds
Carl Berendsen II 566
Scott Busby 493
Trent Wentworth 472
Sean O'Gara 458
Bobby Montalvo 452
Troy Foulger 341
Norman Boeck 304
Aaron Crowell 284
Raymond Lindeman 274
Brian Cass 256

B Modifieds
Trevor Clymens 952
Al Johnson 910
Shane DeVolder 874
K.C. Keller 658
Danny Jones 636
Randy Brown 408
Chuck Golden 358
Brian Pearce 334
Anthony Giuliani 321
Lloyd Cline 271

Hobby Stock
Guy Ahlwardt 742
Lindsey Buirch 602
Jordan Swank 572
Michael Cooper 544
Danny Jones 537
Chris Sorensen  529
Frank Furtado 491
Cameron Swank 456
Anthony Vigna 454
Natalie Perry 379

Limited Late Model
Larry Damitz 674
Kimo Oreta 628
Mark Garner 626
Mike Gustafson 478
John Evans 418
Lori Brown 415
Jim Freethy 272
Jeff Kendrick 132
Billy Garner 120
Ryan Cherezian 99


Merced Speedway Closes Point Season With 
Matt Van Hoecke Memorial

Merced, CA...For years, there was a man at Merced Speedway who did many things to help the race track. He was a sponsor of race cars and races, he was somebody the racers went to for parts on race night and during the week and he was somebody who did anything he could to support the race track. When he died after a battle with Cancer, many in the racing community mourned his loss. He is still missed to this day. His name is Matt Van Hoecke. Saturday night, Merced Speedway closes its season with a memorial event in his honor, featuring IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds and Hobby Stocks.

In the IMCA Modifieds, Randy Brown is one checkered flag away from wrapping up his second career division championship. Last Saturday night, Randy had his worst finish in eight races, and it was still a third place finish. It seems like as the season got going, he just got faster, and nobody could keep up with him. Provided there are no major issues with his car, he will be the champion.

At one time, 2012 champion Bill Egleston was hoping he could win the title. He had a pretty good start to the season, which included a victory. Things took a turn for the worse in recent starts, but he came back strong last week for an impressive victory. It served as a reminder to the rest of the competition that he is still one of the top stars at the speedway.

Young D.J. Shannon is a star in the making, and his recent trips to other tracks have resulted in some good finishes for the second generation racer. On Saturday night, D.J. was the one chasing Egleston across the line in what would be a career best second place finish. It seems only a matter of time before he joins his championship winning father Chris as a Main Event winner at Merced Speedway. It could happen this Saturday night.

With his sixth place finish behind California Stock Car legend Jim Pettit II, multi time champion Ramie Stone may not win the championship, but he appears to be headed for second in the standings. He still has to be on his game to keep rookie  Bruce "Bubba" Nelson behind him. Nelson was again near the front of the pack as he finished fourth last week.

The amazing part in all of this is that the IMCA Modified division had 18 cars last week. Because Matt was such a beloved figure in the racing community, it is expected that there will be a good turnout this week as well, and other drivers to keep an eye out for this week include Top 5 point competitor Ricky Thatcher, Late Model veteran Derek Nance, rookie Ryan Larimer, Mike Villanueva, Ryan Porter and others. This Saturday night should be a good show as the division closes what has been a great season.

It seems like it's a rare week when Rick Diaz isn't winning in the IMCA Sport Modifieds these season.  To beat him, you have to be up on your game. It just so happens that last week there was such a driver as reigning State champion Fred Ryland scored his fourth Main Event victory of the season. It had been a while since Ryland scored a win in this class, but he won a Hobby Stock race the week before at Antioch Speedway. Despite his late start, Ryland is still battling for fifth in the point standings.

Rick Diaz isn't battling anybody as he enters the season finale having clinched the 2016 championship. This team has battled adversity this year to get to this point, and to know that they don't even have to be there this week to win the championship has to be a satisfying feeling. However, this is a special night of racing, and Diaz would love to end the championship season with another win. The race itself has special meaning, and it is also a tune up for the special John Fore Jr. Memorial Sport Modified Race that will be held next month.

Mike Drake had a solid effort last week that may be just what he needed to maintain his second place season in the George Medeiros owned car. Drake's 9th place finish keeps him ahead of sixth place finisher Gary Tucker and Tim Elias. Mike shouldn't lose second in the points if he doesn't encounter any major problems, but he is hoping that he can get his first win this week. People should not count out the 2015 Merced Dwarf Car champion as he has driven great all season.

