Monday, June 15, 2020

Antioch Speedway, Petaluma Speedway, Marysville Raceway, Siskiyou Golden Speedway, Dixon Speedway, 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

If You Like Reading Our Articles
Support Us Via The Go Fund Me The Tip Jar HERE


Also...

DCRR Racing Media And PR Consulting  HERE

From the Grandstands By Ron Rodda HERE

Antioch Speedway Racing Discussion Can Be Heard HERE

Southern Oregon Speedway Racing Discussion Can Be Heard HERE


The DCRR Racing Radio Show
Backup Link HERE
At the time of this recording, Petaluma Speedway's race this coming week was to be on Saturday.  It's been moved to Sunday June 21st. The race will also be broadcast on SpeedshiftTV.


Terrell, Ahlwardt, Dutra Prevail At Antioch Speedway

Antioch, CA...June 13...Bradley Terrell scored a thrilling victory in the Hunt Wingless Sprint Car Main Event Saturday night at Antioch Speedway. This was the first ever appearance for the series at the quarter-mile clay oval. Terrell is a multi-time Petaluma Speedway Winged 360 Sprint Car champion who has won several races, both winged and wingless, in recent years. Due the covid-19 guidelines, the grandstands are still not allowed to open, but the race was broadcast on the internet at SpeedshiftTV.

Past Antioch Speedway champion DJ Johnson jumped into the early lead ahead of Matt Streeter and Terrell. A yellow flag flew for a three-car crash in the third turn. On the restart, Johnson continued to lead with Terrell settling into second ahead of Nick Robfogel, Josh Young and reigning series champion Jake Morgan. The battle for the lead heated up on the 10th lap as Terrell looked for a way around Johnson. Terrell made the perfect slide job through Turns 1 and 2 on the 11th lap to emerge with the lead, and a yellow flag waved for Streeter in Turn 3. Terrell continued to lead Johnson and Young on the restart, and Johnson did a nice slide job pass of his own in Turns 3 and 4 to take the lead on the 13th lap. Terrell and Johnson were both running the outside line, but Terrell again executed a beautiful slide job through Turns 3 and 4 to take the lead on the 15th lap. Morgan moved into the third position on the 16th lap. However, Young wasn't giving up the battle as he kept the pressure on. Morgan spun from the third position on the 19th lap. Streeter charged into fourth on lap 20, but 14 year old rookie Dylan Bloomfield made a Turn 4 pass on Streeter to gain the spot a lap later. Terrell went on to score the win ahead of Johnson, Young, Bloomfield and Streeter. 

There were 28 competitors for the show, and they ran four 10 lap heat races. Morgan won the first heat ahead of Robfogel. Jarrett Soares outran three-time series champion Terry Schank Jr to win the next heat. Terrell gave a preview of what was to come by battling Johnson to win the third heat, and Young outran Streeter to win the final heat race. Kevin Box won the 15 lap B Main ahead of Jimmy Christian and Alan Miranda.

Guy Ahlwardt scored an impressive victory in the 20 lap IMCA Sport Modified Main Event. Ahlwardt is the 2016 Hobby Stock champion at the speedway and the reigning IMCA Sport Modified State champion. Two-time division champion Trevor Clymens started up front and set the early pace ahead of Jason Jennings and Chuck Golden. Ahlwardt made a backstretch pass on Golden to take over third and executed an inside pass in the second turn of the third lap to take over second. A lap later, Ahlwardt made a similar move to grab the lead from Clymens. Clymens ended up spinning to bring out a yellow flag after four laps. Following a crash that eliminated both Nick Tucker and Tanner Thomas on the restart, the next restart saw Ahlwardt lead Golden and Jennings. An outside pass on the backstretch of the seventh lap put Jennings into second. However, Golden came back strong with an inside pass in Turn 2 a lap later to regain the position. Reigning Merced Speedway champion Fred Ryland went inside Golden to take second on the ninth lap. By then, Ahlwardt had a big lead over Ryland with Jeremy Hoff gaining third as Golden got out of shape and fell back a few spots. Haley Gomez spun in Turn 2 for a lap 13 yellow flag. Ahlwardt continued to lead Ryland and Hoff on the restart. 2017 champion KC Keller took third from Hoff on the 17th lap. Ahlwardt drove a flawless race and scored the impressive victory ahead of Ryland, Keller, Hoff and Jennings.

They ran four eight lap heat races with wins going to Ahlwardt, Brent Curran, Keller and Todd Gomez. For the 16 lap B Main, Merced Speedway competitors Chase Thomas and Tanner Thomas scored the 1-2 finish with Tucker, Andrew Pearce and Kevin Brown completing the Top 5 

Travis Dutra scored his first-ever 20 lap Jay's Mobile Welding Service Hobby Stock Main Event win. Dutra is a past Mini Truck champion at the speedway and also has a Dwarf Car championship to his credit at Petaluma Speedway. He's been running strong early on this season and appears to be a prime candidate for a championship run.

Jason Robles led the opening lap ahead of Ken Johns. Robles got a bit too high in Turn 2 while working the second lap, allowing Johns to gain the lead. However, Gene Haney and Abigail Gonderman tangled in the second turn to bring out the yellow flag. Robles was restored to the lead, but he did the same thing in the second turn. Johns ended up spinning, allowing Larry Mackenzie to race into the lead ahead of Chris Bennett and Dutra. A low pass in Turn 2 of the fifth lap gained Bennett the lead with Dutra following into second. Dutra went low in the fourth turn a lap later to take the lead from Bennett. Following a lap seven yellow flag, Dutra continued to lead Bennett, Mackenzie and Breanna Troen. They ran in that order through a pair of yellow flags. The leaders then caught heavy traffic as Tim Elias moved in to challenge Bennett and Mackenzie for second. An inside pass on the backstretch of the 13th lap gained Elias the second position, and Bennett got boxed in behind a slower car to surrender third to Mackenzie. Dutra ran a great race and brought it home to a satisfying win ahead of Elias. Mackenzie settled for third ahead of Troen and Bennett. Eight lap heat race wins went to Dutra, Elias and Haney. 

Racing resumes next weekend with the fourth appearances for both the IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Sport Modifieds, which will officially qualify both divisions for championship status according to the sanctioning body. Super Stocks are also scheduled. If current covid-19 guidelines remain in place, fans will still not be allowed to attend, but it's likely that the race will be broadcast online once again. For current information on what's happening at the speedway, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.


Jones Has Big Night At Dwarf Car Nationals 
At Petaluma Speedway

Petaluma, CA...June 13...Following his win in the Preliminary Main Event on Friday night, Shawn Jones impressed with his win in the 30 lap Pro Dwarf Car Main Event Saturday night at Petaluma Speedway. He followed that up by also collecting the victory in the 25 lap PitStopUSA.com Wingless Spec Sprint race. This was the second night of the Western States Dwarf Car Nationals, hosted by the General Hydroponics Redwood Dwarf Car Association. Due to covid-19 guidelines, no fans were allowed in the grandstands, but roughly 110 Dwarf Cars showed up to compete in the big show.

Jones set himself up in a good position following his 10 lap Fast Dash victory. This put him on the pole for the 30 lap Pro Dwarf Car Main Event, and he settled into the early lead ahead of Ryan Winter and Danny Wagner. Following a lap five yellow flag, Wagner slipped past Winter for the second position. However, Winter kept the pressure on and grabbed second from Wagner on the 16th lap. Ventura competitor Trent Morley settled into third, and another yellow flag waved on the 17th lap. Jones had Winter shadowing him in the second position as the race resumed. Morley was doing well in the third position. Unfortunately for Winter, his run in second ended on the 24th lap. Colorado competitor Ben Haney assumed second ahead of Oregon star Jake Van Ortwick. However, they were no match for the flying Jones who scored the impressive victory ahead of Haney, Van Ortwick, Adam Teves, Wagner, reigning Petaluma champion Chad Mathias, Mark Hanson, Brandon Wiley, Matt Sargent and Devan Kammermann.

Jones earned his Fast Dash win ahead of Darren Brown and Winter, but Brown was the first driver out of the Main Event. Eight lap heat race wins went to reigning NorCal champion Michael "Spanky" Grenert Sargent, Devin Breese and Nick Velazquez. Haney definitely earned passing honors as he won the 12 lap C Main ahead of Jeff Brink and Jason Horton. 2018 Petaluma champion John "Scooter" Gomes outran Van Ortwick and Grenert to win the 15 lap B Main, and Haney barely made the transfer in ninth.

Shawn Jones capped his impressive evening with a win in the 25 lap PitStopUSA.com Wingless Spec Sprint Main Event. Jones is the 2018 Hunt Wingless Sprint Series champion. Cody Fendley set the early pace ahead of Braidon Moniz and Jones, but Jones took the second spot from Moniz on the third lap. Jones quickly set his sights on Fendley, and a yellow flag waved on the seventh lap. Fendley continued to lead Jones and Moniz on the restart, but Jones put the moves on Fendley to take the lead on the ninth lap. Reigning champion Angelique Bell took third from Moniz on the 11th lap, but she or surrendered the position to Boy Moniz a lap later. Despite yellow flags on the 14th and 16th laps, Jones continued to lead the way and beat Fendley by nearly a straightaway at the checkered flag. Boy Moniz settled for third ahead of Daniel Whitley, Ryan Siverling, Keith Calvino, Bell, Braidon Moniz, Matthew Haulot and Eden McCormick. 

Fendley was the quickest of 13 qualifiers with a lap of 16.846 on the 3/8 mile adobe oval. Jones with second quick at 16.872. Eight lap heat race wins went to Fendley and Braidon Moniz.

Scott Dahlgren won the time limit shortened 15 lap Veteran Dwarf Car Main Event. Buddy Olschowka led Kevin Bender for a lap before the yellow flag waved. On the restart, Dahlgren slipped past Bender for the second position. On the fourth lap, Dahlgren led Tony Margott and Carroll Mendenhall past Olschowka into the Top 3 positions. Following a lap eight yellow flag, Richie Abbott took over the second position with fellow Nevada racer Monstor Williams gaining third. Another yellow flag flew a lap later, and time was becoming a factor at that point. Tim Fitzpatrick took the third position from Williams on the 11th lap and raced by Abbott to take second a lap later. Williams followed into the third position, but it was Bender taking the third spot on the 15th lap. At that point, the yellow flag waved with Dahlgren leading Fitzpatrick, Bender, Williams and Margott. The race was called official at that point due to time as Abbott, Stacey Woods, Brian Quilty, Mendenhall and Tom Van Tuyl completed the Top 10.

Friday night winner Mark Biscardi won the 10 lap Fast Dash ahead of Olschowka and Bender. Chuck Conover and Kevin Miraglio won their respective eight lap heat races. Fitzpatrick won the 15 lap B Main ahead of Conover, Abbott, Williams and Miraglio.

Joey Lingron won the crash-shortened seven lap Sportsman Dwarf Car Main Event. Lingron is a rookie with the Redwood Dwarf Car Association this year, and he also won the Friday night event. He found himself on the outside front row for Saturday's race as he finished second to Tip Holcombe in the eight lap Fast Dash. Holcombe led just one lap of the race before a yellow flag flew. He was out early, and Lingron led the restart ahead Corey Eaton and Casey Warren. There were yellow flags on the third and fourth laps, and Warren took over second on the fourth lap as Lingron continued to lead the way. Because of the lengthy delays during the caution periods, time was becoming a factor. Oregon racer Travis Davis briefly took second from Warren, but Warren got by on the seventh lap before another yellow flag flew to end the race. At that point, Lingron was declared the winner ahead of Warren, Krystal Breese, Michael Williams, Davis, Tanner Curr, Sam Borland, Mack Aceves, Shawn McCoy and Ellie Russo

Eight lap heat races were won by Sam Borland, Philip Rowland and Curr. Travis Day won the C Main ahead of Kobe Kerns and Shiloh Borland. The B Main win went to Rowland ahead of Michael Williams, Curr, Sam Borland and Dylan Shrum.

