Antioch Speedway, Madera Speedway, Merced Speedway, Petaluma Speedway, Lakeport Speedway, More

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Jones, Velasquez, Johns, Oreta Score Antioch Speedway Wins

Antioch, CA...April 24...Shawn Jones won the 30 lap Wingless Spec Sprint Main Event Saturday night at Antioch Speedway. Jones took the lead from Shawn Arriaga and proceeded to pull away to the impressive win. Jones picked up the Hunt Wingless Sprint Series win at Petaluma a week earlier. The win on this occasion paid $1,000.

Arriaga and Jones shared the front row for the feature race, and past Antioch and Petaluma Winged Sprint Car champion Arriaga bolted into the lead at the green flag ahead of Jones and Nathan Schank. A yellow flag waved on the third lap. Jones took the lead from Arriaga on the restart as Schank continued to run third. They had another yellow flag on the fifth lap, but the Top 3 remained the same on the restart. Boy Moniz settled into fourth at that point. Schank had problems on Lap 13 as Bob Newberry and Moniz were in third and fourth at the yellow flag. That was the final slowdown of the race, and Jones bolted ahead on the restart. As Jones pulled away from Arriaga, Moniz and Newberry duked it out for third. Newberry grabbed the position on Lap 26, but the tenacious Moniz grabbed the position a lap later. Jones held over a straightaway advantage on Arriaga at the checkered flag. Moniz finished third, followed by Newberry, Ryon Siverling, Marcus Hardina, Roy Fisher, Tony Bernard, Heath Holdsclaw and James East.

There were 16 competitors, and Arriaga toured the quarter-mile clay oval with the fast lap of 13.622, beating the 13.657 of Jones. Arriaga, Jones and Moniz won the eight lap heat races.

Tommy Velasquez III won the 20 lap Delta Dwarf Car Main Event. This made it a two-win weekend for the Camarillo long tow, who picked up the win a night earlier in Watsonville. Velasquez had the pole next to two-time Antioch champion Danny Wagner. Velasquez led a lap before a yellow flag slowed the pace. Wagner and Sean Catucci motored past Velasquez on the restart, and a yellow flag again slowed things down on Lap 6. Velasquez returned the favor by grabbing the lead from Wagner on this restart. From there, Velasquez built a huge lead over Wagner in victory. Catucci settled for third, followed by point leader Kevin Miraglio, Toby Brown, Devan Kammermann, Dennis Gilcrease, Brandon Shaw, reigning champion Travis Day and Scott Dahlgren. The 20 Dwarf Cars ran four eight lap heat races with Day, Catucci, Wagner and Velasquez getting the wins.

Ken Johns won his second-straight 30 lap Hobby Stock Main Event. Young Aiden Ponciano started on the outside front row and jumped into the lead as Johns worked his way from the third row into second. DJ Keldsen settled into third. For much of the race, third-generation racer Ponciano did an impressive job of holding off Johns for the lead. However, Johns made a late maneuver and took the lead that he would bring to the checkered flag. Ponciano settled for a career best second. James Thomson finished third, followed by Kenneth Robles, Misty Welborn, Jared Baugh, Charlie Bryant, Anthony Vigna, Jeff Bentancourt and Jake Bentancourt. 

There were 24 Hobby Stocks, and the Top 4 finishers in each eight lap heat race made it into the show. Wins in those races went to Baugh, Thomson, Robles and Johns.  Jake Bentancourt won the 14 lap B Main. Bentancourt and Gavin Griffiths battled it out early on and swapped the lead. By Lap 6, Bentancourt had the lead for good and won ahead of Griffiths, Grayson Baca, Michaela Taylor and Emilie Bryant.

Kimo Oreta won the 15 lap Super Stock Main Event. The two-time champion motored into the lead early on ahead of point leader Jim Freethy. When Chad Hammer retired from his season debut on Lap 8, Joey Ridgeway settled into third. Oreta went on to the $500 win ahead of Freethy, Ridgeway, Hammer and Jason Robles. Oreta won the eight lap heat race. 

Racing returns this Saturday with the Wingless Spec Sprints back in action along with the Hobby Stocks, Super Stocks and Mini Stocks. Antioch Speedway hosts the fifth round of the California IMCA Speedweek Series on May 5th, featuring IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds and Hobby Stocks. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.

Herzog, Smith Win MavTV Series Races At Madera Speedway

Madera, CA...April 24...Austin Herzog won the 80 lap Nut Up Pro Late Main Event Saturday night at Madera Speedway. The current point leader was content to run second throughout the first segment of the race. However, it didn't take too long once the second segment got going for Herzog to take the lead. He went on to score the victory and become the third different winner in as many MavTV Series races.

A strong turnout of 24 Pro Late Models showed up for the race. Jadan Walbridge was the quickest qualifier on the 1/3 mile paved oval with a lap of 14.787, beating the 14.839 of rookie Bradley Erickson. Kyle Keller turned a 14.870, Matt Erickson had a 14.871 and Austin Herzog was fifth quick at 14.883. 

From his front row starting position, Seth Wise jumped into the early lead ahead of Bradley Erickson. However, a yellow flag waved after just one lap. Wise chose the outside on the restart, and Austin Herzog followed him into second. A lap later, Jason Aguirre made the outside pass on the front stretch to grab third. Separate spins for Adam Lemke and Glenn Cook brought out a Lap 6 yellow flag. Wise continued to lead Herzog on the restart as Bradley Erickson regained third. Unfortunately, Bradley Erickson saw his race come to an early and on Lap 17 as Aguirre moved back into third ahead of Colby Potts and Dylan Zampa. Jay Juleson spun in Turn 4 for a Lap 28 yellow flag. Wise continued to lead Austin Herzog and Potts on the restart. They ran that way until a Lap 42 yellow flag waved for a Zampa spin in Turn 3. Wise led Austin Herzog on the restart as Eric Nascimento moved into third ahead of Aguirre and Potts. Potts took fourth from Aguirre on Lap 46, and the lap 50 break found Wise leading Austin Herzog, Potts, Nascimento and Aguirre.

After the break, Wise led Austin Herzog and Nascimento on the restart. However, Herzog was providing plenty of pressure and would make a Lap 55 pass to take the lead from Wise. A Turn 1 spin by Howard Holden on Lap 60 brought out a yellow flag. Austin Herzog stayed with the outside and continued to lead Wise on the restart as Potts followed Herzog on the outside into third. An outside pass on the frontstretch on Lap 62 put Potts into third as Matt Ericson joined the battle in fourth. Matt Erickson moved into third on Lap 64 and used a high pass in Turn 4 on Lap 66 to claim second. The battle at the front of the pack between Herzog and Erickson was close. Erickson made a last ditch attempt to get around Herzog. However, Austin Herzog prevailed at the checkered flag. Matt Erickson settled for second, followed by Wise, Nascimento, Potts, Walbridge, Racin Vernon, Tyler Herzog, Keller and Shelden Cooper.

Jacob Smith won the 70 lap 51fifty Energy Drink Jr Late Models Main Event. This was the second win of the season for the Eagle, Idaho competitor. Smith served notice to the competition when he set the fast time of 15.030, beating the 15.072 of Ethan Nascimento. Kercie Jung was third quick at 15.082, beating the 15.132 of Kenna Mitchell and the 15.136 of incoming point leader Barrett Polhemus.

Smith had the pole position for the race and charged into the lead at the start ahead of Jung and Mitchell. An inside pass on the backstretch gained Brody Moore third with Polhemus following closely into fourth. Smith had an amazing start and held a straight away advantage over Jung by the 10th lap. Holly Clark settled into fifth by the seventh lap. Polhemus made a backstretch pass on Moore to take third on Lap 18. Contrary to the previous two events, this race had no yellow flags in the first 40 lap segment. Smith led, Jung, Polhemus, Moore and Clark at the break.

Smith resumed command on the restart ahead of Jung as Moore moved back into third. Kasey Kleyn spun for the first yellow flag on Lap 42. Smith continued to lead the way as Moore used the inside on the restart to take second from Jung. Lane Anderson brought out a yellow flag with his spin on the backstretch on Lap 50. Smith continued to lead Moore and Jung on the restart. The final yellow flag waved on Lap 53 for a tangle between Ethan Nascimento and Brody Armtrout on the backstretch. Smith continued to lead Moore on the restart as Polhemus briefly got past Jung. Jung made a low pass in Turn 4 on Lap 56 to reclaim third. Kleyn spun on the frontstretch on Lap 64, but he kept going without need of a yellow flag. Smith pulled away over the remaining laps and won by a comfortable margin. Moore settled for second, followed by Jung, Polhemus, Clark, Jeffrey Erickson, Kale McClenny, Nascimento, Robbie Kennealy and Kleyn.

Josh Gross won the 35 lap Legends of the Pacific Main Event. Cody Winchell had the pole for the race and set the early pace ahead of Christian Bazen and Brenden Ruzbarsky. A yellow flag waved on Lap 7 for separate spins for Mike Shapiro and Michael Stearns. Winchell continued to lead Bazen and Ruzbarsky on the restart. Bazen and Ruzbarsky ran side by side for a few laps in their close battle, and a red flag waved on Lap 13 for an incident that saw Michael Stearns roll on the back straightaway. Winchell led Bazen and Ruzbarsky on the restart, and a yellow flag waved for a big crash on the front straightaway. Aidan Phillips, Eddie Garone, Jason Elf and Keith Clement were all eliminated in the accident that saw the red flag fly so that the track could be cleaned up. 

On the restart, Bazen moved past Winchell for the lead as Gross settled into third. There were time limit concerns when the final yellow flag waved on Lap 18. However, there would be no more slowdowns. Winchell regained the lead on the restart as Gross followed him into second. A lap later, Gross put the moves on Winchell to take the lead. Bazen moved back into second on Lap 25 and ran closely behind Gross in the closing laps. Winchell made this a three-car battle. Despite the heavy pressure, Gross prevailed at the checkered flag ahead of Bazen, Winchell, Josh Ayers, Kevin Travels, Jim Weiler, Ruzbarsky, Foryst Souza, Ethan Nascimento and Clayton Travels.

The Legends of the Pacific had a stellar turnout of 27 competitors. Ruzbarsky was the fast qualifier at 16.219, beating the 16.243 of Gross and the 16.261 of Bazen. Eight lap heat race wins went to Souza, Peter Soto, Nascimento and Winchell. Soto won the 15 lap B Main. Mikala Stearns led Michael Stearns and Soto early in the race. Soto took second from Michael Stearns on the third lap and slipped past Mikala Stearns for the lead a lap later. Michael Stearns gained second on Lap 13. At the checkered flag, Soto prevailed ahead of Michael Stearns, Mikala Stearns, Clayton Travels and Justin Johnson.

Logan Chambers won his third 30 lap Bandolero/Mini Cup Main Event. Joey Kennealy charged into the lead at the start ahead of Chambers and Konnor Karsten. Cam Caraway spun in Turn 2 for a Lap 4 yellow flag. Kellen Keller spun in Turn 4 on the restart lap but kept going as Kennealy continued to lead Chambers and Stephen Bazen. Caraway spun in Turn 2 for a Lap 11 yellow flag. Again, Kennealy motored ahead on the restart, followed by Chambers and Bazen. Caraway got past Bazen for third on Lap 14. Kenneally suffered mechanical issues on Lap 19 and headed for the infield. This put Chambers into the lead ahead of Caraway and the Mini Cup car of Sam Wedehase. Chambers held a straightaway advantage over Caraway at the checkered flag. Wedehase topped the Mini Cup field in third, followed by Caden Cordova, Bazen, the Mini Cup of Keller, Ethan Nascimento, Kennealy and Karsten. Kennealy was the quickest Bandolero at 17.503, while Wedehase was the quickest Mini Cup at 18.046. The eight lap heat race wins went to Kennealy and Chambers.

For further information on the next race and other happenings at the track, go to www.racemadera.com.

Golobic Wins Sprint Car Challenge Tour Race 

At Petaluma Speedway

Petaluma, CA...April 24...Shane Golobic won the 35 Sprint Car Main Event Saturday night at Petaluma Speedway. This was the second round of the Elk Grove Ford Sprint Car Challenge Tour, Presented by Abreu Vineyards. Golobic's win came aboard the Matt Wood owned Elk Grove Ford/NOS Energy Drink sponsored Sprinter.