Speaking of Dwarf Car competitors, the man Drake beat to win the Dwarf Car championship last year, Chuck Weir, had his best finish in the division in fourth. He chased second generation racer Tanner Thomas across the line as the 14 year old Thomas had his best finish ever in third. Earlier that evening, Tanner had his first career heat race win.

Despite his win, Ryland didn't gain too many points on fifth place Josh Hensley after Hensley had one of his best finishes of the year in fifth. Much like the IMCA Modified division, this field produced 19 cars last week and should have a similar turnout for the special race this week. Other competitors to look for this week include Chase Thomas, Paul Espino, Andy Welch, Dwayne Short and Patti Ryland.

Double points will be on the line for the Hobby Stock division this week. Despite that, Michael Shearer has clinched the championship with four second place finishes and a win among his best efforts. It has been a stellar season for Shearer and he has definitely earned it. The battle is on for second in the standings, and reigning champion Kevin Joaquin has had a good run with two second place finishes and three Top 5 finishes in his last four starts.

Joaquin only has a nine point lead over Robbie Loquaci, a 15 point advantage over Ted Stofle Classic winner Phillip Vaughn and a 16 point lead over Kristie Shearer. Loquaci actually won the most recent race and had a Top 5 finish the race before as he is hoping to stake his claim on his best season in this class in second. Robbie is a past Mini Stock champion out at Chowchilla Speedway. Second in the standings could change hands, and you also can't count out fourth generation racer Garrett Corn, who is just 24 points behind Joaquin in sixth. Corn is also a Main Event winner this year.

The competitive nature of the Hobby Stock division has led to several different winners including three for multi time champion Raul Rodriguez, who we haven't seen in recent races. It is just possible that Raul will be there in the race that honors Matt Van Hoecke. One time Main Event winner Darren Miguel is another driver who will be giving it a good run this week. Coming off of a third place finish last time out, Austin Van Hoff is hoping to collect his first win this week.

You also can't count out Dexter Long, who has a second and a win in his last two starts. This division should have a count in the high teens if not even bigger, and other drivers to look for this week include, John Hensley, Ben Lewis, Cody Parker and Jeff Lacy in his Dan Marino Miami Dolphins tribute car.

Though they are not on the schedule, a note of praise should go to Chris Corder, who won his seventh Mini Stock Main Event of the season last week to notch his second Merced championship in three seasons. Paul Lauetti will hold onto second in the standings after his impressive second place last week ahead of the rapidly improving Lucy Falkenberg. With her fourth place finish, rookie Destiny Carter finished third in the standings.

Kenny Birdsong won the 2016 Valley Sportsman championship after finishing third last week. Past division champion Mark Odgers came back and scored a Main Event victory. His second win of the season put him into fourth in the standings. Jeff Bristow gave it a good run with a second place finish, but he will end up in third in standings behind two time feature winner and two time champion Mike Friesen, who finished fourth last week.

Once again, The Matt Van Hoecke Memorial Race this week will feature IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds and a double point race for the Hobby Stocks. For further information, go to www.racemerced.com.

Merced Speedway Points

IMCA Modified
Randy Brown 438
Ramie Stone 407
Bruce Nelson 392
Ricky Thatcher 378
Bill Egleston 377
Jarod Fast 286
Mike Villanueva 251
Harley Turner 201
Paul Stone 188 
Mitch Enos 187 

IMCA Sport Modified
Rick Diaz 530
Mike Drake 477
Gary Tucker 467
Tim Elias 451
Josh Hensley 426
Fred Ryland 420
Chase Thomas 386
Tanner Thomas 353
Steve Stone 334
Dwayne Short 320

Hobby Stock
Michael Shearer 229
Kevin Joaquin 186
Robbie Loquaci 177
Phillip Vaughn 171
Kristie Shearer 170
Garrett Corn 162
Austin Van Hoff 158
Kodie Dean 152
Dexter Long 147
Cody Parker 131
Darren Miguel 131

Mini Stock
Chris Corder 205
Paul Lauretti 161
Destiny Carter 148
Tony Peffer 131
Curtis Thornhill 130
Lucy Falkenberg 115
Jennifer Corder 69
Joy Alger 66
James Stockton 59
Mike Germait 57

Valley Sportsman
Kenny Birdsong 183
Mike Friesen 167
Jeff Bristow 143 
Mark Odgers 98
Shannon Fry 90
Tim Prothro 88
Jerry Cecil 60
Jeff Amos 59
Jesse James Burks 50
Eric Seely 49


$3000 To Win Rod Restad Memorial Race Closes Season 
At Siskiyou Motor Speedway



Yreka, CA...Saturday night's race at Siskiyou Motor Speedway is an event that some of the best IMCA Modified racers mark on their calender.  This is the annual Rod Restad Memorial Race, paying tribute to the well known and respected Yreka racing promoter.  It's also a race that will pay $3000 to win, $2000 for second and $1000 for third.  Joining the IMCA Modifieds for this program will be the O'Reilly Auto Parts IMCA Sport Modifieds and McDonald's Mini Stocks.