The next Dwarf Car Nationals event appears to be scheduled for Antioch Speedway, which was originally a Regionals event. Dates listed are July 17th and 18th. Petaluma Speedway management has kept the schedule as it was originally released in January. Scheduled to compete next Sunday (June 21st) will be PitStopUSA.com Winged 360 Sprint Cars, McLea's Tire Service IMCA Modifieds, Lumberjacks Restaurant Super Stocks and Jake's Performance Hobbies Mini Stocks. The race will also be broadcast on SpeedshiftTV. For further information, go to www.petaluma-speedway.com or check the Petaluma Speedway Facebook page.


Jones, Biscardi, Lingron Win Opening Round 
Of Petaluma Dwarf Car Nationals

Petaluma, CA...June 12...Petaluma Speedway opened for their first race since the ASCS Sprint Car event back in early March. Though strict covid-19 guidelines were in effect, which meant no fans allowed in the stands, a field of roughly 110 Dwarf Cars across five different states converged on the three-eight mile adobe oval for two nights of racing. When the checkered flag flew on the Main Event competition for the evening, it was Shawn Jones (Pro division), Mark Biscardi (Veteran division) and Joey Lingron (Sportsman division) claiming the respective victories. All three divisions had full fields, and this was the biggest gathering of Dwarf Cars in the history of the speedway.

Shawn Jones drove to the victory in the 20 lap Pro division Main Event. Jones is a past South Bay and NorCal Dwarf Car champion and has won several National events in his career. With the 10 pm curfew coming up fast, the race was reduced to 20 laps from the original 30. Past Antioch and NorCal champion Danny Wagner led two laps before Jones and past South Bay champion Terre Rothweiler shuffled Wagner back to third. Wagner and Rothweiler continued their battle with Wagner moving into second on the fifth lap. A lap 11 yellow flag was the race's first slow down, and the fairgrounds mandated curfew was coming up fast. Jones continued to lead the restart with Rothweiler and Nevada star Darren Brown moving into second and third. Brown put the moves on Rothweiler for the second position a lap later before another yellow flag waved. The decision was made to cut the laps to 20 at that point. Jones led Rothweiler and Brown on this restart, but a yellow flag waved after just that lap was completed. Having made his move from the C Main all the way into the Main Event, past NorCal champion Ryan Winter made it up to fifth by that point. Jones again led the pack on the restart ahead of Rothweiler and Wagner. Jones would lead the rest of the way for the victory. The Top 10 finishers are automatically entered into Saturday's Fast Dash, and Rothweiler finished second ahead of Wagner, Brown, Winter, Adam Teves, Camden Robustelli, Trent Morley, Devan Kammermann, and Sean Catucci.

With 42 Pro division competitors in the field, it was decided to have five 10 lap heat races. Wagner won the first heat with Jones, Ventura Raceway star Nick Velazquez, Teves and Rothweiler winning the other heats. Following a terrible run in the second heat, Winter was forced to run the 12 lap C Main. He won that race ahead of Oregon star Robustelli and local competitor Garrett Brady. Winter then took the lead from Kammermann on the sixth lap and went on to win the 15 lap B Main. Robustelli made an impressive charge to finish second ahead of local ace Mark Hanson, Kammermann and Brandon Gentry.

Mark Biscardi won the 20 lap Veteran Main Event. Biscardi is the reigning South Bay Dwarf Car champion. Brian Quilty led the opening lap before a yellow flag slowed the pace. On the restart, Biscardi, Tim Fitzpatrick and Joe Barket settled into the Top 3 positions. Fitzpatrick put the moves on Biscardi to take the lead on the third lap as Jack Haverty settled into third. On the eighth lap, both Biscardi and Haverty got by Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick fell back a few positions as Barket gained third on the 10th lap. The battle was fierce at the front of the pack with Haverty taking the lead from Biscardi on the 13th lap. Two laps later, Biscardi was back ahead. Haverty regained the lead on the 16th lap, but unfortunately his race came to an abrupt end at that point. Biscardi took command on the restart and begin to pull away for the victory. Tom Morley settled into second on that restart and would finish there, followed by two-time Antioch champion Mike Corsaro, Lonnie Tekat, Stacey Woods, Buddy Olschowka, reigning Antioch champion Scott Dahlgren, Kevin Bender and Thomas Van Tuyl and Carroll Mendenhall.

The 29 car field was split into four eight lap heat races with wins going to Dahlgren, Brian Quilty, Kevin Miraglio and Biscardi. Danny Marsh took the lead from Olschowka on the 10th lap and would win the 15 lap B Main. Corsaro finished second ahead of Olschowka, Glen Sciarani and Austin Quilty.

Local rookie Joey Lindgron won the Sportsman Main Event. Following a couple of lengthy yellow flag delays, this race was cut to eight laps due to time. Lingron had the outside front row starting position and led at the start. Tim Holcombe quickly settled into second, and a yellow flag waved on lap 2. Lingron continued to lead Holcombe and Casey Warren on the restart, and another yellow flag waved on lap four. Again, Lingron led Holcombe and Warren on the restart, but another yellow flag waved on the seventh lap. Time was becoming an issue. Again, Lingron led the restart. When the yellow flag waved after eight laps, the race was ended with Lindgron winning ahead of Holcombe, Warren, Krystal Breese, Corey Eaton, Jim DuBois, Chase Russell, Shiloh Borland, Trevor Davis and Kylee Johnson.

There were 38 different competitors in this classification, and the four eight lap heat race wins went to Warren, Lingron, Holcombe and Michael Williams. Ellie Russo led six laps of the 10 lap C Main before DuBois moved by her to gain the lead. DuBois would go on to win ahead of Trevor Mendenhall, Russo, Mac Aceves and John Williams.


Bunch, Peckham, Cheney Win Sunday Night Features 
At Marysville Raceway

Marysville, CA...June 14...John Michael Bunch won the 25 lap Winged 360 Sprint Car Main Event Sunday night at Marysville Raceway. This was the fifth career win for the 2014 champion Bunch aboard the Voltage Specialists Sprinter. Due to covid-19 guidelines, fans are still not allowed to attend in the grandstands, and this race was moved to Sunday night to accommodate SpeedshiftTV internet coverage.

JJ Hickle led the opening lap before Bunch made a backstretch pass on the second lap to gain the lead. Blake Carrick settled into third. The first 11 laps went without incident before Michael Faccinto stalled on the back straightaway for a yellow flag. Bunch continued to lead the restart with Blake Carrick moving past Hickle for the second spot. Carrick began pressuring Bunch hard, and they caught slower traffic by the 16th lap. The battle intensified, but a lap 18 yellow flag flew when Brad Bumgarner crashed in Turn 2. Bunch had a good start on the next restart and pulled away a bit on Carrick. Carrick had his hands full with Hickle, who moved by him for second on the 20th lap. However, Carrick got a good run on the inside and regained second from Hickle on the 21st lap. Bunch went on to score the hard-fought victory ahead of Blake Carrick, Hickle, Shane Hopkins, Tanner Carrick, reigning champion Michael Ing, Andy Forsberg, Caden Sarale, Billy Wallace and Deven Borden.

Blake Carrick was the quickest of 32 qualifiers with a lap of 13.124, beating 13.150 of Bunch. Both were early in the qualifying order, which seemed to make a difference on this occasion. The four eight  lap heat race wins went to Ing, Wallace, Colby Wiesz and Hopkins. Stephen Ingraham led all the way to win the 12 lap B Main ahead of Michael Sellers, Faccinto, 2018 champion Mike Monahan and Bobby Butler.

Andrew Peckham won the 20 lap IMCA Sport Modified Main Event. Peckham started on the front row and charged into the early lead ahead of Justin Funkhouser and Mike Merritt. Jimmy Ford slipped past Merritt for the second position on lap two, and Brian Cooper took fourth from Phillip Shelby on the fifth lap. Peckham caught slower traffic by lap 12, and a yellow flag waved on lap 14 when Cooper spun in Turn 2 and collected Shelby. Cooper retired at that point, and Peckham continued to lead Funkhouser and Ford on the restart. Mike Merritt slipped past Ford for the third position on the 17th lap, and point leader Timothy Allerdings spun from fifth for the final yellow flag. Peckham resumed command on the restart and led the remaining three laps for the victory. Funkhouser was a strong second, followed by Mike Merritt, Ford, Shelby, Justin Foux, Scott Savell, Shawn Smith, Allerdings and Hunter Merritt. Eight lap heat race wins went to Cooper and Peckham.

Kyle Chaney won the 20 lap Hobby Stock Main Event and in the process became the third different winner in as many races. Cheney started on the front row and led at the start ahead of Jesse Van Roekel and Chris Van Roekel. Orland Raceway champion Phil Spencer slipped past Chris Van Roekel for the third position on the second lap with Jacob Johnson quickly moving into fourth. Rick Lloyd brought out a lap four yellow flag, and there were yellow flags on lap seven for debris and eight for reigning Chico champion Kyle Allen. Through each restart, Cheney led Jesse Van Roekel and Spencer. Johnson made an inside pass on the backstretch of the 11th lap to take third from Spencer. The final yellow flag waved for debris on the 12th lap. Cheney continued to lead Jesse Van Roekel and Johnson on the restart, but Johnson made an inside pass in Turn 3 of the 15th lap to take second from Van Roekel. Johnson tried to close in on Cheney, but Cheney was not going to be denied the win on this occasion. Spencer settled for third, followed by Chris Van Roekel, Jesse Van Roekel, Keith Ross, Zach Lindgren, David Allen, David Caluya and Jim Brookshire.

There were 24 Hobby Stocks for this race, and eight lap heat race wins went to Cheney, Jesse Van Roekel, Orville Owens and Spencer. Robert Warf won the 12 lap B Main ahead of Paul Newman and Caluya.

Brett Youngman won the 15 lap Crate Sprint Main Event. This was the third win of the season for the reigning division champion, who also won the eight lap heat race ahead of Jeff Macedo. The race went one lap before Mike Ballantine spun in the second turn for a yellow flag. Youngman continued to lead Macedo and David Sims on the restart. Ballantine spun in the third turn on lap seven, but he kept going. Youngman set a good pace, but he never pulled too far ahead of Macedo, who settled for second. Sims was a straightaway behind Macedo in third as Cameron Haney Jr and Ballantine completed the finishing order.

In order to take advantage of live streaming via SpeedshiftTV, the next race has been moved to Wednesday, June 24th. The Winged 360 Sprint Cars will be competing along with the Hobby Stocks, Limited Late Models and the California Hardtops. For further information, go to www.marysvilleraceway.com.


Peery, Braaten Win Siskiyou Golden Speedway Opener

Yreka, CA...June 13...Travis Peery won the season-opening 30 lap IMCA Modified Main Event Saturday night at Siskiyou Golden Speedway. Track management didn't get clearance to run this race until early Thursday afternoon, but roughly 30 competitors in two divisions were still willing to make the late decision to go racing. Due to the covid-19 guidelines, there were no fans allowed in the grandstands. 

