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Tri State Pro Stocks, Hobby Stocks
Anchor Six Division Program Saturday At Antioch Speedway
By DCRR Racing Media
Antioch, CA...Racing continues this Saturday night at Antioch Speedway with another exciting six division program set to compete on the 3/8 mile clay oval. The Tri State Pro Stock Series makes their first of two scheduled appearances this week. The Pacific Coast Hobby Stocks are back for their third race of the season, joined by the Wingless Spec Sprints, Dwarf Cars, Mini Stocks and 600 Micro Sprints.
The Tri State Pro Stocks are beginning their eighth season. The group was created in the interest of promoting bigger races for the Pro Stock/Super Stock division with better purses. After last week's scheduled season opener at Santa Maria was rained out at the last minute, the drivers are chomping at the bit to go racing this week.
Mike Learn of Petaluma took home all the hardware last season. He won his first Tri State championship since 2019 to go along with track titles at both Antioch Speedway and Petaluma Speedway. Learn won two of the regular Antioch shows last year and finished third in the Workman Communications 50 behind Chris Smith of Coalinga and Jay Sears Reno, Nevada.
Learn has won the last three Petaluma championships with Santa Rosa's Randy Miramontez finishing second each season. Miramontez is the 2021 Petaluma champion. Learn, Miramontez and Austin Lodin of Santa Rosa all made the trip to Santa Maria last week before the rainout occurred. Also there was Ryan Smith of Coalinga, Smith won two of the three Antioch Tri State races last season.
Three-time Antioch champion Jim Freethy of Danville will lead the local charge this week. Freethy is currently third all time in Antioch Super Stock wins with 25. Antioch's Joey Ridgeway is also anticipated for this show along with Paul Hanley of Emerald Hills. Hanley finished third in Antioch points last season.
With 21 races scheduled, this year's Pacific Coast Hobby Stock championship battle is a marathon, not a sprint. However, everybody wants to get off to a good start, and three drivers have done well so far. James Thomson of Pittsburg finished third at the opener and won last week, while Oakley's Hunter Hammett has picked up back to back second place finishes. The duo enters this week in a tie for the lead, six tallies ahead of Oakley's Brodie Garner. Garner has a fourth and a fifth and has won both of his heat races.
After winning the season opener, Oakley's Aidan Ponciano suffered motor problems while leading his heat race last week to end his night early. It's a repeat of his bad luck from last year. Vacaville's Daniel Braudrick has done well so far with fourth and sixth place finishes keeping him 18 points out of the lead in fourth.
Antioch's Jewell Crandall is fifth in the standings, eight points ahead of reigning champion Grayson Baca of Brentwood and 16 in front of the tied Colten Haney of Brentwood and Frank Furtado of Martinez. It's very early in the season, and it will be interesting to see what happens when a full field of Hobby Stocks pulls onto the track for their third Main Event of the season.
The Hunt Series race last week also counted for regular Wingless Spec Sprint points, meaning last week's winner Blake Bower of Brentwood has a four point lead over Antioch's Shawn Arriaga and a six point advantage over Anthony Bruno of San Jose. It remains to be seen who will be competing this week. Last season's runner-up Steve Maionchi of Sonora and Jeff Scotto of Brentwood are both anticipated this week along with Dylan Newberry of Brentwood and rookie Stephen Hooker of Pleasant Hill.
With two races into the Dwarf Car season, Bay Point's Danny Wagner has scored a pair of victories to take a 14 point lead over Concord Travis Day. Both drivers have three championships, but Wagner's win last week gave him 40 Dwarf Car victories at Antioch, ranking him second only to Hall of Famer Ricardo Rivera. Brentwood's David Hays is 24 points out of the lead in third.
Last week, Santa Rosa's Tom Brown picked up from where he left off a year ago with a dominant performance in winning the season opening Mini Stock Main Event. The reigning champion found himself in a battle with Antioch's Ryder Holmen before claiming the eight lap heat race victory. Holmen is eight points out of the lead in a tie with Trevor Rodriguez of Rohnert Park. Rodriguez finished second in the opener in a close battle with fellow Petaluma regular Kassidy Cagle of Santa Rosa.
Reigning 600 Micro Sprint champion Payton Gentry of Santa Rosa hasn't been seen at Petaluma yet this year, but Antioch championship hopeful Buddy Chappell of San Jose picked up a second place finish in the recent Petaluma race behind Santa Rosa's Carroll Mendenhall. Chappell finished second in the Antioch standings last year. Currently, Oakley's Devon Zuffa has picked up two Top 5 finishes at Petaluma to keep him seven points behind Mendenhall in the Petaluma point race.
Zufffa is expected to be a player in the Antioch title chase as is Ryan Dotson of Fremont, who finished third at the Petaluma opener. Dotson was third in Antioch points last year and finished second a year earlier. Other drivers anticipated this week include Roberto Monroy and Charlie Kight, both of Antioch, and Matthew Linde of Pittsburg.
Saturday's racing program offers a little something for everybody. The Pro Stocks, Hobby Stocks and Mini Stocks will bring the fendered excitement, while the Wingless Spec Sprints, Dwarf Cars and Micro Sprints will bring the open wheel speed. It'll be a fun night of racing from start to finish.
The gates will open at 5:00 with the first race starting at 6:00.
Adult tickets are $20, Senior/Military $15, Kids (5-12) $15 and kids four and under free.
For further information, go to http://www.raceantiochspeedway.com or check out the Antioch Speedway by PROmotions Facebook page.
Blake Bower Wins Randy Larson Memorial Race
At Antioch Speedway
By DCRR Racing Media
Antioch, CA...April 25...Blake Bower of Brentwood scored the victory in the 25 lap Hunt Magnetos Wingless Spec Sprint Series, Presented By Transport Products Unlimited, Main Event Saturday night at Antioch Speedway. Piloting the car owned by Ted Finkenbinder, Bower made a move through slower traffic to take the lead and went on to victory from there. The race was the Randy Larson Memorial, paying tribute to the long time Hunt Series supporter, and Bower collected $2,500 for his effort.
Shawn Arriaga of Antioch had the pole and raced into the early lead ahead of point leader Jake Tuttle of Oakley. Bower was third early on, and a yellow flag waved on Lap 7 for a Tony Fedota of Folsom spin in Turn 4. Arriaga continued to lead Tuttle and Bower on the restart, but the race was red flagged when Fedota rolled in Turn 2 after eight laps. Bower took second from Tuttle on the restart as Arriaga continued to set the pace.
By the 14th lap, the leaders caught slower traffic, and Bower used it to take the lead from Arriaga on Lap 15. A Lap 23 yellow flag waved for Joshua Wooten of Yuba City in Turn 2. Bower resumed command on the restart and went on to victory ahead of Arriaga, Tuttle, Anthony Bruno of San Jose and Brent Steck of Roseville.
James Thomson of Pittsburg posted the victory in the 20 lap Pacific Coast Hobby Stock Main Event. The 2020 champion is off to a good start so far, having finished third in the season opener.
Thomson started on the outside front row and raced into the early lead ahead of Kevin Brown and Charlie Bryant, both of Oakley. The yellow flag waved on Lap 4 for a Caiden Robles of Rio Vista spin in Turn 4. Thomson continued to lead the restart as Oakley's Hunter Hammett passed Brown for second. By the 11th lap, the leaders were in traffic, and Brown was challenging Hammett for second. Brown beat him back to the line on Lap 14, but Hammett regained the spot a lap later. A red flag waved for Nicholas Garner of Antioch, who spun on the front stretch.
As Thomson led the restart, Bryant rode the outside line into second, but a yellow flag waved for the final time a lap later. On the final restart, Hammett rode the outside line behind leader Thomson. Thomson brought it home to victory with Hammett finishing second again, followed by Brown, Oakley's Brodie Garner and Phil Wilkins of Roseville.
Fred Ryland of Brentwood scored the victory in the 20 lap IMCA Stock Car Main Event. The reigning champion finished third in the season opener, but he rebounded nicely by winning both the feature and the eight lap heat race.
Ryland bolted into the lead at the start ahead of Antioch's Todd Gomez and Troy Foulger of Oakley. Ryland built a decent lead as Gomez and Foulger battled for second. Fourth place runner Jason Robles of Rio Vista brought out the only yellow flag on Lap 19. Ryland easily led the restart and won ahead of Gomez. Kenneth Robles of Rio Vista made a high pass in Turn 2 of the final lap to take third from Foulger as Justin Villanueva of Atwater rounded out the Top 5.
Danny Wagner of Bay Point won the 15 lap Dwarf Car Main Event. This was the 40th career Antioch Dwarf Car win for the three-time champion. Wagner had a feature win at Watsonville a night earlier, making this a perfect weekend for him.
Following a restart for Cody Shrum of Lincoln, Wagner set the early pace ahead of reigning champion Travis Day and Dylan Shrum of Lincoln. The yellow flag waved on Lap 3 for Cameron Squatritto of Gilroy in Turn 4. Dylan Shrum moved into second behind Wagner on the restart, and the battle began for the lead and for third. Cody Shrum had taken third from Day on the restart, but Day made an inside pass on the front stretch on Lap 8 to regain the position.
An inside pass on the front stretch on Lap 11 put Dylan Shrum into the lead, but Wagner went high in Turn 4 a lap later to regain the position. Dylan Shrum ran the inside line to just beat Wagner back to the white flag, but Wagner again went high in Turn 2 to reclaim first. Wagner held off Dylan Shrum for the victory as Day, Cody Shrum and Squatritto completed the Top 5.
Tom Brown of Santa Rosa scored the victory in the 15 lap Mini Stock Main Event. The four-time reigning champion had earlier won a heat race battle with Antioch's Ryder Holmen, making this a perfect evening for him.
Brown raced into the lead at the start, followed by Kassidy Cagle of Santa Rosa and Kimberly Ramirez of Petaluma. Trevor Rodriguez of Rohnert Park spun for a yellow flag on Lap 3. Brown led Cagle and Holmen on the restart. Holmen was having trouble exiting the turns, and Rodriguez got around him for third on Lap 7. Holmen regained the position briefly with a Turn 2 pass a lap later, but the persistent Rodriguez got by once again on the 10th lap. Brown went on to win by half a lap as Rodriguez beat Cagle back to the line for second. Holmen and Ramirez rounded out the Top 5.
Racing resumes next Saturday night with the first of two scheduled appearances of the Tri State Pro Stock Challenge Series. The Wingless Spec Sprints will be in action along with the Pacific Coast Hobby Stocks, Dwarf Cars, Mini Stocks and 600 Micro Sprints. For further information, go to www.raceantiochspeedway.com or check out the Antioch Speedway by PROmotions Facebook page.
Antioch, CA...April 25...Blake Bower of Brentwood scored the victory in the 25 lap Hunt Magnetos Wingless Spec Sprint Series, Presented By Transport Products Unlimited, Main Event Saturday night at Antioch Speedway. Piloting the car owned by Ted Finkenbinder, Bower made a move through slower traffic to take the lead and went on to victory from there. The race was the Randy Larson Memorial, paying tribute to the long time Hunt Series supporter, and Bower collected $2,500 for his effort.
Shawn Arriaga of Antioch had the pole and raced into the early lead ahead of point leader Jake Tuttle of Oakley. Bower was third early on, and a yellow flag waved on Lap 7 for a Tony Fedota of Folsom spin in Turn 4. Arriaga continued to lead Tuttle and Bower on the restart, but the race was red flagged when Fedota rolled in Turn 2 after eight laps. Bower took second from Tuttle on the restart as Arriaga continued to set the pace.
By the 14th lap, the leaders caught slower traffic, and Bower used it to take the lead from Arriaga on Lap 15. A Lap 23 yellow flag waved for Joshua Wooten of Yuba City in Turn 2. Bower resumed command on the restart and went on to victory ahead of Arriaga, Tuttle, Anthony Bruno of San Jose and Brent Steck of Roseville.
James Thomson of Pittsburg posted the victory in the 20 lap Pacific Coast Hobby Stock Main Event. The 2020 champion is off to a good start so far, having finished third in the season opener.
Thomson started on the outside front row and raced into the early lead ahead of Kevin Brown and Charlie Bryant, both of Oakley. The yellow flag waved on Lap 4 for a Caiden Robles of Rio Vista spin in Turn 4. Thomson continued to lead the restart as Oakley's Hunter Hammett passed Brown for second. By the 11th lap, the leaders were in traffic, and Brown was challenging Hammett for second. Brown beat him back to the line on Lap 14, but Hammett regained the spot a lap later. A red flag waved for Nicholas Garner of Antioch, who spun on the front stretch.
