DON'S CALIFORNIA RACING RECOLLECTIONS

Some Sad News And Some Happy News

2009-10-20T18:21:00.000-07:00

In the most recent issue of John Kelly's MotoRacing Magazine, it was reported that Stewart Reamer passed away. Stewart was the operator of the Racing Promoter's Workshops. These end of the year events in Reno, Nevada serve as a gathering place for all the promoters, leaders of various traveling racing organizations and various companies that do business in racing, where they discuss the state of racing and look to the future.

I attended four of four events, the first in 1993 when Mike Johnson and I were putting the CMA together, and years later with Don O'Keefe Jr. The last year, Stewart acknowledged DCRR Racing News as the magazine I represented. The previous times it was my Racing Wheels credentials that got me in.

Now, this was a big deal to me, because they didn't have to let some publisher of a small magazine in for free. But he did. I was honored to be there. These meetings often served as the place for some of the biggest deals for the sport, and the fans came out the winners more often than not. So, I'll just offer my condolences to the Reamer family. It's people like Stewart who helped make the sport of auto racing a better place.

It's nice when we have history books for racing fans to look back on the past and celebrate it. Yes, I know I should get my butt in gear and put that book together. There is the 50 Years of BCRA History book and Bob Barkhimer's book.

I noticed in MotoRacing that photographer Dennis Mattish has put a book together called The History Of San Jose Auto Racing 1903-2007. It's hard cover, 288 pages. It's $69.95 plus $10 for postage and handling. You can order direct from the author:

Dennis Mattish Photos
2070 Ulster Drive
San Jose, CA 95131

I should point out that Dennis is a very talented photographer and his work has been featured in several publications. It's nice to see something being done to honor the great racing heritage of San Jose.

Finally, congratulations are in order to Kenny Shepherd and the crew for a successful completion of the 2009 Chowchilla Speedway season. While I'm still not thrilled that Tom Sagmiller isn't the man in charge, it's nice to know that they found somebody who could make it through a whole season like Tom did for so many years. Plus, Tom did bring the Freedom Series back to Chowchilla for it's finale this year. Anyway, here's a press release for Chowchilla that I received:

Chowchilla Speedway Media Release – October 7th, 2009

Matt Speed – Media Relations / Short Track Management, LLC

The 2009 Chowchilla Speedway Champions are Announced

The audit of every driver and every point earned by each driver is now complete and the 2009 championship points are certified. The Champions will be honored at the 2009 awards banquet on November 7^th.

The Western Modified Champion is Alex Stanford, Mike Villanueva is second, Robbie Jeppeson was third with Ray Mayer, and Bill Egelston completing the top five. Sixty Eight different drivers competed in the Western Modified Points Championship during the 2009 season at the Chowchilla Speedway.

Mike Shepherd is the Super Stock Champion; Mitch Enos is second with Steven Hannah, Donnie Shearer, and Roy Hart Jr. making up the top five in the points. Thirty Six different drivers competed in the Super Stock Points Championship during the 2009 season at Chowchilla Speedway.

The Hobby Stock Championship was a barn burner to say the least and when the smoke cleared it was Jarod Fast with 541 points and Danny Roe with 540 points. Jarod Fast is the Hobby Stock Champion for 2009.

Roe was the point leader all the way up to the final main event, Fast had won two races in a row to get close to Roe in the points. Fast won the final race making it three in a row, Roe finished third but the car he barrowed for the main event was found to be 120 pounds light in post race inspection. Roe was penalized one position per pound the car was found to be under weight; he earned one point for the race for what would be 123^rd position. He retained his points for the heat race and trophy dash due to the fact he was in his own car.

Had Fast not won all three of the final main events, or even finished second in one of them Danny Roe would be the champion, but Fast matched his name and got a hot hand at the right time, the same time that Roe hit a tough patch in his season. Shannon Marlow, Shannon Porter and Robby Laquaci made up the top five in the points. Forty Five different drivers competed in the 2009 Chowchilla Speedway Hobby Stock Championship.

Kathy Evans is the 4-Banger Champion, followed by Paul Thornburn, David Cox, Greg Mead, and Joe Willoughby for the top five. More than forty different 4-banger drivers competed in the 2009 championship at the Chowchilla Speedway.

Tim Prothro is the 2009 Sportsman Champion, Mike Shearer, Justin Shearer, Mark Odgers, and Mike Henault made up the balance of the top five. Seventeen different drivers competed in the Sportsman class in 2009.

Chris Koontz is the 2009 Spec Sprint Champion, with a hard charging Christian “The Weasel” Hickman finishing right behind him. Twenty Four different drivers competed in the Spec Sprint class in 2009.

The Chowchilla Speedway features the Chowtown Pacific Dirt Nationals presented by Richwood Meats on October 16^th, 17^th and 18^th. Three nights of spectacular main events featuring the Modifieds, Western All Star Super Late Models, Super Stocks and the 4-Bangers. Click on this link for more information.

For more information go to www.racechowchilla.com.

Just Checking In With An Update And Some Comments

2009-09-16T21:50:00.000-07:00

Can't let the 2009 season go without pointing out this is the 50th consecutive season of activity for Antioch Speedway. That means next year with be the 50th Anniversary of that track. Will there be any special plans? Guess we'll find out. Though I'm not optimistic about it, I am hopeful. It's just nice to see the track is still running and doing better in some areas than last year, from what I hear. It would be nicer if they had newspaper coverage here, but...

I'm very sorry for the lack of updates. To say my head has been elsewhere would be an understatement. I haven't given much thought to the book I was planning to write, to be perfectly honest with you. I have finished a non racing related book that I am editing. I have given some thought to pulling out some previously published material for a racing history book of sorts. Some of what I consider to be my best stories, along with Gary Jacob and other writers from past DCRR issues. And some photos, of course. Lots of them.

What would be the point of that? For starters, to get this stuff published and looking more professional than anything I had done previously with The DCRR. The print would be bigger. The look and feel of the book would be like a book you would get at Barnes & Noble. The areas focussed on would include Antioch, Chowchilla, Merced, Watsonville, Petaluma and other tracks. Driver profile stories, the classic 1989 DCRR Series Memorable moments, a look back at Antioch Speedway in the 80's. Never wrote the 1989 installment, but I might just break out an old story from my Antioch '87 magazine about the 1979 season to make it a full ten year series.

Big stories about Antioch and Merced history, some season review stories and other things. At this time, the "angry editor" stuff would NOT be a part of this. The book would be a celebration of racing on a short track level. That's all. How many pages? I figure at least 100 or 200. Is this something that would interest any of you who are lurking? If so, perhaps I can make this happen. The more positive feedback I see, the more inspired I will be to do this, so feel free to post.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Don O'Keefe Jr. not that long ago. It was good to see him again, and he looked great. Seems life in Indiana agress with him. It was nice to catch up with him on things and we of course recalled putting the Spec Sprint class together and the recent publicity we enjoyed in Norm Bogan's excellent story in Flat Out Magazine. It's nice to be remembered and even nicer to know the division is still going strong. Even Antioch has enjoyed some good car counts this season.

Petaluma is doing good things with the division as well. Incidentally, I understand Jim Soares has to renew his contract there. I certainly hope he gets to return. He has really turned the place around. I haven't been to a race in California in over five years, and frequently when I think of going to a race it's Petaluma. I've heard things about that bid. I won't mention here, but if it comes to light in the future, I definitely have an opinion. I support Jim at Petaluma. Yeah Jim, "there's no we" and I'm not looking to come back, but I do respect what you have done there. Pops would be proud of you.

Hopefully, we can keep the negativity at a minimum and move ahead. Some tracks aren't doing well, but others are. The main thng is tracks like Antioch, Watsonville and Petluma have made it throigh some tough times and even Chowchilla is doing okay from what I hear. There will be ups and downs, but there always has been. As long as the ones in charge don't do anything stupid, the drivers will come back and the show will go on.

Anyway, that's all for now. Best wishes to everybody and I hope whatever you're doing you are happy.

Wingless Spec Sprint Points From Antioch

2009-09-16T21:46:00.000-07:00

I've got these for all the divisions, but since we had the recent story in Flat Out Magazine, I thought it would be nice to put the Spec Sprint points up here for the record. Note, I included the NCMA points from 1998 as Antioch management did honor the top point runners that year. Eventually I will get around to posting the other divisions.