Multi-time Yreka and Medford champion Albert Gill set the early pace with two-time Cottage Grove champion Jake Mayden and Peery quickly moving into second and third. Mayden made the move around Gill for the lead on the sixth lap with Perry gaining second a lap later. Peery was pressuring Mayden for the lead until making what proved to be the winning pass on the 12th lap. Peery began to pull away to an eventual straightaway advantage over Mayden by the time the checkered flag flew. Mayden was a comfortable second, followed by Gill, Paul Culp, Coos Bay Late Model champion Preston Luckman, reigning Yreka champion Duane Orsburn, James Anderson, Jeremy Crebs and David Satterfield. Gill and Peery won their respective 10 lap heat races with Mayden claiming four lap Trophy Dash honors.

Jorddon Braaten won the 20 lap IMCA Sport Modified Main Event. Braaten is the three-time reigning Southern Oregon Speedway champion, and his feature victory capped a clean sweep of eight lap heat race and four lap Trophy Dash wins. Braaten started in the third row with Isaac Sanders, but the duo moved their way to the front of the pack. Once Braaten got the lead, he would not be denied the impressive victory in the 16 car field. Isaac Sanders settled for second. After a penalty put him to the back of the pack, Joby Shields still battled back to a third place finish, followed by Steven Sanders, two-time Southern Oregon Speedway champion Mike Medel, Matt Sanders, reiging Yreka champion Ethan Killingsworth, Brionna Fuller, Dalton Bloom and Dylan Sauer. Isaac Sanders was the other eight lap heat race winner.

Next Saturday's race will include IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds and Outlaw Pro Stocks. To keep up-to-date on the track's efforts to keep going under covid-19 guidelines, go to the Siskiyou Golden Speedway Facebook page.


Shaw, Hannum, Bell, Fernandez Win At Dixon Speedway

Dixon, CA...June 13...Taking the lead during the final six laps of the race, Brandon Shaw won the 25 lap Wingless Micro Sprint Main Event Saturday night at Dixon Speedway. This was the second win of the season for Shaw as Dixon continues to run races under covid-19 guidelines without fans in the grandstands. 

For much of the race, it was the Lewis boys running at the front of the pack. Point leader Kelvin Lewis was the early leader ahead of Robbie Lewis and Timothy Vaught. They ran in that order through two yellow flags during the first five laps. Kelvin and Robbie had pulled away from the pack in their own battle by the 10th lap. Previous feature winner Cody Gray and Shaw settled into fourth and fifth behind Vaught. Following a yellow flag on the 13th lap, Shaw took the fourth position, and he slipped past Vaught for third a lap later before a yellow flag waved once again. Shaw continued his momentum on the restart by passing Robbie Lewis for the second position, and the battle was on. Shaw kept the pressure on Kelvin Lewis until making his winning move on the 20th lap. Vaught got past Kelvin Lewis for the second position on lap 21, and the final yellow flag waved on the 23rd lap. However, Shaw had a good start and brought it home to the checkered flag. Vaught finished second and Kelvin Lewis, Derrick Patterson, Tucker LaCaze, Norman Harley Rose, Jim Beck, Tyler Chamorro, Becca Clark and Taylor DeCarlo rounded out the Top 10.

Robbie Lewis set the quickest time out of 34 competitors with a lap of 11.135 on the 1/5 mile dirt oval. Kelvin Lewis was second quick at 11.274. Robbie Lewis gained the pole position for the feature by virtue of winning the 10 lap Trophy Dash ahead of Kelvin Lewis. Ten lap heat race wins went to Robbie Lewis, past Petaluma champion Jim Beck, Vaught and Joe Silva. They ran a pair of 12 lap Semi Mains, and Chamorro won the first one ahead of Brent Hoffman and Brandon Alvarado. The second win went to George Nielsen ahead of DeCarlo and Allen Sheridan.

Point leader Brad Hannum continued his strong early-season run with a 25 lap Super 600 Main Event win. This was his third win of the season. Hannum shared the front row with reigning champion Kyle Mentch, and they settled into the first and second positions early on. Hailey Wood ran third. The race had just three yellow flag slowdowns, and Hannum continued to keep Metch at bay on each restart. Though Mentch wasn't too far behind him, Hannum would prevail at the checkered flag. Wood brought it home third, followed by Blaine Baxter, Sage Bordenave, Ricky Sanders, Blake Parmley, Hayden Saich, Devon Courtnier and Tony Alosi.

Wood had the quickest lap of 10.424, beating the 10.440 of Mentch. The 19 competitors ran two 10 lap heat races with wins going to Hannum and Bordenave. Hannam maintained his clean sweep and earn the pole for the feature race by winning the six lap Trophy Dash ahead of Mentch.

Bryant Bell won the 20 lap Restricted Micro Main Event. This was the second-straight win for Bell. Izaak Sharp jumped into the early lead ahead of Bell and Matthew Tatoole. Tatoole took second from Bell on the third lap, and a yellow flag waved on the fifth lap. As Sharp continued to lead the restart, Bell settled into second ahead of incoming point leader Austin Wood. Bell put the moves on Sharp to take the lead on the seventh lap. Bell steadily pulled away as the final 14 laps ran without incident. Tatoole moved by Wood for the third position on the 18th lap. Bell scored the impressive win ahead of Sharp, Tatoole, Wood, Jackson Kohler, Rylee Whitehouse, JJ Loss, Tallon Becker, AJ Nielsen and Kyle Cravotta.

Kyle Fernandez won the 20 lap Junior Sprint Main Event. He became the first two-time winner in the five races held so far. Fernandez is the current point leader, and he jumped into the early lead ahead of Lucas Mauldin and reigning champion Makayla Tatoole. Following a lap four yellow flag, Tatoole began pressuring Mauldin for second and made the pass on the sixth lap. Tatoole kept the pressure on Fernandez during the final 15 tours and through one yellow flag period, but Fernandez kept his cool and collected the victory. Tatoole settled for second, followed by Mauldin, Brody Rubio, Peyton Whitehouse, Hayden Stepps, Briggs Davis, Aubry Patterson, Ryder Byrd and Ryder Johnson. Fernandez set the fast time of 13.001, beating the 13.137 of Mauldin. Fernandez and Mauldin won their respective ten lap heat races, and Fernandez made it a clean sweep with his victory in the six lap Trophy Dash.

The next race will be on June 24th as the opening round of the three race Covid Cup Series, which also has races at Plaza Park and Lemoore Raceway. For further information, go to www.dixonspeedway.net or check out the Dixon Speedway Facebook page.

Sullivan, Leuzinger, Daniels, Cox 
Open Lakeport Speedway Season With Wins

Lakeport, CA...June 13...Mike Sullivan opened the 2020 season at Lakeport Speedway with a 30 lap NCRA Limited Modified Main Event win. Due to covid-19 guidelines, fans were not allowed to attend this race, but it was broadcast for free on the Lakeport Speedway Facebook page. Furthermore, the drivers elected to race for no prize money in order to make this event possible.

Mike Sullivan raced into the early lead ahead of Richard Knight and Darren Sullivan. Contact between Darren Sullivan and Knight sent Knight spinning in the fourth turn for a lap four yellow flag. Darren Sullivan was put to the back of the pack for his part in the incident, and Mike Sullivan led Ian Elliott on the restart. Darren Sullivan quickly struck to the third position. As Mike Sullivan and Elliott pulled away a little bit, Darren Sullivan and Knight had a good battle going for the third position. Knight made a frontstretch pass on Darren Sullivan for the third position on the 17th lap. Mike Sullivan didn't get too far ahead of Elliott, but he was never really threatened on his way to victory. Contact again saw Knight spin in the second turn with Darren Sullivan stalled behind him as neither driver crossed the finish line. Knight scored the four lap Trophy Dash win with Mike Sullivan picking up the 10 lap heat race victory.

Reigning champion Andy Leuzinger won the 30 lap Pro 4 Modified Main Event. Johnny Barker jumped into the early lead over Ron Portlock with Leuzinger a close third. It was a close battle between the first three cars for the early laps. On the sixth lap, Leuzinger made an outside pass in Turn 4 to take second from Portlock, and he made an outside pass down the frontstretch a lap later to grab the lead from Barker. Leuzinger began to pull away from the pack, leaving the battle between Portlock and Barker for the second position. Barker grabbed second on the 15th lap, but Portlock regained at the position a few laps later. By the 25th lap, Leuzinger held a straightaway advantage and he brought it home to victory. Portlock settled for second ahead of Barker, Wayne Eldridge and Bud Anderson. Leuzinger won both the four lap Trophy Dash and the 10 lap heat race with Barker finishing second in both races.

Aidan Daniels won the 30 lap Legends Main Event. Daniels is the reigning Bandolero champion at the speedway. David Dunlap led the opening two tours ahead Daniels before a frontstretch pass gained the young charger the lead. Aiden's sister Kylie Daniels made an inside pass in Turn 3 of the fourth lap to take over second. The Daniels siblings began to pull away from the pack, and Dunlap had his hands full battling Colby Furia and Dan Nissen for the third position. During the second half of the race, both Aiden and Kylie Daniels ran the bottom groove and picked off any slower car that came their way. Kylie kept trying to make a move around her brother, but he kept his poise the entire way, beating her by half a car length at the checkered flag. A high pass in Turn 4 of the final lap gained Nissen the third position as Dunlap settled for fourth. Aidan Daniels won the four lap Trophy Dash and his heat race. Dunlap was the other heat winner.

Donovan Cox scored a clean sweep of the 30 lap Main Event, four lap Trophy Dash and ten lap heat race in the Taco Bell Bomber division. Amber Portlock led the opening lap of the Main Event before a Turn 2 pass gained Cox the lead. Jeremy Doss followed closely into the second position, and a low pass in Turn 4 the third lap gained Doss first. Doss led just one more lap before his motor let go on him on the backstretch to end his race. Casey Hobart also retired at that point. Cox led the remaining laps to score the victory with Portlock finishing second. 

More racing is scheduled for the quarter-mile paved oval next Saturday night, and it's expected that it will be streamed for free again on the track's Facebook page. For further information, go to the NCRA Lakeport Speedway Facebook page.


Smith, Stephens Win Madera Speedway Club Races

Madera, CA...June 13...Jacob Smith won the 40 lap Late Model Main Event Saturday afternoon at Madera Speedway. This was the first win in the division for the rookie competitor. This was a special Club Race held under covid-19 guidelines, which again meant that fans would not be allowed to attend. However, Promoter Kenny Shepherd put up a quality stream that the fans could watch for free.

Smith set the pace from the start ahead of Trevor Schlundt and Mike Beeler. Following a lap four yellow flag, Beeler settled into the second position and took up pursuit of Smith. Jay Juleson moved into challenge Schlundt for the third position, which became a good battle. Juleson finally grabbed the position on the 25th lap, but he still found himself about a straightaway behind Beeler at that point. Loren Kutz quickly settled into the fourth position. Smith drove a flawless race at the head of the pack to score the well-earned victory. Beeler settled for a solid second, followed by Juleson, Kutz, Schlundt, Mike Shapiro, Joey Brasil, Hans Beeler, Sheldon Cooper and Lily Mead. 

Smith got his strong afternoon started with the fast time of 15.092, beating the 15.258 of Juleson. Ten lap heat race wins went to Smith, Schlundt and Juleson.