Past Petaluma champion Geoff Ensign won the six lap Trophy Dash ahead of Golobic to put the duo on the front row for the feature race. Golobic charged into the lead at the drop of the green flag ahead of Ensign and Colby Copeland. Justyn Cox settled into third on Lap 8, and a Lap 9 yellow flag flew for a tangle between Max Mittry and Michael Ing. Both drivers were eliminated, and Golobic continued to lead Ensign and Cox on the restart. Ensign saw his good run end for a Lap 15 yellow flag. Golobic led Cox and Sean Becker on the restart. Seventh row starter Andy Forsberg had settled into fifth behind Copeland, and the final yellow flag waved on Lap 17 as Becker's run in third ended. Golobic led Cox and Forsberg on the restart. Forsberg slipped past Cox for second on Lap 28. By then, Golobic held a straightaway advantage. Golobic brought it home to the impressive win ahead of Forsberg. Ryan Bernal made a late move to finish third as Cox settled for fourth ahead of Copeland, Blake Carrick, Ryan Robinson, Jodie Robinson, Kaleb Montgomery and Justin Henry.

The 26 car field qualified in their heat race groups, and Becker set the fast time in the fourth group with a lap of 13.184 on the 3/8 mile adobe oval. Golobic was in the second group and had second quick time of 13.288. The eight lap heat race wins went to Ensign, Cox, Friday night Cottage Grove winner Jodie Robinson and Ing. They ran a 15 lap B Main, and Tanner Carrick led all the way to win ahead of Bradley Terrell, Jason Toft, Dylan Bloomfield and Willie Croft.

Joey Lingron won the 20 lap Redwood Dwarf Car Main Event. NorCal racer Corey Eaton raced into the early lead ahead of Shiloh Borland and reigning champion Chad Matthias. Matthias surrendered third to Jimmy Damron on Lap 3. A Lap 3 yellow flag waved. On the restart, Eaton continued to lead Borland and Damron, but a yellow flag waved one lap later. Eaton continued to lead Borland and Mark Hanson on the restart. Lingron was running in fourth by Lap 8. Hanson and Lingron shuffled Borland out of the Top 3. Lingron took second from Hanson on Lap 13. On Lap 15, Lingron put the moves on Eaton to grab the lead. Lingron pulled away from there to score the satisfying win. Eaton settled for second, and Matthias made a late move into third. Borland settled for fourth, followed by Gage Meyers, Damron, Scooter Gomes, Kylee Johnson, Hanson and Danny Marsh. The eight lap heat race wins went to Borland, Damron, Matthias and Eaton.

Roberta Broze won her second-straight 20 lap Mini Stock Main Event.  Broze shared the front row with Joe Silveria, and they settled into the first and second positions at the start. Reigning champion Tom Brown brought out a Lap 2 yellow flag and lost laps in the pits as Broze led Silveria and Jake Barretta on the restart. Broze began to pull away from Silveria as Barretta and JB Hagemann had a fierce duel for third. Barretta was running third when his race ended on the 10th lap. Sophie Shelley brought out a Lap 12 yellow flag. As Broze continued to lead the restart, Hagemann briefly gained second, only to lose the spot back to Silveria a lap later. Broze went on to win with Silveria not too far behind in second. Hagemann settled for third ahead of Brown, Shelley and Barretta. The eight lap heat race win went to Broze.

Racing returns on Thursday, May 8th with the sixth round of the California IMCA Speedweek Series, featuring the IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds and Super Stocks. For further information, go to www.petaluma-speedway.com.

Tour, Furia, Arreguin Win Lakeport Speedway Season Opener

Lakeport, CA...April 24...Charlie Tour won the 30 lap Bombers Main Event Saturday night as Lakeport Speedway opened their 2021 season under the management of Furia Motorsports. Tour grabbed the lead late after the misfortune of Loren Powers Jr. Tour is the 2020 Ukiah Speedway champion.

Tour started back in the fifth row. Powers moved his way rapidly through the field and had to lead by the fifth lap ahead of Forrest Kuecker and Tour. Tour slipped past Kuecker for second on Lap 8, and Drew Smith gained third on the 10th lap. Powers and Tour were having a fierce contest at the front of the pack. After completing the 28th lap, Powers had problems as a yellow flag waved. Tour suddenly found himself in the lead, and he led the final two circuits to win with Drew Smith finishing second ahead of Kuecker, Wade Coleman, Shelby Helm, Raymond Taylor Jr, Powers, Casey Horat, David Jones and Audrey Portlock. Powers set the fast time on the quarter-mile paved oval at 13.743, beating the 13.761 of Tour. Tour and Kuecker won the ten lap heat races, and Kuecker was the four lap Trophy Dash winner.

Sierra Furia won the 30 lap Limited Modified Main Event. Richard Knight started on the outside front row and bolted into the early lead ahead of Furia and Robert Schmidt. Loren Powers Jr slipped past Schmidt for third on Lap 5. By the tenth lap, Knight and Furia had pulled away in a good battle for the lead. TJ Buzzard was up to fourth and took third on Lap 15. The battle got intense at the front of the pack for the next few laps with Furia finally putting the moves on Knight to grab the lead on Lap 19. Furia pulled away to nearly a straightaway advantage over Knight by the time the checkered flag flew. Buzzard was a solid third, followed by Schmidt, Roy Ingalls Jr, Brandon Powers, Bo Robertson and Loren Powers Jr. Furia set the fast time of 12.829, beating the 12.839 of Schmidt. Knight won the 10 lap heat race, and Ingalls was the four lap Trophy Dash winner.

Donovan Arreguin won the 30 lap Jammers Main Event. They run the Pro and the Jr divisions together, and TJ Sorrels led the Jr class as the second overall finisher. Sorrels was the Jr Jammer champion at Ukiah last season.

Charlie Sanchez had a front row start and moved into the early lead ahead of Dave Rogers and Isaiah Rojas. Arreguin quickly moved into second on the second lap with Rojas following into third. A yellow flag waved on the fifth lap, ending the race for Sanchez. Arreguin had the lead on the restart ahead of Rojas and Sorrels. Arreguin rapidly pulled away from the pack, leaving the battle for second. Sorrels took second from Rojas on the 15th lap, but she was nearly a lap behind Arreguin by then. Arreguin cruised to victory ahead of Sorrels, the Jr Jammer of Rojas, Jeff French, Dave Rogers and Sanchez. Theresa French was a Main Event scratch. Arreguin set the fast time in qualifying at 14.661. Rogers won the four lap Trophy Dash and Danny Helm Sr was the 10 lap heat race winner. Unfortunately, Helm had mechanical issues in the process and was a Main Event scratch.

Travis Powers won the 15 lap Bandoleros Main Event. Powers started on the pole and moved into the immediate lead ahead of Jordan Ray and Kai Lovell. Courtney Portlock retired on the fifth lap. That brought out a yellow flag, and Lovell took second from Ray on the restart as Powers continued to lead. Powers won by a straightaway ahead of Lovell as Ray and Portlock completed the order. Ray won the 10 lap heat race and had the fast time of 16.355, beating the 16.365 of Lovell.

The Jalopies are a new attraction at Lakeport. They've been running an infield track at Ukiah in recent years, and a similar track was constructed for them here. They had five drivers for their first race. Robert Portlock won the 10 lap Main Event ahead of Tia Everett, Chris Hunt and Sorna Li. Hunt won the 10 lap heat race ahead of reigning Ukiah champion Jack Schlief, who was a Main Event scratch.

Racing returns on May 29th with a program consisting of Limited Modifieds, Bombers, Jammers, Pro 4 Modifieds, Legend Cars and Bandoleros. For further information, go to www.lakeportspeedway.com.

Sears, Trimble, Baldwin, Lakin 

Win Tilford Memorial Races At Placerville

Placerville, CA...April 24...Jay Sears won the 25 lap Tri State Pro Stock Challenge Series Main Event Saturday night at Placerville Speedway. The occasion was the annual Don Tilford Tribute race, and it was also the first ever appearance at Placerville for the Tri State Pro Stock Challenge Series, presented by Jay's Mobile Welding Service. The win paid $1,000 to Sears, who who hails from Reno, Nevada.

Chris Smith started in the second row inside and raced into the early and lead ahead of Antonio Aragon. Walter Ball gained second on Lap 2 before a yellow flag waved. Chris Smith led Sears and Ball on the restart, but a yellow flag flew a lap later with Ryan Smith joining Brent Lawrence and Donny Richardson on the sidelines at that point. Chris Smith led Sears on the restart as Jesse Gonzalez briefly took over third. Ball was back in third on lap 7, and a Lap 8 yellow flag slowed the pace. Smith led Sears and Ball on the restart, and the battle got interesting at the front. On the 13th lap, Sears slipped past Ryan Smith to take the lead, but John Garretson Jr brought out a yellow flag moments later. As Sears continued to lead the restart, Ball moved the Lyle Hopper car around Ryan Smith for second. Recent Petaluma and Antioch winner Richard Brace Jr settled into fourth, and the final yellow flag slowed the pace on Lap 20 as Gonzalez saw his race come to an end. Sears continued to lead the restart with Ball in close pursuit, and that's the way they would finish. Brace moved into third on the restart and finished there as Chris Smith settled for fourth, followed by Matt Kile, Matt Micheli, Aragon, John Evans, Gonzalez and Garretson.  They ran three eight lap heat races with the wins going to Gonzalez, Micheli and Brace.

Ray Trimble won the 25 lap Limited Late Model Main Event. This was the second-straight win for Trimble, who is the reigning division champion. Jay Norton started on the pole and raced into the early lead ahead of Dan Jinkerson. Jinkerson slipped past Norton for first on Lap 2 as Matt Davis was an early third. Third row starter Trimble gained third on the fourth lap. Jinkerson and Norton ran closely at the front of the pack, and a yellow flag flew on Lap 7 for Brady Simpson. Jinkerson continued to lead Norton and Trimble on the restart. The battle for the lead got a little too close as Jinkerson and Norton tangled for a Lap 12 yellow flag. Norton and Davis were out of the race at that point, and Trimble led Tyler Lightfoot and Kiely Ricardo on the restart. Jinkerson quickly worked his way back to the front of the pack, taking third from Ricardo on Lap 18. Jinkerson pressured Lightfoot for second. As Trimble sped to the victory, Jinkerson made a last lap pass to steal second from Lightfoot. Dan Brown Jr finished fourth, followed by Ricardo, Tom Tilford, Paul Guglielmoni, Norton, Davis and Simpson.

The 12 Limited Late Models got a rare qualifying opportunity on the quarter-mile clay oval. Jinkerson had the quick time of 13.142, barely beating the 13.187 of Wayne Trimble. Davis and Jinkerson won their respective eight lap races.

Nick Baldwin won the 20 lap Pure Stock Main Event. This was the second win of the season for the two-time reigning champion. Baldwin had the pole for the feature, but outside front row starter Dan Jinkerson motored into the early lead ahead of Baldwin and Matt Tilford. Dan Jinkerson and Baldwin had pulled away from the pack in a fierce battle for the lead. Baldwin took the lead from Jinkerson on Lap 10, moments before a yellow flag waved. Baldwin continued to lead Jinkerson on the restart, but a yellow flag waved a lap later as Jinkerson saw his race come to an end. Baldwin led Matt Tilford and Jason Palmer on the restart. Palmer surrendered third to Marysville star Zach Lindgren on the 14th lap, and a Lap 16 yellow flag signaled the end of the race for Toby Merrifield. Baldwin led Tilford and Lindgren on the restart. The final yellow flag of the race flew on Lap 21 as Tilford saw his impressive run in second come to an end. Baldwin didn't let that phase him. He bolted into the lead on the restart and pulled away to a nearly straightaway advantage over Lindgren by the time the race ended. Kevin Jinkerson finished third, followed by Palmer, Keith Ross, Stephanie Hanson, Jonathan Walsh, Chris D'Angelo, Shannon Collins and Tilford.

The special race attracted 18 Pure Stocks, and Baldwin set the quick time of 15.175, beating the 15.231 of Dan Jinkerson. Tilford, Baldwin and Dan Jinkerson won the eight lap heat races.

Wyatt Lakin won his third-straight Mini Truck Main Event. Hoping to end Lakin's domination, Mike Miller set the early pace ahead of Thomas Jenson and Lakin. The lead three trucks ran closely at the front of the pack. Lakin gained second from Jenson on Lap 10, and a yellow flag waved moments later. Mike Miller led the restart lap before being overtaken by Lakin. Jenson moved back into second on Lap 13 as Lakin began to build a big advantage. Austin Struthers and Mike Miller shuffled Jenson out of the Top 3 on Lap 18. Lakin won by a straightaway ahead of Struthers, Mike Miller, Howard Miller, Jenson and Page Miller. Lakin also won the eight lap heat race.

