WCSC Preview, Merced Speedway, Antioch Speedway, Ventura Raceway, More

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West Coast Sport Compacts Head To

Kern County Raceway Dirt Track For $3,000 Finale

Bakersfield, CA...Don't look now, but the West Coast Sport Compacts are achieving major milestones in the group's existence this year. About a month ago, they had a race at Kern County Raceway that offered $1,000 to the winner, $800 for second and $650 for third, while making sure everybody got at least $100 to take the green flag. This was the biggest paying Sport Compact/Mini Stock race in West Coast history. It's another case where series Promoter Dan Myrick was successful.

The group is still racing for points, but they wrap it up on December 4th at Kern County Raceway. The night is already noteworthy for the Bakersfield area dirt track in that it's the Jerm "The Worm" Smith Memorial, paying big prize money for the Dirt Modifieds and Sport Modifieds. Hobby Stocks and American Stocks will also be a part of the two-day event, as will the West Coast Sport Compacts. The Dirt Modifieds topped them all with $3,000 to win, but Myrick made the.bombshell announcement recently that this race will pay his group $3,000 to win as well.

This was made possible because of generous sponsorship from House of JuJu of Clovis and Morro Bay, Laura Goldsmith Realtors and Thompson's Motor and Trailer Sales. They were the three big sponsors who helped with the purse a few weeks back. House of JuJu has a history of supporting this group, including sponsoring several cars. They were part of another major milestone, which meant two-straight seasons of $5,000 in point fund money. House of JuJu sponsored those two series in 2019 and 2020.

This year is another milestone. The premier dirt effort for Mini Stocks is wrapping up their fifth championship season. It all seems unlikely at this point, but it's a testament to the determination and leadership of second-generation racer Myrick. It started at the end of the 2016 season at Lemoore Raceway. Myrick and a few of his friends wanted to put race cars on the 1/5 mile Micro Sprint track at Lemoore Raceway. They had an exhibition at the end of the year, but that was a precursor for what Dan had in mind.

The series raced mainly at Lemoore Raceway in 2017 and 2018 while it built up its ranks and gained some recognition in the area. Myrick's goal was to unite the Mini Stock rules at as many places as possible, which enabled racers to travel to other venues in the knowledge that they would be legal. He endeavored to keep the rules basic and affordable. This is pretty much an entry-level class, but Myrick has made this entry-level class something that races for purse money, while also having a championship that has a bit more meaning than your average title chase in this class.

The Lemoore race track saw car counts that required Semi Mains on multiple occasions. The racing was good, and the first champion was Dan's father, Danny Myrick. The elder Myrick was a Super Modified racer prior to coming out of retirement to race with his son. A year later, Greg Baronian took the honors. By then, tracks were starting to inquire about having races for this group, and Dan started to do the math and realized the challenges he faced in maintaining this series.

Lemoore Raceway didn't run this class with their Micro Sprint program, which probably would have had those drivers complaining about track conditions. Dan had to take on the promoter duties himself and do it on Sunday afternoons. This presented a host of challenges that made even breaking even problematic. Dan endeavored to dress up the races to get people to want to come out and watch, but he found that groups you might think would be receptive to supporting the show were just not interested.

Though the 2019 season had dates at Lemoore, they started branching out. Keller Auto Speedway had been struggling to get to 10 cars in recent years, so Dan's group was a godsend. They were immediately able to get car counts in the 20s, which made the promoter happy. Doors started opening at other tracks, such as Merced, Bakersfield, Kern County and even the pavement of Madera Speedway. He fought the good fight to keep the show going at Lemoore Raceway, but the fact that other tracks would have them and picked up the promotional tab made it easier to disengage.

With two good seasons under their belt, the group got sponsorship from House of JuJu, a restaurant in Clovis and Morro Bay. They were willing to pay $5,000 to have their name as the title sponsor, and that meant $1,000 championships and the Top 10 drivers in the standings receiving point fund  money. Dan finally won his first championship in 2019, and Clinton Massey won a hard fought battle in 2020. That was the covid-19 year, which itself was challenging for everybody. Myrick still managed to make a season happen with some noteworthy moments.

The scheduling philosophy has always been one where they tried to give drivers breaks between races to maintain their cars. Therefore, the seasons tend to go a little bit longer, but it helps keep the car count on the track. With an entry level division, you're still dealing with drivers who have a budget and can't afford to race too many times during the year. The Kern Raceway events will be the 11th and 12th races on the schedule, and we've gotten to this point with the championship still up for grabs.

Baronian won the $1,000 prize at the Kern Raceway event recently, though that race looked to be in the hands of Shawn DePriest before mechanical gremlins hit. The third win of the season for Baronian helps keep him eight points ahead of DePriest going into this final race. With a pair of wins to his credit, Dan Myrick is just 15 points out of the lead. The title will come down between these three drivers. There's also a close battle going for the fourth position as Jeff Durant leads Gene Glover by just 16 points.

Glover has a win this year with the series. Recent Tulare winner Ryan Doglione has a pair of triumphs, while David Wilford won the first two events of the season. Though Durant hasn't won with the series this year, he has a pair of wins on the road. The fact is, these drivers are frequently a threat to win at the non-sanctioned events, and DePriest had three victories at Merced this season. Everybody will have their eyes on the bigger prize this weekend.

It's not known if Antioch and Petaluma champion Tom Brown will come, but he has a dozen victories between those two tracks. He was at the recent big money Kern County Raceway event and notched $800 with his second place finish. He'd immediately be a contender to win should he show up. Likewise, multi-time Merced champion Chris Corder could be a threat. He's finished as high as second with the series this year. Reigning champing Clinton Massey has a pair of seconds and would like to get the win in the biggest race of them all. Everybody will be out to give it their best shot.

Another goal in creating this series was to show how good these basic Mini Stock cars could be on the track. You have drivers on this circuit who take it seriously and bring their best to any race track they are at. The racing is close, and though it can get a little bit rough at times, the drivers generally have respect for each other. Fans might be thinking about tuning in for the other classes this weekend, but they're in for a good show with the West Coast Sport Compacts. Who's going to win the money and who's going to win the championship? Stay tuned.

For further information on the series, go to www.wcscracing.com.

IMCA Stock Cars Could Be Next Big Thing 

At Antioch Speedway 

Antioch, CA...Can you name all of the divisions that Antioch Speedway management has started over the last 35 years? The latest addition to the roster is the IMCA Stock Cars, which was introduced to the track by Promoter Chad Chadwick at the Bill Bowers Memorial race last year. Already, the car count is growing like gangbusters, and 2022 is poised to be a breakthrough year for the class. 

It was back in 1988 when the track introduced the California Dirt Cars. This was an offshoot of the Dirt Car division they had at Santa Maria Speedway the year before, patterning itself after the DIRT Modifieds from back east. The Antioch movement was focused on keeping the cars affordable and not catering to the more expensive bigger cars that were becoming dominant at Santa Maria. What Antioch management didn't know at the time was this small group formed the Northern California Modified Association. This wasn't the track's division, though they booked them several times over the next decade. They started with two cars and rarely required a B Main.

In the years following that addition to the roster, management brought in several touring groups. This made it easier as they didn't have to oversee the rules, but they knew they'd get cars from whatever group might show up on any given week. This included the Pacific Coast Dwarf Cars, Northern Stars Mini Sprints and Sprint 100s Racing Association. The latter division, which started at Baylands Raceway, no longer exists. The Dwarf Cars have gone from one association to the other and were eventually brought under the Antioch banner in 1998. That group recently joined the Western States Dwarf Car Association as Delta Dwarf Cars and continue to be a positive factor at the track. The Northern Stars Mini Sprints gave way to the BCRA and still continue to this day as the Lightning Sprints.

In 1990, the track started another division that was destined to take over. It was the Dirt Modified class, which ran under IMCA sanctioning at several venues across the nation. They were under NASCAR sanctioning in the early years at Antioch, and the class grew by leaps and bounds within a few years. They needed B Mains within 2 years. The division took over headline status in 1994 and has pretty much held on to it ever since. Because there were so many old chassis available and people were talking about the cost of the cars, the Sport Modified division was introduced about a decade ago and is thriving. Both divisions run under IMCA sanctioning, which was introduced to the track again when Chadwick took over last year.

As the Street Stock division had evolved to the point that they were no longer the entry level class, management introduced the Hobby Stock division with a special race in 1994. There were three cars for the debut, and it became a regular division a year later. Car count has risen and waned multiple times during the division's over 25 year run, but currently they get car counts that often times require a B Main. Since the Street Stocks are no longer on the roster, this is the division that many consider to be their spiritual successor.

Differences in philosophy led to a parting of the ways between new Promoter John M Soares and the NCMA. He looked for an alternative and commissioned Don O'Keefe Jr to make it happen. The Wingless Spec Sprints were introduced to the roster in 1999. In the modern era, they had the best car count of any new division, never dropping below a dozen that first year. A year later, the division needed B Mains. So successful was this effort at Antioch that several venues started a division of their own, and the Hunt Series currently serves as the leading tour for the class. At the time, this was considered the next big thing. 

Management wasn't done with the new divisions. On the heels of the Spec Sprint success, they wanted to see if there was something that could be done to get the old Late Models of the late 1980s and early 1990s back to the track. The Street Stock division was still alive and well, and the Super Stocks/Limited Late Models were introduced in 2000. The division never grew to the level of the Spec Sprints, debuting with four cars. Within a few years, they produced car counts in the teens, and the division still remains on the roster. There is speculation that their days are numbered. 

Hobby Stocks had been on the roster for seven years, but management had another idea. As Merced Speedway had seen some success with the four cylinder Mini Truck class, Antioch started a division of their own. They debuted with four vehicles and had a run of about a decade before it ended. Much like the Super Stock class, they were able to field over a dozen trucks on multiple occasions, but this division never needed a B Main. 

Two years later, management commissioned Lance Cline to build cages for the new Four Bangers class. In 2003, they ran four-car exhibition races. The goal was to build 10 cars for the first drivers in this class for when the division officially made it's championship point racing debut in 2004. Car counts went into the high teens, but disagreements between management and some of the racers saw the division dropped and brought back again, only to be dropped one more time. Promoter Chad Chadwick brought the class back as Mini Stocks last year.

In 2019 as he served in the role of General Manager, Chadwick was assessing what needed to be done. He was in negotiations to buy the track from Soares, and his game plan started to take shape at the end of the season. 2020 was his first season, which admittedly happened under very difficult circumstances. Chadwick let it be known that IMCA Stock Cars would be coming in 2021. Chris Bennett ended up being the first driver to get a car after the announcement, joining Dave Lincoln, who had competed down in Hanford in recent years. 

Chadwick's first special race took place in October of 2019. It was the West Coast Nationals, featuring IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Sport Modifieds. There was talk of a third division needing to be added, but Chadwick wanted to keep this in the IMCA family of divisions. Therefore, he made the decision to add IMCA Stock Cars to the show in October of 2020. This became the Bill Bowers Memorial West Coast Nationals. That decision turned out to be a resounding success.

The point season debut record of 12 cars remains the honor of the Wingless Spec Sprints, but the actual division debut of 16 cars for the IMCA Stock Car class on the first night of the Bowers race is the record for a debut. This was bolstered by the fact that the drivers were competing for $1,000 to win, drawing several Hanford and Bakersfield competitors. The field still had 13 cars the following evening, and the first winner in both instances was five-time IMCA Modified champion Troy Foulger, who was driving the Dave Lincoln owned entry. 

Management knew they had a winner, and the drivers saw the writing on the wall. Watsonville Hobby Stock champions Rob Gallaher and Joe Gallaher made the commitment along with Hobby Stock stars Travis Dutra and Jason Robles and past Spec Sprint champion Dan Gonderman. Drivers continued to join in. In recent weeks, we've seen the division debuts of past Four Banger champion Jason Jennings, IMCA Sport Modified champion Fred Ryland, Street Stock veteran Dave Hill and Foulger. Word is there are other cars in various states of preparation for next season.

