Thursday, September 27, 2018

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



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Newton, Oreta, Shrader, Decker, Sorensen Take 
Antioch Speedway Wins

Antioch, CA...September 22...Shannon Newton won his third 20 lap All Star Series Wingless Spec Sprint Main Event Saturday night at Antioch Speedway. Newton and point leader Bob Newberry battled it out early at the front of the pack while Alan Miranda worked his way up to the front in his search for his fourth victory. By lap 10, Miranda had found his way into the lead, and it looked like it might be his race to win. Working traffic on lap 17, Miranda went high and ended up getting into the wall exiting Turn 2 to end his race. Newberry gave it a good run on the restart, but Newton led the final three laps for the victory. Brandon Burd, Roy Fisher and Scott Martin completed the Top 5.

Kimo Oreta regained the Limited Late Model point lead with his sixth 20 lap Main Event win of the season. Despite starting in the back, Oreta found his way into second by lap three. Ryan Cherezian led the way in his El Camino as he continues to search for his first win. Cherezian led until pushing high exiting Turn 4 on lap 12, which allowed Oreta to slip underneath for the lead. Oreta stretched his advantage to over a straightaway at the checkered flag as Cherezian settled for second. Incoming point leader Mark Garner fell two points behind Oreta following his third place finish ahead of Mike Walko and John Evans.

Kenny Shrader scored his first career 20 lap B Modified Main Event win of the season. Schrader led from the start as Kevin Brown and Chuck Golden battled for second. Last starter and new champion Trevor Clymens came from the back to take third from Brown by lap nine. A lap 17 restart allowed Clymens the opportunity to take second from Golden. However, Shrader held off Clymens in the remaining laps for the satisfying win. Golden settled for third, followed by Kevin Brown and Randy Brown.

Jeff Decker is approaching his fourth Antioch Speedway DIRTcar Late Model championship following his season leading sixth 20 lap feature win. Decker took the lead early on and set a pace that saw him lap everybody except for second place finisher Richard Papenhausen by the waving of the checkered flag. Rod Oliver continues to hold a slim advantage over Papenhausen in the battle for second in the standings following his third place finish. Mike Hynes and John M Soares rounded out the Top 5.

Chris Sorensen locked up his second Hobby Stock championship following his seventh 20 lap Main Event win of the season. Looking for her first career win, rookie Breanna Troen led early on with Sorensen moving past James Thomson for second on lap four. An inside pass in Turn 2 of the ninth lap gained Sorensen the lead from Troen, and he pulled away during the second half of the race for the impressive victory. Troen settled for second, followed by Michael Cooper, Anthony Wellborn and Josh Leach.

For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.

Unofficial Race Results
All Star Series Antioch Speedway
Wingless Spec Sprints
Heat winners (8 Laps)-Brandon Burd, Bryan Sperry, Shannon Newton. Main Event (20 laps)-Shannon Newton, Bob Newberry, Brandon Burd, Roy Fisher, Scott Martin, Rick Panfili, Jeff Lee, Mackenzie Newton, Anthony Horn, Alan Miranda.

Limited Late Models
Heat Winners (8 laps)-Kimo Oreta, Mark Garner. Main Event (20 laps)-Kimo Oreta, Ryan Cherezian, Mark Garner, Mike Walko, John Evans, Lori Brown, Chad Hammer, Mike Gustafson.

B Modifieds
Heat Winners (8 laps)-Trevor Clymens, Chuck Golden. Main Event (20 laps)-Kenny Shrader, Trevor Clymens, Chuck Golden, Kevin Brown, Randy Brown, Matt Taylor, Ryan DeForest, Mike Mates.

DIRTcar Late Models
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Jeff Decker, Richard Papenhausen. Main Event (20 laps)-Jeff Decker, Richard Papenhausen, Rod Oliver, Mike Hynes, John M Soares, Kimo Oreta, David Newquist NS.

Hobby Stocks
Heat Winners (8 laps)-Chris Sorensen, Anthony Wellborn. Main Event (20 laps)-Chris Sorensen, Breanna Troen, Michael Cooper, Anthony Wellborn, Josh Leach, Ricky Foster, James Thomson, Joey Ridgeway Sr, Travis Tabucchi, Tyler Henrickson.



Hughes, Nelson, Dean Close Point Season 
With Wins At Merced Speedway

Merced, CA...September 22...Darrell Hughes II wrapped up his championship season with his division-leading fifth 30 lap IMCA Modified Main Event win Saturday night at Merced Speedway. This was the Matt & Glass Cancer Fundraiser event, and they ran a championship night format that put the top point competitors out front in the Main Event lineup. Hughes started on the front row with Brian Pearce and would score his fourth straight Main Event win. Pearce used his season's best second place finish to wrap up second in the final standings. Passing honors went to DJ Shannon, who charged from tenth to finish third, followed by Ryan Porter, Ramie Stone, Jeff Streeter, Vincent DePalma, Bob Williamson, Chris Sieweke and Josh Combs. Stone won the four lap Trophy Dash.

Bruce "Bubba" Nelson won his second 30 lap IMCA Sport Modified Main Event of the season. After failing to finish the week before, Nelson slipped from first to third in the standings and needed a miracle to win the championship. Incoming point leader Jeremy Hoff charged into the lead at the start ahead of Danny Roe and Nelson. After a lap two yellow flag, the race ran smoothly until lap 25. The yellow at that point wiped out a nice lead for Hoff. On the restart, Hoff got a challenge from Nelson, and the two drivers ran side-by-side until Nelson drove by on the outside on lap 28 to take the lead. Roe also made a late move into second, but Hoff wrapped up the championship with a third place finish. Kelly Wilkinson finished fourth, and Andrew Peckham made a move from 14th starting to finish fifth, followed by Fred Ryland, Tanner Thomas, Brent Curran, Chase Thomas and Patty Ryland. Nelson also won the four lap Trophy Dash.

Kodie Dean successfully defended his Hobby Stock championship after winning his ninth 30 lap Main Event of the season. Dean won with Trophy Dash winner Austin Van Hoff finishing a very close second. Shannon Nelson will settle for second in points following her third place finish. Kristie Shearer finished fourth, followed by four time champion Raul Rodriguez Sr, Kalob Shelton, Chad Ragsdale, Josh Hensley, Cody Smiley and James Stockton.

Allen Neal won his second straight Mini Stock Main Event and used it to win the division championship. Neal started out leading the way ahead of Lee Ragsdale. As they worked lap eight, Jennifer Rodgers went by Ragsdale in Turn 1 to take second. Moments later, contact sent Ragsdale spinning. Tyler Jackson was put to the back of the pack for his part in the incident, but Ragsdale was never really able to recover and lost enough ground to lose the championship to Neal. It was still a good battle at the front as Neal won, followed by Rodgers, Jackson, Shawn DePriest, Dan Myrick, Ragsdale and Jerry Tubbs. Jackson won the four lap Trophy Dash.

Carson Guthrie closed the season with his first career 15 lap California Sharp Mini Late Model Main Event win. He will finish second in the points. Guthrie won with new champion Tim Crews not far behind in second. Riley Jeppesen settled for third ahead of Logan Clay and Ian Shearer.

After another week off to allow the locals to run the Pat Pettit Memorial Shootout at Watsonville, Merced Speedway will run the Third Annual John Fore Jr Memorial Dirt Track Nationals. This special non-point event will be a two-day show on October 5th and 6th. IMCA Modifieds will be there along with IMCA Sport Modifieds, Hobby Stocks and Mini Stocks. Over $15,000 in purse money will be on the line. For further information, go to www.racemerced.com.


Champions Sylvia, Machado End Petaluma Speedway 
Point Season With Wins

Petaluma, CA...September 22...Shayna Sylvia put the exclamation point on her championship season with her second 25 lap PitStopUSA.com Wingless Spec Sprint Main Event win Saturday night at Petaluma Speedway. Sylvia started on the outside front row and proceeded to lead all the way for the win. Half a straightaway behind her in second was Casey McClain, followed by Nick Larson, Terry Schank Jr, Scott Chapeta, Bruno Bianchi, Dennis Furia Jr, Keith Calvino, Ryan Siverling and Bob Davis. Bradley Terrell paced the 16 car field in qualifying with a lap of 14.290. Eight lap heat race wins were recorded by Bianchi, Larson and Schank.

Mitch Machado wrapped up his Lumberjacks Restaurant Super Stock championship season with a win in the 25 lap Main Event. All season long, Machado turned in a dominant performance with seven wins in his nine starts. Chasing him at the finish line was his closest rival, Steve Studebaker. About half a straightaway behind in third was Manny Avila, followed by Matt While, Shawn McCoy, Snazzy Duckworth and Tim O'Hara.

Young Cody Gray scored the win in the 20 lap Santa Rosa Auto Body 600 Micro Sprint Main Event. This was his first win of the season, and he will finish second in the standings behind new champion David Engstrom. Gray was chased by third generation racer Kyle Mentch in second. This was the first visit to Petaluma for Mentch. Nick Robfogel finished third, followed by Justin Adiego, Jim Weiler, Kyle Grissom, Amber Fields, Rick Alonso, Victor Guerra and Engstrom. Robfogel and Engstrom were the eight lap heat race winners.

David Spindell won the 20 lap Jake's Performance Hobbies Mini Stock Main Event, but the consistent Tom Brown won the championship. This was the fifth win of the season for Spindell, and Brown kept it somewhat close about a half-straightaway behind in second. Jeremy Tjensvold settled for third ahead of final lead lap finisher Sean Hale. Roy Dearing was fifth as Danny Manzoni, Trevor Rodriguez, Dominic Lopez, Sophie Shelley and Antonio Miramontez rounded out the Top 10. Spindell and Danny Manzoni were the six lap heat race winners.

With the point season over, the Adobe Cup has been split into two events next month. On October 6th, it's a $5,000 to win PitStopUSA.com Winged 360 Sprint Car race. The Lumberjacks Restaurant Super Stocks will race for $2,000 to win once again in the 2nd Annual Bob McCoy Memorial Race. On October 13th, the PitStop.USA.com Wingless Spec Sprints are back along with the General Hydroponics Redwood Dwarf Cars and the Santa Rosa Auto Body 600 Micro Sprints. For further information, go to www.petaluma-speedway.com.


Kaeding Wins Sprint Car Feature At Ocean Speedway

Watsonville, CA...September 21...Bud Kaeding won the 30 lap Taco Bravo Sprint Car Main Event Friday night at Ocean Speedway. The reigning NARC King Of The West Series champion set himself up in a good position to win by grabbing the pole with his six lap Trophy Dash victory ahead of Kurt Nelson. Kaeding raced into the lead at the start of the Main Event with Nelson in pursuit for the first seven laps. Brad Furr raced past Nelson for second on lap eight, and the series point leader ran closely with Kaeding for the remaining 22 tours around the Tom Sagmiller prepared quarter-mile clay oval. However, Kaeding kept his cool and recorded his third win of the season. Furr continued to close in on the Watsonville championship by finishing second, followed by Kurt Nelson, Jeremy Chisum, Koen Shaw, Jason Chisum, Scott Parker, Cole Macedo, Vaughn Schott and Chris Nelson.