As Thomson led the restart, Bryant rode the outside line into second, but a yellow flag waved for the final time a lap later. On the final restart, Hammett rode the outside line behind leader Thomson. Thomson brought it home to victory with Hammett finishing second again, followed by Brown, Oakley's Brodie Garner and Phil Wilkins of Roseville.
Fred Ryland of Brentwood scored the victory in the 20 lap IMCA Stock Car Main Event. The reigning champion finished third in the season opener, but he rebounded nicely by winning both the feature and the eight lap heat race.
Ryland bolted into the lead at the start ahead of Antioch's Todd Gomez and Troy Foulger of Oakley. Ryland built a decent lead as Gomez and Foulger battled for second. Fourth place runner Jason Robles of Rio Vista brought out the only yellow flag on Lap 19. Ryland easily led the restart and won ahead of Gomez. Kenneth Robles of Rio Vista made a high pass in Turn 2 of the final lap to take third from Foulger as Justin Villanueva of Atwater rounded out the Top 5.
Danny Wagner of Bay Point won the 15 lap Dwarf Car Main Event. This was the 40th career Antioch Dwarf Car win for the three-time champion. Wagner had a feature win at Watsonville a night earlier, making this a perfect weekend for him.
Following a restart for Cody Shrum of Lincoln, Wagner set the early pace ahead of reigning champion Travis Day and Dylan Shrum of Lincoln. The yellow flag waved on Lap 3 for Cameron Squatritto of Gilroy in Turn 4. Dylan Shrum moved into second behind Wagner on the restart, and the battle began for the lead and for third. Cody Shrum had taken third from Day on the restart, but Day made an inside pass on the front stretch on Lap 8 to regain the position.
An inside pass on the front stretch on Lap 11 put Dylan Shrum into the lead, but Wagner went high in Turn 4 a lap later to regain the position. Dylan Shrum ran the inside line to just beat Wagner back to the white flag, but Wagner again went high in Turn 2 to reclaim first. Wagner held off Dylan Shrum for the victory as Day, Cody Shrum and Squatritto completed the Top 5.
Tom Brown of Santa Rosa scored the victory in the 15 lap Mini Stock Main Event. The four-time reigning champion had earlier won a heat race battle with Antioch's Ryder Holmen, making this a perfect evening for him.
Brown raced into the lead at the start, followed by Kassidy Cagle of Santa Rosa and Kimberly Ramirez of Petaluma. Trevor Rodriguez of Rohnert Park spun for a yellow flag on Lap 3. Brown led Cagle and Holmen on the restart. Holmen was having trouble exiting the turns, and Rodriguez got around him for third on Lap 7. Holmen regained the position briefly with a Turn 2 pass a lap later, but the persistent Rodriguez got by once again on the 10th lap. Brown went on to win by half a lap as Rodriguez beat Cagle back to the line for second. Holmen and Ramirez rounded out the Top 5.
Racing resumes next Saturday night with the first of two scheduled appearances of the Tri State Pro Stock Challenge Series. The Wingless Spec Sprints will be in action along with the Pacific Coast Hobby Stocks, Dwarf Cars, Mini Stocks and 600 Micro Sprints. For further information, go to www.raceantiochspeedway.com or check out the Antioch Speedway by PROmotions Facebook page.
Race Results
Hunt Wingless Spec Sprints
Hunt Wingless Spec Sprints
Fast
Time-Jacob Tuttle, 13.561. Heat Winner (8 Laps)-Matthew Kaiser, Blake
Bower, Anthony Bruno. Main Event (25 Laps)-Blake Bower, Shawn Arriaga,
Jacob Tuttle, Anthony Bruno, Brent Steck, Jimmy Christian, Nick Larson,
Matthew Kaiser, Joshua Wooten, Paul Vandenberg.
Pacific Coast Hobby Stocks
Heat
Winners (8 Laps)-Brodie Garner, Grayson Baca, Charlie Bryant. Main
Event (20 Laps)-James Thomson, Hunter Hammett, Kevin Brown, Brodie
Garner, Phil Wilkins, Daniel Braudrick, Grayson Baca, Colten Haney,
Jewell Crandall, Gavin Griffiths.
IMCA Stock Car
Heat
Winner (8 Laps)-Fred Ryland. Main Event (20 Laps)-Fred Ryland, Todd
Gomez, Kenneth Robles, Troy Foulger, Justin Villaneuva, Mitch Machado,
Jason Robles.
Dwarf Cars
Heat Winner
(8 Laps)-Danny Wagner. Main Event (15 Laps)-Danny Wagner, Dylan Shrum,
Travis Day, Cody Shrum, Cameron Squatritto, Barry Waddell, Elijah Shrum,
David Hays, Travis Manning DNS.
Mini Stocks
Heat Winner (8 Laps)-Tom Brown. Main Event (15 Laps)-Tom Brown, Trevor Rodriguez, Kassidy Cagle, Ryder Holmen, Kimberly Ramirez.
Foulger, Ponciano, Ryland, Gray, Wagner
Score Season Opening Wins At Antioch Speedway
By DCRR Racing Media
Antioch, CA...April 4...Troy Foulger of Oakley opened the 2026 season at Antioch Speedway by winning both the IMCA Modified and Stock Car Main Events Saturday night. He ended the evening with the track's all-time record of 87 combined career feature victories.
The night was also the annual Easter Eggstravaganza in which the kids were treated to an Easter Egg Candy Hunt in the infield during intermission.
Having won the season opener at Bakersfield Speedway earlier this year, Oakley's Andrew Pearce jumped into the early lead in the 20 lap IMCA Modified feature, followed by Matt Kampfraat of Granit Bay. Foulger slipped past Kampfraat for second on the fifth lap, just as heat race winner Tyler Browne of Antioch spun in Turn 2. Browne got going without a yellow flag, and Pearce quickly closed in on Kate Robertson of Reno, Nevada. However, Pearce was having a problem getting around Robertson to put her down a lap, allowing Foulger to close the gap quickly.
Foulger made an inside pass in Turn 4 of the ninth lap to grab the lead. He spent the next few laps trying to get around Robertson as Pearce pressured him, but Foulger was able to make that move. Unfortunately, Pearce saw his race end with mechanical issues in Turn 4 on Lap 15. Foulger took command from there and scored the victory ahead of Kampfraat, Browne, Matt Micheli of Live Oak and Robertson.
In the 15 lap IMCA Stock Car Main Event, Foulger bolted into the lead at the start, followed closely by heat race winner Jason Robles of Rio Vista. For much of the first half of the race, the lead duo ran closely and pulled away from the pack. Reigning champion Fred Ryland of Brentwood was battling Dave Hill of South San Francisco for several laps before finally making an inside pass on the backstretch on Lap 7 to grab third. However, he trailed the lead duo by a straightaway at that point. Foulger pulled away a little bit on Robles for the victory with Ryland settling for third, followed by Hill and Todd Gomez of Antioch.
As the last 20 lap Main Event of the evening, the Pacific Coast Hobby Stocks were destined to go without a yellow flag. Taking advantage of his front row start following his heat race win earlier in the evening, third-generation racer Aidan Ponciano of Oakley would go flag to flag for the victory.
Hunter Hammett of Oakley settled into an early second with James Thomson of Pittsburgh moving into third on Lap 2. By the fifth lap, the leaders began passing slower cars. This made things interesting as Ponciano needed to make quick moves to keep the persistent Hammett at bay.
With heavy traffic still a factor in the final half dozen circuits, Hammett attempted to use traffic to make an outside pas on Ponciano. Ponciano kept his cool under pressure and scored the well-earned victory with Hammett a strong second. Thomson settled for third, followed by Daniel Braudrick of Vacaville and heat race winner Brodie Garner of Oakley.
Three-time IMCA Sport Modified champion Fred Ryland of Brentwood posted the victory in their 15 lap Main Event. This was his 85th career win at the speedway and his division-leading 44th career Sport Modified victory.
The Sport Modified race was marred by numerous yellow flags, including two caution flags before a lap was even completed. Recent Merced Speedway winner Tanner Thomas of Atwater took the early lead in front of Ryland. Following a yellow flag for James Graessle of Antioch on Lap 2. Thomas continued to lead Ryland and Jeff Bentancourt of Brentwood on the restart. Ryland made an inside pass on the frontstretch on Lap 4 to take the lead from Thomas before a yellow flag waved for Bay Point's Danny Wagner.
Ryland continued to lead Thomas and Bentancourt on the ensuing restart, but the race never really got much momentum with several more yellow flags waving over the next 10 circuits. After a yellow flag waved with 15 laps in the books, officials declared that the race had reached its time limit with Ryland the winner, followed by Thomas, Bentancourt, Trevor Clymens of Brentwood and Al Johnson of Antioch.
Cody Gray of Auburn won the 15th lap WMR Midgets Main Event. This was the second win of the season for Gray, who won the season opener at Watsonville two weeks earlier.
A heat race win put Gray on the front row with fellow heat race winner Terry Nichols of Delano. When the green flag unfurled, Gray charged into the lead in front of Nichols. A Lap 1 yellow flag flew for a three-car crash in Turn 2, involving reigning champion Logan Mitchell and Nathan Moore, both of Santa Cruz, and Glenn Bryan of Capitola. Gray bolted ahead on the restart ahead of Nichols and Nick Leonard Jr of San Jose.
Gray and Nichols pulled away from the pack, leaving the battle for third. Mitchell quickly moved back into fourth and made a low pass in Turn 1 of the seventh lap to grab third. However, the best he could do was close the gap a little bit on second place finisher Nichols as Gray brought it home to victory. Leonard settled for fourth ahead of Moore.
Danny Wagner of Bay Point scored the victory in the 15 lap Dwarf Car Main Event. The three-time champion had earlier picked up the heat race victory.
Wagner took the lead at the start, followed closely by three-time reigning champion Travis Day of Concord and David Hays of Brentwood. Despite a sputtering motor following motor issues he had at Watsonville a night earlier, Wagner managed to keep his car in front of Day for the entire distance to pick up the victory. Hays settled for third ahead of Travis's brother Trevor Day of Concord, who was making his debut.
For further information, go to www.raceantiochspeedway.com or check out the Antioch Speedway by PROmotions Facebook page.
Race Results
IMCA Modifieds
IMCA Modifieds
Heat
Winner (8 Laps)-Tyler Browne. Main Event (20 Laps)-Troy Foulger, Matt
Kampfraat, Tyler Browne, Matt Micheli, Kate Robertson, Paul Guglielmoni,
Andrew Pearce, Randy Shafer.
Pacific Coast Hobby Stocks
Heat
Winners (8 Laps)-Brodie Garner, Aidan Ponciano, Jon Haney. Main Event
(20 Laps)-Aidan Ponciano, Hunter Hammett, James Thomson, Daniel
Braudrick, Brodie Garner, Jewell Crandall, Jesse Paladino, Haley Gomez,
Maddie Motts, Nicky Skidmore.
IMCA Sport Modifieds
Heat
Winners (8 Laps)-Jason Ryan Jr, Fred Ryland. Main Event (15 Laps)-Fred
Ryland, Tanner Thomas, Jeff Bentancourt, Trevor Clymens, Al Johnson,
Trent Golden, Phil Marino, Danny Wagner, Jason Ryan Jr, Kelly Campanile.
IMCA Stock Cars
Heat
Winner (8 Laps)-Jason Robles. Main Event (15 Laps)-Troy Foulger, Jason
Robles, Fred Ryland, Dave Hill, Todd Gomez, Scott Foster.
WMR Midgets
Heat
Winners (8 Laps)-Terry Nichols, Cody Gray. Main Event (15 Laps)-Cody
Gray, Terry Nichols, Logan Mitchell, Nick Leonard Jr, Nathan Moore, Isak
Johnson, Dalton Wright, Glenn Bryan, Marvin Mitchell, Jason McIntosh
DNS.
Dwarf Cars
Heat Winner (8 Laps)-Danny Wagner. Main Event (15 Laps)-Danny Wagner, Travis Day, David Hays, Trevor Day.
Tanner Prevails At Willamette,
Pagel, Debban, Patterson, Bangle Other Winners
By DCRR Racing Media
Lebanon, OR...April 25...Joey Tanner of Portland scored the victory in the 40 lap NASCAR Albany Toyota Late Model Main
Event Saturday night at Willamette Speedway. Tanner gained the lead
halfway through the race and went on to collect his second-straight
feature victory in NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Powered By O'Reilly Auto
Parts competition.