Bert Stephens won the 30 lap MST Main Event. Stephens was fortunate to make it through a hard crash during the first half of the race that eliminated both Ryan Reynolds and Shaun Reynolds. Stephens set the pace at the start ahead of Jason Kerns. Ryan Reynolds slipped past Kerns for the second spot on lap two, and Shaun Reynolds was third when the yellow flag waved on lap three. On the restart, Ryan Reynolds put the moves on Stephens for the lead, but this was a close battle at the front of the pack with Shaun Reynolds in third. Shaun Reynolds moved around Stephens for second on the ninth lap, and a yellow flag flew on lap 11. On the 14th lap, the complexion of the race changed when a Turn 3 crash eliminated both Ryan and Shaun Reynolds as well as Tim Kammerer. Fortunately, nobody was injured, but it took some time cleaning up the mess. Stephens found himself leading the race at that point ahead of Dennis Brannon and Kerns, and they would finish in that order with Stephens leading by nearly a straightaway. Kyle LaBrie finished a lead lap fourth with Ryan Reynolds, Shaun Reynolds, Kammerer, Haley Bugg and Patrick Geiger completing the finishing order.

Ryan Reynolds was the fastest qualifier with a lap of 16.549, beating the 16.729 of Shaun Reynolds. Heat race wins went to Ryan Reynolds and Shaun Reynolds.

Tyler Rogers won the 30 lap Hobby Stock Main Event. Mandy Gonzales finished second as these were the only two competitors on hand. Rogers had the fastest lap of 16.994 and also won the heat race.

Thomas Magray won the 12 lap Toyota Sedan Main Event. The F4 of Johnny Williams led the race for 10 laps before Magray overtook him for the lead and victory. Magray also won the eight lap heat race. 

Racing resumes next Saturday with another Club Race. If fans are still not allowed, the race is likely to be offered for free online. Madera Speedway also thanks nutup.com for sponsoring this past weekend's free stream. For information on what is scheduled, go to or check the Madera Speedway Facebook page.


Petaluma Speedway Unofficial Race Results June 13, 2020
WSDCA Dwarf Car Nationals - Hosted By The General Hydroponics Redwood Dwarf Car Association
Pro Dwarf
Main Event
Shawn Jones
Ben Haney
Jake Van Ortwick
Adam Teves
Danny Wagner
Chad Matthias
Mark Hanson
Brandon Wiley
Matt Sargent
Devan Kammermann
Jeff Brink
Scooter Gomez
John Chrisman
Trent Morley
Mike Grenert
Devin Breese
Dustin Loughton
Camden Robustelli
Nick Velasquez
Justin DeMars
Sean Catucci
Ryan Winter
Terre Rothweiler
Darren Brown

B Main
Scooter Gomez
Jake Van Ortwick
Mike Grenert
Dustin Loughton
Matt Sargent
Jeff Brink
Nick Velasquez
Brandon Wiley
Ben Haney
John Chrisman
Mark Hanson
Justin DeMars
Chad Matthias
Devin Breese
Brandon Gentry
Punky Pires
Garrett Brady
Tommy Velasquez III
Zack Albers
Michael Curry
Johnny Conley
Alan Heeney
Jessica Swanson
Erin Morgenstern

C Main
Ben Haney
Jeff Brink
Jason Horton
Chad Matthias
Brandon Gentry
Garrett Brady
Dustin Loughton
Tommy Velasquez III
Mike Affonso
Vernon Hubbard
Jimmy Damron
Erin Morgenstern
Chris Kress
Dennis Gilcrease
Bobby Johnson DNS

Sportsman Dwarf
Main Event
Joey Lingron
Casey Warren
Krystal Breese
Michael Williams
Trevor Davis
Tanner Curr
Sam Borland
Mack Aceves
Shawn McCoy
Ellie Russo
Dylan Shrum
Kylee Johnson
Duke Shoemaker
Shiloh Borland
Travis Day
Jordan Souza Price
Shane Linenberger
Corey Eaton
Dave Brune
Trevor Mendenhall
Tip Holcombe
Philip Rowland
Mario Balestrini
Kobe Kerns

B Main
Philip Rowland
Michael Williams
Tanner Curr
Sam Borland
Dylan Shrum
Ellie Russo
Travis Day
Shane Linenberger
Jordan Souza Price
Dave Brune
tim steger
Shiloh Borland
Kylee Johnson
Kobe Kerns
Duke Shoemaker
Dustin Reynolds
Scotty Preast
Gene Herndon
Dan Varner
Kelly Woods
Matthew Hagemann
Corey Eaton
Chance Russell
John Williams

C Main
Travis Day
Kobe Kern
Shiloh Borland
tim steger
Kelly Woods
Matthew Hagemann
Duke Shoemaker
Darien Balestrini
Scotty Preast
Joe Bohard DNS
Adam Freitas DNS
Roberto Monroy DNS

Veteran Dwarf
Main Event
Scott Dahlgren
Tim Fitzpatrick
Kevin Bender
Monstor Williams
Tony Margott
Richie Abbott
Stacy Woods
Brian Quilty
Carroll Mendenhall
Tom VanTuyl
Tom Morley
Mike Dahle
Darren Fridolfs
Jason Robustelli
Chuck Conover
Eddy Claessen
Tony Pellegrino
Robert Kozinski
Austin Quilty
Mark Biscardi
Kevin Miraglio
Buddy Olschowka
Lonnie Tekaat
Glenn Sciarani

B Main
Tim Fitzpatrick
Chuck Conover
Richie Abbott
Monstor Williams
Kevin Miraglio
Tony Margott
Brian Quilty
Mike Dahle
Austin Quilty
Darren Fridolfs
Robert Kozinski
Tony Pellegrino
Eddy Claessen
Jason Robustelli
Glenn Sciarani
Jack Haverty
Shawn Whitney
Danny Marshs DNS

PitStopUSA.com Winlgess Spec Sprints
Results are not official
1     #24 Shawn Jones        
2     #73c Cody Fendley
3     #22 Boy Moniz
4     #6k Daniel Whitley
5     #77s Ryon Siverling
6     #73 Keith Calvino
7     #551 Angelique Bell        
8     #22jr Braidon Moniz    
9     #77 Matthew Haulot        
10     #32b Eden McCormick
11     #6 Sparky Howard
12     #21 Jessica Walker
13     #94 Michael Britton    


Petaluma Speedway Unofficial Race Results June 12, 2020
WSDCA Dwarf Car Nationals - Hosted By The General Hydroponics Redwood Dwarf Car Association
Pro Dwarf Car
A Main
Results are not official
1     #80n Shawn Jones        
2     #45 Terre Rothweiler
3     #11d Danny Wagner
4     #11 Darren Brown
5     #4n Ryan Winter
6     #10 Adam Teves
7     #25s Camden Robustelli
8     #48e Trent Morley
9     #18dd Devan Kammermann
10     #43 Sean Catucci
11     #41e Nick Velasquez
12     #9r Chad Matthias
13     #88 Jeff Brink
14     #31r Brandon Gentry    
15     #14e Tommy Velazquez
16     #66r Scooter Gomes    
17     #88s John Chrisman        
18     #92b Jessica Swanson
19     #3 Ben Haney        
20     #2c Devin Breese        
21     #22d Dustin Loughton        
22     #79r Mark Hanson
23     #93 Jason Horton        
24     #12n Michael Grenert        
25     #53o Jake VanOrtwick    

B Main
Results are not official
1     #4n Ryan Winter        
2     #25s Camden Robustelli
3     #79r Mark Hanson
4     #18dd Devan Kammermann
5     #31r Brandon Gentry
6     #22d Dustin Loughton
7     #43 Sean Catucci
8     #93 Jason Horton
9     #92b Jessica Swanson
10     #53o Jake VanOrtwick
11     #63x Johnny Conley
12     #63 Brandon Wiley
13     #03r Mike Affonso
14     #99r Michael Curry
15     #25r Jimmy Damron
16     #29r Vernon Hubbard    
17     #32r Garrett Brady
18     #22r Zack Albers
19     #24ko Justin DeMars
20     #35r Alan Heeney        
21     #6 Chris Kress    
22     #36dd Dennis Gilcrease

C Main
Results are not official
1     #4n Ryan Winter    
2     #25s Camden Robustelli
3     #18 Ed Heeney    
3     #32r Garrett Brady
4     #63 Brandon Wiley
5     #25r Jimmy Damron
6     #99r Michael Curry
7     #53o Jake VanOrtwick
8     #22r Zack Albers
9     #6 Chris Kress
10     #98 Erin Morgenstern    
11     #18b Ryan Ameln        
12     #74b Punky Pires

Veteran Dwarf Car
A Main
Results are not official
1     #66b Mark Biscardi        
2     #18e Tom Morley
3     #00dd Mike Corsaro
4     #2 Lonnie Teekat
5     #64x Stacy Woods
6     #63n Buddy Olschowka
7     #21dd Scott Dahlgren
8     #52n Chuck Conover    
8     #9n Kevin Bender
9     #111n Thomas VanTuyl
10     #11r Carroll Mendenhall
11     #4x Richie Abbott
12     #76d Glenn Sciarani        
13     #6n Austin Quilty
14     #52dd Chuck Conover
15     #28e Tony Pellegrino
16     #2e Tony Margott
17     #08r Mike Dahle
18     #1x Monstor Williams
19     #69b Eddy Claessen
20     #20s Jason Robustelli
21     #85dd Jack Haverty        
22     #00b Joe Barket
23     #27r Danny Marsh
24     #14n Tim Fitzpatrick    
25     #16n Brian Quilty        
26     #40r Kevin Miraglio

B Main
Results are not official
1     #27r Danny Marsh        
2     #00dd Mike Corsaro
3     #63n Buddy Olschowka
4     #76d Glenn Sciarani
5     #6n Austin Quilty
6     #111n Thomas VanTuyl
7     #20s Jason Robustelli
8     #69b Eddy Claessen
9     #2e Tony Margott
10     #15n Shawn Whitney    
11     #43n Robert Kozinski

Sportsman Dwarf Car
A Main
Results are not official        
1     #16r Joey Lingron
2     #8c Tip Holcombe    
3     #22o Casey Warren
4     #12c Krystal Breese    
5     #29n Corey Eaton
6     #26r Jim DuBois
7     #812dd Chase Russell
8     #34r Shiloh Borland
9     #8s Trevor Davis
10     #2r Kylee Johnson
 11     #31n Dylan Shrum
12     #13r Trevor Mendenhall
13     #21d Darien Balestrini
14     #31dd Ellie Russo
15     #88dd Travis Day
16     #0o Dustin Reynolds
17     #12r Sam Borland
18    #43r Michael Williams
19     #777 John Williams    
20     #19e Kobe Kerns        
21     #48r Jordan Souza
22     #43o Tanner Curr            

B Main
Results are not official
1     #26r Jim DuBois        
2     #13r Trevor Mendenhall
3     #31dd Ellie Russo
4     #777 John Williams
5     #19e Kobe Kerns
6     #21d Darien Balestrini
7     #48r Jordan Souza
8     #26x Dan Varner
9     #8r Tim Steger
10     #57r Matthew Hagemann
11     #15b Joe Bohard            
12     #54o Dave Brune
13     #29x Kelly Woods            
14     #55 Duke Shoemaker            
15     #99 Shane Linenberger
16     #12c Krystal Breese            
17     #10o Philip Rowland    
18     #7xl Roberto Monroy
19     #23 Mack Aceves


Siskiyou Golden Speedway Unofficial Race Results June 13, 2020
IMCA Modifieds
Travis Peery
Jake Mayden
Albert Gill
Paul Culp
Preston Luckman
Duane Orsburn
James Anderson
Jeremy Crebs
David Satterfield