A look inside the numbers finds that 38 drivers competed this year as Dutra wrote his name in the record books as the first champion ahead of Watsonville Hobby Stock champion Joe Gallaher and Gonderman. There have been 31 different cars competing this year, and most of the nights have had a double-digit car count. Some have compared the division to the Hobby Stock class. However, it is a slight step up, and the observant race fan will notice the difference in racing styles between the two divisions. They will also notice how competitive the IMCA Stock Car class is at Antioch Speedway. 

A further look inside the numbers finds that there has been 11 different winners in the 19 races held this year. Dutra, Robles and Rob Gallaher led the way with three victories each. Cody Johnson had a pair of triumphs, and Nick Johnson won both $1,000 prizes in the recent Bill Bowers Memorial race. Other winners this year include Austin Van Hoff, Garrett Corn, Brock Hamilton, past State champion Loren DeArmond, Ryland and Foulger. Management was so impressed with the racing that they've let the IMCA Stock Cars close the evening's activity on multiple occasions.

IMCA Stock Cars are not new to California. For a decade and a half, Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford led the way with this division as part of their roster. Bakersfield Speedway was the next track to join in, and the groups down there would make occasional visits to Rocky Hill Speedway, Santa Maria Raceway and Tulare Thunderbowl. There were even some visits to Chowchilla Speedway. It wasn't until Merced Speedway added the division to their roster last year that talk really began. Chadwick announced a few weeks into last season that the division would be added this year. 

This is surely going to spark talk from other tracks of adding this class, and the momentum will continue to build. When the IMCA Sport Modified division started to take hold a decade ago, tracks were forced to either get a division of their own or be left behind. The abundance of Modified chassis made this an easy decision. With IMCA Stock Cars, your keeping it in the sanctioning body, but you're also giving the fans a different style of racing to enjoy. There's a concern about the future of Stock Car racing, and many feel that going under IMCA sanctioning with the Stock Car class will help ensure the future for this style of racing.

This also led to rumors that the track will be dropping the Hobby Stocks in favor of IMCA Stock Cars. It's simply not the truth, and that was again restated by track management recently. The Hobby Stocks are still thriving and are going to continue for the foreseeable future. IMCA Stock Car racing is a slightly different division that even has a slightly different style of racing that has proven to be quite enjoyable. You are surely going to see more Hobby Stock drivers joining the field, but other drivers from other divisions will be tempted to join the IMCA Stock Car fun. 

Racing has always changed and evolved with the times. In those early years, we had Hardtop racing, which evolved into the Sportsman division while a Stock Car division was introduced. Stock Car racing would take over as the Hardtops and then the Sportsman division faded away as the headliners. By the early 1990s, Late Model Stock Car racing was a shadow of what it had been, leading to the introduction of IMCA Modified racing throughout California. That division is now 31 years old with no signs of going away. 

However, promoters are always looking for things to generate more excitement. Stock Car racing has been an important part of what Antioch Speedway does for many years, and IMCA Stock Cars are there to ensure it's continuation for years to come. It's only been a year, but the appeal of this division is quite obvious. The future looks bright for IMCA Stock Cars at Antioch Speedway.

 

In Memory Of John Padjen

John Padjen has passed away. To Sprint Car racers and fans, he was known as one of the top promoters in California. He was honored by being inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame and receiving a Promoter of the Year from Racing Promoters Monthly. While I can't say I knew the man very well, I have always respected him and admired his promotional work from afar. I got to meet him back in 2000 when he came to Antioch Speedway for a Civil War Series race. I was given the opportunity to announce that big show.

I'm sure I will miss a few things here, but John started as an official at Auburn Speedway and made his way to West Capitol Speedway. He promoted it for most of the 1970s. While he was doing that, he also promoted some big open wheel events at the old Dixon Speedway. At West Capitol Speedway, he became the promoter of the annual Gold Cup Race of Champions. It was his wife Robbie who suggested they move the race to Silver Dollar Speedway when West Capitol closed. It became the biggest event of the year at the Chico track.

In the 1980s, John had built Silver Dollar Speedway into one of the premiere tracks on the West Coast. Many big events would take place there, and he believed in promoting the Stock Car side of the show as much as he did the Sprint Cars. In the 1990s, he was responsible for creating two big series. The first was the Civil War Sprint Car Series. John got together with promoters of the Winged 360 Sprint Cars at several different venues. The agreement was that those tracks would stay dark when an affiliate track hosted a Civil War race, thereby guaranteeing car counts that reached into the 50s at times. The consistent success of this series during its first decade has yet to be matched.

Meanwhile, John got together with promoters at several tracks that had IMCA Modifieds and created the North State Modified Series. This series boosted car counts into the high 20s and low 30s at times. As the Gold Cup Race of Champions grew, John gave the drivers of the Civil War and North State Modified Series more incentive to do well in the points. The Top 30 point earners were welcomed to compete one night during the Gold Cup. He also brought the USAC Silver Crown Series back to the Sacramento Mile for some races in the 1990s.

In the early part of the 2000's, as his career was winding down, John still wasn't done. He promoted a few seasons of indoor Outlaw Kart racing in Chico. One noteworthy racer was an young up and coming champion in the 125 class named Justin Grant, who recently won the USAC National Midget Hangtown 100 at Placerville. As the Wingless Spec Sprint division grew at Antioch and started being added to other tracks, John would eventually welcome them to Chico and Placerville. He started promoting a big season ending race for that class, and one event at Chico attracted a still California record of over 70 competitors.

At one time, John Padjen Motorsports was promoting both Placerville Speedway and Silver Dollar Speedway, while also overseeing the Civil War and Golden State Challenge Sseries. John made a tremendous impact on Northern California racing and was somebody who set a standard for others to follow. Even to this day, people still speak fondly of the races he promoted.

He was 87 years old. I'm aware that he wasn't in the best of health, but comforted to know that he had a long and productive life. I've been saying everybody will realize one day how lucky we were to have the old school pioneer promoters who paved the way. John was one of those promoters. My condolences go out to his family in their time of mourning.

Dotson, Ryland, Finn Win George Steitz Memorial Races 

At Merced Speedway

Merced, CA...November 26...Ethan Dotson won the 25 lap IMCA Modified Main Event Friday night at Merced Speedway. The win paid the Bakersfield driver $2,000. Earlier in the evening, Dotson also scored the $750 win in the IMCA Stock Car Main Event. This was the George Steitz Memorial race, paying extra money to all five divisions. George was a multi-time Sportsman champion at the track, a promoter of some of the biggest races ever at San Jose Speedway and Chowchilla Speedway and a member of the Watsonville Speedway Hall of Fame.

2020 MavTV Pro Late Model champion Buddy Shepherd set the early pace ahead of 2020 Susanville champion Ryan McDaniel and Dotson. Dotson slipped past McDaniel for second on Lap 2 and took the lead from Shepherd a lap later. Paul Stone slipped by McDaniel for third on Lap 6. By then, Dotson held about a half-straightaway advantage over Shepherd, but a Lap 7 yellow flag bunched the field. As Dotson continued to lead the restart, Stone and Troy Foulger moved into second and third. Bobby Hogge IV had settled into the fourth position by the time a Lap 12 yellow flag bunched the field. Dotson remained in command on the restart ahead of Stone and Foulger. Dotson set a rapid pace and had a straightaway advantage over Stone by the 18th circuit. Hogge got past Foulger for third on Lap 19 with DJ Shannon motoring from 17th starting into fourth. One last yellow flag slowed things down on Lap 23. However, Dotson would not be denied as he led the restart and brought it home to the impressive win. Stone had second on the restart, but Hogge made a thrilling last lap maneuver to collect $1,200 for second. With all of the passing he had done, Shannon earned the $200 bonus as the hard charger to go along with his $800 third place finish. Stone settled for a $600 fourth place finish, followed by Foulger, Ricky Childress Jr, Cody Burke, Buddy Shepherd, Kaylin Lopez and Steve Pemberton.

Despite running a race this late in the year and under cool weather conditions, the increased purse drew 30 competitors. They ran four seven lap heat races with the lap total matching the car number for Steitz. Wins went to Chris Shannon, Buddy Shepherd, Stone and track and State champion Jim Pettit II. The Top 4 finishers made it into the show with everybody else having to compete in the 12 lap B Main. DJ Shannon started on the outside front row in that race and proceeded to lead all the way for the win. Chase Aue was second on the opening lap, but a yellow flag enabled Danny Malfatti and Pemberton to move into second and third on the restart. Pemberton took second from Malfatti on Lap 3 and chased DJ Shannon to the second place finish. Malfatti settled for third ahead of final transfer Mike Shepherd. The Top 3 drivers in the four lap Trophy Dash were going to be paid good money, but miscommunications left just two drivers on the track for that event. Childress collected $400 for his win with Jim Weiler a $250 second.

Fred Ryland won the 25 lap IMCA Sport Modified Main Event. Ryland is a two-time Merced Speedway champion, and the 2015 State champion picked up his second Antioch title this year. Ryland collected $1,200 for his win. 

Dylan Potter jumped into the early lead ahead of Ryland and Tony Peffer. On the third lap, Ryland motored past Potter for the lead. At the same time, John Piker moved into third. A yellow flag waved on the eighth lap with Jeremy Hoff and Markus Frazier both eliminated at that point. Ryland led Piker and Garrett Jernagan on the restart with a Lap 9 yellow flag again slowing the pace. As Ryland led the way when the green flag flew, Andrew Peckham moved by both Piker and Jernagan for second. Jernagan took third from Piker on Lap 12. Ryland was setting a rapid pace and held a straightaway advantage over Peckham by Lap 15. Nobody would challenge Ryland as he scored the big win with Peckham a $750 second. Jernagan collected $600 for third with Piker a $450 fourth, followed by Potter, Andrew Pearce, Jonathan Hagio, Billy Simkins, Jacob Mallet Jr and Gavin Espino. Pearce was the hard charger of the race, coming from 20th to sixth, and that earned him the $200 prize.

There were 26 Sport Modifieds, and the seven lap heat race wins went to Simkins, Kodie Dean, Peffer and Peckham. Again, lack of communication or desire to run the race left three drivers on the track for the four lap Trophy Dash. It was Jernagan winning the $300 prize ahead of Mallet, who collected $200, and Mark Squadrito, who was a $100 third. Jeremy Hoff won the 12 lap B Main. He led all the way from his pole position start. Scott Foster was an early second with Riley Jeppesen settling into third on Lap 3. Jeppesen battled with Jon McKinley briefly for the third position before reclaiming it on Lap 6. Jeppesen then took second from Foster on the seventh lap and chased Hoff for the runner-up finish. Foster settled for third with Pearce the final transfer in fourth.

Syd Finn won the crash-shortened 15 lap Hobby Stock Main Event. The long time Hobby Stock and Pure Stock competitor finish second in the standings this season, and the win netted him a $750 payday.

Bakersfield competitor Johnny Wood set the early pace ahead of Brock Crawford and Kyle Wood. Yellow flags waved on Laps 1 and 2, setting the stage for what was going to be an ugly race. Johnny Wood led Crawford and Kyle Wood on the restart. Kyle Wood took second from Crawford on Lap 5 with Derek Ogden settling into third on Lap 6 before a yellow flag waved as Crawford saw his race end. Johnny Wood continued to lead the restart as Kevin Irwin moved into second ahead of Kyle Wood. A yellow flag waved on Lap 9, and Johnny Wood continued to lead Kevin Irwin and Kyle Wood on the restart. The yellow flag flew once again on Lap 10 with Race Shelton out at that point. Johnny Wood led Kevin Irwin and new track champion Domossie Scoggins on the restart. Finn followed Scoggins into fourth, and he found himself in the lead a lap later after Johnny Wood and Kevin Irwin had a bit of contact. Scoggins was second at that point with Logan Clay settling into third. When a crash resulted in a red flag on Lap 15, the race was called complete and Finn was declared the winner. Scoggins collected $350 for second with Clay and a $250 third. Clay also collected the $200 hard charger bonus. Johnny Wood settled for fourth, followed by Chad Ragsdale, Les Friend, Johnny Tevis, Ogden, Legend Car racer Clayton Travels and Steven Johnson.

