Monday, July 13, 2020

Antioch Speedway, Ocean Speedway, Merced Speedway, Petaluma Speedway, Ukiah Speedway, More

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Steven Blakesley covered Madera Speedway and Delta Speedway At Short Track Live
We've included direct links
 
SANDERS, SARALE, BARNES AND MAULDIN CLAIM DELTA SPEEDWAY WINS ON SATURDAY 
Click HERE

BAKERSFIELD DRIVERS CONTINUE TO REIGN AS SHEPHERD AND WISE REPEAT AT MADERA 
Click HERE

Johnson, Machado, Wagner, Share Antioch Speedway Spotlight

Antioch, CA...July 11...DJ Johnson won the 20 lap Wingless Spec Sprint Main Event Saturday night at Antioch Speedway. He's the fourth different winner in the four Wingless races held so far. To get the win, he had to battle 14 year old phenom Dylan Bloomfield. The race was held in front of empty grandstands due to covid-19 guidelines, but the action was still broadcast live on Flo Racing and SpeedshiftTV on the internet.

David Lindt II piloted the Ted Finkenbinder car into the early lead, but an inside pass on the frontstretch of the third lap put Johnson into the lead. Bloomfield settled into third, and Jeff Scotto spun in Turn 4 for a Lap 5 yellow flag. After Scotto spun in Turn 2 for a Lap 6 yellow flag, his race ended. Johnson led Lindt and Bloomfield on the restart. A high pass in Turn 4 of the eighth lap gained Bloomfield the second position, and he began taking looks to the inside of Johnson in his quest to grab the lead. Lindt spun in Turn 4 for a lap 11 yellow flag. On the restart, Bloomfield got a good run on the inside in Turn 2, drifted up and gained the lead from Johnson, who found his momentum on the outside slowed momentarily. Johnson was giving Bloomfield plenty of pressure on the challenging racing surface. A high move in Turn 4 of the 17th lap put Johnson into the lead. He led the rest of the way to win with Bloomfield settling for a career-best second. Two-time champion Bob Newberry finished third, followed by Jarrett Soares and season opener winner Shayna Ensign.

Mitch Machado won the 15 lap Tri State Pro Stock Challenge Series Main Event. Thanks to sponsorship from Winning Attitude Motorsports of Paradise and Jay's Mobile Welding, the win paid three-time Petaluma Speedway champion Machado $1,000. Reigning series champion Mike Learn led early in a race that was marred with five yellow flags in the first five laps. Machado grabbed second on a Lap 2 restart, but a yellow flag waved moments later for a Chad Hammer spin in Turn 4. Learn led the Lap 3 restart. Machado just managed to beat Learn back to the line on Lap 4, but a six-car pile up in Turn 4 caused a red flag. Randy Miller pitted from third, and Machado led Wayne Coffman and reigning Chico Super Stock champion Matt Micheli on the restart. Though Coffman ran with Machado, he was unable to make a move as Machado brought it home a happy winner. Micheli finished third, followed by Brent Lawrence, reigning track champion Kimo Oreta, Mike Walko, Ryan Cherezian and Bill Hall III.

There were 24 Pro Stocks for this race, and six lap heat race wins went to Miller, Learn, Walko and Coffman. Chris Long scored an impressive 12 lap B Main win aboard the John Keith owned entry. Jerry Bartlett finished second ahead of Jon Haney, previous series race winner Ryan Smith and Donny Richardson.

Danny Wagner won the 20 lap Delta Dwarf Car Main Event. It was the second-straight win for the two-time Antioch champion. Wagner wasted little time getting into the lead with Travis Dutra following into second. Reigning champion Scott Dahlgren slipped past Dutra for second on the ninth lap. Wagner built a straightaway advantage over second place by the halfway point of the race, and the close battle was for third between Dutra and Toby Brown. Slower traffic in the path of the third place contenders nearly resulted in a tangle, but both gathered it up and kept it going. Wagner cruised to the impressive victory, followed by Dahlgren, Dutra, Brown and Troy Stevenson. 

The Delta Dwarf Car Association is excited to host the two-day Western States Dwarf Car Association Regionals event this Friday and Saturday night. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com or look for the Delta Dwarf Car Association Facebook page.


Hogge Beats Stone In Thriller At Merced Speedway,
Duinkerken, The Johnson's, Durant Other Winners

Merced, CA...July 12...Taking the lead in a thrilling three-wide battle on a lap 24 restart, Bobby Hogge IV won the 25 lap IMCA Modified Main Event Sunday night at Merced Speedway. Hogge also won the feature race in Watsonville two nights earlier. This was the first opportunity for Merced Speedway to open its gates since the covid-19 shutdown. Fans were not allowed in the grandstands, but the race was broadcast live on the internet through the SpeedshiftTV and Flo Racing streaming services.

Jack Aguiar led the pack to the green flag, but by the time the first lap was completed, Paul Stone had the lead. A yellow flag waved for Robby Jeppesen in Turn 1. Stone lead Aguiar and Robby Sawyer on the restart. Hogge quickly settled into fourth, and Sawyer made an inside pass in Turn 2 of the fifth lap to take second from Aguilar. Hogge went low in Turn 2 on Lap 7 to move into third. Stone held a near straightaway advantage by then as Sawyer and Hogge had a good battle going for second. The yellow flag flew on the 11th lap for Justin Hart. Stone led Sawyer and Hogge on the restart, but Stone and Sawyer pulled away a little bit as Jerry Flippo moved in to challenge Hogge for the third position. Flippo made a Turn 4 pass on lap 14 to take third, and Sawyer made an outside pass in Turn 4 of the 17th lap to steal the lead away from Stone. 

However, Stone kept committed to the inside groove and made a Turn 2 pass a lap later to regain first. Flippo went low in Turn 4 of the 23rd lap to take second from Sawyer, and a two lap showdown to the end was set up when Hart spun in Turn 3 for a yellow flag. On the restart, Hogge went to the outside of everybody and gathered some serious momentum. Exiting Turn 4, Hogge nudged ahead of Stone as Flippo made it a three-wide battle. Hogge led the lap, but Stone continued to run strong. It was a side-by-side battle around the track one last time, and Hogge managed to beat Stone back to the line by inches for the thrilling victory. Flippo finished a strong third, followed by Sawyer, Austin Kiefer, Ryan Porter, Aguilar, Buddy Kniss, Billy Wilker and Tim Balding. Sawyer, Stone and Kiefer won the eight lap heat races.

Grant Duinkerken won the 30 lap IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car Main Event. Phil Heynen led the opening lap before reigning aeries champion Grant Champlin made a Turn 4 pass to take over. As Champlin pulled away, Heynen had his hands full with Duinkerken and Brooklyn Holland. An inside pass on the frontstretch of the fifth lap gained Holland third from Duinkerken, and she went low in Turn 4 on Lap 7 to take second. A lap eight yellow flag flew as Heynen spun from the Top 3 battle in Turn 2. Champlin led Duinkerken and Holland on the restart. An inside pass on the backstretch of the 10th lap gained Rob Solomon third from Holland, and he went low in Turn 3 on Lap 12 to take second from Duinkerken. Solomon then made an inside pass on the backstretch of the 16th lap to take the lead from Champlin, and Duinkerken made a similar move a lap later to grab second. Chris Stevens spun at the Turn 3 entrance for a Lap 23 yellow flag, and Solomon brushed the front wall taking the yellow flag. Solomon continued to lead the restart ahead of Duinkerken and Champlin, but he pushed hard exiting Turn 2 on Lap 25. This allowed Duinkerken to race into the lead with Kyle Rasmussen following him closely into second. Duinkerken ran a smooth pace over the remaining five laps for the victory. Rasmussen settled for second ahead of Champlin, Holland, Conner Dannell, Jacob Pacheco, Solomon, Heynen, Ryan DeLisle and Gordon Rodgers. Rasmussen was the quickest of 13 qualifiers on the quarter-mile clay oval with a lap of 12.821, beating the 12.855 of Solomon. Brendan Warmerdam and Duinkerken won their respective eight lap heat races.

Michael Johnson won the 20 lap IMCA Sport Modified Main Event. The Bakersfield competitor led from the start of the race with Brock Crawford an early second. Jeremy Hoff made a low move in Turn 4 of the fifth lap to take second from Crawford, but Johnson already had a straightaway advantage by then. A yellow flag flew when Tyler Thomas spun in Turn 3 on Lap 8, and Hoff headed for the pits. Johnson led Jason Bannister and Chris Falkenberg on the restart. An outside pass on the backstretch of the 12th lap gained Falkenberg second, and he set about reeling in the near straightaway advantage of Johnson. That advantage was wiped out when Kodie Dean spun in Turn 4 for a Lap 15 yellow flag. Johnson led Falkenberg on the Lap 16 restart, but a yellow flag waved for a three-car crash on the backstretch. Following another Tyler Thomas spin in Turn 2 on the first restart attempt, Falkenberg made a serious outside groove challenge on Johnson try to grab the lead. However, there was a bit of contact in Turn 4, and Johnson maintained the point. Johnson adjusted his line slightly to the outside and held off Falkenberg for the well-earned victory. Bannister finished third, followed by Chuck Weir, Tanner Thomas, Jason Pugh, State point leader Timothy Allerdings, Gavin Espino, Tim Ragsdale and Crawford. The three eight lap heat races were won by Falkenberg, Hoff and Johnson.

Cody Johnson won the 20 lap Hobby Stock Main Event. Johnson started on the front row and led all the way, though he received a serious challenge later in the race. Tyler Bannister was an early second ahead of multi-time track champion Bruce "Bubba" Nelson. Johnson held about a straightaway advantage over Bannister when Colby Quinton brought out a Lap 7 yellow flag. Cody Johnson continued to lead Bannister and Nelsen on the restart. On the 12th lap, Nelson made a strong inside move on Bannister entering Turn 1 to grab second, but he pushed badly in Turn 2. This allowed Bannister and Nick Johnson to both get by for second and third. An inside pass in Turn 4 of the 13th lap gained Nick Johnson second, but Cody Johnson held a little under a straightaway lead at that point. However, Nick Johnson rapidly reeled in Cody Johnson and was on his rear bumper with two laps to go. Cody Johnson didn't give in to the pressure and stayed smooth in the final two laps to hold off Nick Johnson for the win. Bannister settled for third, followed by Nelson, Domossie Scoggins, Ryan Hart, Johnny Wood, Michael Shearer, Logan Clay and Josh Hensley. Eight lap heat race wins went to Bannister, Hart and Cody Johnson.