IMCA Sport Modifeds
Jorddon Braaten
Issac Sanders
Joby Shields
Steven Sanders
Michael Medel
Matt Sanders
Ethan Killingsworth
Brionna Fuller
Dalton Bloom
Dylan Sauer
Chris Silva
Colt Boswell
Ryder Boswell
Cale Cunial
Ryan Peery
Gary Foster
Parker Finley DNS
Mike Jones DNS


Placerville Speedway Unofficial Race Results June 13, 2020
Thompson's Auto Group Sprint Cars
Main Event
Justyn Cox
Colby Copeland
Michael Faccinto
Ryan Robinson
Tony Gualda
Blake Carrick
Sean Becker
Mitchell Faccinto
Tanner Carrick
Willie Croft
Shane Hopkins
JJ Hickle
Zane Blanchard
Joey Ancona
Jodie Robinson
Bubba DeCaires
Bobby Butler
Devon Borden
Kalib Henry
Michael Ing
Chase Johnson
D.J. Netto
Andy Forsberg
JJ Ringo

B Main
Shane Hopkins
JJ Hickle
JJ Ringo
Joey Ancona
Spencer Bayston
Stephen Ingraham
John Clark
Chase Majdic
Andy Gregg
Michael Sellers
Max Mittry
Ben Worth
Bradly Dillard
Michael Millard
Chelsea Blevins
Cody Lamar

C Main
Andy Gregg
Spencer Bayston
Bradly Dillard
Joel Myers Jr
CJ Humphries
Ashlyn Rodriguez
Chris Masters
Jimmy Trulli
Lonny Alton
Mike Cook

Limited Late Models
Ray Trimble
Dan Jinkerson
Clark Gougliomani
Jay Norton
Tyler Lightfoot
Dan Brown Jr
Tom Tilford
Wayne Trimble
Michael Helton
Matt Davis
Eddie Gardner

Pure Stocks
John Ewing
Clarence Holbrook
Nick Baldwin
Les Friend
Kevin Jinkerson
Ryan Murphy
Lonnie Lennard
Matthew Chacon
Stephanie Hanson
Jonathan Walsh
Toby Merrifield
Ken Bernstein
Zach Lindgren

BCRA Midget Lites
Dakota Albright
Scott Kinney
AJ Binder
Brent Sexton
Eric Greco
James Turnbull
Danika Jo Parker
Dominic Del Monte
Terry Bergstom
Hunter Kinney
Jeff Dyer
Jim Riddell
Wink Schweitzer
Gus Carcione
Jeff Griffin
Jaden Meyer
Dan Foster
David Bezio
Harley Aguilera
Josef Ferolito


Dixon Speedway Unofficial Race Results June 13, 2020
Wingless 600 Micros
Main Event
Brandon Shaw
Timothy Vaught
Kelvin Lewis
Derrick Patterson
Tucker LaCaze
Norman Harley Rose
Jim Beck
Tyler Chamorro
Becca Clark
Taylor DeCarlo
Brent Hoffman
George Nielson
Blake Parmley
Steve Bettanini
Cody Gray
Jared Byrd
Robbie Lewis
Joe Silva
Jeremy Chapman
Travis Sullivan
Drew Laeber
Josh Hurley DNS

Semi Main 1
Tyler Chamorro
Brent Hoffman
Brandon Alvarado
Don McLeister
Matt Santana
Kyle Grissom
Ryan Holden
AJ Kessler DNS

Semi Main 2
George Nielson
Taylor DeCarlo
Allen Sheridan
Bret Irvine
Savannah Brown
Clayton Harris
Chuck Patterson
Justin Stretch DNS

Super 600
Brad Hannum
Kyle Mentch
Hailey Wood
Blaine Baxter
Sage Bordenave
Ricky Sanders
Blake Parmley
Hayden Saich
Devon Courtnier
Tony Alosi
Jarrett Heimlich
Jackie Whitson
Jason Chapman
Pete Piantanida
Kanoa Cordeiro
Anthony Lewis
Christian Harris
Jeffrey Pahule
Colby Greig DNS

Restricted
Bryant Bell
Izaak Sharp
Matthew Tatoole
Austin Wood
Jackson Kohler
Rylee Whitehouse
JJ Loss
Tallon Becker
AJ Neilson
Kyle Cravotta

Jr Sprint
Kyle Fernandez
Makayla Tatoole
Lucas Mauldin
Brody Rubio
Peyton Whitehouse
Hayden Stepps
Briggs Davis
Aubry Patterson
Ryder Byrd
Ryder Johnson 
Heston Stepps


Irwindale Speedway Unofficial Race Resuts June 13, 2020
NASCAR Weekly Racing Series
Late Model
Main Event #1
Results are not official
1     #50 Trevor Huddleston
2     #51 Dean Thompson
3     #97 Dylan Garner
4     #26 Jagger Jones
5     #8 Joey Iest
6     #38 Jesse Love
7     #78 Lucas McNeil
8     #43 Tanner Reif
9     #77 Nick Joanides
10     #58 Holly Hollan
11     #71 Dustin Vandermooren
12     #25 Lawless Alan
13     #35 Rodney Peacher
14     #12 Kyle Keller    
15     #34 Kevin Furden
16     #88 Takuya Okada
17     #08 Cassidy Hinds
18     #64 Jason Delong

Main Event #2
Results are not official
1     #50 Trevor Huddleston
2     #77 Nick Joanides
3     #78 Lucas McNeil
4     #97 Dylan Garner
5     #51 Dean Thompson
6     #43 Tanner Reif
7     #8 Joey Iest
8     #58 Holly Hollan
9     #26 Jagger Jones
10     #25 Lawless Alan
11     #71 Dustin Vandermooren
12     #34 Kevin Furden
13     #35 Rodney Peacher
14     #12 Kyle Keller
15     #08 Cassidy Hinds
16     #88 Takuya Okada
17     #38 Jesse Love

Spec Truck/Spec Late Model
Results are not official
1     #43 Kenny Smith
2     #56 Jake Drew
3     #99 Troy Andersen
4     #7 Andrew Porter
5     #4 Dennis Arena
6     #21 Andy Partridge
7     #3 L.J. Billings
8     #8 Skyler Meisonbachs
9     #88 Bory Molina
10     #10 Steve Lozano
11     #20 Ron Nava
12     #97 Jacob McNeil

Super Stock
Results are not official
1     #94 Brian Harrell
2     #84 Rich DeLong III
3     #4 Jim Vermellian
4     #11 Robby Harryman
5     #40 Jerry Toporek
6     #43 Harry Michaelian
7     #8 Tyler Gallup

Legend Cars
Main Event #1
Results are not official
1     #08 Brent Scheidemantle
2     #6 Tyler Hicks
3     #1 Jordan Holloway
4     #7 Tyler Reif
5     #43 Christen Bazen
6     #21 Ethan Naciemento
7     #71 Jake Bollman
8     #47 Mike Vanderlip
9     #50 Chloe Lynch
10     #01 Parker Heffel
11     #72 Ron Nava
12     #12 Skyler Meisenbach

Main Event #2
Results are not official
1     #1 Jordan Holloway        
2     #6 Tyler Hicks
3     #71 Jake Bollman
4     #7 Tyler Reif
5     #21 Ethan Naciemento
6     #47 Mike Vanderlip
7     #50 Chloe Lynch
8     #43 Christen Bazen
9     #12 Skyler Meisenbach    
10     #01 Parker Heffel    
11     #08 Brent Scheidemantle

Enduro
Main Event #1
Results are not official
1     #9sp Rodney Argo
2     #7 Robert Rice
3     #42 Chris Voight
4     #35 John Beard
5     #37sp James Bolinas
6     #50 Robert John Rice
7     #88sp Rick Conti
8     #27sp Joseph Bereiter
9     #6sp Mike McIntyre
10     #18sp Bobby Ozman
11     #73 Sonya Kalisz    
12     #3 Cheryl Hyland
13     #62 Brad Stellman
14     #8 Bruce Marteney    
15     #11 Tony Price    

Main Event #2
Results are not official
1     #9sp Rodney Argo
2     #42 Chris Voight
3     #18sp Bobby Ozman
4     #37sp James Bolinas
5     #35 John Beard
6     #88sp Rick Conti
7     #7 Robert Rice
8     #50 Robert John Rice
9     #27sp Joseph Bereiter
10     #6sp Mike McIntyre
11     #62 Brad Stellman
12     #73 Sonya Kalisz
13     #3 Cheryl Hyland
14     #8 Bruce Marteney    
15     #11 Tony Price


Madera Speedway Club Race Unofficial Race Results June 13, 2020
Late Models
Results are not official
1     #51 S Jacob Smith        
2     #6 Mike Beeler
3     #12 J Jay Juleson
4     #75 Loren Kutz
5     #28 Trevor Schlundt
6     #44 Mike Shapiro
7     #23 Joey Brasil
8     #2 Hans Beeler
9     #89 Shelden Cooper    
10     #16 Lily Mead
11     #40 John McCullum Jr        
12     #27 C Nathan Casillas

MSTs
Results are not official
1     #40 S Bert Stephens            
2     #11 Dennis Brannon
3     #21 K Jason Kerns
4     #9 Kyle Labrie
5     #33 Ryan Reynolds        
6     #10 Shaun Reynolds
7     #58 Tim Kammerer
8     #2 B Haley Bugg            
9     #21 Patrick Geiger

Hobby
Main
Results are not official
1     #73 Tyler Rogers        
2     #42 Manny Gonzales Jr

Toyotas
Results are not official
1     #301 Thomas Magray            
2     #97 Johnny Williams


Marysville Raceway Unofficial Race Results June 13 2020
Winged 360 Sprints
Main Event
John Michael Bunch
Blake Carrick
J.J. Hickle
Shane Hopkins
Tanner Carrick
Michael Ing
Andy Forsberg
Caden Sarale
Billy Wallace
Devon Borden
J.J. Ringo
Jesse Love
Nick Larsen
Michael Sellers
Stephen Ingraham
Mike Monahan
Colby Wiesz
Brad Bumgarner
Alec Justeson
Michael Faccinto

B Main
Stephen Ingraham
Michael Sellers
Michael Faccinto
Mike Monahan
Bobby Butler
Steel Powell
Michael Millard
Kevin Lovell
Jeremy Wilson
Ben Wiesz
Brandon Dozier
Pat Harvey Jr
Jimmy Steward
Michael Wasina
Korey Lovell

IMCA Sport Modifieds
Andrew Peckham
Justin Funkhouser
Mike Merritt
Jimmy Ford
Phillip Shelby
Justin Foux
Scott Savell
Shawn Smith
Timothy Allerdings
Hunter Merritt
Donnie Fortney
Shaun Merritt
Todd Cooper
Jason Ferguson
Brian Cooper

Hobby Stocks
Kyle Cheney
Jacob Johnson
Phil Spencer
Chris Van Roekel
Jesse Van Roekel
Keith Ross
Zach Lindgren
David Allen
David Caluya
Jim Brookshire
Willie Horn Jr
James West
Toby Merrifield
Kyle Allen
Robert Warf
David Johnson
Paul Newman
Rick Lloyd
Orville Owens
Matt Rivera

B Main

Robert Warf
David Caluya
Zach Lindgren
Paul Newman
Maurice Merrill
Zac Bullock
Devin Koranda
Mario Davis
William Merritt
Bill Clark

Crate Sprints
Brett Youngman
Jeff Macedo
David Sims
Cameron Haney Jr
3Mike Ballantine 

The Editor's Viewpoint

Progress continues to be made as race tracks are opening along the West Coast. It's not progress enough, in my opinion. Fans should be allowed to attend, even if socially distanced. If you need the fans to sign waivers, many of them will be willing to do it. You don't have to allow full capacity, but fans should be allowed to attend the races. This is my opinion. My biggest concern is that as things simmer down a little bit in regards to the civil unrest in this country, we're going to start hearing more about how bad the virus is. Next thing you know, they could even try to pull back on the progress we've made.