Antioch Speedway
Wingless Spec Sprint Points

NCMA MODIFIEDS (1998)*

1 Scott Holloway 596
2 Ed Amador Sr. 543
3 Don O'Keefe Jr. 541
4 Duane Watson 534
5 Jeff PIke 514
6 Andy Archer 495
7 Bill Felver 481
8 Dave Cuhna 437
9 Del Quinn 432
10 Burt Siverling 412

* Official Antioch Standings

1999
Dan Gonderman 558
Andy Archer 456
Don O'Keefe Jr. 451
Travis Berryhill 381
Eric Mentch 339
Jim Perry Jr. 280
Larry Teixeira 215
Phil Pedlar 193
Terry DeCarlo Sr. 191
Rick Brophy III 189

2000
1 11 Travis Berryhill 531
2 10 Eric Mentch 516
3 15P Jim Perry Jr. 450
4 8 Dan Gonderman 417
5 29 Billy Fraser 332
6 7 Brian Gray 326
7 47B John Buccellato 296
8 02 Jimmy Lavell 255
9 21P Jim Perry III 244
10 64 Terry Tarditi 242
11 22 Roy Fisher 241
12 26 Dalton DeOrnellas 234
13 91 Eric Ferreira 227
14 12 Bill Felver 218
15 20 Keith Shipherd 214
16 6 Jeff Rose 211
17 4 Rick Panfili 187
18 2 Phil Pedlar 165
19 18 Rich Butler 161
20 44 Larry Teixeira 153

2001
1 64 Terry Tarditi 555
2 15P Jim Perry Jr. 398
3 29 Billy Fraser 394
4 3G David Goodwill 349
5 2 Brian Gray 304
6 11 Travis Berryhill 277
7 23L Mike Lokmor 270
8 26 Dalton DeOrnellas 263
9 47B John Buccellato 263
10 21P Jim Perry III 257
11 20 Keith Shipherd 247
12 24 Brandi Ford 246
13 16 John Hendrickson 236
14 22 Roy Fisher 222
15 6 Jeff Rose 180
16 55 Scott Merrell 163
17 4 Rick Panfili 159
18 1 Bill Wallace 157
19 77 Daryl Moore 145
20 19 Kraig Collins 144

2002
1 40 Darrell Hanestad 986
2 15P Jim Perry Jr. 935
3 3G David Goodwill 907
4 29 Billy Fraser 881
5 55 Scott Merrell 804
6 16 John Hendrickson 769
7 1M Joey Santos 672
8 64 Terry Tarditi 620
9 24 Brandi Ford 611
10 36 Bob Newberry 554

2003
1 40 Darrell Hanestad 1057
2 29 Billy Fraser 965
3 3g David Goodwill 829
4 36 Bob Newberry 788
5 21 Jim Perry III 768
6 55 Scott Merrell 764
7 11D Danny Olmstead 735
8 9 David Hays Jr. 674
9 4 Daryl Moore 604
10 25 Sal Mannina 588

2004
36 Bob Newberry 819
29 Billy Fraser 791
17 Joey Santos 765
40 Darrell Hanestad 761
15 Jim Perry Jr. 744
55 Scott Merrell 715
9 David Hays Jr. 675
57 Troy Caraway 669
22 Roy Fisher 633
6 Jeff Rose 620

2005
55 Scott Merrell 749
96 Arvo Backholm 743
17 Joey Santos 684
15p Jim Perry Jr. 663
32 Billy Macedo 598
22 Roy Fisher 554
41 David Press 522
18 Dennis Fraser 506
41h Scott Holloway 496
9 David Hayes Jr. 390

2006
1 21p Jim Perry III 694
2 04 Derek Overcamp 588
3 22 Roy Fisher 546
4 4s Dan Simpson 542
5 10 Brandi Ford 472
6 41 David Press 466
7 14 Jeff Kindt 424
8 8 Dan Gonderman 394
9 8x Anthony Ryan 382
10 6 Jeff Rose 360
11 2x Brian Gray 238
12 48v Brian Vaughn 196
13 9 David Hays Jr. 194
14 15c Steve Mannina 188
15 7s Danielle Simpson 168
16 41s Jack Clark 142
17 0x Dave Ellis 113
18 48 Michael Vaughn 104
19 7h John Keith 100
20 57 Troy Caraway 84
21 32 Billy Macedo 80
22 14jr Matt Streeter 80
23 33 Scott Dupont 70
24 41h Scott Holloway 42
25 96 Todd Miller 42
26 36 Bob Newberry 36
27 51 Dennis Fuller 35
28 23 Tyler Henriques 34
29 22d Nick Davis 33
30 17j Jim Riddell 32
31 99 Tom Dupont 28
32 41x Terry Miller 22
33 11d Danny Olmstead 16
34 90 Craig Smith 11

2007
1 15p Jim Perry Jr. 675
2 21p Jim Perry III 613
3 22 Roy Fisher 587
4 14 Jeff Kindt 572
5 26 Billy Aton 530
6 04 Derek Overcamp 525
7 41 David Press 443
8 8 Dan Gonerman 416
9 8x Anthony Ryan 388
10 9 David Hays Jr. 385
11 0x Dave Ellis 302
12 11 Ricardo Rivera 276
13 6 Jeff Rose 244
14 57 Troy Caraway 232
15 m1 Billy Macedo 224
16 41s Jack Clark 220
17 10 Chris Magoon 158
18 48 Micheal Vaughn 150
19 8t Troy Passama 146
20 44 Rick Panfili 139
21 10L Colby Rennert 134
22 23 Nick DeCarlo 82
23 36 Bob Newberry 78
24 22x Kris Koontz 70
25 81 Troy Foulger 64
26 22y Lee Yetter 56
27 41r Randy Lathrop 54
28 10m Eric Mentch 52
29 34 Steve Stein 48
30 9t Tony Boscacci 28
31 59 Tim Burcher 26
32 17t Dusty Green 24
33 3e Anthony Espinoza 24
34 2x Brian Gray 20
35 51 Dennis Fuller 5

2008
1 M1 BILL MACHEDO 684
2 26 BILLY ATON 682
3 8x ANTHONY RYAN 602
4 11 RICARDO RIVERA 524
5 04 DEREK OVERCAMP 448
6 22 ROY FISHER 432
7 31 TROY FOUGLER 424
8 15P JIM PERRY, JR. 396
9 8 DAN GONDERMAN 373
10 41 DAVID PRESS 280
11 44 RICHARD PANFILLI 276
12 87 RYAN BERNAL 256
13 14 JEFF KINDT 198
14 95 ALAN CLARK 172
15. 21P JIM PERRY III 122

An Antioch Speedway Story

2009-09-16T21:40:00.000-07:00

The Antioch Speedway website has been running stories about the races there. They aren't archiving them and there's still no newspaper coverage, but at least it's something. Perhaps they will send them to John Kelley's MotoRacing Magazine, which appears to be the last magazine of it's kind standing in this area. Who would have thought? It's a monthly magazine, but at least it's something to offer a snapshot of what's going on.

Anyway, here's the story from the web page. I'm not planning on doing this all the time, but figured I'd do it this once.

Sep 13 2009 - Welcome back Race Fans...

This weekend brought out some names from days of old; near and recent. Most notably was the return of Todd Tadiello making his return after what I am told was almost a decade of absense. Russ Seiber jumped back into the Dwarf Car and Chris Sorenson graced us with an appearance in a Hobby Stock. These three along with many other competitors picked a great weekend to come to the Antioch Speedway. The racing was thrilling and with limited yellows coming out, gave us some awesome non-stop action to witness. The competition was fierce as always.

Feature division and most entertaining for the night was the Dirt Modifieds. Nick DeCarlo jumped off to a quick start and set the pace for those behind him. He challenged the three behind him to get creative in their line selection. He definitely made Joe Carr and Scott Busby work for their positions. Once the two veterans got passed DeCarlo they managed to inch away from him and we were witness to glory in driving. It was intense to watch when Kenny Neu and Troy Foulger got into the mix of the top 5. There was a collective feeling of awe once the dust settled and Joe Carr was again in the winner's circle. Scott Busby, the winningest modified driver in California, gave him a good battle but settled for a stellar 2nd place finish. DeCarlo wound up in third, holding off the hard-charging and current points leader Neu.

Every week the Hobby Stocks come in and make the statement that they are a division not to be overlooked. As the season progresses, the racing action is becoming more and more notable. This past weekend was no exception and could arguably contend for the best race of the night against the monster machines of the dirt modifieds. Coming off the recent win, Jack Jonker led the pack. Nipping at his heals and waiting for any mistake to capitalize upon were current points leader Fred Ryland and prior winners Nick DeLuca and Erik Schantin. These four have stepped up their game and were put to the test as the lappers came into the picture. DeLuca was able to get past Jonker for a moment before being passed by Schantin. As they navigated around the 3/8 mile dirt oval it came down to who would be the most consistent. The track held up and has been coming in better and better as the year goes by. The hobbies took advantage of all the room and made many 3 wide passing turns. With a slight bobble from Nick DeLuca, Erik Schantin was the first to cross the checkers to the delight of the roaring crowd gaining his third win of the season. Amazingly Schantin won the race without tearoffs. It turned out in turn one of the starting lap, he went to pull a single tearoff and the whole thing came off leaving him without any for the entire A main event. Typically racers have to overcome mechanical and other obstacles but sight is normally not one of them. It makes the win even more thrilling when you find out about the battle inside the drivers seat.

