Thursday, July 26, 2018

Antioch Speedway, Merced Speedway, Ocean Speedway, Petaluma Speedway, Orland Raceway, More

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Chadwick, Papenhausen, Cooper Win At Antioch Speedway

Antioch, CA...July 21...Kellen Chadwick won the 20 lap All Star Series A Modified Main Event Saturday night at Antioch Speedway. He started back in the fifth row and had a little bit of luck on his side. Dwarf Car star Danny Wagner grabbed the lead on the second lap and proceeded to pull away while Trevor Clymens and Nick DeCarlo had a good battle going for second. Chadwick caught that battle by lap 11 and raced underneath both drivers to gain second on lap 13. A yellow flag slowed the pace moments later, but Wagner pulled ahead on the restart. It seemed to be smooth sailing for Wagner until mechanical issues arose as he stalled in Turn 4 on lap 17. Chadwick had the lead on the restart and led the rest of the way for the win. DeCarlo finished second ahead of Trent Wentworth, Chris Sieweke and Bobby Motts Jr.

Two-time champion Richard Papenhausen scored his second 20 lap DIRTcar Late Model Main Event win of the season. Papenhausen led from the outset, and point leader Jeff Decker moved into second on lap two. However, Papenhausen set a good pace and won comfortably ahead of Decker, Shawn DeForest, Rod Oliver and Kimo Oreta.

Mike Walko had some luck on his side in scoring his third 20 lap Limited Late Model Main Event win. After winning his heat race, championship contender Mark Garner bolted out ahead at the start and set a blistering pace. By lap seven, Garner could see the battle for second ahead of him, but a broken rear axle would slow his pace on lap nine. Remarkably, Garner continued to lead the way as Walko led the rest of the pack behind him. Walko caught Garner by lap 13, but it wasn't until lap 17 when he made the pass on the inside down the front straightaway. The yellow flag flew for Garner in Turn 1. Walko led the rest of the way, and Mike Gustafson was a close second, followed by Kimo Oreta and Ryan Cherezian.

Michael Cooper posted his fourth Hobby Stock feature win of the season. Bob Brown made a surprise appearance and raced into the early lead ahead of Cooper. Cooper made an inside pass on the front stretch on lap nine to take the lead, and point leader Chris Sorensen moved past Brown for second on lap 12. A yellow flag flew moments later, but Cooper bolted ahead on the restart. Cooper pulled away just a little bit for the win, and Sorensen out-dueled Cameron Swank for second. Brown and Jimmy Robbins rounded out the Top 5.

Terry DeCarlo picked up the victory in the 15 lap Bay Area Hardtop Main Event. Jason Armstrong jumped into the early lead, and DeCarlo followed him in second as the lead two cars pulled away from third place Ron Ruiz. As they caught a slower car on lap 11, DeCarlo made his move around Armstrong for the lead in Turn 3. DeCarlo led the remaining four laps and Armstrong settled for second, followed by Ruiz, John Soares and Joe Shenefield.

Racing continues next Saturday night with the Winged 360 Sprint Cars and Wingless Spec Sprints headlining the show along with A Modifieds, Hobby Stocks and Dwarf Cars. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.

Antioch Speedway All Star Series
Unofficial Race Results
A Modifieds
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Chris Sieweke, Bobby Motts Jr. Main Event (20 laps)-Kellen Chadwick, Nick DeCarlo, Trent Wentworth, Chris Sieweke, Bobby Motts Jr, Trevor Clymens, Danny Wagner, Sean Wilson, Sean O'Gara, Danny Dozier, Anthony Slaney, Mikey Slaney NS.

DIRTcar Late Models
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Rod Oliver, Jeff Decker. Main Event (20 Laps)-Richard Papenhausen, Jeff Decker, Shawn DeForest, Rod Oliver, Kimo Oreta, Mike Hynes, Rob Norris.

Limited Late Models
Heat Winner (8 laps)-Mark Garner. Main Event (20 laps)-Mike Walko, Mike Gustafson, Kimo Oreta, Ryan Cherezian, Mark Garner, John Evans NS, Terry DeCarlo NS.

Hobby Stocks
Heat Winners (8 laps)-Chris Sorensen, Bob Brown. Main Event (20 laps)-Michael Cooper, Chris Sorensen, Cameron Swank, Bob Brown, Jimmy Robbins, Anthony Wellborn, Breanna Troen, Ed Letterman, Mike Matheson, Chris Brown, Brad Myers.

Bay Area Hardtops
Heat Winners (8 laps)-Dave Mackey, Terry DeCarlo. Main Event (15 laps)-Terry DeCarlo, Jason Armstrong, Ron Ruiz, John Soares, Joe Shenfield, Steve Cloyes, Gene Haney, Dave Mackey NS, Dave Reed NS.


Sprint Cars Back At Antioch Speedway Saturday Night

Antioch, CA...The Sprint Cars are coming back to Antioch Speedway this Saturday night. The All Star Series Winged 360 Sprint Cars and Wingless Spec Sprints will be racing along with the A Modifieds, Hobby Stocks and Dwarf Cars. It's a program that is sure to offer lots of excitement for the fans.

We are five races into the All Star Series Winged 360 Sprint Car season, but a familiar name sits atop the point ladder. It's two-time reigning champion Art McCarthy. McCarthy was struggling after a rough start last season, but he rallied late to get that championship. This year, he is still without a feature win, but he leads Matt DeMartini by 26 points and Tim Butcher by 30 points. While McCarthy has two third place finishes as his season best efforts, DeMartini has won twice.

Burcher has been making all the races this year, but he's still struggling to get things dialed in. Though he raced a bit last year, this is essentially still his rookie season. He has a 40 point advantage over David Dias in the race for third, while 2016 champion Billy Aton is 44 points behind him. Aton is a feature winter this year, and the two other Main Events have been won by past Watsonville champion Brad Furr and multi time Marysville champion Colby Wiesz. With the money on the line, you never know who will show up at Antioch from week to week in this class to go for the win.

One of the drivers going for the win in the Wingless Spec Sprint division is point leader and 2004 champion Bob Newberry. They call him "Racin" Bob Newberry, and he's driven just about everything through the years. He's a past Top 5 driver in both Street Stocks and A Modifieds at Antioch, and he also has a Spec Sprint championship at Silver Dollar Speedway. Newberry has set his sights on the Antioch Speedway championship. With four wins to his credit so far along with two seconds, Newberry leads Shannon Newton by 51 points.

Newton has been around for a few seasons, but this has been a breakthrough year for him. He has scored one feature win and three second place finishes, giving him a 15 point lead over long time division supporter Roy Fisher. Fisher usually gets a win just about every season, but his highest finish so far this year is a pair of thirds. Roy has been through some tough moments at the speedway through the years, but he always comes back and has the respect of his fellow competitors. He only leads Brandon Burd by eight points in a close battle for third.

Scott Martin has quietly moved into fifth in the standings, eight points ahead of James East. Martin has a pair of Top 5 finishes and seems to be on the verge of his first win. Other drivers to watch for in this the 20th season for this division at Antioch Speedway include two-time winner Alan Miranda, McKenzie Newton and Kevin Box.

The battle for the A Modified championship is heating up with the weather. When he opened up the point season with a pair of victories and added two more later on, Two-time Petaluma and one-time Watsonville champion Nick DeCarlo issued notice to the competition that he came to win that elusive Antioch Speedway championship. However, there's one driver standing in his way, and people tend to forget that he's racked up some impressive credentials through the years as well.

Just two points behind DeCarlo is reigning champion Bobby Motts Jr. Motts is also a past Street Stock champion at the speedway, and even if he hasn't won a Main Event yet this year, he has three seconds, two thirds and another three Top 5 finishes to his credit. Motts finished fifth last week, while DeCarlo was second. Factoring in his heat race win, Motts was able to keep the distance between he and DeCarlo to just two points. Though he hasn't won yet this year, Bobby is capable of striking at anytime.

Both drivers might be breathing a sigh of relief that Kellen Chadwick isn't chasing his second Antioch Speedway championship. Kellen won his third Main Event of the season last week and also has three runner-up finishes. Despite missing some races, he still only trails Sean O'Gara in the race for third by just 38 points. If Kellen is there this week, he will be tough to beat. Depending on baseball scheduling, top rookie Buddy Kniss could be back to try to keep his Top 5 point position. Kniss is only 14 points ahead of Trent Wentworth, who is coming off of a strong third place finish last week. Other drivers to watch for include David Zeiter, Raymond Lindeman and Sean Wilson.

Chris Sorensen continues his march towards his second Antioch Speedway Hobby Stock championship. With five wins his credit, Sorensen now holds a commanding 98 point lead over Michael Cooper in the championship battle. The problem with trying to catch Sorensen is that even when he's not winning, he is still in contention with five seconds and three thirds. Case in point, Cooper has gone nine races without a feature win, but he finally grabbed his fourth victory of the season last week. Finishing second to him was Sorensen. Without any bad luck happening to the #00 of Sorensen, he will be tough to beat as he is as fast as anybody on the track.

Speaking of fast, Cameron Swank was grabbing yet another podium finish last week in third. Swank now has four wins and four second place finishes to his credit. With these three drivers in the lineup, a Top 3 finish for anybody else in the field can almost be considered a victory. Swank is within 41 points of Cooper for second. Billy Garner is holding down fourth, but fellow one-time feature winner John Wacht is closing in fast, 28 points behind him. Garner has been dealing with motor issues in recent weeks. Wacht holds a commanding lead of nearly 100 points over Breanna Troen in the rookie battle.

What's nice about the Hobby Stock division is there are still some really good drivers lurking out there who show up from time to time. Case in point, past Hobby Stock champion Brad Myers and longtime Antioch Speedway competitors Bob Brown and Jim Robbins were all racing last week. Brown and Robbins we're renewing their old Figure 8 rivalry, and Brown held off Robbins for the fourth place finish. Robbins was wheeling the Anthony Vigna car. Other racers to watch for this week include Haley Gomez, Anthony Wellborn, Josh Leach and Joe Ridgeway.

The Dwarf Car division gets ready for their 10th point event of the season. Counting the non-point race in January, reigning champion Mike Corsaro leads the drivers with four feature wins along with three seconds. Cosaro's lead over David Michael Rosa is now 74 points. Rosa finally added his name to the Winner's List with a pair of victories, which has helped put him 20 points ahead of Mario Marquez in the race for second in the standings.

Like Rosa, Marquez was another one of those drivers knocking on the door to victory. He had a second at the fourth race this year, but he picked up the win in the most recent race and held off Corsaro to do it. The next close battle on the point list is for fourth, which is currently occupied by Street Stock legend David Rosa by 23 points ahead of Chris Becker and 26 points ahead of Troy Stevenson. Other drivers to watch for this week include 2010 champion Jerry Doty, ageless veteran Charlie Correia, Lonnie Tekaat and Tony Carmignani.

Racing this Saturday night Antioch Speedway should be good with this five division line up on the card to entertain the fans. Taking the cue from the Sharpshooter Series that was put out there for the B Modified division, the Lone Wolf Tournament has been added for the A Modifieds. The first event will happen Saturday night.  For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.


Weir scores controversial win at Merced Speedway

Merced, CA...July 21...Chuck Weir picked up his first 25 lap IMCA Sport Modified Main Event win of the season Saturday night at Merced Speedway. It all came down to a controversial final lap. Cody Parker set the early pace with Weir running second. A low pass in the second turn of the ninth lap gained Weir the lead. Chris Falkenberg had already settled into third and began reeling in the lead two cars. An inside pass in Turn 3 of the tenth lap put Falkenberg into second, and the battle was on for the lead. For the next 14 laps, Weir was protecting the bottom groove and holding the lead. When Weir left the door open just a bit entering the final turn, Falkenberg raced underneath. There was contact between the two cars, Weir got sideways and Falkenberg sped to the checkered flag as the apparent winner. Weir crossed the line in second. Track officials deemed Falkenberg's pass to be just a bit too aggressive and disqualified him from the finish, giving Weir the victory. Bruce Nelson had charged from the seventh row to make a late pass on Parker for what became a second place finish. Parker settled for third, followed by Jeremy Hoff, Chase Thomas, Danny Roe, Kelly Wilkinson, Tanner Thomas, Mark Odgers and Nick Tucker. Tanner Thomas, Jarrod Mounce and Hoff picked up eight lap heat race wins.