Diamond Mountain Speedway in Susanville successfully opened their 2020 season with a race that also had some fans under socially distanced guidelines. They weren't able to serve up concessions, but at least they could sell tickets to fans who wanted to be there. Results are usually a bit slow coming out of Susanville, but reports are that they had quite the turnout of people watching and people racing. Best we could cobble together was about 60 total cars between the IMCA Modifieds and Sport Modifieds alone, not counting the local Hobby Stock and Mini Stock contingent. We've heard they had 92 total cars. Also heard that a yellow-checkered waived on the Sport Modified feature with Tyler Rodgers winning. Furthermore, we've heard that Nick Trenchard won the IMCA Modified race.

People are wondering just how the heck this track managed to open with fans so early in the process when other tracks are being denied due to the covid-19 guidelines. I don't know the answer to that. It's different in Lassen County? Actually, every county varies. Somebody had to be first, and I'm still thinking that somebody else in California will get some fans before the end of June. It's still going to take a while. What I'm really anxious to see is Coos Bay Speedway with their bar and grill idea that will allow them to get 250 fans. They open on Wednesday, if the weather will allow that. IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Street Stocks and Jr Stingers will be the divisions of choice. Details can be found at the Coos Bay Speedway Facebook page. As for Diamond Mountain Speedway, you can go to their Facebook page to find out what's going on with their big two-race weekend on June 26th and 27th. 

I'll try my best to be brief in this column, if that's possible for me. It has been interesting watching things play out as tracks open under these circumstances. There's still some crazy things happening when it comes to opening the gates. I am flatly opposed to opening up a race track with no fans. I am opposed to training people to sit at home and watch it online, rather than going to the tracks. We're going to be feeling the effects of this whole virus shutdown for months and months to come. We don't even know some of the ways we will be feeling this.

I was having a discussion with somebody regarding opening a race track for a practice. When you can get 250 or 300 people in the pits, you can essentially have a race. Most of the people who want to be there will be there. If you have that many cars, you can make it three people per car to get as many cars as you can, but you could get enough people to have a race. This isn't the problem. The problem comes down to a couple of things. At the end of the day, this is a business. Promoters open race tracks not just to give the racers a place to be on race night, but also because it's a business. If they don't make money, they won't keep doing it and the track closes. 

One option you have is to reduce the purse or run for no purse at all. Racers are desperate enough to put up with this for a little while, but as we've seen at Marysville Raceway, you start to see complaints. Getting sponsorship to help offset the cost can happen, but businesses are hurting right now. Believe me, we're only seeing the beginnings of the negative effect that this whole mess is having on the business world. It's going to affect big corporations right on down to the mom-and-pop stores, and people all over the world will suffer. Not because they got sick from the virus, but because of the way the reaction to it affected them. That's another article entirely.

When you're one of the first tracks opening up, the only way to go is to get streaming services. The money coming in from those services for the first few weeks was inflated over what it normally is. People are stuck at home. They can't go to their race track, so they are watching the stream. A promoter might look at that and think this is the answer, but it's only a temporary solution. I still stand by my assessment that in regular times, a track having its own in-house streaming service to help bring in more fans outside the area to their broadcast would be a good thing. That's not what we're talking about here.

To open a track in front of empty grandstands, you need some revenue coming in. $1,000 coming your way from streaming services is acceptable to some, even if it's a fraction of what you get from the gate and concessions sales. To others, they may think twice unless they have sponsors. Look at Keller Auto Speedway and the big Sprint Car show they have coming up on June 20th. If you think the promoter is footing the bill for the entire cost, you're wrong. They got sponsors to help make this happen, and they will get more money from streaming on SpeedshiftTV. They couldn't do this every week, but this is a special circumstance.

An unpopular decision by a promoter would be to inflate the entry fee into the pits to pay the regular purse. Racers probably wouldn't go for that, although there will come a time in the future when pay-to-play racing at oval tracks will be a thing. You won't have fans. I know that's doom and gloom, but I'm looking at the future here. Racers wouldn't be hip to paying more money to race for a regular purse. They do it for special events, but those are bigger purses. Therefore, they would probably reject the idea. The problem is, promoters are having to think about all of this now.

The first few promoters to dive in under these terrible circumstances set the bar. Now, local racers look around at what's happening across the country and expect their promoter to do the same thing. Therefore, promoters are going over the numbers and trying to figure out exactly how they can open their tracks without fans and not lose their ass doing it. I can't tell you how much I hate the situation. I put some of this at the feet of the state governments for the way they went about outlining how we reopen things. There's absolutely no reason there couldn't have been a plan put in place for when we get some fans at these events. A track is not a stadium with 70,000 seating capacity. Compared to that, allowing 500 fans in the stands isn't a mass gathering, especially when you have tracks that have had 500 people in the pits in recent weeks.

Some tracks in Oregon and California are in practice mode. Come out and practice, we have 250 or 300 spots available for you. Promoters do these things before the season starts. It's a way to get the track in to shape and let people test their equipment. Let's face it, it's a way to generate a little bit of revenue that promoters will need for the weeks ahead. You can say they make money off of these types of things, but that money ends up getting spent to promote the track pretty quickly. 

The biggest problem with being stuck in practice mode is you have other tracks that are willing to run a race without fans. Maybe they figured out that they can at least break even doing it, and that makes it worthwhile. The problem with that track in practice mode is if those tracks having races are within towing distance of your local racers, some of them will go to the race. Why practice? Many of those drivers have already practiced at other tracks before you opened your track. That's another problem. How many drivers do you lose that won't practice because there's a race happening somewhere else? How much money is lost, and what effect does that have on a promoter who's trying to figure out how to take it beyond practice and into racing?

You could have promoters looking at how to be creative with practice. This could take on a few different levels. With electronic scoring, promoters could put on fast time contests in each class that is represented with enough cars and pay the fast time. That's at least something. You could also turn this thing into a practice/race. What the hell am I talking about? Suppose you opened it up for two or three hours of practice, and then you said we're going to have a special final practice race or whatever you want to call it. Just fun races, or maybe you pay the winners or have a trophy. Something for fun.

I can already hear people reacting negatively. They don't want to wreck their cars for something like this, and I get it. These are different times and there are different ways to approach this. Maybe this isn't the right way, or maybe it has merit. Some divisions will have drivers that want to go ahead and do that practice race. If you've got everybody in the mindset that were out here having fun and don't be stupid, it can work. Look at vintage racing such as the Super Modifieds and the Hardtops. Generally, they engage in what we call respectful racing. You're not laying a fender or a nerf on somebody to gain that position, but you still enjoy a little bit of side-by-side fun. It's a practice race. With these vintage groups, it's an exhibition race.

What it does is gives the drivers something more than just a practice, but it's not a full-fledged race with all the formats and purse money and all of that. It can't be, because all of the revenue isn't there. The track is doing it bare bones with only the minimum amount of officials required and only the minimum amount of revenue without grandstands or concessions. Therefore, they are being creative and trying to do something more than just a practice to try to keep the locals interested in sticking around close to home. You'll always have those star racers who love to travel and wouldn't be up for something like this, but you could get local interest.

You come up with your lineup procedure for how to line up your special races. Let's say you had 16 IMCA Sport Modifieds for this practice, but six of these drivers don't want to do the race. 10 of them do. There you go. That's a start. If you have enough Dwarf Cars, Mini Stocks, whatever class, you can do this. It's an option. People are paying to practice, and for a bonus, they get practice under a racing type of condition. Not a full-fledged race with points, purse and all of that, but the checkered flag will fall on the winner. There could be a winner-take-all prize or something of that nature as well.

I had that conversation, and I found it interesting. I don't know if this idea will come to pass at a particular race track, but I like the idea. I don't have to tell you how much I dislike the situation we're in, but we're going to be in it for a while. Though Susanville was able to get fans in the grandstands last Saturday, it's not going to be a sudden waving of a magic wand to get other tracks to the point where they can have fans. It will be a gradual process. 

There may be a few tracks that can do it with fans in June, but it may not really start happening until July. Even in July, some tracks won't necessarily get to that point. This is why the California IMCA Modified/Sport Modified Speedweek Series that I think could be a winner would be better set for either late August or sometime in mid to late September. I still think that could be huge.

In Oregon, we lost May and June. It's out the window. Some tracks had races scheduled in April that never happened, and Cottage Grove Speedway even had plans for March races. Yes, they wanted to race in March. Guess what? The weather would have allowed at least one of those races to happen. Heather Boyce can't be a very happy woman right now, and she's less happy after the practice she had set for last weekend was rained out. 

Everybody in Oregon is watching Drake Nelson at Coos Bay Speedway. He is the promoter who stepped out on the ledge and took a chance. This isn't the first chance Drake took. To do something about declining car counts at his track, he brought in NASCAR sanctioning to increase the point fund money there. It's been a mixed bag, but Late Model numbers are trending upward. 

In this case, he's looking at another sanctioning body on June 17th. He's looking at IMCA sanctioning and bringing in both the Sport Modifieds and Modifieds. He's going to be the first track to run these two divisions in Oregon this year, and despite the fact that he's doing it in the middle of the week, I think he might do okay. Add in the local Street Stocks and likely visitors in that class along with the Junior Stingers, and all eyes are on Drake with his Coos Bay Speedway Bar and Grill concept. I think it's supposed to be 250 people, but when I read what he's doing out there, why do I have a feeling he'll have more than that in the stands? Why don't I really give a damn? I'll repeat what I said last time. Do what you've got to do Drake. 

I must say that I respect Kenny Shepherd at Madera Speedway. What he's managed to do with his racing program is impressive. You have to remember that not quite a decade ago he was promoting both Madera and Chowchilla Speedway. This was a guy who was trying to keep both struggling tracks afloat, and he did many things. What he settled on was the idea that he needed to focus on one track and make that place thrive. I feel bad about Chowchilla as he was the last guy offering the place stability. You had revolving door promoters after he left, and nobody could make it stick. At least he gave it a few years, but I digress. 

One can look at the Madera Speedway program as a whole and see a few spots that could use improvement, but it has a crown jewel that makes it all work. It has the MavTV Late Model Series and a thriving Junior Late Model class. Again, Kenny took the lead in trying to bring new drivers into the sport, not just with the Junior Late Model program but with the Focus Midgets as well. This has brought some talented drivers to the fold, and don't underestimate the possibility that one of these kids will be running on the NASCAR level one day. Then, you can look back and say they started at Madera Speedway.

After watching two of their Club Racing events, one of the things that struck me was car count. The track lacks good lower level support right now. The MST class has performed adequately for their first two races, though the count could be a little bit better. Where they are hurting right now is low numbers in the Hobby Stock and Toyota classes. The Toyotas have been a staple at that track for years, and it's kind of sad to see them struggle to get a couple of cars. 

I know they've looked over at the CVMS Mini Stocks, and it might be time to look at those rules and make an effort to start a class there. It doesn't hurt to strengthen some of the other divisions out there to support the Late Models. Other than the Legends of Kearney Bowl guys or certain visiting groups, they don't have anything else in house that gives them a car count. The strength of the Late Model division is what keeps this place going.