Jeremy Chisum set the fast time of 11.797, beating the 11.903 effort of Tucker Worth. Kaeding won his eight lap heat race in front of Worth, while Kurt Nelson outran Parker to win the other heat race. Kaeding had the pole for the six lap Trophy Dash and led every lap to win ahead of Kurt Nelson.

Santa Rosa's Chris Sieweke made only his second appearance of the season and won the 25 lap IMCA Modified Main Event. Sieweke had the outside front row starting position and raced into the lead at the green flag, followed by Todd Hermosillo and Austin Burke. On lap nine of the non-stop race, Austin Burke and his point leading brother Cody Burke raced around Hermosillo and into the second and third positions. However, Sieweke set a good pace up front and kept the Burke brothers at bay for the impressive victory. Austin held on for second ahead of Cody. State point leader Shane DeVolder finished fourth, followed by Alex Wilson, Jim Pettit II, Bobby Hogge IV, Robert Marsh, Raymond Keldsen Jr and Gary Marsh. Eight lap heat race wins went to Austin Burke and Sieweke.

A last-lap mishap between the leaders handed Justin McPherson his first 20 IMCA Sport Modified win of the season. Looking for his second win, Igor Grandzuk raced into the lead from the outside front row starting position, followed by John Ferro. This was another Main Event that was destined to go without a yellow flag, and reigning Antioch Speedway champion KC Keller raced past Ferro for second on lap four. McPherson gained third a lap later. Keller closed in quickly on Grandzuk and spent the last half-dozen laps trying to find a way around. Grandzuk took the while flag a nose in front of Keller. Keller gained the lead on the last lap, but contact resulted in Grandzuk spinning. Keller crossed the line first, only to have the win handed to second.place finisher McPherson on a rough driving call. Anthony Giuliani ended up second, followed by Andrew Peckham, Adriane Frost, Austin Williams, point leader Jim DiGiovanni, Alex Bieser, Grandzuk, Keller and Steven Allee. Eight lap heat race wins went to Williams and Ferro.

JC Elrod won his fourth 20 lap American Stock Main Event of the season. Elrod had to battle point leader Matt Kile for most of the non-stop race. Elrod raced into the lead from the start with Kile in close pursuit. Gradually, the lead two cars pulled away from the rest of the pack. With Kile pressuring him all the way, Elrod drove a great race to earn the victory. Joe Gallaher was about a half-lap behind in third, followed by many time champion Sam Kennedy, DJ Keldsen, reigning champion Rob Gallaher, Adriane Frost, Jerry Skelton, George Fernandez and Kevin Counterman. Kile and Elrod recorded eight lap heat race wins.

Next Friday and Saturday night is the 8th Annual Pat Pettit Memorial Shootout Race, featuring IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds and American Stocks. The Saturday portion of the show will pay $3,003 for the IMCA Modifieds in what will also be an All Star Series race. The Sport Modifieds will race for $1,003 to win and the Americans Stocks get a $503 first prize. For further information, go to www.racepmg.com.


Championship Night Set For Saturday Night 
At Orland Raceway

Orland, CA...While there are still two other races left on the schedule in October, this Saturday night will be Championship Night at Orland Raceway. It's the final opportunity for drivers to move up the point list for the 2018 season. Scheduled to compete on Saturday night will be the Pure Stocks, Mini Stocks, Mini Outlaws, Wingless Gas Sprints and 600 Micros.

Consistency has been the name of the game for 2015 Pure Stock champion Paul Stevens. Though reigning champion Jeremy Langenderfer has won a majority of the Main Events this season, Stevens has two wins and several second place finishes to his credit. He finished second to Langenderfer two weeks ago as Langenderfer is doing everything he can to keep the pressure on in this close battle. Jeremy already won the championship at Silver Dollar Speedway and would love to make it two titles in one season. Also in the hunt is 2016 champion Steve Martin, though he will need to come up big on Saturday night. Amanda McAbel has been having a good year in fourth while John Camper is in the battle for fifth with Marysville champion Shannon Collins and Thomas Pavlik.

The Pure Stocks aren't the only division putting on some great races every week. The Mini Stocks are also entertaining the crowd. Reigning champion Tom Davis made a move for the point lead last week with his second straight victory. He also capitalized on bad luck for both incoming point leader Barbara Crain and Sean Perry. Crain had problems with her car prior to the Main Event, and Perry was unable to get his car started as they had to push him off prior to the feature. Crain would certainly be a candidate for Most Improved Driver honors with her impressive four feature wins so far this year. Scott Camper, meanwhile, leads the rookies and is fourth in the standings ahead of the fast Ford Pinto of Jason Libbee, who enjoyed a strong third place finish last time out.

Keith Ross has won the lion's share of the Mini Truck Main Events, and his second straight championship seems a lock at this point. The battle is between 2016 champion Dan Webster and William Fogle for second. Webster has picked up a pair of feature wins this year and ran third in the most recent race to lead Fogle for second. Fogle got his first heat race win last time. Also in the mix is Tony Quinonez, who would love to add a feature victory at Orland to his win about a month ago in Hayfork. Rocky Wagner and Kevin Kualick are also in the Top 5 battle.

It seems like everybody in the Wingless Gas Sprint division is winning except for the two title contenders, Tanner Thomson and RJ Baker. Both drivers have finished as high as second. Last time out, Hobby Stock and Mini Truck star Jake Van Tol picked up a win, joining multi time champion Josh Jacobo, Chico champion Tony Richards and Josh Baker on the Winner's List. Jacobo seems to be a lock for third in the standings as Richards has climbed to fourth after a late start.

The 600 Micro class has run with wings and without this year, and Jake Fernandez and multi time Four Cylinder champion BJ Martin are still in the battle for the championship. Martin has won a pair of features this year, and even third place contender Jessica McManus is a Main Event winner this season.

Several positions throughout the standings in all classes will be decided on Saturday night. If you've been following the show this year, this is a race won't want to miss. The track will come back for the first two Saturdays of October with the special Battle Of The Axles races, which will offer increased purse money to various divisions. For further information, check out the Orland Raceway Facebook page.


Chet Thomson Memorial On October 6th 
At Antioch Speedway

Antioch, CA...Promoter John M Soares has decided to cancel the September 29th event at Antioch Speedway. As it was, he was making every effort to not book certain divisions against the Pat Pettit Memorial Shootout Race at Watsonville that is happening this weekend. Therefore, the A Modifieds and B Modifieds we're not scheduled. However, Hobby Stocks, DIRTcar Late Models and Dwarf Cars were booked.

There were Hobby Stock drivers who also wished to go compete in the Hobby Stock portion of the Watsonville program this weekend. Also, there were top drivers in the DIRTcar Late Models who also have Modifieds that also wanted to compete at Watsonville. Not wanting to have this conflict and hoping to work with the Pettit family on this special race, Soares decided to cancel his racing program for this weekend completely. Everybody is free to head on down to Watsonville to support the Pat Pettit Memorial Shootout Race in Watsonville this weekend without missing a show at Antioch

On October 6th, the Bay Area Hardtop division will be back in action for the 16th running of the Chet Thomson Memorial Race. Also on the card will be the point finale for the All Star Series Winged 360 Sprint Cars. Wingless Spec Sprints and Limited Late Models are also scheduled to compete that night.

In the 1960s, Vallejo Speedway was the place to be for Hardtop racing in the Bay Area. Many competitive racers entertained the crowd back in those days, including Larry Damitz, Gene Dudley, Rich Govan, Leroy Geving and Chet Thomson. All of them were champions, and it was seen as a big accomplishment to win those honors. Sadly, Thomson passed away just a year after his championship season. He was one of the more well-liked racers at the speedway, and the track decided to start running a Chet Thomson Memorial Race in his honor.

The race ran from the late 1960s to the track's final season in 1979. There aren't too many drivers who had their original Vallejo Speedway Hardtops 30 years later, but one such driver was Chet's son Tommy Thomson. Tommy was also a winner of the memorial race in the 1970s. His car was restored, and he was one of the original members of the Hardtop movement in the Bay Area that was restarted about 10 years ago.

It looked bleak for the Hardtop movement in Antioch, which was the track that gave them a home when the division was revived. In 2015, promoter Mike McCann spoke with Soares about having a big Hardtop show in August, and the result was 14 drivers coming to compete and the win being scored by Damitz ahead of Rob Waldrop. A year later, Thomson and Dave Mackey decided to bring back the Chet Thomson Memorial Race.

Again, 14 competitors showed up to run that first show in 2016, and Jason Armstrong scored the victory with Ken Retzloff borrowing a car and finishing second. The next year, it was a repeat of that 1-2 to finish with Armstrong again coming out on top. Both drivers are anticipated for this show. Mackey has been putting another motor together to return, and after making some changes with his car, Thomson is expected to make his first start of the season in his father's memorial race.

Terry DeCarlo has been running some Hardtop shows this year and is a feature winner. He drives a car with an body originally belonging to Southern Oregon Speedway Hall of Famer Harold Hardesty. Dan Williams, Steve Cloyes, Gene Haney and the Pat Hughes owned Hardtop are all expected to be on hand. Word is that John M Soares will be taking the wheel of the Hughes #100 Hardtop, originally piloted by Larry Damitz.

It's not known who all is coming in from the California Hardtop Association, but a few drivers to look for include Joe Shenefield, "Rocket Man "Ken Clifford, Dennis Armstrong, Ron Ruiz and Dave Reed. There's optimism in the air that the car count will achieve double digits for the big Hardtop event. The Thomson Memorial is one of the biggest shows for Hardtops on the schedule anywhere in the state.

Joining the Hardtops are for 360 Sprint Cars, but there's a question as to who might show up for this race. Last time out, reigning champion Art McCarthy blew a motor and lost his point lead to two-time feature winner Matt DeMartini. McCarthy may not have a motor for this race, and word is that DeMatrtini might race elsewhere for more money. If this turns out to be the case, Tim Burcher will be in a position to get the point lead. Burcher has made all the races as he gets comfortable driving a Sprint Car in his first full season. Other drivers who could be there for this race include David Dias, Jacob Tuttle and Jeff Strole.

The Wingless Spec Sprint season will come to a close with this final race, and Bob Newberry can feel Shannon Newton closing in on him in the battle. Newton scored his third feature win of the season last week, which was also the fifth straight race in which he finished second or better. Because of his strong start and the fact that he finished second once again last time, Bob Newberry can play defense. Unless he stumbles badly, Newberry should be able to pick up his second championship at Antioch Speedway. There is still the matter of bragging rights as others hope to vie for a feature win, and drivers to watch for include ageless veteran Roy Fisher, Brandon Burd, division mainstay Rick Panfili, rookie Mackenzie Newton and Alan Miranda. Miranda appeared to be well on his way to a fourth future win last time out when a tangle with a lapped car saw him hit the Turn 2 wall three laps from the finish.