Jeff Durant won the 20 lap House of JuJu Central Valley Mini Stock Main Event. This was the second-straight win for Durant with the series. Gene Glover led the opening lap. An Inside pass in Turn 2 of the second lap gained Greg Baronian the lead, but he pushed in Turn 4 as Glover and Shawn DePriest both got by. A yellow flag waved for Baronian and Matt Herod in Turn 2 after two laps. On the restart, series champion Dan Myrick lost a wheel on the front straightaway. Glover led Clint Massey and DePriest on the next restart. Three-time Merced champion Chris Corder made an inside pass in Turn 4 of the sixth lap to grab third from DePriest, and Durant quickly moved into fourth. Glover caught traffic, allowing Massey and Corder to close in on him. Corder used an outside pass on the frontstretch of the 11th lap to take second from Massey, and he went low in Turn 2 a lap later to grab the lead from Glover. However, Corder got out of shape in Turn 2 on Lap 13. Durant had taken second from Glover, and suddenly he found himself in the lead. Glover headed for the pits on Lap 15 as Massey was now second over Jason Cook. Durant kept his cool with Massey and Cook right behind him as the trio finished in order. Depriest finished fourth ahead of Corder, Ethan Griffioen, Brian Widdowson, Trevor Jolly, Andy Boydstun and Glover. Eight lap heat race wins went to Herod and Lucy Falkenberg.

For information on scheduling and other important news, go to www.mercedspeedway.net or check out the Merced Speedway Facebook page.


Becker, Hogge, Curran, Prickett Win On Busy Night 
At Ocean Speedway

Watsonville, CA...July 10...Sean Becker won the 30 lap Ocean Sprint Car, presented by Taco Bravo, Main Event Friday night at Ocean Speedway. The win for the reigning Chico Silver Dollar Speedway champion came aboard the Jim Van Lare owned car. The show featured seven divisions and nearly 120 total cars in the pits, including 37 Sprint Cars. Due to covid-19 guidelines, fans are still not allowed to attend in the grandstands, but the action was broadcast on internet pay-per-view via SpeedshiftTV. 

Petaluma Speedway star Colby Johnson raced into the early lead with Kalib Henry making a high pass in Turn 2 to take second from Chase Majdic on the second lap. Mitchell Faccinto settled into third, and Jake Hagopian spun in Turn 2 for a Lap 3 yellow flag. Henry began pressuring Johnson on the outside when the race resumed, and a high pass in Turn 4 of the fifth lap put Henry into the lead. However, Faccinto followed closely into second and made an inside pass in Turn 2 of the ninth lap to take the lead from Henry. Becker went inside Henry in Turn 2 on Lap 10 to take second, and two-time Watsonville champion Shane Golobic followed closely into third. A low pass in Turn 2 of the 13th lap gained Becker the lead with Golobic quickly moving into second. The lead duo pulled away from the pack and began working slower traffic. However, Golobic hit a rut in Turn 4 on the 25th lap and nearly flipped, putting some distance between himself and leader Becker. Golobic erased much of Becker's lead in the final laps, but Becker still prevailed in the end. Tanner Carrick made a late move for third with Henry settling for fourth, followed by JJ Hickle, reigning NARC Sprint Car champion DJ Netto, Faccinto, Majdic, point leader Bud Kaeding and Johnson.

Golobic turned the Tom Sagmiller prepared quarter-mile clay oval with the fast time of 11.552, beating the 11.623 of Kaeding. They ran four eight lap heat races with wins going to Majdic, Kaeding, Henry and Johnson. Kaleb Montgomery led every lap of the 12 lap B Main for the victory, followed by Craig Stidham, reigning champion JJ Ringo, Hagopian and Jason Chisum.

Bobby Hogge IV won the 20 lap IMCA Modified Main Event. The six-time track champion started on the front row and led every lap. Hogge led at the start ahead of Todd Hermosillo, but past champion Robert Marsh made an inside pass in Turn 2 a lap later to take second. However, 2018 champion Cody Burke beat Marsh back to the line on the third lap to take over second. Moments later, Matt Hagio and Marsh tangled in Turn 1 for a yellow flag. The first restart attempt was botched when Jesse Burks crashed on the backstretch. Hogge led Cody Burke and Jim Pettit II on the restart. However, a yellow flag flew after one lap was completed. Hogge led Cody Burke and Pettit on the next restart, but a Turn 4 crash involving JC Elrod and Hermosillo brought out a yellow flag again. Hogge led Cody Burke on the restart with Petaluma point leader Anthony Slaney settling into third. Kyle Bryan spun in Turn 3 for a Lap 8 yellow flag and then brought out another yellow flag on the first restart attempt. Hogge maintained the lead on the ensuing restart as reigning champion Austin Burke settled into third behind brother Cody. Hogge caught heavy traffic with two laps to go, allowing Cody Burke to close in on him. However, Hogge kept his cool and picked up the win with Cody Burke settling for second ahead of Austin Burke, Slaney, Tim Balding, Brian Cass, Freddie Plourde III, Anthony Giuliani, Elrod and Hermosillo. Eight lap heat race wins went to Hogge and Marsh.

Brent Curran won the 20 lap IMCA Sport Modified Main Event. Curran was driving the Scott Foster owned car. Steven Allee led the opening lap, but a yellow flag waved. Allee continued to lead Justin McPherson and Kelly Campanile on the restart. John Ferro spun in Turn 1 for another yellow flag. On the restart, McPherson spun in Turn 4, collecting several cars for a yellow flag. Allee led Curran on the restart, and Tanner Thomas spun for another yellow flag. On the Lap 4 restart, Curran took the lead from Allee. Antioch point leader Fred Ryland began pressuring Allee for the second spot before making an inside pass on the backstretch of the 10th lap to take the position. However, Curran held a big lead by then. Ryland worked on closing in on Curran and caught him on the final lap. However, Ryland's last turn bid came up just short as Curran brought it home the happy winner. Gavin Espino finished third, followed by Billy Robertson, Allee, Campanile, Max Baggett, Ferro, Charlie Hunter and Dwayne Short. Ryland and Robertson won their respective  eight lap heat races.

David Prickett won the 20 lap Western Midget Main Event. The reigning division champion started on the front row and held the lead from the start. Tyler Slay was an early second ahead of Evan Bonnema. A Lap 5 yellow flag waved for a tangle in Turn 2 involving Adam Elbert and Randi Pankratz. On the first restart attempt, Slay spun in Turn 2 and Elbert got into him and flipped for a red flag. Prickett resumed command on the restart ahead of Bonnema and Jackson Dukes. Dukes slipped past Bonnema for the second position on Lap 14, but Prickett held a straightaway advantage. A Turn 4 pass gained Slay the third position from Bonnema on lap 16. Prickett cruised to victory with Dukes a solid second, followed by Slay, Harley Rose, Bonnema, Joey Bishop, John Santibanes, Pankratz, Elbert and Tyler Dolacki. Slay outran Prickett to win the eight lap heat race.

Shawn Jones won the 20 lap South Bay Dwarf Car Main Event. The past Watsonville champion was coming off an impressive win at Petaluma Speedway on Sunday. Jones raced into the lead early on ahead of Reigning NorCal champion Michael "Spanky" Grenert. Marty Weisler moved past reigning South Bay champion Mark Biscardi on the second lap to take third. A yellow flag waved on the 10th lap for a Danica Del Monte spin in Turn 2. Jones maintained the lead on the restart ahead of Grenert and Weisler, and another yellow flag waved on the 17th lap for a tangle between Barry Waddell and Vernon Hubbard. Jones again maintained command on the restart and brought it home to the checkered flag by a comfortable margin. Weisler moved into the second position on the restart, but he pulled into the infield on the last lap as Grenert finished second ahead of Gene "Punky" Pires, Trafton Chandler, Biscardi, Hubbard, Weisler, Weddell, Del Monte and Ryan Amlen. Wiesler won the eight lap heat race.

Nicole Beardsley won the 15 lap Mini Stock Main Event. Both Nicole and Kate Beardsley had 17 Top 5 finishes as they tied for the point lead last year, but neither of them managed to win. Point leader Ryan McClelland set the early pace ahead of Kate Beardsley and Tony Gullo. An inside pass and Turn 3 of the third lap gained Beardsley the lead, and McClelland slowed off the pace. A Lap 4 yellow flag waved for a Travis Van Gilder spin. Kate Beardsley continued to lead the restart ahead of Nicole Beardsley and Bill Beardsley. Van Gilder brought out one more yellow flag on the 10th lap. On the restart, Nicole  surprised Kate by taking the lead. Nicole Beardsley would go on to victory ahead of Kate Beardsley, Jeff Kessinger, Van Gilder, Eddie Gallaher, Bill Beardsley, Jay Gardner, McClelland, Gullo and Richard Mitchell. Gullo also won the eight lap heat race.

Nate Graham on the 15 lap Police N Pursuit Main Event. Graham represents the Santa Cruz Police Department. The race was only marred by one yellow flag for a Kyle Dorris spin in Turn 3 on the first lap. Graham took command on the restart and steadily pulled away from the pack, leaving the battle for second. Jackie Yeung ran second early on, followed by AJ Waltrip. John Hohmann moved past Waltrip for the third position on Lap 4. By the fifth lap, Graham held a straightaway advantage over Yeung as Hohmann closed in on Yeung. A low pass in Turn 1 of the 12th lap gained Hohmann the second position, and Anderson moved into third a lap later. As Graham nearly lapped the second place battle on the way to the checkered flag, Task Force Racers representative Anderson made a last-lap pass on Hohmann to finish in the runner-up spot.  Yeung also got by Hohmann on the last lap to finish third as Hohmann settled for fourth ahead of Chris Murphy, Pat Sullivan, Waltrip, reigning champion Roy Iler, Doris and Steven Fernandes. Graham also won the six lap heat race.

The 10th Annual Howard Kaeding Classic is happening next weekend. The doubleheader weekend finds the Ocean Sprints, presented by Taco Bravo, running on Friday night along with the IMCA Sport Modifieds, Western Midgets and Hobby Stocks. The NARC/King of the West Fujitsu Winged 410 Sprint Car Series will race on Saturday night along with the IMCA Modifieds and Hobby Stocks. For further information, go to www.racepmg.com or check out the Ocean Speedway Facebook page.