28 Hobby Stock showed up for the extra money race, and Kevin Irwin, Ogden, Crawford and Kyle Wood picked up the seven lap heat race wins. Despite the extra money being offered for the Trophy Dash, only two drivers ran the four lap race. Clay scored the $200 win with Finn a $125 second. Tevis won the 12 lap B Main, which would transfer the Top 4 finishers. Tevis led from the start ahead of Race Shelton and Kalob Shelton. However a Lap 3 yellow flag saw the race end for Kalob Shelton, Farren Steitz and Steve Torres. Tevis led the restart with George Silva settling into second ahead of Race Shelton. The lead trio finished in that order as Travels grabbed the final transfer position.

Ethan Dotson scored the win the 20 lap IMCA Stock Car race. Dotson started back in the third row as Cody Johnson took the early lead over Bobby Hogge IV and Terry DeCarlo Jr. Dotson quickly moved into third. A yellow flag waved on Lap 6. Hogge got around Johnson for the lead, but it didn't take too long for Dotson to get by Hogge as he took over. Dotson would go on to the $750 win, and Hogge pocketed $350 for second. Johnson surrendered third to Fred Ryland on Lap 11, and Ryland would finish there. Johnson's race ended on Lap 16 as the yellow flag waved. Chuck Weir ended up making the most passes, netting him the $200 hard charger prize and the fourth place finish, followed by Troy Foulger, Cody Brown, Paul Stone, Michael Shearer, Steve Streeter and DeCarlo. Dotson and Ryland won the seven lap heat races.

Tyler Tucker won the 15 lap California Sharp Mini Late Model Main Event. This was the biggest win of the point runnerup's young career as he collected $250. Liam Richardson started on the outside front row and led early as Tucker worked his way up from the fourth row to eventually get the lead. Third row starter Matt Malcolm also got past Richardson for a $150 second. Richardson settled for a $100 third, followed by track champion Carson Guthrie, Ryder Jeppesen, newcomer Connor Crews and DJ Saenz. Brayden Morton and Mason Morton both scratched. Carson Guthrie and Matt Malcolm picked up seven lap heat race wins. Before suffering the mechanical issue that sidelined him, Brayden Morton scored a $125 win in the four lap Trophy Dash. Richardson was a $75 second with Saenz collecting $25 for third.

This concluded the 2021 season. To keep up to date with what's happening next at the track, go to www.mersedspeedway.net.

Foulger, Mallet, Coelho Wrap Up Season With Wins 

At Antioch Speedway

Antioch, CA...November 27...Troy Foulger won the 30 lap IMCA Modified Main Event Saturday Night at Antioch Speedway. This was the final race of the year for the track, and the five-time Modified champion wrapped up his season in style. The Bowers Motorsports team debuted their IMCA Stock Car a night earlier at Merced Speedway, and Foulger drove that car to a win in the that division's 20 lap feature race earlier in the evening.

Raymond Lindemann took the early lead ahead of Watsonville champion Cody Burke and Terry DeCarlo Jr. Burke took the lead from Lindemann on Lap 6 as Sport Modified graduate Trevor Clymens settled into third. Foulger had worked his way into fourth by the time a yellow flag waved on Lap 7. Terry DeCarlo Sr was out at that point, and Burke led Lindemann and Aaron Crowell on the restart. A yellow flag on Lap 10 signaled the end of the race for Kyle Bryan, and Burke led Lindemann and Foulger on the restart. Foulger was pressuring Lindemann hard for the second spot before making the pass on Lap 17. A Lap 18 yellow flag waved with Andrew Pearce out at that point. Burke led Foulger and Lindemann on the restart, but Foulger put the moves on Burke to grab the lead on Lap 21. Burke saw his good run come to an end on Lap 22 as Lindemann was second ahead of Crowell. Crowell got by Lindemann on Lap 24 as Foulger continued to lead the way. The persistent Lindemann regained the runnerup spot on Lap 26. However, Foulger was not to be denied as he won ahead of Lindemann. Brent Curran made a late move to finish third, followed by Crowell, Bobby Motts Jr, John Pierce, Clymens, Josh Combs, Terry DeCarlo Jr and Jim Weiler. There were 18 drivers on hand for the show, and the eight lap heat race wins went to Foulger, Crowell and Burke.

In the IMCA Stock Car Main Event, Foulger started on the front row after picking up the eight lap heat race win earlier in the evening. He took the lead immediately ahead of Kellen Chadwick, and the only yellow flag waved on Lap 1. Foulger led the restart with Fred Ryland moving up to challenge Chadwick for second before making the pass. Foulger was just too quick as he sped to the victory ahead of Ryland and Chadwick. Dan Gonderman started in the fourth row and finished fourth, followed by Jason Jennings, Jason Robles, Dave Hill and Brian Pearce.

Jacob Mallet Jr won the time limit shortened 20 lap IMCA Sport Modified Main Event. The drivers had been on the track for 33 minutes and it was past 10:00 pm, which is the fairgrounds curfew. Track champion Fred Ryland had been on the move when the race was ended due to time.

Adrianne Frost set the early pace ahead of Tyler Browne and Todd Gomez. A yellow flag waved on Lap 1 with Joe Salvi eliminated. Fred Ryland bolted into the lead on the restart ahead of Gomez and Jimmy Ford. A yellow flag waved on Lap 2 for a tangle involving Frost and Andrew Pearce, both of whom were eliminated. Ryland led Gomez and Ford on the restart. Mallet was running fourth at that point, but he slipped past Ford for third on Lap 5. A yellow flag waved at that point with Billy Robertson eliminated. Ryland made a pit stop, and Gomez led Mallet and Ford on the restart. Jim DiGiovanni took third from Ford on Lap 10, and a Lap 11 yellow flag signaled the end of the race for Kenny Shrader. Gomez led Mallet and DiGiovanni on the restart, but Mallet put the moves on Gomez to take the lead on Lap 16. Ryland found his way into fifth by Lap 17 before a yellow flag waved with Ford's strong run coming to an end. Mallet led Gomez and Ryland on the restart. Ryland slipped past Gomez for second on Lap 19. When the yellow flag waved a lap later, the race was called complete with Mallet the happy winner ahead of Ryland, Todd Gomez, Matt Micheli, Tyler Browne, Scott Foster, DiGiovanni, Tommy Clymens Jr, Dylan Connelly and Haley Gomez.

There were 26 IMCA Sport Modifieds for their final race of the year, and the eight lap heat race wins went to Todd Gomez, Ford, Frost and Pearce. The Top 4 finishers in those races advanced, and they also took the Top 4 drivers out of the 14 Lap B Main. Micheli won the race from the pole as he led all the way. Jonathan Hagio quickly bolted into second and would finish there. Fifth row starter Kevin Brown steadily worked his way up to third before grabbing the position on Lap 5, and Theo Vandesandt ended up fourth.

Brad Coelho scored the win in the 30 lap Jay's Mobile Welding Service Hobby Stock Main Event. This was his sixth win of the season and it wrapped up a weekend sweep for him. Misty Welborn jumped into the early lead ahead of Jared Baugh and 1998 champion Donny Babb, who was subbing for Kenneth Robles. Coelho was battling Grayson Baca for the fourth position before taking the spot on Lap 6. Two laps later, Coelho slipped past the Babb for third. A Lap 12 yellow flag gave Coelho the opportunity he needed. He charged around Welborn and Baugh for the lead on the restart. There were four yellow flags during the second half of the race, but Coelho led each rest ahead of the persistent Welborn, and the duo scored their second 1-2 finish on the weekend. Baugh settled for third ahead of sixth row starter Bobby Motts Jr, ninth row starter Jimmy Robbins, Ken Johns, Anthony Vigna, Angela Brown, Jewell Crandall and Michaela Taylor. There were 20 cars on this occasion, and the eight lap heat race wins went to Babb, Motts and Vigna. 

To stay posted on the latest news from the track, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.

Johnson, Coelho, Brown, Whitley 

Score Antioch Speedway Wins 

Antioch, CA...November 26...DJ Johnson won the 30 lap Wingless Spec Sprint Main Event Friday night at Antioch Speedway. Johnson won his second championship at Antioch last year, and he is this year's USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car title winner. 

Bob Newberry set the early pace ahead of Josh Young and Shawn Arriaga. A yellow flag slowed the pace on Lap 3. Newberry continued to lead Young and Arriaga on the restart, but Arriaga and Jimmy Christian both got past Young on Lap 5. The yellow flag waved on Lap 6 and also after the first restart attempt. Arriaga restarted in the back as Newberry led Young and Christian on the restart. A yellow flag waved on Lap 12 for Ricky Brophy. Newberry led the restart with Johnson and Young getting by Christian for second and third. Young had problems on Lap 14 as Christian moved back into third ahead of Arriaga, and a Lap 19 yellow flag slowed the pace. Newberry led Johnson and Christian on the restart, and Johnson put the moves on Newberry to grab the lead on Lap 21. Newberry was back in the lead a lap later, but his battle with Johnson saw Newberry flip for a red flag on Lap 23. Johnson led Christian and Arriaga on the restart, but Arriaga got by Christian on the final lap. Johnson won ahead of Arriaga, Christian, Young, Tony Bernard, Josh Gillis, Rick Brophy, Bob Newberry, Chris Geilfuss and Ricky Brophy.

Johnson was the quickest of 12 qualifiers at 13.585, beating the 13.773 of Bob Newberry and the 13.796 of Arriaga. Arriaga and Christian picked up the eight lap heat race wins.

Brad Coelho won the 25 lap Jay's Mobile Welding Service Hobby Stock Main Event. This was the fifth win of the season for Coelho aboard the Calhoun Brothers owned entry, and he got the lead after passing Misty Welborn, who had started on the pole.

Track champion Larry McKinzie Jr was piloting the Chris Long owned entry, and he set the pace on the opening lap ahead of Welborn and Coelho. Welborn got by McKinzie for the lead on Lap 2, and McKinzie brought out a Lap 5 yellow flag. Welborn led Coelho and Bobby Motts Jr on the restart. Past Orland in Chico champion Jeremy Langenderfer and Anthony Vigna were battling for fourth behind Motts. Coelho put the moves on Welborn to grab the lead on Lap 13. A Lap 15 yellow flag signaled the end of the race for Kamren Robles. Coelho led Welborn and Motts on the restart, but Vigna saw his good run end for a Lap 23 yellow flag. Coelho led Welborn and Motts on the restart. A yellow flag waved on Lap 26 with Jimmy Robbins out of the race. The first restart attempt saw Langenderfer suffer a mechanical failure in Turn 2 to end his race, and Jon Haney's rear end caught fire during the caution period. Coelho led Welborn and Motts in a close race on the restart, but they would finish in that order. Michaela Taylor gained fourth when the green flag flew with McKinzie moving into fifth a lap later to finish there. Grayson Baca settled for sixth, followed by Haney, Vigna, Jewell Crandall and Jake Archibald.

There were 18 Hobby Stocks on hand, and the eight lap heat race wins went to Vigna, Haney and Coelho. Coelho claimed five lap Trophy Dash honors to make it a clean sweep performance.

Tom Brown won the 20 lap Mini Stock Main Event. This was the sixth win of the season for Brown at Antioch, matching his total at Petaluma as he won the championships at both tracks this season. 

Austin Lodin had the pole for the race and had a brief battle with the Orland Mini Truck of Tony Quinonez before Quinonez and Brown got by. Following a Lap 3 yellow flag, Quinonez led Brown and Eddie Humphrey III on the restart. Brown started battling Quinonez for the lead and soon got by.  Sophie Shelley and Patrick Kelley moved up to battle Humphrey for third on a Lap 10 restart with Austin Lodin also in the hunt. Following a yellow flag on Lap 12 that saw Laina Bales retire at that point, Brown led Quinonez on the restart. Shelley settled into third at that point as Austin Lodin and Humphrey were battling for fourth. Brown went on to score the victory ahead of Quinonez, Shelley, Austin Lodin, Mike Lodin, Humphrey, Kelley, Cody Bolles and Bales. Shelley and Brown picked up the eight lap heat race wins.

Daniel Whitley won the 20 lap Winged 360 Sprint Car Main Event. Whitley was this year's top rookie in the Hunt Wingless Sprint Car Series, and he was driving one of the Van Lare team cars on this occasion. 