The Limited Late Model division figures to go down to the final checkered flag at Fall Brawl on October 13th. Kimo Oreta is doing everything he can to secure his second championship and 7th at Antioch for the Sun Drop Racing Team. Oreta got the lead and set blistering pace in winning the most recent race by a straightaway. It was his division-leading sixth victory of the season. Three-time winner Mark Garner managed to get a third place finish behind the flying El Camino of Ryan Cherezian, but despite winning his heat race that night as well, Garner slipped to two points behind Oreta in the close battle. Mike Walko remains within striking distance after his fourth place finish, but he'll need a few things to happen to give him a real shot at the title. Joining these four drivers at the next race should be two-time feature winner Mike Gustafson, the steady John Evans, Chad Hammer and one-time champion Lori Brown.

The track will be dark on September 29th as officials get things ready for the October 6th event. It's an opportunity for fans to go check out the big show at Watsonville if they're so inclined. The big finish comes up in October with two consecutive nights of great racing at the speedway. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.


Madera Speedway Unofficial Race Results September 22, 2018
Race #8 MAVTV RPM Pro Late Models
Late Models
Matt Erickson
Blaine Rocha
Dillon Tucker
Jason Aguirre
Logan Zampa
Christian Roche
Ryan Hart
Rick Thompson
Jack Wood
Nick Grossi
Kevin Thompson
Shelden Cooper
Trevor Schlundt
Austin Herzog
Garland Tyler
Ross Strmiska
Tyler Herzog
Jarret Gilmer
Loren Kutz
J.J. Ferguson
Howard Holden
Jesse Love IV
Racin Vernon
Adam Lemke DNS

Jr Late Models
Dylan Zampa
Tanner Reif
Jesse Love IV
Kabe McClenny
Jay Julieson
Austin Edwards
Lilly Mead
Olivia Manke
Jesse Burks
Joey Iest
Tyler Reif
Calvin Hegje
Zachary Ginn
Hailey Liles

Toyota Sedan
Jason Lawton
Jillaun Holden
Kyle Labrie
Greg Tyler
J.J Brandsen
Kurt Davison
Damien Leininger
Manny Gonzales Jr

MST
Ryan Reynolds
Shaun Reynolds
Bert Stephens
Patrick Geiger
John McCullum Jr
Jason Kerns
Dennis Brannon
Dave Lander

Mini Cup/Bandolero
Hank Hall
Kale McClenny
Joseph Holiday
Jayce McArthey
Kenna Mitchell
Ethan Nascimento
Aaron Thomas
Riley Massey
Zachary Ginn
Aiden Phillips
Rebecca Dubie


Santa Maria Raceway Unofficial Race Results September 22, 2018
Pro Stocks
Devon Crockett
Justin Crockett
Tim Randolph
Frank Nyback
Jerry Stewart
Matt Mayo
Chris Clinton
Dave King Jr
Clay Daly

IMCA RaceSaver 305 Sprint Cars
Grant Duinkerken
Mauro Simone
Rick Bray
Albert Pombo
Rob Solomon
Kyle Rasmussen
Jacob Pacheco
Michael Pombo

NMRA TQ Midgets
Anthony Lopiccalo
Jason Arnolde
Kevin Kale
West Evans
Donald Brasher
Ace Kale
Taelor Janes
Scott Niven

American Stocks
Sean Martin Sr
Justin Jackson
Ryan Taylor
Hailey Wyand
Nick Verbryke
Kristina McGeary
Jon Waterfield
Ed Wyand
Gary Rayburn Jr
Gregg Teller
Kevin Pritchard DNS

Mini Stocks
Levi Burgett
Aaron Calvert
Jaryd Padgett
Justin Jackson
Joel Chavez
Steven Ragsdale
David Kavanagh
Zach Chavez
Megan Burgett
Bill Barnhill
Butch Headrick
Aryton Headrick
Jarod Pack

Sr Mini Dwarf Cars
Alysa McChristian
Zach Chavez
Trenton Rickel
Joshua Chambers
Corben Kuma
Dylan Cherry

Jr Mini Dwarf Cars
Seth Hanson
Adam Nohl
Tristen Harrington
Landon King
Bransyn Speer
TJ Claborn


Perris Auto Speedway Unofficial Race Results September 22, 2018
Amsoil USAC/CRA Sprint Cars
Results are not official
1     #4 Damion Gardner
2     #91r Brody Roa
3     #2 Austin Williams
4     #21 AJ Bender
5     #42 Danny Faria Jr
6     #5m Max Adams
7     #5 Logan Williams
8     #44 Cody Williams
9     #5x Tom Malcom
10     #4G Chris Gansen
11     #98 Verne Sweeney
12     #28m Matt McCarthy
13     #72 Gary Marshall Jr
14     #51 Austin Ervine
15     #12b Joel Rayborne
16     #39 Cal Smith
17     #92 RJ Johnson    
18     #51t Eddie Tafoya       


Ocean Speedway Unofficial Race Results September 21, 2018
Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo
Bud Kaeding
Brad Furr
Kurt Nelson
Jeremy Chisum
Koen Shaw
Jason Chisum
Scott Parker
Cole Macedo
Vaughn Schott
Chris Nelson
Richard Fajardo
Gary Nelson Jr
Ricky Brophy
Tucker Worth
Evan Bonnema
Glenn Bryan DNS

IMCA Modifieds
Chris Sieweke
Austin Burke
Cody Burke
Shane DeVolder
Alex Wilson
Jim Pettit II
Bobby Hogge IV
Robert Marsh
Raymond Keldsen Jr
Gary Marsh
Todd Hermosillo

IMCA Sport Modifieds
Justin McPherson
Anthony Giuliani
Andrew Peckham
Adriane Frost
Austin Williams
Jim DiGiovanni
Alex Bieser
Igor Gandzuk
KC Keller
Steven Allee
Charlie Hunter
John Ferro
Travis Meyerhoff
Kiely Ricardo

American Stocks
JC Elrod
Matt Kile
Joe Gallaher
Sam Kennedy
DJ Keldsen
Rob Gallaher
Adriane Frost
Jerry Skelton
George Fernandez
Kevin Counterman
Chris McCabe
Terry Traub DNS


Petaluma Speedway Unofficial Race Results September 22, 2018
Santa Rosa Auto Body 600 Micros
Cody Gray
Kyle Mentch
Nick Robfogel
Justin Adiego
Jim Weiler
Kyle Grissom
Amber Fields
Rick Alonso
Victor Guerra
David Engstrom
Jack Clark
Jason McIntosh
Jamie Faulkner DNS
Brian Slubik DNS

PitStopUSA.com Wingless Spec Sprints
Shayna Sylvia
Casey McClain
Nick Larson
Terry Schank Jr
Scott Chapeta
Bruno Bianchi
Dennis Furia Jr
Keith Calvino
Ryan Siverling
Bob Davis
Eden McCormick
Angelique Bell
Chet Wilson
Bradley Terrell
Kevin Box
Jake Haulot

Jake's Performance Hobbies Mini Stock
David Spindell
Tom Brown
Jermy Tjensvold
Sean Hale
Roy Dearing
Danny Manzoni
Trevor Rodriguez
Dominic Lopez
Sophie Shelley
Antonio Miramontez
Randy Miramontez DNS

Lumberjacks Restaurant Super Stocks
Results are not official
1     #22m Mitch Machado
2     #46 Steve Studebaker
3     #07 Manny Avila
4     #3 Matt While
5     #60 Shawn McCoy
6     #18 Snazzy Duckworth
7     #27 Tim O'Hara
DNS    #11c Sean Cook


Merced Speedway Unofficial Race Results September 22, 2018
Matt & Glass Cancer Fundraiser
IMCA Modifieds
Darrell Hughes II
Brian Pearce
D.J. Shannon
Ryan Porter
Ramie Stone
Jeff Streeter
Vincent DePalma
Bob Williamson
Chris Sieweke
Josh Combs
Ray Mayer
John Osgood III
Ricky Thatcher
Randy Brewer
Mitch Enos
Monty Tomlinson

IMCA Sport Modifieds
Bruce Nelson
Danny Roe
Jeremy Hoff
Kelly Wilkinson
Andrew Peckham
Fred Ryland
Tanner Thomas
Brent Curran
Chase Thomas
Patti Ryland
Cody Parker
Mark Squadrito
Joe Salvi
Jason Womack
Dale Grissom
Tony Hornyack
Tim Ragsdale
Austin Williams

Hobby Stocks
Kodie Dean
Austin Van Hoff
Shannon Nelson
Kristie Shearer
Raul Rodriguez Sr
Kalob Shelton
Chad Ragsdale
Josh Hensley
Cody Smiley
James Stockton
Mike Germait
Race Shelton
Allen Neal

Mini Late Models
Carson Guthrie
Tim Crews
Riley Jeppesen
Logan Clay
Ian Shearer

Mini Stock
Allen Neal
Jennifer Rodgers
Tyler Jackson
Shawn DePriest
Dan Myrick
Lee Ragsdale
Jerry Tubbs


The Editor's Viewpoint

Well, I'm sitting here on Friday gathering my thoughts before Championship Night at Southern Oregon Speedway. This closes the book on our third year at this track. I'm proud to have been a link in the chain, as I say. You know, other people got things going and people came and went during that time. You come along and do what you can to make a difference and hope that the people who follow you will continue that trend. Keep this thing going. I'm very proud of the work we put into this place in our three years, and I know things have come a long way from when we got here. It's on the up turn.

This time next week, I will be in California. It's going to be a bit hectic this next week. Go to the races on Saturday, do my media day on Sunday, try to finish things up for here on Monday and get things ready on Tuesday. On Wednesday, I'm on the train. I will be in California through October 14th, and I am very much looking forward to it.

I wanted to make another observation before I go on to other things. My media effort. I've had a few people point out where mistakes have been made and how things could be better and all of that. What you must understand is each one of these tracks that I have been covering should have media people there on the scene doing that. I've done what I call my Gary Jacob effort. I've tried to put the word out in the printed media outlets that will take the word. I take the information made available to me and put something out there. Every little detail of each race is not mentioned in these articles. It's just not possible to do that. I can't give my Gary Jacob style article for every track.

I understand a person's frustration because every detail isn't in the article. I'm sorry. I volunteer my time. Sunday can be a bit difficult because I am exhausted from the weekend as it is. But I have a deadline to make, and this can lead to late nights and early mornings when there are several tracks that need to have articles written for them. I need my information, and I need it now. Some information is more readily available for tracks than others. A couple of tracks are barely getting by.