 

Joel Hannagan won the 10 lap California Hardtop Main Event. Hannagan started on the front row aboard the Junkyard Dog, owned by Doug Braudrick. He bolted into the lead at the start ahead of Matt Taylor and Gary Hildebrand, who was driving the former Mike Henault Merced Speedway Sportsman championship car. The race for second got a little bit too close, and Tom Grady surrendered a couple of positions early on. Hannagan began to build a good advantage over the rest of the pack, but the battle for second remained close. Hannagan lapped fifth place Joe Shenefield on the seventh lap and closed in behind the second place battle before taking the checkered flag. Taylor held off Hildebrand for the second place finish as Grady settled for fourth ahead of Shenefield and Jeff West. Jason Clifford scored a runaway victory in the six lap heat race with Hannagan making a late move around Taylor for second. However, Jason Clifford, Ken Clifford and Mike Friesen were Main Event scratches.

Racing returns on Friday, May 7th with the seventh round of the California IMCA Modified Speedweek Series, featuring IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Sport Modifieds. A night later, the Thompson's Auto Group Winged 360 Sprint Cars are back In action along with the Pure Stocks, Mini Trucks and BCRA Lightning Sprints. For further information, go to www.placervillespeedway.com.

Turnbull Wins Wayne Albright Memorial At Merced Speedway 

Merced, CA...April 24...James Turnbull won the 25 lap BCRA Lightning Sprint Main Event. This was the annual Wayne Albright Memorial race, remembering the long time BCRA supporter. The California Lightning Sprints joined the BCRA Lightning Sprints to make a big field of competitors for the occasion. 

Turnbull had the pole and raced into the early lead ahead of Taylor Ballou and Dave Gasper. The first yellow flag flew on Lap 7. Turnbull continued to lead Ballou and Gasper on the restart. A Lap 9 restart gave California Lightning Sprint star Bobby Michnowicz the opportunity to move into third behind Turnbull and Gasper. The lead trio pulled away in their battle out front, and the final yellow flag waved on Lap 19. Turnbull again charged into the lead on the final restart. Michnowicz took second from Gasper on Lap 23. Despite pressure from Michnowicz, Turnbull would prevail at the checkered flag. Gasper settled for third, followed by Dakota Albright, Aidan Lange, Seth Hespe, Jeff Dyer, Eric Greco jr, Chase Gaal and Brandon Leedy.

There were 26 Lightning Sprints for this occasion, and Aidan Lange turned the quarter-mile clay oval at 14.234 to set the fast time. Michnowicz was second quick at 14.246, beating the 14.291 of Joseph Ferolito. The eight lap heat race wins went to Albright, Ballou and Hunter Kinney. The ten lap B Main win went to Joseph Ferolito ahead of Greco, Terry Bergstrom, Steve Roza and Craig Holsted

Ryan DeLisle won the 25 lap Van De Pol IMCA Western RaceSaver 305 Sprint Car Main Event. DeLisle is the current State point leader. Two-time Merced champion Gordon Rodgers and Brooklyn Holland shared the front row with Holland racing into the early lead ahead of Rodgers and Michael Pombo. A yellow flag waved on the third lap. Holland led Pombo and Rodgers on the restart with DeLisle gaining third on a Lap 5 restart. Holland was leading when the yellow flag waved on Lap 11. She continued to lead Pombo and DeLisle on the ensuing restart, but the battle was intensifying. On the 14th lap, Pombo went motoring past Holland to claim the lead. DeLisle put the moves on Holland to take second on Lap 15 and grabbed the lead from Pombo two laps later. Kyle Rasmussen moved into third on Lap 18 before the final yellow flag waved. DeLisle kept his cool and charged back ahead on the restart. Despite some pressure from Michael Pombo in the closing laps, DeLisle scored the satisfying win. Rasmussen settled for third, followed by Holland, Phil Heynen, Davey Pombo Jr, Rodgers, Sean Quinn, Tyler Gray and Lane Taylor.

Rasmussen was the quickest of 12 qualifiers with a lap of 11.852, beating the 11.954 of DeLisle. Taylor and Holland were the eight lap heat race winners.

Brody Fuson won the time limit shortened 15 lap BCRA Midget Main Event. The race was marred by a series of early crashes, including a wicked flip that sent David Raquenio to the hospital.  Various mishaps resulted in early exits for Kyle Beilman, Jake Andreotti, Colby Johnson, reigning BCRA champion Robert Carson and CJ Sarna. Eventually, two-time Dixon Speedway Micro Sprint champion Kyle Mentch found himself up front. When racing got underway, it was a battle between Terry Nichols, David Prickett and Fuson. Nichols led a Lap 5 restart ahead of Prickett and Cameron Beard. Fuson moved into third on a Lap 6 restart. The drivers knew time would be a factor when a Lap 10 yellow flag waved. Nichols led Prickett and Fuson on the restart, but Fuson took second from Prickett on Lap 13. On the 15th lap, Fuson went motoring past Nichols for the lead and Prickett followed him into second. The time limit ended the race at that point. Nichols settled for third, followed by Beard, Gary Dunn, Mentch, Maria Cofer, Raquenio, CJ Sarna and Carson. Fuson was the quickest of 14 qualifiers with a lap of 13.304, beating the 13.328 of Cofer. Cofer and Nichols won the eight lap heat races.

Tim Elias won the 20 lap Hobby Stock Main Event. Elias had the pole alongside Race Shelton, and they bolted into the first and second positions at the start. Logan Clay moved into second on Lap 4 before a yellow flag waved. Elias led Clay and Shelton on the restart, but another yellow flag flew a lap later. On this restart, Elias led Shelton and point leader Syd Finn, but Finn surrendered third to Porterville's Karl Noland on Lap 9. The Top 3 remained the same through two yellow flags in the last five laps. Elias was the happy winner ahead of Shelton, Noland, Allen Neal, previous winner Domossie Scoggins, Derek Ogden, Gary Hanson, Kristie Shearer, Clay and Xavier Baez. Shelton and Elias won the eight lap heat races.

Racing returns on Monday, May 3rd with the fourth round of the California IMCA Speedweek Series, featuring the IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds and IMCA Stock Cars. For further information, go to www.mercedspeedway.net.

Dotson, West, Johnson, Brown Win At Bakersfield Speedway

Bakersfield, CA...April 24...Ethen Dotson won the 25 lap IMCA Modified Main Event Saturday night at Bakersfield Speedway. Dotson is the current point leader, and this was his second win of the season.

Dotson started back in the sixth row for the feature race, and polesitter Jim Pettit II took the early lead ahead of Rob Sanders and Brad Pounds. Cody Laney gained third on Lap 3 and took second from Sanders on the fifth lap. Dotson passed Laney for second on Lap 6 and motored past Pettit for the lead on the eighth lap. Laney took second from Pettit on Lap 11, and Pettit surrendered third to reigning champion Jerry Flippo on Lap 15. Dotson pulled away from the rest of the pack and beat Laney by a straightaway at the checkered flag. Flippo was a solid third, followed by Petit, Austin Kiefer, Ryan Daves, Sanders, Robby Sawyer, Ricky Childress Jr and Gavyn Manning. The 17 competitors ran three eight lap heat races with Laney, Sanders and Dotson getting those wins.

Daniel West won the 25 lap IMCA Sport Modified Main Event. West started in the second row and was an early third behind Brian Baker and Dylan Potter. Potter took the lead from Baker on the second lap, but he surrendered the position back to Baker a lap later. Tyler Bannister gained second on the eighth lap, but West charged past him for the position on Lap 10. West grabbed the lead from Baker on the 11th lap, and Tyler Bannister settled into second on Lap 14 before a yellow flag waved. Baker continued to lead Tyler Bannister and Jason Nation on the restart. Despite serious pressure from Tyler Bannister in the waning laps, West kept his cool and prevailed at the checkered flag. Jason Bannister took third from Nation on the final lap. Nation settled for fourth, followed by Baker, Billy Simkins, Levi Kiefer, Michael Black, Matthew Mayo and Trevor Clymens. There were 18 cars, and the eight lap heat race wins went to Nation, Spainhoward and Tyler Blankenship.

Nick Johnson won the 20 lap IMCA Stock Car Main Event. He becomes the third different winner in three races. Nick Johnson started on the pole and proceeded to lead all 20 laps for the win. State point leader Renn Bane ran second for a lap before Steven Johnson went motoring by for the position. Nick Johnson and Steven Johnson ran closely for the 1-2 finish. Ethen Dotson settled into third on Lap 2 and would finish there, followed by Justin Schweitzer, Austin Van Hoff, Wayne Dotson, Bane and Max Mascarenas. Steven Johnson and Wayne Dotson were the eight lap heat races winners.

Dakota Brown won the 20 lap American Stock Main Event. Brown became the first two-time winner of the season in the process. Brown started in the fourth row and battled all the way to the front of the pack. Third row starter Kody Sly finished second. Point leader Josh Yadon charged from the fifth row to finish third, followed by Mark McCaslin, Antony Sly, Colby Ward, Mason Conway, Steve Johnson, Matt Crawford and Matt McKee. Yadon and Brown were the eight lap heat race winners. 

Rich Souza won the 20 lap Kern County Hardtop Main Event. Souza also won the eight lap paint race. Souza moved around outside front row starter Tyler Weeks to get the lead and went on to victory. Weeks settled for second ahead of previous winner Jason Denman, Ali Dyess and Tom Sommerfeld.

Racing returns this Friday night for the opening round of the California IMCA Speedweek Series, featuring IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds and IMCA Stock Cars. For further information, go to www.bakersfieldspeedway.com.

 

Antioch Speedway Unofficial Race Results April 24
Delta Dwarf Cars
Tommy Velasquez III
Danny Wagner
Sean Catucci
Kevin Miraglio
Toby Brown
Devan Kammermann
Dennis Gilcrease
Brandon Shaw
Travis Day
Scott Dahlgren
David Rosa
Chance Russell
Ellie Russo
Tom VanTuyl
Dan Zuger
Jace Badeker
Joe Leduc
David Michael Rosa
Charlie Correia
Chuck Conover

Hobby Stocks
A Main
Ken Johns
Aiden Ponciano
James Thomson
DJ Keldsen
Kenneth Robles
Misty Welborn
Jared Baugh
Charlie Bryant
Vigna Anthony
Jeff Bentancourt
Jake Bentancourt
Angela Brown
Michaela Taylor
Gene Haney
Larry McKinzie Jr
James Graessle
Logan Fernandez
Gavin Griffiths
Jewell Crandall
Adam Kujala
Grayson Baca

B Main
Jake Bentancourt
Gavin Griffiths
Grayson Baca
Michaela Taylor
Emilie Bryant
Jewell Crandall
Jess Paladino
Colton Haney

Super Stock
Kimo Oreta
Jim Freethy
Joey Ridgway
Jason Robles
Chad Hammer

Wingless Sprint
Shawn Jones
Shawn Arriaga
Boy Moniz
Bob Newberry
Ryon Siverling
Marcus Hardina
Roy Fisher
Tony Bernard
Heath Holdsclaw
James East
Steve Maionchi
Jeff Scotto
Dylan Newberry
Nathan Schank
Eathon Lanfri
Kevin Box
    

Merced Speedway Unofficial Race Results April 24
Hobby Stocks
Tim Elias
Race Shelton
Karl Noland
Allen Neal
Domossie Scoggins
Derek Ogden
Gary Hanson
Kristie Shearer
Logan Clay
Xavier Baez
Syd Finn
Joy Weaver
Tim Ragsdale
Brandon Pickford

IMCA Western RaceSaver 305 Sprints
Ryan Delisle
Michael Pombo
Kyle Rasmussen
Brooklyn Holland
Phil Heynen
Davey Pombo Jr
Gordon Rodgers
Sean Quinn
Tyler Gray
Lane Taylor
Bryson Berna
Brendan Warmerdam

BCRA Midgets
Brody Fuson
David Prickett
Terry Nichols
Cameron Beard
Gary Dunn
Kyle Mentch
Maria Cofer
David Raquenio
C.J. Sarna
Robert Carson
Colby Johnson
Jake Andreotti
Kyle Beilman

 