Additional Watsonville Coverage from Steven Blakesley
BECKER EARNS FIRST OCEAN SPRINTS WIN IN WATSONVILLE ON FRIDAY NIGHT
Click HERE

Philpot, Tour And Tour Win Ukiah Speedway Races

Ukiah, CA...July 11...Jason Philpot won the 45 lap Limited Modified Main Event Saturday night at Ukiah Speedway. This was the second-straight win for Philpot, and the drivers competed for purse money sponsored by Taco Bell. Due to the fact that covid-19 guidelines won't allow fans in the grandstands, they streamed the race online for free for all to enjoy on the track's Facebook page. 

Erick Ray led the opening lap before an inside pass in Turn 4 gained Roy Ingalls Jr the lead. Sammy Nuno took the second position with an outside frontstretch pass on the fourth lap. Nuno went outside Ingalls on the frontstretch on the seventh lap to take the lead. A Turn 2 pass on the eighth lap gained Philpot second, and Philpot went low in Turn 3 a lap later to take the lead from Nuno. Philpot, Nuno and Tyler Caturegli ran in the Top 3 positions on the 15th lap. Philpot began to build a half straightaway lead over the dueling Nuno and Caturegli. An inside backstretch pass on the 18th lap put Caturegli into the second position. A lap 25 yellow flag proved to be the only slowdown of the race. 

Nuno was black flagged from the third position. Philpot continued to lead the race on the restart and began to pull away from the pack immediately. Ray went high in Turn 2 on lap 27 to take second from Caturegli. By the 35th lap, Philpot held a straightaway advantage over Ray with Caturegli and TJ Buzzard Jr close behind him. However, Ray got out of shape exiting Turn 2 on the 37th lap and fell back two positions as Caturegli and Buzzard went by. Philpot won by a straightaway ahead of Caturegli. TJ Buzzard finished third, followed by Ray, Ingalls, Tim Buzzard Sr, Dennis Anderson, Nuno and Bo Robertson.

Philpot was the quickest of nine qualifiers on the quarter-mile paved oval with a lap of 13.779. He also won a 10 lap heat race with Caturegli the other heat winner. Nuno claimed four lap Trophy Dash honors.

Semi Tour won the 45 lap Open Modified Main Event. The drivers competed for purse money thanks to an anonymous sponsor. Tour had a front row start and charged into to the lead early on. He ran side-by-side with Caturegli, while Charlie Collins and Jason Philpot were side-by-side right behind them. An inside pass on the frontstretch of the eighth lap put Philpot into third, and Collins went low in Turn 4 on Lap 15 to grab the lead from Tour. Collins led Tour and Philpot when Dustin DeRosier spun in Turn 4 for the only yellow flag of the race on Lap 25. Collins continued to lead Tour and Philpot on the restart. Unfortunately, Collins began to slow as they worked the 28th lap, and he headed to the pits. This put Tour into the lead. Tour led the rest of the race with Philpot not far behind him in second. Caturegli was a straightaway behind Philpot in third, followed by DeRosier. Collins was scored fifth followed by Kylei Keown, Richard Knight and Wade Coleman. Collins was the fastest of eight qualifiers with a lap of 13.712.

Charlie Tour won the 45 lap Bomber Main Event. The division competed for a purse sponsored by TNT Towing. Ron Duke Sr led the first lap before an outside pass on the frontstretch gained Loren Powers Jr the lead. Tour followed closely into the second position and Brenton Smith settled into third on the 12th lap. A yellow flag waved when Smith spun from third in Turn 3 of the 30th lap. Powers continued to lead, but an outside pass on the frontstretch of the 33rd lap gained Tour the lead position. Tour went on to score the victory, followed by Powers, Forrest Kuecker, Raymond Taylor Jr, Roy Ingalls, Smith, Duke and Brandon Powers.

Smith bested the 13 car field in qualifying with a lap of 14.736 as Tour was second quick at 14.828. Smith and Loren Powers Jr won their respective 10 lap heat races, and Tour was the four lap Trophy Dash winner.

John Parker won the 30 lap Jammers Main Event. Parker was the only Pro competitor in the field. He led the race from the outset and was never really challenged. The battle was for second and the top Junior Jammer finisher in the field. TJ Sorrels held the position early on ahead of Hailey Glass and Christian Sanchez. Sanchez moved by glass for the third position on the 10th lap. A low pass in Turn 4 on Lap 19 regained Glass third, but the persistent Sanchez was able to get by on the 26th lap. Sanchez closed in on Sorrels on the final lap, but he was unable to make the pass. Parker won ahead of Sorrels, Sanchez, Glass and Charles French. 

Sanchez was the fastest Junior Jammer qualifier at 17.211, but Glass won both the 10 lap heat race and four lap Trophy Dash for the group. Parker was the fastest Pro qualifier at 17.282.

Jack Schleif won the 20 lap Jalopy Main Event. The Jalopies run on a little dirt track in the infield. Jimmy Sorrels raced into the early lead ahead of Devon Parker and Schleif. Sorrels held a straightaway lead over Parker when a red flag waved after 11 laps for a fire in the Richard Swing car. Sorrels was penalized two spots for cutting through the infield, putting Parker into the lead. However, Schleif raced past Parker for the lead on the restart. Sorrels made a Turn 4 pass on Parker for second on Lap 13 and began pressuring Schleif for the lead. Unfortunately, Sorrels stalled on the frontstretch with three laps to go. Schlief won ahead of Parker, Keith Potter, Sorrels, Swing and Robert Portlock Jr.

Racing will return next Saturday night with Limited Modifieds, Bombers, Jammers and Jalopies once again. With covid-19 guidelines not allowing fans in the stands, the race will be broadcast live on the Ukiah Speedway Facebook page.


Majdic Has Luck On His Side In Petaluma Speedway Victory

Petaluma, CA...July 11...Chase Majdic won the 25 lap PitStopUSA.com Winged 360 Sprint Car Main Event Saturday night at Petaluma Speedway. The win came aboard the Demo Mittry owned Sprinter, and it was also assisted by luck. Ten-time Civil War Series champion Andy Forsberg had grabbed the lead from Majdic, but a flat tire on the final lap saw Forsberg lose his advantage to Majdic. Due to covid-19 guidelines, fans were not allowed to attend yet, but the race was broadcast online via SpeedshiftTV and Flo Racing. 

Majdic had a front row start for the feature race and bolted into the lead over Forsberg and multi time Petaluma champion Bradley Terrell. By the sixth lap, Majdic had built a straightaway advantage over Forsberg, but the only yellow flag of the race flew on lap 15. Forsberg grabbed the lead from Majdic on the restart. Within a few laps, the leaders caught slower traffic, but Forsberg seemed to be doing what he needed to do. As they worked the back straightaway on the final lap, Forsberg got a flat left rear tire and slowed a bit entering Turn 3. Majdic went racing by for the lead and surprising victory. Forsberg brought it home in second, followed by Terrell, Sean Becker, Shane Golobic, JJ Hickle, Max Mittry, Jake Haulot, Brent Bjork and Joel Myers Jr.

Majdic set the fastest time on the 3/8 mile adobe oval with a lap of 13.348, beating the 13.466 of Golobic. The 14 competitors ran two eight lap heat races with wins going to Majdic and Terrell.

Michael "Spanky" Grenert won the 20 lap General Hydroponics Redwood Dwarf Car Main Event. Grenert is the reigning NorCal Dwarf Car Association champion. 2018 Redwood Dwarf Car champion John "Scooter" Gomes set the early pace ahead of Garrett Brady and Jimmy Damron. Grenert passed Damron for third on Lap 4 before a yellow flag flew. Gomes continued to lead the restart with Grenert moving past Brady for second. Grenert put the moves on Gomes on the sixth lap to take the lead. Brady and Damron shuffled Gomes out of the Top 3 on Lap 9, and a Lap 11 yellow flag slowed the pace. Reigning champion Chad Matthias was fourth at that point, and he charged into second behind Grenert on the restart. Yellow flags on lap 17 and 18 gave Matthias an opportunity to try to challenge Grenert, but Grenert stayed smooth and brought it home to a satisfying win. On the last lap, Zack Albers made a move around Matthias to steal the second position. Matthias settled for third, followed by Brady, Damron, Brandon Gentry, Matt Hagermann, John Peters, Gomes and Danny Marsh.

There were 28 Dwarf Cars for this show, and eight lap heat race wins went to Grenert, Hagermann, Michael Williams and Brady. Marsh won the 12 lap B Main ahead of Peters, Carroll Mendenhall, Vernon Hubbard and Gage Myers.

Steve Studebaker won The 25 lap Lumberjacks Restaurant Super Stock Main Event. The win for the two-time champion snapped a two-race winning streak for point leader Matt While. While raced into the lead ahead of Studebaker and Shawn McCoy when the green flag waved. As they worked the seventh lap, While got sideways exiting Turn 2 and nearly spun. Studebaker raced underneath him and clipped While's front end, straightening him out. Studebaker now now led While and McCoy. On the 15th lap, While slowed down the back straightaway for a yellow flag to end his race. Studebaker led McCoy on the restart as the only lead lap competitors at that point. Studebaker beat McCoy by a straightaway with rookie Justin Zwicker finishing third ahead of Roger Miller and While. Studebaker won the eight lap heat race.

The Jake's Performance Hobbies Mini Stocks had a light turnout, and point leader Tom Brown won both the 10 lap Main Event and five lap heat race ahead of rookie Jake Barretta.

Racing resumes next Saturday night with the USAC Western Midgets running in head-to-head competition with the BCRA Midgets. Also on the card will be the PitStopUSA.com Wingless Spec Sprints, the Santa Rosa Auto Body 600 Micros and the Western Midgets. For further information, go to www.petaluma-speedway.com or check out the Petaluma Speedway Facebook page.


Nascimento, Scantlen, Flowers Win At Stockton 99 Speedway

Stockton, CA...July 11...Eric Nascimento won the 50 lap Late Model Main Event Saturday night at Stockton 99 Speedway. Nascimento is the current point leader, but he didn't add too much to his advantage over Sam Solari, who finished third. Nascimento started back in the third row inside, Solari started back in the fourth row and Ty Carlson was on the second row. These three hard chargers battled at the front of the pack, and Nascimento took the checkered flag ahead of Carlson and Solari. Daniel DeVore outdueled Joey Stearns to finish fourth as Mike Reglman, Greg Ufens, Anthony Powell, Dominic Lopez and Hana Powell rounded out the Top 10. Nascimento was the fastest of 14 qualifiers with a lap of 14.710, nipping the 14.735 of Solari.