You're never going to make everybody happy. That's just the way life is. When I walked away from the sport in 2003, the very loud negative people were a factor in why I did so. I wasn't thinking about the silent majority who appreciated the efforts. When you're a promoter of a race track, the loud negative people can sometimes overshadow the silent majority who appreciate what you're doing. You need to be careful about that. the problem is, we're all human. Negativity gets you down. It's human nature. You can walk away, jump into the negative spiral and throw it back at them or do your best to just let it go.

At Orland, I know the Turner family put in 10 years. That track had a revolving door promoter situation, and I won't deny what Paul and Carol Turner did. But in the end, the negativity got to them. The last year or two, they were throwing it back. You have to be careful about that. When you get to that point, it's time to go. What ended up happening in Orland was more of the revolving-door promoter situation. Now, you have Rich Hood and what I see as a turnaround. There are things that probably could be done to help this track, but the main thing is that Rich and his staff have righted the ship. It's getting better. Stability.

Media does matter in what you do at a race track. There are several ways to pull this off, but at the very least, you have or you should have articles on your web page after each race. Maybe even an article hyping the next race. You try to get that into different printed media outlets or racing news sites online too, because the more people who know about it, the better.

When I started my little online effort in 2015, it was Antioch, Merced and Chowchilla. I threw in Rocky Hill Speedway because there wasn't anybody doing it. By the way, somebody please open that track again. I threw in Orland, because it's Orland. I just care about that place. I was looking to help tracks that didn't have anybody doing it. That was my reasoning behind that.

This year, there are tracks that I'm covering that should have somebody there doing it. They're big enough. They have enough going for them right now. They're not the little track struggling. They have a history. I basically started doing Watsonville on my blog on a somewhat regular basis because of live scoring and the fact that I'm sitting here bored on a Friday. So I could put something together. But Watsonville needs a writer. Watsonville has a young up-and-coming scribe who can handle that. His name is Sean Stanish.

Now, I would much rather slink back into the background on Watsonville. Maybe I cover it for my blog only, or maybe I have Sean sending me articles and I post them on the blog as another place for people to read his writings. I hope Watsonville hires him or somebody because the Register Pajaronian and the Sentinel will definitely print articles for that track. They want to cover racing as they have done for years. I guess there's the appeal of covering Watsonville, Petaluma, Merced and Antioch because those four tracks meant so much to me as I was coming up in the sport. By the way, Petaluma Speedway should have a writer too.

The reason I do what I do is to give just a little bit of color. Even if I don't have every description of every race, you can say if this was that driver's best finish, if it helped them in the points or whatever. You're giving some color to what that race meant. Obviously, if you're there in person, you can write when the pass was made for the lead and other interesting things. You still have to be brief when you're doing a newspaper story versus the Gary Jacob style story that can cover a lot more. I do my best. I'm proud of my effort. It's largely volunteer, and I would suppose things are going to change next year. Either with me even being involved in the sport or what sort of load I put upon myself.

As I've been doing this media effort, the thought occurs to me that a printed publication could be started again. The possibilities are the revival of my own magazine or maybe even talking to the man who owns Racing Wheels and putting that back together again. But, it's something that I wouldn't want to put completely on my shoulders. I'm only one person and I'm not as young as I once was. I have some energy to do things, but having one or two other people working with me who share this enthusiasm would probably go a long ways towards the realization of a printed magazine. Could such a thing work in 2019? I believe so if it's planned smartly. But, who knows?

The blog has come a long way from when I was just using it to put my memories out there from the past. Since late 2014, I've been covering the current sport and not so much nostalgia. I added the Jefferson Blog in 2016 to cover a specific area, and it's done pretty well. But again, there are weeks when I've covered 12 or 13 race tracks here. 12 or 13 race tracks would make a nice magazine, in my opinion. But would I want to write all of the articles? No. There are so many good writers out there, and what we need to get back to is the idea that racing journalism matters. Weekly articles matter. Is there a market for this? I would hope so, but who knows?

So when I look at the future of racing at Southern Oregon Speedway, I am optimistic. I don't think there was a lot to be hopeful for at the end of 2015. John Skinner was just going through the motions to get through his 20th year in the hopes that he would be rewarded for getting it that far. It didn't quite work out for him, and there were nights when it probably would have been better to refund everybody their money and give up. I will give him credit for going through that year. The problem was, there wasn't a lot of positivity going around heading into 2016.

When Mike McCann stepped into the picture, he proclaimed that this was "The New Beginning" for this race track. That meant that things weren't going to be done the way they were before. For some people, the change came as a shock. A few people were dragged kicking and screaming. But, what they got was consistency. The way the track was prepared, the way the pay scale was dealt with and all of that was the same every week. You knew what you were getting when you came to Southern Oregon Speedway. There was no favoritism going on. There was consistency. You even got media effort out of the track such as never before. New things were added to the program.

The critics were still there. People being negative and running us down. In fact, it frequently happened at the end of what we thought were good nights, so you were left not feeling so good about what you thought you had accomplished. But through it all, people were talking about next week. People are talking about next year. They want to come back, because they know things have gotten better. They know that while we're not where we need to be, things are better. There is hope for the future of Southern Oregon Speedway. I'd like to believe that I have helped bring that about. I'm very proud of my work here, and there are several people here that I have enjoyed interacting with.

I'm not exactly sure what's going on at Antioch Speedway right now. What matters to me is that the race track continues. There isn't this call for the track to be closed or for the property to be used for something else. Other tracks in the area have faced a threat. We're lucky with Antioch Speedway. I know there are many voices calling for change right now. I hear them. The fairgrounds is looking at the bottom line. How much money can they make. They want more money, and they're getting quite a bit as it is.

It's a scary time because with change you need to be sure that the next person coming in can meet the demands. There's a whole drama that still needs to play out, and I'm just going to leave it at that for now. One of the big reasons I supported John in the very beginning was because change was needed. He brought change that I think made things better in those early years for sure. Right now, he represents the stability of the fairgrounds getting money out of the property. My concern when they start looking at change being needed is that they do their homework and understand the business that goes on. Not just the money that they're getting, but how it's possible. People might promise certain things they can't deliver, but John has. He runs a very big schedule to give the fairgrounds the money that they get.

I would worry about somebody coming in there that is unproven and untested simply because when they realize the high demands, what are they going to do? Can they pay the bills? And if it gets too expensive and they shut down, then what? But I also don't believe an untested entity will be what replaces what we have now. An untested entity might be rattling the cages and getting the attention, but if things open up to bidders, I believe somebody with experience will look. I also believe that the contract said an option for five more years. So, I do believe John has a leg to stand on here in this fight. There's more to this battle. I need to wait and see before commenting otherwise, but I support racing at Antioch Speedway.

There was a rumor that cropped up here recently about the possibility that a race track could be built out in Byron. You know, if you go back to the 1990s, there was a rumor about a proposed NASCAR track out there. Never went anywhere. We're talking about property by the airport. It's my understanding that permits are either there now, or it wouldn't be hard to get the permits to do the building. You're not talking about a heavily populated area, so it's a possibility. The real question is, if somebody were to build a race track out there, can that be supported in 2019?

These days, we have to fight for every car we can get and whatever attendance we can get. It's not a given. It's a struggle from week to week. Adding a new race track to the equation might not be a smart move. Of course, they said the same thing about Chowchilla. Chowchilla served to revive racing in the Merced area when things were really on the downturn, but we're 20 years down the road on this one. It's a different time.

I really think there are things that we can do to turn Antioch Speedway around that won't take a lot of effort to do. Starting with the scheduling and what is booked and how often. Special nights on the schedule. Things like that. There are things that can be done, because there are people who want to go racing. But, it's going to be a week-to-week process. Have a good night this week? Don't get too cocky. Next week is not guaranteed. It can be stressful looking at things this way, but it's necessary to go out there and really work for the turnaround.

By about mid October, if my calculations are correct, the 2018 media effort will be complete. Looks like the final races will happen on the weekend of the 13th and 14th of October at tracks that we've been covering. I really do wish I could go to Lemoore on the 14th rather than catching the train back up here. Dan Myrick and the Central Valley Mini Stocks have gone above and beyond in supporting this effort, and it is so greatly appreciated. The little bit of support that we've gotten via The Tip Jar has made a big difference to me. It's enabled me to do a few things that I needed to take care of for myself that I might not have otherwise.

I love the idea of doing Mini Stock racing on a smaller track. When I saw this happen at Stockton Delta Speedway in the 1990s, I was hooked. And these guys do a good job at Lemoore. I really wanted to make a Hornet race happen on the smaller track up here, but the division was facing a bit of attrition by the time we were going to try and run something for them. It was better to just end the season. Still would be something I'd like to see.

But Dan isn't just doing this Mini Stock thing at Lemoore as a novelty. He's put a lot of effort into this. He's put a lot of himself into this. He's done promotional things like getting the Legends of Kearney Bowl guys to put their cars on display. He's working on getting other classes to be a part of this. He is constantly thinking about how he can make this thing better. It's a good thing and he has a lot he can be proud of. He's also got some good racers out there who have been very supportive from the get-go.

I will be covering this event, even if I'm writing the article on the train coming back up. And it's still my hope at some point to make it down there to witness a race in person.

I'm not 100% sure what the plans will be for next year. I know that when I walk away from this sport, I'm walking away. I will become a nostalgia writer again and work on that sort of thing. There are history books I'd like to do, but I certainly can't do that work when I'm concentrating on the current effort. It takes everything out of me to do what I do.

This off season, there are two books on the drawing board. One of them is the nearly completed sequel to Just A Kid From The Grandstands. If I put this one out, it's the final racing autobiography book that I'm doing. I want to move on from that approach. There is the Race Track Almanac that I want to put together, and I'll leave out the details of what I'm talking about until production begins. There is also Best Of The Blog And Beyond Volume 2. That book is basically already written and would be a sort of yearbook covering racing from 2015 to 2018. The weekly recaps and that sort of stuff would be in there. It's not as high on the priority list, however.

Because I don't know exactly what is up next for me, I can't say for sure things are happening or not. I have a mind to do the sequel to my autobiography because it is done for the most part, but time will tell. Through it all, however, the blog will remain for me to post whatever is up next.

But it's important for me to say that I appreciate each and every one of you who have read the articles posted here. I appreciate those who have shared links and those who have added to The Tip Jar. My trip down to California would not be possible without the support of Paul Gould Photography of Antioch Speedway and the track's webmaster, Mike Kord. They've basically paid for this trip. And Rick and Diana Panfili have offered the place to stay once again.

Going back to Antioch and actually watching races there for the first time since 2015 will be a breath of fresh air for me. This is the place of my youth. Though the racing isn't what it once was, it's still like Hallowed Ground to me. It's important. I almost feel like before I walk away from the sport, there are some things that need to be done here first.

One of my concerns is honoring the history of this race track. I have something that I've been hinting at for a while, but everything is up in the air at the moment. I don't have everything lined up the way I would like. Being as how it is getting closer to the day it was supposed to happen, I'm not sure where that leaves things. I'm not sure about a lot of things right now. I just feel like there are things I'd like to do to help the cause before I walk away. Where the opportunity will present itself is another matter. We'll just see what happens.