BCRA Midget Lites
A Main
James Turnbull
Bobby Michnowicz
David Gasper
Dakota Albright
Aiden Lange
Seth Hespe
Jeff Dyer
Eric Greco Jr
Chase Gaal
Brandon Leedy
Dominic Del Monte
Greg Dennett
Hunter Kinney
Terry Bergstrom
Josef Ferolito
Trevor Ballou
Steve Roza
Cody Nigh
Danika Parker
Harlee Aguilera

B Main
Josef Ferolito
Eric Greco Jr
Terry Bergstrom
Steve Roza
Craig Holsted
Tyler Gerdes
Mark Henry
Kaleb Ferolito DNS


Placerville Speedway Unofficial Race Results April 24
Don Tilford Tribute
Limited Late Models
Ray Trimble
Dan Jinkerson
Tyler Lightfoot
Dan Brown Jr
Kiely Ricardo
Tom Tilford
Paul Gugliomoni
Jay Norton
Matt Davis
Brady Simpson

Pure Stocks
Nick Baldwin
Zach Lindgren
Kevin Jinkerson
Jason Palmer
Keith Ross
Stephanie Hanson
Jonathan Walsh
Chris D'angelo
Shannon Collins
Matt Tilford
Toby Merrifield
Michael Murphy
Russell Murphy
Samantha Schultz
Dan Jinkerson
Aaron Taylor

Tri State Pro Stocks
Jay Sears
Walter Ball
Richard Brace Jr
Chris Smith
Matt Kile
Matt Micheli
Antonio Aragon
John Evans
Jesse Gonzalez
John Garretson Jr
Bill Hall
Kevin Jinkerson
Ryan Smith
Ryan Cherezian
Brent Lawrence
Donny Richardson

Mini Trucks
Wyatt Lakin
Austin Struthers
Mike Miller
Howard Miller
Thomas Jensen
Page Miller

 

California Hardtops

Joel Hannagan

Matt Taylor

Gary Hildebrand

Tom Grady

Joe Shenefield

Jeff West

Jason Clifford DNS

Ken Clifford DNS

Mike Friesen DNS

Petaluma Speedway Unofficial Race Results April 24
Sprint Car Challenge Tour 360 Sprint Cars
Shane Golobic
Andy Forsberg
Ryan Bernal
Justyn Cox
Colby Copeland
Blake Carrick
Ryan Robinson
Jodie Robinson
Kaleb Montgomery
Justin Henry
Tanner Carrick
Tristan Guardino
John Clark
Chase Majdic
Isaiah Vasquez
Dylan Bloomfield
Jason Toft
Sean Becker
Geoff Ensign
Kalib Henry
Max Mittry
Michael Ing
Bradley Terrell
Kyle Offill

B Main
Tanner Carrick
Bradley Terrell
Jason Toft
Dylan Bloomfield
Willie Croft

Redwood Dwarf Cars
Joey Lingron
Corey Eaton
Chad Matthias
Shiloh Borland
gage meyers
Jimmy Damron
John Gomes
Kylee Johnson
Mark Hanson
Danny Marsh
Sam Borland
Michael Williams
Shawn McCoy
Michael Affonso
John Peters
m steger
Randy Miramontez
Adam Freitas
Alysa Gallegos
Mike Dahle
Chevelle Borja
Zach Whitacre
Carroll Mendenhall DNS

Mini Stock
Roberta Broze
Joe Silveria
JB Hagemann
Tom Brown
Sophie Shelley
Jake Barretta


Madera Speedway Unofficial Race Results April 24
Nut Up Pro Late Models
Austin Herzog
Matt Erickson
Seth Wise
Eric Nascimento
Colby Potts
Jadan Walbridge
Racin Vernon
tyler herzog
Kyle Keller
Shelden Cooper
Jason Aguirre
Dylan Zampa
Rick Thompson
Jason Gilbert
Kabe McClenny
Glen Cook
Brian Collins
Takuya Okada
Peter Soto
Carl Pearce
Howard Holden
Bradley Erickson
Jay Juleso
Adam Lemke

51FIFTY Jr Late Models
Jacob Smith
Brody Moore
Kercie Jung
Barrett Polhemus
Holly Clark
Jeffrey Erickson
Kale McClenny
Ethan Nascimento
Robbie Kennealy
Kasey Kleyn
Lane Anderson
Brody Armtrout
Kenna Mitchell

Legends of the Pacific
Josh Gross
Christian Bazen
Cody Winchel
Josh Ayers
Kevin Travels
Jim Weiler
Brenden Ruzbarsky
Foryst Souza
Ethan Nascimento
Clayton Travels
Raymond Casey
Kayci Phillips
Mikala Stearns
Wyatt Sansom
Dylan Washbur
Peter Soto
Keith Clement
Jayson Elf
Eddie Garone
Aidan Phillips
Michael Stearns
Mike Shapiro

B Main
Peter Soto
Michael Stearns
Mikala Stearns
Clayton Travels
Justin Johnson
Tom Summers
Blake Borchers
Justin Yeager
Aaron DeJesus

Mini Cup
Sam Wedehase
Kellen Keller

Bandolaros
Logan Chambers
Cameron Carraway
Caden Cordova
Stephen Bazen
Ethan Nascimento
Joey Kennealy
Konner Karsten


Bakersfield Speedway Unofficial Race Results April 24
IMCA Modifieds
Ethan Dotson
Cody Laney
Jerry Flippo
Jim Pettit II
Austin Kiefer
Ryan Daves
Rob Sanders
Robby Sawyer
Ricky Childress Jr
Gavyn Manning
Bryan Clark
Larry Wise
Steve Noland
Brad Pounds
Danny Lauer
Dakota Schweitzer
Michael Scruggs

IMCA Sport Modifieds
Daniel West
Tyler Bannister
Jason Bannister
Jason Nation
Brian Baker
Billy Simkins
Levi Keifer
Michael Black
Matthew Mayo
Trevor Clymens
Tanner Thomas
Dylan Potter
Markus Frazier
Tyler Blankenship
Austin Manzella
Brock Crawford
Willy Oathout
Nick Spainhoward DNS

IMCA Stock Cars
Nicholas Johnson
Steven Johnson
Ethan Dotson
Justin Schweitzer
Austin VanHoff
Wayne Dotson
Renn Bane
Max Mascarenas

American Stocks
Dakota Brown
Kody Sly
Josh Yadon
Mark McCaslin
Antony Sly
Colby Ward
Mason Conway
Steve Johnson
Matt Crawford
Matt Mckee
Daryl Mealer
James Williams
Tony Dotson
Ryan Little

Hardtops
Rich Souza
Tyler Weeks
Jason Denman
Ali Dyess
Tom Sommerfeld


Lakeport Speedway Unofficial Race Results April 24
Bandoleros
Travis Powers
Kai Lovell
Jordan Ray
Courtney Portlock

Bombers (A)
Charley Tour
Drew Smith
Forrest Kuecker
Wade Coleman
Shelby Helm
Raymond Taylor Jr
Loren Powers Jr
Kasey Horat
David Jones
Brenton Smith DNS

Bombers (B)
Audrey Portlock

Jammers (Pro)
Donovan Arreguin
Isaiah Roja
Jeff French
Dave Rogers
Christian Sanchez
Theresa French DNS

Jammers (Jr)
TJ Sorrels

Limited Modifieds
Sierra Furia
Richard Knight
TJ Buzzard
Robert Schmidt
Roy Ingalls Jr
Brandon Powers
Bo Robertson
Loren Powers Jr

Jalopies
Robert Portlock Jr
Tia Everett
Chris Hunt
Sorna Li
Jack Schlief DNS


Pahrump Valley Speedway Unofficial Race Results April 24
Coupes
Scott Holloway
Daniel Bruner
Red Kowal
Nick Castro
Mark Daub

Southern Nevada Dwarf Cars
Ridge Abbott
Adam Teves
Scott Kelley
Bill Kalogeras
Dewey Myers
John Foster
Wood
Race Shelton
Pat Petrie
Carl Brown
Mike Weaver
Ryan Carroll
Dustin Loughton
Cory Woods
Dan Varner
Justin Fennern
Wesley Dykeman

Sport Modifieds
Josh Stringer
Jerry Walton
Shaun Moore
Trent Bandazian
Aaron Stalker
Haylee Little
Rafael Flores
Anthony Martin
Blake Albright
Jeff Murphy

Super Stock
Dillon Murphy
Dale Daffer
Tim Murphy
Rory Bradley
Mark Hodges

Hobby Stock
Jay Ward
Jared Ward
Debbie Ward
Benjamin Sherard
Adam Tiscarao

Mini Stock
Mike Wills
Tanner Reynolds
Felicity Flory
Aaron Ceballos
Eric Mewhorter
David Bodendorter 

Rattlesnake Raceway Unofficial Race Results April 24
Battle Born Sprint Cars
Restricted
1w  Trey Walters
17  Bruce Ferrier
75  Jeff Culver
14c  Seth Jezek
14  Justin Bolt
98z  Jordan Garretson
11  Josh Bolt
12  Justin Degeorg
10  LARRY TACHOVSKYD
7  LARRY TACHOVSKY
9  Sadie Galindo  
17t  Grasen Tenora DNS
41  Kurt Goddard DNS
3L  Jeff Macedo DNS

Battle Born Sprint Cars
Unestricted
1w  Trey Walters
3L  Jeff Macedo
25  Orry Stevens
8t  Wade Taylor
17  Bruce Ferrier
17t  Grasen Tenora

Gen-X
Travis Showe
Jorden Riley
Cooper Lee
Colton Blankenship
Ashley Davis
Daniel Kleve
Jerome Kleve
Angelo Rallo
Alessio Burnett
Shane Ussery

Dwarf Cars
Joe Frock
Tim Fitzpatrick
Chris christiano
Dan Geil
Glenn Sciarani
Dillon Kintz
Justin Schilling
Samantha Marshall

Hobby Stock
Jacob Dias
Victor Richey
Dan Dias
Bradley Schmidt
Shane Boyd
Angela Dias
Richie Altman
Ray Eder DNS

Bootleggers
Rusty McMillan
Stuart Satathite
Glenn Lee
Logan Sage
Jeff Tuttle
Shari Hollis
Charles Hooten
Robert Schostag
Ray Blankenship
Taggart Garland
Ace Green
Maverick Boney
Joseph Cook
Jeremy Lampley
Joseph Keough
Cameron Fortune DNS
Shane Rasmussen Jr DNS
Robbie Schostag DNS

IMCA Modifieds
Chris Olexiewicz
Paul Culp
Wade Lumsden
Vincent Evenson


Rattlesnake Raceway Unofficial Race Results April 23
Battle Born Sprint Cars
Restricted
17  Bruce Ferrier
7  LARRY TACHOVSKY
3L  Jeff Macedo
11  Josh Bolt
10  LARRY TACHOVSKY
14c  Seth Jezek
14  Justin Bolt
98z  Jordan Garretson
75  Jeff Culver
12  Justin Degeorg
9  Sadie Galindo  
3  Nick Purdy
17t  Grasen Tenora DNS
25  Orry Stevens DNS

Battle Born Sprint Cars
Unestricted
1w  Trey Walters
25  Orry Stevens
17  Bruce Ferrier
17t  Grasen Tenora
7  LARRY TACHOVSKY
3L  Jeff Macedo

Gen-X
Travis Showe
Jorden Riley
Cooper Lee
Angelo Rallo
Shane Ussery
Jonathan Mearse
Mikki Beuchatt
Daniel Kleve
Alessio Burnett
Colton Blankenship
Jerome Kleve
Ashley Davis DNS

Dwarf Car
Joe Frock
Tim Fitzpatrick
Dan Geil
Chris christiano
Justin Schilling
John Williams
Samantha Marshall
Kelly Kennemore
Glenn Sciarani

Hobby Stock
Dan Dias
Richie Altman
Shane Boyd
Angela Dias
Ray Eder

Bootleggers
Rusty McMillan
Ace Green
Stuart Satathite
Taggart Garland
Charles Hooten
Logan Sage
Shane Rasmussen Jr
Robert Schostag
Joseph Keough
Jeremy Lampley
Joseph Cook
Cameron Fortune
Glenn Lee
Jeff Tuttle
Ray Blankenship
Robbie Schostag

Sport Modifieds
Ryan Belli
PAUL SHAMLIAN
Jeff Tuttle

IMCA Modifeds
Wade Lumsden
Jonathan Delavega
Joe Blackwell DNS
Gene Kay DNS
Melissa Natenstedt DNS
Shawn Natenstedt DNS
Dave Sciarroni DNS
Conner Tatum DNS