The Rod Restad Memorial is one of the biggest paying races of the year in California for the IMCA Modifieds, and that draws some of the best drivers to make a run for the money.  It's anybody's guess who will win the big prize.  Only 2015 track champion Nick Trenchard has won this race twice in the last seven years.  It was Nevada leadfoot Jake Holland snapping Trenchard's two race winning streak last year as he held off 2010 winner Travis Peery and Monte Bischoff.

Other winners in recent years include Roger Lorenzini in 2012 and Brian Poppa, who won a thrilling battle with Kurt Lorenzini in 2011.  2009 and 2004 winner Scott Lenz is reportedly going to take the wheel of the Ray Kniffen Jr. car this week.  Lenz drove the Kniffen car to a third place finish at Medford last week.  Kniffen had been planning to drive before breaking his arm in the recent Lon Skinner Memorial race in Medford.  Knowing that he had a competitive car, Kniffen enlisted past Medford Pro Stock champion Lenz to take the wheel.

Trenchard, Lorenzini, Poppa, Lenz and Bischoff are only a few of the top drivers anticipated this Saturday.  Medford champion Mark Wauge will come to make a run at the money along with two time Medford champion Albert Gill, Susanville champion Chris Olexiewicz, Kyle Casson, Dan Thomas and Zach Fettinger.  A story within the story will take place as Duane Orsburn holds a slim five point lead over Gill in the championship battle.  The track has had eight different winners in eight races as Gill won the most recent race to position himself for a shot at Orsburn.

When young Kalvin Morton scored his first win in only his third start in an O'Reilly Auto Parts IMCA Sport Modified last week, it made him the 13th different winner of the season.  Colton Cheffey seemed ready for a clean sweep after winning his heat races and Trophy Dash, but he settled for second.  Though he is fifth in the points, Cheffey would have to be considered a favorite to win on Saturday and a driver to watch in the 2017 championship battle.  Despite a crash that left his car damaged, Jimmy Lipke hopes to be back this week to finish out his 2016 championship season.  He holds a good lead over Garrett Hamilton, who will win the SCMA championship.  Morton, Cheffey, Lipke and Hamilton should be joined by such hard chargers as Doug Franklin, Jack Waldon III, D.J. Bottoms, Randy Wright and reigning champion Colter Boswell.

Having been a staunch supporter of the McDonald's Mini Stocks through the years, "Big Mac" Marilyn Yawnick hopes to wrap up her first career championship following her fourth feature win last week.  Marilyn knew she took a big step towards her goal with that victory and emerged from her car quite jubilant.  Following a disappointing Main Event that ended early for him, past champion Terry Kendrick will probably settle for third behind young Ethan Killingswoth in the battle for second.  The three drivers are at the top of the list of contenders for this week's win along with 2014 champion  "Magic" Mike Whitaker, Mike Colson, Mike Frost, Dennis Jorgensen and last week's Trophy Dash winner, Aaron Jorgensen.

All three divisions should include some talented racers ready to do battle and put on a great show for the fans.  The big money is on the line for the IMCA Modifieds in the Rod Restad Memorial Race.  There is also a bike race on the night's schedule.  Gates open at 5:00 p.m. with the fist race starting at 7:00 p.m.  Adult tickets are $12.00 with Seniors/Veterans $10.00 and children 6-12 $7.00.  children 5 and under are free.  For further information, go to www.siskiyoumotorspeedway.com.

Siskiyou Motor Speedway Points

McDonalds's Mini Stocks
Marilyn Yawnick 708
Ethan Killingsworth 678
Terry Kendrick 650
David Steele 640
Mike Whitaker 626

O'Reilly Auto Parts 
IMCA Sport Modified
James Lipke 443
Garrett Hamilton 423
Doug Franklin 358
Jack III Waldon 350
Colton Cheffey 320

SCMA Sport Modified
Garrett Hamilton 457
Doug Franklin 396
Jack Waldon III 383
Colton Cheffey 359
Colter Boswell 312

IMCA Modified
Duane Orsburn 132
Albert Gill 127
Nick Trenchard 97
James Welshonse 68
Mark Wauge 67
 


Perry Joins Two Time Champions Club As Wingless Spec Sprint Season Draws To A Close At Antioch Speedway

Antioch, CA...The 18th season of the Wingless Spec Sprint division is reaching its conclusion at Antioch Speedway. One of the original drivers on the roster when the division first started in 1999 is prepared to win his second championship, putting him in the two time champions category along with Darrell Hanestad, Dan Gonderman and Billy Macedo. Jim Perry Jr. has won more than 40 Main Events in his Spec Sprint career, including three this season, and he doesn't even need to be there this week to win the title.