On that note, I'm going to end a rather long column. Until next time...

Wednesday, September 19, 2018

Antioch Speedway, Merced Speedway, Orland Raceway, More


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


Don's California Racing Recollections:  Best Of The Blog And Beyond
Racing History, Stories, Statistics And Pictures
Available via print on demand at Lulu in Hard Cover or Paperback

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Also...

DCRR Racing Media And PR Consulting  HERE

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The DCRR Racing Radio Show
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Motts Wins Soares Memorial Top Dog Race 
At Antioch Speedway

Antioch, CA...September 15...Bobby Motts Jr scored the win in the 20 lap All Star Series A Modified Main Event Saturday night at Antioch Speedway. This was the Third Annual John Soares Sr Memorial Top Dog Race, which honors the track's founding promoter. Motts is the reigning track champion, and this was his first win of the season. He started on the front row and led all the way. However, during the latter stages of the race, point leader Nick DeCarlo took a few looks to the inside in an attempt to get by. Motts remained strong on the outside and fought off the pressure of DeCarlo for a well-earned victory. Kellen Chadwick finished a close third, followed by Terry DeCarlo Sr and Anthony Slaney.

Two-time DIRTcar Late Model champion Richard Papenhausen won his third 20 lap Main Event of the season. Papenhausen started on the front row and led the race from the start, followed by Shawn DeForest in the Dennis Souza car. As the previous winner, point leader Jeff Decker started back in the fourth row, and he made a Turn 2 pass on Chester for fourth moments before Rod Oliver came to a stop in Turn 2 while running third. As Papenhausen led the rest of the way, DeForest fought off Decker's every attempt to get by for what would be a season-best second place finish for Souza. Mike Hynes and Oliver rounded out the Top 5.

Reigning Limited Late Model champion Kimo Oreta used a front row start to win his fifth 20 lap Limited Late Model Main Event of the season, but he still lost the point lead to heat race winner Mark Garner, who finished second. Oreta led from the start of the non-stop event with Mike Walko an early second. An inside pass in Turn 4 of the seventh lap gained Mark Garner second, but Oreta had a straightaway advantage by then. That never changed in the waning laps as Oreta won ahead of Garner, Walko, Ryan Cherezian and Mike Gustafson.

Rookie Josh Leach won his first career 20 lap Hobby Stock Main Event. Michael Cooper sprinted out to the early lead ahead of point leader Chris Sorensen as Leach worked his way into third on lap three  At the midpoint of the race, Leach and Sorensen exchanged second a couple of times before Leach gained the position on lap 14. An inside pass in Turn 2 of the 15th lap gained Leach the lead. Sorensen moved into second on a lap 18 restart, but Leach brought it home to victory, 0followed by Sorensen, Cooper, Breanna Troen and Cameron Swank.

David Rosa won his first 20 lap Dwarf Car Main Event of the season. Rosa now has almost 60 career Main Event wins at the speedway, mostly from his days in the Street Stocks where he was a two-time champion. Adam Teves led most of the race. David Rosa was running second with five laps to go and made his winning move on lap 18. Teves began to slow on the final lap as David Rosa won ahead of David Michael Rosa, 2010 champion Jerry Doty, Mario Marques and Teves.

The All Star Series racing action returns next week with Wingless Spec Sprints, DIRTcar Late Models, B Modifieds, Limited Late Models and Hobby Stocks. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.

Unofficial Race Results
All Star Series Antioch Speedway
DIRTcar Late Models
Heat Winners (8 laps)-Chester Kniss, Jeff Decker. Main Event (20 laps)-Richard Papenhausen, Shawn DeForest, Jeff Decker, Mike Hynes, Rod Oliver, Kimo Oreta, Chester Kniss, John M Soares.

A Modifieds
Heat Winners (8 laps)-Buddy Kniss, Bobby Motts Jr. Main Event (20 laps)- Bobby Motts Jr, Nick DeCarlo, Kellen Chadwick, Terry DeCarlo Sr, Anthony Slaney, Trevor Clymens, Doff Cooksey, Mike Salazar, Terry Kaiser, Buddy Kniss.

Limited Late Models
Heat Winner (8 Laps)-Mark Garner. Main Event (20 Laps)-Kimo Oreta, Mark Garner, Mike Walko, Ryan Cherezian, Mike Gustafson, Chad Hammer, John Evans.

Hobby Stocks
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Breanna Troen, Josh Leach. Main Event (20 Laps)-Josh Leach, Chris Sorensen, Michael Cooper, Brianna Troen, Cameron Swank, Ricky Foster, Angela Brown, Lindsay Buirch, Ed Letterman, Anthony Wellborn.

Dwarf Cars
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Jerry Doty, David Rosa. Main Event (20 laps)-David Rosa, David Michael Rosa, Jerry Doty, Mario Marquez, Adam Teves, Troy Stevenson, Mike Corsaro, Troy Stevenson Sr, Chris Becker, Timmy Ryan.


20th Spec Sprint Season Continues At Antioch Speedway

Antioch, CA...Just four races remain on the 2018 All Star Series racing schedule at Antioch Speedway. This Saturday night offers up another five division program that will include the return of the Wingless Spec Sprint division. Also back in action will be the DIRTcar Late Models, Limited Late Models, B Modifieds and Hobby Stocks. The racers are running out of time to make their moves in the standings.

The 20th season for the Wingless Spec Sprints only has two more races left to go. 2004 champion Bob Newberry can put himself in a nice position to win the title with a good performance this weekend. Newberry has won four Main Events this season with two second place finishes, but his last two starts have allowed Shannon Newton to cut his lead to 33 points. Newton has turned the pressure up on Newberry by scoring three of his four second place finishes in the last four races and one of his two wins. Without a little bit of bad luck for Newberry, it may not be enough in the end.

Past Chowchilla Speedway champion Brandon Burd is still looking for his first win of the season. With a pair of third place finishes in the last four races, Brandon has taken a pretty good hold of third in the standings and is 29 points behind Newton for second. The star of the most recent race was Alan Miranda, who drove to his third feature win of the season. Miranda has missed races and is not currently in the Top 5 in the standings. Fourth-ranked Roy Fisher has three season-high third place finishes and is still looking for his first win. He leads newcomer Scott Martin by 26 points in the race for fourth. Martin is another 20 points ahead of division original Rick Panfili in the battle for fifth. These drivers are anticipated this week along with rookie Mackenzie Newton and James East.

The closest battle at the track continues in the Limited Late Model division. Kimo Oreta tops the leader board in feature wins with five aboard the Sun Drop Racing Team #15 car. Despite getting his most recent win, however, Oreta lost the point lead to heat race winner Mark Garner by just two points. Garner has a knack for getting heat race wins, and this has certainly kept him running strong in the point race. Garner recorded his third second place finish last time out and also has three wins, but he can feel the pressure. He knows that he needs to continue to do well with a hard charger like the reigning champion Oreta still in the hunt.

Mike Walko continues to make his presence known in the battle. He has recorded four feature wins, four seconds and four thirds in 14 starts, but he finds himself 20 points behind Oreta with three point races remaining. He can still pull it off, but he needs some bad luck for his two rivals. Meanwhile, Ryan Cherezian continues his quest for his first win of the season. With a second place finish and four thirds, Ryan has a good hold on fourth in the standings. These four are anticipated this week, and other drivers to look for include two-time winner and two-time champion Mike Gustafson, John Evans, Chad Hammer and Lori Brown.

The good news for the DIRTcar Late Model competitors is that point leader Jeff Decker had his worst finish last week. The bad news is it was a third place finish. Decker has been the driver to beat in his quest for a fourth Antioch championship. He's recorded an impressive five wins and two seconds and has stretched his lead to 48 points over the consistent Rod Oliver. Oliver has all Top 5 finishes in his eight starts, but he's coming off of his two worst performances so far in fifth. With three-time winner Richard Papenhausen 16 points behind him in the race for second, Oliver may need a win to hold on to his position.

There's a battle going on for fourth between the last two "Rookie Of The Year" winners in this division. After recording three straight fourth place finishes, Mike Hynes has moved to within six points of Kimo Oreta. Oreta has had slightly better finishes this year with a pair of thirds in the Sun Drop Racing #03 car. These five drivers are anticipated this week, and others to watch for include Dennis Souza, Rob Norris, John M Soares and Paul Guglielmoni. Last week, Chester Kniss was doing well with a heat race win and running strong in the Main Event until suffering motor issues. Unfortunately, that may result in his last start in this class for the season.

The B Modified championship has already been locked up by 2016 champion Trevor Clymens. Any wins now are just icing on the cake. He had a division-leading seventh victory last time out. With the division not on the card last week, Trevor again ran with the A Modified class. Chuck Golden used his recent finish in fourth to take a 10 point lead over rookie Ryan DeForest in the battle for second. Ryan's father Shawn took the wheel of the #72 car last time out and finished fourth. While Ryan has won a Main Event this year, Golden has finished as high as third as he continues to battle for his first win of the season.

There's also a race for fourth in the standings, being led by newcomer Kenny Shrader by three points ahead of Tommy Fraser. Fraser got a new car recently and has enjoyed two of his best finishes so far with a win and a second. He would definitely have to be considered a threat to win again this week. You can never be sure who will show up on any given week, but other drivers to watch for include last season's top rookie, Todd Gomez, Kevin Brown, Matt Taylor, Randy Brown, one-time feature winner Brent Curran and recent R Charles Snyder Salute winner at Southern Oregon Speedway, Guy Ahlwardt.

Even after getting his new car this season from the shop of Baker Motorsports, Chris Sorensen couldn't have imagined the season he would have. The 2010 champion could clinch his second Antioch Speedway title with a decent performance this week. He's done just a bit better than decent with six feature wins so far and a division-leading nine seconds. This means that frequently to get the win, you have to go through Sorensen. That was the case for two of the recent first time winners, Anthony Wellborn and last week's victor, Josh Leach.

The top winner in the season so far with seven victories is Cameron Swank, but the reigning division champion finds himself chasing Michael Cooper in a good battle for second. With five victories to his credit so far, Cooper leads Swank by just four points. Some might think it is refreshing to see that the rookies Wellborn and Leach won the most recent two point events. However, the top rookie in the field right now is Breanna Troen. Breanna picked up a fourth place finish last time out to maintain a 77 point advantage over Leach and an 81 point lead over Wellborn. Unless she stumbles, she's in a good position to win the *Rookie Of The Year" honors. Other drivers to watch for this week include John Wacht, Haley Gomez, Joey Ridgeway, Ed Letterman, Syd Smyth and Lindsey Buirch.

Saturday night offers a good lineup of racing for the fans to enjoy. Antioch is where the Wingless Spec Sprint division got its start and it's the last Northern California track offering full Late Models for the fans. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.