Eston
Whistler of Otis and Tanner shared the fifth row for the Main Event,
and polesitter Jeff Rash of Lebanon paced the field for two laps before
Kye Frick of Sweet Home raced ahead. Kyle Yeack of Lebanon and Rob Mayea
of Bend were third and fourth at that point, and Yeack used a high move
in Turn 4 of the fourth lap to gain second. Mayea made a back stretch
pass on Rash to claim third on the eighth circuit, and the flying Tanner
was already fifth by then. A high move in Turn 1 of the 10th lap put
Tanner into fourth, and the leaders were already in slower traffic. A
yellow flag waved on Lap 15 for Rex Cars in Turn 3.
Frick
continued to lead the way on the restart, and Mayea made a low pass in
Turn 1 to claim second. Tanner went inside Yeack in Turn 4 to grab third
before the lap was complete. Mayea spun in Turn 4 and collected Tanner
for a yellow flag on Lap 18. Track officials assigned the yellow to
Mayea and restored Tanner to second. On the restart, Tanner got the
momentum on the outside and made the pass on Frick in Turn 4 to take the
lead. Whistler settled into the third before a Lap 20 yellow flag for
debris. Tanner led the restart with Whistler taking second from Frick.
Tanner dominated the second half of the race and won by a wide margin
ahead of Whistler. Frick settled for third, followed by Kyle Yeaak and
Cory Yeack of Lebanon.
Tanner
was the fastest of 15 competitors on the 1/3 mile clay oval with a lap
of 14.892, beating the 15.220 of Whistler. Mayea won the four lap Trophy
Dash ahead of Tanner. Cory Yeaak won the first eight lap heat race
ahead of Tanner, while Cars held off Brian Smith of Roseburg to win the
second heat.
Tyler
Pagel of Madras won the 30 lap J&K Auto Body & Collision Street
Stock Main Event. Pagel finished second in IMCA Stock Car points last
year with five victories.
Pagel
started on the outside front row for the feature race and charged into
the lead at the start, followed by Graig Osborne of Creswell and Ronnie
Speelman of Lebanon. A yellow flag waved on Lap 4 for debris on the
track, and Pagel continued to lead Osborne on the restart. Mason Myers
of Culver made a high pass in Turn 4 on the restart lap to take third
from Speelman. Speelman spun in Turn 4 for a Lap 8 yellow flag.
Myers
took second from Osborne on the restart as Pagel set the pace. Previous
winner Shane Philips of Lebanon slipped past Osborne for third on the
ninth lap, and Jesse Yankee of Portland brought out a Lap 12 yellow
flag. On the restart, Pagel continued to lead the way as Philips went
low in Turn 2 to take second from Myers. Brad Gentry of Lafayette found
himself in third on Lap 15 as Myers had a flat tire and brought out the
yellow flag. Pagel led the rest of the way for the victory with only one
more yellow flag slowing the pace. Philips settled for second ahead of
Gentry, Speelman and Myers.
There
were 15 Street Stocks in action, and Gentry set the fast time of
17.579, beating the 17.998 of Philips. Myers outran Speelman to win the
four lap Trophy Dash. Brody Shinkle of Dallas won the first eight lap
heat race ahead of Wes Roles of Lebanon. Pagel won the other heat in
front of Philips.
Clay Debban of Shedd won the 25 lap Cabinet Guys Limited Late Model Main Event. This was the second-straight win for Debban.
Frank
Elwess of Portland raced into the early lead ahead of Debban and
reigning track champion Chad Slover of Lebanon. Debban quickly started
pressuring Elwess for the lead and used an outside pass on the back
stretch on the eighth circuit to take over. Debban dominated the race
from there for the impressive victory. Elwess settled for second ahead
of Slover and Ed Roles and Dave Bennett, both of Lebanon.
Mike
Betker of Jefferson set the fast time of 16.990, but he suffered a
mechanical failure in the eight lap heat race to end his night. Debban
won that race ahead of Elwess, and Slover outran Betker to win the four
lap Trophy Dash.
Carter
Patterson of Lebanon won the 20 lap Moxie Media Modified Main Event.
The two-time IMCA Modified State champion made his move late to score
the victory.
Kelly
Williamson of Coburg set the early pace ahead of Travis Pruitt of
Aumsville. Jacob Shandy of Corvallis made a front stretch pass on Lap 2
to settle into second with Patterson following into third. An inside
pass on the back stretch on Lap 6 put Shandy into the lead, and the lead
trio ran closely out front. Patterson was able to get around Williamson
for second on Lap 19 and made an inside pass in Turn 2 on the final lap
to take the lead and victory from Shandy. Williamson settled for third,
followed by Travis Pruitt of Aumsville. Pruitt was disqualified in post
race tech, giving fourth to Scott Lehman of Yoncalla.
Ian
Whistler of Otis set the fast time of 16.157, beating the 16.905 of
Patterson. Whistler also won the four lap Trophy Dash ahead of Pruitt,
but he suffered mechanical failure finishing third in the eight lap heat
race, which was won by Shandy ahead of Patterson.
Matthew
Bangle of Cottage Grove won the 25 lap KRKT Cricket Country Hornets
Main Event. This was his second win of the season and his sixth win in
his last six starts.
Tyler
Parker of Lebanon set the early pace ahead of Weston Voepel of Lebanon,
but a three wide move in Turn 4 a lap later saw Loran Hadley Sr of
Albany race underneath both drivers for the lead. A yellow flag waved on
Lap 3 when Julie Barton of Gates rolled on the back stretch. James Skeslien raced
past Hadley on the back stretch on the restart lap to take the lead.
Bangle made a back stretch pass on Hadley a lap later with Loren Hadley
Jr also getting by for third.
An
outside pass on the back stretch of the sixth lap put Bangle into the
lead. Jesse Shanklin II of Lebanon was running fourth on a Lap 14
restart and made an outside pass on Lap 16 to take second from Skeslien. Bangle drove a flawless race and repelled Shanklin on a Lap 16 restart to bring home the victory. Skeslien settled for third, followed by Loren Hadley Jr and James Nagel of Vancouver, WA.
Bangle
was the fastest of 12 qualifiers with a lap of 17.907, beating the
18.431 of Caleb Day of Brownsville. Bangle outran Loran Hadley Sr to win
the four lap Trophy Dash and outran Shanklin to claim the victory in
the first eight lap heat race. Day held off Loran Hadley Jr to claim the
second heat.
It
was Anderson Enterprises Graffiti Night at the races, and that meant
several local hot rods were on display throughout the evening, and
several of those were on parade on the track prior to the running of the
Toyota Late Model Main Event. Racing continues this Saturday night with
Toyota Late Models headlining the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Powered
By O'Reilly Auto Parts event along with J&K Auto Body & Collision Street Stocks,
Cabinet Guys Limited Late Models, Moxie Media Modifieds and KRKT
Cricket Country Hornets. For further information, go to
www.williamettsepeedway.com.
Tanner Ushers Willamette Speedway
Into The NASCAR Era With Win In Dirty Diamond 60
By DCRR Racing Media
Lebanon,
Oregon...April 18...Joey Tanner of Portland kicked off the 60th year of
racing at Willamette Speedway in style with his victory in the Dirty
Diamond 60 for the Late Models Saturday night. The reigning division
champion recorded the first ever NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Powered by
O'Reilly Auto Parts feature victory at the 60-year-old racing facility.
Having
won an impressive 13 Main Events last season, Tanner declared his
intent to make a run for the track's Albany Toyota Late Model
championship as well as the other NASCAR titles the Willamette Speedway
competitors are now eligible for.
The Late
Models had a 10 invert from time trials, meaning Tanner was starting on
the outside of the fifth row next to Rob Mayea of Bend with Colin
Winebarger of Corbett starting right in front of Tanner. Past Cottage
Grove champion Brian Smith of Roseburg led early ahead of Kye Frick of
Sweet Home. Frick made a backstretch pass on Smith for the lead on Lap
3. Tanner was already up to fourth on a Lap 2 restart and made a
backstretch pass on Cory Yaack for third on Lap 3.
Tanner
went low in Turn 4 of the fourth lap to take second from Smith and used
a high pass in turn 2 of the sixth lap to grab the lead from Frick. As
Tanner began to pull away from Frick, Smith was battling Yeack for
third. Frick saw his good run come to an end with mechanical issues
causing him to stall on the backstretch for a Lap 12 yellow flag.
Tanner
maintained command on the restart with Yeack making a low pass in Turn 4
to take second from Smith. Winebarger had worked his way into fourth at
that point with Mayea in fifth. Winebarger slipped past Smith for third
on Lap 16 and began a side-by-side battle with Yeack for second. A low
move in Turn 2 of the 20th lap gained Winebarger second. At that point,
Tanner held a straightaway advantage, and Yeack, Maya and Smith battled
for third. A low move in Turn 4 of the 26th lap put Mayea into third.
The
yellow flag waved on Lap 40 when contact put Rob Campos of Scio into
the back wall. Officials called this a competition yellow flag, allowing
the drivers to refuel for the run to the checkered flag. Tanner resumed
command on the restart and worked the track masterfully over the
remaining 20 circuits to post an impressive victory. Winebarger was a
solid second as Mayea, Yeack and Smith rounded out the Top 5.
A
competitive round of qualifying on the one-third mile clay oval found
Tanner setting the fast time of 15.456, barely beating the 15.458 of
Mayea. Tanner picked up the first eight lap heat race ahead of Larry
Rametes of Beaver Creek, while Mayea grabbed the win in the second heat
in front of Campos.
Shane Phillips of Lebanon scored the victory in the 30 lap J&K Auto Body & Collision Street Stock Main Event. Philips
might have been done for the night, but his team was able to replace a
lower control arm to get him back and running for the feature race.
The
invert came up six for this race, meaning fast qualifier Philips
started in the third row outside, next to Wes Roles of Lebanon. However,
the complexion of the race changed dramatically after a Turn 1 pile up
eliminated reigning champion Dakota Goddard of Corvallis and Rick Wyatt
of Aumsville. Phillips jumped into the lead on the complete restart with
Ronnie Speelman of Lebanon making a high-pass in Turn 2 of the second
lap to take second from Fred Roles.
Speelman
did a complete 360 in Turn 2 without bringing out a yellow flag on Lap
5, putting Wes Roles into second ahead of Sean Cronk of Molalla. Roles
spun in Turn 2 for a Lap 6 yellow flag. Philips continued to lead the
restart ahead Cronk and Max Haga of Coquille. As Philips held command
over Cronk, Haga was battling Speelman and Jesse McIntyre of Coos Bay in
a close race for third. Speelman spun in Turn 3 for a Lap 14 yellow
flag.
Phillips continued to set the pace ahead
of Cronk and McIntyre on the restart. They continued in that order
until McIntyre spun in Turn 2 for a Lap 22 caution flag. At that point,
Phillips lead Cronk and Speelman on the restart. With Coos Bay Speedway
visitors Haga and McIntyre both out at that point, Philips went on to
collect the satisfying win ahead of Cronk, Speelman, Don Miller of
Aumsville and Fred Roles.
Philips set the fast
time in qualifying at 17.597 with Wyatt quick enough for second fast at
17.660. Goddard won the first heat race ahead of Cronk, while Wyatt
outran Haga to win the second heat race.
Clay
Debban of Shedd scored the victory in the 25 lap Cabinet Guys Limited
Late Model Main Event. A five-time feature winner last season, Debban
also won the eight lap heat race.
Mike Betker
of Jefferson set the early pace ahead of reigning champion Chad Slover
of Lebanon and Debban. The lead trio battled closely during the early
portion of the race with Slover and Debban running side by side behind
Betker. The leaders caught slower traffic by the fifth lap, and Debban
emerged out of Turn 2 of the eighth lap with the lead after a brief
three wide battle. Slover was able to get around Betker for second in
Turn 4. From there, Debben was able to pull away from Slover by a wide
margin for the victory. Third place finisher Betker was lapped late as
fast qualifier Bob Thayer of Corvallis (16.807) and Darren Clark of
Salem rounded out the Top 5.
Bricen James of
Albany scored an impressive victory in the 25 lap Moxie Media Modified
Main Event. The two-time State champion had earlier won the eight lap
heat race.
Jordan Stevens of North Bend set
the early pace ahead of James. Stevens had a terrible push exiting Turn 2
of the second lap, allowing James to race underneath him for the lead.
When Stevens pushed again exiting Turn 4, two-time State champion Carter
Patterson of Lebanon raced by second. Fast timer Jeff Lovell of Oregon
City (16.989) settled into third. However, James began pulling away from
the pack, leaving Patterson and Lovell to battle for second. The lone
yellow flag of the race flew for a Scott Lehman of Yoncalla spun in Turn
4 on Lap 12. James resumed command on the restart and pulled away once
more for the victory. Patterson settled for second as Lehman and Landyn
Philpott of Lapine. rounded out the Top 5.