Coming off a recent injury, we were unsure of the status of Daniel Mendes. The current Super Stock points leader underwent some intense medical tests and took some well received precautions prior to jumping back into the black #3. He brought his clearance and for those who were questioning; you were left without any doubts. He is here and he's not going anywhere. Bring it on you, can hear him say when you look at the drive in his eyes. Mendes started in 8th and made a quick charge to the front. Once he got past Larry Damitz and Michael Newman, it was over. He never waivered and was never challenged for the lead. Mitch Machado made a valiant effort following Mendes' move thru the pack but couldn't match the power he had and scored a second place finish. It is no surprise that Larry Damitz finished in the top three. He is as I call him, always Mr. Consistent.

Ricardo Rivera raced in the Dwarf Cars. He won, enough said. Tony Carmignani is staying within striking distance by maintaining his second place finishes. He pulled up on Rivera late in the race but the laps weren't there to make a definite challenge. Worthy of noting, is the improvement of Jerry Doty. He has been watching and learning from the top guys. It shows in his finishes from the past few months. Doty has nearly always finished in the top 5, this past weekend he gained a third place win. He is one to watch in the next year. It is not uncommon for a dwarf car driver to "move-up" to a dirt modified, but it is hardly ever seen in the reverse. This weekend we had last years dirt modified champion, Rob Norris, jump into a dwarf car. It was a nice change of pace for the modified driver. Unfortunately in every division mechanical woes will happen. Norris pulled off early in the main event, returning as it finished. Hopefully the car problems can get dialed in and we can see some more championship racing in the dwarf car division.

The Freedom Series was moved to Chowchilla for the last installment but that didn't affect our local boys. A big congratulations to Kenny Neu for taking the modified purse and Gene Haney for garnering the Hobby Stock win. The soon-to-be retired Haney was back in the familiar seat of his mini truck this weekend. He pulled out a solid third place finish and stayed in the points lead for this division. The Trophy Dash winner Tommy Brown came in second behind Mini Trux winner Mike Harman Sr. It was the first win for both men.

Prior to the Trophy Dash, we observed a moment of silence for those lost in the tragedies of years ago. It shall remain a reminder of loss and the unity of the nation. Let's all take this time to shake the hand of your neighbor, love yourself and your family. We hope that you come to the races with that same sentiment. This is a dying breed and we encourage you to cheer loudly for that which you love.

A reminder of the changes; the 2009 banquet has been cancelled. The Wingless Sprints have a $1500 to win show added to the Western All Stars Late Model event on October 3rd. Antioch Speedway management has added 2 additional dates of racing, the 17th and 24th of October. Divisions to be announced at a later date. As always, the opinion/statements made are not necessarily that of the speedway management.

Antioch Speedway Results

September 12, 2009

Dirt Modifieds
1. 12 Joe Carr
2. 73 Scott Busby
3. 17 Nick DeCarlo
4. 99 Kenny Neu
5. 49 Troy Foulger
6. 28 Chester Kniss
7. 68 Norman Beck
8. 16 Michael Paul
9. 00 Todd Tadiello
10. 44 Jon Haney
11. 61 Jeff Bettencourt
12. 2a Andy Angelo
13. 2 Mike Learn
14. 6 Dan Gonderman

Super Stocks
1. 3 Danny Mendes
2. 22 Mitch Machado
3. 15 Larry Damitz
4. 83 Michael Newman
5. 2 Mike Gustafson
6. 90 Jeremy Petrell
7. 65 Lori Brown
8. 11 Lloyd Cline
9. 8 Alan Beasy
10. 40 Steve Perry
11. 10x Eric Van Hooser

Hobby Stocks
1. 45 Erik Schantin
2. 99 Jack Jonker
3. 24 Nick DeLuca
4. 7 Fred Ryland
5. 03 Philip Gibber
6. 00 Chris Sorenson
7. 87 Wes Bentley
8. 98 Joe Cancilla
9. 56 Chuck Templeton
10. 11 Joanna Kujala
11. 57 Craig Ebert
12. 28 Anthony Roeder
13. 300 Jake Neu

Dwarf Cars
1. 45 Ricardo Rivera
2. 11 Tony Carmignani
3. 55 Jerry Doty
4. 3 Duane Jordan
5. 30 Joel Osias
6. 12 Butch Liston
7. 3s Chuck Golden
8. 1 Russ Seiber
9. 3n Clayton Dortbach
10. 41 Rob Norris

Mini Trux
1. 51 Mike Harman Sr
2. 99x Tommy Brown
3. 45 Gene Haney
4. 4 Ray Bunn
5. 99 Travis Dutra
6. 73 Ron Mayberry
7. 21 Frank Rosa
8. 37 Garrett Mayberry
9. 66x Joe Cambra
10. 11d Danny Wagner

Trophy Dash - Mini Trux
1. 99x Tommy Brown
2. 99 Travis Dutra
3. 21 Frank Rosa
4. 21d Danny Wagner

From The DCRR Archives - Chowchilla Speedway 2000

2009-06-09T18:21:00.000-07:00

What I remember most about the 2000 season was the fun I had at Chowchilla Speedway. Things in 1999 ended on a rather frustrating note and I was not a happy camper at that time. Maybe the writing was on the wall and I was on my way out anyway, but I never expected I would find my smile at a track in Chowchilla of all places. But from the moment I got there and this radical promoter named Tom Sagmiller was talking on the pit PA system and telling people there was a $25 fine if you're not having fun, I was hooked.

Tom did things differently. A $5 adult ticket for the weekly show. Needing point fund money, he shaved his head for donations. On a rainy night, he was about to cancel a show. I recall him asking the fans if they would like the drivers to come back and mud pack the track and race. They loved the idea of course, and the drivers came out and did just that. Tom was always doing things like that that were outside the box. I'm of the opinion, though, that his particular style was needed or it never would have flown.

Tom also liked to come into the California Racing Online chat room and talk with whoever was there on our weekly chats. The Hobby Stock $500 (40 cars the fist year) and Open Wheel Round Up were born in that room. I have respect for Tom and Cindy and what they did at Chowchilla, and they are two of the nicest people in the sport. Did you know that at a time when he and the Merced promoter weren't getting along, Tom let me stay at his place an extra night and even drove me to Merced Speedway so I could announce report there?

Anyway, here is a story from the 2000 Chowchilla Speedway Awards Banquet:

CHOWCHILLA SPEEDWAY ENDS SUCCESSFUL 2000 SEASON

BY DON MARTIN II
CHOWCHILLA, CA...NOVEMBER 12...Just a year ago at this time, the work crews were just breaking ground on the new race track at the Chowchilla Fairgrounds. Now, roughly 250 drivers, crew and officials gathered to honor the accomplishments at the First Annual Chowchilla Speedway Awards Banquet. It was a happy occasion for all who worked so hard to make this dream a reality.

After the Chowchilla Speedway tradition of the invocation before the event, done by Steve Stone Sr., and a delicious roast beef dinner, it was time to get into the awards ceremonies. Handling the Master Of Ceremonies duties were Promoters Tom & Cindy Sagmiller. Charlie Ruth received the "Best Idea" award for providing the inspiration that led to the effort to open the track. Charlie, Kenneth Stone, Leonard Burnett, Perry Thomas, Tom Sagmiller, Mike Bettencourt, Roy Hart, Mark & Regina Fleming were acknowledged for their investments that made opening the race track possible.

Over 30 special awards were then handed out to all the track officials, sponsors and investors for their very important contributions to this special season. The investors had the guts to take a chance on the track when some people were saying it wouldn't happen. Many of the sponsors and track officials worked during the weeks leading up to the season opener and throughout the year to make sure things went off as planned. The track officials worked on a volunteer basis to help the track get started. Without the support of all these people, the 2000 season at Chowchilla Speedway would not have been possible.

A few special awards were then handed out to the drivers. Monty Tomlinson Jr. received the award for "Having The Most Fun" every week. His crew then received the "Golden Wrench" award, and it was pointed out that Monty was the only driver to race regularly at both Chowchilla and Merced this year. Popular Hobby Stock racer Craig Tatum received the award for "Most Dents On A Race Car", and it was jokingly pointed out that Craig had managed to hit every car in the division at least once. The "Most Confused" award went to veteran Larry Folker for the time he spent in a Street Stock before returning to the Modified division, where he has won several championships. Brad LeDuc received the award for "The Most Air Time" after his crash off of Turns 3 and 4 nearly landed him in the airport next door.

"Rookie Of The Year" awards were next, and Brad LeDuc (Winged Sprint), Red Williams (Hobby Stock), Steven Williams (Modified) and Nathan Corn (Street Stock) collected that hardware. The "Most Improved Driver" plaques went to Phillip Lust (Street Stock), Brian Folkner (Modified), Roger Dory (Hobby Stock) and Joshua Lefler (Winged Sprint). Though there were several Mini Stock drivers during the last couple months of the season, only three time feature winner Bob Terry actually joined the track's R.A.C.E. Association, and he was crowned champion. Terry actually beat a field of Hobby Stocks in his Little Truck at the season opener, and he plans to return next season as the division is expected to grow considerably.