Hughes, Ryland, Nelson Share Merced Speedway Spotlight

Merced, CA...September 15...Darrell Hughes II is closing in on the 2018 IMCA Modified championship at Merced Speedway following his division-leading fourth Main Event win of the season. Because he has the highest point average, Hughes found him self-starting back in the sixth row in the 21 car field. However, he rapidly worked his way to the front of the pack and maintained a fast pace all the way to the checkered flag. Ramie Stone battled Brian Pearce for several laps before claiming the second position with cousin Paul Stone also getting by Pearce for third. Vincent DePalma out of Glendale, Arizona finished fifth ahead of Troy Stone, Jarod Fast, Steve Streeter, Monty Tomlinson and Ray Mayer. Eight lap heat race victories went to Hughes, DePalma, Ramie Stone and Tim Cecil.

Reigning IMCA Sport Modified champion Fred Ryland returned and recorded his first 25 lap Main Event win of the season. The other story of the night was incoming point leader Bruce Nelson's disappointing finish back in 19th. This opened the door for a point lead change, and Danny Roe recorded his best finish of the year in second, followed by Jack Aguiar and Jeremy Hoff. Hoff emerged with a four point advantage over Roe heading into next week's point season finale. Kelly Wilkinson charged from 15th starting to finish fifth, followed by Patti Ryland, Cody Parker, Tim Ragsdale, Mark Squadrito and KC Keller. A big turnout of 26 cars required a 15 lap B Main to fill up the remainder of the feature, and Tim Elias won that race ahead of Neill Barcellos and Anthony Giuliani. Eight lap heat race wins went to Keller, Roe, Ragsdale and Patti Ryland.

Shannon Nelson stayed in championship contention with her first 25 lap Hobby Stock Main Event win since 2015. She had Austin Van Hoff and point leader Kodie Dean running closely behind her all the way as they finished in that order at the checkered flag. Dean holds a five point lead over Nelson heading into the final point race on Saturday. Chad Ragsdale finished fourth in only his second start of the season, followed by Brandon Pugh, John Hensley, Roy Hart Jr, Race Shelton, Kristie Shearer and Mike Germait. Dean and Nelson each won eight lap heat races.

Teen leadfoot Allen Neal emerged with his first career 20 lap Mini Stock Main Event win. He scored the win with Lee Ragsdale in close pursuit in second. It's still a close battle for the championship heading into the finale as Ragsdale leads Neal by just three points. Watsonville visitor Abigail Kennedy was a solid third, followed by Tyler Jackson, Jennifer Rodgers, Mark White, Dakota Keldsen, Shawn DePriest, Jerry Tubbs and Deanna Stockton. Eight lap heat race wins went to Keldsen and Rodgers.

Tim Crews collected his fourth 15 lap California Sharp Mini Late Model Main Event win of the season. In doing so, he assured himself that all he needs to do this week is take a green flag to secure the championship. Crews won the race by nearly a straightaway ahead of Carson Guthrie in his season best performance in second. Raulie Rodriguez, Riley Jeppesen and Ian Shearer rounded out the finishing order, all on the lead lap. Crews also won the eight lap heat race.

The point season ends this weekend with the special Matt & Glass Cancer Fundraiser event. This race honors long time Merced Speedway supporter Matt Van Hoecke, who passed away in 2014. IMCA Modifieds will be competing along with IMCA Sport Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Mini Stock and California Sharp Mini Late Models. For further information, go to www.racemerced.com.


Merced Speedway Remembers Another Member Of The Racing Family With Fundraising Event

Merced, CA...The championship season will come to a close at Merced Speedway this Saturday night. It's also a special event remembering Matt Van Hoecke. Matt ran the successful Matt & Glass Race Car Bodies company just down the street from the track and also was the track's official vendor for several years. When he passed away in 2014, they began running the Matt & Glass Cancer Fundraiser event. $2 on every adult admission will go directly to the American Cancer Society. The IMCA Modifieds will be competing along with the IMCA Sport Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks and California Sharp Mini Late Models.

It's fairly cut-and-dry in the IMCA Modified division. With his Main Event start, third generation racer Darrell Hughes II will be the champion. In fact, once Darrell takes a green flag in his heat race, he's guaranteed enough points to seal the deal. He could park and watch the Main Event, but it's likely he'll try to close the point season with another victory. Darrell charged from deep in the pack last week to record his division-leading fourth win of the season. He now has a division-leading 10 Top 5 finishes and a 32 point advantage over Brian Pearce.

Pearce, meanwhile, is playing defense as four-time champion Ramie Stone closes in on him in the race for second. While Stone finished second last week, Pearce was still driving to his fifth Top 5 finish of the year. It's now a seven point lead for Pearce over Stone. Stone has had multiple podium finishes in recent weeks and seems to be knocking on the door to his second win of the season. Cousin Paul Stone does have two wins and occupies fourth in the standings. These four drivers are anticipated this week along with Troy Stone, Justin Villanueva, Ryan Porter, Jarod Fast and Derek Nance.

The close championship battle in the IMCA Sport Modifieds took a turn for the worse last week for two-tme Hobby Stock champion Bruce "Bubba" Nelson. Nelson didn't finish the race and as a result slipped back from first to third in the standings. Jeremy Hoff used a fourth place finish to gain the lead, but he's clinging to a slim four point advantage over Danny Roe, who had a season-best second place finish. Past Antioch Speedway champion Hoff and Roe are still looking for their first wins of the season, but Hoff leads the class with seven Top 5 efforts. To think that Roe had a heart attack last year and is doing as well as he is with a shot at the championship is quite remarkable.

While the Top 3 drivers battle it out for the championship, the Thomas brothers compete for the fourth point position. Three-time winner Tanner Thomas leads brother Chase Thomas by just 11 points. Chase is a one-time winner this season, and his lead over two-time winner Kelly Wilkinson is just eight points in another close battle for fifth. Other drivers to watch for this week include Cody Parker, Mark Squadrito, Jared Mounce and one-time winners Chuck Weir and Nick Tucker.

The pressure is on in the Hobby Stock division. Despite winning eight times this year out of his 11 Top 5 finishes, reigning champion Kodie Dean comes into the point finale with a slim five point advantage over the tenacious Shannon Nelson. The wife of two-time champion Bubba Nelson finally recorded her first win of the season last week, and she too has 11 Top 5 efforts. Though she got the win, she was closely pursued by Austin Van Hoff and Dean at the end.

Van Hoff may be the hottest driver in the field in recent weeks. He scored his two wins in the last four races and now trails Kristie Shearer by just seven points in another close battle for third. Shearer had one of her worst finishes of the year further back in the Top 10 last week, but her 12 Top 10 finishes is second only to Nelson. John Hensley is quietly having his best season in fifth, and other drivers to watch for include Mike Germait, 2016 champion Michael Shearer, Robbie Loquaci, Race Shelton and Kalob Shelton.

Not to be forgotten in the mix is another close battle for the Mini Stock championship. This has been the best season yet for the entry-level division. With several new competitors joining the ranks, at times the count has reached into the twenties. There are three drivers still in championship contention heading into the final race. Teen competitor Allen Neal turned the heat up on point leader Lee Ragsdale by winning his first career Main Event last week. Though Ragsdale leads the division with eight Top 5 finishes, he still searches for his first win. As he clings to a slim three point advantage over Neal, Ragsdale may need that win this week. One time winner Tyler Jackson is 16 points out of the lead in third. Jennifer Rodgers holds a 12 point advantage over two-time winner Shawn DePriest in another close race for fourth. Other drivers to watch for this week include three-time winner and three-time champion Chris Corder, past Mini Truck champion Kevin Lockerby, Bryant Desaire, Jason Belton Jr and Joe Terry.

The California Sharp Mini Late Model division will crown its first champion ever at the speedway. The roster is filled mostly with teen competitors, and four-time winner Tim Crews leads Carson Guthrie by 21 points. Unless something bad happens, Crews should win the championship. Riley Jeppesen is a one-time winner with a slim seven point lead over the steady Ian Shearer in the race for third. These drivers should be there, and others to watch for include Logan Clay and five-time winner Jesse James Burks.

Saturday night brings the point season to a close, raises money for a good cause and honors one of the most well-respected and we'll liked men of the speedway. After the track goes dark for a week, there will be a purse of over $15,000 on the line in the annual John Fore Jr Memorial Race on October 5th and 6th.  For further information, go to www.racemerced.com.


Sawyer Wins All Star Series IMCA Modified Race At Calistoga

Calistoga, CA...September 14...Robby Sawyer won the 20 lap All Star Series IMCA Modified Main Event Friday night at Calistoga Speedway. The IMCA Modifieds ran in support of the World of Outlaws event. Sawyer is currently second in points at Bakersfield Speedway and he had a front-row start for the race. With Troy Foulger starting in the second row, the win was anything but easy. Foulger was wheeling the Bowers Racing Modified, and he ran closely behind Sawyer as a constant threat throughout the race. When the checkered flag flew, Sawyer scored the victory just ahead of Foulger. Ryan McDaniel ran third just ahead of IMCA State point leader Shane DeVolder. Antioch Speedway point leader Nick DeCarlo finished fifth, followed by Tim Balding, Brian Cass, Petaluma Speedway champion Oreste Gonella, Ocean Speedway point leader Cody Burke and Duane Cleveland. Richard Papenhausen was the final lead lap finisher in 11th in the 22 car field.

25 drivers came to compete in this rare opportunity for the IMCA Modifieds to run the historic half-mile oval. Foulger won the first eight lap heat race ahead of Cass. DeVolder outran Raymond Keldsen to win the second heat. Austin Burke scored the win in the third heat ahead of Gonella and the final heat race win went to Sawyer in front of Balding. There was also an eight lap B Main to determine the final starting spots in the Main Event. Freddie Plourde III won that race ahead of Papenhausen, Bud Walberg, Oregon racer Preston Jones and James Hite.


Grady, Langenderfer Win On Fan Appreciation Night At Orland Raceway

Orland, CA...September 15...Saturday night was Fan Appreciation night at Orland Raceway, and that meant the fans got an opportunity to meet their favorite racers up close before the races. It also meant a return of the popular California Hardtop Association along with the Pure Stocks, Mini Stocks and Mini Trucks.

Tom Grady earned the victory in the 20 lap California Hardtop Main Event. Grady took the lead early on from Ken Clifford with Jason Armstrong and local ace Mario Romano also getting by. It was a good battle at the front of the pack. Grady came out just ahead of Armstrong and Romano for the victory. Ken Retzloff recovered from an early tangle to take fourth as Clifford settled for fifth.

Jeremy Langenderfer won another 20 lap Pure Stock Main Event. Langenderfer just recently wrapped up a championship season at Silver Dollar Speedway, and the defending track champion was hoping to make up some ground in the point battle here. Though he scored the win, point leader Paul Stevens was nipping at his heels in second as Thomas Pavlik rounded out the Top 3.