In contrast to the Sport Modifieds, Ryan Porter won a drama free 30 lap IMCA Modified Main Event. After the race had a complete restart, it was destined to go non-stop to the checkered flag. Porter raced past Jarod Fast for the lead on lap two with Jeff Streeter settling in the second. Multi time champion Paul Stone moved into third on lap 10. As Porter pulled away just a little bit, Stone battled Streeter for second. Porter took the checkered flag about a straightaway ahead of Streeter and Stone for his first win of the season. Point leader Darrell Hughes II finished fourth, followed by Justin Villanueva, Brian Pearce, Ramie Stone, DJ Shannon, Fast and Tim Cecil. Ramie Stone, Hughes and Shannon were the eight lap heat race winners.

Point leader Kodie Dean picked up his seventh 30 Hobby Stock Main Event win. Dean took the lead from Kalob Shelton on a lap four restart and never looked back. Shelton held the second spot until an inside pass and Turn 1 of the 14th lap gained last starter Austin Van Hoff the position. Van Hoff briefly moved up and ran a couple of side by side laps with Dean before Dean pulled away for the win. Van Hoff settled for second, followed by Shelton, Shannon Nelsen, Marshall Weaver, Kristie Shearer, Jeff Lacy, Race Shelton and Robbie Loquaci. Weaver and Dean were the eight lap heat race winners.

Dan Myrick made his first visit to Merced Speedway and left with a 20 lap Mini Stock Main Event win. Lee Ragsdale raced into the early lead with Tyler Jackson in close pursuit. Myrick gained third on lap three and began to reel in the lead two cars. Myrick made a Turn 4 pass on Jackson for second on lap 13 and made an outside pass on the backstretch on lap 18 to take the lead from Ragsdale. Myrick went on to win, followed closely by Ragsdale, Jackson, Shawn DePriest, point leader Allen Neal, Kevin Lockerby, Jeff Durant, Bryant Desaire, Joe Terry and Devin Bolton. Myrick, DePriest and Ryan Doglione picked up their respective eight lap heat race wins.

Merced Speedway enters a two-week summer break, but racing returns with Legend's Night on August 11th. The Valley Sportsman division will take center stage along with Hobby Stocks, BCRA Midget Lites, California Sharp Mini Late Models and a special appearance by The Legends of Kearney Bowl Super Modifieds. For further information, go to www.racemerced.com.


Copeland Wins Howard Kaeding Classic At Ocean Speedway

Watsonville, CA...July 21... Colby Copeland captured the $5,000 prize with his victory in the 8th Annual Howard Kaeding Classic Saturday night at Ocean Speedway. Copeland led every lap aboard the Larry Antaya owned Goodguys Rod & Custom Association Maxim to win the King of the West/NARC Fujitsu Sprint Car Series race.

Copeland charged into the lead at the start ahead of Chase Johnson and Shane Golobic. The leaders were in heavy traffic by lap eight, and slight contact between Michael "Buddy" Kofoid and Golobic sent Golobic spinning in Turn 2 for a lap ten caution flag. Copeland continued to lead on the restart as Kofoid made an inside pass on Johnson for second. 11th starter Bud Kaeding dove down on the inside and made the pass on Johnson for third in Turn 1 of the 12th lap. Moments later, contact sent Matthew Dumesny flipping in Turn 4. Copeland continued to lead Kofoid on restart, but an inside pass on the backstretch on lap 17 gained Kaeding second. Kaeding chased Copeland the rest of the way, but even a restart with one lap to go was not enough to stop Copeland from winning the 30 lap race. Johnson settled for third, followed by series point leader Kyle Hirst, DJ Netto, Marcus Dunesny, Shane Golobic, Brad Furr, Mitchell Faccinto and Dustin Golobic.

There were 31 competitors for this event, and Kofoid set the fastest time of 11.681, beating the 11.809 of Shane Golobic. Ten lap heat race wins went to Hirst, Copeland, Kaeding and Friday night Civil War race winner Tanner Thorson. Sean Watts was the surprise winner of the six lap Trophy Dash, followed by Copeland. The remainder of the 22 car Main Event field was made up by the top finishers of the 15 lap B Main. Justin Sanders won that race, followed by Nathan Rolfe, Kyle Offill, Jeremy Chisum and Bobby McMahon.

Bobby Hogge IV won the 25 lap IMCA Modified Main Event. This was the fourth win of the season for the six time track champion. Hogge started back in the fifth row, and when he got to the front of the pack, he had to deal with another past champion, Brian Cass. However, Hogge was up to the challenge as he won by a few car lengths ahead of Cass. Andy Obertello was a close third, followed by Robert Marsh, Steven Hopf, point leader Cody Burke, Jeff McCoun, Jacob Pace, Anthony Copeland and Raymond Keldsen Jr. Austin Burke and Marsh won eight lap heat races.

Andrew Peckham scored the victory in the 20 lap IMCA Sport Modified Main Event. Peckham started in the third row, but 2015 State champion Fred Ryland made a charge from the fifth row. Ryland gave Peckham all the pressure he could handle, but he was up to the task in scoring a hard-earned win. Reigning Antioch Speedway champion KC Keller was a strong third, followed by Aaron Crowell, Chase Alves, Adrian Frost, Guy Ahlwardt, Kenny Shrader, Anthony Giuliani and Justin McPherson. McPherson, Giuliani and Gomez won the eight lap heat races.

Racing continues next Friday night with the Taco Bravo Sprint Cars, IMCA Sport Modifieds, American Stocks, Police N Pursuit cars and a special appearance by the IMCA RaceSaver 305 Sprint Cars. For further information, go to www.racepmg.com.


Thorson Wins Civil War Sprint Car Race At Ocean Speedway

Watsonville, CA...July 20...Tanner Thorson scored the victory in the 30 lap Civil War Sprint Car Main Event Friday night at Ocean Speedway. This was night #1 of the Howard Kaeding Classic, and it was a shootout event between the Civil War and local Taco Bravo Sprint Car Series. Thorson had to battle with Sprint Car Challenge Tour point leader Kyle Hirst throughout the night. He scored the victory in the first eight lap heat race, but Hirst set the fast time standard of 11.467 on the quarter-mile clay oval.

The six lap Trophy Dash set up the front four rows for the Main Event, and Hirst picked up the win with Thorson in pursuit about a half straightaway behind in second. The battle continued in the Main Event, but the tenacious Thorson was able to hold off Hirst down the stretch and grab the victory. Justin Sanders was a very close third, just ahead of two-time track champion Shane Gobibic. Michael "Buddy" Kofoid settled for fifth, followed by Tanner Carrick, DJ Netto, Koen Shaw, Tim Kaeding and Kyle Offill.

There were 28 drivers on hand, and Hirst's fast time of 11.467 was barely quicker than the 11.546 of Netto. In addition to the Dash win for Hirst and heat win for Thorson, the other three heat race wins went to King of the West/NARC legend Brent Kaeding, Ocean Speedway point leader Brad Furr and Offill. The remaining competitors ran a 12 lap B Main, and Jeremy Chisum scored an impressive win over Tim Kaeding, Jason Chisum, Dustin Freitas and Vaughn Schott.

IMCA Sport Modified State point leader Austin Manzella turned in a stellar performance in winning the 20 lap Main Event. Manzella had a second row start for the race and wasted little time getting the lead. However, he had his hands full in the waning laps with 2015 State champion Fred Ryland coming from the sixth row to mount a serious challenge. Manzella managed to take the checkered flag with Ryland and Austin Williams in close pursuit. Kevin Johnson finished fourth, followed by Andrew Peckham, Todd Gomez, point leader Jim DiGiovanni, Chase Alves, Adrian Frost and Igor Grandzuk. Frost, Williams and Manzella picked up eight lap heat race wins as there were 19 competitors on hand.

JC Elrod grabbed the 20 lap American Stock Main Event win ahead of Lompoc visitor Jacob Jones. This was his second win of the season as the third ranked driver keeps his championship hopes alive. Point leader Matt Kile was a strong third, followed by Joe Gallaher, Mike Calhoun, Merced Speedway regular Kristie Shearer, Tom Cline, Larry Roberson, reigning champion Rob Gallaher and Norm Ayers. Rob Gallaher and Elrod won eight lap heat races, but Gallaher fell out of the Main Event on the 13th lap.

The closest finish of the night occurred in the South Bay Dwarf Car 20 lap Main Event. In a battle of the champions, two time champ Terre Rothweiler won a photo finish ahead of the reigning champion, Cameron Diatte. Championship hopeful Zach Price was a close third ahead of Gene Punky" Pires, Kyle Jones, Trafton Chandler, Eddie Claesson, Mack Acevez, Eric Wiesler and Justin McKenna. Price and Chandler each scored wins in their respective eight lap heat races.


Schutte, Ensign Win At Petaluma Speedway

Petaluma, CA...July 21...The Bay Cities Racing Association was back at Petaluma Speedway for a shootout race with the United States Auto Club Midgets. It was also a special occasion for the BCRA. It was the annual London Bash. Five people were inducted into the BCRA Hall of Fame at the picnic before the races. Joining the Midgets on the program for the night where the PitStopUSA.com Winged Sprint Cars, Jake's Performance Hobbies Mini Stocks and Santa Rosa Auto Body 600 Micros.

Alex Schutte scored the victory in the 30 lap BCRA Midget Main Event. Schutte took up pursuit of early leader David Prickett before making his winning move on lap 15. Prickett fell back as far as fourth, but he made a rally and just barely beat Michael Faccinto back to the line in a photo finish for second. Reigning BCRA champion Maria Cofer was a solid fourth, followed by Frankie Guerrini, Robbie Josett, Geoff Ensign, Randi Pankratz, CJ Sarna and Kyle Beilman.

Clayton Ruston paced the 21 car field in qualifying with a quick lap of 15.339. Schutte turned a 15.428 for second quick. The three eight lap heat races were won by the Faccinto, Guerrini and Daniel Anderson. This season's BCRA Hall of Fame class includes Don Meacham, Chuck Stevenson, Rick Holbrook, Peggy Holbrook and John Mosekian.

Geoff Ensign drove the Ted Finkenbinder owned Sprinter to the victory in the 25 lap PitStopUSA.com Winged 360 Sprint Car Main Event. Ensign is the reigning track champion, and he led all the way in victory. However, he had to withstand some serious pressure from both John Clark and Klint Simpson in a close finish at the checkered flag. For Clark, second was his best finish of the season. Brett Rollag finished fourth, followed by DJ Freitas, Bradley Terrell, Justin Henry, Colby Johnson, Brent Bjork and Jake Haulot. Clark was the fast qualifier with a lap of 13.699. Terrell, Freitas and Henry were the eight lap heat race winners.

Dave Spindell scored the victory in the 20 lap Jake's Performance Hobbies Mini Stock Main Event. In the process, Spindell became the first two-time winner of the season. Championship contender Tom Brown was also going for his second win of the year, and he kept it close all the way to the checkered flag in second. Previous winner, Jeremy Tjensvold, was a distant third, followed by Roy Dearing, Kelly Campanile, Danny Manzoni, Aiden Avila, Sophie Shelley, Randy Miramontez and Mike Cover. Tjensvold and Spindell were the six lap heat race winners.

David Engstrom won the crash shortened nine lap Santa Rosa Auto Body 600 Micro Main Event. Engstrom and George Nielsen were in the midst of a battle when the caution flag came out after 9 laps. Young Cody Gray finished third, followed by Brian Slubik and Justin Adiego. There was a lengthy red flag during the race for a nasty flip involving Rick Cook. Fortunately, he was okay. Cook picked up a six lap heat race win earlier in the evening. Slubik and Nielsen were the other heat winners.

Racing continues next Saturday night with a special $3,000 to win offering for the PitStopUSA.com Winged 360 Sprint Cars. The PitStopUSA.com Wingless Spec Sprints will be there along with the McLea's Tire Service IMCA Modifieds and General Hydroponics Redwood Dwarf Cars. For further information, go to www.petaluma-speedway.com.


Sport Modifieds Part Of Exciting Lineup At Orland Raceway

Orland, CA...Orland Raceway has an exciting night planned for this Saturday. The popular Sport Modified division will be back for their second appearance. Also in the lineup will be the Pure Stocks, Mini Stocks, Mini Trucks and 250 Micro Sprints.

They call him Mr Controversy, but Jerry Bartlett has been doing everything he can to help get support for this weekend's Sport Mod race. Bartlett is a past Pure Stock champion at Orland, and he considers this to be his home track. The last time the Sport Modifieds were here a little over a month ago, there were a dozen cars. Local hero Jake Van Tol scored the popular win, but his return to defend that victory is still in question.

The drivers will be competing for $350 to win, and purse money continues to increase as various people have chipped in to ensure a better payout throughout the field. Bartlett has confirmed that he will be there as well as Sean Hulsey and Chris Sieweke. After paying a visit to Southern Oregon Speedway last week and scoring an impressive win, Tyler Rogers plans to be there as well.