Past champion Justin Scantlen won the 25 lap Bomber Main Event. Point leader Mikala Stearns battled championship rival Jenna Ramos to finish second as Brandon Diede and Barrett Sugden rounded out the Top 5. Ramos had the fast time of 16.577, and AJ Ryder was a Main Event scratch.

Joe Flowers won the 30 lap Basically 4 Cylinder Main Event. The point leader has won every Main Event held so far. Flowers started back in the sixth row with Mark Hunt, and the duo worked their way to the front of the pack. Only Hunt managed to stay within striking distance of Flowers by the time the checkered flag waved, but even he was no match. Raymond Molina was a straightaway behind the leaders in third with Billy Rodriguez and Rod Previtalli the final lead lap finishers. Polesitter Nick Hall faded back to a sixth place finish, followed by Kayt Hunt, Victor Theberge, Andrea Rumsey and Dave Keller. Flowers was the fastest qualifier at 16.493. 

For further information on coming events, go to www.stockton99.com.


Luckman, Coffman, Goddard, Bloom Win 
At Coos Bay Speedway

Coos Bay, Oregon...July 11...Preston Luckman won the 35 lap America's Mattress NASCAR Super Late Model Main Event Saturday night at Coos Bay Speedway. Luckman is the reigning champion, but this was his first start in the class this year. He becomes the fourth different winner in as many races. While covid-19 guidelines have kept most of the tracks on the West Coast from opening their grandstands for fan attendance, Coos Bay Speedway has been able to have fans, and they witnessed a fireworks display on this occasion along with some exciting racing.

Luckman started on the outside front row next to Mike Taylor. While Taylor fell back, Luckman charged into the lead in a battle with point leader Jason Johnson. Luckman would prevail ahead of Johnson. Cottage Grove racer Kyle Frick finished third, followed by Jimmy Whistler, 2018 champion Brody Montgomery, rookie Braden Fugate, Medford star Mark Wauge, Eric Massey, Taylor and reigning Hornet champion Hannah Robison. Frick and Wauge won their respective eight lap heat races.

Doug Coffman won the 25 lap IMCA Sport Modified Main Event. The hastily scheduled race drew 11 competitors. Coffman had finished second in the previous race. He started on the pole for this race and settled into the early lead ahead of Dustin Comer. Third row starter Matt Sanders was aiming for his second win at the track as he moved past Comer, but all he could do was chase the flying Coffman across the finish line for a second place finish. Comer settled for third ahead of fifth row starter Aaron Bloom, reigning Yreka champion Ethan Killingsworth, Jordan Henry, Dalton Bloom, Jace Wright, Austin Petray and Randy Wright. Comer and Sanders won their respective eight lap heat races.

Aaron Bloom won the 25 lap Sportsman Late Model Main Event. The IMCA Sport Modified star charged from the third row to overtake Scott McCombs for the lead. Fourth row starter Ryan Emry moved into second and would finish there behind Bloom. McCombs settled for third, followed by last starter Dalton Bloom, point leader Trace Fugate, Garret Smith, Jared Simmons, Dusty Singleton and Phil Lovvorn. McCombs and Emry won the eight lap heat races.

Dakota Goddard won the 30 lap Street Stock Main Event. The division had the strongest turnout of the night with 19 competitors. Goddard had a front-row start and raced into the lead. Fourth row starter Phil Lovvorn and third row starter Scott McCombs mixed it up for the second position with Lovvorn finishing there. McCombs held on for third ahead of fifth row starter Graig Osborne, point leader Ken Fox, Dyllan Siewell, reigning champion Steve Dubisar, Michael Hollingsworth, Scott Lehman and Dominic Conti. McCombs, Lovvorn and Goddard won the eight lap heat races.

Scott Beaudoin won the 25.lap Mini Outlaw Main Event. This was his second win of the season. Beaudoin worked his way past front row starters Matthew Emry and point leader Brad Hicks to get the lead and bring it home to victory. Emery held off Hicks to finish second. Raelyn Kelly finished fourth ahead of Jason Kellam and Tahlan Rogers. Beaudoin also won the eight lap heat race.

Isaac Stere won the 25 lap Hornets Main Event. This was the second win for point leader Stere, who makes the trip from Cottage Grove to compete. Stere battled Roseburg star Bart Pulse to get the lead and went on to win as Pulse settled for second. Mike Bales ended up third from eighth starting, followed by Kevin Rockwell, Austin Beaudoin, William Hitner, George Wheeler, John Henry, Kris Parker and Dan Briesacher. Parker and Stere won the eight lap heat races.

Griff Smith won the 15 lap Junior Stinger Main Event. This was the fourth win for the current point leader. He started on the second row and quickly overtook outside front row starter Alex Butler for the lead. Smith went on to win with Butler settling for second. Lane Hitner came from the fifth row to finish third, followed by Alexus Baker, Teagan Montgomery, Cameron Metzgus, Eli Luckman, Morgan Mayfield and Jordan Wheeler. Montgomery and Smith won their respective eight lap heat races. Baker won the 12 lap B Main ahead of Hitner and Wheeler.

For scheduling information and other news, go to www.coosbayspeedway.us.


Henson Wins Second Straight Open 500 Kart Main Event 
With The Yreka Outlaws

Yreka, CA...July 10...Merissa Hanson won the 15 lap Open 500 Kart Main Event Friday night with the Yreka Outlaws. The IMCA Sport Modified star scored a clean sweep with wins in both of her eight lap heat races and the 15 lap Main Event. Henson shared the front row with Rick Schamber, who won both of his heat races as well. Unfortunately for Schamber, he encountered problems and would finish out of the running. Henson was chased across the line by Taylor Fuller in his best finish in the class. Dryver Dothage finished third, followed by Cadyn Smith, Randy Simmons, Brant Phllipe and Schamber. Brodi Snider, Jonathan Smith and Brandon Rowlett were Main Events srcatches.

Nicholas Perrin won the 20 lap 250 Kart Main Event. Perrin didn't win either of his heat races, but second place finishes in both races put him third on the starting grid. Previous feature winner Dryver Dothage managed to win both of his eight lap heat races to grab the pole. It proved to be a battle between these two drivers at the front of the pack, but Perrin forced Dothage to settle for second with an impressive drive. Jacob James finished third, followed by Cole Cunial, Logan McKnight, reigning champion Cale Cunial, Brodi Snider, Landyn Snider, Dallin Dagata and Austin Bartholomew. McKnight and Brodi Snider won the other two heat races.

Karson Crisp won the 12 lap Box Stock Main Event. Crisp and Grant Proctor shared the front row for the Main Event and kept the battle for the win between each other. In the end, it was Crisp prevailing at the checkered flag. Proctor settled for second, followed by Bentleigh Chapman, reigning champion Carson Hanson, Hunter Granger, Landyn Snider and Mallory Hirschbock. Snider and Crisp were the eight lap heat race winners.

Elijah Humphrey won the 15 lap Beginners Box Stock Main Event. Humphrey nearly scored the clean sweep with one eight lap heat race win, but the other heat win went to Kyndel Crisp. Humphrey and Crisp started on the front row of the Main Event and ran 1-2 at the checkered flag. Talia Colley finished third, followed by Aiden Bartholomew.

Brionna Fuller won the 12 lap UAS Speedway Kart Main Event. In the process, the past champion prevented a clean sweep effort for reigning champion Steve Rambo, who won both eight lap heat races. Rambo was the one chasing Fuller across the finish line in second. Past champion Ed Grubb finished third, followed by 2019 4 Cycle champion Lori Fuller. Previous winner Larry Fuller was a Main Event event scratch.

A full lineup of Outlaw Karts will be in action as part of the program at the Siskiyou Golden Fairgrounds facility next Friday night. For further information, go to the Yreka Outlaws Facebook page.


Ocean Speedway Unofficial Race Results July 10, 2020
Winged 360 Sprints
Main Event
Sean Becker
Shane Golobic
Tanner Carrick
Kalib Henry
J.J. Hickle
D.J. Netto
Mitchell Faccinto
Chase Majdic
Bud Kaeding
Colby Johnson
Blake Carrick
Joel Myers
Koen Shaw
Zane Blanchard
Joey Ancona
Craig Stidham
Tucker Worth
John Clark
Jeremy Chisum
James Ringo
Max Mittry
Jake Hagopian
Kaleb Montgomery
Kurt Nelson

B Main
Kaleb Montgomery
Craig Stidham
James Ringo
Jake Hagopian
Jason Chisum
Ben Worth
Jake Haulot
Jake Andreotti
Tristan Guardino
Jodie Robinson
Burt Foland Jr
Josh Chisum
Adam Kaeding
Bryan Grier
Richard Fajardo
Ryon Nelson
Mark Chaves Jr DNS

IMCA Modifieds
Bobby Hogge IV
Cody Burke
Austin Burke
Anthony Slaney
Tim Balding
Brian Cass
Freddie Plourde III
Anthony Giuliani
JC Elrod
Todd Hermosillo
Jesse Burks
Stephen Streeter
Matthew Hagio
Anthony Copeland
Jim Pettit II
Kyle Bryan
Gary Marsh
Robert Marsh
Stephen Hopf DNS
Troy Foulger DNS

IMCA Sport Modifieds
Brent Curran
Fred Ryland
Gavin Espino
Billy Robertson
Steven Allee
Kelly Campanile
Max Baggett
John Ferro
Charlie Hunter
Dwayne Short
Tanner Thomas
Justin McPherson
Andrew Pearce

South Bay Dwarf Car
Shawn Jones
Mike Grenert
Punky Pires
Trafton Chandler
Mark Biscardi
Vernon Hubbard
Marty Weisler
Barry Waddell
Danika Del Monte
Ryan Amlen DNS
Eddy Claessen DNS

Mini Stocks
Nicole Beardsley
Kate Beardsley
Jeff Kessinger
Travis VanGilder
Eddie Gallaher
Bill Beardsley
Jay Gardner
Ryan McClelland
Tony Gullo
Richard Mitchell
Mark Fields DNS