Tom Davis continued his quest to repeat as Mini Stock champion with another 20 lap Main Event victory. For much of the race, Davis had to contend with the fast Ford Pinto of Jason Libbee, who had earlier won his heat race. With two laps to go, Libbee's hood came up as the yellow flag waved. He was forced to restart at the back of the pack, and Davis won ahead of last starter Donovan Chilton. Libbee recovered for a third place finish.

Keith Ross continued his march towards another Mini Truck championship as he won the 20 lap Main Event. Olin Crain gave him a good run before settling for second ahead of 2016 champion Dan Webster. Second-ranked competitor William Fogle picked up his first heat race win.

Racing continues on September 29th with another full lineup that will include the Pure Stocks, Mini Stocks, Mini Trucks, 600 Micros and Wingless Gas Sprints. This will wrap up the point season with two special shows scheduled for October. For further information, look for the Orland Raceway Facebook page.


Reno/Fernley Raceway Unofficial Race Results September 15
IMCA Modifieds
Chris Nieman
Paris Archie
Matt Murphy
Andy Strait
Scott Foreman
Shawn LaRocque
Alec Childs
DON CHILDS
Tim Turner
CORY SAMPLE
Glen Plake
Robert Robles
James Thibodeaux
ROBERT MILLER
Jerry Crowly
Malen Gonzalez
Barry Stone

Nevada Pro Stock Association
Jay Sears
Antonio Aragon
Travis White
Robert Mull
Robert Miller
Brent Lawrence
Bill Pearson
Brian Maehler
Jesse Gonzalez
Tyler Jones
Dale Tatum
Blane Hill
James Greenwalt
Mike McMordie

Hobby Stocks
Chris Christiano
Randy Boyd
Shayna Nieman
Rick Miller
Alex Kniestedt
Michael Burns
John Schilling
JT Stark
Cameron Knight
Cody Morris
Robert Miller

IMCA Sport Modifieds
Craig Nieman
Jimmy Ford
Ryan Svensson
Rusty McMillan
Jeff Tuttle


Merced Speedway Unofficial Race Results September 15
IMCA Modifieds
Darrell Hughes II
Ramie Stone
Paul Stone
Brian Pearce
Vincent DePalma
Troy Stone
Jarod Fast
Steve Streeter
Monty Tomlinson
Ray Mayer
Gary Marsh
Ricky Thatcher
Derek Nance
Justin Villaneuva
Danny Cavanagh
John Osgood III
Bob Williamson
Tim Cecil
Karl Rose
Mitch Enos
Randy Brown

IMCA Sport Modifieds
A Main
Fred Ryland
Danny Roe
Jack Aguiar
Jeremy Hoff
Kelly Wilkinson
Patti Ryland
Cody Parker
Tim Ragsdale
Mark Squadrito
KC Keller
Nick Tucker
Tim Elias
Anthony Giuliani
Jarrod Mounce
Tanner Thomas
Tony Hornyack
Dave Smart
Chase Thomas
Bruce Nelson
Neill Barcellos
Travis Slayter

B Main
Tim Elias
Neill Barcellos
Anthony Giuliani
Tanner Thomas
Nick Tucker
Travis Slayter
Jason Pugh
Dale Grissom
Tony Peffer
Jason Womack
Kiely Ricardo DNS

Hobby Stocks
Shannon Nelson
Austin Van Hoff
Kodie Dean
Chad Ragsdale
Brandon Pugh
John Hensley
Roy Hart Jr
Race Shelton
Kristie Shearer
Mike Germait
Robbie Loquaci DNS
Kalob Shelton DNS

Mini Late Models
Tim Crews
Carson Guthrie
Raulie Rodriguez
Riley Jeppesen
Ian Shearer

Mini Stock
Allen Neal
Lee Ragsdale
Abigail Kennedy
Tyler Jackson
Jennifer Rodgers
Mark White
Dakota Keldsen
Shawn DePriest
Jerry Tubbs
Deanna Stockton


Madera Speedway Unofficial Results September 15, 2018
46th Annual Harvest Classic
360 Super Modified/Wing Sprint
Eric Humphries
Justin Kawahata
Kyle Vanderpool
Donnie Large Jr
Alan Beck
Jim Birges
Ed Rodriguez
Anthony Pombo
AJ Russell

BCRA Midgets
Jesse Love IV
Chad Nichols
Mark Maliepaard
Cody Jessop
David Goodwill
Cody Gerhardt
Jimmy Screeton
Toni Breindenger
Austin Carter
JR Williams

NCMA Sprints
David Burcett
Robb Hammond
Denny Burell

USAC Speed2 Midgets
Adam Lemke
Joey Iest
Toni Breindenger
Elvis Rankin
Bryant Bell
Johnny Nichols

Late Models
Results are not official
1     #42 Matt Erickson        
2     #1 Tyler Herzog
3     #45 Jason Aguirre
4     #88 T Dillon Tucker
5     #44 Mike Shapiro
6     #96 Loren Kutz
7     #43 Eloy Bazan
8     #14 Aaron Mullins
9     #17 Will Martyn
10     #75 M Matt Kutz
11     #55 Kent Cam
13     #2 Jarret Gilmer
14     #88 I Joey Iest
15     #16 L David Lewellen        
16     #26 Del McIntosh
17     #09 J Jay Julieson    

MST
Results are not official
1     #24 Dave Lander            
2     #40 s Bert Stephens
3     #10 Shaun Reynolds
4     #21 Patrick Geiger
5     #33 Ryan Reynolds

Toyotas
Results are not official
1     #23 Jason Lawton        
2     #06 Tim Curtis
3     #56 Kyle Fortney
4     #14 H Jillaun Holden
5     #9 Kyle Labrie    
6     #5 Mike Marley
7     #42 Manny Gonzales
8     #55 Kurt Davison    
9     #28 Michael Stearns    
10     #21 Joshua Dross

Legends Of Kearney Of Bowl
Qualifying (list is only for names who were there, not a contest)
Results are not official
1     #26 Gary Hildebrand    
2     #98 Tony Pereira
3     #33 Phil Moradian
4     #55 Curt Taylor
5     #45 Bob Hutton
6     #15 Jeff West    
7     #70 Dewayne Woodward
9     #96 Mike Friesen


Santa Maria Raceway
Winged 360 Sprint Cars
Jordan Linson
Matt Day
James Herrera
Trent Carter
Ryan Stolz
Patrick Frisco

Late Models
Jason Papich
Logan Drake
Tony Toste
Rob Sanders
Cory McDonald DNS

Mini Stocks
Aaron Calvert
Levi Burgett
Justin Jackson
Steven Ragsdale
David Kavanagh
Zach Chavez
Butch Headrick
Gary Anderson
Megan Burgett
James Herrera
Jarod Pack
David Waller

American Stocks
Kris Broucaret
Justin Jackson
Gary Rayburn Jr
Chris Anderson
Nick Verbryke
Joel Chavez
Hailey Wyand
Kristina McGeary
Sean Martin Sr
Jon Waterfield
Ed Wyand
Jimmy Satlawa
Brock Crawford

QRC Karts
Tim Randolph
John West
Scott West
Robert Gordon
Ryan Fruge
Tailer Morrison
Ron Smith


Ventura Raceway Unofficial Results September 15, 2018
VRA DWARF CARS
1 69 Johnny Conley
2 18 Tom Morley
3 14 Tommy Velasquez III
4 5 Robert Peters
5 93 Jason Horton
6 41 Nick Velasquez
7 4 Tommy Velasquez II
8 55 Mike Long
9 25 Shane Linenberger
10 57 Jeff Hinz
11 48 Trent Morley
12 88 Jeff Brink
13 65 John Harris

IMCA MODIFIEDS
1 28 Trevor Fitzgibbon
2 22 Dave Phipps
3 61 Donald Houghton
4 21 Austin Rodarte
5 72 Austin Grabowski
6 55jr Jack Parker
7 11 Andrew Greiman
8 48 Chuck Costabile
9 09 Luis Espinoza
10 34 Scott Olsen

VRA SENIOR SPRINT CARS
1 27 Tyler Hatzikian
2 15 Rick Hendrix
3 66 Chris Meredith
4 5j Joey Bishop
5 16 Tom Stephens Sr
6 6 Bruce Hiroshima
7 54 Nate Robinson
8 1k Mike English
9 2k Paul Mircikv
10 21k Eddie Williams
11 2 Wally Pankratz

FOCUS MIDGETS
1 33 Mike Leach Jr
2 26 Chris Tramel
3 1 Randi Pankratz
4 12k Mike Mehl
5 11r Keoni Texeira
6 37 Mike Leach Sr

USAC MIDGETS
1. Ronnie Gardner
2. Michael Faccinto
3. Robby Josett
4. Robert Dalby
5. Shannon McQueen
6. Jake Swanson
7. C.J. Sarna
8. Tristan Guardino
9. David Prickett
10. Clayton Ruston
11. Daniel Anderson
12. Ashley Hazelton-Heredia
13. Mike Leach Jr
14. Kyle Beilman
15. Dylan Ito
16. Alex Schutte
17. Bruce Hiroshima
18. Bryan Drollinge
19. Tristan Thomas
20. Randi Pankratz
21. Keoni Texeira


The Editor's Viewpoint

There's drama at Antioch Speedway. What else is new, right? I suppose you can say that at most race tracks. Show me the race track where things run smoothly all the time and nobody is unhappy. I have yet to find Utopia Speedway. So, personnel has changed on the Fair Board, and it seems they want more money from the race track. That's the bottom line. They have it in their minds that they can get it too. We shall see about that.

This problem was created by John M Soares, and I'm not saying that in the way that you might think. I'm going to go back in time to the end of 1997 when the track was taking bids for the next promoter. Most people just assumed it would be businesses as usual. West Coast Speedways would get the track, right? Things were going well enough with their racing program. Car counts were doing okay. Attendance was acceptable. John wanted to be a promoter.

What do you do when you've had a successful racing career, you were born into the sport and you don't want to quit even when you're about done with your driving time? Well, if you were brought into the sport as the son of a legendary promoter, you get into the game yourself. That was the case with John. He was still managing Team USA in the successful USA vs Australia thing that was happening in Australia during our offseason.

As I understand it, John was looking around at another place. I know he took a look at Newman. Hills Ferry Speedway. Can you imagine a few to tweeks being made to that place and big cars racing there? A few people have discussed this possibility. In fact, years after John looked, it came very close to happening with the man I work with, Mike McCann. That's another story. Prior to coming to Antioch, John looked at Hills Ferry.

Nobody expected Antioch Speedway to go under new management. Sure, everybody expected somebody would take a shot at it, but the incumbent always wins, right? Well, John was interested. I remember hearing those words and getting really excited about it back in 1997. I was on board with John. Truthfully, I still am. The problem he had was that he would be heading out to Australia again and wouldn't be able to oversee everything in the process. But hey, your father is a promotional legend. He can oversee things just fine, right?