Last time out, we saw all three Merritt family Sport Modifieds, which included current Marysville point leader Damian Merritt, fourth-ranked Mike Merritt and rookie Hunter Merritt. Hunter is a multi time Mini Stock feature winner at Orland in recent years. The Sport Modifieds put on a crowd-pleasing show last time, and Saturday night should be no different.

The Pure Stock championship battle continues to be close between 2015 champion Paul Stevens and reigning champion Jeremy Langenderfer. Less than 20 points separate Stevens from second place Langenderfer. Stevens has been the model of consistency this season with six Top 3 finishes in seven starts. Langenderfer actually has four wins, but bad finishes in the third and fourth races are what's keeping him out of the lead. He won last time out in a good race with Stevens. Third ranked Steve Martin had the lead in that race, only to suffer a mechanical problem and come to a stop in Turn 2. Martin is in a good battle with Amanda McAbel for third, and there are less than ten points between them. Other drivers to watch for this week include John Camper, Jason Matlock, Thomas Pavlik and Marysville point leader Shannon Collins.

We are five races into the Mini Stock season, and three-time winner Barbara Crain sits atop the point standings by nine tallies ahead of the tied Sean Perry and Tom Davis. Perry is still looking for his first win of the season, but the reigning champion Davis has one victory. Both drivers are fast, but Crain has been just a bit faster this year. Other drivers to watch for this week include Jason Libbee, two-time champion John Kirkpatrick, one-time feature winner Paul Stevens and Scott Camper.

With a pair of victories, reigning Mini Truck champion Keith Ross continues to increase his lead as he attempts to defend his spot atop the Mini Truck point list. The consistent William Fogle is in a good battle with Justin Vance for second in the standings. Vance gained the position with a season-best second place finish last time out, but it's still close between the two. Other drivers to watch for include Kevin Kvalik, Rocky Wagner and two-time feature winner Dan Webster.

Rounding out the program will be the 250 Micro Sprint division. James Barnes and Pax Gonzalez are having a nip and tuck battle at the top of the point list. Gonzalez has been doing it with consistency while Barnes is a two-time feature winner. Other drivers to watch for this week include Michael McCarthy, one-time winner Alex Fowler, Ronnie Heyer and Zack Webster.

It's going to be a great night of racing in Orland this Saturday night. The track also has some big events coming as the season enters its stretch run. For further information, look for the Orland Raceway Facebook page.


The Editor's Viewpoint

Well, I made it to the one-week break, and what am I doing? Working on racing stuff. I have things to finish up for the track up here, plus a couple of big races that need information out there now. Plus, the articles for the various other tracks I still cover are not going to write themselves. And, I have something for the Jefferson Racing News site that's been waiting to be released for the last couple of months.

I've got a few things on my mind, and the original column that I had written for here will have to wait. Probably for the best as I was a bit grumpy once again. Not even sure I would have published that column here anyway. In any case, Here we go...

Hall of Fame Night. It's been something very much on my mind as of late as the greats that we've all watched through the years pass away. I wonder why certain tracks don't have a Hall of Fame. It makes no sense to me. I know one of the first arguments people make, because I've seen it made with the San Jose Speedway Hall of Fame. There are other arguments to make in that track's case, and that would take this whole column. I'm going to speak to one specific argument. Where are you going to put the building? This one applies to all of the tracks that are still out there.

You can get bogged down real easy on that little discussion. Where are you going to put the building? How much money do you think we have to spend on this? That's my first answer. You want to know where the building is? You go there every Saturday night, or in the case of some tracks, Friday nights. That is your damn building. Petaluma Speedway is your Hall of Fame. Merced Speedway is your Hall of Fame. Antioch Speedway is your Hall of Fame. Get the picture? You celebrate there. You can put a display up there. A lot of people attend those tracks and don't realize the history that has taken place through those gates.

I tried to start a Hall of Fame at Antioch Speedway in 1999. I was very serious about this. I had a list of a dozen names that I was ready to see inducted, and I didn't come up with those names all by myself. There were several longtime competitors that I took input from. You see, that's another argument. Who makes these decisions? I'll give you an answer. The people who have been around there make the decision, but you don't need a bunch of people in the middle of it either. No, I'm not saying I should be the arbitrator of this. A voice in the discussion? Sure.

I had this list after discussing this idea with several longtime competitors. We got that far. I had people willing to sponsor this effort with a picnic before the races at Antioch Speedway. In my research at the Antioch library as I was just about wrapping up all of the season research to get my win totals, the librarian hit me with another bit of information. That display case going in and out of the library could have been ours for a month. So, these things were all happening. I think it was after attending the BCRA London Bash Hall of Fame Picnic at the Antioch Fairgrounds in 1999 that I decided that we should do this too. So, when 2000 rolled around, I was ready for this.

I'll probably get into rehashing some stuff that you may have read in my book if you've gotten yourself a copy of it. And if not, I went to John with this list. There were a couple of names on there that he didn't like. I disagree with his opinions there, but that wasn't what was going to hold me up. What I needed was John's approval as this tied in with the race track. Were I going to do a Hall of Fame off of the track, I would have just done it. But the idea was to do something that honored past greats and helped the race track. I waited for John to give me an answer, and he gave me none. Things were kind of going In a not-so-good direction for me at Antioch for reasons I won't get into here. It's in my book, and I'm not in the mood to rehash. Suffice it to say, The Hall of Fame stopped there.

Nobody picked up the ball. I'm dumbfounded by that. The greats start passing away, and you wish they could have been honored. I was at the Antioch Fairgrounds when I heard about Dennis Furia. I even wrote something about him on one of the sites I had. Pops Soares passed away and Barky. And so many others. Still no Hall of Fame. You can say the same about Merced Speedway or Petaluma Speedway. Why didn't anybody pick up the ball and run with it? Merced people talked about it for a while, and occasionally somebody might say something in Antioch. That's as far as it went.

I reentered the picture at Antioch Speedway and started talking about this idea again. When I spoke with Jim Robbins about it, he was all for it. We'd have these great discussions about who should go in and the good times and all of that. In fact, I know Jim would have been there working to help get this thing started if we were able to put it all in motion then. John Is John. I think he likes the idea, but he's waiting for somebody to step up and show him. Mike Adeskaveg was there at the time. What did I get from him? We need a monument. Where's the Hall of Fame going to be? Same old stuff that keeps it from happening. I also got, who is JD Willis? At that point, his opinion became null and void to me. You get points for knowing Scott Busby, but then again, Scott was still racing. If you really are a racing journalist, you make an effort to learn the history. Who am I to say that? Somebody who's moved up to Oregon and endeavored to learn more history of the track that I'm covering and the area beyond. Then again, I'm a damn relic.

About the time Doug Williams came in to revitalize Merced Speedway for John, he was pulling out a lot of ideas. Doug gets it. Doug is my kind of promoter. He knows how much history Merced Speedway has, and there was Hall of Fame talk. He started Legends Night. This was the precursor to what would become a Hall of Fame, maybe? Doug has since moved on from the track, and Ed Parker was discussing the possibility. Then, we lost Ed. Damn do I hurt for Merced Speedway right now.

I'm a bit sentimental sometimes. I'm an emotional person. At the little track with our Outlaw Kart program up here last weekend, I'm taking pictures of the winners. Everything is going so fast, that I'm not even paying attention. My camera wasn't working and I had to use the camera phone. Anyway, I get behind the bleachers and I'm looking at this picture that I snapped of one of the little boys who held up one of the framed certificates that I passed out for our Top 3 finishers. The smile on this kid's face melted my heart. I started crying. This is why I do it. The passion and love for the sport. It's certainly not the payday, because I lost my home partially because I dove into racing and never figured out what to do with my life other than that.

On Legends Night 2014, I believe, I'm looking at pictures and who is the guy interviewing the old legends on the track? None other than Johnny Sass. Yeah, Johnny, the voice of Merced Speedway. I started crying that day too. Johnny is a hero of mine, but he's also a guy that did so much for that race track to help promote it. And, damn it, he deserves to be in the Merced Speedway Hall of Fame. Now! Dennis Moomjean? Now! Get the picture? I'm not even sure of the status of Legends Night right now given what's going on down there, but if it's happening, somebody get the ball rolling, please. Just take the ball and run with it. You know the names. There are a lot of them, so you can't get them all now. But then again, there's always next year. Johnny, Dennis, George Steitz, Vern Willhoite, Ted Stofle, Rod Poor, Jack Oldenhage. That's where you start.

Watsonville Speedway started a Hall of Fame. There was no haggling over where the building was going to be. It just happened to be that at the tail end of Rick Farren's run as promoter, it all fell by the wayside. But, it can happen. Somebody needs to pick up the ball and run with it. Find the names of the inductees that are already in, and add to it. Watsonville should have a Watsonville Speedway Hall of Fame, and I would bet that John Prentice would be keen on doing it if approached by Watsonville people who know the history. Anybody want to pick up the ball there?

Petaluma Speedway. I think people are oblivious to the history of that race track. It amazes me. Its history ran right along the lines of Antioch Speedway, but there's even more history in the 1950s at that place. You would be surprised. But, maybe there's this perception that nothing is as special there as it was at other places? I don't know. But I do know it's worthy. I do believe Rick Faeth is a guy who will jump on this idea and run with it if he had some help. He seems like a promoter who really actually wants to promote. Not to mention, I found out he was inducted into the BCRA Hall of Fame after my article went out early Monday morning. I believe BCRA wanted to surprise him, so his name was left out of the newsletter that I saw.

It doesn't have to be fancy folks. Yeah, I like the idea of a picnic gathering before the races. It's an intimate kind of setting where people can bench race before they go to the track. The old timers can mingle with each other. That has worked for years with the BCRA. But, even if you just do it on race night, you can do it. The knowledgeable announcer can let the people know what this means. They can interview the Hall of Famers during the night or even some of the legends that might happen to be watching. Display boards. I'll get on that one again.

The thing is, it only costs whatever it costs to make the boards and print copies of various articles. That's it folks. Then you put in the time. The Deatheridge brothers, Curt and Denny, started Cottage Grove Speedway Historical Night about 15 years ago. They created boards and they've added to it. I believe they have a dozen or so on display, and Historical Night is coming up there. Fans who haven't been around the races for a long time will go and look at the boards and see the pictures of the cars and articles. Wow, it goes back to the 1950s? We started a Hall of Fame Night at Southern Oregon Speedway and had three boards there last year. Fans were constantly looking at them. So, that's a good place to start right there. Me being me, I could easily put together a Hall of Fame souvenir program. In fact, there is a history book coming. I just need the time to start working on it. Can't do it during racing season with all of the current news happening each week that demands my attention.

Am I talking nonsense here? Is this just something that means something to me? I have a mind to do something big right now. We just started something at Southern Oregon Speedway. This is not my history. But, I recognize it. We made it happen last year, and it was a success. I'm coming down To California at the end of September. I'll be in Antioch for the last two races. So, what do we have to do here? I don't have comments open on this board, and if it wasn't for the spammers, I would open it up. But if you're reading this, make a comment on the Facebook post in which I threw this link out there. I know that's how most people see these articles.

Merced Speedway is hurting right now. I can feel it from here. Ed Parker passed away and it feels like people are abandoning ship. There's a mutiny afoot. All of those things. I don't know what's going on down there, because I'm not there first hand. I don't know all the players behind the scenes, and I'm not going to point fingers or say things here. I would just say that if you're somebody with money and an inclination to do something for that race track, ask yourself one question. What would Ed Parker do? Ed had a pretty good two-and-a-half-year run before he passed away, and I think partially that's an attribute to him personally.

To the racers who are angry at that race track right now. Take a breath. I speak of this a lot, because we're an instant feedback society now with social media and all of that at our disposal. If we're not happy, dammit the world has to know about it. Calm down. Take a breath. There is no Utopia Speedway. If you've got a race track near your house, that's your speedway. I don't care if you can tow up and down the road to other places and you're willing to do it to prove a point. Fine, make trips. Eventually you're going to get tired of being on the damn road all the time unless you're somebody winning the big bucks or you don't do it but once a month or so. It takes money and time to take all those trips. Be happy you have a local race track.

So, I'm watching this Sport Modified race and the leader led this thing for 24 laps. He leaves the door open for the second place car, who drives underneath. From the video footage I have witnessed, that driver did not turn into the leader in making his pass. There was no intentional hit put on the leader. They bumped, and the second place car made the pass to get the win. The guy who led the race for 24 and a half laps crossed the finish line in second. Then, in his dissatisfaction with the outcome, he rammed the winner in the infield. Then, people from the pits came charging at the car of the winner. Typical Saturday night stuff, right?