Whitley motored into the lead at the green flag ahead of past Marysville champion Mike Monahan and Ryan Lippincott. Whitley rapidly pulled away from the pack and nearly lapped second place Monahan and third place Lippincott by the time the race ended. Rookie Wyatt Van Lare ended up fourth. Marysville competitor Steel Powell scratched after qualifying. Monahan had the fast time of 12.713, beating the 12.714 of Whitley. Whitley claimed eight lap heat race honors.

Keep up to date with all of the latest news from the track at www.antochspeedway.com.

Bender Scores Thrilling USAC Sprint Car Win 

At Ventura Raceway

Ventura, CA...November 26-27... AJ Bender picked up the win in the 30 lap USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car Main Event Saturday night at Ventura Raceway. The group was part of the 80th Annual Turkey Night Grand Prix, and Bender collected $3,000 for his win aboard the K and R Pool and Spa sponsored Sprinter. A week earlier, Bender scored the weekend series championship with the Lightning Sprints as part of the Hangtown 100 in Placerville. He finished second in all three races that weekend. He was done for the year at that point, but made a decision on Wednesday to swap out his 410 motor for a 360 motor to run the Ventura race.

The race got off to a rocky start after crashes in Turn 3 and on the frontstretch forced a complete restart. Jarrett Soares was eliminated in the frontstretch tangle. Troy Rutherford set the pace at the start ahead of TJ Smith and Ryan Bernal. A low pass in Turn 2 of the 10th lap put Bernal into second, and a yellow flag waved moments later for a Tristan Guardino spin in Turn 2. Rutherford led the restart, but Bernal began to pressure him hard. The two engaged in an intense battle with a bit of contact, and Bernal made a Turn 4 pass to briefly grab the lead on Lap 14. A lap later, Rutherford regained the lead in the same turn. Smith surrendered third to Carson Macedo in Turn 2 on Lap 15, and a yellow flag waved for a Turn 2 tangle involving Petaluma Spec Sprint champion Nick Robfogal, Ryan Timmons and Jake Hodges. Robfogal was eliminated in the incident. Rutherford continued to lead Bernal and Macedo on the restart as Bender settled into fourth ahead of Chase Randall. A red flag waved on Lap 19 as Ricky Lewis flipped in the Ted Finkenbinder car. The first restart attempt saw a Turn 3 tangle involving Kaleb Montgomery and Hodges that resulted in Hodges flipping. Rutherford led Bernal and Macedo on the restart, but a Turn 4 pass on Lap 22 gained Bender third. Bender made a low pass in Turn 2 on Lap 23 to take second from Bernal and went inside Rutherford in Turn 3 of the same lap to take the lead. Bernal and Macedo followed closely into second and third. The yellow flag waved on Lap 26 for Guardino. Bender led Bernal and Macedo on the restart, but a Turn 3 tangle involving Rick Hendrix and Tanner Boul brought out the final yellow flag on Lap 29. Despite pressure from Bernal for the final two circuits, Bender prevailed in the end. Macedo settled for third ahead of Rutherford, Randall, Chase Johnson, Max Adams, Jacob Tuttle, Brody Roa and Kyle Edwards.

All of the preliminaries were held on Friday night, but they did have a 12 lap B Main on Saturday to determine the final starting spots for the future race. Chase Johnson won that race. Kyle Edwards took the early lead ahead of Johnson and Soares. A yellow flag waved on Lap 4 for Jake Hodges. Johnson took the lead from Edwards on the restart as Soares continued to run third ahead of Bradley Terrell. Chase Johnson rapidly pulled away from the pack and beat Edwards by a straightaway. Terrell held off Kaleb Montgomery to finish third as Soares settled for fifth. 

There were 28 competitors for the two-day event, and they ran three 10 lap heat races on Friday with Rutherford, Smith and Randall winning those races. They ran a pair of 12 lap qualifiers. Rutherford won the first one ahead of Macedo in a close race. Smith won the second race just ahead of Bernal. The Friday evening portion of the program concluded with a 15 lap Dash, and Rutherford led Smith and Bernal from start to finish to earn the pole on Saturday.

Keep up to date with the happenings of the USAC sanctioned divisions by going to www.usacracing.com.

Seavey Wins Turkey Night Grand Prix At Ventura Raceway

Ventura, CA...November 27...Logan Seavey won the 98 lap Nos Energy Drink USAC National Midget Main Event Saturday night at Ventura Raceway. This was the 80th running of the Turkey Night Grand Prix, and Seavey turned in a stellar performance in leading most of the way to score the win in the Tom Malloy/Trench Shoring - Rodella Specialty Fabrication/Ed Pink Toyota. Just a week earlier, Seavey won the Hangtown 100 weekend series title, and his win on this occasion was no gimme. He had to deal with new National champion Michael "Buddy" Kofoid all the way.

Kaylee Bryson got some attention when she earned the Fatheadz Eyewear fast time to get the pole position for the race. She was presented with a special award that was created by Promoter Jim Naylor after qualifying. Bryson took the lead at the start ahead of Taylor Reimer and Kofoid. A yellow flag waved on Lap 4. Bryson led Reimer and Kofoid on the restart. Ryan Timms slipped past Kofoid for third on Lap 9. A red flag waved on Lap 15 after Brenham Crouch flipped. Bryson continued to lead Reimer on the restart as Seavey got past Timms for third. Seavey wasted little time in getting past both Bryson and Reimer for the lead on Lap 17. Kofoid quickly struck to second on Lap 20 with NASCAR champion Kyle Larson settling into third. A close battle developed at the front of the pack with Kofoid briefly getting by Seavey to lead on Lap 26. Seavey charged back ahead on the 31st circuit, but Kofoid again nudged ahead on Lap 34. Larson was running a close third as Seavey regained the lead from Kofoid on Lap 43. At 49 laps, Seavey was leading Kofoid, Larson, Mitchel Moles and Bryson, but Emerson Axsom brought out a yellow flag at that point. 

Seavey led Kofoid and Larson when the race resumed. Chance Crum got past Bryson for fifth on Lap 58. A lap 72 yellow flag waved when Crum and Timms tangled. Seavey continued to lead Kofoid, Larson, Moles and Bryson on the restart. They ran that way through a pair of yellow flags during the next 12 laps, and a Lap 84 yellow flag waved for Timms and Crouch, who were both eliminated. Seavey led Kofoid on the restart with Moles getting past Larson for third. The lead trio ran closely, and Canon MacIntosh brought out the final yellow flag on Lap 90. Seavey continued to lead the restart with Kofoid applying the pressure as he tried to find a way around. Moles ran in contention in third. However, Seavey made no mistakes and scored the well-earned victory ahead of Kofoid, Moles, Larson, Bryson, Justin Grant, Ryan Bernal, Reimer, Tanner Thorson and Zeb Wise.

50 drivers took their turns on the 1/5 mile clay oval in Fatheadz Eyewear qualifying, and Bryson set the quick time of 11.678, beating the 11.724 of Reimer and the 11.735 of Kofoid. The Top 10 qualifiers automatically made the show. They ran three 12 lap qualifiers, which would each transfer four into the show. Grant won the first Simpson Race Products qualifier ahead of Crum, while Crouch outran Jade Avedisian to win the Competition Suspension second qualifier. The Indy Metal Finishing/Indy Race Parts third qualifier win went to Bryant Wiedeman ahead of Tanner Carrick. 

Wise won the 15 lap Eliott's Custom Trailers and Carts Semi Main. He led from the outset ahead of Chase Johnson. Chase Randall was an early third, but he surrendered the position to Colby Copeland on Lap 2. A red flag waved on Lap 4 after Dylan Ito flipped to end his race. Wise continued to lead Johnson, Copeland and Randall on the restart. They had one more yellow flag on Lap 6, but the order never changed as Wise won ahead of Johnson, Copeland, Randall and Matt Mitchell, who missed the cut in fifth.

Kofoid's impressive performance in the end of the season western swing netted him the National championship over Chris Windom, 2586-2497. Grant was a solid third with 2372 points, followed by Axsom 2322 and Thorson 2293. Grant won the Pro Source Passing Master points, which calculates a driver's passing totals for each Main Event during the season. He had 230 points with Thorson second at 209 and Windom third at 204. To keep up with all of the news from the sanctioning body, go to www.usacracing.com.

Grant Wins USAC National Midget Race At Merced Speedway

Merced, CA...November 23...Justin Grant scored the victory in the 30 lap Nos Energy Drink USAC National Midget Main Event Tuesday night at Merced Speedway. Grant took the lead early on and set a blistering pace in the non-stop event to score a $4,000 win aboard the RMS Motorsports Nos Energy Drink Toyota powered Midget. After finishing a strong third while rival Chris Windom ended up 11th, Michael "Buddy" Kofoid increased his point lead with just two races remaining.

Tanner Thorson jumped into the early lead ahead of Grant and Kofoid. Grant made a low pass in Turn 4 of the sixth lap to take the lead as Emerson Axsom was running in fourth. Grant started to pull away from Thorson, who was challenged for a few laps by Kofoid. Grant was working slower traffic on Lap 19, which enabled Thorson to close the gap. By Lap 23, it was a close race between the duo for the lead. Grant protected the low line, forcing Thorson to attempt to go the outside. However, Grant kept his cool and went on to victory ahead of Thorson, Kofoid, Axsom, Cannon McIntosh, Shane Golobic, Mitchel Moles, Logan Seavey, Carson Macedo and Jason MacDougal.

There were 33 competitors for the first of two nights of racing at Merced and Macedo set a new track record in Fatheadz Eyewear qualifying on the quarter-mile clay oval with a lap of 11.714. Seavey was second quick at 11.738, beating the 11.826 of Axsom. They ran four 10 lap heat races with the Top 4 drivers making it into the show. The Simpson Race Products first heat win went to Windom, Kaylee Bryson won the Competition Suspension second heat, Golobic was the winner of the Indy Metal Finishing third heat and Kofoid took the win in the Indy Race Parts fourth heat race. Macedo had a bad heat race and had to win the Elliott's Custom Trailers and Carts 12 lap Semi Main to make it into the show. Seavey ended up second, followed by Thomas Meseraull, Brenham Crouch, Zeb Wise and Jade Avedisian. Kodoid ended the evening with a 37 point lead over Windom. Grant maintained an 11 point lead over Axsom in the battle for third. Keep up to date with the sanctioning body by going to www.usacracing.com.

Kyle Larson won the 35 lap Winged 360 Sprint Car Main Event. The win was worth $2,000 to Larson aboard The Finley Farms/hendrickcars.com sponsored, Paul Silva prepared Sprinter. Fix link!!!

Larson started In the second row behind Ryan Timms and Joey Ancona. Ancona, took a wild ride off of Turns 3 and 4 as Timms led Chase Randall and Larson. Larson went low in Turn 2 on Lap 3 to take second from Randall, and the yellow flag waved moments later for a Timms spun in Turn 4. Larson led Randall and Keith Day Jr on the restart, and he was already in slower traffic by Lap 7. Blake Carrick settled into fourth, and a Lap 9 red flag waved as Jodie Robinson tangled with Tanner Carrick and flipped at the end of the front-straightaway. Larson led Randall and Blake Carrick on the restart. He was in slower traffic by Lap 14, and a Lap 15 red flag flew when Travis Reber ended up on his side on the front-straightaway. Larson led Randall and Blake Carrick on the restart. Chase Johnson was running fourth ahead of Colby Copeland, but Timms spun in Turn 4 for a Lap 20 yellow flag as his race came to an end. Larson led Randall and Blake Carrick on the restart as Copeland went high in Turn 4 to take fourth from Johnson. Larson caught slower traffic by Lap 26, but Dawson Hammes spun in Turn 4 for a Lap 28 yellow flag. Larson continued to lead Randall on the restart as Copeland made a high pass in Turn 4 to take third from Blake Carrick. Copeland went low in Turn 4 a lap later to take second from Randall. However, nobody was catching Larson as he brought it home to victory ahead of Copeland, Randall, Blake Carrick, Keith Day Jr, Cole Macedo, Chase Johnson, Justyn Cox, DJ Netto and Mitchel Moles.