Adobe Mountain Speedway Unofficial Race Results April 24
Now 600s Wing
Main Event
Elijah Gile
Chris Rahe
Colton Hardy
Drake Edwards
Cameron La Rose
JW Henderson
Logan Calderwood
Preston Norbury
Grant Schaadt
RJ Johnson
Tyler High
Dennis Carrier
Tuesday Calderwood
Brandon Sutton
Casey Bauman
Dillan Beal
Jessie Owens
Tony Morris
Taylor Whitefield
Eddie Hamblen
Jesse Johnson

B Main
Brandon Sutton
Dennis Carrier
Jessie Owens
Dillan Beal
Tony Morris
A.J. Hernandez
Chase Ferris
Brian Storment

Restricted
JW Henderson
Elijah Gile
Conner Jacobs
Bradley Cox
Quinn Thurein
Xander Dundon
Damian Norbury
Tyler Johnson
Hudson Storment
Axton Romero
Ethan Stevens

Mini Late Model
Anthony Madrid
Lyle Askren
Gilbert Madrid
Nic Savaglio
Terry Bridges
KJ Goodwin
Chris Rasta

212 Karts
Aaron Cavaleri
Speedy Madrid
Caleb Worley
Tyler Peroni
Aaron Hernandez
Ricky McGuire
Ashley Afdahl
Matt Lundy
Brad Patterson
Kylie Pont
Tony Morris
Jeff Donaldson
Michael Danner
RJ Norman
Connor Lundy
Anthony Madrid

Junior Sprints
Collin Klein
Jace Thurein
Logan Woodkline
William Davis
Piper Bliven
Kaitlyn Tucker


Diamond Mountain Speedway Unofficial Race Results April 17
IMCA Modified
Riley Simmons
Ryan McDanie
Chris Nieman
Zach Fredinger
Nevin Kennemore
Mitch Murphy
Wade Kennemore
Dave Sciarroni
Larry McCracken
Matt Murphy
JEFF CHEW
Jeff White
Colby Russell
Scott Foreman
Chris Olexiewicz
Casey Nickerson
Shawn Natenstedt DNS

IMCA Sport Modifieds
Colton Chew
Andy Welch
Jim Ford
Richard Longacre
Joe Pearson
Shayna Nieman
DUSTIN LANGSTON
Jake Hutson
Jason Emmot
Dennis Crook
KYLE BELLI
Bion Barr
Ryan Belli DNS
Ray Talevera DNS

Stock Cars
Royce Goetz
Jacob Dias
Rocky Goetz
Aaron Flournoy
Carl Barlow
Don Deiter
2
David Flournoy
Madison Hood
GREG MCCULLY
DAVID WOODS
DOUGLAS WEEKS
Randy Boyd
Joe Conroy
FRED KRESGE
Steve Buhr
Ronnie Goetz DQ
Keith Honney DNS

Mini Stocks
Suzie Schmitt
TONY QUINONEZ
Matt Canada
JOHNNY MOYA
Joe Marlow
Robert Feller
Katelynn Robertson
Bob Kelly
Tom Davis DQ

 
Diamond Mountain Speedway Unofficial Race Results April 10
IMCA Modified
Ryan McDaniel
Riley Simmons
Chris Nieman
Nevin Kennemore
Wade Kennemore
Matt Murphy
Mark Skender
JEFF CHEW
Jeff White
Colby Russell
Casey Nickerson
Larry McCracken

IMCA Sport Modifieds
Craig Nieman
Jimmy Ray Huffmon
Jason Emmot
Shayna Nieman
Joe Pearson
Dennis Crook
Ryan Belli
KYLE BELLI
DUSTIN LANGSTON
Colton Chew
Ray Talevera
Jeff Tuttle
Bion Barr
Richard Longacre

Stock Cars
Royce Goetz
Jacob Dias
Carl Barlow
Don Deiter
DOUGLAS WEEKS
Rocky Goetz
Jeff Willis
Nick Boucher
Madison Hood
GREG MCCULLY
Aaron Flournoy
Keith Honney
Steve Buhr
Randy Boyd

Mini Stocks
Katelynn Robertson
Nick Boucher
Tom Davis
Robert Feller
Bob Kelly
Anthony Esquaville
JOHNNY MOYA
Andi Hast
Suzie Schmitt
Mallory Evenson


Diamond Mountain Speedway Unofficial Race Results April 3
IMCA Modified
A Main
Ryan McDaniel
Riley Simmons
Albert Gill
Chris Nieman
Tyson Blood
James Lipke
Shawn Natenstedt
Gene Kay
Jason Pestka
Wade Kennemore
Matt Murphy
Larry McCracken
Nevin Kennemore
Royce Goetz
Mitch Murphy
JEFF CHEW
Ty Gamble
Cody Kalmer
Dave Sciarroni
Scott Foreman

B Main
Nevin Kennemore
Riley Simmons
Wade Kennemore
Mitch Murphy
Scott Foreman
Ty Gamble
Dave Sciarroni
Cody Kalmer
Paris Archie
Jeff White
Mark Skender
KAITY SAMPLE
Dylan Gardner
Casey Nickerson
Leif Berglund
Justin Saltel
Dan Philpott DNS

IMCA Sport Modifieds
Andrew Peckham
Richard Longacre
Colton Chew
Phillip Shelby
Jimmy Ray Huffmon
Dennis Crook
DUSTIN LANGSTON
Joe Pearson
Bion Barr
Andy Welch
Shayna Nieman
Craig Nieman
Ryan Belli
Tyler Rodgers
KYLE BELLI
PAUL SHAMLIAN
Ray Talevera DNS

Stock Cars
Royce Goetz
Randy Boyd
Jeff Marson
Robert Warf
Jesse Yankee
Jerry Bartlett
Carl Barlow
Don Deiter
Jacob Dias
David Flournoy
Madison Hood
GREG MCCULLY
John Johnson
Aaron Flournoy
Ronnie Goetz
Devin Vaughan
DAVID WOODS
Joe Conroy
Keith Marson DNS
DOUGLAS WEEKS DNS

Sprint Cars
Bruce Ferrier
Grasen Tenora
Orry Stevens
Nick Purdy
Josh Bolt
LARRY TACHOVSKY
Jacob Dias
Justin Bolt
Justin DeGeorg
Seth Jezek

Mini Stocks
Katelynn Robertson
Tom Davis
TONY QUINONEZ
JOHNNY MOYA
Robert Feller
FRED KRESGE
Andi Hast
Diana Robinson
SPENCER REYNOLDS
Anthony Esquaville
Suzie Schmitt


Diamond Mountain Speedwy Unofficial Race Results April 2
IMCA Modified
A Main
Shawn Natenstedt
Riley Simmons
Chris Nieman
Mitch Murphy
Tyson Blood
Albert Gill
Nevin Kennemore
Ty Gamble
Paris Archie
Walter Ball
JEFF CHEW
Mark Wauge
James Lipke
Dave Sciarroni
Gene Kay
Ryan McDaniel
Scott Foreman
Jason Pestka
Wade Kennemore
Matt Murphy DQ
Larry McCracken DNS

B Main
Nevin Kennemore
Ryan McDaniel
Albert Gill
Dave Sciarroni
Tyson Blood
Walter Ball
Larry McCracken
JEFF CHEW
Ty Gamble
Leif Berglund
Cody Kalmer
Dylan Gardner
KAITY SAMPLE
Jeff White
Colby Russell DNS
Casey Nickerson DNS

IMCA Sport Modifieds
Phillip Shelby
Tyler Rodgers
Richard Longacre
Colton Chew
Jimmy Ray Huffmon
Andy Welch
Andrew Peckham
Shayna Nieman
Bion Barr
Jason Emmot
Ryan Belli
Joe Pearson
Ray Talevera
PAUL SHAMLIAN
KYLE BELLI DNS
Craig Nieman DNS
DUSTIN LANGSTON DNS
Nathan Howard DNS

Stock Cars
Jeff Marson
Randy Boyd
Nick Boucher
Jesse Yankee
Aaron Flournoy
Devin Vaughan
Don Deiter
JT Stark
Jacob Dias
David Flournoy
GREG MCCULLY
Madison Hood
Robert Warf
Darren Ballentine
Keith Marson
DAVID WOODS
DOUGLAS WEEKS DNS
Joe Conroy DNS

Dwarf Car
Joe Frock
Chris Christiano
Glenn Sciarani
Dillon Kintz
Justin Schilling
AJ Kintz

Sprint Cars
Orry Stevens
Bruce Ferrier
Nick Purdy
Josh Bolt
LARRY TACHOVSKY
Jacob Dias
Justin DeGeorge
Seth Jezek
Justin Bolt

Mini Stocks
Katelynn Robertson
Suzie Schmitt
JOHNNY MOYA
Robert Feller
Andi Hast
TONY QUINONEZ
WESTIN LAWSON
SPENCER REYNOLDS
FRED KRESGE
Nick Boucher DNS 

Weekend Racing Calender

When and Where:

Friday, April 30th Bakersfield Speedway www.bakersfieldspeedway.com

Saturday, May 1st Tulare Thunderbowl www.thunderbowlraceway.com

Sunday, May 2nd Keller Auto Speedway www.racekingsspeedway.com

Monday, May 3rd Merced Speedway www.mersedspeedway.net

Wednesday, May 5th Antioch Speedway www.antiochspeedway.com

Thursday, May 6th Petaluma Speedway www.petaluma-speedway.com

Friday, May 7th Placerville Speedway www.placervillespeedway.com

Saturday, May 8th Silver Dollar Speedway www.silverdollarspeedway.com

Available on internet pay-per-view at www.floracing.com

 

Who: IMCA Modifeds, IMCA Sport Modifieds

What: The California IMCA Speedweek has expanded to eight tracks in nine days with the IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Sport Modifieds being showcased. Depending on the track, there will be a third division as support, and the first four events will feature the IMCA Stock Cars as that division. The IMCA Modifieds were highly competitive last season with different winners at every track. Bobby Hogge IV never failed to make the podium throughout the week, and kicked it off with a win at Placerville last year, while Troy Foulger got the win in Petaluma. Nick DeCarlo bested the competition for the Antioch win, while Robby Sawyer grabbed the glory out at Merced Speedway. The Keller Auto Speedway win went to Kyle Heckman, while Shane DeVolder wrapped up the week with the Bakersfield Speedway win. In contrast, Garrett Jernagan dominated the IMCA Sport Modified portion of the action. He won all but the race at Keller Auto Speedway, where he was unable to finish. The win that night went to Brent Curran.

Why: Bobby Hogge IV captured the championship trophy and $1,000 prize money as the only driver with six Top 5 finishes in the IMCA Modified class last year. He beat Troy Foulger by 26 markers, Robby Sawyer by 43, Jerry Flippo by 49 and Paul Stone and by 54.  Foulger had four Top 5 finishes, while Sawyer and Stone each had three. Jernagan only beat Curran by four points in the end to top the Sport Modified standings. Curran was the only driver with six Top 10 finishes, but Jernagan was the only competitor with five Top 5s. With three Top 5 efforts, Jason Bannister was 31 points out of the lead in the end, one point ahead of Tanner Thomas and 46 ahead of fifth place Todd Gomez.

Where: Antioch Speedway www.antiochspeedway.com

When: Saturday, May 1st

Who: Wingless Spec Sprints, Hobby Stocks, Super Stocks, Mini Stocks

What: While Shawn Jones has picked up a pair of wins in Wingless Spec Sprint competition, past Petaluma champion Ryon Siverling has earned three Top 5 finishes. He's looking for his first win at Antioch. The highly competitive Hobby Stocks have had four winners in five races and continue to bring two dozen or more cars each week. While Ken Johns has won the last two races, the consistent Michaela Taylor searches for her first Top 5 finish. She and James Graessle lead the group with four Top 10 finishes. We got five Limited Late Models last time out as Chad Hammer made his season debut. We're hoping to see more cars this week to take on the only winners in regular competition, Kimo Oreta and Jim Freethy. Mini Stock enthusiast Chris Corder is enjoying his time at Antioch with a win and a second, but Torrance long tow Eddie Humphrey III is looking for his first win after a pair of Top 5 finishes. The track continues to grow this effort.

Why: In the Wingless Spec Sprints, Siverling leads the standings by 20 points over two-time champion Bob Newberry. Past Petaluma Modified and Street Stock racer Tony Bernard is adapting well to Sprint Cars as he sits 30 points out of the lead in third. Larry McKenzie Jr continues to lead Graessle by 18 points in the Hobby Stock standings with Taylor 22 points back and four ahead of the tied Jeff Bentancourt and reigning champion James Thomson. Oreta used his recent win over Freethy to take a two-point lead in the Super Stock battle, while Joey Ridgeway is 10 points back in third. In the Mini Stock class, Corder holds a 10 point lead over Humphrey with reigning Petaluma champion Tom Brown back in third.