Kenny had to walk his own path to get Madera Speedway open under these circumstances, and that meant he had to consult his own people and legal experts while meeting with the county health officials. I think he did well in accomplishing the task, even if there were aspects of the agreement that make me grumpy. Those weren't his doing either. They were just agreements he had to make to get those gates open. He once again streamed this show for free for the fans to enjoy on Facebook. That's a very cool gesture.

I'm not dogging any of the other promoters who went with a pay service, because these are difficult times. You've got to pay the bills. Kenny certainly has a little bit more clout when it comes to televising his Late Models on MavTV. He could have done something in house and put it behind a pay window. Heck, he could have charged people a fraction of the others, let's say $10 to watch or whatever. He didn't do that. He gave it to the fans for free as a gesture of appreciation for the support they give him, and I think that will be returning in his direction when fans are able to come back to the track. However, sponsorship made this Facebook stream happen, and I want to echo what Kenny said with special thanks to nutup.com. Support the people who support the races whenever you can.

Kevin Barba at Siskiyou Golden Speedway threw me for a loop last week. We put a blog post up on Wednesday evening, and they were promoting on their Facebook page that they were doing Friday and Saturday practices. The next thing you know, it was just before 1 in the afternoon on Thursday when Misty Buchanan, the track's Social Media Director, went live to let people know that IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Sport Modified would be racing on Saturday night. It happened that quickly. It almost reminded me of something out of the Tom Sagmiller playbook of promoting.

Because this happened early enough in the day, I put together a hastily written article with some of the names of drivers who had already signed up and put it out there. This also highlights how Kevin has been in negotiations with Siskiyou County Health officials right up until the last minute. This was certainly the last minute. You might ask yourself why do it this late? If you were doing it in front of fans, you might hesitate because this would be kind of late when it comes to getting the word out to the fens. However, you're trying to get drivers, and most of them are on social media. You can do that relatively quickly.

I know they got rain on Friday night in Yreka, but I haven't confirmed that the practice was canceled. I suspected it was. The crew had to work in the track to get it ready for Saturday, and they attracted 18 IMCA Sport Modifieds and nine IMCA Modifieds for this race. That's really not bad on short notice, and now they've got something to build on. 

The thing is they have a clear opportunity to draw cars from out of town for the next few weeks at least. There's no ETA on when a race might actually happen in Medford, meaning that the drivers in both of the Modified classes will travel the reasonable distance to Yreka. In fact, drivers in the other classes will make the trip as well if given the opportunity.

They didn't set up a camera in the stands. I understand somebody was coming but cancelled at the last minute. Their local videographer recorded this event and will likely end up selling copies, but the only livestream came from somebody running a camera phone in the infield, probably Misty Buchanan. It did give a good perspective on a track that looked to be pretty smooth. The racing was rapidly paced, and all I've heard from the chatter on social media is positive. 

Hoping to seize on the momentum, the track has booked an IMCA Modified, IMCA Sport Modified and Outlaw Pro Stock show for this Saturday night. I was a bit surprised that the Mini Stock division wasn't included as I think their numbers would be inflated slightly with Medford drivers wanting to challenge the locals. However, I'm sure their time will come soon. Unless they're told they can't race, I think Kevin Barba will book a race practically every Saturday from here through October, and he'll be hoping that they can get fans in the grandstands in the not-too-distant future. As always, the best place to get your updates on what's happening is the Siskiyou Golden Speedway Facebook page.

I had one other point to make for observational purposes. Read into it what you will. When Coos Bay Speedway was talking about having that race on Memorial Day Weekend, the PSM Sport Modified guys, who basically ride on the IMCA coattails while questionably using the IMCA trademark, jumped in and passed the hat around. They had raised $1,200 towards purse money to help things out. While I've seen the PSM page being used by others to spread the word of this race, the PSM as a group has remained silent on doing anything of that nature to help the Yreka track. I only point that out because, in my opinion, Yreka is the redheaded stepchild of the PSM tracks. They are basically seen as a dot on the map. Hey, do what you want guys. I'm just calling it like I see it. It's just something I noticed. I doubt Kevin and his people are too worried about it.

I think we got more verification that Stockton 99 Speedway was not supposed to run that race on May 31st. Kenny Shepherd pretty much called that out on a couple of his post threads on the Madera Speedway Facebook page. I kind of wish he hadn't done that, but I also suspected he was right before he ever said it. We racing fans tend to kind of look the other way when tracks are taking the risk right now, because we want to see racing happening. Plus, most of us regard this virus stuff as BS. So, when Tony Noceti rolled the dice and held that race at Stockton 99 Speedway, we were on board. I will say that I don't doubt that he talked to somebody from the county to get the hint of a go ahead, but I'm not going to speculate. 

I'm not trying to do track by track reports on what I'm hearing, but I found the Stockton thing to be fascinating when the track put it on their Facebook page that they've got the go-ahead to go racing soon. Sporting events in San Joaquin County should be given guidelines on how to resume within the next couple of weeks. On Saturday, they announced June 20th would be a race in memory of John Medina. They will again run the two Late Model rules package divisions they had on May 31st along with Bombers, Basically Four Cylinders and the Legends of Kearney Bowl. On June 19th, they will have a practice. I would assume that the date they booked on July 4th for the Ron Strmiska 127 for the Southwest Tour and the other divisions involved should go on as scheduled. Best place to check is the Stockton 99 Speedway Facebook page.

I don't like to toot my own horn when it comes to predictions being made, though I've noticed a few of them have been on target lately. When Dixon Speedway and Lemoore Raceway were the first two Micro Sprint tracks to open, they came up with a plan. Since the Micro Sprint Speedweek was canceled for the end of the month due to the other two tracks not being open yet, these two tracks created the Covid Cup. Then we heard rumblings that Plaza Park was opening, and I speculated that they may be included in this new endeavor. It was just clarified that the Covid Cup will happen at Dixon Speedway on June 24th, Plaza Park Speedway on June 26th and Lemoore Raceway on June 27th. 

Promoters find themselves having to think and make adjustments on the fly, and this was actually a good move. I'm hearing there will be $40,000 in total purse money between the three tracks as well, so those car count numbers should be up. You'll notice the unused date between Dixon and Plaza Park. On the off-chance that Stockton's Delta Speedway can open, I'm sure that date would go to them. However, I think the odds of the track getting opened that soon might be a little bit steep. Then again, you never know. The date is there if it can happen.

Since I'm on the subject of Dixon Speedway, I was keeping track of the action this past weekend via the live scoring app. Last weekend saw Plaza Park Speedway open on Friday and Lemoore Raceway run on Saturday, meaning Dixon was no longer the only game in town. However, they still managed to pull in roughly 70 drivers. That might be down from the way things have been, but it was a solid turnout nonetheless. They did pick up the pace a little bit in getting done right around 11 pm. From the looks of it, they had some good racing, not to mention a good battle in the final Main Event of the evening for the Wingless Micro class. The Wingless class continued to deliver the car count at 34 competitors this time.

Marysville Raceway gave the fans watching at home a good way to end their racing weekend. Promoter Dennis Gage moved his program from Saturday to Sunday in order to secure SpeedshiftTV coverage. As it was, the camera crews were either at Placerville Speedway or Antioch Speedway on Saturday night. I think that was part of the equation, but another part of it is if you can get a night to yourself, you might be able to make a few more dollars out of the streaming revenue. Plus, it doesn't hurt your car count as you have the only show to offer the competitors. I think the Sunday night move was a good one.

This was a tricky track, and it seemed to be much smoother for this event than it had been in previous weeks. There were 32 Sprint Cars and 24 Hobby Stocks. The IMCA Sport Modifieds delivered 16, and the Crate Sprint class was barely present with five. I watch Brett Youngman in the Crate Sprints in wonder. He seems like a good enough driver to be in the Winged 360 Sprint Car class, rather than the failing Sprint Car class that he's in now. Okay, I'm trying to be nice and I just failed. Sorry about that. 

Anyway, the Sprint Cars were certainly an entertaining show for the night, and it seemed like a positive event overall for the track. Dennis had indicated in an earlier interview with Ron Rodda that he might have to evaluate things after a couple of races. I think he's done that, and he came up with the idea of moving the June 27th show to the 24th, which is a Wednesday. It's a midweek event, but it's also an opportunity to get more viewers for the show and generate more revenue. It shouldn't hurt the car count either. 

I'm not sure if Marysville will be one of those tracks that gets the opportunity to have fans before the end of the month. Honestly, I don't know what track will be next to get fans, but I do think Dennis has done well with Marysville under these difficult circumstances. Announcer Troy Hennig hinted at the possibility that Chico Silver Dollar Speedway could open by mid July. Let's hope he's right about that.

When is the right time to fling those gates open and go racing? Considering the circumstances we're under, you might think dipping a toe in the water and seeing how it goes is the safe bet. This way here, you can make sure everything's functional at the track and everybody's on the same page. If you're running on a dirt track, it might be just a little bit rough. Maybe you can take the opportunity to run a somewhat regular type program and get that settled. That's basically what we do at most of the tracks when they open the season. They generally don't come right out of the gate with something big.

These are different times. We're opening tracks without anybody in the grandstands and going through different covid-19 guidelines. Some promoters took their schedules and tore them up after realizing they had lost so many races. Petaluma Speedway Promoter Rick Faeth did not. He has scheduled different traveling groups in good faith throughout the season. He intended to run a race at some point, so all he was doing was canceling the races they wouldn't allow him to have. If it happened that he would be opening on a NARC/King of the West Series weekend, then that's what he'd do. In this case, he happened to be opening for the annual Dwarf Car Nationals visit.

Under normal circumstances, you're going to see anywhere between 60 to 80 drivers from all over the Western States. Add in the fact that some of these drivers haven't even had a race yet and we are in June, and you can see where those numbers would be inflated. When they opened the gates, I don't even think Rick expected what he would see. They pulled in roughly 110 competitors for this event. This may be the biggest supported Western States Dwarf Car Nationals event in recent years, even at the mecca for this event, Marysville Raceway.

It's the circumstances that we're in right now. Racers want to race, and they don't mind towing a few hours down the road if somebody has an event for them. Some tracks have taken advantage of that opportunity. It's not necessarily that Petaluma was trying to do that, but the Dwarf Car Nationals is a special event as it is. The main thing the track crew could do was try to be on the same page and keep this program moving. With that many cars, all three classifications had full fields. They were spending about an hour and a half just running the 13 heat races that they had planned. Bear in mind, the fairgrounds has put a curfew on the track for 10 pm. It's a trend we're seeing these days where even if the state mandated curfew is 11, some tracks are having to shut down earlier.

When you start putting cars on the race track at 5 in the afternoon, you figure that this five-hour window should be plenty of time. However, the clock was ticking by the time the Main Events were on the track. It was about 10 minutes after 9, and the Sportsman class hadn't even taken a green flag yet. There were a few speed bumps, but the most noticeable cut in distance for a race was the Sportsman feature, which went from 20 laps down to eight due to the lengthy delays during the yellow flag periods. 

These things are going to happen at tracks. Time will get away from you. It's not unique to this situation, although when you see that many cars there, you should instinctively know to keep the show moving. I will say I was a little bit sad to see the 10 laps that were cut from the scheduled 30 lap Pro feature, but only because Ryan Winter was making an impressive charge from winning the C Main, and I would have liked to see if he could have gotten up there to challenge Shawn Jones. 
I'm not going to nitpick, because It's been a battle for Rick just to get those gates open after dealing with county health officials. It's the same song and dance the tracks have been dealing with up and down the West Coast. The gates are opening quickly at several tracks, and Petaluma Speedway is one of them. It might not have been the easiest circumstances to open with a two-day event after such a lengthy layoff, but you have to open sometime. They weren't able to have grandstands, so I am happy to see they had such a big turnout. That helps pay the bills, although quite a bit of revenue was lost with no fans.