It's not a surprise that the open wheel racing veteran would be the champion. Jim has been racing open wheel cars since the 1970's and ranks high on the list of all time winners at the San Jose Fairgrounds Speedway in the Super Modified division. Perry had taken a break from the division for a few seasons, but he picked up right where he left off this year.

It all came down to a dramatic event in the previous race where Perry and his championship rival Marcus Smith had their drama in the same heat race. Perry was black flagged for excessive noise, while Smith blew a motor in the Richard Basden owned car to end the night for that team. Smith had been building a race car of his own when he landed the ride in the well respected car owner's #20 Sprinter. Marcus finished that car and had two time Wingless Spec Sprint champion Dan Gonderman racing it many times this year. In fact, Gonderman is a two time feature winner.

Smith, who was second in the points last year and the "Rookie Of The Year", had scored three Main Event wins this season and was slowly catching Perry when he had the motor problems. His second car that night was driven by young rookie Adam Teves to a heat race win. Seeing that Smith was without a ride, Teves let him attempt to get his Main Event points. While Perry was winning his third Main Event, Smith finished second to apparently keep the points close. Unfortunately, rules specify that Smith needed to start a heat race in that car to get his points for the night. Because he got no points, the championship race went in Perry's favor that night.

Second place is still up for grabs in the point finale, and Smith leads another driver from the original Spec Sprint roster, Rick Panfili, by just 10 points. Though he has finished as high as second in the Main Event this year and last season, Panfili has yet to win his first Main Event. He is coming off of back to back third place seasons and would definitely like to finish second this year if possible. Both drivers need to keep an eye behind them as ageless veteran Roy Fisher is just 20 points behind. Like Smith, Fisher is a Main Event winner this year.

As the promoter of the track that gave this division its start back in 1999, John M. Soares took a look around at what was happening to the division and acted in the interest of preserving the class. He drew some criticism from competitors after making rules adjustments a little over a month before last season.  The rule changes were designed to keep the cast down and promote more competitive racing. The drivers who supported last season ran closely and competitively all year.

Car count numbers rebounded this year as the division saw numbers reach into the high teens on occasion. Once again, there were several drivers who won Main Events. NFL football alumnus Jeremy Newberry and Jason McIntosh also count themselves among the winners this season.

Several different drivers have finished as high as second this season, including Panfili, Jimmy Perry III, Barry Pries Jr, Shannon Newton and Alan Miranda, and generally a good portion of the competitors on the track on any given week have a legitimate shot at winning the Main Event. This is not just a one car dominated Spec Sprint division.

A past Chowchilla Speedway Spec Sprint champion, Brandon Burd came out of retirement and is having a Top 5 point season despite some rough moments. This includes a night where he flipped out of the Turn 1 exit in his heat race. Other drivers who have competed this year on multiple occasions include Alan Miranda, James East, reigning Champion Kyle Bakkie, Jimmy Perry III, newcomer Kevin Box and Shannon Newton.

Drivers will be racing hard to see who can win the finale this week. The 19th season will happen in 2017 as this division continues at Antioch Speedway. For further information on this division and other happenings at the track, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.


All Star Series
Wingless Spec Sprints

Wingless Spec Sprint
Jim Perry Jr. 526
Marcus Smith 464
Rick Panfili 454
Roy Fisher 444
Brandon Burd 411
Dan Gonderman 290
Adam Teves 251
Shannon Newton 248
James East 244
Kyle Bakkie 224

Previous 30 Main Event Winners

August 27, 1016:  Jim Perry Jr.
August 13, 2016:  Marcus Smith
July 23, 2016:  Dan Gonderman
July 16, 2016:  Marcus Smith
July 9, 2016:  Roy Fisher
June 25, 2016:  Jeremy Newberry
June 18, 2016:  Jim Perry Jr.
June 11, 2016:  Jason McIntosh
May 14, 2016:  Jim Perry Jr.
April 30, 2016:  Marcus Smith
April 16, 2016:  Dan Gonderman
September 19, 2015:  Billy Macedo
August 29, 2015:  Kyle Bakkie
August 15, 2015:  Billy Macedo
August 1, 2015:  Jimmy Perry III
July 25, 2015:  Jeff Lee
July 18, 2015:  Jimmy Perry III
June 20, 2015:  James East
June 6, 2015:  Jimmy Perry III
May 16, 2015:  Kyle Bakkie
April 25, 2015:  Jimmy Perry III
April 18, 2015:  Kyle Bakkie
April 11, 2015:  Roy Fisher
March 21, 2015:  Kyle Bakkie
March 14, 2015:  Roy Fisher
March 7, 2015:  Jeff Lee
September 13, 2014:   Billy Macdedo
August 2, 2014:  Bob Newberry
July 26, 2014:  Jeff Banbury
June 28, 2014:  Chris Magoon