All the drivers who were members received trophies and point fund money, and each champion received two jackets in different styles. 16 year old Doug Fisher received the 13th place Hobby Stock trophy and is expected to return in a new car with his sister Amy also getting a car. Kevin Anderson was 12th, Red Williams' crew chief Jaye Aguero was 11th and Scott Van Gelder tenth. The Ford driving Dale Falkenberg was ninth, and both he and wife Tami are planning to field cars next year. Billy Alvis was eighth and two track racer Dan Holcomb seventh. Roger Dory was sixth and Chowchilla based rookie Craig Tatum received the fifth place trophy. Two time winner Sydney Finn was fourth, and Charles Seals enjoyed one of his most successful seasons in third. Five time winner Jerry O'Hagan, who also won the preliminary feature at the big open show, received the second place trophy and is already being tabbed as the driver to beat in the 2001 championship race. Seven time winner Red Williams won the championship in an impressive rookie season to receive the big trophy and jackets. He sold his car to Jay Connelly and is building a Street Stock for next season.

16 year old Joshua Lefler picked up the seventh place trophy for the Winged 362 Sprint Cars. The steady Joe Diaz Jr., who has sold his car to Jim Myers and is looking for another one, finished sixth. All of the top five point runners won at least one feature, and veteran Roy Winters finished fifth. Brad LeDuc claimed the fourth place trophy. Roy Greer ended up third behind his father, two time winner Richard Greer. George Terry, who led the effort to get the carbureted and winged Sprint Car effort going in Chowchilla, won the track championship to receive the big trophy and Jackets. George is hoping to have a new car for next season.

In the Street Stock division, Kevin Pugh earned the 13th place trophy. Robby Jeppesen settled for 12th, Dennis Corn was 11th and Larry Folkner managed a tenth place trophy in the short time he competed in the division. Speedy Davis sold his car to Andrew Krumm during the season and debuted a new car to maintain ninth in points. 65 year old Al Loewen finished eighth and "Mr. Excitement" George Lefler, who definitely lived up to his nickname, finished seventh. Sixth went to Merced champion Ramie Stone, who had some impressive results in his Chowchilla visits and intends to race here full time next year. Phillip Lust grabbed the fifth place trophy and brother Jimmy Lust was fourth. Monty Tomlinson Jr's solid season, which included two feature wins, earned him third place. The consistent Nathan Corn used his two feature wins and six trophy dash wins to finish second. Steve Stone Sr. proved to be the man to beat and won the championship jackets and trophy with ten heat wins and eight feature victories. In receiving his trophy, Steve was quick to give credit to his pit crew and said he couldn't have done it without them.

Monty Tomlinson Jr. received the 18th place Modified trophy for his two appearances in a car that was last run on the asphalt of Madera. David Jelen was 17th, Michael Jiminez 16th, Chowchilla's Wayde Stockton 15th, former Hanford champion Jimmy Reeves 14th, Mike Dinublio 13th, top five Merced racer Troy Stone was 12th and Robby Jeppesen 11th. Late starter Larry Folkner managed to climb to tenth in points and impressive rookie Steven Williams grabbed the ninth place hardware. Early season point leader Bob Hotchkiss was eighth with Merced champion Jack Stanford seventh. Jack plans to race more at Chowchilla in 2001. Brian Folkner struggled at times but still managed to earn a sixth place trophy. Veteran Bob Williamson was fifth and Chowchilla's Dennis Clay fourth. A one time feature winner, Dennis plans to build a Street Stock for next year, but if he can land the sponsorship he may stay with the Modified. Two time Merced champion Paul Stone, who had two feature wins this year, finished third and plans to have a new car for next year. Two time feature winner and six time dash winner Fred Lind earned the second place trophy. Six time winner Mike Johnson won the champion's jackets and trophy, and he is preparing for a move up to Late Models next season.

With plenty of good food, conversation and awards, a good time was had by all. It was the perfect way to wrap up a fun and exciting season at a new track that everybody worked so hard to make reality. Promoter Tom Sagmiller is now working on the schedule for an even better 2001 season under the Racing At Chowchilla Enterprises banner.

Where's The Press?

2009-06-09T17:40:00.000-07:00

It bothers me that I can't pick up my Monday morning newspaper and see some results and a little story about Antioch Speedway. For years you could get that. Heck, back in the 70's, those stories would appear in the Sunday paper with at least the top ten feature finishers listed. It bothers me that it doesn't seem to bother track management. I've read comments about low attendance and revenues that management has made. Does it not occur to them that the biggest newspaper in the area isn't covering the races? This has an effect on attendance. I don't care what they say.

I hear can't, or I used to hear that when I was at the track. My PR duties were confined to racing publications and internet, while the other guy handled newspapers. We had discussions about this where he said "can't" and I just thought "b.s." at the time. As the designer of the ad my sister faxed to the paper back then, I recall her conversation with the paper where they told her the track should be getting coverage in that paper. But, it never happened. I should have tried harder on my own, I suppose, but I had a full plate and half the salary of the newspaper PR guy. Was it my duty to do his job?

When I went to Chowchilla the first year, I faxed newspapers all the time, and we did get ink in the local paper every week as well as Merced and Fresno papers and smaller papers. There were times I was ignored and it definitely pissed me off. Buddy Cox used to get a kick out of what I would do to a paper that ignored me. But, we got ink, and it's a reason attendance went up that second season. Nobody's coming if they don't now about it. My work in the papers at that time is something else I'm proud of.

I don't know if John has that guy working for him or somebody else, but if he's paying somebody, he's getting screwed. They need a PR guy getting stuff to all the area papers (Even ones that may not be likely to print at first) and they need to send stuff every week to show they are serious. I suggested at the time a phone line be put back in the booth to give the track a shot at making deadline on a Saturday night. I had other ideas that could help, but I don't want to drag this out too much longer.

Even though I'm not involved in the sport, there are names I am familiar with and new names that pop up that I like to read about. It bothers me that Antioch Speedway gets no love from the newspaper, when it was far different not that long ago. I wish it would bother John a little more than it seems to. With the improvements he's made to the track, maybe it's time to let old fans and prospective new fans know what's going on again.

By the way, this is not me hinting at wanting to come back. I'm just offering an opinion. Not trying to bash anybody either, so I hope it's not taken that way.

It occurs to me as we reach the half way point of this year that the decade is almost over and we are also approaching another anniversary of something that was near and dear to me, the birth of California Racing Online as a racing news website. Might make for a good column at some point.

Anyway, I'm sorry I've been bad with updates here. I hope all is well with you, and I wish you all the best.

A Little Recognition Can Be A Good Thing

2009-06-09T16:51:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry I haven't been motivated lately to post anything here. I have older DCRR stuff I could post and haven't even done that. I've wanted to check in and say something, so now is a good time I guess.

I've spoken with Don O'Keefe Jr. recently about an article Norm Bogan has written for Flat Out Magazine. It details the beginnings of the Wingloess Spec Sprint division here in California. I've seen the story, and I appreciate Norm's effort to report the truth. With Don in Indiana and me out of the sport for five years now, Norm could have just went to John Padjen or John Soares Jr. and gotten a different story.

I guess thank you's are in order to Don for being so thorough in details he gave to Norm, Keith & Debbie Shipherd for helping make sure the truth got out and Norm for an excellent job. I've NEVER considered this to be about me. That this division is alive ten years later at Antioch Speedway and so many other tracks is all the recognition I need. Every time a race is held in this class, a new memory for the racers and fans is made.

Still, it is nice to have something in a national publication that mentions that I played a part in all of this and I announced and did publicity at Antioch Speedway. People will come in and try to take it away from you, but the facts are the facts and I'm proud of what I did.

Truthfully, Don and I and John Soares Jr. were just taking the carbureted Sprint Car class in a new direction. Judging by the way things are, it was the right thing to do. For over a decade, this class lived in different forms as the California Dirt Cars of Santa Maria, Limited Sprints of Merced and NCMA Modifieds, so pat those guys on the back too. They played a part in it, and the NCMA lives today.

This may shock some people, but I am and will aways be a fan of the NCMA. It's been a love-hate relationship at times, but it's a fact. From the moment Mike Johnson converted me from a Dirt Modified lover and NCMA hater (as a lot of people were at the time), I wanted to see this class reach the heights he always maintained it could. I believed whole heartedly in what he was saying. You could find me at times talking with Late Model drivers about the NCMA and why it was a good group (as if they wanted to hear that).

Fact is, I spent six seasons as NCMA Publicity Director and five as NCMA Secretary. I devoted many columns in Wheels, Veach Racing News, DCRR and other publications making sure people knew they were out there. When car counts were low at the start, those columns would also include paragraphs about drivers who would be joining the club in the future. I wanted people to know more cars were coming. I also played a part in helping them get race dates.