Matt
Bangle of Creswell posted the victory in the 25 lap KRKT Country
Hornets Main Event. Bangle had a stellar night as he set the fast time
of 15 competitors at 18.250 in qualifying and followed that up with a
win in the first eight lap heat race.
Second
heat race winner Caleb Day of Brownsville had the pole as second fast
qualifier Randy Kuhl of Springfield (18.860) shared the fifth row with
Bangle at the start. Jacelyn Stevens of North Bend was an early second
ahead of fellow Coos Bay Speedway racer Big Van Loon of Winston.
Following a Lap 2 yellow flag for debris, Van Loon and Bangle settled
into second and third behind Day. An outside move on the frontstretch on
Lap 6 gained Bangle second from Van Loon. Day caught slower traffic,
and Bangle used an inside pass in Turn 4 of the ninth lap to take the
lead from Day.
A yellow flag waved for Tyler
Parker of Lebanon on Lap 14, and Bangle continued to lead Day, Van Loon,
Jesse Shanklin II of Lebanon and Kuhl. Van Loon and Kuhl shuffled Day
out of the Top 3 with a backstretch move on Lap 17. As Bangle continued
to set the pace, Kuhl went outside Van Loon on the frontstretch on Lap
20 to claim second. Bangle drove a flawless race and posted the victory
ahead of Kuhl, Van Loon, Shanklin and Day.
NASCAR
Weekly Racing Series action will continues with the same exciting
lineup of Late Models, Street Stocks, Limited Late Models, Modifieds and
Hornets next Saturday Night. It will be Anderson Enterprises Graffiti
Night. For further information, go to www.willamettespeedway.com or
check out the Willamette Speedway Facebook page.
BAKERSFIELD SPEEDWAY ROARS BACK
TO IMCA CHAMPIONSHIP ACTION ON MAY 2ND
By Steven Blakesley - Blakesley Sports Media HERE
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (April 29, 2026) – Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway welcomes six divisions for dirt track racing on Saturday night May 2nd with the Bako-Tucky Derby. IMCA South Valley AC & Heating Modifieds, IMCA SportMods, Hobby Stocks, American Stocks, National Dwarf Cars, and California Lightning Sprints are part of the action-packed night of races.
Racing in honor of the Kentucky Derby, drivers will put their horsepower to the test. Race fans are encouraged to bring their most creative hats to be entered to win prizes throughout the night as well.
Grandstand gates open at 4:30pm. Hot laps are at 5:00pm with Opening Ceremonies at 6pm.
Race fans can save $2 on general admission tickets by grabbing them in advance at www.BakersfieldSpeedway.com General Admission is $18 online including all fees or $20 at the gates. Kids 6-12 are $10 in advance or $12 at the gates. Kids 5 and under are always free!
Parking is free of charge. Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway is located at 13500 Raceway Blvd, near Enos Ln and Interstate 5 in Bakersfield.
2025 IMCA SportMod champion Tyler Bannister has steered himself into the points lead for the 2026 IMCA Modified battle. Bannister leads Gavyn Manning by 14 markers heading into Saturday’s 30-lap race for $750 to win. Justin Crockett, Markus Frazier, and Brad Pounds are the balance of the top-five contenders.
2024 IMCA SportMod champion Jason Bannister has a three point advantage in search of the 2026 crown at Bakersfield Speedway. Matthew Frazier runs second followed by the up and coming Ethan Johnson. Santiago Lopez has risen to fourth in the points followed by Nicholas Johnson. SportMods race for 25-laps and $600 to win.
Four wins has been the ticket to lift Ricky Childress, Jr. to the Hobby Stocks points lead but the cushion is just ten markers over a consistent start for Stephen Johnson. Brookie Cimental, Ryan Barnes, and Marcus Wankum are in pursuit with a 20-lap feature. American Stocks are led by Carson Conway with three wins followed by Dan Bryant, Robert Swearengin, Tyler Weeks, and Grant Perkins.
The National Dwarf Cars make their second stop at Bakersfield Speedway in 2026 on Saturday night with a 25-lap feature planned. Brandon Wiley won the Dwarf car feature during the Winter Clash to open the season in February. Bakersfield’s J.D. Brown attempts to defend home turf this weekend.
Jeff Dyer leads the California Lightning Sprints to Bakersfield for their first appearance of the year. Brent Sexton is second in the championship order while rookie Tyler Warner is off to a solid start in third.
For more information on Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway, visit www.BakersfieldSpeedway.com or follow the speedway on social media. Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway is located at 13500 Raceway Blvd, near Enos Ln and Interstate 5 in Bakersfield.
2026 SCHEDULE - SUBJECT TO CHANGE
MAY
2- IMCA MODIFIEDS, SPORT MODS, HOBBY STOCKS, AMERICAN STOCKS, NATIONAL DWARFS, CALIFORNIA LIGHTNING SPRINTS
9- CALIFORNIA 305 SPRINT SERIES, IMCA MODIFIEDS, SPORT MODS, STOCK CARS, HOBBY STOCKS, MINI STOCKS
30- USCS SPRINTS, CALIFORNIA 305 SPRINT SERIES, AMERICAN STOCKS, NATIONAL DWARFS
JUNE
13- IMCA MODIFIEDS, SPORT MODS, STOCK CARS, HOBBY STOCKS, AMERICAN STOCKS, NATIONAL DWARFS
27- MCGOWAN MEMORIAL - IMCA MODIFIEDS, SPORT MODS, HOBBY STOCKS, AMERICAN STOCKS
JULY
25- IMCA MODIFIEDS, SPORT MODS, STOCK CARS, HOBBY STOCKS, AMERICAN STOCKS, MINI STOCKS
AUGUST
29- MIKE MOSHIER CLASSIC - IMCA MODIFIEDS, SPORT MODS, STOCK CARS, HOBBY STOCKS, AMERICAN STOCKS, MINI STOCKS
SEPTEMBER
12- USCS SPRINTS, HOBBY STOCKS, AMERICAN STOCKS, MINI STOCKS, WRA VINTAGE
25- WORLD OF OUTLAWS, CALIFORNIA LIGHTNING SPRINTS
26- IMCA MODIFIEDS, SPORT MODS, HOBBY STOCKS, AMERICAN STOCKS, NATIONAL DWARFS, MINI STOCKS
OCTOBER 9-10 BUD NATIONALS - IMCA MODIFIEDS, SPORT MODS, STOCK CARS, HOBBY STOCKS, AMERICAN STOCKS, NATIONAL DWARFS
NOVEMBER 24- JASON LEFFLER MEMORIAL USAC NATIONAL MIDGETS, SPORT MODS
BANNISTER, FRAZIER, CHILDRESS, AND CONWAY
ROLL TO BAKERSFIELD SPEEDWAY VICTORIES
By Steven Blakesley - Blakesley Sports Media HERE
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (April 19, 2026) – Tyler Bannister won his first Bakersfield IMCA Modified victory while Matthew Frazier, Ricky Childress, Jr., and Carson Conway also scored in dirt track racing at the Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway on Saturday night.
Tyler Irwin won $150 for the IMCA SportMod trophy dash while Cale Kanke was awarded $100 for the second dash win, courtesy of multiple partners who stepped up to support the night. Other dash winners were Stephen Johnson in Hobby Stocks and John Robinson in American Stocks.
The South Valley AC & Heating IMCA Modifieds featured another race full of champions including the 2025 IMCA SportMod champion Bannister and multi-time champion Brad Pounds winning the heat races, setting the stage for the 30-lap main event with $750 on the line.
Markus Frazier seized the lead quickly from his third starting position while Bannister stormed from eighth on the grid to second by just lap seven. Bannister then knifed underneath Frazier exiting turn two, taking the lead on lap ten. Bannister drove off to a straightaway advantage for his first Bakersfield Speedway IMCA Modified victory. Pounds won an exciting battle with Rob Sanders and Gavyn Manning for second with Frazier finishing fifth.
In SportMod action, a strong 15-car field were split across two heat races with Ethan Johnson and Tyler Irwin winning the eight-lap races. Alyssa Smith led over Ethan Johnson for the first half of the 25-lap feature with $600 in their sights. Matthew Frazier methodically moved forward from sixth starting position, overhauling Smtih to lead lap 13. Frazier withstood a restart and maintained the lead, topping Chad Johnson, Paul Brown, Smith, and Brian Baker as the top-five finishers.
Matt Wankum and Stephen Johnson won the Hobby Stock heat races but it was Ricky Childress, Jr. yet again in victory lane after the 20-lap feature. The victory marks his fourth win in five tries this season. Johnson was second followed by Eric Cimental and Brooke Cimental. Ryan Barnes rounded out the top-five.
Carson Conway earned his third American Stock checkered flag of 2026 in a 20-lap affair. Tyler Weeks and John Robinson won the heat races. Conway then led Robinson and Weeks at the finish of the feature with Dan Bryant in fourth and Jon McKinley Sr. in fifth.
Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway races again on May 2nd with California Lightning Sprints added to the full card of championship racing action.
For more information on Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway, visit www.BakersfieldSpeedway.com or follow the speedway on social media. Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway is located at 13500 Raceway Blvd, near Enos Ln and Interstate 5 in Bakersfield.
Bakersfield Speedway at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway April 18, 2026 – Race Results
IMCA Modifieds South Valley AC Heating
A Feature 1 (30 Laps): 1. 151-Tyler
Bannister[8]; 2. 15B-Brad Pounds[5]; 3. 10N-Rob Sanders[4]; 4. 51G-Gavyn
Manning[7]; 5. 15F-Markus Frazier[3]; 6. 21JT-Justin Crockett[6]; 7.
55-Brad Watkins[9]; 8. 12-Michael Scruggs[2]; 9. 25-Marcus Ford[1]
IMCA Sport Mods Hoosier Tire West
IMCA Sport Mods Hoosier Tire West
A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 15F-Matthew
Frazier[6]; 2. 1N-Chad Johnson[10]; 3. 99B-Paul Brown[3]; 4. 31A-Alyssa
Smith[2]; 5. 11B-Brian Baker[9]; 6. 40-Nick Spainhoward[11]; 7. 33-Cale
Kanke[7]; 8. 172-Tyler Irwin[5]; 9. 43K-Landon King[15]; 10. 21B-Braxton
James[1]; 11. 17A-Adam Baker[13]; 12. 68-Santiago Lopez[12]; 13.
51-Jason Bannister[8]; 14. 11-Ethan Johnson[4]; 15. (DNS) 68S-Sunnie
Simkins
Hobby Stocks HS Body Works and Towing
Hobby Stocks HS Body Works and Towing
A
Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 16-Ricky Childress Jr[9]; 2. 26S-Stephen
Johnson[8]; 3. 28X-Eric Cimental[7]; 4. 25B-Brooke Cimental[2]; 5.
79-Ryan Barnes[1]; 6. 13-Casey Johnson[6]; 7. 47-Brock Crawford[4]; 8.
91C-Matt Wankum[5]; 9. 13XXX-Bryson Wood[3]
American Stocks Haddad Dodge
American Stocks Haddad Dodge
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 25-Carson Conway[9]; 2.
954-John Robinson[2]; 3. 69X-Tyler Weeks[8]; 4. 2B-Dan Bryant[4]; 5.
70-Jon McKinley Sr[10]; 6. 13-Paige Maddox[3]; 7. 19-Ronald Lookadoo[1];
8. 43-Grant Perkins[11]; 9. 72-Mason Conway[5]; 10. 33-Robert
Swearengin[7]; 11. 01-Colton Hay[6]; 12. 7-Ian Crawford[12]; 13. (DNS)
0-Gene Glover.
WMR-BCRA CALIFORNIA SUPER SERIES
RACES TO MARYSVILLE RACEWAY THIS SATURDAY
By Steven Blakesley - Blakesley Sports Media HERE
WATSONVILLE, CALIFORNIA (April 28, 2026) – The Western Midget Racing / Bay Cities Racing Association California Super Series for Midgets races into Marysville Raceway this Saturday night. The event serves as the second round of the Super Series and the 2026 BCRA, presented by Quick Change Liquid Energy. The race also is the fourth points race for the stock powered WMR Midgets and pays complete points for that series.
Winged 360 Sprint Cars and NorCal Dwarf Cars will also be competing in the exciting night of competition. Hot laps begin at 5pm with racing at 6pm. For further information, go to www.marysvilleraceway.com
Saturday’s event represents the first full Midget race at Marysville since 2017 when Bakersfield’s Cory Elliott prevailed in a 25-lap feature. WMR has competed at Marysville three times with some of its winningest drivers in David Prickett, Blake Bower, and Drake Edwards each visiting victory lane.