Who: Siskiyou Golden Speedway www.siskiyougoldenspeedway.com

When: Saturday, May 1st 

Who: IMCA Sport Modifieds, Outlaw Pro Stocks, Southern Oregon Dwarf Cars, Mini Stocks.

What: After a week off from regular racing to host a practice session, the Yreka track will open early in the afternoon to have a potluck banquet for last season's top drivers in the standings. When racing gets going, the IMCA Sport Modified drivers will be looking to add a third winner to the list. Second year competitor Ryan Peery and Jorddon Braaten are the winners so far. Only Wyatt Westfall, Ryder Boswell and Jack Waldon III join Peery as two-time Top 10 finishers. Michael Knuckles and reigning champion David Steele top the leaderboard in Mini Stock wins, but word is that three-time champion Mike Whitaker returns this week. The Outlaw Pro Stocks had seven different winners in eight races last season as the competition stepped up their game. It was Cody Peters beating a very competitive Southern Oregon Dwarf Car group to get the win two weeks ago

Why: In the IMCA Sport Modifieds, Peery holds a seven point advantage over Westfall and an 11 point lead over the tied Isaac Sanders and Ryder Boswell going into the night as Sanders finished second in the most recent race. Meanwhile, Knuckles leads Darek Alford by two points and three-time champion Marilyn Yawnick by seven in the early Mini Stock battle. With such hard chargers as four-time champion Josh King, two-time champion Brock Peters, Ryan Smith, Chad Cardoza and Fred Hay, Cody Peters will have a challenging time repeating his Dwarf Car triumph of two weeks ago. Scott Flowers was both the Outlaw Pro Stock Association and Yreka Pro Stock champion for the second-straight year. In the standings at Yreka, Flowers beat Matt Harlow by just two points, while Colby Hammond was 10 points back and Johnny Cobb was 11 in arrears. Only Hammond didn't get a win of the four last year, but he did finish his high as second.

Where: Ocean Speedway www.racepmg.com

When: Friday, April 30th

Who: Taco Bravo Sprint Cars, Hobby Stocks, Four Bangers, Police N Pursuit

What: The Taco Bravo Sprint Cars continue to bring the excitement to Watsonville, and they had 32 cars last Friday night. Unfortunately for Justin Sanders, a bid for win #4 was ended very early in the race. While Sanders has four Top 5 finishes so far, last Friday's winner Shane Golobic, Tanner Carrick and Corey Day each have three. The Hobby Stocks have been interesting to watch this year. Longtime speedway supporter Tony Olivera led about half the race before falling to a respectable third, while Quentin Harris joined Terry Campion, Rob Gallaher and Joe Gallaher on the winner's list. The Four Banger division is also wide open. Of the five drivers with three or more Top 5 finishes, only Nicole Beardsley and Travis Van Gilder are without a victory. The Police N Pursuit division may not get a lot of glory, but these law enforcement officers brought 11 cars last time out.

Why: Sanders continues to lead the Sprint Car standings by 17 points ahead of Golobic, 20 over Bud Kaeding and 26 in front of the tied Tanner Carrick and Corey Day. Reigning champion Joe Gallaher leads his three-time champion son Rob Gallaher by just two points in the Hobby Stocks. Jerry Skelton trails Joe Gallaher by 12 points and is one ahead of Adriane Frost. Tony Gullo got his second win last week to keep him eight points ahead of Richard Mitchell and 12 over two-time champion Kate Beardsley. San Benito Sheriff's Officer Roy Iler won the first Police N Pursuit race and leads California Highway Patrolman Jesse Mueller and Scotts Valley Police Officer John Hohmann by seven markers.

Where: Silver Dollar Speedway www.silverdollarspeedway.com

When: Friday, May 30th and Saturday May 1st

Who: Bill Brownell Memorial Winged 360 Sprint Cars, NorCal Dwarf Cars, Street Stocks (Friday), Sprint Car Challenge Tour Winged 360 Sprint Cars, NorCal Dwarf Cars (Saturday)

What: Racing returns to the Chico track for the first time since March with another exciting double header offering. The regular Winged 360 group gets to run on Friday night for $3,000 to win and a minimum of $250 to start. Justin Sanders got the wins at both March races, beating the Demo Mittry owned cars on both occasions with Demo's son Max Mittry finishing second over Andy Forsberg on Friday, while Robbie Price got second ahead of Tanner Carrick the next evening. The Dwarf Cars were there on both occasions as they will be this weekend. Ryan Winter got the win on Friday ahead of Camarillo's Tommy Velasquez III and Mike Reeder. It was reigning NorCal champion Michael "Spanky" Grenert winning the Saturday action ahead of Ben Wiesz and Winter. Sprint Car Challenge action has taken place at Placerville and Petaluma. Saturday's show will be the third event for the series, and Tanner Carrick and Shane Golobic have the previous two wins. The local Street Stocks get to race on Friday night. They had seven races in 2019, and Matt Micheli won five of those. Richard Brace Jr and Brent Lawrence each had a win that year.

Why: After two SCCT Sprint Car races, Justyn Cox holds a six point advantage over Tanner Carrick with Ryan Bernal nine points back and Forsberg trailing by 10. A big turnout is anticipated this Saturday night for the group. The record shows that Sean Becker notched another championship in 2019, beating Forsberg by 42 points and Kyle Offill by 47. Looking back at the final points of 2019 Matt Micheli beat his father Ken Micheli by 28 points with Gary Newman 42 points back in third. The NorCal Dwarf Car group seldom releases point standings to the public, but top stars like Winter, Grenert, Wiesz, Shawn Whitney, Shawn Jones and Kevin Bender are anticipated. 

Who: Redwood Acres Raceway http://www.racintheacres.com/

When: Saturday, May 1st

Who: Late Models, Legends, Bombers, Mini Stocks, Roadrunners 

What: Racing season is upon us in Eureka. This was one of the few tracks to have championship point races last season. In Late Model competition, Dustin Walters picked up a pair of wins last year, while Luke Hall and David Miller each had a win to their credit. The Legend Cars had five races, and only Derek Copeland was a repeat winner with the other wins going to Dane Nissen, Chris Lawrence and Brandon White. The always exciting Bomber division saw Loren Powers Jr pick up a pair of wins with the other wins going to Donnie Brown, Raquel Krupa and Dustin Walters. Jarrett Mayo picked up two Mini Stock wins with Greg Klinetobe and Eric O'Farrell also getting wins. The entry level Roadrunners class continues to grow. Brian Brandt and Jeremiah Martin each had a pair of wins with Leroy Marsh Jr also getting a win.

Why: Last season, Dustin Walters won the Late Model championship by 23 points ahead of Eugene Palmer and 29 over Ed Rasmussen. James Nichols got the Legend Car championship by 21 tallies ahead of Nissen nine points for the Mini Stock title with Jared Mayo 22 points back in third. Brian Brandt beat JR Brandt by 18 points for the Roadrunner championship as Jeremiah Martin was 29 points back in third.

Where: Cottage Grove Speedway www.cottagegrovespeedway.com

When: Saturday, May 1st

Who: Limited Sprints, Late Models, IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, IMCA Sport Compacts

What: Saturday night is the annual Froggy 44 Tribute to Melvin Walker, which features a 44 lap race for $444 to win for the IMCA Sport Compacts. Michael Kennerly and Burnie Bryant have won the first two IMCA Sport Compact races so far this season.  The Limited Sprints have had a pair of races with Tyler Thompson grabbing both wins as Jake Wheeler and Steven Snawder are the only other drivers with two Top 5 finishes. The Late Models have seen Joey Tanner and Doug Elkins leave town with the two wins so far. The IMCA Modifieds have been wide open this year with Curtis Towns, Matthew Drager, Jeffrey Hudson and Bricen James winning the four races held so far. Meanwhile, Dustin Comer and Aaron Bloom have the two wins in the IMCA Sport Modifieds so far.

Why: Thompson holds a 15 point lead over Wheeler in the Limited Sprints with Snawder just three points behind Wheeler in the battle. Elkins leads Randy Barley by 24 points in the Late Models with Mike Peters 30 points out. The IMCA Modifieds are having a close battle right now with Towns leading reigning champion Jake Mayden by eight points and Drager by 15. Ray Bloom leads reigning champion Doug Coffman by two points and Dalton Bloom by six in the IMCA Sport Modifieds. In the Sport Compacts, Kennerly leads Bradley Martin by two points and Bryant by nine.

Where: Coos Bay Speedway www.coosbayspeedway.us

When: Saturday, May 1st

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Who: NASCAR sanctioned America's Mattress Super Late Models, Sportsman Late Models, Street Stocks, Mini Outlaws, Hornets, Jr Stingers

What: It's Pepsi night at the races, and things are just getting started. Two-time reigning champion Brody Montgomery denied 2019 champion Preston Luckman the Super Late Model win last time out with his late pass. Wayne Butler is the other winner, and Mike Taylor is the only other driver with two Top 5 finishes in the class. Ryan Emry is off to a strong start with two Sportsman Late Model wins as only Tallon Rogers has a pair of Top 5s in that class. Seth Christian is a double winner in both the Street Stocks and Hornets. Past Sportsman Late Model champion Dyllan Siewell has a pair of Top 5 finishes in Street Stocks, and reigning champion Isaac Stere is the only other Hornet competitor with two Top 5 finishes. Mini Outlaw wins have been earned by Scott Beaudoin and Travis Koch so far, while Griff Smith has a pair of Jr Stinger wins to his credit.

Why: Montgomery has a two point lead over Butler in the Super Late Models with Taylor and Braden Fugate tied for third, eight points back. Ryan Emry leads Tahlan Rogers by 10 points in the Sportsman Late Models. Christian has an eight point lead over Siewell in Street Stocks with the steady Charlie Withers 22 points back. Christian leads Stere by four points and Jeff Nelson by 14 in the Hornets. Scott Beaudoin is four points ahead of Matthew Emry in Mini Outlaws as Joey Duke is 10 points back. Looking for his third division championship, Smith leads Tallon Dubisar and Alex Butler by six points in the Jr Stingers.

Where: Douglas County Speedway www.douglascountyspeedway.com

When: Saturday, May 1st

Who: Johnny's Drive-In Hardtops, Winchester Pub and Grill Sport Modifieds, Pro Motors Hornets, Roseburg Collision Center Super Stocks, Mini Stocks and Mini Figure 8

What: After a successful Enduro three weeks ago, Douglas County Speedway kicks open the gates with an exciting racing program. It's the annual Rumble on the River. Like most tracks on the West Coast, it was a struggle for the PRA to get the gates open here last year. However, they were able to go racing in July, and they ran a handful of races. Because of the abbreviated season, they didn't crown a champion. The track still had very strong numbers in the Hornets, and the Hardtops and Sport Modifieds bought enough cars to put on a good show.

Why: The last championship season was 2019. Some might consider the Vintage Hardtop class the headliners, and they are running for points. Harlan Cox won five Main Events in 2019, but a couple of speed bumps along the way kept him from the championship. Kyron Greene took the honors by 106 points over 2016 champion Greg Hickman. Cox ended up third in the final rundown. The Sport Modified battle saw Tom Ford use his four feature wins to beat Kalob Watson by 87 points. John Harvey settled for third. Rich Dickenson won four times and seldom finished off of the podium to win the Hornet championship by 149 points over Michael Kennerly, who also had four victories. Ron Johnson settled for third. John Dumire won the Street Stock championship by 31 points over Dale Roth, who picked up three wins in his second place season. April Hillyard was third. Kieri Smith won the Mini Stock title over Dale Roth and Ed Pratt. Roth had two wins.

The Editor's Viewpoint

It's almost time for the second running of California IMCA Speedweek, presented by Hoppes Motorsports. This one is even bigger than last year, which probably surprises nobody. Series Promoter Doug Lockwood had a major hit on his hands last year with the six race series, which took place during the pandemic. None of the tracks were able to have fans, but the series was heavily viewed on floracing.com last year. This year, fans will be able to attend.

It's interesting to think that the spark that ignited the idea was this humble blog. I had been commenting on the fact that the pandemic messed up racing season. The promoters were doing their best under difficult circumstances, but racing needed something really special to take everybody's minds off of the bigger thing going on in the world. Doug happened to be reading and was in a position too do something with the idea. The next thing you know, he's not only announcing that Merced Speedway was going to be able to have a race, he also announced that California IMCA Speedweek would happen in August of that year.