Western Midget Racing
David Prickett
Jackson Dukes
Tyler Slay
Harley Rose
Evan Bonnema
Joey Bishop
Jon Santibanes
Randi Pankratz
Adam Elbert
Tyler Dolacki
Blake Bower DNS

Police N Pursuit
Nate Graham
Dan Anderson
Jackie Yeung
John Hohmann
Chris Murphy
Pat Sullivan
A.J. Waltrip
Roy Iler
Kyle Dorris
Steven Fernandes


Merced Speedway Unofficial Race Results July 12, 2020
IMCA RaceSaver Sprints
Grant Duinkerken
Kyle Rasmussen
Grant Champlin
Brooklyn Holland
Cole Danell
Jacob Pacheco
Rob Soloman
Phil Heynen
Ryan Delisle
Gordon Rodgers
Chris Stevens
Rick Bray
Brendan Warmerdam DNS

IMCA Modifieds
Bobby Hogge IV
Paul Stone
Jerry Flippo
Robby Sawyer
Austin Kiefer
Ryan Porter
Jack Aguiar
Chester Kniss
Billy Wilker
Tim Balding
D.J. Shannon
John Pierce
Harley Turner
Dakota Schweitzer
Justin Hart
Chris Crompe
Jesse Burks
Robby Jeppesen
Karl Rose

IMCA Modifieds
Michael Johnson
Chris Falkenberg
Jason Bannister
Chuck Weir
Tanner Thomas
Jason Pugh
Timothy Allerdings
Gavin Espino
Tim Ragsdale
Brock Crawford
Ryan Graham
Kodie Dean
Tyler Thomas
Bryant Desaire
Jeremy Hoff
Tony Peffer
Dwayne Short DNS
Jim Reed DNS

Hobby Stocks
Cody Johnson
Nicholas Johnson
Tyler Bannister
Bruce Nelson
Domossie Scoggins
Ryan Hart
Johnny Wood
Michael Shearer
Logan Clay
Josh Hensley
Race Shelton
Mark Morton
Tim Elias
Jeff Lacy
Buddy Sheppard
Colby Quinton DNS
Austin VanHoff DNS

Mini Stock
Jeff Durant
Clinton Masey
Jason Cook
Shawn DePriest
Chris Corder
Ethan Griffioen
Brain Widdowson
Trevor Jolley
Andy Boydstun
Gene Glover
Eddie Humphrey III
Jerry Tubbs
Lucy Falkenberg
Shelby Neal
Greg Baronian
Matthew Herod
Dan Myrick
Leo Lotz
Justin Griffioen


Coos Bay Speedway Unofficial Results July 11, 2020
America's Mattress Super Late Models
Preston Luckman
Jason Johnson
Kye Frick
Jimmy Whisler
Brody Montgomery
Braden Fugate
Mark Wauge
massey eric
Mike Taylor
hannah robison
Bruce Rayburn Jr
Mike Betker

Sportsman Late Models
Aaron Bloom
Ryan Emry
scott mc combs
Dalton Bloom
Trace Fugate
Garret Smith
Jared Simmons
Dusty Shingleton
Phil Lovvorn

Street Stocks
Dakota Godard
Phil Lovvorn
scott mc combs
Graig Osborne
Ken Fox
Dyllan Siewell
Steve Dubisar
Michael Hollingsworth
Scott Lehman
Dominic Conti
braedon casto
Melissa Adams
Leroy Rockwell
Troy Chamberlain
Wayne Clink
Eddie Farness
Sam Talon

Mini Outlaws
Scott Beaudoin
Matthew Emry
Brad Hicks
raelyn kelly
Jason Kellam
Tahlan Rogers

Hornets
Isaac Stere
Bart Pulse
mike bales
kevin rockwell
austin beaudoin
William Hitner
george wheeler
John Henry
Kris Parker
dan briesacher
kalista ward
Dan Beaudoin

JR Stingers
Griff Smith
Alex Butler
lane hitner
Alexus Baker
Teagan Montgomery
Cameron Metzgus
eli luckman
morgan mayfiel
Jordan Wheeler

IMCA Sport Modifieds
Doug Coffman
Matt Sanders
Dustin Comer
Aaron Bloom
Ethan Killingsworth
Jordan Henry
Dalton Bloom
Jace Wright
Austin Petray
Randy Wright
Isaac Sanders


Ukiah Speedway Unofficial Race Results July 11, 2020
Jr Jammers
TJ Sorrels
Christian Sanchez
Hailey Glass
Charles French

Limited Modifieds
Jason Philpot
Tyler Caturegli
TJ Buzzard
Erick Ray
Roy Ingalls Jr
Tim Buzzard Sr
Dennis Anderson
Sammy Nuno
Bo Robertson

Bombers
Charley Tour
Loren Powers Jr
Forrest Kuecker
Raymond Taylor Jr
Roy Ingalls Jr
Brenton Smith
Ron Duke Sr
Brandon Powers

Pro Jammers
John Parker

Open Modifieds
Simi Tour
Jason Philpot
Tyler Caturegli
Dustin DeRosier
Charlie Collins
Kylei Keown
Richard Knight
Wade Coleman

Street Stocks
Jeremy Lippincott

Jalopies
Jack Schleif
Devon Parker
Keith Potter
Jimmy Sorrels
Richard Swing
Robert Portlock Jr


Stockton 99 Speedway Unoffcial Race Results July 11, 2020
Late Models
Eric Nascimento
Ty Carlson
Sam Solari
Daniel Devore
Joey Stearns
Mike Reglman
Greg Ufens
Anthony Powell
Dominic Lopez
Hana Powell
Aaron Shankel
Dennis Byers
Roy Luft
Steve Cabral

Basically 4 Cylinders
Joe Flowers
Mark Hunt
Raymond Molina
Billy Rodriguez
Rod Previtalli
Nick Hall
Kayt Hunt
Victor Theberge
Andrea Rumsey
Dave Keller
Jeff Harris
Mathew Richardson
Josh Cross
Mathrew Fuhs

Bombers
Justin Scantlen
Mikala Stearns
Jeana Ramos
Brandon Diede
Barrett Sugden


Petaluma Speedway Unofficial Race Results July 11, 2020
PitStopUSA.com Winged 360 Sprint Cars
Chase Majdic
Andy Forsberg
Bradley Terrell
Sean Becker
Shane Golobic
JJ Hickle
Max Mittry
Jake Haulot
Brent Bjork
Joel Myers Jr
Shawn Arriaga
Chelsea Blevins
Bret Barney 

General Hydroponics Redwood Dwarf Cars
A Main
Michael Grenert
Zack Albers
Chad Matthias
Garrett Brady
Jimmy Damron
Brandon Gentry
Matt Hagemann
John Peters
Scooter Gomes
Danny Marsh
Vern Hubbard
Mike Affonso
Kylee Johnson
Mike Dahle
Sam Borland
Darien Balestrini
Tim Steger
Carroll Mendenhall
Adam Johnson
Mario Balestrini
Shawn McCoy
Michael Williams
Gage Myers
Duke Shoemaker

B Main
Danny Marsh
John Peters
Carroll Mendenhall
Vern Hubbard
Gage Myers
Duke Shoemaker
Darien Balestrini
Tim Steger
Jordan Souza
Jim Dubois
Antonio Miramontez
Ben Baxmen
Shiloh Borland

Lumberjacks Restaurant Super Stocks
Steve Studebaker
Shawn McCoy
Justin Zwicker
Roger Miller
Matt While

Jakes Performmance Hobbies Mini Stocks
Tom Brown
Jake Baretta


Madera Speedway Unofficial Race Results July 11, 2020
MAVTV Televised Race #2
Nut Up Pro Late Models
Buddy Shepherd
Dylan Zampa
Ryan Phillpott
Jeremy Doss
Blaine Rocha
Ross Strmiska
Matt Erickson
Michael Mitchell
Logan Zampa
Austin Herzog
Shelden Cooper
Jay Juleson
Pete Soto
Mike Beeler
Rick Thompson
Glen Cook
Hans Beeler
Joey Iest
John McCullum Jr

51Fifty Jr Late Models
Seth Wise
Bradley Erickson
Jadan Walbridge
Kercie Jung
Cole Brown
Jake Bollman
Cody Kiemele
Kale McClenny
Cassidy Hinds
Holly Clark
Brody Armtrout
Kyle Keller
Kenna Mitchell
Kasey Kleyn
Robbie Kennealy
Kabe McClenny
Brody Moore

Mini Cups/Bandoleros
Jeffrey Erickson
Nathaniel Edwards
Trenton Eurto
Caden Cordova
Joey Kennealy
Rebecca Dubie
Harley Kennealy


Irwindale Speedway Unofficial Race Results July 11, 2020
Pick Your Part Late Models

Main Event #1
Dean Thompson
Trevor Huddleston
Ryan Schartau
Dylan Garner
Lucas McNeil
Dustin Vandermooren
Tanner Reif
Nick Joanides
Kevin Furden
Takuma Okada
Rodney Peacher
David Sear
Lawless Alan
Christian McGhee

Main Event #2
Tanner Reif
Dean Thompson
Dylan Garner
Nick Joanides
Ryan Schartau
Lucas McNeil
Trevor Huddleston
Kevin Furden
Rodney Peacher
Takuma Okada
David Sear
Christian McGhee
Dustin Vandermooren
Lawless Alan

Race Trucks/Spec Lates

Jake Drew
Andy Partridge
Bory Molina
Andrew Porter
Dennis Arena
Kenny Smith
L.J. Billings
Jacob McNeil
Will Brown
Steve Lozano
Troy Andersen

Super Late Models
Dylan Lupton
Rod Johnson Jr
Kevin Furden
Jim Vermillian
Chris Clyne

Enduros
Main Event #1

Robert John Rice
Bobby Ozman
John Beard
Mike McIntyre
Rick Conti
Robbie Salcido
Joseph Bereiter
Robert Rice
Chris Voight
Ian Rotundo
Kirk Kubik
Jason Woolcott
James Bolinas
Sonya Slidez
Tony Price
Joe Furlow
Cheryl Hyland
Daniel Azzolina
Rodney Argo

Main Event #2
Rick Conti
Bobby Ozman
John Beard
Chris Voight
Robert Rice
Robbie Salcido
Rodney Argo
Kirk Kubik
Mike McIntyre
Joseph Bereiter
Ian Rotundo
Robert John Rice
Sonya Slidez
Joe Furlow 
James Bolinas
Tony Price
Cheryl Hyland

