Antioch Speedway, Merced Speedway, Bakersfield Speedway, Dixon Speedway, Ocean Speedway, More

 

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Neeley Grabs First Spec Sprint Win, 

Grenert, Boardenave, Brown Win At Antioch Speedway

Antioch, CA...April 16...Zack Neeley won the 20 lap Wingless Spec Sprint Main Event Saturday night at Antioch Speedway. This was the 24th season opener for the group. Neeley was piloting the John Hendrickson Motorsports owned entry. Early morning rains put this show in jeopardy, but the grounds didn't get too saturated. The decision was made to go ahead with things as scheduled, and that also included an Easter Egg hunt and giveaways thanks to some generous sponsorship.

The race had to be restarted twice. The second time found James East spinning in Turn 2. Two-time champion Dan Gonderman set the early pace ahead of Josh Gillis and Neeley. Ethan Lanfri moved into the fourth position, and Neeley took second on Lap 4. A Turn 2 pass on the fifth lap gained Neeley the lead from Gonderman, and Jimmy Christian made a Turn 4 pass on Gonderman for second on the sixth lap. Jacob Williams gained third on Lap 7. Contact between Christian and Neeley on the frontstretch saw Christian suffer damage for a Lap 8 yellow flag. Neeley led Williams and East on the restart. A Lap 11 red flag waved after Lanfri got into Gonderman in Turn 4 and rolled. Neeley led Williams and East on the restart. In the later laps, Williams was pressuring Neeley for the lead and executed a low pass in Turn 4 as they were working the 19th lap. That pass was negated as Clint Motta spun in Turn 4 for a yellow flag. Neeley led Williams and East on the restart, and they finished in that order. Tony Bernard ended up fourth, followed by Gonderman, Motta, Steve Maionchi, Lanfri, Christian and Josh Gillis. Eight lap heat race wins went to Lanfri and Williams.

Michael "Spanky," Grenert won the 20 lap Delta Dwarf Car Main Event. Because of a rain out cancellation up north, some of the drivers from the NorCal Dwarf Car Association decided to come to Antioch Speedway at the last minute. Grenert is a long time competitor with the NorCal group, who started racing with them in the late 1990s.

David Rosa took the early lead ahead of Dan Geil and David Michael Rosa. Geil used a low pass in Turn 3 of the second lap to take the lead with David Michael Rosa and Devan Kammermann settling into second and third. A low pass in Turn 4 of the fifth lap put Kammeramamn into second with Dylan Shrum moving into third. Grenert made a high pass in Turn 2 of the seventh lap to grab the third position with Danny Wagner following him into fourth. The battle up front got a little bit too close between Kammermann and Geil as contact dropped them both a couple of spots. Grenert led Wagner into the first two positions on Lap 9. Wagner made an outside pass on the frontstretch on Lap 12 to take the lead, but a yellow flag waved when David Michael Rosa lost a rear tire on the back straightaway. On the restart lap, Grenert began pressuring Wagner, and he made a low pass exiting Turn 4 to assume the lead. Grenert began to pull away just a little bit, but a yellow flag waved on Lap 16 for Thomas Lieby. Grenert led Wagner and Kammermann on the restart, and the lead trio would finish in that order. Chance Russell ended up fourth, followed by Dan Geil, Jack Haverty, Isaak Geil, David Rosa, Branden Shrum and Ellie Russo. Eight lap heat race wins went to Grenert, Haverty and Wagner.

Sage Bordenave won the 20 lap WMR Midget Main Event. This was his second win with the group this season. Bryant Bell set the early pace ahead of Bordenave and Brody Petrie. Logan Mitchell flipped in Turn 2 for a Lap 2 yellow flag. Bell continued to set the pace ahead of Bordenave and Petrie on the restart. A yellow flag waved on Lap 4 for Gary Dunn and John Bordenave. The restart lap saw Tyler Dolacki flipping in Turn 4. Bell led Sage Boardenave and Petrie on the restart with past champion David Prickett moving into fourth. However, Prickett headed pitward on the 10th lap. Sage Bordenave made a Turn 4 pass on Lap 11 to take the lead from Bell. Petrie followed closely into second, and Bell headed for the pits. Sage Bordenave led the rest of the way to win ahead of Petrie, Kyle Hawse, Bell, Prickett, Dolacki, John Bordenave, Dunn, Mitchell and Nate Wait. Petrie and Sage Bordenave picked up the eight lap heat race wins.

Tom Brown won the 20 lap Mini Stock Main Event. Dana Gardner took the lead on the opening lap. Brown made a high pass in Turn 4 on Lap 3 to take over. Shan Titman ran third by then. Brown began to build a good lead and lapped Laina Bales by the seventh lap. The battle was for third between Titman and Dan Abitz, but Abitz began to have problems at the halfway point of the race. Brown won ahead of Gardner, Titman, Abitz and Bales. Brown also won the eight lap heat race.

Next up on the CoCo Farms Racing Calendar will be the Wingless Spec Sprints, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Pacific Coast General Engineering Hobby Stocks and Delta Dwarf Cars next Saturday night. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.

Hogge, Diaz, Hannagan, Myrick Share 

Merced Speedway Spotlight

Merced, CA...April 16...Bobby Hogge IV won the 25 lap IMCA Modified Main Event Saturday night at Merced Speedway. The two-time NASCAR Pacific Coast Regional champion moved into second by the halfway point of the race and spent about a half-dozen laps stalking Chuck Weir before making what proved to be his winning pass. 

A past Dwarf Car competitor, who has most recently been competing in IMCA Sport Modifieds, Weir has moved up again. He jumped into the lead at the start ahead of Raymond Keldsen Jr and Danny Roe. Paul Stone was contending for a Top 5 position when his race came to an end on Lap 8. Weir continued to lead the restart ahead of Roe as Hogge moved into third. Both Ryan Porter and past champion Troy Foulger saw their races come to an end on Lap 11. Weir continued to lead the restart as Hogge moved into second. Bakersfield star Robby Sawyer settled into third on Lap 15, and Hogge put the moves on Weir for the lead on Lap 18. Hogge set a course for victory from there with Weir settling for second ahead of Sawyer, reigning Merced and State champion Jim Pettit II, Jeff Browne, Ethan Dotson, Rick Diaz, Chase Aue, Keldsen and Josh Combs. Weir and Roe won the eight lap heat races.