Past Wingless Spec Sprint Champions

1999-Dan Gonderman
2000-Travis Berryhill
2001-Terry Tarditi
2002-Darrell Hanestad
2003-Darrell Hanestad
2004-Bob Newberry
2005-Scott Merrell
2006-Jimmy Perry III
2007-Jim Perry Jr.
2008-Billy Macedo
2009-Billy Aton
2010-Tommy LaLiberte
2011-Dan Gonderman
2012-D.J. Johnson
2013-Gary Nelson Jr.
2014-Billy Macedo
2015-Kyle Bakkie
2016-Jim Perry Jr.
 

Sprint Car Series Season Finale 
At Antioch Speedway Saturday Night

Antioch, CA...There's been plenty of things to talk about in the All Star Series Winged 360 Sprint Car program at Antioch Speedway this season. This has been the most ambitious schedule for this division ever booked by promoter John M. Soares. It seems to have been a success. Drivers are lining up at the gates to come make a run at the $1,200 to win, and that includes several Micro Sprint graduates among the list of 11 different winners. This Saturday night will be the 15th and final race of the season.

Last week, another grandson of legendary Contra Costa Speedway racer Johnny Franklin made an appearance. It was Colby Johnson, who has spent several seasons racing in Micro Sprints. He was only making his second ever start in a Sprint Car and he had to battle the point leader to earn the victory. However, this young man was up to the challenge as he started the evening with a heat race win. In the Main Event, he had to contend with Billy Aton, but he showed great poise in holding him off to score his first career victory. Driving like that, you would have to believe there will be more wins where that came from.

After Art McCarthy closed the championship gap to within five points of Aton, Billy needed to come up with something big. The two time Main Event winner and 2009 Wingless Spec Sprint champion gave it everything he had in an effort to grab the victory, but his second place finish keeps him in the point lead with a 7 point advantage over McCarthy with just the final race to go. Is this a big enough lead to go into protection mode? Not exactly.

The veteran McCarthy has been battling back from a non start that he had midway through the season, and he has done everything he can in recent races to overtake Aton. Art had him in his sights last week, but there was a monkey wrench in his plans as another first time Antioch Speedway visitor, Cody Hodgson, was in his path. Hodgson ran a good race, forcing McCarthy to settle for fourth. McCarthy has three wins this season and five in the last two years. Everybody knows what Art is capable of doing. Aton will have to be on his toes or he will watch McCarthy win his second Antioch Speedway championship. It should be a good race this week.

When she's been able to, Jenna Frazier has been making Sprint Car starts this season. Jenna has been competing in the Dwarf Cars and has even had some impressive moments, including her first win at Antioch earlier this season. She also showed her toughness by coming back from a hard crash in a Dwarf Car at Marysville that left her with a concussion and some bruised ribs.  On Saturday night, Jenna brought it home to a fifth place finish ahead of Aaron Miller.

A regular with the PitStopUSA.com Sprint Cars at Petaluma Speedway, Miller recently got an emotional first career Main Event victory out at Southern Oregon Speedway. In this race here, Miller also picked up a heat race win earlier in the evening.  Open Wheel veterans Wayne Katen made his second appearance of the season and finished seventh ahead of Craig Frandsen and Outlaw Kart veteran Jesse Calwell.

The championship will be on the line this Saturday night between McCarthy and Aton, and it's anybody's guess who will pull this one off. It has been the closest battle at the speedway all year. Other drivers to watch for this weekend include previous feature winner Matt Barber, Dan Gonderman, Burt Foland Jr., reigning champion Shawn Arriaga, Ricky Brophy and rookie Tim Burcher. You never know who will be coming in from out of town for a run at the $1200 prize. For further information on this and other happenings at the track, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.