This is one reason I never wanted to be a driver. I am emotional. At some point in time, in the heat of the moment, I might blow my fuse. But if you're one of those type of people and you race, you have to recognize that fact within yourself and take steps not to lose it when a bad night happens. Guess what folks. Bad nights happen. You get the raw end of the deal sometimes. Somebody's just a little bit better that night or whatever the case may be. So, it all happened and the track's decision was to disqualify the winner completely. Not drop the person behind a few cars as a penalty, take away their points for the night. Disqualify. Second place still crossed the line. His car was not destroyed. Does the penalty fit the crime here? I'll leave that for others to judge.

Understand that I'm not bashing officials. They had to watch all that stuff happen and then make a decision based on what they saw, and they had to do that within minutes. Before the internet, it was done this way too. The difference is, now we see video footage and we can know whether it was a good call or not and everybody can offer an opinion up and down. I'm doing it now. Of course, when I saw something back in the day I didn't have the benefit of instant replay. I was offering my opinion then too. I think it was a bad call. Did the winner deserve a penalty? Maybe. I would debate that too, but I would say that taking away all their points for the night seems a little harsh.

The problem I'm having with this whole deal is the people who are piling on and saying how messed up Merced Speedway is now and taking shots at the people involved and all of that. It isn't an easy job folks. Believe me, I know. I'm in the middle of it here. The part of me that wants to stay involved in the sport longer wants to be in that position more, and the other part of me wants to walk away from this entirely as the sport has seen its better days. I'm tired of all the negativity and everything that's here now. Good luck making a race track work when you're going to take instant criticism.

Merced Speedway will live on, and I just hope people calm down and give it another chance. Good things have been happening there for the last few years, and they will continue as long as people believe in it. Utopia Speedway isn't down the highway, but you do have Merced Speedway there. Think about it.

Something happened at Lemoore Raceway. I don't know the particulars, but I am heartbroken about the whole situation. You see, Dan Myrick and the people behind the Central Valley Mini Stocks worked very hard to make this a special day. They got Kenny Takeuchi, a true announcing legend, to be there for this. They got several beautiful cars from the Legends of Kearney Bowl to be on display there. They were doing 50/50 raffle tickets and giving away things and everything was set up for this to be a big celebration for the group.

All I know is as they were trying to race, a car was being over driven and stuffed another car into the fence. I'll leave names out of it. Was it intentional? I can't speak to that. I can't speak to the fact that one car had its nose driven into the fence. I guess tempers heated up and police were called and all of that. Heat of the moment folks. This is what happens. you get angry, and the first thing you want to do is hurt whomever it was that made you feel that way. Human Nature. This has been happening at race tracks for years.

I would hope that Lemoore Raceway would keep the Central Valley Mini Stocks on their schedule and that the group will endeavor to deal with the people who caused the issue in a fair and just manner. The raceway has been having a good year and getting more information out there. We've been helping with that, and JJ Cox has done a hell of a job with the Micro Sprint racing stuff. So, there are reasons for Lemoore Raceway to want to continue this Mini Stock program on Sundays. They're not the ones running it. But, it's racing at that track. Exposure. Hopefully there will be a second chance.

As I said, we're only human. But, we can't just allow ourselves to blow up publicly and cause a scene. I had a guy flip me off as I was talking to one of the winners two weeks ago. He wanted to know who I was and then proceeded to tell me how our post race ceremonies suck and somehow I'm a bad person for that. I don't make those calls, because if I did, we'd be doing it differently. Talk to Mike about that if you think it's so bad. The guy looked like an idiot, and I saw him at the little track on Friday. He looked at me and didn't say a word. Was he sorry for his blow up or indifferent to it? I don't know and I don't care. I've been there before. I've done stupid things too.

It's great to have this passion for the sport. It needs it as we face long challenges in keeping things alive. We've been worried about Petaluma Speedway and Rick just renewed his deal through 2022 to keep running that track. That is a positive. I don't know what the status is on Watsonville, but I'm hopeful. Antioch Speedway is still there. Merced Speedway is still there. Go down the list of tracks that we still have open, and I'll tell you that that's another place that has a good chance for positive things.

Those of us who care about the sport need to channel our passions. If we're going to take a public action, let's keep it positive. I think if things are bothering you so much that you get angry all the time, the best thing for you to do is walk away. I would do that. In fact, I may do that. But while I'm here, I want to channel my energy into positive things. I'll write a lot, but if I think I'm crossing a line somewhere, that's all I will do is write. I won't post it. I'll file that away, probably never to be seen again.

I support racing. Oregon was never really where I wanted to be. But, I figured if I was going to be here, I would try to do things that would help that track along. Make a positive impact. Two special nights have been added to that schedule in part because of my efforts to push for it and Mike liking both ideas and getting 100% behind them. There are other little things that I've done to help here and there. I feel like if I do walk away at any point, I will have left things a little bit better than when I got here.

Am I perfect. Hell no. I make mistakes all the time, and I'm the first person to beat myself up about it, believe me. This was the reason I stopped reading my magazine after It was printed. The facts were right 99% of the time, but it was spelling mistakes. I read those damn things three times and didn't catch something. So, the first time I saw a mistake, it killed the mood for the fact that I had actually completed a magazine.

But we can only do so much. To bring it back home to where I started in this column today, I plan to be down in California. Orland Raceway has been on my radar, and I'm going to make first contact, so to speak. I want to see what's going on and meet some of the awesome people I've been writing about. So, the end of September race looks like a go for me. Plus, I get to visit family. The plan was to go down further south and I might go down a week earlier, but As for now it's Orland. I think it needs to be. Then, Antioch Speedway. So the final two races there and an idea that I'd like to see happen.

Everybody's worried down in Antioch. Yeah, I'll mention that here. I don't know what all is going on, so I can't speak to it. I didn't necessarily agree with the decision to strike a certain division from the schedule midway through the season. There was no boycott attempt, and some of the drivers have endeavored to convert their cars to run with another class to support the track. That ought to send a clear message of where people's hearts were. You run a 50 lap race, and cars are going to get torn up and then unable to race the next week. It happens. But, I'm sure there's more going on here than meets the eye. I'll just leave it at I didn't agree with the decision.

I also don't agree with the decision to bash the race track. It's an easy target. It's probably the easiest target for people, especially going after a promoter who has put 21 seasons into this place. A promoter who damn sure cares about that race track. A promoter whose family is going through a very difficult time right now. The fact that he's even there trying amazes me. I'm not going to say there aren't things going on there that give people reason to be unhappy, I'm just saying sometimes people go overboard in expressing their unhappiness.

In a perfect world, Antioch Speedway is where I'm at doing this racing stuff. An even more perfect world would have me able to work at Antioch and Merced, but I digress. If I were down in Antioch, I think the time is now to start putting some ideas out there and making a serious effort to get people wanting to be at that race track on Saturday nights. There are so many special memories that I've had through the years at that race track. Many people are in the same boat as me. They love that race place, and they remember the good old days.

So, I'm coming down to Antioch Speedway at the end of the year. I don't know exactly what that means to me, but I'm looking forward to having some conversations. We'll see where things go from there, but I'm optimistic about the future. At least sometimes I am when I'm not all doom and gloom. I will make the best of things, but in my personal life, changes are definitely needed. In Antioch, the location is right for me, and weather in racing or outside of racing, I certainly want to end up back in that area again. But, I would love to help the track out for a few years before possibly walking away from the sport for the last time. Maybe emerging with a new book here or there.

Anyway, I rambled quite a bit here. I'm going to end this column now. Until next time...


Merced Speedway Unofficial Race Results July 21, 2018
A Modifieds
Ryan Porter
Jeff Streeter
Paul Stone
Darrell Hughes II
Justin Villaneuva
Brian Pearce
Ramie Stone
D.J. Shannon
Jarod Fast
Tim Cecil
Derek Nance
Troy Stone
Monty Tomlinson
Ray Mayer
Vincent DePalma
John Pierce
Ricky Thatcher DNS
Harley Turner DNS

B Modifieds
Chuck Weir
Bruce Nelson
Cody Parker
Jeremy Hoff
Chase Thomas
Danny Roe
Kelly Wilkinson
Tanner Thomas
Mark Odgers
Nick Tucker
Travis Slayter
Tim Ragsdale
Dale Grissom
Jarrod Mounce
Mark Squadrito DNS
Chris Falkenberg DQ

Hobby Stocks
Kodie Dean
Austin Van Hoff
Kalob Shelton
Shannon Nelson
Marshall Weaver
Kristie Shearer
Jeff Lacy
Race Shelton
Robbie Loquaci
John Hensley DNS

Pony Stock
Dan Myrick
Lee Ragsdale
Tyler Jackson
Shawn DePriest
Allen Neal
Kevin Lockerby
Jeff Durant
Bryant Desaire
Joe Terry
Devin Belton
Jennifer Rodgers
Ryan Doglione
Kristina Cole
Jason Belton Jr
Scott Roehrenbaeck DNS


Santa Maria Raceway Unofficial Race Results July 21, 2018
IMCA Sport Modifieds
Results are not official
1     #20S Kevin Johnson    
2     #48 Mike Dean
3     #M13 Mathew Mayo
4     #04M Austin Manzella
5     #7-7 Aaron Farrell
6     #3 Dylan Potter
7     #25J Jason Womack
8     #88c Austin Ruskauff    
9     #15F Markus Frazier
10     #77J Mark Doss Jr
11     #28 Paul Harris    

IMCA Race Saver Sprints
Mike Schott
Grant Duinkerken
Michael Pombo
Kyle Rasmussen
Albert Pombo
Brooklyn Holland
Monty Ferriera
Rob Solomon
Mauro Simone
Kevin Woody
Rick Bray

Pro Stocks
Clay Daly
Tim Randolph
Dave King
Chad Schaffer
Justin Crockett
Billy Simkins
Devon Crockett
Chris Clinton
Ryan Smith
Frank Nyback

American Stocks
Results are not official
1     #5 Sean Martin Sr    
2     #49J Justin Jackson
3     #32 Jon Waterfield
4     #57 Gregg Teller
5     #77 Chris Anderson
6     #42 Nick Verbryke
7     #84 Hailey Wyand
8     #99 Steven Amick
9     #55K Kristina McGeary    
10     #46 Brian Childress        
11     #37 Jimmy Satlawa        
12     #16 Ed Wyand
13     #98 Gary Rayburn Jr

Dwarf Cars
Results are not official
1     #75b Camron Diatte    
2     #05V Angel Figueroa
3     #42B Trafton Chandler
4     #48 Trent Morley
5     #18 Tom Morley
6     #45 Kory Cowan
7     #6B Brian Barnhill
8     #22 Gage Cheek
9     #4x Thomas Velasquez 
10     #13 Ira Henry
11     #60 Tailer Morrison
12     #41 Nick Velasquez    
13     #91 Kody Cowan    
14     #14 Tommy Velasquez        
15     #20b James Price
16     #4 Mitch Caldwell

NMRA TQ Midgets
Results are not official
1     #07 Kevin Kale        
2     #77 Ace Kale
3     #36 West Evans
4     #20 Taelor Janes
5     #55 Dave Lambert
6     #2P Jason Arnolde
7     #37 Chuck West        
8     #40 Parker Thomas        
9     #70 Donald Brasher

California Lightning Sprints
Results are not official
1     #2 Doug Nunes
2     #8 Kiwi Alexander
3     #14 Jarrett Kramer
4     #8g Eric Greco
5     #45 Cody Nigh
6     #72 Brad Dillard
7     #13x Aiden Lange
8     #7 Pat Kelley
9     #37 Dominic Del Monte 
10     #25 Scott Kinney
11     #13 Danika Parker
12     #7f Frank Ditmar
13     #25k Hunter Kinney
14     #17 Dale Gamer
15     #42d Kyle Dodd
16     #4 Jeff Dyer
17     #44g Grant Sexton
18     #15 Dalton Sexton
19     #44 Brent Sexton
20     #42 Jon Robertson 
21     #10 Dan Hilberg
22     #1k Bobby Michnowicz
23     #2r Robb Pelmear


Petaluma Speedway Unofficial Race Results July 21, 2018
PitStopUSA.com Winged 360 Sprint Cars
Results are not official
1     #3f Geoff Ensign    
2     #12j John Clark
3     #101 Klint Simpson
4     #27 Brett Rollag
5     #20 DJ Freitas
6     #43 Bradley Terrell
7     #24 Justin Henry
8     #38 Colby Johnson
9     #7b Brent Bjork
10     #7h Jake Haulot
11     #9n Nicholas Ringo
12     #88 Bret Barney
13     #6 Will Fatu
14     #6d Matt DeMartini
15     #87p Jacob Tuttle
16     #25b Chet Wilson
17     #33 Jason McIntosh    