I have been honored twice by the NCMA under presidents Paul Nelson and Jim Booth with awards for my contributions to the cause, and I still have those awards on my wall. I doubt I'll ever receive an invite to the NCMA Hall Of Fame, and I'm okay with that. To any who remember me there, I'm the jerk who "ruined" it for them. Believe it if it makes you feel better. But the fact is, the NCMA still lives. I credit Ed Amador's leadership as well as the late Del Quinn for that.

Ed made a comment to me once that I thought was pretty cool. He said,"The NCMA will live even when it's just a bunch of old men sitting around the table talking about the old days."

That's really what it's all about. It ain't who wins or loses. I know it's nice to win and all, but it's the memories and the friendships that matter.

I wanted to comment on the NCMA Hall Of Fame for a moment, and names that should be on that list. When I see Linda Bosenecker and Bill Ivins are in, I agree with that. Those two never raced (Linda may have once or twice), but they fought so hard for the cause. If there can only be one NCMA PR person inducted, I'm glad it's Bill.

Roland Lokmor, Darryl Shirk and Del Quinn were all inducted after they passed away, and deserved to be in. Shirk is without a doubt the greatest driver to ever race with the NCMA. Quinn is a legend in his own right. Lokmor did so much behind the scenes to make sure cars were running on the track.

Mike Johnson got in last year and that surprised me. Not because he didn't deserve it, because he did. I'm just surprised they inducted him. I'm doing this from memory, but Burt Siverling, Amador, Don Hicks and Scott Holloway are in as well. For about a five or six year stretch, Siverling had a better attendance record than anybody. I believe Holloway has more feature wins and championships in the NCMA than anybody. I don't question that these guys belong, although Hicks is debatable to me. I just wonder why certain others weren't inducted first.

The NCMA would not exist without Johnson and his crazy ideas. That is a fact. However, it may not have made it through the 90's without Jim Booth. Jim took over as president at a time when leadership was sorely needed. He calmed down the infighting, stabilized the club and saw it reach it's fist car count of over 20 cars. Not to mention his status as a top five driver in points. Jim should be in.

Mike Lokmor should not be ignored either. His efforts behind the scenes helped keep it alive, and he was all about helping that club survive. The man owned two cars, and he and his father also helped get a third car to the track when it was sorely needed. Also, he's a point runner up. Mike deserves to be in.

Duane Watson should be in. DW is a former champion who opened doors to other tracks the NCMA had never raced at. Car count was at it's highest when he was Business Manager of the NCMA and Gordon Chappa was president. Duane belongs in. I could make the argument for Gordon as well.

Well, that's the way it seems to me anyway. You may disagree. At any rate. Long Live Wingless Spec Sprints, and long live the NCMA.

The Tenth Anniversary Of Wingless Spec Sprints

2009-03-11T17:57:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the absence, but I guess I've been focusing on other things. As they say, life goes on. The book isn't at the top of my list at this moment, but it is on the list. All I can say is I have some notes on what I want in it, but have not started writing it. Need to finish other stuff first. I can say that when I do start writing, I don't anticipate it will take too long.

I had two other blogs written last November, and for whatever reason, I didn't do anything with them. They have been posted and are beneath this one. They are about Jim Booth and the families of racing at Antioch Speedway. Both appeared in DCRR Racing News in 1998 originally.

I guess if I had to think about what was my legacy in racing that people still remember, it's Wingless Spec Sprints. Most people probably don't know who I am, but if they are watching the division wherever it's at here in California, I'd like to think I helped get the ball rolling. When I think about it, it's pretty cool. Five years after attending my last race in California, Spec Sprints live on.

Don O'Keefe Jr. told me that we'd be pushed out of the way if this thing took off, and he was right. I hate when that happens, but with Don, it happens a lot. He's about the smartest and wisest man I know in racing and a man I'm still proud to call my friend.

Ego is not why we did this. I'd been associated with the carbureted Sprint effort since 1988 with the NCMA and Mike Johnson, but I know all I was to them was a column writer. I never really fit in there, but I tried my best to help the cause. I did my best, but I know I pissed people off. I could have done a few things differently, but I'm proud of my work. I'm a link in the chain that is Wingless Spec Sprints and the NCMA, which still lives.

I know Bill Ivins (NCMA Hall Of Famer and deservedly so) thought I was trying to destroy the NCMA when I got involved with the WSS, and so did others. Poor Bill got caught in the crossfire and blamed for things that I know were not his fault. Bill is a good man and I respect him regardless of our disagreements. I could have been less of a prick sometimes, but we live and learn. Nobody is perfect.

What people may not know is I fought hard for the NCMA when John Soares Jr. got Antioch Speedway. As traveling clubs were removed from the schedule there, and virtually every other one was, the NCMA was on the schedule for 1998. John and I talked a lot about the NCMA and I assured him they were worth it and would give him a decent car count. There were those who were worried when I endorsed John, but I always intended to fight for the NCMA.

I further lobbied for an NCMA point race at Antioch so they could get honored at the banquet in 1998. I was asked by the NCMA Business Manager to start keeping track of those points as I was doing it for Antioch Speedway at the time. Out of respect for the NCMA, I used their point system. I still caught a ration of crap from Ivins about that and was called a liar, but I understand the fear. There has always been a rally around the NCMA banner attitude from the die hards, but that is also why there is still an NCMA. I respect that.

I should also point out that while I was speaking up for the NCMA, Soares is the one with the power to make it happen, and he did. John gave me opportunities I never dreamed I would have, and I will NEVER forget that. He didn't have to take a chance on a loser like me, but he did.

Now, John was worried. He liked the NCMA Modifieds, but there were scheduling conflicts in 1998 that could have ended badly had Don and I not stepped in and let him know what was going on. John's first offer to the NCMA for 1999 was the purse structure enjoyed by the WSS in the beginning as long as they joined All Pro Series, plus they could still be the NCMA on the road. It was rejected. Again, I understand why, but the fact was John wanted a new division. Don and I were the two who could make it happen.

First order of business was to find out if there were 12 or so drivers interested in a wingless and carbureted Sprint Car class (not with the coup or sedan bodies of the Modifieds). There were, or course. Secondly, what was the purse gonna be? As Doc Brophy would say, "What does it pay?"

John quoted us a purse on a 12 car minimum with an increase at 17 cars, and he never wavered on that number. It made the job Don and I did so much easier. It was the cornerstone of our effort. Well, that and rules. I still have the hand written, pizza stained original draft of the rules.

The fact is, I know nothing about what makes a car work, but I have a simple philosophy. It has to be as affordable as possible for the working men and women who race. My expertise is hype and writing to get people excited about it. Don knows the rules inside and out and can quote them all without looking at the book. He knows why the rules are that way and how it all works. He took time to explain each and every one of them to me as we wrote them, answering any questions I had.

That was an interesting August afternoon in 1998 at that pizza parlor, and it was the beginning of one crazy, stressful and exciting year of building a new division. We only had so many months to get it ready for an April 1999 launch date. I could tell you so many stories, but that would make this column way too long. I don't want to bore you.

Don answered all of the questions any potential racer had and had the phone and printing bills to prove it. I hyped every little thing about the class in The DCRR, Racing Wheels, MotoRacing and any other publications or online sites I could think of. If a racer was thinking about running this class, I wrote about it. I know it pissed some people off, but I wanted this to be a success and this needed to be done.

The job of starting this class and doing all the little things to put out the fires paid nothing, but that was never the point. By the way, there were fires to put out, egos to deal with and rumors to put an end to. We made a joke of it to relieve stress. Hence, Don became "The Rumorman". There's a story behind that, but I won't go there.

I recall a night that Darry Shirk came walking from way across the booth area at the Placerville swap meet to ask me about a rumor he'd heard that was incorrect about the WSS. What a great man and racer Darryl was, and I was so proud he was on that initial roster and a feature winner. The late Andy Archer had just won "Rookie Of The Year" with NCMA and was prepared to jump ship to the WSS. Two racers taken away from us before their time.

The veterans, the new guys, Stock Car racers, people who always wanted to run a Sprint Car but could not afford it. The Spec Sprint class brought it all together. Don't let the carburetors fool you, these guys were putting on some great Sprint Car racing, and it didn't take long for die hard Sprint Car fans to take notice. One ally to the cause and a man I respect was From The Grandstand columnist Ron Rodda. I can tell you he made a difference to the cause very early on with his fair and informative columns.

I'm still accused of trying to destroy the NCMA, but the fact is I personally lobbied for NCMA dates not only at Antioch in 1999, but Petaluma as well. There were at least 7 dates, but it fell apart due to more scheduling conflicts. I'm not thrilled at that, but I did what I could to help them. Speaking up any further could have been damaging to my own situation, so I had to let go. Fortunately, the NCMA booked dates at Altamont that year and continues to live.

Even after all of the hype and rules clarifications and the stuff Don and I did, we didn't know what to expect. We thought we should hit 12 cars minimum, but you never know until the races come. As it turned out, we had 12 cars on April 3, 1999 for the opener, and there was nearly 14 but for last minute problems. I believe 1999 champion Dan Gonderman won that race, but I'd have to check my notes.