Arizona’s Preston Norbury opened the Super Series with a coveted victory on April 18 at Placerville Speedway. Riverside’s Dane Culver and 2025 BCRA champion Caden Sarale of Stockton rounded out the podium. 2025 WMR champion Logan Mitchell of Santa Cruz finished fifth as the top Western Midget Racing entry for their checkered flag.
Isak Johnson won the $100 Hard Charger presented by West Evans Motorsports and BR Motorsports. Quick Change Liquid Energy Time Trials were led by Dane Culver for a $100 award.
For more information, contact Mike McCluney at (408) 499-5625 or visit www.WesternMidgetRacing.com WMR can also be found on Facebook. Greg Dennett of BCRA can be reached at (510) 376-3338 or visit www.bcraracing.com.
2026 WESTERN MIDGET RACING SCHEDULE – Subject to Change
March 20 Watsonville Speedway WINNER: Cody Gray
April 4 Antioch Speedway WINNER: Cody Gray
April 18 Placerville Speedway - Super Series Winner: Preston Norbury; WMR Winner: Logan Mitchell
May 2 Marysville Raceway
May 16 Merced Speedway
May 29 Watsonville Speedway – w/ NARC
June 6 Antioch Speedway – 2nd annual Graunstadt Memorial
June 20 Watsonville Speedway – 66th Johnny Key Classic
July 18 Watsonville Speedway – 16th annual Howard Kaeding Classic
July 25 Antioch Speedway
August 8 Petaluma Speedway – Tom Manning Memorial
August 15 Antioch Speedway – Contra Costa County Clash
October 3 Antioch Speedway – w/ USCS Sprint Cars
September 18-19 Stockton Dirt Track w/ World of Outlaws
October 23-24 Delta Speedway – Turkey Bowl XXVII
NORBURY AND MITCHELL ARE WINNERS WITH
BCRA-WMR SUPER SERIES OPENER AT PLACERVILLE
By Steven Blakesley - Blakesley Sports Media HERE
PLACERVILLE, CALIFORNIA (April 19, 2026) – Arizona’s Preston Norbury scored the $1,250 feature victory for the season opener for the Bay Cities Racing Association / Western Midget Racing California Super Series presented by Quick Change Liquid Energy. Saturday night’s event at Placerville Speedway kicked off the 12 race Super Series campaign in 2026.
Norbury’s first full Midget win was joined by 2025 WMR champion Logan Mitchell of Santa Cruz leading the stock contingent for a full points paying Westen Midget Racing win as well.
Former Placerville Winged 360 champion Michael Faccinto of Hanford led the first 11 circuits of the 30-lap feature before ending up spun out in turns three and four. Norbury inherited the lead and paced the second half of the feature, withstanding a late challenge from Riverside’s Dane Culver for the win. 2025 Super Series champion Caden Sarale finished third followed by Faccinto and Mitchell. Mitchell led the nine WMR cars in competition for 13th career EcoTec victory and first of the 2026 season. Izak Johnson finished second followed by Nathan Moore as the third-place finisher of the Western Midget Racing cars.
Johnson won the $100 Hard Charger presented by West Evans Motorsports and BR Motorsports. Quick Change Liquid Energy Time Trials were led by Dane Culver for a $100 award before Culver and Auburn’s Cody Gray split the eight lap heat races. Heats were presented by Schoenfeld Headers, Yak Graphics, and Amerikote.
The WMR / BCRA California Super Series continues on May 2nd at Marysville Raceway. For more information, visit www.BCRARacing.com www.WesternMidgetRacing.com or follow each series on social media.
RESULTS: Placerville Speedway April 18, 2026
A Feature (30 Laps): 1. 77AZ-Preston Norbury[2]; 2. 50-Dane Culver[6]; 3. 32-Caden Sarale[5]; 4. 19S-Michael Faccinto[1]; 5. 96X-Logan Mitchell[3]; 6. 4R-Isak Johnson[11]; 7. 25JR-Nathan Moore[10]; 8. 11-Cody Gray[4]; 9. 18-Floyd Alvis[13]; 10. 09-Nick Leonard Jr[9]; 11. 5-Chris Rahe[7]; 12. 68-Austin Struthers[12]; 13. 4-Glenn Bryan[14]; 14. 1P-Terry Nichols[8]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 50-Dane Culver[6]; 2. 96X-Logan Mitchell[4]; 3. 5-Chris Rahe[2]; 4. 19S-Michael Faccinto[5]; 5. 09-Nick Leonard Jr[3]; 6. 18-Floyd Alvis[1]; 7. 68-Austin Struthers[7]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 11-Cody Gray[4]; 2. 32-Caden Sarale[6]; 3. 77AZ-Preston Norbury[5]; 4. 1P-Terry Nichols[2]; 5. 25JR-Nathan Moore[1]; 6. 4R-Isak Johnson[3]; 7. 4-Glenn Bryan[7]
Qualifying (2 Laps): 1. 50-Dane Culver, 12.112[3]; 2. 32-Caden Sarale, 12.145[13]; 3. 19S-Michael Faccinto, 12.263[14]; 4. 77AZ-Preston Norbury, 12.720[11]; 5. 96X-Logan Mitchell, 13.090[9]; 6. 11-Cody Gray, 13.167[8]; 7. 09-Nick Leonard Jr, 13.367[12]; 8. 4R-Isak Johnson, 13.492[4]; 9. 5-Chris Rahe, 13.518[1]; 10. 1P-Terry Nichols, 13.720[5]; 11. 18-Floyd Alvis, 13.870[2]; 12. 25JR-Nathan Moore, 14.046[6]; 13. 68-Austin Struthers, 14.508[10]; 14. (DNS) 4-Glenn Bryan.
65th Championship Season
A Step Forward For Antioch Speedway
By DCRR Racing Media
Antioch,
CA...Optimism was high heading into the 2025 season at Antioch
Speedway. This was the 65th championship season on the 3/8 mile clay
oval, and it would feature a great lineup of divisions and races from
April through the end of October.
Promoter
Chad Chadwick decided it was best to use March for practices, and the
weather was so good that all three of them went off without a hitch.
This was followed by the first ever visit of the 2x Monster Truck Tour,
which had two complete shows on the final Saturday of March.
Not
only were the grandstands packed for both Monster Truck shows, but the
track saw somewhere around 8,000 paying fans attend both of those
events. Simply put, Antioch Speedway has never had an attendance number
like that in its storied history.
The
IMCA sanctioning continued for the Modifieds, Sport Modifieds and Stock
Cars. The Hobby Stocks were back for what was their 30th Anniversary on
the roster, making them second only to the Modifieds, who had their
first championship season in 1990.
With
Wingless Spec Sprints, Dwarf Cars, 600 Micro Sprints, Hardtops, Mini
Stocks, Late Models, Super Stocks and visits from the NARC 410 Sprint
Cars and BCRA Midgets, the speedway offered something for everybody
throughout the racing season.
Bobby
Hogge IV, Troy Foulger and Fred Ryland were all in a battle for the top
spot on the track's all time Main Event winners list, and it was Hogge
adding to his totals first by winning the IMCA Modified season opener.
Championship hopeful Andrew Pearce came back from a DNF to win the
Easter Eggstravaganza, followed by a win in the Soares Memorial.
Unfortunately, Pearce's title hopes took a hit with another DNF in the
fourth race, won once again by Hogge.
The
common denominator in the first four races was Foulger. Though he was
kept out of the win column, he nonetheless rattled off four-consecutive
runner-up finishes heading into Fan Appreciation Night. Randy Shafer
scored a victory for the Guglielmoni team in the fifth race, followed by
Peace and Foulger. The battle for the championship was clearly between
Pearce and Foulger at that point.
Foulger
took an emphatic step forward at the Hetrick Memorial by scoring the
victory ahead of Pearce, Hogge and Jim Pettit II. Following his
runner-up finish to Hogge in the JD Willis Salute in August, Foulger
wrapped up his championship season by winning the Championship Night
race in September, followed by State champion Kate Robertson and Tyler
Browne, both of whom were enjoying their best Antioch finishes of the
season.
The
Bill Bowers Memorial race is a special occasion for the Bowers
Motorsports team, and Foulger was a double winner in IMCA Stock Cars and
Modifieds. The Modified victory came ahead of Ryan McDaniel. Foulger
accumulated a 19 point advantage over Pearce by season's end as Pearce
could never overcome his two early season DNFs thanks to Foulger's
ability to never finish lower than third all season.
Browne's
third place feature finish was his best of four Top 5 efforts, keeping
him 13 points ahead of Robertson in the battle for third in the
standings. Having been both an IMCA Sport Modified and Modified State
champion, Jacob Mallet Jr used third and fifth place feature finishes
early in the season to secure fifth in the standings by just two points
ahead of Hogge, while Matt Kampfraat, Jonathan Hagio, Paul Guglielmoni
and Anthony Slaney made up the balance of the Top 10 in the final
standings.
Slaney
had third and fifth place finishes as his two best efforts, while the
division's top rookie, Hagio, had a fourth and a fifth as his best.
Kampfraat counted a fifth place finish as his best effort of the season.
Merced champion Josh Combs made three starts and had a fourth and two
fifths in those races. Clark Guglielmoni had a fourth and a fifth in his
two starts.
For
the previous two seasons, Kenny Shrader and Jason Ryan Jr battled
fiercely for the IMCA Sport Modified championship. In both cases,
Shrader was able to hold on in the end. That battle was renewed once
again with three-time track champion Trevor Clymens also hoping to
prevent a three-peat for Shrader.
Merced
Speedway champion Tanner Thomas opened things up with an impressive
victory ahead of Shrader and Ryan. Shrader rebounded a week later with a
victory. Clymens had back-to-back fourth place efforts to start his
season. Three-time champion Fred Ryland scored a win in the third race
ahead of State champion Danny Wagner, while Shrader maintained his slim
point advantage with a third place finish over Ryan.
The
first race of May was the annual Soares Memorial, and Clymens saw his
title hopes take a hit in ninth. Ryland and Wagner repeated their
performance from the previous race with a 1-2 finish, while Ryan held
off Shrader for third. Clymens bounced back big with wins in both the
County Fair race and Fan Appreciation Night in June, which briefly moved
him into second as Ryan had his worst finish at Fan Appreciation Night
in 13th. Shrader had finished second at the Fair and eighth on Fan
Appreciation Night. At that point, Shrader led Ryan by nine points, but
Clymens had jumped Ryan in the standings, trailing Shrader by five
markers.
Unfortunately,
the Hetrick Memorial was not kind to Clymens, who was a disappointed
eighth. When Ryan held off Shrader to win that race, he moved back into
second, but he had his work cut out for him trying to catch the
consistent Shrader, who had a win, a sixth and a third in the next three
races.
Rookie
Alfred Johnson drove his best race of the year on Dean Cline Memorial
Night, holding off Joseph Pato and Clymens for the victory. At the JD
Willis Salute, Ryland collected his third win of the season ahead of
Ryan and Shrader. Shrader carried a nine point lead into Championship
Night, a night in which he got to start on the pole as the point leader.
It seemed like smooth sailing for Shrader for most of the race.
Unfortunately,
he had difficulty lapping a slower car, resulting in him coasting into
the infield with a flat tire. Ryan did all he could to eliminate
Shrader's point advantage, picking up the victory ahead of Clymens. When
points were tabulated, however, Shrader won the championship by just
one marker ahead of Ryan and six in front of Clymens. In the three years
of which Shrader and Ryan had been battling for the title, Shrader won
by a total of 13 points, making this the closest championship rivalry in
the speedway's history.
Ryland
wrapped up what had been a respectable Sport Modified season by winning
the Bill Bowers Memorial ahead of Clymens and Ryan as he finished fifth
in the final standings. Ryland was 18 points behind fourth ranked Tommy
Clymens Jr. Clymens counted a runner-up finish at the second race of
the season and a fourth on Championship Night as his two best finishes
out of four Top 5 efforts.
Alfred
Johnson, his father Al Johnson, Joseph Pato, James Graessle and Jeff
Bentancourt made up the balance of the Top 10 in the final rundown. Al
Johnson had two fifth place finishes as his best efforts, while Pato had
a second and a third. Rookie Trent Golden had a second and a fourth as
his two best finishes in his rookie season. Marysville champion Mark
Garner had a fourth and a fifth, while Buddy Kniss had two fourths and a
fifth in his four starts.