Rick Diaz won the 20 lap IMCA Stock Car Main Event. Diaz is a past IMCA Sport Modified champion and was the IMCA Modified Rookie of the Year last season. He settled into an early second behind Scott Foster. Diaz slipped past Foster for the lead on Lap 3. Garrett Corn was running third, and he took the second position from Foster on Lap 5. Foster continued to run third until being overtaken by Anthony Giuliani on the 12th circuit. Recent Bakersfield winner Steven Johnson grabbed fourth on Lap 15 and put the moves on Giuliani for third on Lap 18. Though Corn kept it close, Diaz stayed cool under pressure and brought it home to a satisfying win. Johnson settled for third ahead of Paul Stone, Michael Shearer, Foster, Mark Morton, Fred Ryland, Giuliani and Mike Shepherd. The eight lap heat race wins were earned by Diaz and Giuliani.

Joel Hannagan won the 15 lap Valley Sportsman Main Event. Hannagan was piloting the Junkyard Dog Hardtop owned by Doug Braudrick. Hannagan led from the outset ahead of Rick Elliott and Dwayne Short. Marcus Lung slipped past Short for third on Lap 2. As Hannagan built about 2/3 of a lap lead over Elliot. Elliott had his hands full holding off Lung for second. Short managed a lead lap fourth, followed by Tim Prothro, Mike Friesen and Jeff West. Watsonville Speedway Hall of Famer Jerry Cecil was a Main Event scratch, and Hannagan picked up the eight lap heat race win.

Dan Myrick won the 15 lap Mini Stock Main Event. The past West Coast Sport Compact champion had won at Madera Speedway earlier in the afternoon, making it a double win day for him. 

Last year's West Coast Compact point runnerup, Shawn DePriest, took the early lead, followed by Austin Sprague. Myrick quickly moved into the third position, and a yellow flag waved on Lap 5 with both Leo Lotz and Brian Post out of the event. DePriest continued to lead Sprague and Myrick on the restart, but Myrick slipped past Sprague for second on Lap 6. Myrick began challenging DePriest and raced by for the lead on the 10th lap. Myrick went on to lead the rest of the way for the win with DePriest settling for second ahead of Sprague and Jeff Durant. However, Durant was disqualified from fourth, giving that position to three-time champion Chris Corder, followed by Patrick Kelley, Eddie Humphrey III, Daniel Bond, Synthya Tremble, Lotz and Post. Sprague and DePriest picked up the six lap heat race wins. 

Racing returns next Saturday night with the Elk Grove Ford Sprint Car Challenge Tour, Presented by Abreu Vineyards. The BCRA Midgets and Hobby Stocks will also be in action. For further information, go to www.mercedspeedway.com.

Day Has Good Night At Ocean Speedway, 

Gallaher, Wagner, Keldsen Other Winners

Watsonville CA...April 15...Corey Day scored the victory in the Ocean Sprints, presented by Taco Bravo, Main Event Friday night at Ocean Speedway. Day turned up the heat during the second half of the race and made two big passes to collect the victory. 

Once again, 2015 champion Justin Sanders was piloting the Demo Mittry owned entry, and he jumped into the early lead ahead of Shane Golobic and Jayson Bright. Tanner Carrick settled into third on Lap 2 with Day quickly moving into fourth. Day slipped past Carrick for the third position on Lap 10, and Golobic made a low move and Turn 2 of the 13th lap to take the lead from Sanders. Day went low in Turn 2 on lap 21 to grab second from Sanders, and the leaders caught slower traffic. Day started pressuring Golobic and made an inside pass on the backstretch on the 26th lap to take the lead. A yellow flag waved on Lap 27. Day resumed command on the restart and went on to victory ahead of Golobic, Sanders, Tanner Carrick, Caeden Steele, Blake Carrick, Max Mittry, DJ Netto, reigning champion Bud Kaeding and Michael Pombo.

Day was the quickest of 28 drivers in qualifying with a lap of 11.256 around the Tom Sagmiller prepared quarter-mile clay oval. Golobic was second quick at 11.465, beating the 11.467 of Sanders. The eight lap heat race wins went to Tanner Carrick, Netto, Max Mittry and Bright. Sanders grabbed the pole for the feature race by winning the six lap Trophy Dash ahead of Golobic. Steele won the 12 lap B Main ahead of Jason Chisum. Steele led every lap in victory with Chisum a race long second, followed by Gauge Garcia, Bradley Dillard and Mark Chaves Jr.

Reigning champion Joe Gallaher won the 20 lap Hobby Stock Main Event. He jumped into the lead at the start ahead of Tony Oliveira. Adriane Frost made a Turn 4 pass on Lap 3 to take second from Oliveira with Street Stock veteran Tim Ragsdale going low in Turn 2 to take third on the fifth lap. Gallaher had a commanding lead when a yellow flag waved on Lap 11 for newcomer Teddy Ragsdale in Turn 2. Gallaher led Frost and Tim Ragsdale on the restart, and they would finish in that order. Jerry Skelton ended up fourth, followed by Brady Muller, Oliveira, Teddy Ragsdale, Terry Campion, Ryan Muller and Dan Foster. Oliveira and Gallaher picked up the eight lap heat race wins. 

Danny Wagner paid Watsonville a visit and walked away with the 20 lap South Bay Dwarf Car Main Event win. Wagner is a two-time champion at Antioch and currently leads the Delta Dwarf Car standings there. 