There were a lot of things that we did to try to make things special and make the racing exciting, like encouragement heat races to produce first time winners and fully inverted fields for more passing. We never had less than 12 cars that year at Antioch and as many as 19. The season opener in 2000 had a B Main. A year later, I worked with Tom Sagmiller at Chowchilla to produce a then record 32 car field for the Open Wheel Round Up.

So this is the tenth anniversary of Spec Sprints at Antioch, but the division didn't just take off there. Chico, Placerville, Watsonville, Marysville, Orland and Petaluma have all started their own classes, and the NCMA still lives as well. I'm not so sure what would be there had we not gotten the ball rolling at Antioch, and I'm proud to have been a part of making it happen and what Don and I did for the cause of promoting racing.

Announcing, handing track publicity, doing my own publication and the other opportunities I've had to make a difference are all things I'm proud of. But, the Wingless Spec Sprint class is the one thing that has had a more lasting impression on the sport. It still lives, and I was a part of making it happen. Not many people get an opportunity to do something like that, and I'm grateful to have had the chance to make a difference. Hopefully it's around for many years to come, and I see no reason why that won't be the case.

To everybody, past and present who has been a part of this thing from the beginning of the NCMA to this coming season of Wingless Spec Sprints, thank you and be proud. It couldn't have happened without you.

HAPPY 10TH ANNIVERSARY WINGLESS SPEC SPRINTS!!!

A Look At Some Of The Families Of Racing At Antioch

2008-11-26T18:08:00.000-08:00

This Article Appeared In DCRR Racing News in 1998

PIT STOPS
BY DON MARTIN II
BAY POINT, CA...Tradition in racing is a good thing. All too often at race tracks, they are dropping traditional big races or not taking a time during the season to honor their past greats. Well, the main focus of the Jack London Bash for the Bay Cities Racing Association is to honor those who helped make this nearly 60 year old organization last as long as it has. For the latest event at All Pro Series sanctioned Antioch Speedway, the BCRA had all three of its divisions, the Midgets, Midget Lites and the Vintage Midgets, in actions along with the tracks regular Dirt Modifieds and Pure Stocks. That put roughly 100 cars in the pits for the night.

The BCRA is better known for its Midget division, but along the way to its current lineup of divisions, they had the Hardtops. BCRA has inducted several of its former Hardtop champions into the Hall Of Fame, including John Soares (1949-1950), Johnny Franklin (1955), Leroy Geving (1959-1960), Wally Baker (1958) and Dave Logan (1966). On this afternoon, the late Gene Dudley, better known to his fans as the "Napa Flyer", was inducted. Gene's car-owner was there to accept the honor for the 1957 and 1961 BCRA Hardtop champion. Jack Davis, a car owner from the Hardtop era, and the late Joe Valente, a former Hardtop driver better known as the flag man for BCRA for many years, were also inducted. Davis was there to accept his honor, but family members, including his wife, were there to accept for Valente,

Throughout the years, many, many great drivers have jumped behind the wheel of the a non-winged or winged Midgets and competed with the BCRA. Former many time indoor and outdoor champions like Johnny Baldwin, who was in attendance, Johnny Boyd, Mike McGreevy, Burt Foland, the still competing Floyd Alvis, Hank Butcher, Dick Atkins and Gary Koster have been inducted into the Hall Of Fame. In fact, Baldwin was in attendance at this gathering. Drivers getting inducted into the Hall from the Midget ranks this year included Dee Hileman, the late Woody Brown and Davie Moses, while car-owners inducted included Harry Schilling, Jerry Boaz and the late Abdo Allen. Working tirelessly behind the scenes for 25 years to help promote and keep BCRA going was Virginia Palmer, and she was among the ten inducted into the Hall this year. Her speech was one of gratitude for being a part of this nearly sixty year old association and the friendships she's been able to make.

BCRA is an organization that is proud of where they've been and where they are going. They've seen the glory days of racing as much as five or six times a week, both indoor and outdoor, and they remain a regular visitor with their Midgets and Midget Lites at tracks in Antioch, Petaluma, Placerville, Marysville, Lakeport and Stockton 99, among others. What has kept this organization going, you ask? Family. First, second and even third generation racing family members have competed with the BCRA, and just the BCRA as a whole has become a family of its own with friendships formed that will last a lifetime.

After Hall Of Fame ceremonies were completed and it was time to race, the BCRA went out with their roughly 50 cars among three divisions and reminded everybody what good racing is all about. The Vintage Midgets came out a couple times for exhibition races in their open cockpit racers. The BCRA Midget Lites showcased the talents of rising young star Ryan German. The defending champion led the point race going in and maintained that with a flag to flag victory ahead of 1997 Northern Stars champion Ted Harrison and Greg Sheehan. The BCRA Midgets then put on an entertaining race with no rollovers and great, wheel to wheel racing, won by back of the pack starter Scott Nail with a late pass on early leader Floyd Alvis, who was second. Mini Sprint graduate John Sarale was third. All in all, BCRA had a good night.

At Antioch Speedway, a track that has been open to weekly racing now for 38 years, the family has been at the heart of things for the entire run. All you need to do is look at who the promoter is for one prime example. Back in 1961, when the track opened for weekly races, and even in the mid-fifties, when the track ran a few special events, the man promoting the races and establishing a solid foundation for a good program for years to come was John Soares Sr. Fast forward to this season, and John Soares Jr., who is not only a past racing champion like his father, is promoting the speedway. Two generations of Soares who have been a big part of Antioch Speedway through the years.

One of the families racing at Antioch in the fifties was the Robbins family. A man by the name of Clyde "Reverse" Robbins, competed in that very first first season, and he got his nickname by finishing a race in reverse. Clyde had a short racing career, but his son, Don Robbins, was the track's Stock Car champion in 1974. In 1986, Don's son "Wild" Jim Robbins began racing Street Stocks, winning a main event that year before making a name for himself as one of the top drivers in the Figure 8. Jim won three Figure 8 main events one season driving three different cars for three different car owners as a top five point runner and recently came out of retirement to drive for Deep Pockets Racing, who are hoping to run the Figure 8 again at the Speedway in 1999 if Soares does decide to add the popular race to the schedule once again.

About the time Clyde Robbins was racing those races during the track's very first season, another of the Speedway's racing families was getting their start at Pacheco's Contra Costa Speedway. Dean "The Blinker" Cline began racing Hardtops at Pacheco in 1955 with the BCRA before joining up at Antioch for its first full season in 1961. Cline went from the Hardtops to the Stock Cars, where he won a championship in 1979, and then tried the Sportsman Division for its last couple seasons before returning to the Stock Car division for a couple more years. Dean had established himself as one of the top divers at the track in whatever car he drove with numerous feature and dash wins, and his last seasons in a Street Stock in 1985 and 1986 saw him win several main events, while opting to stay out of points because of his previous experience. Dean, in fact, never really cared about point racing and has always been quick to offer his advice or help to those who needed it.

Dean's only son Lance's first racing effort was in a memorable pink #18 Street Stock in 1983, a car that came equipped with a stereo. Over the next few seasons, Lance may have raced a few times, but he began to get more involved in building cars. He and his father put together that fast Street Stock that Dean raced before retiring in 1987. From there, Lance started building Street Stocks with Kent Bickford being his first customer and a top 20 point runner. More success in Cline cars was achieved by drivers like Jackie Frye, David Rosa and two-time champion Jason Mincey. Numerous main event wins in the Street Stocks have come in cars Lance built and he has even stepped up his services to include Dirt Modified chassis as well. Lance started driving briefly from 1996 to 1997 and even won his first career main event, but he decided to focus more on building cars this season. However, in doing so, he got his father back into the racing scene at Antioch, after an 11 year absence, in a Pure Stocker. When Dean isn't racing, you can find him in the pits working with his son at the Cline Racing Supply parts trailer.

Before Dean Cline and Clyde Robbins, Charles "Red" Garner, who owned a gas station, was competing with the BCRA Midgets in the forties, after the war, and the fifties. His son Jerry wasn't old enough to remember much more than the race car and the trophies, but that still made an impression on him. In 1967 Jerry "The Maverick" Garner started racing a Stock Car on the circuit, going from Petaluma to Antioch and wherever else he could find a race. Jerry became very competitive in 1968 and won several main events in a row at Petaluma that year. A year later, he brought home the prestigious State Championship trophy. Jerry would move up to the Sportsman division in the seventies and won some main events in that class as well before it ended in 1981, forcing him to return to the Late Model division. Jerry won his last main event in 1982, a 50 lapper that saw him hold off the practically unbeatable Dave Byrd, but he remained a top 20, at times top ten or even five, point runner throughout the decade and led several weeks of the 1986 point race driving for father in law, Nick Burcher, who himself had been a competitor and car owner at the speedway since 1961.