I've heard different stories about what happened. John was going to put up a nice bid to begin with. As he told me back at the time, you look at the facilities and see what you can offer that the current regime is not doing and then make your bid. John knew what he was going to do, and it was a nice proposal. What I've been told is that his dad was just a little bit worried about whether John was going to win or not, so the bid got raised just a little bit more. You might say they bet the ranch on this one.

Having a promoting legend as a father certainly doesn't hurt when you go into this process. Plus, we're talking a lot of money. The fairgrounds was getting mid five digits more with John than they got from the previous management in his early years. Of course, from the get-go John was not happy about how much he had to pay to keep this thing going. He was doing better numbers in the pits than the track had ever done before, and the grandstands were looking pretty good too. I was there in those days, and it was a heck of a run. Us against our detractors, but we showed them that the place wouldn't fall apart under John.

Since then, it's been a never ending negotiation for John. Numbers have gone down, numbers are going down at a lot of tracks. This isn't 1978. It's not 1988. It's not 1998 either. This is 2018, and you fight for everything you can get these days. You're dealing with people who have shorter attention spans these days, and I'm sure these handheld gadgets we carry with us contribute to that. You can have nights where things pop, but you have a lot of nights that aren't so good. The hope is that it all averages out at the end of the season, or you're paying the difference out of your own pocket. That's how it's been going for John. And if the fairgrounds is getting a tidy sum, but only the minimum due to lower numbers, you'll have Fair Board members who wonder how much more money is out there.

The thing about the fairgrounds management is they don't know what it takes to run one of these tracks. They don't know the trends in the sport. They don't know any of that. What they do know is the money that keeps coming in from the track that helps sustain the fairgrounds. So when the governor at the time took money out of the budget that went to the fairgrounds, it left them all scrapping to get what they could get to stay afloat. And, they get quite a bit of money out of Antioch Speedway. It's probably the most expensive fairgrounds in the state for racing. I'd certainly need to do some research on that, but I know it's definitely up there.

John is paying a big rent, and I'm sure he's only paying the minimum because of the way these things work out. If you're doing better, the fairgrounds gets an even bigger piece of the pie. I'm sure the numbers are such that they aren't often getting more than the minimum. John runs that place 30 times a year. Look at the other tracks in the immediate area. Most of them are running around 20 times. Look at the roster John has. He's rotating classes and for the most part giving classes the night off with two exceptions. But the purse money he is spending on his classes is high.

A challenge has come in. John was set as per his contract to be able to just reup for five more years, but a monkey wrench was thrown into this thing. Somebody expressed interest in bidding for the track, and the Fair Manager position has been replaced since then. The time was right for what just happened. Nothing has been set in stone yet, but the Fair Board is now pushing to put the track out for bid. What's interesting about that is I would bet that some major players will step into this once we know for sure whether or not the track can go out for bid. So, the people who initiated this challenge may not even come out the winners in the end.

John has a system that his enabled him to keep the thing going 30 times a year. He rotates divisions, has a high purse and by the end of the year, he's hoping it pencils out. If it doesn't, and sometimes it doesn't, he takes the money out of his own pocket to keep those gates open. You can say what you want about him, and people certainly will, but he has his own money really invested into it. Why? I know people will cite various theories, but it boils down to a love of the sport. If he didn't love it, he wouldn't be doing it. Plain and simple.

Now, I've heard some assumptions that have been said by the Fair Board, but I would hope they sit down and really look at things. A new promoter would definitely want to do things differently, and they would probably look at some of the divisions and start trimming the fat. That means you might not see Sprint Cars as a division under the track's umbrella. You might not see Late Models either. Modifieds would probably take on a more prominent role, but could you run them 30 times a year? No. So, I would love to know how somebody coming in there could cut the schedule back and still pay upwards of $90,000 or more. I don't see how that pencils out.

Do I blame the Board for exploring their options? No. But, you would hope that they're not looking at this thing through the eyes of somebody 30 years ago. That's not where we're at. I can tell you that a major change at a track when morale is low will initially see a bump in attendance and car count. Whether it's sustained or not remains to be seen. There's a honeymoon period for the people who are optimistic. Eventually, that ends

Now I've heard second hand what was being said, and I can't comment on that. The biggest reason why is I don't know what's rumor and what's true. I prefer to look at people on their own merits and decide for myself whether what they are offering would be right for the track. I just know what's happening now. I know the investment being made and the money being paid. I doubt that somebody coming in there will get the fairgrounds more money out of the track. I may be wrong about that. They would certainly take a look at the way things are done and start trimming the fat in their own budget. The fairgrounds will want more money, and a promoter is not doing this stuff for free. You want to get money out of it too. The next person will probably be coming at this from a little bit different perspective than John, who's not into this thing for the money. If he was, he would have quit 10 years ago.

I know John has a specific formula for getting them the money that he has paid them, and it's probably not the right way in other people's eyes. But I still believe in this day and age you need to rotate divisions and not put the burden on any one class. I also believe other promoters might look at purse money and decide whether it's worth the investment or not. By my way of looking at things, I'm not sure how they could get up to a 30 race schedule by removing certain divisions from the equation. The number 20, give or take a race, seems more reasonable.

Might they be able to make more money per race than is being done now on a schedule with less dates? Yes. I believe that's very possible. For one thing, when you have change, there's the curiosity factor that follows. You will likely see more fans coming out to watch. The core classes are likely to be A Modifieds, B Modifieds and Hobby Stocks. You might throw the Dwarf Cars in on that, and after that I'm not sure what stays, what goes and what could be added. But in that group of divisions, I'm sure car count could go up initially. How high? I couldn't speculate. But again, you still have to maintain those numbers every race, and it's not 1998.

I think I know where the numbers are in the grandstands, and I'm sure there's a thought that you can get the numbers much higher than that. I'm not convinced it's as easy as all of that. You can get an increase of some level, but what level that is I'm not sure. But, you're going to have to bust your ass to do that. One medium is not the only way to get the word out. In other words, radio, TV, neither of which is cheap, newspaper, internet, various guerilla marketing tactics. You're going to have to try all of that at various times. And here's the little diddy that will interest you. Just throwing money at it alone isn't going to get the job done.

I will point the finger at John with what I said at the start of this column. He helped make running this race track that much more expensive. But the style of promoting has also changed since the day he came in. He's not the instigator of it, but he certainly didn't fight those trends. You're using several divisions to get your car count on any given week. Before, the track had three core divisions and rotated a visiting division. But they could also book those three divisions about every week, or 22-24 times a season. Can car count hold up under that in 2018? In my opinion, no.

But with the old formula, you had the main class that got the bulk of the purse. That would be the A Modifieds. You had Street Stocks barely getting paid in the end. Many times, the fourth division that rotated paid their purse through the pit gates. When you counted car and driver and crew members, it usually paid for their purse, and the hope was they would bring a few fans to add to the overall numbers. This was pretty much Barky's old formula of 33% of the front gate gets paid for the purse. These days, that's out the window.

But the formula back then worked out just fine. Money was coming in in really nice numbers, and though John dwarfed what the previous regime was paying, the fairgrounds still made out pretty darn well. It was still one of the highest paid fairgrounds in the state. What he did was open them up to the possibility of more money. And once they got a taste of it, they wanted more. So whether it's John or somebody else, the fairgrounds is going to be looking for more money. John keeps fighting this battle out of a love for the sport. Maybe there's hope that the numbers are going to come around the way they were in the early days.

When somebody else comes in and starts losing money on a somewhat regular basis, will they want to keep doing this? That's the danger the fairgrounds gets into. So a question they're going to have to ask themselves is, will this person be able to afford this race track? Will they pay the bills to keep it going or will it shut down?

Like I mentioned earlier in this column, A wild-card is that if it is indeed determined that this track will go up for bid, other people will enter with different plans. It will be up to the fairgrounds to determine who to go with. Established promoters are likely to take a look, and at least one of them is likely to bid. And if John doesn't put up a competitive bid against them, chances are good that they will win it. It would be them against the unproven commodity of Jeremy Prince. I will admit Dixon Speedway seems to get by with their Micro Sprint program pretty well.

And the right person with the money and the experience might have a formula that will entice the fairgrounds to take a look. Go with what we're doing, and a whole different way of doing things, and you could see a bigger return overall. You'll see more people there per race, but we won't be racing 30 times a year either. What it really boils down to is if they really want John out, they're going to have to change their expectations and work with somebody. Any promoter that is constantly having to shell out more money than what they're taking in isn't likely to stick around for the long haul. You can't expect every promoter just to be in it for the love of the sport and not expecting to make a return on their investment. Promoting a race track is work, and it can wear you down

Let's be honest. People can rip on a promoter all day, and they will. But, promoters put a lot of time into what they do. So you're either going to have a promoter whose spending a lot of time at the race track to do it right and handling many details, or you'll have one doing that and maintaining a job during the week. I can guarantee you nobody wants to put that kind of energy out on something and not see a return. They might think they could do it, but if the numbers don't add up, they won't last. So what's going on at the fairgrounds right now is a risk.

John is looking for the door, but what he's hoping to do is be able to sell the operation to the next person and give them a blueprint to follow. Obviously, even somebody buying from him is going to want to change things around. Once they get an understanding for the numbers, an idea will form for a different way to do things. People can't help it. You may do it this way, but this will be the way I do it. Problem is, nobody has stepped forward with the money to buy out the operation just yet. And now, with the possibility that the track could go out for bid and John could lose, there's another thing to think about.

There's a lot of stuff at that race track that belongs to Oval Motorsports. In other words, there's a lot of stuff coming out of there if John loses the track. Do they have an understanding about how much stuff we're really talking about? Are they prepared for all of that stuff to be moved out if the next promoter is not willing to deal with John and buy it off of him? Will the loss of all of this stuff result in the track opening late or even losing a season? I can guarantee you it will make things a big challenge for the next guy.

I'm not surprised that the fairgrounds is entertaining change and thinking they can get more money. I question how much more money is really out there, and I doubt it's going to be as easy as people think. But, I also think that they better be paying close attention to what they're doing. They better be going over the numbers and getting a real understanding about what's at stake. The wrong move here could result in the track ultimately closing down. The right move keeps things going. The Fair Board is going to be looking at that, and anybody who is a newcomer to the game better be doing their homework. There's a lot of racers and fans out there who are counting on them to not blow it. Say what you will about John, and a lot of people do, the gates still open and racing still goes on. It's been that way for 20 years.

This isn't over just yet, and there are still some more chapters to be written in this story. But, the day is coming when we will see change. It's inevitable. It's just how all of that happens that is the big question. It's going to be more of a challenge than people realize for the next person to step in and take this thing over. And if it comes down to bumping John out of the picture and starting fresh, you better buckle up. It's going to be a bumpy ride. Hopefully, the destination will be to better days.

On that note, I'll end this column. Until next time...