USAC/BCRA Midgets
Results are not official
1     #28 Alex Schutte
2     #24x David Prickett
3     #9d Michael Faccinto
4     #57 Maria Cofer
5     #63 Frankie Guerrini 
6     #2x Robby Josett
7     #3f Geoff Ensign
8     #8 Randi Pankratz
9     #20 CJ Sarna 
10     #31 Kyle Beilman
11     #78 Marvin Mitchell
12     #77 Daniel Anderson
13     #2 Jackson Dukes    
14     #7r Clayton Ruston    
15     #11 Matt Sargent        
16     #15 Ashley Hazelton-Heredia
17     #7 Shannon McQueen
18     #1p Ariel Biggs
19     #4d Robert Dalby
20     #74 JR Williams

Jake's Performance Hobbies Mini Stocks
Results are not official
1     #13 Dave Spindell        
2     #3r Tom Brown
3     #3xr Jeremy Tjensvold
4     #c4 Roy Dearing
5     #2 Kelly Campanile    
6     #m1a Danny Manzoni
7     #8 Aiden Avila
8     #22z Sophie Shelley
9     #81 Randy Miramontez
10     #7 Mike Cover
11     #88 Tony Miramontez
12     #25c Roberta Broze

Santa Rosa Auto Body 600 Micros
Results are not official
1     #29 David Engstrom        
2     #23 George Nielson
3     #04 Cody Gray
4     #121 Brian Slubik
5     #53 Justin Adiego
6     #2j Zack Albers
7     #5 Kyle Grissom
8     #00 Scott McIntosh
9     #11a Amber Fields
10     #17r Justin Wade            
11     #31 Trevor Mendenhall
12     #4b Sam Borland            
13     #41s Jack Clark        
14     #22 Victor Guerra       
15     #7 Rick Cook II
16     #7j Jim Weiler


Ocean Speedway Unofficial Race Results July 21, 2018
Howard Kaeding Classic Night #2
King of the West Sprints
A Main
Colby Copeland
Bud Kaeding
Chase Johnson
Kyle Hirst
D.J. Netto
Marcus Dumesny
Shane Golobic
Brad Furr
Mitchell Faccinto
Dustin Golobic
Nathan Rolfe
Bobby McMahan
Sean Watts
Jeremy Chisum
Kyle Offill
Tanner Thorson
Brent Kaeding
Michael Kofoid
Justin Sanders
Matthew Dumesny
Tim Kaeding
Kurt Nelson

B Main
Justin Sanders
Nathan Rolfe
Kyle Offill
Jeremy Chisum
Bobby McMahan
Brent Kaeding
Jarrett Soares
Jason Chisum
Gary Nelson Jr
Richard Brace Jr
Gary Paulson
Vaughn Schott
Mark Barroso
Richard Fajardo
Jenna Frazier

IMCA Modifieds
Bobby Hogge IV
Brian Cass
Andy Obertello
Robert Marsh
Stephen Hopf
Cody Burke
Jeff McCoun
Jacob Pace
Anthony Copeland
Raymond Keldsen Jr
Austin Burke
Alex Wilson
Todd Hermosillo

IMCA Sport Mods
Andrew Peckham
Fred Ryland
KC Keller
Aaron Crowell
Chase Alves
Adriane Frost
Guy Ahlwardt
Kenny Shrader
Anthony Giuliani
Justin McPherson
Jim DiGiovanni
T.J. Etchinson III
Tom Fraser
Patti Ryland
Austin Williams
Paul Mulder
Charlie Hunter
Todd Gomez


Ocean Speedway Unofficial Race Results July 20, 2018
Howard Kaeding Classic Night #1
Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo
A Main
Tanner Thorson
Kyle Hirst
Justin Sanders
Shane Golobic
Michael Kofoid
Tanner Carrick
D.J. Netto
Koen Shaw
Tim Kaeding
Kyle Offill
Brent Kaeding
Bud Kaeding
Kurt Nelson
Jarrett Soares
Jeremy Chisum
Nathan Rolfe
Jason Chisum
Vaughn Schott
Dustin Freitas
Brad Furr
Gary Nelson Jr
Cole Macedo

B Main
Jeremy Chisum
Tim Kaeding
Jason Chisum
Dustin Freitas
Vaughn Schott
Gary Nelson Jr
Blake Carrick
Cody Jessop
Tanner Boul
Richard Fajardo
Collin Markle DNS
Brent Bjork DNS

IMCA Sport Mods
Austin Manzella
Fred Ryland
Austin Williams
Kevin Johnson
Andrew Peckham
Todd Gomez
Jim DiGiovanni
Chase Alves
Adriane Frost
Igor Gandzuk
Paul Mulder
Jason Pugh
Charlie Hunter
Alex Bieser
John Ferro
Anthony Giuliani
Dave Smart
Matthew Hagio
Justin McPherson

American Stocks
JC Elrod
Jacob Jones
Matt Kile
Joe Gallaher
Mike Calhoun
Kristie Shearer
Tom Cline
Larry Roberson
Rob Gallaher
Norm Ayers
Tony Oliveira
Jerry Skelton
Sam Kennedy DNS

South Bay Dwarf Cars
Terre Rothweiler
Camron Diatte
Zach Price
Punky Pires   
Kyle Jones
Trafton Chandler
Eddy Claessen
Mack Aceves
Eric Weisler
Justin McKenna
Mark Biscardi
Brady Beck
Ryan Amlen
John Harris DNS

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Antioch Speedway Weekend Preview, Merced Speedway Weekend Preview, Central Valley Mini Stock Preview

First of all...

The DCRR Racing Media Books


Just A Kid From The Grandstands:  My Time In Auto Racing
Stories of my time in auto racing from the beginning to 2003
Available on Lulu in Paperback And Hard Cover

And


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IMCA Modified Classes Headline Four Division Show 
At Merced Speedway

Merced, CA...Merced Speedway will be offering the fans their classic lineup this Saturday night. The IMCA Modifieds are back In action along with the IMCA Sport Modifieds, Hobby Stocks and Mini Stocks. The track will be going on summer break for a couple of weeks, so this event, sponsored by D&L Pump Service of Merced, will be your last opportunity to see some racing at the Merced Fairgrounds oval until Legends Night on August 11th.

Though he wasn't quite fast enough to overtake Kenny Schrader last time out, Darrell Hughes II had a nice charge from the back of the pack to a second-place finish. That finish moved him 19 points ahead of Brian Pearce in the IMCA Modified point battle. Hughes, who is a third-generation racer, counts one victory among his five Top 5 finishes. He's in the midst of his best season yet, and though the team isn't picking a spot for that championship trophy on their mantle place just yet, they are beginning to feel pretty good about their chances.

With Ramie Stone in the field, it's always best not to get too confident. The Big Dog is a feature winner this year and a four-time champion in this class through the years. He trails Pearce by 12 points in the race for second. Ramie's brother Troy Stone is tied with cousin Paul Stone for fifth in the standings. He has one Top 5 finish so far, but he's looking to get back into the Winner's Circle. Ryan Porter is somebody who always makes a good challenge as he searches for his first win of the season. Other drivers to watch for this week include Derek Nance, Justin Villanueva, Jeff Streeter, Ricky Thatcher, Tim Cecil and Jarrod Fast.

The championship battle in the IMCA Sport Modified division is just a little bit closer. As of this writing, we haven't seen the latest point list, but it's likely that Danny Roe used his Top 5 finish at the recent race to overtake Jeremy Hoff for the point lead. When points are added up, there should still only be less than 20 points separating Roe from Hoff, Tanner Thomas, Bubba Nelson and Chris Falkenberg. Nelson and Falkenberg also looked good last time out with their Top 5 finishes behind winner Kelly Wilkinson. Wilkinson makes five different winners so far this season.

Rising young star Tanner Thomas is the only multi-time winner at this stage of the season with three victories. His most recent start still resulted in a Top 10 finish, though not as high as he would have liked. The second generation racer is keeping the pressure on Roe and Hoff. Tanner's brother Chase Thomas is also a one-time winner this year. He will be going for another win, and other drivers to keep an eye on include Tim Elias, Cody Parker, Chuck Weir, Jarrod Mounce and Mark Odgers. Parker looked good last week before mechanical issues sent him to the pits.

The pressure is on Shannon Nelson to put the F&D Motorsports #4b car into the Winner's Circle this week. Though she is still within 5 points of reigning champion Kodie Dean, Shannon knows that she will have to start winning some races. She and Dean both have seven Top 5 finishes, but Dean has won six of the 9 Main Events held so far. Nelson hasn't scored a feature wins since 2015, but she's running well enough to get the job done this season.

Another driver on a quest for her first win since 2015 is Kristie Shearer. Shearer is a solid third in the standings, but only has one Top 5 finish so far.  Austin Van Hoff, meanwhile, drove to a third place finish after a spirited duel with Donnie Shearer last time out. Though still looking for his first win this year, Austin has a slim two point lead over one time-winner Robbie Loquaci in the race for fourth. Other drivers to watch for this week include Michael Shearer, Mike Germait, John Hensley, James Stockton, Kalob Shelton and Cody Smiley.

There's a change taking place in the Mini Stock division. Three-time reigning champion Chris Corder has walked away from the division following a tech disqualification last time out. Sister Jennifer Corder, however, still is in the hunt her first championship despite being disqualified that night as well. The consistent Allen Neal holds a slim eight point lead over Lee Ragsdale. Both drivers have four Top 5 finishes in six starts. Tyler Jackson is 21 points back in third in a closer battle with Jennifer Rodgers and Jennifer Corder. The two ladies are within 10 points of Jackson, and all Top 5 drivers are still looking for their first wins this season.

Shawn DePriest recorded his first win of the season last time out. It had to be satisfying for him as both Corders were chasing him. Robert Jackson counts himself as a two-time winner  this year and is also among the Top 10 drivers. Lucy Falkenberg and Devin Bolton are among the other drivers to watch for this week. Word out of the Fresno area is that Central Valley Mini Stock competitor Dan Myrick is planning to come challenge the Merced racers as his group gets ready for a big show on Sunday at Lemoore. It's also possible that a few more drivers from his group will be at Merced.

The Saturday night lineup will be good from top to bottom and is sure to leave the fans wanting more as they head into the two-week break. For further information, go to www.racemerced.com.


Late Models, A Modifieds Back As 
Antioch Speedway Returns From Break

Antioch, CA...After taking a week off for a concert at the fairgrounds, the All Star Series racing program returns to Antioch Speedway this Saturday night. DIRTcar Late Models are back in action along with the A Modifieds, Limited Late Models, Hobby Stocks and the Bay Area Hardtops.

This is only the third event of the season for the Late Models, but Jeff Decker once again leads the charge on the strength of two wins and a second place finish. The standings have a different look behind him as Rod Oliver trails Decker by 16 points on the strength of all Top 4 finishes. Four points behind Oliver is Dennis Souza, who has picked up a season-high second place finish already. These two drivers have hopes of being the next one to get a feature victory, but others to keep an eye on this week include Rob Norris, Mike Hynes, Kimo Oreta, Paul Guglielmoni and two-time champion Richard Papenhausen

In the A Modified division, we have a close battle between Nick DeCarlo and reigning champion Bobby Motts Jr. DeCarlo has won four Main Events so far, but he still only leads the consistent Motts by two points. Motts has a pair of seconds and three thirds, but he is still searching for his first win of the season. DeCarlo has won championships at Watsonville and Petaluma in recent seasons, but he would like to add Antioch to his list of credentials. At the moment, Motts is the only driver offering any resistance.

Sean O'Gara runs a solid third in the standings once again, leading rookie Buddy Kniss by 34 points. Third generation racer Kniss has rapidly climbed the ladder of divisions at the speedway from Dwarf Cars to Limited Late Models, and he's held his own against the more experienced competitors in an A Modified. Kniss leads Bobby Montalvo by 14 points and past champion Kellen Chadwick by 22 in a close race for fourth. Chadwick is a three-time feature winner so far this year. Other drivers to watch for this week include David Zeider, Ray Lindeman, Trent Wentworth and five-time champion Scott Busby.

The Limited Late Model championship battle is the closest at the speedway, and it pits reigning champion Kimo Oreta against third generation competitor Mark Garner and the returning Mike Walko. Walko started his career at Antioch Speedway before competing in most recent seasons at Marysville Raceway. Oreta got off to a slow start, but after his third feature win the last time, he took a four point lead over two-time winner Garner. Walko had all Top 3 finishes in his first seven starts, including two wins, keeping him 14 points behind Oreta.

Ryan Cherezian has finished as high as second this season, and he's hoping to put his truck in the Winner's Circle. He has a solid hold on fourth in the standings, leaving last year's top rookie, Chad Hammer and the steady John Evans to battle for fifth. Hammer holds a four point lead over Evans, who had his best career finish in second last time out. Other drivers to watch for this week include two-time champion Mike Gustafson, Jon Haney and Jim Freethy.