When the Dirt Modified division at Antioch began in 1990, it didn't take long before Jerry had a car. Though on a shoestring budget, Jerry kept the family name involved at the speedway, and his son Mark was soon ready to drive a car himself. Not long after Mark's cousin (Nick's grandson) Jimmy Ford took his Modified and moved up to Oregon and raced, Mark joined the class in a home built car, built by Al Artero. Underfunded, but with his knowledgeable father Jerry as a crew chief, Mark plugged right along and soon began winning heat races and making main events. He made the top 20 for the first time in 1996 and vastly improved last season with his first two top five finishes. This year has seen Mark realize a plethora of dreams as he has won several trophy dashes, ranks in the top five in points and won his first main event in the last race after a good battle with Chris Wadsworth. More importantly, he has kept the Garner family name as a supporter of Antioch Speedway and returned it to the main event winner's circle for the first time in 16 years.

In 1961, when Antioch was just starting its weekly program, there were many drivers coming in from out of town, but the local roster was just beginning to get filled. One of those local drivers was L.D. "Merry Go Round" Maupin. L.D. quickly established himself as one of the top local drivers at the track in his Hardtop before switching to the Sportsman division and remaining competitive as a feature winner. L.D. switched back to the Stock Car division and had his last top ten season in 1982. He remained active at the track in his familiar red, white and blue #7a car until 1985. It was during the seventies when his son Mel began racing at the track in a Sportsman, and the low dollar racing Maupin even enjoyed a top 20 season in Sportsman competition before switching to Stock Cars in the eighties and doing it again. Mel was one of the last local drivers to run the track's Stock Car class before switching the car to the Dirt Modified division and twice ranking top 20 there. Mel is very much in contention for a top five point season, but even if he doesn't do it, a top ten season would still be his best ever.

Another family that got its start at Antioch in the sixties was the Brown family. In fact, there were two Brown families. Both got their start with Bill Brown. The more familiar Bill Brown started out in the Sportsman division in 1965 and became track champion in 1972 and 1974 and State champion in 1974 after four straight seasons as runner-up in that race. Bill won numerous main events in the Sportsman division, but he moved on to the Sprint Car division after his second track championship, where he became the head NARC official for several years. Bill's sons Keith and Dale started out running Go Karts in the late sixties at the old Stoneman track in Pittsburg. Keith was the first to graduate to the Sportsman class with Dale to follow in 1973, his senior year in High School. Running against their legendary father, both Brown boys won their share of races and ranked in the top ten in points. By the end of the seventies, both retired from Antioch, but Keith was coaxed out of retirement in 1988 by a ride in John Procopio's Dirt Modified.

Keith started driving for Rich Richards in Late Model competition and won his share of races once again and even became a top five ranked driver. In fact, Keith started driving his own Dirt Modified as well as the Late Model and won both main events at Antioch one night in 1992. That Dirt Modified was parked before at the end of the 1995 season, but Keith's brother Dale came out of retirement a year later to drive the car. This season, Keith's son Keith Jr. is enjoying his rookie season and ranks just outside the top 20 while the elder Brown is again in the top five. Also joining the family fun this year is son in law Ed Davies, who ranked 11th in Dirt Modified points after the last race.

The other Bill Brown ran the Hardtops at Antioch. In the mid seventies, his son Ron Brown began racing Stock Cars and ranked top 20 for two seasons before moving up to the Sportsman division. Ron was a low buck racer and not one to chase points. After a couple years in the Sportsman division, Ron switched to the Stock Car division. It was also during that time that Ron's brother Randy had a brief career in the Street Stock division, and Ron and Randy actually shared driving duties in a Stock Car in 1983 and 1984. When Ron wasn't racing, he could usually be found helping somebody else, and he returned for a brief run in the Street Stocks and Figure 8 division. In 1992, Ron got his wife Lori into the Street Stock division, and she enjoyed a top ten season in 1994. Ron has dabbled in Street Stocks and Dirt Modifieds since then with some success, but he has a Late Model he hopes to have ready for September 12th event at Antioch, while Lori continues to rank top five in the Street Stocks. Ron's son Ryan and his stepson Vince both got to race a Pure Stock a couple times last season, making it three generations for this Brown family racing at Antioch as well.

"Wild" Bill Waldrop ran the Hardtop division at Antioch when it first started and then crewed for other drivers, including 1975 Sportsman champion Doug Shearer. Bill's son Rob began crewing for J.D. Willis in the late seventies and started racing the Street Stock division in 1980 in a car painted like Willis' #2a car with the flames on the side. Rob stayed active at Antioch either driving or pitting for somebody, and he sold Dirt Modified point leader Don Shelton his first car in 1984, appropriately nicknamed "The Tank" Rob started having some point racing success as the 80's came to an end and he was able to race more, ranking in the top ten in points in 1996. Rob also played a part in helping Bob Newberry and Larry Cates become more competitive and currently leads the Modified Street Stock point race ahead of another second generation racer, Daniel Hodges.

Many great racing families got their Antioch start in the sixties. Henry Coelho Sr., better known as Butch to the racing fans, started racing the Sportsman division in the sixties and was one of the top drivers in the class and a main event winner. Butch had disappeared from the scene by the mid seventies, but his son Brad, who had gotten his start in Motor Cycles, joined the Street Stock division in 1986. Brad showed how much he had learned from his father by winning a main event in that rookie season, and "Hollowood Rad" Brad Coelho was born to the fans. A year later, Brad's brother Butch Jr. and his father joined the Street Stocks and shared a car with both winning main events that year. After an impressive top five point season, Brad kind of faded from the scene, but when he returned, he shocked the Dirt Modified division by winning several main events and winning "Rookie Of The Year" honors. A car accident a year ago has kind of derailed Brad's career as a driver, at least for the time being, but he remains active as a car builder, recently building a frame for Dan Gonderman.

The Gonderman family got its start in racing with Ken Gonderman running a Sportsman at Petaluma Speedway in 1965. Ken soon began racing at Antioch and was the only driver keeping Gary Pacheco from winning four championships in a row when he won the title in 1970. Ken remained a tough competitor and main event winner throughout the seventies, and he got his oldest son Dave Gonderman started in racing in a Sportsman in 1978 when the two drivers traded off. A year later Dave won his first main event and ranked top 20, and he liked it so much he accomplished both feats again the next year. Ken remained active in racing helping Al Nordstrom build his cars and occasionally getting behind the wheel and driving. In 1985, Ken finally got another car, a chassis he was helping Al build. Also that year, Ken's son Dan Gonderman made his first Street Stock start in a car owned by "The Galloping Grandpa" Henry Lentz.

Ken remained competitive in that car he would eventually sell to Doug Timmons a couple seasons later. Both Dan and Dave Gonderman got Street Stocks and became very competitive in 1990 and the next couple seasons. They both won several main events and ranked top five, but while Dave would park his car and retire again, working with drivers like Gary Harvey and Dave Zahn, Dan ended up building a Dirt Modified and moving up. Dan's ability to charge to the front in just about every main event he was in that first year (1995) was impressive despite the fact that things had a tendency to break on the car. He won his first main event in the class in 1997 and has another win this year as the #2 driver in points with a shot at first as this is being written. Though Dave only spectates these days, his son Nathan made his first start in the 1997 Enduro and could be a future star of the Gonderman Racing Team.

Though there are many great racing families sill involved at Antioch Speedway, many have come and gone, and missing them in this story is not intended to be a slight on them. In the sixties, a man by the name of Joe Furia began racing at tracks in Vallejo and Petaluma, to name a few, and his brother Dennis started racing at Petaluma in the seventies, racking up more Antioch victories than anybody in the Sportsman division from 1969-1981 and winning the 1979 championship. After 1980, Dennis was done with racing, but his son Dennis Jr. began building a Dirt Modified that had its roots with Len Mello and the 1981 Sportsman title at Antioch. Dennis Jr. had been pitting for another famous racing family member, Rob Roy--of the famous Roy Boys (Rob, John and Jerry) and was also building a car. During that time, Dennis Sr. decided to buy a car off of Tom Williams and rejoin Antioch's racing wars in 1993. Since that time, Dennis Sr. has racked up several victories and a top five ranking. Both his sons, Dennis Jr. and David, joined the Dirt Modified ranks a year later, and David became a top five point racer in 1995 with two impressive feature wins over Scott Busby. David has moved on and is one of the top racers on the asphalt of Ukiah while Dennis Sr. and Jr. are both racing at Petaluma and Antioch. A hard luck racer from the start, Dennis Jr. came within a whisker of winning his first career main event at Petaluma this year, leading several laps before his motor let go.