There were 29 drivers on hand, and Larson set a track record of 10.289 in qualifying, beating the 10.427 of Timms and the 10.433 of Keith Day Jr. They ran four 10 lap heat races that transferred the Top 5 finishers into the show. Wins went to Larson, Ancona, Keith Day Jr and Randall. Austin McCarl won the 12 lap B Main. He led every lap for the win ahead of Reber, Hammes, Netto and Koen Shaw. Shaw was holding the fourth and final transfer position throughout the first half of the race before Netto made his move on Lap 7.

Kofoid Claims The Honors In USAC Midgets 

At Merced Speedway

Merced, CA...November 24...Michael "Buddy" Kofoid scored the victory in the 30 lap Nos Energy Drink USAC National Midget Main Event Wednesday night at Merced Speedway. Kofoid took the lead from championship rival Chris Windom and increased his point lead with the win aboard the Keith Kuntz-Curb-Agajanian Motorsports Mobile 1 TRD Toyota powered Stealth chassis.

Windom started on the outside front row and set the early pace ahead of Jade Avedisian and Carson Macedo. Mitchel Moles made a backstretch pass on Macedo for third on the Lap 2 with Kofoid quickly settling into fourth. Kofoid made a Turn 4 pass on Moles for third on Lap 4 and made a similar move on Avedisian to gain second on Lap 8. Brenham Crouch spun in Turn 4 for a yellow flag on Lap 13. Windom continued to lead Kofoid and Avedisian on the restart. A low pass in Turn 4 on Lap 15 gained Tanner Carrick third from Avedisian. Kofoid made a backstretch pass on Lap 17 to take the lead from Windom, and Carrick went low in Turn 4 on Lap 18 to grab second. It was a close, three-car battle for second, and Avedisian made a low pass in Turn 2 on Lap 24 to grab the position with Windom following closely into third. The red flag waved on Lap 26 after Carrick flipped in Turn 2. Kofoid led Avedisian and Windom on the restart but Windom made a high pass in Turn 2 on Lap 28 to regain second. After starting back in 17th, Tuesday night winner Justin Grant had worked his way up to fourth by then, and he followed Windom into third on Lap 28. Kofoid went on to victory ahead of Windom, Grant, Avedisian, Logan Seavey, Emerson Axsom, Bryant Wiedeman, Shane Golobic, Tanner Thorson and Ryan Timms.

There were 32 competitors on this occasion, and Kofoid set a new track record in Fatheadz Eyewear qualifying on the quarter-mile clay oval at 11.635, beating the 11.754 of Kyle Larson and the 11.760 of Seavey. The Top 4 drivers transferred from each of the four 10 lap heat races. Windom won the Simpson Race Products first heat, Carrick claimed the victory in the Competition Suspension second heat, the Indy Metal Finishing third heat win went to Thorson and Axsom got the glory in the Indy Race Parts fourth heat. 

Golobic got the win in the Elliott's Custom Trailers and Carts 12 lap Semi Main. Bryant Wiedeman took the early lead ahead of Larson and Golobic. However, Golobic was able to get past Larson and then made an outside pass on the frontstretch on Lap 7 to take the lead from Wiedeman. Golobic went on to victory from there with Wiedeman settling for second ahead of Larson, Taylor Reimer and Crouch. Jason McDougal made a last lap pass on Chase Johnson to get the sixth and final transfer position. 

By the end of the evening, Kofoid held a 2515-2468 lead over Windom as they head to Ventura Raceway for the finale. Grant was leading another close battle for third, 2317-2299 over Axsom. Keep up to date with the happenings of the sanctioning body at www.usacracing.com.

Kyle Larson picked up the win in the Winged 360 Sprint Car Main Event. Larson won the night before, making it a Thanksgiving week sweep at Merced aboard the Finley Farms/hendrickcars.com sponsored Paul Silva prepared Sprinter. He collected $4,000 for his winning effort.

DJ Netto raced into the early lead ahead of Chase Johnson and Larson. Mitchell Moles slipped past Larson for third on Lap 3. By the sixth lap, the leaders caught slower traffic, and Johnson made an inside pass on the frontstretch to take the lead from Netto. However, Moles spun off the track in Turn 4 for a yellow flag on Lap 7. Johnson picked the inside for the restart option and continued to lead Netto and Chase Randall when the green flag waved. However, Colby Copeland went low in Turn 3 on Lap 9 to take third from Randall. The yellow flag waved on Lap 10. As Johnson continued to lead the restart from the inside line, Larson made a big move from fourth that culminated with a low pass in Turn 3 moving him into second. Copeland followed into third, and Travis Reber spun in Turn 4 for a Lap 12 yellow flag. Johnson led Larson on the restart with Netto moving back into third. The red flag waved on Lap 15 after Jayson Bright flipped in Turn 4. Johnson led Larson and Netto on the restart, but a high pass in Turn 4 on Lap 17 put Larson into the lead. A Lap 17 yellow flag waved for an Eric Humphries spin in Turn 4. Larson led the restart with Netto making a low pass in Turn 4 to take second from Johnson. Copeland made an inside pass on the frontstretch on Lap 23 to take third before Steel Powell spun in Turn 4 for a yellow flag. Larson continued to lead Netto on the restart as Copeland began making a challenge for second. Copeland made an inside pass on the frontstretch on Lap 27 to grab that position, but contact with Netto as they exited Turn 2 a lap later saw Copeland spin. Larson led the final restart and the remaining circuits to score the victory. Tanner Carrick was third on the last restart and took second from Netto on the final lap. Cole Macedo ended up fourth, followed by Randall, Johnson, Blake Carrick, Joey Ancona, Justyn Cox and Austin McCarl.

24 drivers returned to do battle, meaning everybody would get to start the Main Event. Larson set the fast time. The 10 lap heat race wins went to Netto, Moles and Carrick. 

To keep up to date with the happenings at the track, go to www.mersedspeedway.net.

News And Rumors

It's time once again for us to dust off the column made famous by Don O'Keefe Jr. For those of you who don't know, the racer and co-founder of Wingless Spec Sprints created this column for his website some 20 years ago. I encouraged him to do that and featured his write-ups in the magazine. They proved to be quite popular with some readers and promoters. Don has authorized me to borrow his column when I feel the need, and now seems like a good time.

It amazes me how much longer racing season goes these days. Technically, point racing in California won't end until the West Coast Sport Compacts have their finale at Kern County Raceway this weekend. November had something happening somewhere in the state every weekend, and there's two events happening in California next week as Imperial Valley Raceway opens its gates as well. The off-season almost doesn't exist anymore.

If you are a USAC National Midget fan, the news is good. The California swing was a resounding success. We reported on how well the Hangtown 100 went at Placerville. They had a sellout crowd and some great racing on all three nights. Merced Speedway came into this deal when Ventura Raceway was unable to open last year. They gave the USAC racers some place to go, but this year they really made the case for why they need to continue to get races. Arguably, the best National Midget racing of the three tracks in November took place at Merced Speedway. The first race went 30 laps without a yellow flag.

It's a rare occasion to see those massive grandstands packed in Merced. The late Chuck Griffin used to give away free admission on 4th of July night, which didn't need to happen. People would pay to come see the racing and the fireworks that took place afterwards. It was just a nice gesture that Chuck and Marylee made for the community. In this case, Merced sold a premium ticket for National Midgets and Winged 360 Sprints and packed the grandstands on both nights. No, it was at a sellout, but the stands were pretty damn full.

I have respect for Doug Lockwood, who promotes Merced these days. He's been up and down the road and seen a few things. He's definitely more of an open wheel guy, but he's not forcing one way of racing on the Merced crowd. Merced has been a Stock Car track for decades, but there's always been chatter among some of the fans that they'd like to see more Sprint Car and open wheel stuff. Doug is the guy who is making it happen. If the weather lets it happen, the World of Outlaws are coming next March, and that will certainly pack the stands.

I like the humility of Doug at the end of the week. It was all about thanking the people who made it happen. He was honored to be able to host the George Steitz Memorial race to close the season. This show featured the three IMCA classes along with Hobby Stocks and Mini Late Models. 

George made his name racing Sportsman cars in the 1970s and won multiple championships at Merced. He raced Watsonville, where he also won a title and was put into their Hall of Fame. His special open shows at San Jose and Chowchilla were legendary. Though other places have honored George, this was the first time Merced was able to do it. The Steitz family endorsed it, and the purse money was pretty darn good.

On one hand, you want the season to be done so people can make repairs and prepare for the next season. On the other hand, 102 racers wanted to go and pay homage to George. Three of the divisions needed Semi Mains, and that was a trademark of the races that George promoted. It may not have had the crowd, but it certainly had the car count and the good racing. 

At times the numbers have been down at Merced this year, but when they have aimed high, they've had some pretty good success. I think the news here is Merced Speedway is alive and well, and any rumors of Lockwood walking away are just that. 2022 is sure to be a good season, and I can't wait to see what's in store. We already know that the Fifth Annual Al Miller Memorial $5,000 to win IMCA Sport Modified race will happen there again.

I heard people being very critical of Jim Naylor, the promoter at Ventura Raceway. He was announcing, and that rubbed people the wrong way. Admittedly, Jim's not the best announcer in the world. I've looked the other way, because I understand what he's done for that place. I think announcing is a way for him to host the show he's presenting to the fans. He is the guy who does the track prep, and he's always out there during intermission making repairs. He just promotes a good show, and he's done it since 1978.

Jim has brought everything he can to that little venue, and he even got the track national exposure as they were featured on ESPN Thursday Night Thunder in the 1980s. I don't know if there would be a Ventura Raceway if Jim hadn't come along and done what he did. They've certainly been challenged by neighbors who wanted to make it go away, but Jim's led the fight to keep it there. It's a place for families to go on any given Saturday night. They may have an earlier curfew to keep the neighbors happy, but the show goes on. I can overlook his announcing and appreciate what he does there.

I do understand the person who pays to watch a pay-per-view. Here's the thing. When you're watching any other sport on TV, you get professional quality announcers who let you know the things you need to know. You're relying on them to tell you things that you might not see, because the cameras aren't going to get everything. On the smaller level, some tracks might only have one camera or two if they're lucky. Therefore, an announcer who is more on the ball is really needed. This is a general statement, but I think it needs to be made.

Since tracks are getting into the pay-per-view business, they need to start asking themselves if the person announcing is the one they want presenting the show to the fans. If that job isn't handled properly, you'd be amazed at how many people won't put the money down to watch it. With a company like Flo Racing, you're giving them an annual fee that covers you for many different tracks. Over time, if you watch a lot of racing, you're really only paying $1 a race. With individual tracks, you might be paying $20 or $25 for each viewing. You better have a good presentation.

Flo Racing actually makes out pretty well. They have subscription fees coming in, but I'm sure they're making even more money with all of the commercials they are forcing everybody to watch. It used to be that when you paid for a pay-per-view, there was the expectation that you weren't going to have commercials shoved down your throat. 

 

They are also beholden to the announcers that the tracks have. For a few marquee events, Flo might send their guy. Sometimes, they just know the racing is going to be good, even if the announcing isn't so good. In those cases, they might want to look harder to see if they can get a pay-per-view announcer. They could always hook the microphone up outside the booth, and that person would be responsible for what the people hear on the internet.

To me, the takeaway here in the criticism of Naylor was the expectation that viewers at home have that the announcing will be professional. I make these observations not necessarily because of Jim, but in general. Some tracks don't realize how important it is to have a good announcer and instead put somebody up there who shouldn't be there. They may work cheap, and tracks tend to not want to pay the announcer or the publicity person that much money. It's amazing how little value they have in the people who are most responsible for conveying the things that make the fans want to pay to watch.

Antioch Speedway had 43 races this year. 43 races. They've never had a season with more races than that, and I think I'm missing a couple of other nights when they opened up the track for the fans. Back in the glory days that new Promoter Chad Chadwick is trying to emulate, when the NASCAR banner waved high, the track might run 24 or 26 total races. 22 of those would be for Regional points. I've already spoken about the weather patterns and how the changes have allowed tracks to open much longer than they used to for any given season.