There was no live footage from Petaluma for the weekend, which was just a little bit disappointing. I don't think Rick was necessarily worried about any of that as these big Dwarf Car shows tend to be more about the competitors in the pits than fans in the stands. Then again, he had a good turnout of fans for the Nationals last year. Regardless, if he wasn't able to get a live streaming service, it would have been cool to see him do something with the Facebook page to keep the fans informed, such as what Lakeport Speedway did last weekend along with Madera Speedway. 

Lakeport followed the formula of Ukiah Speedway from the week before. Their announcer was in the stands calling the race, and somebody was filming this either from a digital camera or a phone camera. It wasn't bad considering this obviously wasn't high-tech. You got to see all of the action, and the announcer did a good enough job in conveying what was going on that you weren't sitting there wondering who was who. I just think that maybe Petaluma could have tried something like this. Not that they had to, but it would have been cool.

When I've spoken about tracks that might actually open up without paying the drivers during this difficult time, I wasn't sure if a track was going to do that or merely run for a reduced purse. The NCRA apparently put it to the racers whether or not they would run for a purse if the track reopened. Obviously, if they needed to have a purse, a race might not have happened. The money wasn't there. The drivers voted to run without a purse and delivered just a tick under 30 cars for Saturday's show. That was pretty cool. They did run for nice trophies and there were people that donated a few cash prizes, though I'm not sure what went where. They're coming back for another race this Saturday, and the NCRA Lakeport Speedway Facebook page is the one to check.

I'm trying to figure out how Petaluma Speedway officials lost track of time so quickly. I've mentioned they are one of the tracks saddled with a 10 pm curfew, which really makes it tough. On Friday, they ended right around that time and had to cut some laps. They started a full hour earlier, giving them a 6 hour window on Saturday. Yes, the PitStopUSA.com Wingless Spec Sprints were there, but this still shouldn't have been a problem even with all the cars that were there.

Yellow flags happen, and I can imagine there were a few good crashes in the Dwarf Cars. You've got drivers coming from all over who aren't used to racing with each other. You might think you can put your car here, but that's how you do it at your place. You're running with somebody different. Accidents happen. It seemed to me that they took a little bit longer than you might expect getting things cleared up for the restarts, and that's where a lot of time was lost. It was disappointing to see the Sportsman Main Event cut in half again, five laps cut off of the Veteran class and some of the preliminary races cut as well. This is why I talked about it being the safe bet for a track to open up with a regular show. Sometimes it takes the crew a week to clear the cobwebs and get back in the groove again. Next week will be better. 

I'm beginning to wonder if there is any sort of dialogue happening between Antioch Speedway Promoter Chad Chadwick and Rick Faeth at Petaluma Speedway. I don't think there was the best relationship between John Soares and Rick. I would call it lukewarm at best. They maintained the pretext of respect, but you seldom saw the two tracks working together. However, the storied history of these two tracks has seen them working together pretty well at times, and I think that could be the case now.

As Chadwick is in his first year of working to make things better at Antioch Speedway, and I know he's communicating with other promoters, I'm just wondering if he's picked up the phone to talk to Rick and how often. I said this when I heard Chad was going to get the track. The first promoter he should establish a relationship with is Rick Faeth because it's a no-brainer. It's much easier for drivers from Petaluma to come to Antioch than it is for people to come from Merced to Antioch or Watsonville to Antioch. Not that that doesn't happen, but you can gain quite a bit with a good relationship here.

We had the snafu where the Wingless Spec Sprints were booked at Petaluma and there was a Wingless show at Antioch as well last Saturday. I'm not blaming anybody here, although I will say somebody could have looked at the Petaluma Speedway schedule, which was there to be seen on the web page. This weekend, Antioch has a Super Stock show and Petaluma has a Lumberjacks Restaurant Super Stock show. You're going to book on top of each other. That's just going to happen, and that's not my point here. My point is, these two tracks could make for bigger races for themselves if they'd cooperate a little bit and be willing to help each other. Will it happen? I'm not overly optimistic, but you never know.

I was watching the Hunt Wingless Sprint Car race at Antioch Speedway, and I had an epiphany. I'm not watching Wingless Spec Sprints here. Where the Hunt Series is concerned, they basically took their first shot at the class in changing the rules to allow push starts. This was one of the selling points of the Spec Sprint class. If a crash happened, the cars could start under their own power for a restart. Sure, a few drivers might need the push, but drivers intended for their cars to start. This is the first step towards turning the Hunt Series into a full-on injected Wingless 360 Sprint Car class. It's not a matter of if, but when that happens. 

Change is inevitable. You can have a good thing, but the Einstein's among us will look at a good thing and think they can make it better. Even if it wasn't needed, that's what they're going to do. It's like the idea of adding Crate Sprints to Chico and Marysville when you had the Wingless Spec Sprint division. That division served to kill the Spec Sprint effort at those tracks, and the Crate Sprints still only bring a half dozen cars. A lot of cars they had are no longer there. This is the same thing that'll happen with the Wingless series eventually. It might look good now, but the little guy will be getting out and your car counts will die as a result.

I am not opposed to Wingless 360 Sprint Car racing. It's quite the opposite. I believe wholeheartedly that you can start a series in the Northern California area with those rules, going along the lines of what they do with USAC, and get a car count. What you don't need to do is take a good rule set that has worked for two decades and change it because you think you can make it better. I'm just disappointed that I'm watching history repeat itself again. It probably doesn't help that I was there on the ground floor with my friend Don O'Keefe Jr helping John Soares get this class started at Antioch back in 1999. It really doesn't seem that long ago.

That notwithstanding, what I saw at Antioch Speedway on Saturday was one heck of a show. The track seemed to be in better condition and didn't really start going dry until they got into the later stages of the second Main Event. This is just the way the track is prepped. The grooves are there for sure, and it was really nice seeing the Wingless Sprints running the extreme outside. The slide job passing and all of that made this a good show. Overall, the racing was good, and the good start continues at Antioch Speedway with about 70 cars for three divisions. They have momentum.

As tracks begin to open, I'm curious where the numbers will land as drivers go back to their home tracks. I'm expecting to see the numbers still hold on pretty well. Fans will be anxious to get up in the grandstands and watch this show. People are getting frustrated at sitting at home, especially when you can hear the noise of the cars from where you live. I don't know how much longer it will last, but I'm sure Chadwick continues to negotiate every week to make this happen. At least you get the live stream right now, and it's been a pretty good show on that end as far as I'm concerned.

It's becoming more obvious to me that there's basically no place for me in the future plans for Antioch Speedway. It's something I've been deliberating on privately for a few months now, but I got an obvious indication this past weekend that my services aren't necessarily needed. We all come up on that time, so it's not something I'm surprised at. I might be a little bit disappointed or even hurt, but I'm not surprised.

The race tracks are opening under very difficult circumstances, and that means to get fans they have to go with a live stream. Antioch opened with the biggest car count they've had in the history of that race track on Memorial Day Weekend. It wasn't just one night of racing, they had two nights. SpeedshiftTV was live and there were many people looking. I'm going to be nice here and just say that Wylie Wade was announcing the biggest race of his career and had never dealt with that kind of car count before. It was at times very difficult for him to give it the adequate treatment it needed. He was struggling.

I watched that stream thinking to myself, "Man, I could have helped. I could have announced with him. I could have announced the whole thing myself. I could have handed him information to keep him better informed. I could have helped. Damn it, I wanted to help!" Nobody asked, but management understood pretty quickly that they needed a little bit better presentation going forward. They were in an awkward position where they couldn't get SpeedshiftTV for the following two weeks. That annoyed some people who had already sunk $40 into a month subscription, only to find out they had to give another company money if they wanted to watch Antioch Speedway. Some people declined at that point. 

It just so happened that Dirt Oval TV boss PJ Risso and respected Oregon Announcer/Publicity Man Ben Deatherage are friends. PJ would want somebody announcing that he was familiar with. Since they live close enough, this was a no-brainer. Ben began contacting me for information on the history of the track. I like him and I respect his family. When I brought the Hall of Fame to Antioch Speedway, the Deatherage family model used at Cottage Grove Speedway is what I used. During the last few years, Ben would periodically pick my brain for information, and I'm also happy to help somebody who cares about the history of the sport as much as I do.

What you see from Ben is a guy who can grab a microphone at a track like Antioch Speedway, a place he'd never been to before, and act like he's been going there for years. He does his homework. I don't mind saying he's one of the best announcers in the game right now, so I didn't really have a problem helping him since I knew Dirt Oval TV would be using him for a couple of weeks. I have respect for this man. What I wasn't prepared for was what I heard this past weekend.

Antioch Speedway management has asked Ben to come down and announce some key events for them, including this past weekend. He's got roots in Oregon, so there's some dates he wouldn't be able to make. Plus, there are tracks in Oregon that count on him as well. I can't speak for him and what he will be able to do. I can say that it's not a bad move bringing a guy like him to your track to announce, because he adds to any program he's part of. You're going to get facts and information about the drivers and a little bit of history thrown in for good measure.

I already knew that there was no place for me down at the speedway because there was no place for me to take up permanent residence. I'm in a bad position as I'm basically homeless but lucky enough to be staying with somebody who's been very good to me. While I'm making peace with that, the speedway was in a more challenging position. You're trying to have races with no fans in the grandstands, and therefore you want the presentation that they see online to be as good as possible. I don't have to really talk about my background all that much, and I don't like to do that. 

Everybody who knows me knows that when it comes to racing, it all stems from Antioch Speedway for me. Right, wrong or indifferent, I made that track a central part of my life for many years, and people always come to me for the history and information, because they know I can answer those questions. I'm well enough versed on the current roster that I can come down there and either announce the show myself or would gladly work with Wade and make it a team. Wade's a good guy, and I think we could work together if that was what was decided. I've proven in the past what I can do, so I don't have to spell it out any further than that. 

When I made my Hall of Fame visits for the past couple of years, people have helped me out by allowing me a place to stay. They know that I will work hard for the track. What I'm saying here is that I could have been called to come down there for a temporary visit. Whether that be for a few weeks, a month or month-and-a-half, I could do the job. I don't carry a high price tag. I just need a place to stay temporarily, access to the equipment that I need to do the job that I do and a little bit of money to make sure I have the basics that I need. So yeah, I'm a little disappointed that my name didn't come into consideration at this point in time. 

As I'm weighing the big decision about stepping away from the sport, at least the current sport, what's going on with me as it pertains to Antioch Speedway is a factor in the decision-making process. When I say I'm done at the end of the year, I mean that. I can't keep donating everything for free and seeing nothing in return. In doing that, I'm not giving myself a chance to better my life. When I say the right offer can change my mind, I've got one eye on Antioch Speedway when I say that. I'm okay either way. I'm not owed anything.

We all end up walking away at some point, and it's not always on the exact terms we'd like it to be. We don't always have that big moment that we go out on. Sometimes it ends with a whimper. A new regime and a new vision for Antioch Speedway means changes. Management has their game plan and how they want to go about it. I'm okay if I don't have a place in this change. Management has been aware of my desires to help for a year now, before they even got the place. They've had time to think about it and have decided that my involvement isn't needed. I respect that. However, I'm going to have to make a few decisions myself for my own best interest if in fact that door is finally closed. I won't stand outside the door knocking. I see no point in that.

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