After the track's decision to adjust the schedule at the end of the season last year cost Chris Sorensen a possible championship, he seems to be making up for it as he's off to a flying start in the Hobby Stock division. Sorensen tops the win list with five victories, putting him 86 points in front of his nearest challenger, Michael Cooper. Cooper has picked up three wins this year, while reigning champion Cameron Swank has four victories. Swank trails Cooper by 29 points in a closer race for second.

It's hard to get a win in this field with those three drivers carrying such an experience advantage. However, fourth ranked Billy Garner and fifth ranked John Wacht each have a win. Garner leads Wacht by just 28 points, and Wacht leads the rookie race by over 100 points ahead of Haley Gomez. Interestingly enough, Gomez had a race a few weeks ago that she led for 19 laps before mechanical issues ended that run right after she took the white flag. She shouldn't be counted out this week, and other drivers to watch for include Breanna Troen, Anthony Vigna, Anthony Wellborn and Josh Leach.

The last time the Bay Area Hardtop division was at Antioch Speedway, Ken Retzloff with picking up the win. Retzloff has also won a race on the Hardtop circuit at Placerville Speedway. He is anticipated this week along with two drivers who have Antioch wins in the past, Terry DeCarlo and Dave Mackey. Doug Braudrick continues to work the bugs out of his race car, but he should be back this week along with Kimo Oreta. We're still waiting on Tommy Thomson to complete repairs and get his #39 car back out at the race track, which could also signal the return of Dan Williams when that happens. It's possible there could be a few drivers from the California Hardtop Association, and most likely candidates include Ken Clifford, Jason Armstrong, Dave Reed and Ron Ruiz.

Saturday night should be an exciting night of racing at Antioch Speedway with the return of the popular Late Models and A Modifieds. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.


Special Event Planned For Central Valley Mini Stocks 
At Lemoore Raceway On Sunday

Lemoore, CA... Sunday will be a special occasion for the Central Valley Mini Stocks at Lemoore Raceway. Not only is it the fifth round of their championship season, but there will be a true legend on hand. West Coast Stock Car Hall of Famer Kenny Takeuchi will be there to meet the fans.

Kenny announced Super Modified races at several venues throughout California. He was known as one of the best announcers in the sport. He took great pride in doing his research on the racers so that he could let the fans know some interesting facts and statistics about each driver they were watching. He even wrote the articles that were printed in various publications.

These days, Kenny still announces the occasional race for the Legends Of Kearney Bowl Super Modifieds. Several of those Vintage Super Modified cars will be on display for the fans to see on Sunday afternoon. Many of these cars have been restored and were raced years ago. The owners take great pride in keeping these cars in pristine condition.

When it comes to the racing action, it's the Baronian brothers leading the championship standings. With multiple victories, Greg Baronian holds a 34 point advantage over Rod Baronian. Rod held off Greg to win the season opener. The margin is much closer between second and third as Dan Myrick trails Rod by just eight points. Myrick has been slowly getting his car dialed in and hopes to get his first feature win of the season on Sunday. He may need that with Ryan Doglione just five points behind him in fourth. Dan's father, reigning champion Danny Myrick, is only 10 points out of third.

The Mini Stocks will run a program that calls for qualifying on the clock, followed by a Trophy Dash, heat races, Semi Main (if needed) and Main Event. Other drivers anticipated for Sunday include Jeff Durant, Chris Goldsmith, Ben Davis, Randy Brown Jr. and Scott Glenn. Word is there will be some visitors coming from out of town as well.

If that's not enough, there will be special 50/50 drawings for various raffle prizes throughout the afternoon.  The event is sponsored by John Miller Hay Co and Four Banger Garage. For further information, go to www.centralvalleyministocks.com, or check out the group's Facebook page.

Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Wilkinson, Dean Win At Merced Speeedway, Furr, Burke Win At Watsonville, Plus, Petaluma, Orland, More

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Just A Kid From The Grandstands:  My Time In Auto Racing
Stories of my time in auto racing from the beginning to 2003
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Racing History, Stories, Statistics And Pictures
Available via print on demand at Lulu in Hard Cover or Paperback

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Said Myrick brothers. It's Baronian Brothers. D'oh!

Wilkinson Wins, Dean Continues To Roll At Merced Speedway

Merced, CA...July 14...Kelly Wilkinson won the 25 lap IMCA Sport Modified Main Event Saturday night at Merced Speedway. It was the first win of the season for Wilkinson. Cody Parker had the pole for the feature and raced into the lead at the green flag. Wilkinson settled into second ahead of Bruce Nelson. On the eighth lap, Wilkinson made a Turn 2 pass on Parker to gain the lead, and Nelson raced by Parker for second in Turn 4. Nelson was providing pressure for Wilkinson until the final caution flag waved on lap 20. On the restart, Wilkinson pulled ahead just a bit as Nelson was in a close three-car battle for second with Chris Falkenberg and Mark Odgers. Wilkinson took the checkered flag a few car lengths ahead of Nelson. Falkenberg was third, followed by Danny Roe, Nick Tucker, Jarrod Mounce, Austin Williams, Chase Thomas, Odgers and Tanner Thomas. Eight lap heat race wins went to Falkenberg, Wilkinson and Nelson.

Point leader Kodie Dean continues to roll as he won his sixth 25 lap Hobby Stock Main Event of the season. Dean had the pole for the Main Event and raced into the lead from the start, followed closely by championship rival Shannon Nelson. The lead duo ran closely throughout the race, leaving the battle for third. Donnie Shearer held the spot in the waning laps, but he pushed high in Turn 4 on lap 22, which allowed to Austin Van Hoff to race underneath for the third place finish. Donnie Shearer settled for fourth, followed by Michael Shearer, Kristie Shearer, Kalob Shelton, Brad Myers, John Hensley and Breanna Troen. Shannon Nelson, Michael Shearer and Kodie Dean each won eight lap heat races.

Chris Birdsong piloted the Jeff Bristow car to victory in the 15 lap Sportsman Main Event. This is the third win for the Bristow car as Chris Falkenberg has won with it twice. Birdsong charged into the lead at the start of the non-stop race and proceeded to pull away by half a lap, leaving the battle for second. Eric Seeley charged past Chris Delfs on lap two to gain second with point leader Jerry Cecil following closely into third. Birdsong went on to win his third Main Event of the season, followed by Seely, Cecil, Delfs, Mike Friesen, Rick Elliot and Jeff West. Delfs scored the victory in the eight lap heat race.

Jesse James Burks won his fifth California Sharp Mini Late Model Main Event of the season. He charged into lead from the start and led the entire distance with point leader Timmy Crews in close pursuit in second. Carson Guthrie and Ian Shearer rounded out the field. Guthrie scored his first eight lap heat race win of the season. For further information, go to www.racemerced.com.


Furr, Burke Win At Ocean Speedway

Watsonville, CA...July 13...Brad Furr scored the victory in the 30 lap Taco Bravo Sprint Car Main Event Friday night at Ocean Speedway. Furr was trailing Koen Shaw by 4 points in the standings coming into the night, and his second win of the season may have gained him the lead. Reigning King Of The West Sprint Car champion Bud Kaeding led through two early yellow flags ahead of Cole Macedo. However, Macedo's run in second came to an end at a lap 18 caution flag. Furr led Sanders and Ryan Bernal into the Top 3 positions as Kaeding slipped back to fifth. Furr ran strong during the final 10 circuits and collected the satisfying victory ahead of Sanders. Kaeding made a late charge back into third as Jerry Bonnema, Tanner Boul, Jeremy Chisum, Kurt Nelson, Shaw, Blake Carrick and Jason Chisum completed the Top 10.

Macedo set the fast time in qualifying with his lap of 11.714 around the quarter-mile clay oval. Furr was second quick at 11.759. Bonnema won the first eight lap heat race ahead of Bernal. Macedo won his heat race in front of Mitchell Faccinto, and Zane Blanchard outran Sanders to win the final heat. Furr outran Kaeding in the six lap Trophy Dash to grab the pole for the Main Event.

IMCA Modified point leader Cody Burke maintained his lead with his second 25 lap Main Event win of the season. Danny Wagner set the pace for five laps before Burke made his move by to take over. Bobby Hogge IV was in third on a lap nine restart and raced past Wagner for second. During the final 15 laps, Burke led with Hogge right behind him waiting for just one mistake. However, Burke ran a smooth and flawless race for the well earned win. Hogge settled for second, followed by Brian Cass, Wagner, Austin Burke, DJ Shannon, Alex Wilson, Robert Miller, Tim Yeager Jr and Robert Dias. Hogge and Wilson each won eight lap heat races.

Point leader Matt Kile won his fourth 20 lap American Stock Main Event of the season. Kile led at the start ahead of JC Elrod. Elrod kept it close throughout the race, and reigning champion Rob Gallaher settled into third on lap six to make it a close three-car battle during the final 15 laps. However, Kile was not to be denied as he scored the victory, followed by Elrod, Rob Gallaher, Terry Campion, Nick Lawrence, Tony Oliveira, Jerry Skeleton, Joe Gallaher, John Farrell and DJ Keldsen. Rob Gallaher and Campion each scored wins in their eight lap heat races.

Zach Price won the 20 lap South Bay Dwarf Car Main Event. Ryan Amlen led the way for nine laps. Gene "Punky" Pires settled into second, but his run came to an end for a lap eight yellow flag. Amlen led just one more lap before surrendering the lead to Price. Price led the rest of the way for the victory. Amlen lost the second position briefly to Mark Biscardi on lap 11 but made his way back into second on a lap 17 restart to claim the position for good. Biscardi settled for third, followed by Marty Weisler, Trafton Chandler, Mac Aceves, Cameron Diatte, Brady Beck, Andy Claeson and Pires. Cameron Diatte and Price won the eight lap heat races.

Nate Teramo led all 15 laps to win the Mini Stock Main Event. He became the first two-time winner of the season as there have been eight different winners in nine races. Heat race winner Ray Bunn settled into second at the start and followed Teramo all the way to the checkered flag. Previous winner Tom Summers made a move from fifth to third on a lap three restart to finish there. Nicole Beardsley finished fourth, followed by Kate Beardsley, point leader Abigail Kennedy, Chuck Kessinger, Bill Beardsley, Dakota Keldsen and Ryan Muller. Abigail Kennedy won the other eight lap heat race.

Next weekend is the Eighth Annual Howard Kaeding Classic. This two day event will feature the Taco Bravo Sprint Cars, IMCA Sport Modifieds, American Stocks And South Bay Dwarf Cars on Friday night. On Saturday night, the King Of The West/NARC Sprint Cars will be there along with IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Sport Modifieds. For further information, go to www.racepmg.com.


Golobic Rolls To Third King Of The West Sprint Car Win 
At Petaluma Speedway

Petaluma, CA...July 14...Shane Golobic scored the victory in the 30 lap King Of The West/NARC Fujitsu Sprint Car Series Main Event Saturday night at Petaluma Speedway. This was his third win of the season aboard the Tarlton Motorsports entry, and the win paid $3,000. Golobic is currently second in series points. He charged out into the lead at the start, and the race had a red flag immediately when Marcus Dumesey and Colby Copeland ended up flipping on the back straightaway.

Golobic again grabbed the lead, followed by point leader Kyle Hirst. A low pass in Turn 3 of the ninth lap gained Bud Kaeding second, and he set his sights on leader Golobic. Tanner Thorson made the inside pass in Turn 2 on lap 12 to steal third from Hirst. In the waning laps, Kaeding began to pressure Golobic, but Golobic made a good pass on the outside of a slower car as they raced to the white flag. Golobic went on to score the satisfying victory ahead of Kaeding, Thorson, Hirst, Chase Johnson, Copeland, Jason Statler, Willie Croft, Sean Watts and Richard Brace Jr.

Kaeding set the quick lap of 12.779, beating the 12.826 effort of Hirst. The 19 car field ran three 10 lap heat races, and Golobic, Watts and Copeland picked up the wins. Golobic grabbed the pole for the Main Event by holding off Hirst to win the six lap Trophy Dash.

Mitch Machado continued his strong bid for The Lumberjacks Restaurant Super Stock championship by winning his 4th straight 25 lap Main Event and sixth of the season. Machado won by about six car lengths ahead of reigning champion Matt While. Manny Avilla was a distant third with Shawn McCoy the final lead lap finisher. Steve Studebaker, Tim O'Hara, Snazzy Duckworth, Sean Cook, Austin Ohlinger and Sid Hess rounded out the Top 10. Eight lap heat race wins were recorded by Machado and Studebaker.