Wagner jumped into the lead at the start ahead of past South Bay champion Mark Biscardi. Eric Weisler settled into third on Lap 3. A red flag waved on Lap 4 when Mike Aceves rolled in Turn 2. Wagner continued to lead the way on the restart as Weisler took second from Biscardi. Joe Barket went low in Turn 1 on the sixth lap to take third from Biscardi. Wagner held a straightaway advantage over Weisler by the 10th lap, and Barket moved past Weisler for second on Lap 13. Wagner held a commanding lead over Barket by the end of the race as Biscardi settled for third ahead of Dan Zuger, Barry Waddell, Eddie Claessen, Weisler, Robert Reed, Travis Day and Mack Aceves. Wagner and Biscardi picked up the eight lap heat race wins.

DJ Keldsen returned and won the 15 lap Four Banger Main Event. He was driving the Lloyd Keldsen Jr tribute car, normally piloted by brother Dakota Keldsen. Troy Moore jumped into the early lead ahead of Keldsen, but Keldsen made a low pass in Turn 3 of the second lap to take over. Richard Mitchell settled into third, and a yellow flag waved for Jason Bookout on Lap 3. Keldsen continued to lead Moore and Mitchell on the restart. Keldsen set a good pace out front and caught traffic by Lap 10. Keldsen went on to score the satisfying win ahead of Moore, Mitchell, Kenny Stragalinos, TJ Santos, Nicole Beardsley, Travis Van Gilder, reigning champion Tony Gullo, Bill Beardsley and Ryan McClelland. McClelland and Moore picked up the six lap heat race wins.

A loaded card this weekend will include the Ocean Sprint Cars, IMCA Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, South Bay Dwarf Cars, Four Bangers and Police N Pursuit cars. For further information, go to www.oceanspeedway.com.

Moles Wins USAC Midgets Race at Bakersfield, 

Kiefer, Bender, Loftis, Clem Other Winners

Bakersfield, CA...April 16...Mitchel Moles won the 30 lap USAC Western States Midgets Main Eventt Saturday night at Bakersfield Speedway. Moles was piloting the Woodworks Unlimited sponsored Midget, and he got the lead after a bit of contact with leader Travis Buckley. 

Jake Andreotti set the early pace ahead of Matt Mitchell and Buckley. Buckley went low in Turn 4 on Lap 5 to take second from Mitchell. Andreotti experienced mechanical issues exiting Turn 2 as they were working the sixth lap, ending his race. The restart lap saw CJ Sarna crash in Turn 4 for another yellow flag. Buckley led Mitchell and Robby Josett on the restart. Moles made an inside pass on the backstretch on Lap 11 to take fourth from Brody Fuson. Josett went low in Turn 3 on Lap 14 to grab second from Mitchell with Moles following into third with a Turn 2 pass on Lap 15. A yellow flag waved for Zach Telford on the frontstretch on Lap 17. Buckley continued to lead Josett and Moles on the restart, and Ben Worth brought out a yellow flag a lap later in Turn 3. As Buckley continued to lead the restart, Moles went low in Turn 3 to take second from Josett. The battle got a little too close as they worked Turns 3 and 4 on Lap 22. Contact sent Buckley spinning as Moles emerged with the lead. Moles led Mitchell and AJ Bender on the restart, and they finished in that order with Josett settling for fourth, followed by Michael Faccinto, Sarna, Fuson, Terry Nichols, Buckley and Braden Chiramonte. 

There were 21 Midgets for the show, and Moles set the fast time of blank, beating the blank Faccinto and the blank of Worth. The 10 lap heat race wins went to Moles, Faccinto and Worth. The USAC Western States Midgets will be at Merced Speedway next Saturday night. For further information, go to www.usacracing.com.

Levi Kiefer got the win in the 25 lap IMCA Sport Modified Main Event after apparent wintlner Matthew Mayo Jr was disqualified. Billy Simkins jumped into the early lead ahead of Tyler Blankenship, and a yellow flag waved for Andrew Johnston on the frontstretch on Lap 2. Blankenship slid into the lead on the restart lap as they exited Turn 2, but it was Mayo making a similar move in Turn 4 to get the lead before the lap was completed. Simkins was running in third, and a yellow flag waved for Jonathan Hagio in Turn 3. On the first restart attempt, there was a Turn 4 crash involving Willy Oathout, Hagio, Austin Ruskauf and Michael Black. Mayo continued to lead the restart ahead of Blankenship and Simkins. Kiefer quickly settled into the fourth position. A yellow flag waved for Matt Wankum in Turn 4 on Lap 17. Mayo continued to lead Blankenship and Simkins on the restart, and Kiefer was third a lap later. Johnston brought out a final yellow flag in Turn 2 on Lap 20. Mayo led Kiefer and recent Al Miller Memorial Merced Speedway winner Garrett Jernagan on the restart. As Mayo sped to the apparent victory, Kiefer held off Jernagan for second. After the post race disqualification, Kiefer got the win ahead of Jernagan, Blankenship, Cale Kanke, Daniel West, Simkins, Markus Frazier, Brock Crawford, John Piker and Oathout. Eight lap heat race wins went to Wankum, Blankenship and Frazier.

AJ Bender scored the victory in the rapidly run 25 lap California Lightning Sprint Main Event. The race had just one yellow flag early on. The win for Bender came aboard the Wink Schweitzer owned billneil.com Real Estate Agent sponsored entry.

Bender charged into the lead at the start ahead of Ken Coulston and Jeff Dyer. A yellow flag waved on Lap 1 for Leland Day on the back straightaway. Bender resumed command on the restart ahead of Coulston and Dyer. Bender set a rapid pace and caught traffic by the eighth lap. Meanwhile, Dyer made a frontstretch pass on Lap 9 to take second from Coulston. Eric Greco and Cody Nigh were soon challenging Coulston for third. Greco made the move into that position on Lap 11, and Bender had a half-lap advantage by the 14th circuit. Greco went low in Turn 1 of the 16th lap to take second from Dyer. Bender masterfully worked his way through traffic and had a big enough lead that he would still prevail despite the fact that Greco gained some ground on him in the end. Dyer settled for third, followed by Nigh, Dominic Del Monte, Jeremy Queener, Will Browne, Harlee Aguilera, Trevor Ballou and reigning champion David Gasper.