INEX Legends
Main Event #1 

Ricky Schlick
Tyler Reif
James Hansen
Tyler Hicks
Jovan Fox
Amelio Thompson
Donna Gunther
Mike Vanderlip
Skyler Meisenbach

Main Event #2

Ricky Schlick
Tyler Hicks
Tyler Reif
James Hansen
Amelio Thompson
Donna Gunther
Mike Vanderlip
Skyler Meisenbach
Jovan Fox

Super Stocks
Rich DeLong III
Brian Harrell
Tyler Gallup
James Vermillion
Robby Harryman
Jerry Toporek
Bridgette Shaw
Harry Michaelian
Craig Rayburn


Yreka Outlaw Karts Unofficial Race Results July 12, 2020
Beginner Box Stock

Elijah Humphrey
Kyndel Crisp
Talia Colley
Aiden Bartholomew

Box Stock
Karson Crisp
Grant Proctor
Bentleigh Chapman
Carson Henson
Hunter Granger
Landyn Snider
Mallory Hirschbock

UAS  Speedway Kart
Brionna Fuller
Steve Rambo
Ed Grubb
Lori Fuller
Larry Fuller DNS

250 Outlaw
Nicholas Perrin
Dryver Dothage
Jacob James
Cole Cunial
Logan McKnight
Cale Cunial
Brodi Snider
Landyn Snider
Dallin Dagata
Austin Bartholomew
Drew Berry
Morgan Berry
Faith McCollough

500 Outlaw
Merissa Henson
Taylor Fuller
Dryver Dothage
Cadyn Smith
Randy Simmons
Brant Phillipe
Rick Schamber
Brodi Snider DNS
Jonathan Smith DNS
Brandon Rowlett DNS


The Editor's Viewpoint

We didn't get a lot of good news last week on the racing front. I think that we're all hopeful as we watch tracks continue to open and put on some races. We are looking for news on when fans can start coming back again. We're looking for news that indicates a return to normalcy, but 2020 has been anything but normal. I think it's tested people's patience and resolve. It has not been an easy year for people financially, and certainly it's been challenging for people mentally.

We'll be talking about this year in the future. Will this be the year that everything began to go downhill in this country? Will we start to lose certain things that we always took for granted before? Will this be the year that people decided they weren't going to put up with certain things anymore? Will this be the year the people said enough is enough? I don't know. We all have our opinions on this virus and our government's reaction to it, and sometimes those are strong opinions one way or the other. I worry about this country and where it's headed, but I know I'm not alone in that sentiment. 

In the racing community, we're lucky some promoters have decided that they are going to take the risk. You're not going to tell me that they are making a lot of money doing what they do right now. They may have figured out a way where they're not losing their asses. I don't know. I'm not going to pick up the phone and call Dennis Gage or Chad Chadwick or anyone who had opened multiple times and ask, "So how much money did you lose? Did you break even?" I just know that when you don't have fans in the grandstands and can't sell concessions, the financial losses add up.

Therefore, I don't blame promoters when they look at the numbers and decide that they either aren't going to run at all or they may only do it once or twice. It's hard to run a business when you've got the government in the middle of it telling you there are certain things that you normally do to generate revenue that you are not allowed to do anymore. That's what we're facing with this virus. The track that I would be at this year hasn't opened yet, and it makes me sad. Given that this might have been my last year here, I was looking forward to enjoying myself a little bit more and watching the fruits of our labor during the past four years payoff with more fans, more cars and bigger shows. I certainly did not see this garbage coming.

Last week, I was speculating about when Chico Silver Dollar Speedway would open. I'm not going to say that they're not going to open this year, because Dennis Gage will have to figure all of that out. He's making a go of it at Marysville Raceway during these difficult times and jumping through the hoops of the Yuba County Health Department. Chico is a different situation at a fairgrounds, and Marysville is on a private property. If Chico does open, the heart of their schedule has already been cut out. They've lost the Gold Cup for 2020. They made the announcement on Thursday night that it was postponed till 2021, but let's be serious. There was going to be a Gold Cup next year. The one for 2020 has been canceled.

Gold Cup week is huge. It's been four or five nights of racing for the past several years, and I know this year was going to be four nights. Many Sprint Car racers headed to Chico to compete, and the revenue generated there helps the track during leaner times. Let's face it, the track has seen its better days, and we're lucky that they've been able to keep it going in recent years. When you've got the World of Outlaws coming to town, everybody wants to come see them. Silver Dollar Speedway is one of the more popular tracks for the series, and it does make money. It's been lost. I speculated about whether they would give the race to the Winged 360 Sprint Cars, but that's not happening this year.

I might speculate about whether or not there will be a big Winged 360 Sprint Car show, and there might be. Dennis might look at the numbers and decide to book something, but he's still asking the same question that everybody else is asking. When will we get fans? Without fans, these big races can cost more than they make. Up at Skagit Speedway, for instance, the World of Outlaws and the big ASCS Sprint Car races were both canceled. The Fred Brownfield Memorial is one of their biggest races, and the track can't run it. It doesn't mean that Steve Beitler isn't making the most of things. He's moved his program to Thursday nights and created the Skagit Speedway TV streaming service to try to make the best of this bad situation.

Certainly, Chico could try to run a big race and put it on SpeedshiftTV and Flo Racing. It might happen once they make the announcement that they can open, which could come soon. Or, they could just try to run some basic races just to do something there for their local drivers. I watched Doug Lockwood create California IMCA Speedweek, and maybe Dennis could be part of a coalition of promoters doing the same thing for the Winged 360 Sprint Cars? It's not like they don't have a ton of drivers who might be willing to do something like that in September. Then, you can have races at Chico, Marysville, Placerville, Watsonville, Petaluma and so on. Would fans be allowed in the grandstands by September?

Back in late May, I was being a little bit more optimistic about that. I started projecting that we would have multiple tracks opening up their grandstands when we heard news that Coos Bay Speedway was doing what they were doing and Susanville managed to get fans as well. I was way off the mark. We have completed our second of four racing weekends in July, and the grandstand situation hasn't changed too much. This is a week to week and even day-by-day situation, so the news can change suddenly. However, I don't take it lightly anymore when we hear something good. Given the crappy situation that we're in right now where the government is tightening the noose around our necks, a track opening the grandstands is a big thing, but I'm not sure who will be next.

Siskiyou Golden Speedway sat out this last weekend. They broke curfew in a big way on July 3rd and nearly made it into July 4th. This is not a good thing for a fairgrounds track, and we saw the immediate repercussions when they had to cut half of their program to make the following Saturday's show possible. Then, they had to cut racing completely this past weekend. We got a hint from the Outlaw Pro Stock Association that July 18th would happen and they would be a part of the show. I suspect we'll see an update on the Siskiyou Golden Speedway Facebook page early in the week.

It all comes down to the whole idea of Promoting 101, something I've learned from Mike McCann. It sounds simple, but what you do is you create an itinerary for the night. This is when we put the cars on the track for mud laps, this is when we start hot lapping and this is when we race. If it's 7, you start at 7 on the dot. McCann is adamant about that. We might have a few packing vehicles on the track at 7, and he'll want the National Anthem to start playing right then. He says they'll stop on the track. Bryce Burtner would always argue back that he wasn't playing it until the vehicles got off the track, which didn't go over very well with Mike. In those cases, it might be two minutes after 7 when it started.

Once your program gets going, you keep it going. There are certain things that stop it from happening. If there's an emergency of some sort, a crash or if something needs to be fixed on the track, it might stop. This is where your track crew comes into action, so make sure everybody out there knows what the hell they're doing. Then, resume racing. Intermission should not be long. 10 minutes at the most. Your scorekeeper should know how to set a lineup, and sometimes a good score keeper can simultaneously work on setting a lineup for one division while racing is going on in the next division. Get those lineups on the pit board immediately. Keep the show moving. 

Under normal circumstances, we've talked about why there's a long intermission. Promoters want to sell their beer and their food. Fans get restless in the stands when they are waiting too long. Unhappy fans lead to fans who don't keep coming back. You don't want too much downtime other than what is necessary. In this case, we don't have fans in the stands. Keep the show moving. It's not that hard to accomplish if you've got a team on the same page. Have officials' meetings to discuss this if you need to. In fact, it's good to have officials' meetings sometimes just to go over the things that need to be discussed.

You can start a program at 7 that has 80 cars in the pits and still get done by curfew if you follow the format and keep it moving. I know that Yreka rarely sees that kind of car count. Even Friday, when the night got away from them, you were still talking just a tick under 70 cars. It shouldn't have been tough to get that done before curfew. One of the things that they will have to be aware of in Yreka if they are successful in creating the atmosphere they desire is that more racers are going to show up. They want that, because it leads to more fans in the grandstands when we're able to have them. So running a smooth, well-organized program is key here.

I know when we've had shows in Medford where there were a lot of cars, I've done my part in running lineups to the board and keeping it moving. It even comes down to me heading down to the pits while there's a race on the track to make sure certain lineups are ready. Sometimes we know we are in for a long night, but we still keep it moving to the best of our ability. Put those lineups on the board and bring out the next race. One thing we don't want to have happen is a delayed program based on our own poor effort. Fortunately, I can count on one hand the times we've been at fault for dragging out the show. It doesn't happen much. Mike won't have it, and I'm with him on that.

Speaking of an Oregon track, I wasn't expecting to hear news from Cottage Grove Speedway so quickly regarding another race, but Heather Boyce crunched the numbers and decided she could book a race for July 18th. She's going to run the same six divisions she ran on the Fourth of July, only this time all of the purses have not been sponsored. It looks like she's intending to pay full purses for all classes involved, but she's also looking for some sponsorship help. In addition to the full lineup of six divisions running with no fans in the grandstands and Dirt Oval TV broadcasting online, she's also going to have an Outlaw Kart race on the little track the day before. You can find more information via the Cottage Grove Speedway Facebook page.

About the time Ocean Speedway was getting ready for its show on Friday night, Tulare Thunderbowl announced that the 2020 Trophy Cup is cancelled. The hits just keep on coming. At this point, we've lost most of the big Winged Sprint Car shows scheduled for later this year in California. Still on deck for early November is the Gary Patterson Tribute race at the Stockton Dirt Track. Any bets on whether they'll get that one in? That is a NARC/King of the West Fujitsu Winged 410 Sprint Car Series race, and I don't have to tell you how frustrated that group is right now. They've already announced that there will be no champion this year. The good news is they will be in Watsonville on July 18th for the Howard Kaeding Classic. 