2016 Antioch Winged 360 All Star Series Points


Antioch Speedway
All Star Series Points

Winged 360 Sprints
Billy Aton 642
Art McCarthy 635
Dan Gonderman 392
Burt Foland Jr. 334
Shawn Arriaga 283
Matt Barber 220
Matt DeMartini 202
Marissa Polizi 201
Rick Brophy 174
Jenna Frazer 163



Past Champions

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


Recent Feature Winners

September 17, 2016:  Colby Johnson
September 10, 2016:  Matt Barber
August 27, 2016;  Billy Aton
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

Monday, September 19, 2016

Berendsen First Antioch Speedway Win, Egleston Wins At Merced

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Berendsen Wins First Modified Feature At Antioch Speedway

Antioch, CA...September 17...Another loaded six division All Star Series racing program entertained the crowd at Antioch Speedway Saturday night, and there were several new faces in the winner's circle.  Carl Berendsen II made sure he would not be the first driver in track history to win two championships without a Main Event victory as he won the 20 lap A Modified feature.  The Winged 360 Sprint Car division saw its 11th 20 lap Main Event winner in fourth generation racer Colby Johnson, while Jeff Decker fell just short in his bid to repeat as DIRTcar Late Model champion despite his second 20 lap feature win of the season.  Nick DeCarlo was doing double duty this week, and he climbed into the Lloyd Cline B Modified for a 20 lap Main Event win.  Rookie Guy Ahlwardt used his fourth 20 lap Hobby Stock feature win to clinch the track championship, while Josh Miller won his first 20 lap Dwarf Car Main Event.

With four time champion Troy Foulger back in the Bill Bowers owned car and Duane Cleveland back to go for his second win, Carl Berendsen II picked a great night to get his fist career A Modified Main Event victory.  The win had further significance for the second generation racer as he clinched his second A Modified championship in the last three years.  Cleveland's bid for victory came up just short in second, but he managed to hold off Foulger, who is still looking for his first win of the season.  Two time reigning Petaluma champion Nick DeCarlo and Trent Wentworth rounded out the Top 5.

Troy Foulger was doing double duty in the Bowers Racing DIRTcar Late Model, and he joined Richard Papenhausen as a heat race winner.  Papenhausen's Main Event ended early, but he had enough of a point lead that he still clinched his second championship in the last three seasons.  2015 champion Jeff Decker had Foulger giving chase, but he would prevail for his second win of the season.  He gained significant ground on Papenhausen, but it wasn't quite enough to get him the track championship.  Shawn DeForest drove the House Car to a solid third place finish ahead of past champion Andy Obertello and Terry Kuntz, who was piloting the Paul Guglielmoni owned entry.

Each generation of the family that has followed Hardtop Legend Johnny Franklin has had at least one racer among them.  On Saturday night, great grandson Colby Johnson came to town with his Winged 360 Sprint Car to make a run for the money.  Johnson won a heat race along with recent Southern Oregon Speedway winner Aaron Miller.  Johnson had his hands full with point leader Billy Aton, but he drove a great race to earn his first career feature victory.  Second place finisher Aton added a few points to his slim lead over Art McCarthy in the hotly contested championship battle.  McCarthy finsihed fourth behind another newcomer, Cody Hodgson.  Jenna Frazier completed the Top 5.

Nick DeCarlo got to do double duty and had a strong night of his own in the B Modifieds.  After joining point leader Trevor Clymens in the heat winner's column, DeCarlo had to contend with Clymens in a good Main Event battle.  DeCarlo would score a well earned victory, but Clymens came that much closer to the track championship with his second place finish.  Marysville star Phillip Shelby returned to town in the hopes of winning his second Main Event, but he settled for a third a place finish ahead of two time winner K.C. Keller.  For the first time, the three Brown brothers competed against each other.  Two time Limited Late Model champion Ron Brown finsihed fifth ahead of brothers Randy Brown and Kevin Brown.

Continuing the trend of heat race winners doing well in the Main Event, Guy Ahlwardt and Frank Furtado won their heat races and battled at the front of the Hobby Stock Main Event.  Ahlwardt recently announced that he is planning a move up to the B Modified division, and he celebrated his new track championship with his fifth win of the season.  Furtado ran strong in second ahead of 2010 champion Chris Sorensen.  It's looking more likely that Lindsey Buirch will rank second in the standings following a fourth place finish ahead of Jordan Swank.

Rounding out the program were the Dwarf Cars, where one of the heat winners didn't do so well in the Main Event.  David Rosa hit the wall in the Main Event in what was a hard crash.  Fortunately, he walked away unscathed.  Josh Miller has done some traveling this season, but he returned to end the point season with an impressive victory. Chuck Connover had a solid night with a second place finish, following his heat race victory.  Kevin Miraglio wrapped up his championship season with a third place finish.  Second generation racer Preston Humphrey returned to his Dwarf Car roots and finished fourth as Buddy Kniss wrapped up his "Rookie Of The Year" season with a fifth place finish.  Like Ahlwardt, Kniss will be moving up to B Modifieds next season.