I need to pay closer attention to exactly why the season has been stretched as long as it has. It's my understanding that the fairgrounds expects a minimum of 30 races, which in my opinioin is way too many. What a promoter needs to be doing anytime they open the gates is presenting the best possible program, because the objective is to get fans to come watch. If they don't like the divisions or don't feel they're getting enough cars for the show they're watching, they're not coming. The danger in running 43 races with several that don't deliver is that the track gets a reputation that you're better off saving your money than coming out to watch.

I don't say that to rip on the track. Chadwick gave a state of the race track update recently, which we'll probably comment on in a future DCRR News show. He seemed very humble in his comments and understood that the goals he has for the place aren't going to be as easy as waving a magic wand. There's going to be lots of work to be done. Times have changed, and it's not so easy as blaming the previous promoter. That previous promoter paid the bills for 22 years and kept things moving along. However, that promoter also made the seasons longer, whatever the reasoning.

From what I've observed, most drivers don't want to race more than a dozen or 14 races at their home track. There are a few hardcore racers who will run more, but not not enough to justify a season of 18 or 20 races for a division. Therefore, if you're running a 20 race season or so, even your core divisions are going to start getting tapped out if you go much further than 14 races for them. If you have a roster of 7 or 8 divisions and are willing to pay money to get a touring visit or two, you can fill out a 20 or 22 race season. You can do a better job of making each event you book something that the people don't want to miss.

I don't want to slag on what just happened at Antioch Speedway, but I do want to ask an honest question. What was the point of the November races? On Friday night, they didn't have much attendance. Because the promoter didn't promote well enough to attract the Winged 360 Sprint Cars, who aren't just going to go to Antioch because the date was booked, only five drivers showed up. Even with the new admission price of $20 to get into the grandstands, I can't see how they made out on that. They did a little bit better the following night in both crowd and car count, but I'm still not seeing the point here.

The news here, or at least my opinion, is that Antioch Speedway is the most overbooked track that I covered in 2021. There were simply too many races, and the program suffered for it. They did some big things that did okay, but even those weren't promoted as well as they should have been. Therefore, they didn't deliver the way they should have. Even tracks like Watsonville, Petaluma and Merced put a little bit more thought into how they book a season. You can do all the planning you want, but every track has duds. Booking 43 races in a season only increases the chances you'll have a dud. 

Chad will be at the Promoter's Meeting in Reno. This is the deal where the promoters gather to hear the latest trends in the sport. Obviously, racing is going through a challenging time with what's happening in the world. Therefore, they can discuss the latest developments, while figuring out the next course of action. The other opportunity that the gathering presents is for promoters within a certain radius of each other to be able to plan so that each track can have big races throughout the year. We call it track unity and cooperation. I know they'll try to be successful in that goal, but we'll see how it goes.

One of my criticisms of the addition of IMCA Sport Modifieds a little over a decade ago was the idea that it was a cut-off point where drivers no longer looked into getting a Modified. We've seen drivers make careers out of the Sport Modifieds and become dominant forces, all while not challenging themselves by going head to head with the Modified racers. I'm not calling anybody out here, but I'm a little disappointed in a few racers. Some of those Sport Modified teams are putting the kind of investment into what they are doing that would make them competitive in Modified races.

The news as I see it on the Antioch front is a little encouraging. Trevor Clymens and Brent Curran have moved up. Sure, Clymens could go for a fourth Antioch title and a second State crown, and he could even continue to battle for the all-time win total in Sport Modifieds. It looks to me like Trevor is challenging himself by moving up to the IMCA Modifieds. I think the chances of him getting a win in the class are pretty good, and he'll certainly make the effort. As for Curran, he's never been about points. He's always been about challenging himself, so it's not a surprise to see him in a Modified. It wouldn't surprise me to see him get a win sometime soon.

I was hoping to have some big news on the Vintage Racing front, but there's not much to report. Joe Kirk has taken over for Jim Helms as the head official for the Legends of Kearney Bowl. They have a certain way that they do things there that produces cars, and I don't think Joe is going to deviate from what works. This is good news for the fans who love those beautiful cars, and I count myself among them. What I'd truly like to see is a Vintage Classic event again, which always worked so well at Roseville. Actually, I'm hearing rumors about Roseville and it's future, but I need more information.

We could have news on The DCRR book front regarding Vintage Racing, but I want to make sure it's something we can deliver before making that announcement. The Northern California Hardtops had 16 different cars race this year. I'm talking Hardtops, not the Sportsman cars that supported them on occasion. While that's okay, I know that since 2015 there have been over 30 different Hardtops that have competed. Why can't we get a dozen to 15 Hardtops to show up for these races on a somewhat consistent basis? Leadership? Shoot, I just answered my own question. The good news is they should get dates next year.

If I had a mild criticism of Merced Speedway, it's in the area of certain traditional races and the Sportsman division. Were I down there, I think I could help with some of that. In any case, I do wish management would book the Sportsman division more than four times. Truthfully, the race for George Steitz last Friday should have welcomed the class, since they let the Mini Late Models be a part of it. George actually raced the Sportsman cars, and they wouldn't have been a drag on the program. I'm not exactly sure why management only gave them four races this year. I know they overbooked them the season before and suffered for it, but going from a dozen races to four was a bit extreme. Six or seven would be fine with me. 

The news is that the Sportsman division wouldn't even be here at all right now if Merced Speedway and former Promoter Chuck Griffin didn't get together with Luis Miranda and bring them back in 1999. It's become a nice little touch to the program through the years, and occasionally this class has even stolen the show. I know there are at least 16 cars, though a few of them are parked. I'd actually love to see a couple of new cars built to keep this going, but without management reaffirming their commitment, I don't know why somebody would build one. 

When you think about it, there's a way forward with the Merced Sportsman series that could involve Antioch. Merced has crowned champions every season since the Sportsman division was brought back, with the exception of 2015. That season, they kept points, but John decided to punish the drivers because he didn't like the car count. If Merced only wanted to book the guys 5 or 6 times and the guys wanted a couple more races, it wouldn't be too crazy an idea to schedule a couple of point races at Antioch. We've seen as many as a half-dozen Sportsman cars show up to Antioch to race with the Hardtops. The other thing is the more exposure the division gets at Antioch as its own entity, the more likely it could be that people might build cars for the class in Antioch.

I'm also wondering at what point a Vintage Stock Car class becomes viable. We're already doing it with Super Modifieds, Hardtops and the Sportsman class. When I say Vintage Stock Cars, I mean pre 1985 rule changes. Everything that competed from the 1970s into the early 1980s is fair game. Those cars definitely had a unique look, and people were winning with different makes and models. The only car I know of that is an existence from those days is the Ted Stofle car, but are any other cars sitting around parked? You might have a better chance of building replica cars to those vintage cars now, but it's going to become harder to find these cars in the coming years.

I want to start a rumor, or maybe it's just an endorsement. Dan Myrick would make a great candidate to promote a race track. Honestly, if you're reading this particular post, you can thank Dan and his group, because I'd have unplugged already if I wasn't curious who was going to win the $3,000 on Saturday and who will be the champion. Dan promotes the hell out of the West Coast Sport Compacts, brings in sponsorship money and has promoted certain races in order for them to even happen. If you watched him win at Madera earlier this year,  you saw the passion and love he has for racing. That might be reason enough for him not to take on a full promoter's role. He still wants to race.

I still look at two options and can't help but think Dan would be the guy. The first one is where he formed his group, Lemoore Raceway. Obviously, they want to focus on Micro Sprints. It's a 1/5 mile, and it's tight. You're only going to book so many divisions. I'd like to see what he could do with a half a dozen to eight Saturday nights that featured Mini Stocks, but that would be incumbent upon getting groups like the Dwarf Cars, Focus Midgets, Mini Sprints and Mini Late Models to come support. Would booking races on a Saturday night be enough to make it happen? 

I bring up Porterville, because there are several drivers supporting the Mini Stock effort who call that their hometown. Rocky Hill Speedway has been around for many years, but it's struggles over the last 25 years are pretty well known. It needs a steady, guiding hand to get the gates opened again, but I think Dan is a guy who can bring it all together. I still think it could start with Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks and Super 4's, among other special additions, and build from there.

The takeaway here is that I haven't heard anything concrete on either front. We are about due to hear of somebody stepping up\ and  thinking they can they can reopen Rocky Hill Speedway. Who that might be, I can only speculate. Dan has done more for the cause of Hornet/Mini Stock racing than anybody I can think of. He's shown that even with an entry-level car that a budget racer can afford, you can put a quality race on the track and entertain the fans. Some promoters already know that the WCSC is worthy of a spot on their schedule.

News out of Hayfork doesn't sound super encouraging, but they are keeping things going. Wendy Smith announced not that long ago that she was the interim president of the organization that promotes the track and that they didn't have a vice president. This was a new development as Josh Smith had been overseeing things. I have many thoughts about Mountain Valley Raceway, but expressing them would take up more space than I care to do here. I'll see if I can boil it down.

I understand that financial resources are not in abundance in Hayfork, you don't have a big fan base to draw upon and you don't have a ton of cars. I know there are at least a dozen Mini Stocks as well as Hobby Stocks in various stages of repair, although you didn't see too many of those cars this year. They put more emphasis on the admittedly entertaining Enduro race, which ends the show. They had a championship, won by Rich Stewart. While I like that they crowned a champion, I'm very disappointed in the fact that they didn't attempt to do the same for the Mini Stock and Hobby Stock classes.

They don't have a lot of money to promote this place, and it's not like the people in the area have a bunch of experience in how to run a race track. They don't have money to pay people to fill the necessary positions, which means more stress on the volunteers who do come out to help. I think they need to focus on whatever it takes to get cars, rather than a bunch of special promotions. One fan appreciation night might be warranted, but you need the money that comes in through the gates to pay the bills and strengthen the program. People don't want to pay to watch if they don't have enough of a show to watch, so the objective should be to figure out how to get the parked cars back out there and how to start getting new drivers.

I could go on and on about things that need to be done. They have core races that have meaning, such as the Clyde Cordell Memorial, Bigfoot Trophy Night and the 4th of July fireworks show. When they do get money sponsored for a purse, they shouldn't put it all on the top. If the guys aren't getting paid much as it is, the locals would appreciate getting a little bit of money thrown back at them. At least do what you can to pay the Top 10, even if it's $10 for 10th. Even a little thing like that shows you're making an effort and gets the drivers appreciation.

I don't know where the nearest trophy place is. Trophies aren't cheap, especially when you don't have money to begin with. However, the bare minimum they should be doing is having plaques for the top point earners and doing a point race. Even if it's just the Top 5 in points getting awarded and you hand them out at the end of the final race, it's definitely something the racers appreciate. Get appreciative racers and you get people who want to come out and race. Scoring those races seems to be an issue right now, and that's the final point I'll make here.

You can train people to do certain jobs, provided you know how to train them to do the job properly. Scoring can be challenging as they don't have electronic scoring and can't afford a system. This means line scoring. The good news and bad news is that Hayfork doesn't get enough cars for scoring to be that difficult. Even if you're only paying somebody a burger and a Coke to score, do it. If you can get somebody who can show up every race, they'll get better with practice, and when you get more cars, they'll be able to handle it better than somebody just being thrown in there. Better yet, get two people so that you know the scoring is solid.

Just having people out there who understand what they need to do in their various positions and can do that job is a start. If you can find a couple of people who are able to go above and beyond to fill in the blanks, bring them in. When you can afford to pay people to do these jobs, even if it's just $10 for the night, do it. If you have a well-run show by a crew who knows what they're doing and enough of a car count to give the people something fun to watch, you'll see the numbers go up. More fans and more cars. When that happens, other opportunities pop up that will make your show better and bring in new people who can do the jobs needed to keep it running smoothly.

That's just the thing that people don't understand. Running a race track isn't easy. There are so many things that you need to do, and people sometimes go into this not knowing just how much work it is. In the case of Hayfork, you're dealing with a community that didn't have racing prior to 2012. They've been learning as they go. The problem is that only the original managerial team had an idea where they wanted to take the thing. Everybody that's followed has just been trying to maintain what was there without much vision towards the future. I'm glad there are still people wanting to keep the gates open, because I think they are running out of those. I'm concerned that it can't go on much longer before it's over in Hayfork.