It's pretty logical when you think about it. The IMCA Modified and IMCA Sport Modified divisions are doing well, and this series could have been launched in California a few years earlier. It always seems like a challenge to get the promoters on the same page for much of anything, and yet Doug landed six tracks for this deal, including Bakersfield, Hanford, Merced, Antioch, Petaluma and Placerville. All six of those tracks will be included this year with the addition of Tulare and Chico. It will be eight races in nine days.

Doug wasn't through doing really cool things. He sponsored me a year's subscription to Flo Racing to support the efforts I've been making on this blog. I haven't had very much support from any promoter with what I've done here. Actually, Doug and his predecessor Ed Parker are the only two that I can think of who have looked at what we've done with our media effort and offered a little bit of support. That subscription has helped us, and much like last year, I will be watching again this year. This time, we get Chet Christner announcing. I really wouldn't want to miss this one, and I am looking forward to it.

Bakersfield kicks it off this Friday night, follow by Tulare on Saturday, Hanford on Sunday and Merced on Monday. The series takes a break on Tuesday and comes back with Antioch on Wednesday, Petaluma on Thursday, Placerville on Friday and It wraps up in Chico on Saturday. Some of the best IMCA Modified and IMCA Sport Modified drivers on the West Coast will be participating. 

Tracks will be throwing a third division in on the deal. For the first four races, that will be IMCA Stock Cars. I've been talking about the potential for that class to get included for the full series in the future, but I think right now we need to work on getting the numbers up in their car count. In the future, you never know what can happen here.

Because of this good news, I'm trying to make an easier week for myself. I don't want to go too long in this column. We're going to be busy next week with a race every day. I'm thinking we will maintain a single blog post for this series and update it nightly. This way people can look at it in the archives and see all of our coverage in one post. I'm not sure what we will be doing in the future, and that's another reason I want to do the full coverage this year. Since I have the subscription sponsored by Lockwood and it's good for another few months, I want to support him in his efforts here. Like I said, he's done a great job as a promoter so far.

With the country trying to come out on the other end of this pandemic and bracing for any negative news that could reverse the progress, promoters have had to dance to the tune of their county health officials. It's either that, or you're not doing anything. This means that in most cases tracks are only able to sell tickets to a certain percentage of maximum occupancy. This varies from county to county. 

Some tracks are even having to sell food at their concession stands through a phone app, which I find to be utterly ridiculous. I don't want to go off on a rant here, although you can imagine my thoughts. Basically, they want to trace people's movements, which is why people are buying food and their tickets through an app. I detest the idea, but it's either this or some tracks might not be open at all.

This is actually a glorious time for My Race Pass. They sort of fancy themselves as the one stop shop for tracks to create webpages as it is. After they bought the Speed Net website, which was a place for tracks to put their statistics for about a decade or so, they really took off. To date, they haven't incorporated all of those archival statistics into their website, and I don't know if they ever will. Time will tell. What they are doing is offering a track the ability to not only do what they would normally do with a webpage, they are also helping tracks to sell tickets to fans and pit passes to racers. You can sell merchandise through them as well.

The little known secret that people may not realize through all of this is that this humble website company is now learning more about the financial side of the motorsports business. They are getting a better understanding of what a promoter is making, and you can multiply that by all of the tracks that are using their services. This makes me a little bit uneasy, and I know it might bother a few of the promoters out there who don't want that information known. Because of the pandemic, it has pushed business even further to this company. Tracks have had to use it as a form of contact tracing.

I have joked about where we're heading with technology as we are sort of being merged with the machine. Well, I'm half joking. The way the MyLaps scoring system works, a resourceful programmer could figure out the algorithm and use it to generate artificial intelligence written articles moments after the race is over. I'm not a programmer, but I believe what MyLaps does would enable somebody to write that code in much the same way that there is code that enables Race Monitor and My Race Pass to display the statistics in real time. Since My Race Pass seems to be getting the bigger market share these days, if they aren't thinking about creating a story generating app, they probably should. 

I don't feel entirely comfortable making that suggestion. I have a hunch another place we could be going in the future is not being able to see the statistics without paying to see them. That is to say, any track using the My Race Pass service would enter into that system. We're not there now, and I've heard nobody say we are. I'm just uneasy when I look at what these guys are doing. 

In any case, I figured out the mystery of the missing finishes and point standings from Diamond Mountain Speedway. I've been looking at their website and Speedhive, as I did last year. Nothing is updated there. I can't say I'm surprised by this, but they have joined My Race Pass and have that information posted there. What is it the Borg said in Star Trek? Resistance is futile.

I want to give a pat on the back to Kevin Barba at Siskiyou Golden Speedway. Last season, we weren't really thinking about championships. The only champions we knew would get crowned were those with IMCA sanctioning. At four races, a track achieves the minimum to make it an official championship season. Therefore, IMCA sent out all of the earnings and the championship perks to the various participants. 

Considering we were coming through a pandemic, we were wondering if some of the tracks that ran enough races would acknowledge their own local champions. There were places that ran enough, but other than keeping points, we've seen no official acknowledgment of individual track championships as of yet. We know Antioch Speedway had a championship ceremony in front of the fans recently. We've seen no acknowledgment of champions at either Petaluma Speedway or Placerville Speedway and doubt we will at this point.

I talk about the fact that there isn't a big budget in Yreka, and that makes things challenging for Barba. However, he still managed to have a championship season there last year. When it looked like things were starting to open up just a little bit, Barba hoped to have his banquet late last year. Unfortunately, the governor had other ideas with his reactions to the pandemic numbers. The gathering was canceled, but Barba was going to do something. It happens this Saturday afternoon.

Prior to this Saturday's IMCA Sport Modified, Outlaw Pro Stock, Southern Oregon Dwarf Car and Mini Stock event, they are having a pot luck banquet in the pits. The track will crown champions in three of the aforementioned divisions, not counting the Dwarf Cars. Also included will be last year's IMCA Modified and Jefferson State Jalopy drivers who ranked high enough. Drivers are asked to bring a dish or dessert and be ready to come out and celebrate. It's a nice touch, and these things do make a difference for a promoter trying to get support from the racers.

I left a spot open right here to add anything additional as I'm going over this article on a Tuesday morning. If I hit my mark and get this blog post up on Tuesday night, my hope is to get something thrown together for our newly rebranded Jefferson State Racing News blog. I don't have a lot of details from the Enduro at Mountain Valley Raceway in Hayfork, but I have some. I'm also hoping to put together a little article looking at the first four races at Susanville. We've included the finishes on this post for those interested.

I could probably go in a couple of different directions in what I say here, but some things I'm going to hold for the next Viewpoint column. I said I didn't want to get into too much on what's going on at Southern Oregon Speedway. We know they have made some improvements with the pit bleachers now being moved to the back straightaway. We know they've lengthened the track. We're hearing lots of different things, but it's one of those deals where I'd like to hear more information before commenting on it.

I've said that I understand based on who is on the Southern Oregon Motorsports board that you're talking about people with a bend towards stock car and specifically IMCA racing. That's great. You can be for that, but as a promoter you need to see the big picture. The reason Mike McCann shuffled divisions around was to keep the car counts up, and Sprint Cars and Late Models were an important part of the equation. I know it wasn't flashy, and we didn't hold a parade and make a big deal on race night. We just did our best to provide better racing than the people at the track have seen in the five or six years leading up to Mike coming in.

I was hearing that Dave Hibbard was being spoken to about possibly sponsoring the Limited Sprint purse. The track is going with the sliding scale purse for the IMCA Modifieds and Sport Modifieds as well as the Late Models. I don't think that's a very good idea. While I know the thinking is that it will give racers the incentive to want to come, I believe it gives racers the incentive not to come when they think they won't get a specific number of cars to get the bigger purse. The sliding scale will not help grow the Late Model division, which depended on the guaranteed purse to get it where it is now.

The Sprint Car deal is a little bit different, and I'm mystified by what I am hearing. Evidently, some people are a little bit butt hurt with Hibbard because he exercised his right as somebody who submitted a proposal to protest the results. You can be butt hurt all you want, and that's fine. Once the decision is made, you move forward. After the fact, Dave was still willing to throw in behind these guys and support the continued growth of Limited Sprints. Why? Because Dave has been a leader in promoting this class over the past five or six years, and it might not be where it is today if not for that fact.

Things can change from day to day, and the one thing I like about the team out there is they are updating everybody on what the latest improvements are. Good communication with your racers and fans will help you in the long run. However, at this point there's no deal between Dave and the group, and a few people don't want to deal with him. 

Like I said, hate him all you want, but he's offering money to pay the Sprint Car drivers and keep the car count up. I don't have to tell you that more cars equals a better show. They are looking at a sliding scale for this class, and I think it will ultimately slide this division out of existence. Time will tell.

As I said, I don't want to dwell on certain things I hear, and it is not my desire to be negative. These guys are less than a month away from opening the gates for the season opener, and things are coming together rapidly. I just think you have to take those opportunities when they come. When somebody comes in there and does offer something that will ultimately help give you more of a show for your fans, you take that offer. You need a good rotation of fast divisions so that when you aren't running IMCA Modifieds, you've got something fans want to see. Sprint Cars fit that bill. Furthermore, if you put too much burden on the IMCA Modifieds, I don't care what you're sliding scale is, it might not go as well as you think. I'll leave it at that.

I'm still looking at the numbers and wondering how they're going to hold up this year. Tracks aren't able to fill their grandstands, but I think some of them have been performing within their averages so far. Most tracks weren't filling up their grandstands before the pandemic. If you're giving them 25% or so of capacity, they are able to sell tickets to about the same amount of fans who would have been buying them in 2019. That's the good news, coupled with the fact that some tracks are also generating a few dollars from streaming services.

If I may segue to streaming internet video for a moment, Kenny Shepherd gave us a bit more insight into the free broadcast he is committed to offering people at Madera Speedway. I don't know that they are getting great numbers in the stands right now, but I do know that Kenny feels he is cultivating something really special here. He's trying to build a community of fans around the world, and he does have the product to accomplish this in my opinion. Production-wise, they're doing a good job. When it comes to the MavTV Series, you know for sure you're going to get a car count.

They've been recording those broadcasts in real time, because they're trying to capture the feel of the moment and convey that when the show finally makes it on the air on MavTV. All they really needed to do was set it up to broadcast live on YouTube. It's rather interesting to note that while Steven Blakesley and Outback Andy Foster are doing the TV broadcast, they have an announcer doing the track announcing at the same time. There are a lot of moving parts going on behind the scenes that we don't see. The biggest reason the broadcast has been offered for free is because of great sponsors like Nut Up Industries, Mission Foods and 51fifty Energy Drink, and one of the ways people can thank the track for this free broadcast is by buying products.

Another thing has opened up through YouTube, and Kenny is hoping to take advantage of that. They could put things behind a pay window at YouTube if they wanted to. Whether through them or some of the other platforms out there, that's always been an option. I like the fact that Kenny has done what he's done in good faith with the fans, and I feel like he deserves all the support he gets going forward. He announced prior to the races that you can use the Super Chat function while watching the broadcast, and all the proceeds from that will go towards helping the track buy a top of the line computer that will enhance these free broadcasts.

When you think about it, it's a good idea. I don't watch much TV these days, and a lot of what I do view is on YouTube. There are some interesting content creators out there who go live and use the Super Chat function. I watch them make hundreds and in some cases thousands of dollars. What it is is somebody tips you through the Super Chat function, and oftentimes there's either an animation included or they comment. The person running the broadcast then reads the comment and offers their thoughts on what was said. Steven and Andy were doing that throughout the broadcast.

When you think about it, if everybody pitches in a buck or two, it goes quite a long way. I saw the peak viewership at around 550 people at one point, so $2 a person would have meant $1,100. Kenny isn't putting a price tag on this, but he is hoping for some support here. I don't know that Steven and Andy hyped this thing enough as we got into Main Event time, and I think they could have done a little bit better in letting people know that the function was there. I don't consider that hitting people over the heads with it, because people are watching this for free anyways. If it hurts anybody's feelings that the announcers remind people that they can tip the broadcast this way, perhaps they shouldn't be watching.