The
Pacific Coast Hobby Stock division once again had the busiest schedule
of the season with 18 total races, including the prestigious Pacific
Coast Hobby Stock Nationals in October. They also produced the biggest
car count of the season as usually 20 or more competitors showed up to
compete.
After
taking a year off from the points, Grayson Baca returned to make a run
at the championship. Jewell Crandall, Charlie Bryant, Hunter Hammett and
Aidan Ponciano also figured to be in the battle. Wingless Spec Sprint
competitor James East decided to make a move into the Hobby Stocks and
was a welcome addition to the battle.
Normally
when you have mechanical issues keep you out of a race, it's not an
indication that the points will be going your way. This was the case for
Baca, who was unable to start one of the Main Events early on. Ponciano
attempted a point run under difficult circumstances. His luck was
horrendous, but he also had early season feature wins in his car as well
as the Jared Baugh car. He had a second win in his own ride, but by
then his bad luck forced him to settle for an eventual fifth place
finish in points.
East
was the most consistent racer early on with six Top 5 finishes by the
time they hit the month of May. However, his desire to also compete at
Petaluma would prove to be his undoing. East picked up a win at Antioch
and a pair of wins at Petaluma. Heading into the final June race, he
held a three point advantage over Baca. While competing for the lead
that night, he suffered a mechanical issue. This enabled Baca to gain a
nearly 40 Point advantage over East going into July.
East
did okay in July with a pair of Top 10 finishes, but Crandall had moved
into a tie for second when East made his next appearance at Petaluma.
However, East was involved in he crash that destroyed his race car and
ended his season early. Baca now had control of the point lead. As the
division leader with 14 Top 5 finishes and five feature wins, he was
never seriously threatened after that.
Crandall
would pass East for second, but Hammett was not giving up without a
fight. Bryant, much like Baca, had a motor issue early on that kept him
from starting the Main Event. This had followed a DNF performance, and
it meant that he was playing catch up for the rest of the season. In
September, Crandall was obviously struggling with motor issues, but her
ability to bring it home in the Top 10 twice was enough to secure her
second in the standings. She had seven Top 5 finishes and 14 Top 10s,
which was second only to Baca's 15 Top 10s.
Hammett
had been locked in an intense battle with Crandall for second, but he
was involved in a pair of crashes in September that put an end to that.
Even worse was the fact that Bryant had hit his stride with two of his
five second place finishes and his lone third place effort occurring in
the final four point races. Bryant was able to surpass Hammett for third
in the standings by three points. Hammett and Bryant were both awarded
Most Improved Driver honors, and Hammett counted two seconds and two
thirds as his best finishes of the season.
One
of Bryant's second place finishes came in a an intense battle with
Taylor DeCarlo through slower traffic in August. It was DeCarlo's first
career victory. The Johnson brothers, Nicholas and Ethan, came to town a
few times early in the season. Nicholas won twice, while Ethan also
scored a victory. Jared Baugh was a two-time winner during the season.
James
Thomson picked up a win in his car and a win in the Jared Baugh car
among his eight Top 5 finishes, putting him sixth in the final standings
ahead of Jesse Paladino, East, rookie Daniel Braudrick and Maddie
Motts. Paladino had three fifth place finishes among his best efforts of
the season. Braudrick had a season high third out of his three Top 5
finishes at Antioch, but he also won at Petaluma once.
Brian
Cooper successfully defended his Hobby Stock Nationals championship
with another $3,000 victory ahead of Bryant and Kenneth Robles.
Roseville Street Stock champion Phil Wilkins won the final race of the
year ahead of Hammett and Thomson. Other noteworthy victories included
Baugh's win in the Dean Cline Classic ahead of Crandall. One of Baca's
wins came in the Hetrick Memorial, Ethan Johnson's lone victory came in
the Soares Memorial. Todd Gomez had a second and a fifth as his two best
efforts, and rookie Brodie Garner had two fourths.
The
IMCA Stock Car division didn't have much of a championship battle.
After the incoming champion and all-time Stock Car feature win leader
Troy Foulger won the first two races, he sold his car to Jason Ryan Jr.
At that point, Fred Ryland took over and went on to win five Main
Events, including victories in the Soares Memorial and JD Willis Salute,
to easily win the championship. It marked the third different division
in which Ryland has won a championship at Antioch.
Foulger
would return to win the final three races of the season, including the
Bill Bowers Memorial, but by that time the best he could manage was
ninth in the final point rundown. The battle for second in the standings
saw Mitch Enos use three seconds and a win to claim runner-up honors
ahead of State champion Austin Van Hoff, who counted two seconds as his
best efforts of the year at Antioch.
With
two second place finishes to his credit, Jason Robles beat his son
Kenneth Robles by 1 point for fourth in the standings. Kenneth had one
second place finish as his best effort of the season. Rookie Jared
Baugh, Mitch Machado, 2024 State champion Scott Foster, Foulger and Jake
Archibald rounded out the Top 10 in the final standings. Machado had a
feature win, and Dan Gonderman had a second.
Going
into the season, seven drivers had won the Wingless Spec Sprint
championship twice, but nobody had ever done it three times. Bob
Newberry and Shannon Newton were the two competitors who were in line
for a third championship, but serious motor issues eliminated Newton
from contention early on.
Newberry
was also competing for the Hunt Wingless Spec Sprint Series
championship, making this a very busy season for the long time Antioch
Speedway racer. When he opened the season with a third, followed by
back-to-back feature victories, Newberry put himself in a good position,
made even better by the fact that his closest rival, Anthony Bruno,
failed to get his car to start at the third race.
It
was the shortest season for the division in its 26 year history at
seven races, and the two wins, two seconds and one third place finish
earned by Newberry won him the championship by a wide margin. Antioch
was also kind to him in the Hunt Series as he had a second and two
thirds to help put him second in Hunt Series points.
Once
it became apparent that his championship hopes were gone, Bruno began
competing elsewhere, leaving second place up for grabs. He did have two
third place finishes as his best efforts, putting him fourth in the
standings by eight tallies ahead of MacKenzie Newton, who had one Top 5
finish.
With
two fourth place finishes and two fifths, Steve Maionchi earned his
best point season yet in second, while Jeff Scotto had a Most Improved
Driver award winning year in third. He also made the Top 10 in the Hunt
Series. At Antioch, Scotto had two fourths and a fifth place feature
finish.
Rounding
out the Top 10 in the standings where Ryon Siverling, Kevin Box, Jimmy
Christian, Shannon Newton and Eathon Lanfri. Christian had a feature win
and a second among his best efforts, while Siverling had a second and a
third and Box had a pair of seconds. Lanfri also had one second place
finish. Rookie Of The Year Daniel DeKeyser had a fourth and a fifth as
his best finishes, and Josh Gillis finished third once.
Josh
Young picked up a pair of Antioch victories, two-time champion DJ
Johnson had three Antioch wins. One of those nights saw him winning the
Panfili Cup ahead of Siverling and Newberry, and another win came in the
final Hunt Series race on Track Or Treat night ahead of Christian and
Newberry. Hunt Series champion Jake Morgan won the other three Hunt
Series races, twice ahead of Young and one ahead of Newberry.
In
the Dwarf Car division, Sean Catucci was carrying a little bit of
momentum into the season, and he picked up from where he left off a year
earlier. He won five of the first seven races, finished second to
Watsonville racer John Durden early in the year and third behind Danny
Wagner and Travis Day in July. This gave him a commanding lead. Only
serious misfortune would derail him.
Unfortunately,
misfortune struck Catucci in a Watsonville visit. A crash left him with
a back injury, forcing him to miss the remainder of the season. This
created a close championship race between two-time champion Day and
rookie David Hays that would go down to the wire. Hays scored four
second place finishes, but it was Day picking up three runner-up
finishes in the last four races.
Ultimately,
Day earned so many more points than Hays in heat race competition that
it would make up the difference. Despite the fact that Hays picked up
his first ever win in the season finale, Day beat him by just six points
to win the championship. David Rosa beat Russ Sieber by just 12 points
to finish fourth in the standings, earning one second place finish as
his season best.
Rounding
out the Top 10 were Durden, David Michael Rosa, Justin Bingman, Brandon
Aylesworth and Jackson Russell. Petaluma racer Russell won a Main
Event. Ayelsworth had a season high third after an apparent win he had
early in the season was taken from him and given to Catucci due to him
not reporting to the tech area afterwards. Both Rosa and Bingman had a
third and a fourth as their best finishes, while Sieber had a fourth and
a fifth.
Tom
Brown came into the season as the driver to beat in the Mini Stock
point race. The three-time champion was not only dominant, but he rarely
had mechanical issues, winning eight races in nine starts. The ninth
start was an occasion in which he figured to only run a couple of laps
and pit due to motor issues. However, he ended up going the distance and
finishing second, ultimately winning the championship by 98 points over
Ryder Holmen.
The
grandson of longtime Antioch competitor Rob Waldrop, Holmen enjoyed not
only racing for the first time, but spending his Saturdays with his
grandfather. He competed in every race, finishing second on one
occasion, to wrap up Rookie Of The Year and second in the standings.
With two seconds and two thirds among his best finishes, Matt Wirth was a
solid third in the standings.
Petaluma
regular Jason Higgins was a welcome addition to the Antioch roster on
four occasions, finishing second three times. However, he was the lone
driver in the field to beat Brown for a feature victory. He ended up
fourth in the standings ahead of Don Abitz. Abitz had one second and two
thirds among his best finishes, and Petaluma champion Michael Valente
ended up seventh behind Jackie Price in the final standings. Valente had
two third place finishes in his two visits, while Fernley, Nevada
visitor Angelo Rallo had a second place finish in his one visit to
Antioch. Newcomer Hana Powell and David Dupuis finished eighth and tenth
in the standings, respectively, and both drivers had season best third
place finishes.
The
600 Micro Sprint division had its busiest season yet at Antioch
Speedway, and this seemed to be their best year yet for car count.
Petaluma regular Peyton Gentry decided to make a run at two
championships and would ultimately be successful at both tracks.
However, his Antioch championship was in doubt after he missed the July
date that had been added to give them more races.
At
the start of the year, Kyle Mentch picked up his first of two wins to
go with a pair of seconds, and he looked like he could be a championship
contender as well. However, the third-generation racer skipped some
races to bail on the point race. Buddy Chappell was back to make his own
run at the title. Chappell had earned three runner-up finishes and a
third as his best efforts and led the standings after July.
Gentry
would ultimately lead the division with five victories to go with a
second and a third, but his absence from that July race put him under
pressure going into the finale. It just so happened that Chappell's car
wasn't running well on that occasion, and the best he could do was a
sixth. Had he been able to pass just one car, he would have won the
title, but the win that Gentry earned moved the duo into a tie. Gentry
won the tiebreaker based on wins.
Matthew
Linde made his Antioch debut around the midway point of the season. He
won what would be the race of the year, a non-stop 15 lap battle that
saw him win in a close race with Devon Zuffa and Gentry. Zuffa missed
some races, but his four second place finishes helped move him up to
fourth in the final rundown behind third place Ryan Dotson. Dotson's
best effort of the season was a third place run. Mentch ended up fifth,
and Aniyah Scott ended up sixth in the standings ahead of Roberto
Monroy, Linde, Hayden Saich and hard luck racer Charlie Kight. Saich had
a second place finish at the season opener behind Mentch.
The
Late Model division once again had a championship season, this time
consisting of eight races. Five of those events were also Xtreme Late
Model Series point races, including the last minute addition of April
5th. Shawn DeForest won that night and seemingly threw his hat in the
ring to make a run at the Antioch championship as well. Unfortunately, a
scheduling conflict kept him from the next April race.
This
opened the door of opportunity wide for Placerville Speedway champion
Rod Oliver, and he picked up the victory in the second race of the
season, which had followed up a runner-up finish at the first race.
Oliver had an additional six Top 3 finishes, including a win in the
season finale that would cement his second-straight Antioch title.
Though
he missed a race, DeForest returned for the remainder of the season. He
would win a second Xtreme Late Model race at Antioch along with earning
three more Top 3 finishes. This gave him an eight-point advantage over
Ray Trimble for the runner-up point position. His Antioch success also
helped him become the Xtreme Late Model Series champion over Trimble.
Trimble won on the Xtreme circuit, but the best he managed at Antioch
was four second place finishes and a pair of thirds.
Anthony
Slaney missed some races to stay out of contention in both the Xtreme
Series and Antioch points. However, he won several races on the circuit,
including the Soares Memorial, the Larry Damitz Memorial and the JD
Willis Salute at Antioch. Trimble was second in two of those races,
while Andrew Pearce had a runner-up finish in the JD Willis Salute. Tim
Yeager was second in the Soares race and ended up fourth in the
standings at Antioch ahead of Slaney.