The Watsonville track had a stacked program on Friday. Promoter John Prentice included every division the track has with the exception of the Hobby Stocks. They get two races next weekend as they will be running on both the 17th and 18th. Much like the season opener, they had a huge turnout across seven divisions. There were 114 total cars, including 37 Ocean Sprint Cars. They learned their lesson from the first race, when they had to cancel two Main Events due to curfew and ended up making them up the following week. This time, the plan was to keep the show moving and avoid having to cut any laps. With the exception of reducing the IMCA Modified feature from 25 laps down to 20, that was a success. 

I admit I was a bit nervous watching the show get started. It seemed like they weren't rushing things as well as they needed to, and it was 7:30 pm with seven Main Events and a B Main left to go. As you know, the track has a 10 pm curfew imposed by the fairgrounds itself. There was almost no intermission at all, and track officials elected to scrap the six lap Sprint Car Trophy Dash and let the frontrunners draw for their feature starting positions instead. They probably could have run the Trophy Dash, but they weren't taking any chances. The track was fast, although rough in a couple of spots. It nearly bit Shane Golobic as he came very close to flipping late in the Sprint Car race.

The nice thing was they got the show done by 9:30 with the fans watching at home having seen some close action and good racing throughout the night. It was definitely a victory for the track. It's never easy to do these shows that run so many divisions. That's one win for the track. The turnout in the pits certainly helped when you consider they can't have fans in the grandstands. Fan revenue is generated solely by SpeedshiftTV and Flo Racing, whatever that turns out to be. Tracks are basically giving up on running NARC Sprint Car races this year as the group has only had one event so far, but here's another victory for Watsonville. They're running the Howard Kaeding Classic next Saturday night. The local Ocean Sprint Car group will be competing on Friday.

I don't have to tell you that the purse for a NARC race is not cheap. I know sponsors have pitched in with some money to make sure this race happens. However, the Ocean Sprints aren't cheap either, and they're running next Friday night's race as scheduled. I know it was originally going to be a Sprint Car Challenge Tour race, which has been canceled. However, even the local effort isn't cheap, and it will cost a little bit more as I'm sure car count might come near what they had tonight. Next weekend will be another opportunity for the track to shine. It's just a damn shame that they won't be able to have fans in the grandstands then either.

I was aware that Ocean Speedway was trying to find somebody to handle announcing duties on some occasions. I had been approached about the possibility of taking a bus down there multiple times this year, but it's just too much stress for me to deal with. I'm happy to see that Steven Blakesley has been brought in to help with this. He's also been doing some announcing at Madera Speedway. Blakesley is one of the rising stars on the motorsports media scene. He has his own websites and even does a broadcast that he shows live on Facebook. Best way to find him is the Short Track Live or Blakesley Sports Media Facebook pages. Give him a follow. You won't be disappointed.

While Siskiyou Golden Speedway was on restrictions for the weekend, the Yreka Outlaw Kart track at the fairgrounds got to have another race. Once again, they pulled in about 40 cars across five different divisions. The 500 Open class drew 10 cars, while the 250 Kart division drew 13. The regular Kart programs at many of the other venues haven't been doing much racing, other than Cycleland Speedway. This gives the little Yreka track an opportunity to draw more competitors than normal, and they're going to try to take advantage of that every Friday through the end of July. I'm sure management had to feel pretty good about how things went overall with this race.

The good news for Saturday was there wasn't a lot of bad news coming in about other things that weren't going to happen this year. It was race day. For the racers at least, that meant that they could go back to the track and be amongst their friends. For the fans, unfortunately, that meant they could sit in front of a TV set and watch the races streamed online. That applies to the tracks that were using these various streaming options. If your track didn't have a pay-per-view going on, you hoped that they might be giving it away for free on Facebook. If not, you were out of luck. I totally sympathize with fans at this moment. 

I still caution that we are going to start to see car count numbers drop off a little bit as we keep moving forward. There will be a variety of reasons for that. Maybe your track is open closer to home, so you're not traveling to the other place. Maybe you can't afford to go racing as much due to the economic situation we're in. Whatever the reason, the big numbers are going to go down a little bit, coupled with the fact that we still don't have fans in the grandstands. I would use this as a good example. The first Freedom Series race at Antioch Speedway had twice as many cars as the second race, and there was a little over a month between each event. The second event competed with two other big IMCA Modified and Sport Modified races elsewhere that siphoned cars from the field.

The frustrating part is when you happen to watch a streaming service covering events from across the country. People are up in the grandstands, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder. I'm not hearing about people dying in large numbers in those places either, but we still have empty grandstands at most of the tracks on the West Coast. These are facts. The local tracks have been struggling to stay in business when they can't do everything they need to do, and now you might see the numbers dipping a little bit in the pit area. It's just messed up.

I wouldn't call the second Freedom Series race at Antioch Speedway a failure. It produced a lower car count than I thought it would, but it was hardly a failure. In fact, there was good racing all weekend. This past weekend was going to be the big test. The numbers dipped even more. The Four Banger division is clearly going to have a struggle to regenerate interest in it. There's been five years between the last season the track had for the class, and even then you were talking about a half-dozen cars per week. If the track wants to have a demonstration race to show what these cars can really do, it might be a good idea to contact Dan Myrick of the Central Valley Mini Stocks about possibly having a race there later in the season. In the meantime, there was one Four Banger at Antioch last  Saturday night.

The Delta Dwarf Cars produced about a dozen cars, but they have an excuse. They'll be hosting the WSDCA Regionals two-day event this Friday and Saturday, so maybe there were teams getting ready for that? The Wingless Spec Sprints produced a slightly better car count, but the Super Stocks weren't going to deliver double digits for the show. 

It just so happened that the Tri State Series race at Siskiyou Golden Speedway was canceled when Yreka had to close down for the weekend, and Antioch Speedway already had an open-door policy for those drivers to come anytime the Super Stocks were on the schedule. Promoter Chad Chadwick made a deal with Tri State Series Director Roy Bain, and the result was 24 cars in attendance. That is a record for the Super Stock/Pro Stock class at the track.

Overall, the racing wasn't bad. The track was a bit rough and dried out a little bit, but the Spec Sprints put on an entertaining race for sure. The Dwarf Car show went quickly. There was a lot of action, some of it a little bit rough, in the Pro Stock portion of the show. It's another race in the record books during a time when you question whether you should even open the gates or not. Chadwick has already invested a lot into running this race track, and I know he didn't like the idea of waiting to run races or running some limited schedule. He's a gambler who believes in what he's doing, so he's rolling the dice. If we could just get fans in the stands again, it would be better.

However, fans are stuck at home. Some of them aren't even interested in watching it on a streaming service. They want to be there for the sights, sounds and the overall experience. The bad thing is I don't know when the ETA is for that to happen. Saturday night was a disaster for Antioch Speedway with their streaming service. It was laggy, the video quality was not the best, the audio quality had an annoying scratch to it and the stream itself shut off and caused people to miss several races. This was not a good look for the track. I'm sure they are working on the infrastructure to make it work better in the future, and they will need to. Who knows how long we'll be watching the races this way.

I'm not privy to who is running the cameras at the track, but I have talked to insiders there in the past about the possibility of building a streaming service in house as a way to market the place in the future. If the person doing the videoing is local, this could turn out to be a good thing once they get the bugs ironed out. I still say the guy that they had doing the drone footage over the last year or so, Brett Phillips, would be another good asset for something like this. I know it didn't end well for him prior to the first Freedom Series race. I don't have all the details on what went down, so I won't comment on that any further other than to say having somebody working a camera or a drone who knows what they are doing can be a positive when it comes to marketing the track.

At Petaluma Speedway, they pulled in 28 Dwarf Cars. For some reason, the General Hydroponics Redwood Dwarf Car Association has been the strongest of the four Northern California groups in recent years, and they had the biggest turnout at the track on Saturday. I kind of expected there would be more than 14 PitStopUSA.com Winged 360 Sprint Cars. You weren't running your Sprint Car anywhere else on Saturday night if you wanted to race, so why not go to a track that has a history of having good races? There was some star power in this field, such as champions Andy Forsberg, Shane Golobic and Sean Becker. There was a dramatic finish where Forsberg got a flat tire while leading in the end, and Chase Majdic got the win. It was certainly the race of the night.

When you can't have fans in the grandstands, you might question whether or not you want to open the gates at all. When your car counts start to severely dip on you, it's going to cause those same thoughts. For whatever reason, they only had seven total cars between the Lumberjacks Restaurant Super Stocks and Jake's Performance Hobbies Mini Stocks. Counts have been down in both classes all year, and I'm not exactly sure why. 

I've been hearing rumblings from Petaluma, but I'd rather hear more before I offer an opinion on the matter. I just hope for the best, and maybe this weekend's open wheel show that will feature a head-to-head battle between the USAC and BCRA Midgets will be a good one. With PitStopUSA.com Wingless Spec Sprints, Santa Rosa Auto Body 600 Micros and Western Midgets, it certainly should be good.

Madera Speedway offered a professional quality stream for fans to enjoy, and this was a MavTV taping. Net Up Pro Late Models and 51fifty Energy Drink Junior Late Models both provided good car counts. I only glanced in and out of the stream, but it looked good. I saw Buddy Shepherd brush the wall as the announcer speculated that he might have damage. I didn't check back until the race was done, and he had won the race. I'm composing my thoughts here on Sunday morning, and I am hoping to set aside a little bit of time to watch the stream in full. Again, Kenny Shepherd gets high marks in my book for giving fans this stream for free when he could clearly charge even $10 a pop. You've got to love a track that cares about their fans and wants them involved.

The same can be said for Ukiah Speedway. Furia Motorsports had their guy up in the grandstands broadcasting a pleasant Saturday night show. They ran both Open and Limited Modifieds, and a couple of racers ran both. They also had the exciting Bombers division and Jammers, capping the show with the Jalopy race on the infield. I'd actually compare this show to the ones I witnessed at Antioch and Petaluma on SpeedshiftTV. It was as worthy of charging a fee as those shows were, but fans got to watch it for free on Facebook. Why? This is another track that cares about its fans.