There was a 19 car field for this occasion, and multi-time champion Bobby  Michnowicz set the fast time of 13.176, beating the 13.235 of Brandon Leedy and the 13.284 of Nigh. The three eight lap heat race wins went to Dyer, Aguilera, and Jon Robertson. To keep up to date with the latest happenings of the group, go to www.racecls.com.

Tate Loftis won the 25 lap Hobby Stock Main Event. He was coming off of the big $2,000 win at Merced in the Al Miller Memorial race. Marcus Wankum jumped into the early lead ahead of Brooke Cimental. However, a low pass and Turn 2 of the fourth lap gained Loftis second with Jimmy Irwin following quickly into third. A close battle for the Top 3 positions soon developed, but a yellow flag waved on Lap 6 for a Jacob Vander Griff spin in Turn 4. On the restart lap, Loftis dove down low in Turn 1 and emerged with the lead with Wankum second. Karl Noland briefly gained third, but Irwin got back around him on Lap 8. Loftis started to pull away, leaving Wankum and Irwin to battle for the second position. Ricky Childress Jr soon found himself in fifth and was battling Noland for the fourth spot. Childress had fourth by Lap 13 and set his sights on Irwin, making a low pass in Turn 2 of the 15th lap to gain the position. A low move in Turn 3 of Lap 16 put Childress into second, and he began to reel in Loftis. Irwin and Wankum battled fiercely for the third position. Childress caught Loftis, but he was unable to make the move as Loftis brought it home to victory. Irwin made a late move around Wankum for third with Noland ending up fifth, followed by Dylan Wilson, Cimental, Austin Manzella, Jim Reed and Brock Crawford. Heat race wins went to Childress and Crawford.

Riley Clem won the 20 lap IMCA Mod Lites Main Event. This race featured a very wild finish as Tim Varney took the early lead ahead of Clem and Zander Keeland. A low move in Turn 2 on the second lap gained Clem lead, and JD Brown settled into third. Brown made an inside pass in Turn 2 on Lap 4 to take second. Tim Varney made a Turn 4 pass before the lap was complete to gain third. A yellow flag waved for Keeland in Turn 2 on Lap 8. Clem led Brown and Tim Varney on the restart. A Matt Phillips spin in Turn 4 brought out a Lap 19 yellow flag. Brown hit the Turn 3 wall to end his race. Clem led the field to the green flag, but Varney actually got around him through Turns 1 and 2. A little contact down the back straightaway saw Clem regain the lead, and Keeland made a strong inside move to exit Turn 4 with the lead. Contact from Clem saw Keeland go head on into the front wall for a red flag. Track officials determined that Clem was the winner ahead of Tim Varney, Candi Varney, Keeland, Brown, Phillips and Parker Cherry. Brown won the eight lap heat race.

Racing resumes this Saturday night with the IMCA Modifieds back in action along with the IMCA Western RaceSaver 305 Sprint Cars, American Stocks and Mini Stocks. For further information, go to www.bakersfieldspeedway.com.

Torgerson, Mauldin, Davis Pick Up Dixon Speedway Victories 

Dixon, CA...April 16...Ashton Torgerson did it again. He picked up wins in both the 25 lap Super 600 Micro Sprint Main Event and the Wingless 600 Micro Sprint race. It was the second-straight week that he accomplished this feat at Dixon Speedway in as many races.

Brother Austin Torgerson took the early lead ahead of Ashton Torgerson and Jeffrey Pahule. No sooner had Ashton Torgerson took the lead on Lap 12 then Austin saw his race come to a disappointing end. Ashton Torgerson led Pahule and Colin Kirby at that point, but Kirby tangled with Robbie Lewis in the battle for third for a Lap 15 yellow flag. Ashton Torgerson lead Pahule and Danny Carroll on the restart, and they finished in that order. Cody Gray settled for fourth, followed by Jett Barnes, Austin Wood, Brandon Shaw, Tucker LaCaze, Izaak Sharpe and Kelvin Lewis. 

There were 29 Wingless 600 Micros, and Ashton Torgerson toured the 1/5 mile dirt oval at 11.041 to set the fast time. Gray was second quick at 11.056, beating the 11.073 of Robbie Lewis. The 10 lap heat race wins went to Lucas Johnson, Ashton Torgerson, Kirby and Carroll. It was Ashton Torgerson holding off Austin Torgerson to win the 10 lap Trophy Dash and secure a clean sweep. Jarrett Heimlich won the 12 lap B Main. Heimlich led from the outset with Kelvin Lewis a race long second. Drew Laeber held third until his race hit a speed bump on Lap 7, moving Chris Parmley into the position, where he would finish.

In the Super 600 Micro Sprint Main Event, Ashton Torgerson led from the outset to pick up the win. Austin Torgerson held second ahead of Izaak Sharp until being passed on Lap 18. It was Ashton Torgerson getting the win ahead of Sharp, Austin Torgerson, Jeffrey Pahule, Jett Barnes, Austin Wood, Tyler Chomorro, Tony Alosi, Brandon Alvarado and Rylee Whitehouse. Sharp set the fast time of 10.293, beating the 10.295 of Austin Torgerson and the 10.326 of Ashton Torgerson. Barnes and Austin Torgerson picked up the 10 lap heat race wins with six lap Trophy Dash honors going to Ashton Torgerson.

Lucas Mauldin won the 20 lap Restricted 600 Micro Sprint Main Event. He had a pole position start and proceeded to lead all 20 laps in what proved to be a rough race. Fellow Jr Sprint graduates Brody Rubio and Hayden Stepps ran the second and third, respectively, the entire way. Kaiden Gowen ran fourth early on ahead of Adrianna DeMartini. DeMartini made the move around Gowen with two laps to go to claim the fourth place finishing position. Matthew Linde, Vito Cancilla, AJ Nielson, Cam Caraway and Levi Osborne rounded out the Top 10.

DeMartini set the fast time of 18 competitors with a lap of 11.038, beating the 11.079 of Mauldin and the 11.084 of Stepps. The two 10 lap heat race wins were earned by Gowen and Mauldin. Mauldin completed a clean sweep by winning the six lap Trophy Dash ahead of Stepps.