Banquet season is upon us, and a few places have already held theirs. More are coming. Southern Oregon Speedway was having there post season party this weekend, and Merced's will be coming up in January. This is the time when the tracks celebrate their accomplishments of the previous season and honor those who helped put on the show. It's also an opportunity for the promoter to give a state of the race track address. Basically, it's a way to market your program and keep people supporting you.

Back in the day, it used to be the Top 20 drivers got trophies, but there are a few things to consider. Car count was much stronger in individual divisions, and we didn't run as many divisions back then. It wasn't as much of a challenge for a driver to commit to a 24 race schedule and only miss a race due to emergency. I remember at Antioch Speedway when we had more than 20 drivers going for those Top 20 spots, so it meant something to collect the 20th place trophy at the banquet. There are more divisions now, and generally fewer cars in each division compared to the counts we had in fewer divisions back then.

Top 10 seems to be the standard, but I was surprised that Merced Speedway was only doing the Top 5 for their core classes with the exception of just the Top 3 for the Sportsman division. I thought they'd go with the Top 10. In the case of Merced, I don't worry about this being something that negatively affects morale. The people are definitely on board with that track, and it's got something to do with the fact that they promote some big races. Most of the divisions benefit from that. My impression is the drivers are excited about racing next year and beyond, and I'd expect that Lockwood will have some interesting announcements by the time the banquet comes around.

I feel as if Southern Oregon Speedway missed an opportunity with their banquet. I'm sure there was a push to bring this back to one of the banquet rooms at the local motel and to do it in December, because that's the way they've been used to seeing things. However, it's my understanding that the current situation has limited them to 120 people, and that might have affected why they were only honoring the Top 3 drivers in their core classes. I was greatly disappointed to hear that they only went with the Top 3. At the very least, they could have honored the Top 5 like Merced. When we took Southern Oregon Speedway over in 2016, there was plenty of excuse to cut back on trophies, but we honored the Top 10.

I have heard morale is low in Medford, and just having a few more trophies going out would have helped with that. Waiting a little bit longer to do the banquet, when you might have a place that would allow more capacity and might have more to tell the racers would have been a positive. I don't think the banquet here will be used to the fullest of it's potential, but at least they'll honor the drivers who made it to the podium. That's something.

My takeaway is they can't blame lack of time or anything else on the 2022 season. They can hit the ground running and really put their best foot forward. I don't think 2021 was a banner year for the track, but at least they had a season to build on. I'm curious how things will go for them as they move forward. I'm hearing that the divisions that were a part of the show last year will continue to be featured this year. I've heard rumors of added classes, but that's just what they are, rumors. I'll wait for official announcements on that.

While we might have a criticism of the two banquets, at least those are taking place. Tracks that struggle have an excuse for not having a banquet. They can say they don't have the funds to do it, or something along those lines. Southern Oregon Speedway didn't do particularly well, but at least they're doing something. I haven't seen an announcement from Siskiyou Golden Speedway, but I'm assuming that will be handled once they know that the contract has been awarded to keep things going next year and beyond. However, it's come to my attention that a track that should know better isn't having a banquet. 

I suppose it might be possible that Promoter Dennis Gage will make an announcement and do something early next year, but I've heard nothing. Dennis has been promoting both Chico and Marysville in recent years, but he just sold his interest in Chico to the team of Brad Sweet, Kyle Larson and Colby Copeland. Chico hasn't had a championship season in two years, so nobody's worried about a banquet there, but Marysville certainly had a nice year this year. There is quite a bit to celebrate.

The Hobby Stocks were producing strong numbers, the Sprint Cars showed their headline status with a very strong turnout, the IMCA Sport Modifieds remained in double digits and so did the Winged Crate Sprints. The Limited Late Models did respectably. I can't imagine why Dennis wouldn't want to gather these drivers for a banquet to celebrate what happened and keep up the good faith. I'm seeing complaints from people who supported the track, and there is even discussion that some of these drivers won't support Marysville because their accomplishments of this year aren't being honored.

I guess I'll repeat myself here with what I take from this news. Banquets serve several purposes at a race track. You are celebrating the accomplishments of the previous season. You are showing your appreciation for the people who supported the track to make it all possible. You're also using this banquet as a platform to give the racers a state of the race track address, a glimpse of what's planned for the next year and a reason to feel invested in being a part of everything. It's unfathomable to me that a promoter of the stature of Dennis would not think a banquet was necessary. I just don't understand it.

If it's a case of Dennis just not wanting to handle all of the details, why couldn't he hand it off to somebody else? Let them work out all the details, give them a budget to work with and let the racers have their celebration. If it's a case of him just not wanting to put in the effort, I don't want to be a dick here, but it must be said. Perhaps it's time for Dennis to just move on and let somebody who cares run the track. My hope is that this is all on oversight and there will be an announcement regarding the banquet soon.

When I think about Watsonville's Speedway, which is called Ocean Speedway these days, I think about Stock Car racing. This was the place to be for the top Bay Area Late Model racers for several years. They had a Friday night Late Model program that rivaled anywhere else you might go in California, because the Watsonville drivers always had competition from guys from San Jose, Merced, Antioch and elsewhere. If you won at Watsonville, you did well. I think Watsonville took the loss of the Late Model division in 1994 harder than Antioch did, and I will always maintain that it didn't have to be that way.

Stock Cars survived into the 1990s as the Street Stocks, and Hobby Stocks were added midway through the decade. Things were still going okay as the Street Stocks evolved and became faster. In fact, there was a time in the early 2000s when the track had Late Models, Street Stocks and Hobby Stocks. It only took the management change to the current regime and some poorly made decisions. Soon, the track lost the Late Models and the Super Stocks, and it wasn't that long ago that the Hobby Stocks were even considered to be on the chopping block. Fortunately, they survived.

You'll still hear grumpiness from Watsonville fans over the fact that the track has become a Sprint Car haven. I will never completely disagree with management on adding the class, but I do take issue with the way they handled the Stock Car portion of things. It's unacceptable to me that a Super Stock/Limited Late Model division is not a regular part of the roster, especially considering there's probably a base of a dozen or more people who would support that track even to this day. The thing about the current management is you're not likely to see them stretch their neck out for anything, but if people come in there and do the handy work for them, they'll take it.

This brings news that I'm going to be cryptic about. It's not a rumor. Something's happening, but I'm going to let the entities involved make the announcement. There will be some Stock Cars racing at Watsonville at some point this year, and I think the show the fans are in for will be good. I'm anxious to see if any of the cars that are parked in the area, and I know there are a few, might be dug out of mothballs to go racing again. I'm sure that the race that will be coming will spark a lot of conversation, but whether management decides to use it to revive a division in the future is only speculation. I do believe there will be Stock Car racing of some kind added to the lineup they already have, but I'll leave it at that.

Evan Sanders, who promotes the Chowchilla Barnburner Series, posted a memory on social media. He'd taken a picture of Chowchilla Speedway on this day four years ago. They'd ripped the race track out. Racing pretty much died a few weeks into 2016 because management at that point didn't really understand how to book that track. After Tom Sagmiller was back-doored out of the place, different promoters took shots. Kenny Shepherd had to choose between there and Madera and obviously chose the pavement track, which is doing better than it was when he got it. Both tracks were floundering, so Kenny had to make the call.

After that, the track had four different promoters in about a five-year spin. The track had been closed for a while when local racer Jack Stanford got it. It was considered somewhat of a miracle that he was able to do anything. The problem with revolving door promoters is you don't establish continuity. They had a few good moments there, but nothing sustained. When I left Chowchilla with then Promoter John Soares on his final night there, he remarked that the place would only work with entry-level stuff due to the low attendance and lack of funds to really pay people.

The problem was the promoter in 2016 booked divisions that the track couldn't afford to have, and there were questions about payout. I think at a certain point the Fair Board in Chowchilla looked at the situation and decided they needed to wash their hands of it. Their experience with Sagmiller by the end of his run wasn't encouraging to them, and I don't think they had particularly good experiences after that either. However, they were willing to keep giving it a go if somebody was willing to try. I don't believe it was neighbors complaining or any of that sort of thing that ultimately ended the track. 

Anytime you get a situation like that where they're not doing anything with the property and have a grandstand to work with, you always wonder if something could come back there again. My concern with the way Tom was doing things was I felt like even though we were having a good run in the beginning, some of it was sleight of hand and smoke and mirrors. People saw good numbers, but it was more because we were able to get visitors than because we had a core group of drivers who were committed to this track. The core was very small, but the different visitors that came every week made it look bigger than it was. Fans supported that, and the involvement of George Steitz at certain times helped tremendously.

My takeaway here is that the track is probably dead for the foreseeable future, but never is a long time. With the track being ripped out, I think somebody could take a shot at building a smaller and racier track than the one that Tom put in there. That's not necessarily a shot at Tom, but sometimes I felt like the track wasn't super safe, even if we did have good races. In a town like Chowchilla, you're limited on the classes you can build from the ground up, and you can't just assume drivers are going to come from out of town to support you.

The night John made that comment to me, we had 10 Hobby Stocks, six Mini Stocks and four Dwarf Cars. That's hardly anything to write home about. There may have been 150 or so people in the stands. If you're going to keep playing to an audience like that, those are the divisions you're going to have to book to make it viable to risk the money. I announced nights that had the IMCA Sport Modifieds, and the crowd wasn't necessarily much better then either. At that point, John was burnt out on traveling and wanted to unload Chowchilla and Merced, which he did.

I don't see anybody with experience in promoting wanting to revive Chowchilla Speedway, even if the board would entertain offers at this point. It would be somebody who either raced a little bit and wanted to promote or a fan with the same desire. The problem now is you're spending quite a bit of money to put everything back in there, so you're not going to hear much talk about bringing Chowchilla Speedway back again. There are plenty of race tracks to go to, including nearby Madera or Merced. It was fun while it lasted.

This last bit of news before we sign off will dispel any rumors about the future of The DCRR. Truthfully, I don't want to be writing anything about the current racing product right now, and I'm sort of stuck in that mode. Therefore, I don't even want to talk about the future. We're not covering things regularly on the blog next year, though we will be posting something at some point. I've been working on the new video format for the show, but I haven't been working on the things I wanted to get into.

The takeaway here is that the blog will enter its 15th year of existence 2022. The DCRR has been around as a brand since 1988. I want to do some printed media stuff, which is why books are going to get some attention now. I'm even considering some specialty eBooks for people to enjoy. They would only cost a couple of bucks, and it would be a way to tip us, while getting content you can view at your leisure. I'm considering that and may act on it. We'll be posting special articles on the blog with the hope that they will get more views from people who might be searching those specific topics.

Just so you hear it from the source in case you're hearing rumors, I'm not currently in negotiations with anybody in regards to racing next year and beyond. Anything that we've hinted at previously this year has stalled out or isn't happening. I'm hearing interesting rumors where my name is coming up, but I've grown tired and frustrated with all of that noise. I've been left disappointed and heartbroken too many times since coming back through those gates in 2015. Talk is cheap. I'll listen to legitimate offers designed to help the cause and make sure that I am properly compensated. Otherwise, I'm done. I'm okay with that as there are some cool history racing history projects waiting for me.

I'm not sure if I did Justice to the News and Rumors column, but I did try. At this point, we get to the fun part of the column. We're going to talk about news and rumors. It's up to you to decide what the news is and what's merely a rumor.

 

The IMCA Stock Cars will be added to at least one California venue in 2022.

Mountain Valley Raceway in Hayfork intends to run a New Year's Eve Enduro if the weather allows it.

If a competent proposal is submitted to promote Siskiyou Speedway, a new promoter has a good chance of getting the next contract.

California IMCA Speedweek will return in 2022.

 

IMCA Wild West Speedweek will return to Southern Oregon Speedway and Coos Bay Speedway in 2022.

A Northern California dirt track is considering adding Figure 8 racing to their 2022 schedule.

The North State Modified Series will finally make an appearance at a Furia Motorsports promoted track in 2022.

The Fairgrounds in Grass Valley is interested in bringing racing back on a bigger scale again if they get the right proposal.

BCRA is considering a rules package similar to Focus Midgets as a way to combat dwindling car counts with their Midget program.