I'm not privy to this information, but my speculation is that the track still can't afford to pay a purse during this difficult time of no fans in the stands. NCRA Lakeport Speedway is doing that. Ukiah Speedway managed to get some sponsorship money from Taco Bell, TNT Towing and an anonymous person to pay $1,000 each for purse money in the Modified classes and the Bombers. Very cool of them to do. I love this high-banked pavement track and the fact that they managed to have some great side-by-side racing for several laps. I like that they get started a little bit earlier than everybody else, and I will enjoy these broadcasts as long as they continue.

In Oregon, we had two races happening. River City Speedway in St Helens is going by their 250 people maximum allowance in the pits. There are no fans in the grandstands, and I don't even know if they paid a purse on Saturday or not. Sunday was supposed to include a purse from what I read. They are giving away the show for free on Facebook so the fans aren't left out of the loop, and it looked like they had decent support given the limitations they're under. I'm not sure how many other tracks would want to attempt this under these circumstances. There are certain tracks in Oregon that would probably have a driver rebellion if you told them there was a race, but you're paying any purse money.

Coos Bay Speedway is not one of those tracks. Thanks to Drake Nelson's clever bar and grill idea, they've been opening with fans in the grandstands at the oval track and drag strip since May. This was going to be their big Mr Dizzy's Thrill Show, but that part was canceled. The fireworks display was kept, and it certainly encouraged more people to come to the bay. There were some 90 competitors across all of the divisions, making this the most successful race that Nelson has promoted in terms of driver support. It may have been in his Top 3 or 5 when it comes to successful promotions he's had since buying the track. This is happening during the pandemic that has shut things down.

The advantage you have when you are opening with fans and paying your regular purse right now is that people will flock from all over to be there. They bring fans with them who can't watch the races where they live. The grandstand numbers were surely inflated as well as the pit numbers were. To give you an example, over half of the Super Late Model field was made up of drivers from out of town. Over half of the Sportsman Late Models were visitors as well. Two-thirds of the Street Stock field were visitors. The IMCA Sport Modified division doesn't exist at Coos Bay Speedway, so the 11 drivers came from elsewhere. If every other track in the state was racing, this wouldn't have happened.

It's not all good news. The Winged 360 Sprint car Speedweek Series has been canceled. Coos Bay Speedway is actually the only track that's acknowledged this as of Sunday morning. They had a race coming up, but they've had to drop it. I'm not surprised by this as it's a bigger purse. Coos Bay might have been interested in running the show, but there isn't another track in Oregon that can open with fans. There was no way this was going to happen. I don't think this will slow Nelson down. He'll keep booking races, drivers will be coming from out of town and the show will go on. You'll have to look at the Coos Bay Speedway Facebook page for the next announcement.

It is a shame that they haven't had streaming pay-per-view service for any of these shows given that they've had better support this year. Dirt Oval TV, which is based out of Cottage Grove, has headed up north to Washington most of the time or down to California. I don't think Coos Bay has even been a consideration, and I won't speculate on why. You bring in the camera and have Ben Deatherage on the microphone for the show that they had last Saturday night, and people would be interested in paying to watch. This is what they're going to do at Cottage Grove Speedway this coming weekend. I've already spoken on that matter above.

We've been waiting impatiently for Merced Speedway to open. Unfortunately for them, Merced County Health Officials didn't make it easy for them to get to this point. On Sunday night, the gates finally opened. The Sunday date was chosen to enable the track to make use of the streaming services offered by SpeedshiftTV and Flo Racing. Fred Adams is one of the top video guys in the state, so he's in particularly high demand these days. Once General Manager Doug Lockwood got the go-ahead to open the gates and saw that Sunday would be a date that could work, he booked it. We've already talked about the other genius move made by Lockwood, the creation of the California IMCA Speedweek that will happen from August 10th through August 15th at six different tracks.

I've been talking about the numbers going down just a little bit, and I'll illustrate my point again here. Had Merced Speedway been able to book this race a month ago, the car count would have been huge. There would have been well over 100 competitors, and probably closer to 150. However, the numbers were just fine for Sunday. Doug booked five divisions, and I'm betting he had a pretty good idea where the numbers would be. They might have been a tick lower than hoped, but they weren't that bad. You had four divisions with enough cars to produce three heat races and full Main Events. There were just enough cars for a full feature in those classes, but not enough for the races to drag on too long.

The challenge you have in 100 degree weather is keeping the track racing surface from going too dusty. It looked like it might get dusty as the heat races were coming to a close, and this is when the crew came out and groomed the track. I don't think they took much longer than 15 minutes to get the job done, and the results were quite acceptable. The racing in all five Main Events was good, and we didn't start seeing dust flying in the air until the IMCA Modified Main Event. What we also saw was some great side by side racing in the Modified Main Event.

I really don't know if I've said this enough, but the IMCA Modifieds have really been having some good races at several different venues this year. The last half of the Main Event was nothing short of spectacular. Paul Stone had his hands full with Robby Sawyer. Then he had Jerry Flippo to worry about, but the man everybody dreads challenged him on the final restart. When you see that red #2 car making a bid for the lead late in a race, you might say you're not intimidated, but you know that he's going to give you a good run. Hogge put it up on the outside and made a pass that would have had the crowd on their feet. It's a damn shame fans couldn't be there in person to witness this exciting conclusion to a great evening of racing. For my money, Hogge is still the best IMCA Modified driver in California and possibly even on the West Coast. 

The IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Cars didn't bring a huge field, but they brought enough cars to put on an entertaining show. This was another race that was in doubt all the way to the end before Grant Duinkerken won. Grant is also running a Winged 360 Sprint Car in Hanford and is very competitive in that class as well. When you hear the Johnson name from Bakersfield, no matter what division, you know you're in for some tough competition. Michael Johnson is as fast as they come down in Bakersfield, and he proved it with the Merced IMCA Sport Modified win. It was a Johnson 1-2 finish in the Hobby Stocks with Cody Johnson somehow holding off the flying Nick Johnson in the end.

I have to say that the quality of the field at a Central Valley Mini Stock race is better than your average Mini Stock race. These guys are raising the bar, and I remain impressed by what Dan Myrick and this talented group of racers do in the House of JuJu of Clovis and Morro Bay sponsored series. There were numerous lead changes in this race as well. The thought occurs to me. A Mini Stock Nationals type of event at Merced Speedway would be interesting. I don't know that anything like this will ever be booked. I'm just saying it would be interesting. Jeff Durant has gotten hot lately as he won his second-straight race with the group. When you've got guys like Chris Corder, Dan Myrick and Greg Baronian in the field, you know you're earning the win.

I don't know that there will be another race at Merced Speedway between now and the August 13th Speedweek race. Promoters these days have to go over the numbers after a race and see how things look. If it adds up, they can put another race on. It may be that they wait until the Speedweek race to do it again. If we're not going to have fans in the grandstands, some of these tracks have to jockey for position. They've got to figure out when they can get the crew to broadcast live on a streaming service. They also have to figure out what divisions they can run. Lockwood has already said that the championship season is pretty much lost. Otherwise, you just need to look at the Merced Speedway Facebook page for updates.

I'll go ahead and throw in one last note that's still a bit negative. It looks like Santa Maria Raceway is again going to attempt a practice at the beginning of August. Last week it was reported that we're not going to see any racing there until the second half of August at the earliest, if we're lucky. We already knew the news wasn't looking so good there when the World of Outlaws and NARC Sprint Car visits were cancelled, but their season is pretty well decimated. Once you get down to Hanford and beyond, it becomes more challenging to open the tracks at all. We don't often cover Irwindale Speedway, but I can tell you that they had another full program of NASCAR divisions on Saturday. I believe they broadcast this one in house once again.

Silver Dollar Speedway management was none too pleased to announce that the Gold Cup race was canceled. That World of Outlaws visit is probably the biggest show they have all year. The only other big Sprint Car race left on the schedule would be the Fall Classic as far as I know. However, Big shows become problematic if you can't have fans in the stands. 

Management made a Sunday evening announcement that they were hopeful of a race on July 17th, but they still haven't been able to get approval to have a race that won't allow fans in the grandstands. I don't know what they can do to make anything happen, but they still hope to have some sort of race between now and when the scheduled season would come to an end.

Siskiyou Golden Speedway hadn't made any announcements during the weekend regarding a race this Saturday. The little Outlaw Kart track at the fairgrounds announced that all the kids except for the ones in the Beginners class would be required to wear Receivers in order to communicate with officials and keep the show moving. They don't want to break curfew after what happened at the bigger track, and they're hoping to race every Friday between now and the end of the month. I'm sure they're looking at the lack of activity in Oregon and hoping to take advantage of drivers coming south. Plus, they seem to be gaining drivers from the Lakeport area lately.

Getting back to Siskiyou Golden Speedway, Promoter Kevin Barba was showing off some track prep equipment as they were getting back to work on the racing surface. I don't think the Outlaw Pro Stock Association would make an announcement that they have a date there this Saturday unless it had a high chance of actually happening. However, Barba and the powers-that-be will have whatever discussions need to be had before an official announcement is made.

They will most assuredly make a post on the Siskiyou Golden Speedway Facebook page, and you might even see Misty Buchanan go live. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say IMCA Sport Modifieds and Outlaw Pro Stocks with the possibility of Mini Stocks as the third division, but that's only a guess. I know racers in the Southern Oregon area are hopeful that their divisions will be booked so that they can get back on the track again.

We're all bracing for impact and hopeful that the Oregon and California governors don't make big announcements that shut down what we have at the moment. It's bad enough that we can't even have fans in the grandstands and have to compromise by streaming the races online. If certain decisions are made, tracks could even lose that. 

I was hopeful that we'd have more tracks opening with fans in the grandstands, but it's not looking like there will be any new announcements in that area as we go into the third weekend of July. So the racing community is almost begging, "Can we please at least hold on to what we have? You don't have to give us more, can but can we continue to do what we're doing?" The last I looked, we still lived in the United States of America. I might have to double-check on that.

Overall, it's been an interesting weekend keeping track of things. The show continues to go on, and we've covered some of it. I do worry about where everything is headed right now, but I guess we'll all find out in the days ahead. I'm just doing the best that I can with this blog, which is all I can do. Having to deal with things breaking on me is a bit annoying, but it is what it is. I'll keep moving forward until I am unable to.

I'll wrap this up by saying thank you for reading. Until next time...