Briggs Davis picked up the win in the 20 lap Jr Sprint Main Event. The scramble for the early lead found Maya Mauldin leading the opening lap ahead of Jackson Tardiff and Briggs Davis. Davis got past both drivers for the lead on Lap 2 with Tardiff moving into second a lap later. Davis would go on to lead Tardiff the rest of the way for the 1-2 finish. Colin Reynolds began battling Mauldin late and made the pass for third on Lap 18. Mauldin came roaring back on the final lap to reclaim third as Reynolds settled for fourth ahead of Haven Sherman, James Grandrath, Samantha Dozier, Charlie Haines, Isaac Salameh and Heston Stepps. Davis set the fast time of 13.052, beating the 13.139 of Mauldin. The two 10 lap heat race wins were recorded by Davis and Mauldin, and Davis also picked up the six lap Trophy Dash win to make it a clean sweep.

Racing resumes on May 7th with the regular lineup of Micro Sprint divisions. For further information, go to www.dixonspeedway.com.

Hudson, Peery, Barlow Winners 

As Diamond Mountain Speedway Beats Rain

Susanville, CA...April 16...Klamath Falls, Oregon's Jeffrey Hudson scored the victory in the 20 lap IMCA Modified Main Event Saturday night at Diamond Mountain Speedway. With threatening skies above, management still rolled the dice and made a show happen. Car count numbers were down slightly, but the show went on. 

Hudson started in the third row, while reigning champion Riley Simmons started last in the nine-car field. Hudson got to the front of the pack quicker and held off Simmons for the win. Larry McCracken settled for third, followed by Jeff White and Tyler Patzke. Hudson and Chris Nieman picked up the eight lap heat race wins. 

Reigning Siskiyou Golden Speedway champion Ryan Peery returned and won another IMCA Sport Modified 20 lap Main Event. Peery joined Tyler Rodgers as an eight lap heat race winner. He started back in the fourth row with Rodgers in the third row. This duo along with past Siskiyou Speedway champion Ethan Killingsworth worked their way to the front. Peery prevailed ahead of Rogers with Killingsworth settling for third ahead of Beau Reynolds and Bion Barr. 

Carl Barlow picked up the win in the 20 lap Street Stock Main Event. With a dozen competitors, this was the biggest turnout for any of the divisions present. Barlow started in the second row and wasted little time getting the lead. Fourth row starter Randy Boyd and fifth row starter Royce Goetz worked their way towards the front before finishing second and third, respectively. Rocky Goetz and Don Deiter completed the Top 5 at the checkered flag. Deiter, Aaron Flournoy and Royce Goetz won their respective eight lap heat races. 

Terry Kennemore won the 20 lap IMCA Stock Car Main Event and the eight lap heat race. He started in the second row and would get the win ahead of Jeff Olschowka, Jesse Gonzalez, Jason Emmot and Gary Hahtala. Richard Longacre suffered a mechanical issue and failed to start the feature race.

Suzi Schmitt picked up the win in the 15 lap Mini Stock Main Event. Schmitt started back in the third row with Anthony Hovland. The duo overtook Ashlyn Hogan to get the 1-2 finish. Hogan settled for third ahead of Brian Smith and Michael Boyd. Nick Boucher and Schmitt won the six lap heat races. 

Racing returns on May 14th with IMCA Modifieds IMCA Sport Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars, Street Stocks and Mini Stocks all competing. For further information, go to www.dmspeedway.com.

The Editor's Viewpoint

I'm not really in the best of moods right now. Last night, I got 2 hours of sleep, got back up and did some work on the souvenir program and went back to sleep again. I swore that this is the kind of thing that wouldn't happen again. 

Racing is taking over my life, and I've reasoned I just need to get on a schedule to make it work for me. Once that happens, this will stop. However, I see the signs. There will always be another thing and another thing, and I'll get by and make do with less. My needs won't matter. Unacceptable.

I've tried not to run my mouth, because I had to be convinced to return to racing in the first place. The problem is, my default position is what can I do for racing? I'll get taken care of if I just jump in and help. No, I know the road this goes down. I need to stop this. 

I wasn't planning on doing much more than patrol the place and write articles. Yet, I'm doing a significant bit more than that and my mind is opening up the possibility of even more. There's no extra money coming my way for any of this as of yet.

Doing a souvenir program is pretty much in my wheelhouse. I had to open my mouth and say I would do this, and it seemed like I almost wasn't going to be taken up on this. I have mentioned in the recent past that I was asked by the boss to do it as she was locking up the office. That's fine. 

I had to put a rush on it to get the first edition done a week earlier than I probably should have. I was about 80% happy with the product, but even 80% is not so bad. It pretty much sold out, and they need the next edition now. 

As of now, it's done. I would say it's 90% to 95% where I want it. Statistics are updated, page count is where I want it. I got everything done, and then the boss told Larry to get me to add a couple of ads. That's fine, but why they didn't tell me the day before when they were here, I'm not sure. 

It stretched things on longer than I needed it to be and ate into my blog time. I either stop and wallow in my anger and frustration, or I get the job done. I had something else I needed to do, so I got it done

At this point, I'm out of food, so I had to leave the trailer to The Dollar Tree to get more food and a hot plate at Target. Financially, it's a little bit easier for me to do it that way, rather than get propane. I get back to the house and figure I'll write this column, but my brain is tired. I don't even check to make sure the program layout is exactly how I want it. I'm down for the count for three hours. 

I needed to sleep, and frankly, I need more sleep. I'm writing this instead, and I'll double check the program layout. I just want to take the layout and print the program on Friday before watching Watsonville, plus I need to reread this stuff and get the blog post up, if possible.

It means that this column is more of a pain in the butt if I keep whining about my problems. I'm okay, but I see that I need to stop doing things the way I'm doing them. If I'm still buried under a pile of racing in July, I've got a real problem. I haven't taken care of any of the personal things I need to do yet, and I am a little over a month and a half into my time back here.

Yeah, I need to settle into a routine, but I have yet to have one day where I don't have to do one thing for racing. You want to know one of the biggest reasons why I was done with racing? This. I need a life. I need to be able to do other things. If I want to write about something that has nothing to do with racing, I need time to do it. 