Point racing concludes next week with an exciting program of Winged 360 Sprint Cars, Wingless Spec Sprints, A Modifieds, B Modifieds, Limited Late Models and Hobby Stocks.  For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.

Unofficial Race Results
DIRTcar Late Models 
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Troy Foulger, Richard Papenhausen.  Main Event (20 Laps)-Jeff Decker, Troy Foulger, Shawn DeForest, Andy Obertello, Terry Kuntz, Dennis Souza, Travis Meyerhoff, Papenhausen, Rob Norris, Mike Hynes.

Winged 360 Sprint Cars
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Aaron Miller, Colby Johnson.  Main Event (20 Laps)-Johnson, Billy Aton, Cody Hodgson, Art McCarthy, Jenna Frazier, Miller, Wayne Katen, Craig Frandsen, Jesse Colwell.

B Modifieds
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Trevor Clymens, Nick DeCarlo,  Main Event (20 Laps)-DeCarlo, Clymens, Phillip Shelby, K.C. Keller, Ron Brown, Randy Brown, Kevin Brown, Chuck Golden, Al Johnson, Mike Mates, Shane DeVolder.

A Modifieds
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Troy Foulger, Mike Salazar.  Main Event (20 Laps)-Carl Berendsen II, Duane Cleveland, Foulger, Nick DeCarlo, Trent Wentworth, Salazar, Aaron Crowell, Sean O'Gara, Bobby Motts Jr., Bobby Montalvo, Scott Busby, Anthony Slaney, Josh Combs.

Dwarf Cars
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Chuck Connover, David Rosa.  Main Event (20 Laps)-Josh Miller, Connover, Kevin Miraglio, Preston Humphrey, Buddy Kniss, Charlie Correia, Devan Kammermann, Chris Becker, Tim Reeder, Toby Brown, David Rosa, David Michael Rosa, Timmy Ryan, Mike Corsaro (DQ).

Hobby Stock
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Guy Ahlwardt, Frank Furtado.  Main Event (20 Laps)-Ahlwardt, Furtado, Chris Sorensen, Lindsey Buirch, Jordan Swank, Joe Ridgeway, Gene Haney, Anthony Vigna, Michael Cooper, Cameron Swank, Tobi Madden.



Egleston, Ryland Return To Merced Speedway Winner's Circle

Merced, CA...September 17...On Gary Brown Memorial Youth Appreciation Night last Saturday night at Merced Speedway, children 12 and under got treated to a free night of racing.  They watched as Bill Egleston returned to the winner's circle in the 25 lap IMCA Modified Main Event.  Reigning IMCA State Sport Modified champion Fred Ryland won the that division's Main Event, while Chris Corder wrapped up an impressive Mini Stock championship season with his seventh victory.  2008 Sportsman champion Mark Odgers returned to action and won the 15 lap Main Event in that division.

A good field of 18 IMCA Modifieds came to compete on the fast quarter-mile clay oval.  Ryan Larimer started things off with a nine lap heat race win ahead of fellow rookie D.J. Shannon, who was only getting warmed up.  Bill Egleston gave people of a glimpse of what was to come with his heat race win ahead of one time feature winner Mike Villaneuva.  Point leader Randy Brown held off Late Model veteran Derek Nance to win his heat race.  Brown has been on a bit of a roll lately with four wins and three of his four second place finishes in the previous seven Main Events.  Again, Brown was in the hunt.  Meanwhile, second generation racer D.J. Shannon was making his father Chris proud as he contended for his first career feature victory.  However, 2012 champion Egleston was on a mission to get his fist victory since the third race of the season, and he was not about to be denied.  Egleston held off Shannon for the well earned victory.  Brown took another step closer to his second career championship with his third place finish.  Villanueva held off a pair of champions in Jim Pettit II and Ramie Stone for a fourth place finish.  Nance settled for seventh ahead of likely "Rookie Of The Year" Bruce Nelson, Harley Turner and Larimer.