They generated about $330 in Super Chats for their first attempt, which really isn't bad at all. I happen to know that YouTube takes 30% of that, so it comes out to a little over $200 in the end. It's still going to help. What Kenny is doing is a risk in some ways, but it's also something that can be big. It's also pretty clever. He's allowing everybody to watch this show. He still wants the fans to come out and watch, and people in the area who can make it out there and want to probably will. There's still that money around the country and around the world that is there. 

Kenny has already invested in thousands of dollars worth of equipment, not just for the MavTV broadcast but for the regular Club Races. The infrastructure has been put in place, so they are better equipped than most tracks on the West Coast to do what they are doing here. Of course, people could just sit back and enjoy the show for free until it's no longer offered. That's one of the negative sides of the internet. Content creators don't always end up getting rewarded for their efforts. On the other hand, the Super Chat can get bigger and bigger and go into the four digit territory on a regular basis. If this happens, the track will be doing as well as most places that use one of the pay-per-view streaming services that's out there. 

Not to belabor the point here, but you do have to work at the YouTube broadcasting thing to reap those rewards. The top content creators I see out there have put many hours into what they do and have earned the support they get. Madera Speedway has done the same, and I think the gamble will ultimately pay off. They had an amazing event with the Nut Up Pro Late Models, 51fifty Energy Drink Jr Late Models, Legends of the Pacific and Bandolero/Mini Cup cars, and I don't have much negative to say about it.

The Jr Late Models have been rough this year, and Kenny revealed that he had a little pep talk with the young racers before the race. He took them out on the race track and discussed being patient and being easier on equipment. He pointed out that every time they crashed, they cost their parents money. He even had them touch the wall to make the point. I like that he did this, because I do wonder sometimes about these young racers who have all of this handed to them by their parents. The result was the smoothest run Jr Late Model show I've seen in a long time. I think every once in a while, it's probably good to remind the kids to show a little respect and remind them how lucky they are to have the opportunities they have.

That's what Madera Speedway is trying to do here. They are trying to cultivate the family aspect. Obviously, when these Jr Late Models and Bandolero cars are a part of the equation, you're talking about the whole family being involved. In any case, you know you're getting a winner when the MavTV Series runs at Madera. It's building up the programs on the other nights that is a challenge. There's no question that the MavTV Series stuff is what pays the bills around the place and is garnering the track National attention.

From a numbers perspective, you get the good news with the bad news. Petaluma Speedway had about 26 Sprint Car Challenge competitors on Saturday, and that is under the average. I'm not sure why it dipped that low. The racing wasn't bad as it was still a full field of Sprint Cars and they also had about 24 Dwarf Cars and a half-dozen Mini Stocks that still managed to be entertaining. Like I've been saying, we could see the numbers go down a little bit as the economics situation hits home to some of the racers.

I can't help but be a little sad that the Civil War Series has been retired, because I have wondered if they could whethered the storm. I understand that John Prentice didn't have a lot of dancing partners. In fact, it doesn't look like he was able to book any sort of IMCA All Star Series races this year. He was doing four of them for a couple of years and hoping other tracks would get involved. When Calistoga canceled their races this year, I'm sure that didn't help John. The same problem carries over to the Civil War Series, and his supporting tracks left him one by one to get on board with the Sprint Car Challenge Tour. As the numbers come down to earth with the newer series, I feel the Civil War could have been primed for a comeback.

The Civil War Series has more significance with its 30 years of existence. That means something, and I will continue to advocate for the traditional stuff. It was promoters like John Padjen, John Soares and Mel Hall who put that thing on the map. It's a whole different generation of promoters now, and like I said, Prentice is on his own. I was wondering if he could have picked some of his Taco Bravo Sprint Car races on Friday nights and just call them the Civil War Series for a year or two to keep it out there. True, it might have been the regular bunch, but you never know who might have come if it was only four races. I've heard the John sold the series, but I never heard official confirmation of whether that was true or not.

In any case, I don't know that fans left the Sprint Car Challenge race at Petaluma unhappy with what they saw, and I bet they enjoyed themselves. Same can be said for Antioch Speedway. I have talked about how Promoter Chad Chadwick needs to build up the numbers on his non IMCA Modified shows, and then he has last Saturday's program. The Hobby Stocks continued to be an MVP in the lineup with 24 cars, but the Delta Dwarf Cars had 20, the Wingless Spec Sprints had 16 and even the Super Stocks had five. I'm nervous about that last class, but those five cars were running against the Tri State Pro Stock Challenge Series in Placerville, which may have siphoned a car or two out of the Antioch field.

It brings a smile to my face that 22 years later the Wingless Spec Sprints still had a solid turnout of 16 cars. That's worthy of the headline status they often carry on these non IMCA nights. You need something with speed and excitement to keep the fans engaged, and that's what they got on Saturday. The Hobby Stocks and Wingless Spec Sprints will be showcased again this week, joined by the Super Stocks and the Mini Stocks. I'm watching the latter two divisions to see how the numbers grow. During the intermission on Saturday, Chad had a minivan out on the track as he's introduced the Mother's Day minivan race. That ought to be interesting. 

The concept of working together with other promoters means you don't book certain divisions when they are trying to do something with them elsewhere. I noted in the Saturday morning post that Watsonville isn't in the IMCA Speedweek Series, but they've given those divisions a week off. I think Prentice would like to be included in the series, but I can't tell you whether that will happen in 2022 or not. Right now, all the focus is on making this year's series special. I'm sure John's gesture won't go unnoticed. The tracks who are involved have to keep the divisions off the schedule, and that's why Antioch is doing what they're doing this weekend. Bakersfield and Merced aren't running anything other than their Speedweek races during that span.

I didn't see the Wayne Albright Memorial race coming, but Merced Speedway has had this race for the last few years. It's a special BCRA Lightning Sprint show, but I thought it would happen later in the year. It didn't say anything on the Merced Speedway schedule until the very last minute, but I'm glad the association has races to remember people who were special to them through the years. I'm not sure if the annual London Bash Hall of Fame picnic is happening, but this used to be the marquee event for the group. Saturday's show at Merced featured both the BCRA Midgets and Lightning Sprints, IMCA RaceSaver Sprints and Hobby Stocks.

From a car count perspective, they did okay. You never know what you're going to get with the Midgets, so the 14 cars they had wasn't bad. The RaceSaver Sprints delivered a similar field as did the Hobby Stocks. It seems to me that the local Hobby Stock numbers are down just a bit. The show was about the Lightning Sprints, and they delivered 27 cars as the California Lightning Sprint group came to support this show. As I said, Doug Lockwood is still giving the fans the stock car stuff they expect, but he's also cultivating open wheel excitement. I see it as a win-win situation.

We sometimes forget that the drivers face danger every time they strap in behind the wheel of their race cars. The Mighty Midgets are some of the fastest cars out there, and they had a crash early in the feature race. I haven't seen the footage, but David Raquenio was involved in a mishap that resulted a red flag and a lengthy delay in the program. He took an emergency ride to the hospital and had several broken bones. It's probably going to be a lengthy recovery process for him, and I just want to offer my best wishes for a speedy and full recovery. David is one of the drivers who has competed with the new Western Midgets group that is getting new drivers into the class.

It's times like these you are thankful that the safety features in these race cars have improved by leaps and bounds through the years. We shouldn't forget the fact that the reason the safety features are often improved is because of injuries that have happened to other racers in the past. It's a hard lesson to learn, and often times we don't think about any of that. This is just an observation here, but the National Anthem is a part of any race night. It gets played before we go racing. There's a reason many tracks also say a prayer before the races. It's not about whether you're a Christian or not. You can believe as you do. It's about being thankful and wishing for the safety of our racers and all of the people involved.

Placerville Speedway will usually feature Winged 360 Sprint Cars, but they couldn't do that on Saturday as the Sprint Car Challenge Tour was in Petaluma. Plus, the Sprint Cars aren't really a part of the Don Tilford Tribute race. This is a Stock Car affair, and Scott Russell had a nice lineup that included the first appearance of the Tri State Pro Stock Challenge Series. I counted 18, but I'm told there were 20 cars. In either case, it was the biggest count of the night with the Pure Stocks delivering 18, the Limited Late Models bringing a dozen, the Mini Trucks bringing six and the Hardtops bringing nine.

I was disappointed that Flo Racing wasn't there as I thought the track had a deal. Then again, they probably sent their crew to Petaluma to make sure that broadcast went off without a hitch. Often times, tracks barely acknowledge the existence of the Hardtops, and I wanted to see them race. They had six Hardtops and three Sportsman cars, and I'm still trying to find more details as I cobble this column together in the wee early hours on a Monday. All I know is Jason Clifford won the heat race and Joel Hannagan brought the Doug Braudrick owned Junkyard Dog home to a Main Event victory.

My frustration is that nobody officially tied to the leadership of the California Hardtop Association can be bothered to update their damn Facebook page. I find it utterly ridiculous that they can't. Even the Legends of Kearney Bowl, who were gathered at Jim Perry's house for the annual Second Time Around BBQ, managed to post video footage and pictures of all of the beautiful Super Modifieds that were on display there. Nobody can even take pictures of all the cars and put them on the California Hardtop Facebook page? Even in 2021, nobody can be bothered? There were none. Even the Kern County Hardtops have let that lapse, but at least the Bakersfield tracks bother to acknowledge that the cars are there when they are on the schedule.

It is what it is, and I can talk to the door in this room and get a better response than the leadership of the CHA. I guess it's a secret and I have to learn the special password. In any case, the racing was good, and I thought it was cool that the Tri State Pro Stock Series got the headliner spot on the card to wrap up a great night of racing. Also, we saw evidence that Richard Brace Jr can be beat. In this case, it was Reno, Nevada racer Jay Sears getting the job done. Jay was part of the old Nevada Pro Stock group. I've heard rumors somebody was trying to put something back together in the state, but I've seen nothing as of yet.

The Tri State Pro Stock Challenge Series is thrilled to be going to Yreka on Memorial Day weekend for a double header. The Outlaw Pro Stock Association says they will support it. I've finally seen them update their schedule on their Facebook page. They are not calling this a point race, but I've been told they intend to support it to the best of their ability. I certainly hope that's true, because the Yreka track could see the car count hit the 25-30 mark if that is the case. Siskiyou Golden Speedway could use a night like that to give the fans more incentive to come out and watch.

I mentioned Bakersfield Speedway, and they delivered a decent show. I am noticing no B Mains in the IMCA Modifieds or Sport Modifieds. Usually, one of these classes can deliver that. Both had about 18 cars, so it wasn't bad. The IMCA Stock Cars are getting people to notice, but I noticed they once again didn't reach double digits at Bakersfield. It's going to be a process for them, but the eight racers who did show up gave it a good run. The American Stocks had a little over a dozen competitors themselves, and with the five Kern County Hardtops thrown in, the fans still got a fun night at the races in Bakersfield.

Finally, there's the case of Lakeport Speedway. I've noticed a little bitterness and resentment towards Furia Motorsports taking over that track. I really don't care that NCRA boosters had their delicate feelings hurt, because it looks like some people behind the scenes are doing little things that aren't helpful to either Lakeport Speedway or Ukiah Speedway, the two tracks that David Furia promotes. I don't want to get into it too much, but when you see certain comments, you can tell people are bothered by this. I think it's time they got over it.

I don't know if anybody's noticed this, but in recent years Lakeport Speedway has struggled. They were doing better 15 or 20 years ago, but the decline has gotten them to a point where they are struggling to put anything on the track at all. My concern was that there could be some attempt to boycott this first Furia promoted night, but I don't think that was the case. Racers race, and I think Lakeport racers just want to be able to enjoy the sport they love.

The numbers were by no means spectacular, but I don't think David expected that would be the case. He is simply trying to create a series between the two tracks and build things back up. It will take time, but I know David Furia to be a guy who commits to his efforts. They brought about a dozen Bombers, eight Modifieds, nine Jammers, four Bandoleros and five Jalopies. I think the Jalopies are a new part of the program and they run on an infield track. They do that at Ukiah, and I think it's a nice touch. You're talking about little Hornet Cars on an infield dirt track, and it's a gateway to bring these drivers in. You do what you can when you're building the program up.

From what I could tell, the racing wasn't bad at all, and they'll keep working on it. That's really all you can do. We can't take it for granted that we have racing at our local race tracks. It can get taken away from us one way or the other. When we have a track and we still care enough to be involved, the best thing we can do is get out there and support it. Whether that's by bringing a race car or buying a ticket and enjoying the show. Don't assume it's just going to be there. If what we've been through in the last year has taught us anything, it's that things can be taken away.

On that note, I'm going to end this column. Until next time...