The people have been wonderful and made me feel welcome. Nobody's giving me any negativity over my personal choices, and I'm allowed to be me. That's a positive. However, I'm not in the mood to give 110% of myself if the compensation doesn't match it. I'm too old to spend that kind of energy on something without it coming back, and I already agreed to the terms to come back. 

So, taking on more responsibility isn't something I want. I've already proven what I can do and that I care, but there are limits. Nobody else goes as far as I do. I made those choices, so I'm trying not to complain.

There's a big concern about attendance here at Antioch Speedway, and I get it. Everybody knows what it used to be like. Everybody knows what the intention was when we had the management change. However, everybody can see the numbers have actually regressed in the grandstands. I won't lay that completely at the feet of new management, because they were affected by the pandemic. 

However, there's still this concern. We need more fans. I'm doing everything I can do and working on things I didn't say I would do, all in the hopes of making it better. I can relate a project I'm working on that will help if it comes to fruition, and there's also the fact that I'm not getting all the help I need to do this to the best of my ability. 

I got contacted by Angela Brown earlier in the week. I had a goal in mind for how I wanted my personal week to go and how I was going to have Thursday off. Again, I failed. Last Saturday, she and I spoke as the kids were doing their Easter egg hunt in the infield. She spoke of wanting to do an autograph session, which is a good idea. 

That kind of interactivity will lead to more enjoyment for the fans. Somehow, our discussion there and when she called me led to me spending three unplanned hours creating a flier that the ladies of racing will use to sign autographs. That was time I planned on using for myself, but I didn't necessarily mind helping the cause. 

Rain prior to race day threatened to derail the Easter egg hunt and the cool things that were planned. It would have been easy to throw in the towel, but I know that management here is going to try to run the race. They did it to their own detriment a few weeks earlier. This time, they came out there in the morning and saw that the pits were still manageable. They went for it. 

This time, however, the skies cleared up and we did better in attendance than we did the last time. Actually, we did better numbers than the previous weekend with a better lineup that weekend as well. It's always nice when you roll the dice and it pays off

My assessment was that this was a Wingless Spec Sprint crowd. They stayed to the end to watch them, and they got an exciting finish. The Delta Dwarf Cars were clearly the most enjoyable Main Event. The Mini Stocks under delivered, and I was a little bit disappointed there weren't three or four more cars. 

The WMR Midgets clearly were not on their game. Then again, bad nights happen. I said I felt that leadership of the group over booked them, and I think I'll use this night as Exhibit A. They were just turning a corner with car count, but this will leave them stunted at 10-12 on average. Was it wise to book about 10 more dates this year? 

I was really happy to see Tyler Slay in the pits, though he's getting around in a wheelchair. He's upbeat and optimistic, and I pray for his health to continue to get better. The drivers who came out here gave it there all, but the race didn't flow. 

It was a little more rough and tumble than it needed to be, but part of that can be blamed on track conditions. When you have that kind of rain prior to race day, that's the risk you take. A group like the WMR needs a smoother track. The drivers still did their best. 

I'll play Booking 101 here, a variation of Mike McCann's Promoting 101. Mike may not even agree with me. We did speak this morning for quite a bit. I'd reach out to BCRA, the top person in the group who cares about Midget racing. I think their leadership is more Lightning Sprint oriented, rather than the traditional Midgets. 

My question would be, do you guys want to rebuild this thing? Do you guys think a home dirt track like Antioch Speedway can help you do it? If we gave you 6-8 dates, could you deliver us 8-12 cars on a consistent basis from the start? 

I know there are at least that many Midgets sitting in garages, and probably more. I felt strongly for the last several years that they needed dirt track racing to rebuild their numbers, and they could just lose pavement as far as I was concerned. Antioch used to be their home track at one time. No disrespect to WMR Midgets, but full Midgets put on a better show. 

If the group was willing to work with the track, the track could work with them. The group could rebuild its numbers and realize the track that was giving them the opportunity. It could forge a relationship where everybody wins. I could go deeper, but I see this is an opportunity. I also know it's something in my head that won't be pursued. There's not much use in going further than that here when it's not going to get the chance.

Antioch still had a good night in my opinion. They don't get the attendance they should get, but it was better than the previous week. The car count was lower than it could have been, but it still was enough for a show. You take the positives and go back to the drawing board. 

This week's show will contain the Pacific Coast General Engineering Hobby Stocks, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Wingless Spec Sprints and Delta Dwarf Cars. Next week, they are hoping for a huge crowd for the Malicious Monster Truck Insanity Tour show.

I'll call Antioch Speedway a work in progress. One of the reasons why I'm jumping in more than I really should be doing is my concern for the track. I still need to slow my pace a little bit, but seeing 300-400 fans where we should have at least twice that many it's frustrating. I wish I had the tools I needed and wasn't having to make do with things. 

I wish there was a little bit more compensation when my effort is what it is, but I know that part of that is we've got to see the numbers go up. I'm doing what I can do, but I wonder if we should have one of those meetings where we start pitching ideas. No idea is a bad idea, just throw your ideas in and we'll see what we have. What way do we go from here? 

You want to work social media. We are doing that. I will do some stuff on Friday as I have been doing. They do need to Facebook Boost a specific mid-week post that hypes the next race, because it's been proven a winner. It was a winner in Medford. 

I need more help getting the information I need to open the door I'm trying to get open for us. It would be a positive, and part of what I need isn't there. It will make what I'm trying to do that much harder. 

I'm not going to put anybody on the spot as to the help they could be giving me, but I'm not getting that help. Again, I'm only one person. People can see my effort, but there are negatives that are impacting the effectiveness of what I'm doing. 

Weather forced Placerville and Petaluma to cancel early. Yreka was the earliest cancellation. Marysville also canceled. I think Susanville was on the fence. They ran a race, but the numbers were clearly lower than they could have been. 

Cottage Grove tried to roll the dice, but Heather should have known better than that. They were getting nowhere, and it ended with her telling everybody the races were canceled in the late afternoon. Cory and Sandy opened the gates at Willamette Speedway and had a decent night of it. I'm happy for them. 