A Northern California track is exploring the possibility of having a big Wingless Spec Sprint race in 2022.

Despite interest among the racers, management at Orland Raceway will not explore the possibility of having some IMCA sanctioned Sport Modified races in 2022.

A prominent promoter who has opened up a new dirt track in the last 25 years is actively seeking another track.

The Salem Indoors race track could be reopened by new management, but the window of keeping racing there is closing fast.

There is interest in a Crate Late Model series in California, but it will only happen if Placerville promoter Scott Russell endorses it.

 

The Gordon Russell Sr Memorial Pro Stock race at Cedarville Speedway will not be back in 2022. 

The Tri State Pro Stock Series will welcome new tracks into the schedule in 2022.

 

Merced Speedway Unofficial Race Results November 26
George Steitz Memorial
IMCA Modifieds
Main Event
Ethan Dotson
Bobby Hogge IV
D.J. Shannon
Paul Stone
Troy Foulger
Ricky Childress Jr
Cody Burke
Buddy Sheppard
Kaylin Lopez
Steve Pemberton
Andrew Pearce
Chris Shannon
Ryan Porter
Josh Combs
Mike Shepherd
Fred Lind
Danny Malfatti
Jim Pettit II
Jim Weiler
Ryan McDaniel

B Main
D.J. Shannon
Steve Pemberton
Danny Malfatti
Mike Shepherd
Jeff Faulkner
Steve Noland
Justin Yaeger
Chris Birdsong
Jeff Olschowka
Danny Roe
Chase Aue
Kyle Bryan
Justin Gonzalez DNS
Raymond Keldsen Jr DNS

IMCA Sport Modifieds
Fred Ryland
Andrew Peckham
Garrett Jernagan
John Piker
Dylan Potter
Andrew Pearce
Jonathan Hagio
Billy Simkins
Jacob Mallet Jr
Gavin Espino
Riley Jeppesen
Scott Foster
Emali VanHoff
Mark Squadrito
Kodie Dean
Gary Hildebrand
Tony Peffer
Jeremy Hoff
Markus Frazier
Joe Salvi DNS

B Main
Jeremy Hoff
Riley Jeppesen
Scott Foster
Andrew Pearce
Jon McKinley
Monty Tomlinson
Richard Ragsdale
Frank Cefaliello Jr
Dutch Jantz
Jason Pugh

Hobby Stocks
Main Event
Syd Finn
Domossie Scoggins
Logan Clay
Johnny Wood
Chad Ragsdale
Les Friend
John Tevis
Derek Ogden
Clayton Travels
Stephen Johason
Rich Altamirano
George Silva
Dustin Donathan
Farren Steitz
Kyle Wood
Darren Thomas
Kevin Irwin
Race Shelton
Brock Crawford
Timmy Crews
Breck Smith DNS

B Main
John Tevis
George Silva
Race Shelton
Clayton Travels
Kristie Shearer
Anglea Brown
Joy Weaver
Kalob Shelton
Farren Steitz
Stephen Torres
Alex Jones
Dakota Keldsen

Mini Late Models
Tyler Tucker
Matt Malcolm
Liam Richardson
Carson Guthrie
Ryder Jeppesen
Connor Crews
DJ Saenz
Brayden Morton DNS
Mason Morton DNS

IMCA Stock Car
Ethan Dotson
Bobby Hogge IV
Fred Ryland
Chuck Weir
Troy Foulger
Cody Brown
Paul Stone
Michael Shearer
Steve Streeter
Terry Decarlo Jr
Cody Johnson


Antioch Speedway Unofficial Race Results November 26
Wingless Sprint
D.J. Johnson
Shawn Arriaga
Jimmy Christian
Josh Young
Tony Bernard
Josh Gillis
Rick Brophy
Bob Newberry
Chris Geilfuss
Ricky Brophy
Steve Maionchi DNS
Dylan Newberry DNS

Jay's Mobile Welding Service Hobby Stocks
Brad Coelho
Misty Welborn
Bobby Motts Jr
Michaela Taylor
Larry McKinzie Jr
Grayson Baca
Jon Haney
Vigna Anthony
Jewell Crandall
Jake Archibald
Danny Aves
Judy Arth
Jeremy Langenderfer
Jimmy Robbins
Kamren Robles
Jess Paladino
Natalie Perry
Gavin Griffiths

Mini Stocks
Tom Brown
TONY QUINONEZ
Sophie Shelley
Austin Lodin
Mike Lodin
Eddie Humphrey III
Patrick Kelley
Cody Bolles
Laina Bales

Winged 360 Sprint
Daniel Whitley
Mike Monahan
Ryan Lippincott
Wyatt VanLare
Steel Powell DNS


Ventura Raceway Unofficial Race Results November 27
80th Annual Turkey Night Grand Prix
Nos Energy Drink USAC National Midgets
Main Event
Logan Seavey
Buddy Kofoid
Mitchel Moles
Kyle Larson
Kaylee Bryson
Justin Grant
Ryan Bernal
Taylor Reimer
Tanner Thorson
Zeb Wise
Bryant Wiedeman
Chase Randall
Maria Cofer
Kevin Thomas Jr
Chance Crum
Colby Copeland
Chris Windom
Carson Macedo
Cannon McIntosh
Tanner Carrick
Chase Johnson
Chase Elliott
Jade Avedisian
Ryan Timms
Brenham Crouch
Cory Eliason
Emerson Axsom
Thomas Meseraull

Semi Main
Zeb Wise
Chase Johnson
Colby Copeland
Chase Randall
Matt Mitchell
Robby Josett
Kaleb Montgomery
Max Adams
Chase Elliott
Caden Sarale
Hayden Reinbold
Ryan Padgett
Terry Nichols
Tyler Dolacki
Brody Fuson
Ben Worth
Dylan Ito

USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Cars
Main Event
Results are not official
1     #21B AJ Bender    
2     #57 Ryan Bernal
3     #21 Carson Macedo
4     #11 Troy Rutherford
5     #9 Chase Randall
6     #8M Chase Johnson
7     #73 Max Adams
8     #87P Jacob Tuttle
9     #8o Brody Roa
10     #39 Kyle Edwards
11     #99T Tanner Boul
12     #15 Rick Hendrix
13     #5J James Herrera
14     #45 Joey Bishop
15     #21K Cory Eliason    
16     #15T Tristan Guardino    
17     #43 Bradley Terrell
18     #3F Ricky Lewis
19     #73x Kaleb Montgomery
20     #4 Jake Hodges
21     #32 TJ Smith
22     #29T Ryan Timmons
23     #3 Nick Robfogel
24     #12 Jarrett Soares

Semi Main
Results are not official
1     #8M Chase Johnson    
2     #39 Kyle Edwards
3     #43 Bradley Terrell
4     #73x Kaleb Montgomery
5     #12 Jarrett Soares
6     #99T Tanner Boul
7     #8o Brody Roa
8     #87P Jacob Tuttle
9     #29T Ryan Timmons
10     #4 Jake Hodges
11     #15 Rick Hendrix
12     #73 Max Adams
13     #45 Joey Bishop
14     #5J James Herrera
15     #22 Gage Cheek        
16     #0K Nate Robinson
17     #29 Camie Bell
18     #38 Colby Johnson


Antioch Speedway Unofficial Race Results November 27
IMCA Modified
Troy Foulger
Raymond Lindeman
Brent Curran
Aaron Crowell
Bobby Motts
John Pierce
Trevor Clymens
Josh Combs
Terry Decarlo Jr
Jim Weiler
Frank Furtado
Cody Burke
Andrew Pearce
Kyle Bryan
Terry Decarlo Sr
William Lage
Kenneth Robles
Jeff Faulkner

IMCA Sport Modifieds

A Main
Jacob Mallet Jr
Fred Ryland
Todd Gomez
Matt Micheli
Tyler Browne
Scott Foster
Jim DiGiovanni
Tommy Clymens Jr
Dylan Connelly
Haley Gomez
Kevin Brown
Jimmy Ford
Kenny Shrader
Matt Pitts
Jonathan Hagio
Billy Robertson
Adriane Frost
Andrew Pearce
Joe Salvi
Theo Vandesande

B Main
Matt Micheli
Jonathan Hagio
Kevin Brown
Theo Vandesande
Joseph Pato
Justin Parr
T.J. Etchinson III
Nicolas Zapatero
Justin Ryker
Chris Sieweke

Jay's Mobile Welding Service Hobby Stocks
Brad Coelho
Misty Welborn
Jared Baugh
Bobby Motts
Jimmy Robbins
Ken Johns
Vigna Anthony
Angela Brown
Jewell Crandall
Michaela Taylor
Judy Arth
Danny Aves
Donny Babb
Adam Kujala
Michael Mates
David Allen
Grayson Baca
John Keith
Jess Paladin
Jake Archibald

IMCA Stock Car
Troy Foulger
Fred Ryland
Kellen Chadwick
Dan Gonderman
Jason Jennings
Jason Robles
Dave Hill
Brian Pearce


Merced Speedway Unofficial Race Results November 24
USAC Energy Drink USAC National Midgets
Main Event
Buddy Kofoid
Chris Windom
Justin Grant
Jade Avedisian
Logan Seavey
Emerson Axsom
Bryant Wiedeman
Shane Golobic
Tanner Thorson
Ryan Timms
Taylor Reimer
Kevin Thomas Jr
Maria Cofer
Chance Crum
Jake Andreotti
Cannon McIntosh
Mitchel Moles
Kaylee Bryson
Brenham Crouch
Carson Macedo
Thomas Meseraull
Tanner Carrick
Jason McDougal
Kyle Larson

Semi Main
Shane Golobic
Bryant Wiedeman
Kyle Larson
Taylor Reimer
Brenham Crouch
Jason McDougal
Chase Johnson
Kevin Thomas Jr
Ryan Bernal
Chase Randall
Chance Crum
Hayden Reinbold
Chase Elliott
Kyle Beilman
Santino Ferrucci

Winged 360 Sprint Cars
Kyle Larson
Tanner Carrick
D.J. Netto
Cole Macedo
Chase Randall
Chase Johnson
Blake Carrick
Joey Ancona
Mitchel Moles
Justyn Cox
Austin McCarl
Chase Elliott
John Michael Bunch
Daniel Whitley
Ryan Lippincott
Evan Burrola
Colby Copeland
Steel Powell
Ryan Timms
Eric Humphries
Keith Day Jr
Jayson Bright
Travis Reber
Dawson Hammes


Merced Speedway Unofficial Race Results November 23
USAC Energy Drink USAC National Midgets
Main Event
Justin Grant
Tanner Thorson
Buddy Kofoid
Emerson Axsom
Cannon McIntosh
Shane Golobic
Mitchel Moles
Logan Seavey
Carson Macedo
Jason McDougal
Chris Windom
Zeb Wise
Tanner Carrick
Thomas Meseraull
Ryan Bernal
Kaylee Bryson
Kevin Thomas Jr
Ryan Timms
Jade Avedisian
Maria Cofer
Chase Johnson
Brenham Crouch
Bryant Wiedeman
Hayden Reinbold

Semi Main
Carson Macedo
Logan Seavey
Thomas Meseraull
Brenham Crouch
Zeb Wise
Jade Avedisian
Jake Andreotti
Kyle Larson
Taylor Reimer
Chance Crum
Chase Elliott
Hayden Reinbold
Bryant Wiedeman
Kyle Beilman
Santino Ferrucci
Chase Randall

Winged 360 Sprint Cars
A Main
Kyle Larson
Colby Copeland
Chance Russell
Blake Carrick
Keith Day Jr
Cole Macedo
Chase Johnson
Justyn Cox
DJ Netto
Mitchel Moles
Austin McCarl
Kaleb Montgomery
Joey Ancona
John Michael Bunch
Jayson Bright
Tucker Worth
Daniel Whitley
Chase Elliott
Steel Powell
Dawson Hammes
Ryan Timms
Travis Reiber
Tanner Carrick
Jodie Robinson

B Main
Austin McCarl
Travis Reber
Dawson Hammes
D.J. Netto
Koen Shaw
Evan Burrola
Ryan Lippincott
Steve Jaquith