Buddy
Kniss picked up the win in the June race and would ultimately finish
sixth in the standings ahead of Antioch and Xtreme Series Rookie Of The
Year Andrew Odgers, Joey Ridgway, Paul Gugliemoni and Chester Kniss.
Guglielmoni had a third place finish at the opener, and Odgers counted a
fourth place effort as his best finish of the season.
The
Super Stocks cobbled together a championship season between three
regular Antioch races and the three Tri State Pro Stock Series events.
Eventual Tri State and Petaluma champion Mike Learn would win the
championship, but he did face a challenge from Fred Ryland, who was
subbing for Jim Freethy. Freethy had undergone open heart surgery prior
to the season.
Ryland
had a mathematical shot at the championship going into the October
finale. However, he also had an opportunity to race the big Enduro at
Madera and opted to go there instead. While he was winning that race,
Freethy returned to action.
As
expected, the Tri State Series races had the bigger car counts, but a
majority of those drivers only ran the Tri State events. Coalinga long
tow Ryan Smith won the Larry Damitz Memorial race in May ahead of
Bakersfield's Jerry Stewart and Phil Marino. Smith returned on Fan
Appreciation Night and won that Tri State event ahead of Ryland and
Marino. The track also hosted the Workman Communications 50 in August,
and it was Chris Smith winning that race in exciting fashion, followed
by Reno, Nevada's Jay Sears and Learn.
Though
Learn didn't have as much luck in the Tri State races, he won two of
the three regular races to wrap up the championship ahead of Ryland.
Antonio Aragon of Reno, Nevada came to town for the final point race in
October. Learn was running the #60 on his car in memory of long time
Petaluma racer Shawn McCoy, who died in a crash at the previous Tri
State race in Marysville. The absence of Ryland meant that Learn would
still win the championship despite mechanical issues in the Main Event,
won by Aragon ahead of Randy Miramontez and Leif Berglund. Paul Hanley
ended up third in the final standings ahead of Miramontez and Marino.
The
Hardtop division had a six-race schedule. Merced Speedway Sportsman
champion Mike Gillard opened the season with a feature win ahead of Don
Slaney and incoming champion Joel Hannagan. It looked like Gillard might
give Hannagan a run for his money, but Gillard opted not to race for
points.
Driving
the immaculate Junkyard Dog, owned by Doug Braudrick, Hannagan went on
to win the next five races, which included the Butch Althar and Chet
Thomson Memorial races. Hannagan was once again the division champion.
Starting
the season with four-consecutive second place finishes, Slaney made his
claim on second in the standings. That was further solidified when Joe
Shenefield rolled his car in the heat race at the season opener and was
unable to start the Main Event that night. Shenefield was back for the
next race and had a season best second place finish at the second to
last race of the season, keeping him third in the standings.
Gillard
competed in the Althar and Thomson Memorial races, finishing second on
both occasions to rank fourth in the standings ahead of fellow Merced
Sportsman racer Gary Hildebrand. Hildebrand had a third place finish in
the Butch Althar Memorial race as his best Antioch start to end up fifth
in the standings. Jeff Pike battled Slaney for the third place trophy
at the Thomson Memorial before Slaney prevailed at the checkered flag.
Fans
of the high powered NARC King Of The West Winged 410 Sprint Car Series
were treated to a pair of races, which included the Mother's Day Weekend
show once again. It was eventual champion DJ Netto winning that race
ahead of past Antioch Winged 360 Sprint Car champion Billy Aton and Bud
Kaeding. The series returned in October with Netto winning again,
followed by Dominic Gorden and Jesse Schlotfeldt.
On
both of those occasions, the BCRA Midgets also competed. Shane Golobic
won the first race ahead of BCRA champion Caden Sarale and WMR Midgets
champion Logan Mitchell. In October, Braden Chiramonte got the win ahead
of Jake Andreotti and Sarale. The lone WMR Midgets visit in August went
to Logan Mitchell ahead of Kinser Claridge and Cody Gray.
Series
champion Greg Dennett won the first BCRA Lightning Sprint feature,
followed by Dakota Albright and Seth Schostag. They returned in
September, and Dennett won again, followed by Matt Land and Kennedy
Ramirez. Kim Solis won what may be the final Mother's Day Minivan race
on Mother's Day Weekend ahead of Allyson Shelton. Adriane Frost won the
first ever Denise McCown Memorial Ladies Race in front of Jewell
Crandall and Patti Ryland.
2025
was an eventful year of racing at Antioch Speedway. There was plenty of
action, excitement and drama throughout the season, and many happy
memories were made along the way. It was the 65th championship season at
the track, and new names were once again added to the championship
honor roll. It was a season to be proud of, but there's potential for
things to be even better next season and beyond.
The Editor's Viewpoint
It's
been a while since I've done one of these columns or even made a post
on this page. For about seven years, I committed to the weekly grind of
trying to be a news source here, and the blog was originally created to
share memories as I worked on racing history books. It's funny how that
changed. At first I only did a few tracks, and that centered around what
I was doing for Antioch Speedway.
By
the time I was done, I was doing articles for so many race tracks it
was becoming stressful and exhausting. I really don't want to put myself
through that anymore for little reward. What is it they say in those
famous buddy cop action movies? I'm getting too old for this. I remain
very proud of those seasons, especially when I was pulling an
all-nighter every Sunday into Monday morning to make newspaper deadlines
for several tracks.
I
considered writing a couple of other articles. I feel that the show
Watsonville Speedway just had deserved that kind of attention, and I
wanted to cover Petaluma Speedway. Sadly, both tracks didn't update
anything on Speedhive, and I'm simply not interested in paying My Race
Pass any money to access statistics that the scoring system itself
allows you to upload for free on Speedhive. Why do tracks do that?
I'm
going to put point updates for the Benicia Bridge Series on this site.
As I announced on social media, I'm going to crown a Benicia Bridge
champion for Hobby Stocks, Super Stocks, Mini Stocks and Micro Sprints,
and all are based on results from Antioch Speedway and neighboring
Petaluma Speedway. My hope is that this will lead to something official
between the two tracks, but at the very least, we'll do something this
year.
Petaluma
Speedway was going to kick off this series on April 11th for the Super
Stocks and Hobby Stocks, but rain had other plans. It's also worth
noting that this was the Shawn McCoy Memorial, leaving management to try
to figure out another night to run it. I get the impression that
initially they wanted to take the four originally scheduled divisions
and give them another opportunity.
I
think they really only had three nights, but also I think they were
hoping to do it on a night when there were no Hobby Stocks at Antioch.
This left June 20th as a great opportunity, but Lyle Hopper's West Coast
Pro Stock group had a date at Watsonville. I know Petaluma was not
going to book their big show on top of that. It's a shame, because that
was a non Hobby Stock week at Antioch.
Two
weeks that jumped out at me were August 22nd and August 29th, which
were nights that Petaluma had nothing scheduled. Antioch had Hobby
Stocks on both of those nights, because it's hard not to have them on
most of the schedule with them being booked 21 times. Hall of Fame Night
would not be a great option to remove the Hobby Stocks, so that left
August 29th.
My
mind got to thinking of how Antioch could just be a good neighbor here
and they could have serious conversations with Petaluma management in
regards to next season. However, conversations with Promoter Chad
Chadwick indicated he was unwilling to pull any Hobby Stock dates this
year. They bring too much of a car count, and he feels it's a difficult
decision to pull them on any occasion.
While
I understand that, I think August 29th could have worked out for
Antioch. As it is, it's the Panfili Cup for Wingless Spec Sprints, and
Petaluma isn't running their division that week. The promoter there
could show a gesture of good faith by encouraging his drivers to come to
the Panfili Cup and make it a bigger show. With Antioch also booking
IMCA Sport Modifieds and Stock Cars along with BCRA Lightning Sprints
and Mini Stocks, I think it could have worked. If Antioch wanted to,
they could throw the Hardtops in to give them a few more cars, while
giving the Hobby Stocks to Petaluma that night. On paper, I believe this
would have worked.
Since
that wasn't an option, the track ended up going with May 30th, a date
in which they already had Super Stocks scheduled along with Mini Stocks,
Dwarf Cars and Wingless Spec Sprints. What I find interesting is
management later that day announced that Hobby Stocks would be welcome
to compete with the Super Stocks and there'd be some rules allowances
for them on this occasion.
Effectively,
they managed to book Hobby Stocks against Antioch without specifically
booking the division on its own, and I don't get it. They're going to
pull cars out of Antioch doing what they're doing, so why not just book
the damn division and have good fields of Hobby Stocks and Super Stocks
that night? It makes more sense, because I can guarantee you Antioch
management will still feel like Petaluma booked on top of their Hobby
Stock show, and Petaluma isn't running an official Hobby Stock race that
night.
This
also highlights that there's been a lack of good negotiations between
the two closest tracks. Antioch management works feverishly to get the
touring Sprint Car groups and to make sure Merced Speedway gets what
they want in regards to IMCA divisions, but I don't feel serious
negotiations are taking place between the two tracks. Conversations,
yes, but not serious negotiations.
On
one hand, you're worried about removing conflicts from a track 100
miles away in which you rarely see drivers from there coming to Antioch.
On the other hand, there's more back and forth between Petaluma and
Antioch despite the tracks always booking schedules with conflicting
dates over the past couple of years. It doesn't make sense to me. I
don't blame management, because I don't think either track does it
intentionally, but both tracks can do better. We need to fix this for
the good of BOTH tracks.
These
columns tend to go on and on, and I'll do my best not to let that
happen here. I wanted to talk about a potential racing book, comment on a
promotional effort that has really jumped out at me and make an
observation about sanctioning bodies for our weekly racing tracks.
I
was able to get the DCRR Lifetime Achievement Award plaque to Pete
Paulsen a bit later than I'd have liked. I'm delighted that it was
received well and is being displayed in a place of prominence. Pete
really has had an amazing racing career, and he's still promoting car
shows. I was surprised and yet very grateful that he sent me his two
books, Why Me Lord Part 1 and Part 2 (Final Final).
In
the books, Pete shares many, many photos and anecdotes of not just
racing and cars but things he's done in what has been a well-lived life.
I admit I've been thinking about returning to Lulu to do another POD
book for a while, but between this and Sarah Pointer's excellent race
car coloring books, I'm thinking about it again. On my mind right now is
a book that either highlights last season at Antioch or maybe even
something that goes over the previous 10 seasons. If I do anything,
you'll learn about it here.
I've
certainly made a few comments regarding Watsonville Speedway when I've
done my random DCRR Chillstream on social media, but I never post those
on the timeline. I think we were all excited when Rob Gallaher and
Samantha Morgan Harper stepped up for that Santa Cruz County racing
venue. The track has been in need of a change in direction for a while,
and they finally got it with this promotional change.
This
is the spot where you might expect a little promoter bashing in regards
to the previous regime, but you won't get that from me. I can't say I
was in favor of John Prentice changing the name Watsonville Speedway to
Ocean Speedway, but running a race track costs money. He was able to get
some good money from sponsorship, which helped him maintain that track
for 20 years.
The
thing is, any promoter who maintains a racing program for 20 years
deserves a little praise, regardless of whether you like certain
decisions they make from time to time. Do you know how many tracks have
been closed, some of which never made it to 20 years? So basically, I
would just say thank you to John. He kept the dream alive, and now Rob
and Samantha are stepping up to see if they can make things even better
there.
Sometimes
you'll see promoters who are partial to open wheel racing, and
sometimes they are more in favor of stock cars. John Prentice gave
Watsonville a Sprint Car program that for several years was as good as
any show you'd see in the state. Granted, the last few years weren't
spectacular, but the fans were treated to a dozen or so Sprint Cars
competing at most shows, and they had bigger special shows a couple of
times a year.
Though
Rob has a Stock Car and Sport Modified background, he's a racer. He
knew he had a Sprint Car show, and his goal is trying to see if he could
make it bigger. I love that he has done that. He's paying them a real
nice purse, and he's even reaching out to make joint promotional efforts
with other tracks. At this point, it's up to the drivers to get on
board and support it. In my opinion, this should result in some of these
weekly Sprint Car shows having 20 car fields or more. It's up to the
racers to make it happen, but if it fails, don't blame the promoter.
The
bottom line is Rob took a look at the program he was inheriting and
didn't put anything on the chopping block. He instead asked what can he
do to make it better? Special shows during the year? Increased payouts?
Special attractions for the fans in the grandstands? Changing the name
back to Watsonville Speedway? Various improvements to the facility? He's
done all of that and more, and things are going well so far.