There are no wrong answer on a gloomy morning of a race day. If you don't think you can get the butts in the seats, you're clearly within your right to cancel. It doesn't matter if you can run under gloomy conditions because it's not going to rain. Racers will look at you as the bad guy for not being good for racing. However, if you're looking at your wallet, you may think this is going to hurt on two levels.

The fans don't want to come out and freeze, and some racers will think you're canceled and not show up. You'll still be the hero for trying, but financially, a decision to run on a night like this versus saving it until next week can determine whether you lose money or not. There are no wrong answers, just the risk you're willing to take.

I don't think there was too much debate at Merced Speedway. I think they knew they were going for it. Then again, they had a couple of divisions, Sportsman and Mini Stocks, that were light on cars. The IMCA Modifieds delivered. 

They were just coming off of another big night in the pits. Merced does pretty well when they have the big nights, because the racers want to support them. I give Doug Lockwood a lot of credit. 

I still haven't heard what the plan is in regards to Hall of Fame night, if they are going to do it and would they still like my help. They are dealing with more immediate things. 

They want to mix it up and give the fans special open wheel nights, so that means the Sprint Car Challenge Tour and some Midget racing are on the bill this week. I think it should be a winner. I'm hoping they get a few more fans in the stands. 

The Central California Clash is also on the agenda for the first week of May. This was controversial. Some people were thinking these guys should have not pushed to do the Speedweek Series without the tracks up north. I think Doug made the right call for a couple of reasons, and I'll tell you why.

What you're trying to do is keep your numbers up and give the drivers less towing for the week. They're only doing the dates at tracks between Bakersfield and Merced. It's a seven-day span that also includes Tulare and Hanford. However, they are clearly thinking they're going to draw drivers from beyond that radius. There will be drivers from further south and further north. 

The Bay Area tracks won't try to book against them, because they know they're going to lose drivers who want to participate. The money is still going to be what it was for Speedweek, but the idea is the drivers won't be traveling even longer distances during that week, versus starting at Bakersfield and ending up at Placerville. To me, this is smart booking.

They're still paying $1,000 to win the Modifieds and $750 to win the Sport Modifieds. The IMCA Stock Cars are included in all events for $600 to win. There's lots of contingency money, and it's plenty of incentive for the drivers to support the show. I think they should do okay, but I'll be curious to watch the numbers. 

They are going to be on Flo Racing. Doug was gracious enough to sponsor me this subscription when he took the Speedweek idea that I was pitching on this blog a couple of years ago. I've made the commitment to attempt to cover the whole deal, and I plan to keep that commitment. 

I'm not going to join the people on the bandwagon going after Doug for going the way he did with race dates. I see who he is forming his alliances with, but you go where you think you can have the most success. The bottom line is this is a business. You're trying to make money, and the alliances you form are reflective of that intention. 

That doesn't mean that the tracks up north couldn't have gotten together and done something separate. They still could. For instance, nobody's stopping Watsonville, Antioch and Petaluma from creating a Tri Track weekend or something of that nature. The only thing stopping them is a desire by the promoters to sit down and make an agreement.

I can pitch the Antioch-Petaluma alliance until the cows come home, but that doesn't mean the tracks will go for it here. I call it a Benicia Bridge Series, and it has potential success written all over it. In this case, you only need two promoters to sit down and make an agreement. As long as both promoters are willing to do what it takes, I don't see how it would be a failure. 

The reason I bring up Tri Track weekends is because Petaluma has already shown a willingness to have Sunday races. Watsonville does Fridays and Antioch is Saturdays. Why couldn't you do something that was anchored by IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds and Hobby Stocks? You could probably even throw Winged 360 Sprint Cars in on a deal like this or Wingless Spec Sprints and have some success.

Petaluma Speedway got criticized because Promoter Rick Faeth made the decision to ban the Confederate flag at his races. Was this even a problem? I am going to tread lightly on this discussion. I'm the type of person that would fly a Confederate flag over my trailer along with an American flag, but I wouldn't stop there. You might even get the Gaston flag, but you're going to get the Gay Pride flag and Transgender Pride flag with it. Let's not forget the POW MIA flag. Take your pick. Somebody's going to hate one of my flags, but others are going to like them. 

In the woke world, it's popular to go after the Confederate flag. I prefer people who are awake to people who are woke, because it seems more genuine and takes a little bit more thought to be awake than it does to be woke. There is a difference, but I'm not going to use this column to explain it. 

I know people are saying that the Confederate flag is racist. I'm sure there are people who fly that flag with that intent. There are plenty of reasons for people to fly that flag, but the people I know oftentimes are doing it for family and culture pride, not so much a statement against any other race.

When I would see Mark Odgers fly those two flags on the back of his trailer at Merced, I knew what he was doing. He'd fly the American flag because he's proud of his country. He'd fly the other flag because it represents family and certain values of integrity. Mark is the kind of guy who would give the shirt off of his back to help any of his friends. You're not going to convince me he's a bad man. 

I don't think there was any sort of real problem going on at Petaluma that I know of, but somebody's welcome to enlighten me if there was. It seems to me that Rick got involved with woke trends, and he's suffering the backlash from people who now won't support him. It will be what it is, but Petaluma did get off to a good start this year. Was this stance needed?

I paid attention to the Flo Racing broadcast with the USAC Midgets at Bakersfield. I didn't think they had that bad of a show. The Hobby Stocks are putting on some great races. I think Bakersfield has taken on the mantle once held by Watsonville in the 1980s. Some of the best drivers who travel up and down the road and win come from Bakersfield. 

When the money is on the line, there's a good chance that a Bakersfield driver will win it, and this includes the Hobby Stocks. They put on a good race, and Tate Loftis is certainly having a breakthrough season. Unfortunately, I didn't see bigger numbers in the grandstands for this show, but the racing was pretty good. 