After a rough start, reigning General Hydroponics Redwood Dwarf Car champion Dave Mosier seems to have hit his stride. Mosier won a good battle with Adam Teves and Chad Mathias to collect his third straight 25 Main Event victory. Scooter Gomes outran Zack Albers in another good battle for fourth as Mark Hanson, John Peters, Carol Mendenhall, Miranda Chappa and Brandon Gentry completed the Top 10 at the checkered flag. Teves, Hanson and Mosier each won their respective eight lap heat races.

Jeremy Tjensvold became the fourth straight different winner in the Jake's Performance Hobbies Mini Stock 20 lap Main Event. It was also his first start and he collected his win with Danny Manzoni close behind in second. Samone Chrisman was about a straightaway behind the leaders in third as Roberta Broze, Roy Dearing, Sean Hale, Trevor Rodriguez, Tom Brown, Dave Spindell and Sophie Shelley made up the remainder of the Top 10. Spindell and Brown each won six lap heat races.

Next Saturday night is another special Open Wheel themed show with the PitStopUSA.com Winged 360 Sprint Cars, a shootout race between the BCRA and USAC Western States Midgets and the Santa Rosa Auto Body 600 Micros. The Jake's Performance Hobbies Mini Stocks will also be back for the four division program. For further information, go to www.petaluma-speedway.com.


Langenderfer, Martin, Webster Are Orland Raceway Winners

Orland, CA...July 14...Jeremy Langenderfer kept the pressure on in the Pure Stock championship battle with the 20 lap Pure Stock Main Event win Saturday night at Orland Raceway. This was his fourth win of the season. Despite having won three races prior to the night, he still found himself trailing Paul Stevens by 19 points going into the evening. The race had an eventful first 10 laps. Nick Vidovich lost a tire while running in second on the opening lap. Ben Matlock led the early laps with Stevens in pursuit. On lap six, two-time champion Steve Martin made the move underneath Matlock in Turn 2 for the lead. Stephens followed closely into second. The caution flag flew on lap nine, and Martin's run up front came to an end as his car died in Turn 2. Stevens suddenly had the lead over rival Langenderfer. However, Langenderfer kept his foot to the floor and made his move to bring home his fourth win of the season.

BJ Martin scored his first 600 Micro feature win since opening day. Martin has won multiple championships in various 4 Cylinder classes at the track. He led this race from the outset with Jessica McManus and Rowdy McLennon in pursuit all the way to the checkered flag. He gained some points on leader Jake Fernandez, who ended up fifth at the finish.

Dan Webster scored his second Mini Truck 20 lap Main Event win of the season. The 2016 champion started in the back with incoming point leader Keith Ross as William Fogle charged into the lead. Webster made his move into second by lap five and attempted an inside pass in Turn 3, only to make contact with a tractor tire for a yellow flag. However, Webster found his way back to the front and would gain the lead. Justin Vance and Ross kept it close down the stretch as they finished second and third, respectively.

Jackie Whitson returned and won the 250 Micro Sprint Main Event. The night also included a 50/50 raffle fundraiser for the Pasero family. The winner of the drawing decided to donate that money back to the Pesaro family. The entirety of the donation was $382.

Racing returns on July 28th with the second appearance of the B Modified division. Also competing will be the Pure Stocks, Mini Stocks, Mini Trucks and the 250 Micro Sprints. For further information, find the Orland Raceway page on Facebook.


Ocean Speedway Unofficial Race Results July 14, 2018
Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo
Brad Furr
Justin Sanders
Bud Kaeding
Jerry Bonnema
Tanner Boul
Jeremy Chisum
Kurt Nelson
Koen Shaw
Blake Carrick
Jason Chisum
Gary Nelson Jr
Bryan Grier
Ryan Bernal
Cole Macedo
Zane Blanchard
Mitchell Faccinto
Richard Fajardo
Glenn Bryan

IMCA Modifieds
Cody Burke
Bobby Hogge IV
Brian Cass
Danny Wagner
Austin Burke
D.J. Shannon
Alex Wilson
Robert Miller
Tim Yaeger
Robert Dias
Jeff McCoun
Nick Decarlo
Raymond Keldsen Jr
Troy Foulger

American Stocks
Matt Kile
JC Elrod
Rob Gallaher
Terry Campion
Nick Lawrence
Tony Oliveira
Jerry Skelton
Joe Gallaher
John Farrell
DJ Keldsen
Terry Traub

Four Bangers
Nate Teramo
Ray Bunn
Tom Summers
Nicole Beardsley
Kate Beardsley
Abigail Kennedy
Chuck Kessinger
Bill Beardsley
Ryan Muller
Dakota Keldsen
Mateo Banuelos
Kevin Counterman DNS

South Bay Dwarf Cars
Zach Price
Ryan Amlen
Mark Biscardi
Eric Weisler
Trafton Chandler
Mack Aceves
Camron Diatte
Brady Beck
Eddy Claessen
Punky Pires
Greg McKenna DNS


Irwindale Speedway Unofficial Race Results July 14, 2018
"SPEARS SWT" 100 by Pinnacle Peak SPEARS SWT
Derek Thorn
Jeremy Doss
Eric Schmidt
Trevor Huddleston
Ryan Partridge
Carlos Vieira
Dan Holtz
Jeff Bischofberger
Gracin Raz
Kyle Neveau
Cole Moore
Jacob Gomes
Blaine Rocha
Ricky Schlick
Craig Raudman
Cale Kanke
Donny St. Ours
Keith Spangler
Bob Lyon
Jason Gilbert
Jack Wood
Chris Clyne
Scott Sanchez
Michael Hite
Linny White
John Moore
Tyler Fabozzi


Stockton 99 Speedway Unofficial Race Results July 14, 2018
Gunslinger Sprint Cars
Aj Russell
Chad Nichols
Jerry Kobza
Austin Carter
Gordon Rodgers
Audra Sasselli
Alan Beck
Bob Beck
Andy Gleason
Justin Kawatiata

NCMA Sprint Cars
Rob Huumond
David Burchet
Denny Burrell
Andy Gleason
Don Emery

BCRA Midgets
Chad Nichols
Mark Maliepaard
Jesse Love IV
Frankie Guerrini
Floyd Alvis
JR Williams
Cody Jessop


Madera Raceway Unofficial Race Results July 14, 2018
Late Models
Matt Erickson
Dillion Tucker
Del McIntosh
Howard Holden
Tyler Herzog
Henk Gaalswyk Jr
Eloy Bazan
Mike Shapiro
Kent Cam
Joseph Reichmuth
Zachary Cook

Toyota Sedans
Jillaun Holden
Mike Marley
Kyle Labrie
Manny Gonzales Jr
Kurt Davison
Jason Kerns
J.J Brandsen
Thomas Magray

MST's
Ryan Reynolds
Shaun Reynolds
Bert Stephens
Dave Lander
John Benedict
Dennis Brannon
Patrick Geiger

Hobby Stocks
Steve Schermerhorn
Jesus Hernandez
Thomas Suarez



Ventura Raceway Unofficial Results July 14, 2018
VRA Battle at the Beach
USAC WEST COAST SPRINT CAR SERIES
1. Ryan Bernal
2. Jake Swanson
3. Ryan Timmons
4. Tyler Edwards
5. Matt Stewart
6. Koen Shaw
7. Slater Helt
8. Rick Hendrix
9. Danny Faria Jr
10. Austin Liggett
11. Kyle Smith
12. Jeremy Ellertson
13. Brandon Wiley
14. Charlie Butcher
15. Kaleb Montgomery
16. Tristan Guardino
17. Shannon McQueen
18. Troy Rutherford
19. Britton Bock
20. Cody Majors
21. Tony Everhart
22. Guy Woodward

IMCA MODIFIEDS
1 28 Trevor Fitzgibbon
2 08 Dave Phipps
3 55jr Jack Parker
4 61 Donald Houghton
5 21 Austin Rodarte
6 3r John Romero
7 48 Chuck Costabile
8 11 Andrew Greiman
9 23JP Jake Pike
10 38 Dennis Eckert
11 09 Luis Espinoza
12 7 Chris Crompe
13 34 Scott Olsen
14 75 Brad Prows

VRA HOBBY STOCKS
1 5x Mike Lewis
2 51 Mike Keebler
3 7 Tom Smith
4 16 Tom Stephens Jr
5 31 Alyssa Smith
6 43 Sam Garvin
7 6 Heath Morton
8 45 Christina Garvin

VRA SENIOR SPRINTS
1 2 Wally Pankratz
2 5k Eddie Williams
3 16 Tom Stephens Sr
4 66 Chris Meredith
5 45 Joey Bishop
6 27 Tyler Hatzikian


Petaluma Speedway Unofficial Race Results
Fujitsu King Of The West/NARC Sprint Cars
Results are not official
1     #21x Shane Golobic    
2     #0 Bud Kaeding
3     #3c Tanner Thorson
4     #83 Kyle Hirst
5     #68 Chase Johnson
6     #16a Colby Copeland
7     #00 Jason Statler
8     #29 Willie Croft
9     #98 Sean Watts
10     #2r Richard Brace Jr
11     #25 Bobby McMahan
12     #57 Dustin Golobic
13     #12 Jarrett Soares
14     #18 Jenna Frazier
15     #9n Geoff Ensign
16     #24 Colby Johnson    
17     #28 Nathan Rolfe    
18     #83sa Matt Dumesny    
19     #14 Marcus Dumesny        

Lumberjacks Restaurant Super Stocks
Results are not official
1     #22m Mitch Machado
2     #3 Matt While
3     #07 Manny Avila
4     #60 Shawn McCoy
5     #46 Steve Studebaker
6     #27 Tim O'Hara
7     #18 Snazzy Duckworth
8     #11c Sean Cook
9     #85 Austin Ohlinger
10     #51d Sid Hess

General Hydroponics Redwood Dwarf Cars
1     #23r Dave Mosier        
2     #42r Adam Teves
3     #9r Chad Matthias
4     #66r Scooter Gomes
5     #22r Zack Albers
6     #79r Mark Hanson
7     #71r John Peters
8     #11r Carroll Mendenhall
9     #81 Miranda Chappa
10     #31r Brandon Gentry 
11     #03r Mike Affonso
12     #13r Trevor Mendenhall
13     #34r Sam Borland    
14     #43r Michael Williams
15     #21r Marcus Hardina        
16     #08r Adam Freitas
17     #59r Matt Hagemann            

Jake's Performance Hobbies Mini Stocks
Results are not official
1     #3xr Jeremy Tjensvold    
2     #m1a Danny Manzoni
3     #7c Samone Chrisman
4     #25c Roberta Broze
5     #c4 Roy Dearing
6     #32 Sean Hale
7     #7 Trevor Rodriguez
8     #3r Tom Brown
9     #13 Dave Spindell    
10     #22z Sophie Shelley    
11     #8 Adin Avila


Merced Speedway Unofficial Race Results
IMCA Sport Modifieds
Kelly Wilkinson
Bruce Nelson
Chris Falkenberg
Danny Roe
Nick Tucker
Jarrod Mounce
Austin Williams
Chase Thomas
Mark Odgers
Tanner Thomas
Chuck Weir
Jeremy Hoff
Tony Peffer
Richard Ragsdale
Mark Squadrit
Cody Parker
Travis Slayter

Hobby Stocks
Kodie Dean
Shannon Nelson
Austin VanHoff
Donnie Shearer Jr
Michael Shearer
Kristie Shearer
Kalob Shelton
Brad Myers
John Hensley
Breanna Troen
Nick Lawrence
Billy Garner
Race Shelton

Valley Sportsman
Chris Birdsong
Eric Seely
Jerry Cecil
Chris Delfs
Mike Freisen
Rick Elliot
Jeff West

Mini Late Models
Jesse Burks
Tim Crews
Carson Guthrie
Ian Shearer


The Editor's Viewpoint

We're In the heat of summer now. There's no getting around it. When you come out to the race track, you're going to be baking in the sun. We're also coming up on a one-week break up here pretty soon, and I had given thought to making a visit to Orland Raceway that week. I happen to have family in the area, and this would have been a perfect opportunity to go see a race at the 1/5 mile dirt oval. I've been hearing good things, and of course this is a track that we cover in our media effort.

One of my big concerns when I was thinking about this trip was the cost. It's not cheap getting down there, and that put the trip in doubt. The other problem is I've been running myself pretty ragged here and I'm already feeling the effects. We still have half a season left to go, and I'm looking for the checkered flag. Regretfully, I had to go ahead and scrap plans to make the trip. For the week off, I'm probably going to be trying to catch up on some rest while still maintaining the media effort from the desk. The other thing is we have some big events coming up in August that need some preparation.