As
a new promoter, you will generally be given a grace period from your
racing community. It can be even a better grace period if they feel
unhappy with the previous regime. Or, you could step into a situation
where your racing community is adversarial. While I would say he has
that grace period from the community and they'll give him a break on
things, he's not relying on that. The man is promoting, and people are
talking. If everybody stays on board with this, there's no telling how
big things can get. I love what I'm seeing so far.
I
could go off in many directions regarding sanctioning bodies, but I'm
going to try not to rant too much here. I don't believe a race track
needs a sanctioning body to be successful. Sometimes, they can help the
promoter, and sometimes they can be a hindrance. I've seen examples of
both in my time in the sport, and the ones that are a hindrance annoy
me. I do understand why John Soares ran Antioch Speedway for so many
years unsanctioned.
I
won't say I was anti-NASCAR in the 1990s, but I was getting frustrated
with them. A friend of mine had given me a little insight, and once I
understood the big picture, I really started to wonder if NASCAR was
helping the track. However, the biggest reason I supported John in
taking the track out of NASCAR was because of all the things he intended
to do. During the first few years of his run, things were better than
we'd seen them in quite some time. He used money saved from not paying
sanctioning fees to pay the drivers better. It wasn't just the Regional
and State stars enjoying better paydays.
I
have a frustration with IMCA, and I generally don't keep it to myself
when it comes up in conversation. I question sometimes what they're
really trying to accomplish. I get frustrated with the Nationals in
Boone, Iowa. Yeah, I know it's a financial bonanza for IMCA, but our
championship races at the track sort of end with a whimper considering
we can't really run the week before the Nationals because drivers are
headed there and we can't run during the Nationals because they don't
allow us to race for points.
We
then get caught in a tug of war over race cars in our area because
other tracks need them to make their own car counts. I will always say
it's the driver's right to take their car where they want. The promoters
don't own them. It's also true that the promoter ought to have a right
to book what they need when they need it without being dictated to by
the sanctioning body. I've seen situations where that's not the case,
and I'm not happy with it. Honestly, and it's not my decision, but if it
was my decision, I'd consider pulling Antioch Speedway out of IMCA
unless they backed off on dictating certain things to us.
The
track that benefits the most from these moves is Merced Speedway. I'm
not faulting management there for playing the cards to their advantage. I
am saying they have a car count problem, and it boils down to one
thing. Management can't seem to get several of their local drivers in
multiple divisions to show up. It's fairly obvious to those who are
observant that they depend on visitors from Bakersfield, Antioch and
Watsonville to fill out their fields.
Everything
took place during the offseason to make sure Antioch Speedway didn't
book any of their IMCA sanctioned divisions against Merced this year,
but somehow Bakersfield Speedway is immune from this. It's been proven
that when Bakersfield doesn't run, Merced gets more cars from there than
Antioch racers win that track doesn't run. In fact, there seems to be
less Antioch support at Merced than there was a few years ago.
You
could make the argument that Bakersfield and Merced running last week
hurt both tracks, but Bakersfield management was willing to roll the
dice and run what they had. They had an acceptable car count for the
four division show they offered, but Modifieds are definitely down. You
could make an argument that the Modifieds should have only been booked
at one track or the other, and I'll listen to you there.
Modifieds
are the headline IMCA sanctioned class, so the sanctioning body could
justifiably have an interest in making sure the division has a strong
showing wherever it's booked in California. However, as you go down the
ladder, I don't think tracks should be forced to stay dark to them,
unless one of the tracks in question is offering a big money show. For
regular shows, it should be every track for themselves. If a track is
struggling with car counts, it might be time for the promoter to look in
the mirror and ask some real questions, rather than using other tracks
to prop up their car count for them.
I
don't say that to track bash or promoter bash, and as I said, if a
promoter sees an advantage that they're getting from a sanctioning body,
I don't blame them for playing to that advantage, even if it hurts
other tracks. It is selfish and greedy, in my opinion, but I don't blame
them for doing what they think is right for their track. A promoter
isn't wrong for booking with their own show in mind first and foremost,
because that's what's going to pay their bills.
You
also don't have to book to intentionally screw other tracks. As big of a
fan as I am of John, I can't tell you that he didn't do that. He most
certainly did, and sometimes he screwed himself spectacularly in the
process. What I'm saying is the biggest reason Antioch Speedway didn't
run on April 18th was because they didn't have access to enough
divisions to justify the show.
Wingless
Spec Sprints could not be booked because of the Hunt Series at
Petaluma. Fair enough. They share Micro Sprints and Mini Stocks in
common, so those divisions were off limits. In this case, these tracks
are the closest in proximity and it's proven that drivers go back and
forth in these classes.
Then,
we have to look at the IMCA classes. Modified car count isn't doing
great, so I wouldn't have a problem with no Modifieds at Antioch so
Merced could have the best shot at getting cars. However, there were
also no Sport Modifieds. Most Antioch racers didn't travel, meaning the
ten or a dozen cars that we could have had, we didn't. If we had had
access to them and the Stock Cars, there would have been enough
available to us to book that date, and Antioch should have been able to
do so, in my opinion
This
isn't something I'm saying as an official representative of a race
track. This is something I'm saying as The DCRR Editor. It frustrates
me. I really don't have a say in those sorts of decisions, but as a
person who has covered motorsports for many years, I can tell you that I
think that's one of the things that hurts the track. What's even more
frustrating is it's not making Merced Speedway's car count any better,
because that's not why car count is down there.
I
know they can talk many factors as to why car count goes down. The
expense is ridiculous sometimes, the fuel bill, people just have other
things to do and so on. The Hobby Stock car count decline is mystifying
to me. I don't know why Merced can't even get a double digit car count. I
wonder if the decision to have an IMCA sanctioned Hobby Stock division,
though they didn't drop the regular Hobby Stock division in doing so,
has negatively affected that?
It
frustrates me to express this opinion because I know people will say
it's controversial. I simply don't like the stress of putting my opinion
out there, and that's led to me deciding not to do a blog post from
time to time. I don't want to hear it for expressing an opinion, and I'm
also saddened at the continued decline of the sport. You watch tracks
like Watsonville, Placerville and Willamette, and they prove what you
can still do in 2026. It's possible.
Speaking
of Willamette Speedway, I guess I'll close this column by talking about
something that has fascinated me since I knew they were even thinking
about it. The track that Clair Arnold built 60 years ago decided to drop
IMCA sanctioning and go with NASCAR. They're not the first dirt track
to do that in recent years in Oregon. Coos Bay Speedway did it 10 years
ago.
I
personally don't think a sanctioning body alone is going to bring you
success. You've got to have a master plan as a promoter, and the good
ones do. If your plan is right, and you've got some good support behind
you via sponsorship and a community that is receptive to what you're
doing, you can do big things. There are a lot of factors that go into
that as well if you want to get the fans in the stands.
I
could go off in a whole other direction here in regards to things like
ticket prices, food prices, parking fees, how your facility appears to
the average racing fan, what sort of show you offer that makes the fans
want to come watch and so on. That's just the grandstand side of things,
but this is a topic for another time, should I choose to do another one
of these.
When
you think about Willamette Speedway, you think Late Models. Clair was a
big Late Model guy, and he had multiple fendered divisions back in the
day with enough car count to produce semi and even consolation mains.
Those were the days. Even in 2025, they were widely regarded as the West
Coast's premier Dirt Late Model show. Cory and Sandy Penfold merged a
couple of divisions to create a Limited Late model division that was
growing to produce a dozen or 14 cars per race and they had a Street
Stock show in the twenties.
It's
worth noting that Willamette Speedway caught the attention of NASCAR
about a year ago. They did an article on some of the best tracks in the
country, and Willamette made the cut. Being a forward-thinking promoter
and just wanting to do something even bigger for his Late Model class,
Cory decided that NASCAR would be the thing to do. You would think
people would rally behind that, but that's not what initially happened.
Certain
people who thought they had the power to put a stop to it threw a fit.
What I still don't understand is why they thought IMCA was so damn
important to Willamette in 2025. The Sport Modifieds did okay, but the
track couldn't even book Modifieds half the time because other tracks
needed the class. The success they were enjoying was largely due to the
three fendered classes doing their thing.
Cory
knew the risks, but he also knew that the Late Models would be in line
for a lot more money for the track championship, not to mention being
competitive in NASCAR Regional and National point races. The second
division, Street Stocks, would be open for more point fund money, the
third division, Limited Late Models, would be open for more point fund
money and the Hornets would also be open for more point fund money as
the fourth division. Plus, Cory brought in sponsorship for even more
point fund rewards for the drivers.
I
worked for Mike McCann in Medford for a few years, and he built a
reputation as a guy who turned things around. I learned a lot from that
man. He might seem a bit grumpy at times or cynical, but experience
taught him and he learned his lessons. It just made him better at doing
the things that needed to be done to make a track better. He did have a
saying that sticks with me. Give a racer an opportunity, and they'll do
the wrong thing every time.
I
know Mike was talking about racers uniting to create associations or to
boycott the track when things weren't going exactly how they wanted. In
this case, the thing that could hurt Willamette Speedway in this NASCAR
move would be if the racers decide in large enough numbers to tow down
the road rather than give the NASCAR move a chance. I hope they give it a
chance, because I think what is being done right now at Willamette
Speedway is a game changer.
They
say the definition of insanity is repeating the same thing, and I'll
expand on that. Promoters at some race tracks are complaining because
they don't get enough fans or drivers and they're struggling to pay the
bills. Yet, in many cases, the promoters are doing the same thing and
hoping it works for them. But maybe, what they're doing is continuing to
preside over a declining sport that could just see their own venue
close eventually.
I
won't say Willamette was the first, because you had Coos Bay. The
problem with Coos Bay is it's not really respected in the state over
there on the coast. I don't say that to be negative, but that's sort of
how it is. I also think Drake Nelson made a good move bringing the track
into NASCAR, and he's definitely the promotional stud of 2020 with his
stand against all the regulations and running his track with a defiant
middle finger in the air all the way through the season. The racers and
fans that year appreciated it.
Willamette
was seen as part of this IMCA force that included Medford, Cottage
Grove, Banks and Roseburg. To leave that behind was gutsy, but it also
broke a little bit of the control of what they say is the oldest
sanctioning body in the United States. If the foundation of IMCA is
strong enough, who cares if one of the five leaves, right? Unless, that
one track is so successful one of the other three joins them next?
It
takes one promoter to take a leap of faith, and then others can follow
when it works. One of the things John did at Antioch was try to bring it
under the UMP sanctioning. He gave it a go with Late Models, Modifieds
and Hobby Stocks for a few years and tried to promote Merced the same
way when he got it initially. Unfortunately, nobody got on board with
him, and eventually Merced and Antioch went back to IMCA. At least he
took a chance.
I've
had private conversations just to get the temperature of people, and
one of the conversations I had was with a Late Model person. The
question posed was what if Antioch Speedway became NASCAR and brought
the Late Models in? They were a little lukewarm to the idea, and I can't
help thinking one of the biggest reasons was because they didn't think
drivers would get on board. Knowing that the drivers could fall back on
Placerville Speedway, which would likely just remain what it is, I
understand.
The
interesting thing about Antioch, and they weren't alone in this, was in
the 1990s their headliner was the NASCAR Grand American Modifieds.
Think IMCA Modifieds, but with the nation's most popular sanctioning
body waving its banner high over the speedway. The thought I have in my
mind is a few of those people are still around, and what would they do
if NASCAR were sanctioning the headliner at Antioch?
Following
this line of thinking, there are four divisions that get point fund
monies. Seemingly, Modifieds come in at number one. I don't think I'd
want to merge the Modified divisions as Willamette did, so that would
leave Sport Modifieds as NASCAR Limited Modifieds. Division 2? Then, you
have Hobby Stocks that could be Division 3. Division 4, which will
compete for a $500 championship, could go to the Mini Stocks in an
effort to try to build the class up, unless the track wanted to try to
rehabilitate Super Stocks one last time?
It's
all speculation. Nobody in management is talking about doing this, and
anytime rumor gets out, they get phone calls from people panicking. So,
no, I don't think Antioch Speedway would be the first dirt track in
California to take that chance. I could make a case for it, but I don't
think it'll happen. Besides, you need a second track to make it fly, and
other than a Stockton Dirt Track that wanted to try to do more, I don't
know who that would be.
Don't
take anything I'm saying too seriously. It's just an opinion. I don't
have authority to make decisions on this, and furthermore, I don't want
it. It just makes me sad to see the state of the sport as it is these
days. That's all for now. Maybe I'll do another one of these at some
point this season.
The Editor