Not to be outdone, the IMCA Sport Modified division checked in with a strong field of 19 cars.  Fred Ryland started his night off strong with a nine lap heat race win ahead of Mark Squardrito.  Veteran Gary Tucker won his heat ahead of past Pure Stock champion Andy Welch.  Rising teen star Tanner Thomas won his first career heat race and beat point leader Rick Diaz to do it.  Diaz knew he could clinch his second track championship in three seasons, but he was hungry for his seventh feature win of the season.  As fast as he was running, however, F. Ryland was just a little bit faster.  Despite missing three races, Ryland is closing in on fifth in the standings, and his fourth Main Event win of the season will gain him a few points in that effort.  Diaz is the 2016 champion following his third runnerup feature finish, and second generation racer Tanner Thomas gave his father Darren something to be proud of with his career best third place finish.  Dwarf Car graduate Chuck Weir finished fourth as Josh Hensley had one of his best finishes in fifth.  Tucker, Welch, Paul Espino, second ranked Mike Drake and Patti Ryland completed the Top 10 at the checkered flag of the 20 lap race.

The Mini Stocks wrapped up their season with a car count that needed two heat races.  Paul Lauretti held off point leader Chris Corder to win his heat as Erik Moody made his first visit and won the second heat ahead of the truck of Tony Peffer.  Lauretti was hoping to complete his second place point season with his first feature win.  Unfortunately, there aren't too many racers who can beat Chris Corder when he's running strong.  Corder drove to his seventh Main Event win and hurt his motor in the process.  Lauretti was a season best second ahead of another great effort by second generation racer Lucy Falkenberg in third.  Rookie Destiny Carter held on to her third place point status in the Corder Racing entry by finishing fourth in the 20 lap Main Event ahead of Peffer, Moody, Curtis Thornhill, Jason Womack and Tony Miranda.

2008 Sportsman champion Mark Odgers only runs selected races in his Vern Willhoite tribute car, but he is fast when he's there.  Odgers held off new champion Kenny Birdsong to win the eight lap heat race.  Odgers continued that momentum by scoring his second Main Event win of the season to leap into fifth in the final standings.  Jeff Bristow had his third second place feature finish ahead of Birdsong, two time division champion Mike Friesen and Shannon Fry.

Point racing concludes this Saturday night with the special Matt and Glass Fight Against Cancer: Matt Van Hoecke Memorial race.  It's Championship Night for the IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds and Hobby Stocks and the Hobby Stocks will run for double points.  For further information, go to www.racemerced.com.


Morton, Yawnick Score Wins At Siskiyou Motor Speedway

Yreka, CA...September 17......As the season winds down at Siskiyou Motor Speedway, there are still some championships to be decided and racers looking to add their names to the winner's column.  On Saturday night, young Dwarf Car ace Kalvin Morton won his first 25 lap O'Reilly Auto Parts IMCA Sport Modified Main Event in only his third start.  In McDonald's Mini Stocks, point leader Marilyn Yawnick served a reminder to the competition that she came to win her first championship as she held off reigning champion David Steele for her fourth victory.

Kalvin Morton's win in the Sport Modified 25 lap Main Event makes him the 13th different winner.  Colton Cheffey had his sights set on win #4 and looked like he was going to make it happen.  To highlight just how good Cheffey is, he won both of his eight lap heat races and the four lap Trophy Dash ahead of reigning champion Colter Boswell in all three races.  It seemed likely that the Main Event would be his as well.  Morton won a heat race ahead of point leader Jimmy Lipke.  Come Main Event time, Morton set a blistering pace and scored the win by half a lap.  Cheffey still finished second ahead of Doug Franklin.  Lipke protected his point lead with a fourth place finish ahead of heat race winner D.J. Bottoms, Randy Wright, Garrett Hamilton, Jack Waldon III, David Henshaw and Colter Boswell.

Marilyn Yawnick's fourth 25 lap Mini Stock Main Event win might have come out of nowhere.  Like the Sport Modifieds, the drivers got to run a pair of eight lap heat races, and this led to four winners, including Mike Colson, Michael Johnson, David Steele and Terry Kendrick.  Aaron Jorgensen won the four lap Trophy Dash.  Yawnick's best preliminary effort of the night was a third in a heat race, but she saved the best for last in the Main Event.  With a driver as fast as Steele on your back bumper, you have to run a smooth race.  Yawnick scored the win, but Steele was a very close second.  It is interesting to note that Yawnick's three previous wins also came with Steele a close second.  Killingsworth maintained his hold on second in the standings with a close third place finish as Aaron Jorgensen was a season best fourth.  Colson continued a solid night with a fifth place finish ahead of Dan Borror, Mike Frost, Randy Simmons, Mike Whitaker and Dennis Jorgensen.

Racing season closes with the big $3000 to win IMCA Modified race this Saturday night.  It is the Rod Restad Memorial race, which honors the beloved former promoter of the track.  O'Reilly Auto Parts IMCA Sport Modifieds and McDonald's Mini Stocks are also on the schedule in what should be a great night of racing.  For further information, go to www.siskiyoumotorspeedway.com