The numbers seem to be up in the pits at Dixon Speedway for their Micro Sprint show, and I'm happy for Jeremy Prince. I'm going to try to keep covering them as long as it doesn't hurt me too much in my scheduling. If I don't see things on my own schedule calming down to a low roar, I may make adjustments in the next few weeks. I am reasoning that I need to shut off my phone and just ignore people. 

If you don't have a real reason for getting in touch with me as in something that really demands my attention, it can wait. Being located in a pit area at a race track offers this sort of problem, and I knew it going in. I don't like it. In any case, I'm happy that Dixon seems to be doing pretty well so far. I hope it continues. 

I did intend to cover the West Coast Sport Compacts, but I hit a roadblock. They went to Kern County Raceway for the Dwarf Car Nationals. They didn't have an app opened on Race Monitor or results on Speedhive, and the Dwarf Cars handled My Race Pass. The Dwarf Car group isn't really interested in paying attention to the Sport Compacts. 

Series Promoter Dan Myrick knows he has my support, and he provided a way for me to watch what those guys did a couple weeks ago. I have to say I was impressed.

These are some of the best Mini Stock/Sport Compact racers on the West Coast. Dan promotes this division better than anybody that I know of. It's still a budget class, but these drivers might rise a little bit further above than most. You're running a division that most people with a budget can still afford, and these people can also afford to tune their cars up and be competitive. 

What you end up getting is what we had for this affair. Four drivers battling fiercely at the front of the pack in the end. I don't care if these aren't the fastest cars on the track. If this is the kind of racing they provide, give me a date. 

Dan is a man willing to try different things if it'll work. He tried coming all the way up to Antioch. I think that past Merced, there's a challenge in getting cars. I'd love to see what this group could do at a place like Hills Ferry, which is similar to Lemoore Raceway in size, where this group launched six years ago. 

He's focusing more down in The Valley, and that is smart. We're in difficult economic times, so he's trying to make sure he can deliver double-digit numbers and give the fans and the tracks the quality show he knows he's capable of delivering. Kern County Raceway was a success for the group in my opinion. 

I would like to see a Tri State Pro Stock race at Antioch later in the year. I don't know if this is possible, because management is taking a position that is somewhat adversarial towards this group. What I don't get is they also want to run more Super Stock races, so why would you be negative towards a group that's trying to promote them? 

I know there is a concern that some of the Antioch cars are being declared illegal, and I stand with Antioch. If you're going to run tracks and say that those track's rules count, then maybe you should lighten up? It isn't the Antioch drivers traveling up and down the road in the series and getting the wins. 

When Jim Freethy starts winning everywhere else and his car is a little bit different than the other guys, then we can talk. Until that time, Antioch cars are not the ones that have the advantage, so give me a break. 

That said, there has to be a way to get the track to compromise and get the series to compromise. The other thing I think is that the Tri State leadership should realize there are challenges on the horizon that could negatively impact their car count. Nevada racers now have an option. At some point, Bakersfield leadership may put something significant together that will keep their drivers home. 

Bay Area support is there at Petaluma and could be there at Antioch. Stockton and Petaluma stand with Tri State, Watsonville has opened their gates to them, and Antioch should be at the table. I'd like to see it happen, but I think we'd have to look at later in the year, perhaps in October after Bakersfield.

I'll just go with the idea that Mike McCann threw at me earlier in the morning. He sees the Chet Thomson Memorial Hardtop race on October 22nd as the date to target. He proposed the Larry Damitz race being run there, when I've been looking at Memorial Day weekend. That's more along the lines of where Larry's race was established when John Soares had the place. Mike thinks the numbers could be better. If we had Tri State on board with this, there's plenty of time to promote it and make it better. I have to agree with that. 

I want what would work for the series and Antioch, and this date has winner written all over it. Tri State would need a little help raising funds, because the track itself is only going to go so far. There would be plenty of time to do it if a date were agreed to on this night.

The Hardtop drivers shot themselves in the foot. The stance that they took, or how it was received by Antioch management, was simple. Every scheduling conflict that happened was Antioch's fault. Antioch, the track that wanted to give these guys a half a dozen races, is somehow the bad guy. 

Antioch, the track that was cool with the Sportsman cars running with the Hardtops to get bigger numbers, was somehow the problem. I've had to sort of back off and let it be what it is, despite the fact that I'd like to support the Hardtops. I had a goal of getting the drivers in a huddle at the April race to see where we were with trying to do something about the Bay Area movement. 

When the April date was seen as problematic at Antioch and it was canceled, there went that goal. I was looking at Memorial Day weekend, but that one got canceled. At some point, you throw your hands up in the air. If they want to take the pistol and shoot themselves in the foot, why not let them? I'm not going to stick my neck out and get my head chopped off, even if I like the class. 

The Memorial Day weekend, especially if I had managed to make that the Larry Damitz Memorial, would have worked. Larry's other two divisions of choice, Limited Late Models and Super Stocks, were both booked. Why not the Hardtops, where Larry ran for 20 years? I backed off on the idea, and I'm reluctant to pitch any others.

I know there are people who were instrumental in being leaders of this group who are heading to Indiana. They may still support some Antioch as they have one foot left in California, but they won't be leading the way in the future. This means the drivers who are left need to do something. 

They should have realized that they've got a track in Antioch that could either give them all of their dates or give a good chunk of them. Then, they could reach out to promoters in Stockton, Petaluma and Watsonville for more if they so chose.

A few weeks back, I got an earful from Xtreme Limited Late Model Series Director Mikey Slaney, and I can't say I disagree with anything he said. I totally understand why he feels the way he does. I heard from Dave Mackey prior to coming to California, and it was an eye opener. I can't say he hasn't tried. 

I did want to go in and help promote the Chet Thomson race, because I feel like this event could reach outside of the track to a special gathering, or we'd call it a reunion of Vallejo Speedway. I can't get everybody in a huddle on an off night, because most of this group doesn't even hail from anywhere near Antioch. What can I do? 

What I can do at this point is shut up. I have a lot to edit, and I want to get back to bed. Antioch, Petaluma, Merced and Watsonville are all doing something. Watsonville runs later this evening, so shutting my mouth now is a good plan. Until next time...