I made the comment about my financial situation affecting my decision not to go to Orland Raceway to a couple of friends, and I was surprised by their reactions. They both have made donations to get me a train ticket for a trip further down to Antioch in October. This one has been on my radar for a couple of reasons. I'm concerned about how things are going down there, I have many friends there that I miss and our season will be done by then. It lines up perfectly. I have another idea that's been bouncing around in my mind, and perhaps I will express that at a later time. I'll be doing it privately with a few people until then.

You look at your schedule and you have high hopes for every date that you have booked. Nobody books a schedule with the intent to have nights that are going to fail. You know that that will happen, but you put a schedule together with the intent that every race will be a winner. My role up here is to try and sell each race date to the fans to get interest in coming out to watch a race. Basically, that's what this racing media effort is all about and why I do the articles I do for certain tracks that have no Publicity Director.

Saturday didn't look good going into last weekend. I've had this uneasy feeling about July in Medford and how things could fall off. Given the struggles that we've had in the turnaround effort up here, I've been bracing for impact since day one. The only thing I can do is look at what we've got on the schedule and do my best to present it to the people. I do my best to try and give them a reason to want to come out and watch.

We had a pair of things that were obstacles to overcome. First of all, we were booked on the night of the County Fair. Though it's allowed, this isn't something that has been done traditionally at the speedway. The second obstacle was the 100-plus degree weather we were dealing with. We're fighting an uphill battle here. There was Jeff Foxworthy doing his routine at the County Fair, which many people wanted to see. Plus, the County Fair only comes along once a year. And like I said, we had 100-plus degree weather.

To be honest, I didn't want to be out in that weather, and it pretty much got to me by the time we were ready to start racing. I will work social media and do whatever I can to the last minute, but we had what we had. It wasn't getting any better. We had our weakest night of the season, and this was a reminder that even if things are going good, it can go bad very quickly. Like I've been saying, you might be proud of the success you have on any given week, but you don't assume you're going to have that next week. You get back to work and do what you can. Now, it's time to make plans for the next weekend and chalk up the lessons learned this time.

I have a few observations on the subject. First of all, when you know there are certain weekends that might be a bit iffy on the schedule and you still want to race, you need to take that into consideration when booking divisions. Perhaps the higher end divisions with the bigger purses should have nights off on those occasions? The Sprint Car division is doing well up here, but it comes with a hefty price tag. The Late Models don't come cheap either. When you have a race where the grandstands underperform and you have those two divisions to pay, it's not good.

What I would suggest is going with the lower end divisions and letting them have their night to shine. You want to get as many fans as you can at the track, and you're showcasing these classes, but at the end of the evening, you're not paying a big purse. You have to balance a lot of things when you're running a racing program. People will complain about the ticket prices, but when they come to the race track, they want to see cars and they want to see certain divisions. It takes money to make that happen. So, it can be a real challenge booking a schedule. The lesson learned here could be stay off of the fair week? Perhaps it's always meant to be a month where two Saturdays will have no races?

I keep looking at the one division staring me back in the face and wondering if they could be showcased as the headline class on a night like this. I speak of the Pro Stocks. This is an uphill battle for me as somebody who would be an advocate for the class. There are reasons I push for this. It's Stock Car racing, it's a division that has been around the speedway since it opened and they can deliver car count. It's win-win. All I can do is speak up for the cause, but the ultimate decision of yes-or-no falls into the hands of the promoter.

There's an area at Southern Oregon Speedway that to me is lacking. I've been used to watching something like a Limited Late Model or Street Stock or Hobby Stock class and this place has none of that. They never started a Hobby Stock class. The Street Stocks weren't started until 2010 and only had a 5-year run, and the Pro Stocks were the class they had. I do find it interesting that the Pro Stocks at the old Posse Grounds track, then called Sportsman, had evolved from the Street Stocks. The Pro Stocks were there from day one at Southern Oregon Speedway, and a few years into the track's run, there was talk about splitting the class and starting a
Street Stock division then. Why didn't it happen? There were over 30 Pro Stocks. Perhaps management decided not to split the numbers? Can't argue with that, but a Street Stock division would have been nice.

You have to factor in a few things as a promoter when you're booking a schedule. One of the things is other race track dates. I was reading the comments from people saying the promoters aren't working together. And that's somewhat true up here. However, promoters will generally try to stay off of each other's big dates when possible. And if you wanted that division and are keeping it dark because of a race at another place, you have to put something else in its place. It's challenging.

Up here, we have eight regular divisions on the roster. Divisionitis at its best. You sort of have to do that to try and keep the numbers up. If you only had three divisions and ran them 20 times a year, I can assure you that in 2018 you're going to see numbers drop to where you might have 30 or less cars in the pits for the three division show. Our neighbors in Yreka understand this all too well. They only have two regular classes these days and depend on the car count they get from the Pro Stocks on nights in which they are booked. So, to keep your numbers up, you have more divisions. Not my ideal situation, but I understand it is the way it is now.

I've been somewhat encouraged by the IMCA Modifieds and the slight  resurgence we've seen in numbers. I'm not saying the numbers are huge, but they're better than last year. I've been waiting for the drop off. Remember that comment about bracing for impact? The Medford area has some really good IMCA Modified drivers, and if they were showing up in the numbers they are capable of, I don't think there's a track in the state of Oregon that would have a better show. Maybe I'm biased? Sport Modifieds are really growing, but the influx of new drivers for the class presents a challenge when it comes to a smooth running Main Event. In other words, we're seeing quite a few yellows here and torn up equipment.

That's always the interesting discussion to me. It always comes down to the track did this to the racers. You will see them pass the buck. "It was a crappy race track that made me wreck my car. Couldn't possibly be me." Truthfully, you have nights at the track where the division is constantly delivering caution filled races, and I'm not naming a division in particular here. Drivers have to take some of the blame.

What has generally happened with the schedule here is we have paired both Modified classes up on certain nights and the Sprint Cars are usually headlining the other nights. Sometimes there's Southern Oregon Dwarf Cars. The Sport Modifieds, Dwarf Cars, Hornets and Sprint Cars are performing well so far in car count. Everything else is a work in progress. This is where I go back and look at the division that's been staring me in the face the whole time.

Pro Stocks would fit in nicely here. That's my opinion as the editor of this site, not to be taken as an official statement for any track. Fact is, I don't know the path to get Pro Stocks more dates here. I would just advise the association that if they want to continue running, they need to get their dates where the getting's good, wherever that may be. In other words, if a track wants you there and the racers don't object, book it. It's what you do when you're an association trying to stay afloat.

So, we came off of a night that was definitely less than desired. We learned some lessons. But the good thing about it was that this was Kids Night. Kids got in for free. Between Uncle Rich donating 125 Hot Wheels to the first kids through the gates, Claudia Linker landing bike sponsors that got us nine bikes and some candy that I handed out to the kids, I think that aspect went pretty well. You can sometimes take positives out of nights that don't pencil in so well otherwise. There's not a lot of time to stop and think. You just get ready for the next race and move ahead.

I know it's not the best of seasons right now in Yreka. They've gotten a couple of rainouts this year where we actually got our races in. But, car count numbers aren't up as well as they were last year. Now, it's fire season and it's taking a toll down there. They lost a weekend due to the Hornbrook fire, and more fires are putting this weekend at risk as well. The track will be dark for another month during the fair unless something changes and they allow them a race at some point.

I still say it's regrouping time there. I think that it might be in the best interest of the association to really map out a game plan for how to grow the racing program there. You have to put pieces in place to build a program. It can't simply be an association managing to keep the race track open from year to year. Obviously, that business model isn't quite working out so well. Sure, they might say it is because racing continues on, but you need to build up the base. What might be the best course of action? Perhaps hiring a promoter to run the track for the association? Seems to me that this model worked pretty well for the NCRA at Lakeport under Bob and Nadine Strauss.

When associations go bad, you can lose race tracks. Hayfork nearly learned that lesson this year when the schedule booked for the season was canceled before it ever started. If not for some quick thinking and efforts behind the scenes, it may have been a dark year. With a new name, Mountain Valley Raceway, they held their first race last weekend. Much like Orland Raceway, we struggle to get results from there, but from pictures I've seen it looks like numbers came in about the way they usually do there. Another good thing about the racing program there is the fairgrounds appears to be supportive of racing. They even chip money into the purse on occasion, such as last week.

I look at the four tracks that served as the center of my racing universe for years with great interest. I was happy when Watsonville management distanced themselves from the San Jose Speedway Hall of Fame. The reason was the so-called leader of that effort has become a bit unstable with some of his political and transphobic rants that don't serve to represent the best interest of racing at all. When he pulled his Hall of Fame ceremony a month or so ago in protest, he didn't do that effort any favors. What I would advise John Prentice at Watsonville to do is to get the Watsonville Racing Hall of Fame back up and running again. I know a few families that would be glad to help.

I would still call that somewhat optimistic because Watsonville still rolls along with their Sprint Car class and the Sport Modifieds doing better numbers. Judging from the car count numbers, things are up there. I'm also excited to see that Rick Faeth and Glad Enterprises has signed another extension to keep Petaluma Speedway going through 2022. You know what I say. As long as the gates continue to open, there's a chance for good things to happen. This track has an amazing if sometimes forgotten history, and it's worth fighting for.

I know how much the Merced Speedway family is grieving right now with the sudden loss of Ed Parker. But I see a community rallying behind that race track. You can't give up. The reason Ed Parker ever stepped up to begin with was because he saw something worth fighting for, and the numbers he put out there on the track show that he was right. There might be some questions about the future, but I see good things going on. You have a Fairgrounds that is committed to that track, which means that it's worth it for somebody to continue to invest in racing at Merced Speedway. The show will go on.

That leads me to Antioch Speedway. I will admit I'm nervous about things. First and foremost, my thoughts and prayers go out to John and Donna Soares during this difficult time for Donna. I'm amazed that John even bothers to worry about racing at a time like this, but I know he also worries about where that track will be if he gives up. Believe it or not, the man cares about the sport. I've never doubted that. Now, if he can just take out some of the trash in regards to certain people there who aren't doing the track any favors, it could be better.

That would lead me into a few other directions on what I think could help. Could I be of help in 2019? Would I be willing to? Would John be willing to have me down there, if he is still the man calling the shots there and doesn't walk away or sell the place? There's a lot of questions I don't know the answers to, and it's added to my desire to go back down there before the season is done and see a few things for myself. Plus, the aforementioned idea that I have. But I don't want to get ahead of myself.

I saw one of those memes on Facebook talking about how it's up to the racers more so than the promoters to promote the race track. Yes and no. I think if you're a racer who cares about the future of your race track, then you step forward when you can. The biggest problems come when the track gives off the impression that they don't want your help or they don't want you. If a racer has tried and been given that feeling, what are they supposed to do? But, is bad-mouthing the track the way to go?

I just remember the days when racers might have the bumper sticker on their street car that advertised their race track. Or they might hang a poster in their place of business advertising the dates. Or they might take the time to talk to people about the race track. Or they would just do something to help the track if it was in their power to do so. They felt like they were a part of that racing community and that the community needed them. I think in some areas, community is lacking when it comes to certain race tracks. So, when we're looking at those particular tracks, it might be in the best interest of the promoter to recreate that community feeling.

Of course, the concerns of some promoters are real. "What if this person who has done whatever for us now feels like I owe them a favor?" Believe it or not, that comes up sometimes. "I sponsored you $2,000 or I loaned you this or I did that, and now I want this." It doesn't work, my friends. It leads to hard feelings and the ugly specter of favoritism. If you happen to be somebody who can do something for the track, cut the strings and do it for the sake of doing it. Eventually, you're going to feel screwed over if you go in there with certain expectations.

A promoter might have to make a call against you. They may not really like you, but they'll take your money. Whatever the case. I'm not saying don't help at times where you can. Just don't go in there expecting you're doing anything but maybe helping the track a little bit in it's time of need.

I've watched a few racers leave with fingers in the air at certain race tracks. I watched that up here. I've been flipped off myself, and all I was doing was trying to interview a racer when some fan walked over and asked me a few questions. It happens. So, the disgruntled racer will get up on Facebook and will start saying bad words about the track or doing whatever damage they think they can get away with.

Going back to my own stomping grounds, I had occasion to visit with some racers who came up here for our big show last season. To a person, they weren't saying very nice things about the track or the promoter. One of them was almost poetic in the negativity that they spewed. Even when they were having their good moment, they couldn't just enjoy that without taking another dig at the promoter. Very interesting to me. I'm leaving names out of this, but one person I admired in the group didn't have a lot of positive stuff to say. They tried to help and did help. When they felt like they weren't wanted there, they left. No scene, no negative comments, but they moved on elsewhere.

You see, we all have options. There's a message in there somewhere. I think I've said enough. Until next time...