About 1977, Terry DeCarlo Sr. started racing a Hardtop at Vallejo Speedway, and he became a top five point competitor at that track. Terry joined the Stock Car division at Antioch in 1983 and became a fixture in the top 20 in points there in 1984. Terry even led several weeks in the point standings in 1987, another top five point year. He eventually switched to the Dirt Modified division and continued to be a main event winner and ranked third in points in 1996. In 1989, Terry's son Mike DeCarlo bought an NCMA car that Terry spent part of the year dialing in for him. 1990 saw Mike lead the first half of the point season and win two main events before quitting as the point leader to go Dirt Modified racing. Mike soon won a main event in that division as well before quitting. Terry's youngest son Nick began racing Box Stocks at Delta Speedway last season and has won several main events this year as the current point leader. Terry's youngest daughter Teri also started running the Box Stock division this year and won her first heat race recently. Also starting his racing career this year is Terry's namesake Terry Jr., who currently ranks top ten in Pure Stock points after an impressive heat win and top five finish last time out.

Right around 1977, Buzz Wadsworth began racing Stock Cars and was a top 20 competitor. He and "Vicious" George Viscia owned the car driven to the 1978 Stock Car title by the late Bob Meeker. Wadsworth and Viscia again teamed up in 1981, and they played a big part in ending J.D. Willis' retirement as he became their driver for a while. It was in 1989 when young Chris Wadsworth began racing Quarter-Midgets. Buzz could see that his son had talent, and George again lent his support as young Wadsworth graduated to the Micro Midgets, where he won main events, and then the Street Stocks, where the kid was an instant front runner. Chris ranked top five in his first full year in Street Stocks at Antioch in 1996 with several feature wins, graduated to the Dirt Modifieds, where he again ranked top five with several feature wins and then ranked second at San Jose this season until deciding to switch back to Antioch. Having successfully tested a Winston West ride on a few occasions, it may be that Chris isn't through moving up in divisions just yet.

In 1976, a man by the name of Tom Clymens began racing Stock Cars at Antioch and ranked top 20 and top ten in successive years. Tom was a top 20 driver in the competitive Sportsman division in 1979, but an injury to his back saw him decide to become a crew chief. He talked his wife Debi into running the Street Stock division, and that 1980 season saw Debi do everything from stand her car on its nose, to win main events and eventually rank second in points. Since that time, Debi, with Tom as her crew chief, has ranked top ten in Stock Cars, Figure 8 (Second) and Dirt Modifieds, which she is well on her way to doing again this year. Late in the 1996 season, son Trevor Clymens bought Tom Lewis' car and joined the Pure Stock division for the last couple races. Tommy Jr. joined Trevor in Pure Stocks last season and ranked top 20 on his limited schedule while Trevor finished third and won his first main event. This season younger brother Todd has joined Trevor and Tommy Jr. as the whole family races very competitive at the speedway. Trevor ranks third at the moment with three wins, Tommy is ranked just outside the top ten and Todd is just getting started, but he is proud to be a part of the first brother trio to win a race at Antioch all on the same night as he won his heat, Tommy a heat and Trevor the B Main. The Clymens family plans to be at the speedway for years to come and Trevor and Tommy are contemplating a move up to the Dirt Modifieds.

In 1982, Duane Hodges had just missed racing with Debi Clymens as he got started racing a Street Stock. Duane managed to win a few main events in his five year Street stock career, but he was a consistent top ten feature finisher even when he didn't win and was one of Antioch's top Street Stock point earners of the eighties. Duane moved up to give Late Models and Dirt Modifieds a shot with some success, and his son Daniel decided to give Motor Cycles a rest and go Street Stock racing in 1997. With two feature seconds and a dash win that year, young Hodges showed much potential as a top 20 driver, and he ranks just 25 points behind Rob Waldrop in the hotly contested Modified Street Stock point race after his fifth feature win.

The Curl family has been a part of the the speedway since the seventies, when Bruce "The Phantom" Curl Sr. raced the Stock Cars and then the Sportsman division. Bruce won the 1981 Stock Car title driving the red, white and blue #66 House Of Wheels Special for Pete Paulson. He remained a top 20 driver and even made it as high as the top five with a feature victory in 1987. Bruce's son Bruce Jr. gave the Stock Cars a brief shot in 1983 and his brother Bill started racing Stock Cars in 1981 as a top ten driver. Bill ran Stock Cars until it got too pricey in 1984 and then won several Street Stock main events in 1987 before stepping down as a tittle contender. Both Bruce Sr. and Bill tried their hand as officials, and both were talented in the art of car building with Bill building some fast Street Stocks, including cars for Kurt Breuker and Tom Adair Jr. Bruce played a part in getting the Dirt Modified effort going at Antioch as he started building cars along with Tony Pato in 1989 and 1990 before closing his Curl Racing shop. Though Bill hasn't been going to the races much these days, Bruce Sr. can be seen in the Antioch pits helping Ed Leis, among others.

Many other good racing families have been involved at the track, including the brother teams of the Bellando's (John and Dave), the Brown's (Dennis and Bob, whose son Bobby now runs Pure Stocks), the Arth's (Ron and George), the Ackerman's (Tim and Robert) the Skaggs's (Vince and Jeff) and the Martin's (Tim, Billy and Vince). Most of those drivers had at least one top 20 season and, in the case of both Bellando's and Bob Brown had a title contending seasons. Gene Dothage had three straight runnerup point seasons in the Sportsmans in the early seventies and his son Brent can be seen winning 360 Sprint Car features at Petaluma these days. The late Roland Lokmor (Hardtops and Midgets), son Mike (Midgets) and grandson Brian have all competed with the NCMA. Many good husband and wife teams like Richard and Gloria Johnson, Mike and Leslie Green, Terry and Loretta Schneeberg, Steve and Terri Wacht (and son Matt) and Don and Linda O'Keefe have competed at Antioch through the seasons.

When you ask the question of how could Antioch Speedway last 38 years as a weekly race track, many answers can come to mind. The racing has been good. True. The management has done a good job. True. However, never downplay the importance of family in the role of keeping this thing going all these years. There are first, second, third and even fourth generation racing fans attending the races through the years, and while many good racers have come and gone, the families that have stuck around, through thick and thin, families like the Garner's, Gonderman's, Clymens's, Brown's and the Cline's, are the foundation of this great racing tradition in Contra Costa County.

JIM BOOTH: A BIG REASON FOR THE NCMA'S SUCCESS

2008-11-26T17:22:00.000-08:00

This story ran in DCRR Racing News in 1998

Also, Don O'Keefe Jr. has an excellent Jim Booth tribute page with lots of pictures located HERE.

BY DON MARTIN II

ANTIOCH, CA...When you take a look at the car counts of the Northern California Modified Association in this their 11th year of existence and see them in the twenties and see top drivers like Mike McCreary, Don Hicks and even club founder Mike Johnson racing along with NCMA stars like Scott Holloway, Ed Amador Sr., Duane Watson and Don O'Keefe Jr., it's easy to be impressed. The NCMA has emerged as one of the top three touring support divisions in California. Things are going well now, but it wasn't always that way. In fact, if it wasn't for the leadership of former club President Jim Booth from 1991 to 1994, perhaps this whole club would have went away quietly.

Jim had been a Stock Car racer in the seventies and in the early eighties. In fact, he won the 1982 track championship at the old Baylands Raceway Park in Fremont. "I only won one race there, " Booth admitted. "It was done with consistency. I had a lot of top fives."

Even then, Jim was one of the true sportsmen of racing and that came more to the forefront in 1983. Jim gave up a shot at second in the standings that season. "It was between me and Bill O'Malley for second, and I loaned him my good tires for the final race, " said Booth. "My car was only running on seven cylinders, and I knew I wasn't going anywhere. So, I loaned him my tires so he could try and catch Larry Lundin. I used his old worn out tires."

Booth was still one of the top five that year, but he gave up Stock Cars during the 1984 season. "It was fun running at Baylands until NASCAR came in, " claimed Jim. "I ran one year with them until I got tired of the b.s. and sold the car."

In 1985, Jim returned to Baylands as the track got in on the ground floor of the up and coming 360 Sprint Car division, which ran 360 c.i. cast iron motors at the time. The class was thrown out there with the 410 Sprinters, but Jim emerged as the top 360 point getter and won the first track championship there. "That year was funny because we had a lot of cars some weeks and other weeks we had only three or four, " Booth explained. "They used to run us with the 410's and score us separately. I had a couple of top ten finishes with them in my 2,000 pound old Super Modified. They never hit me out there, because if they did, it would bend their cars pretty good."

A year later, the growing 360 Sprint Car class ran their own races, and Booth was faced with the competition of future Petaluma champion Gary Geving, Don O'Keefe Jr., Brian Gray, Keith Shipherd and future NCMA founder Mike Johnson, to name a few. The steady Booth ended up ranking second to Geving. In 1987, as the division continued to grow with the addition of such drivers at Pat Scilley, Dale Johnston, Charlie Correia and David Vodden, Jim ranked second again, this time behind Scilley. Jim was a consistent top five and top ten finisher in the 360 division at Baylands, but as it began to take on a new direction and growth, he decided to stop racing it for points in 1988. "The 360 Sprints at Baylands were a lot of fun to race, " Booth admitted. "Unfortunately, it started to get a little to expensive for me with all the things they were allowing for the cars. I couldn't afford to do it anymore."

However, during the 1988 season, Mike Johnson and the NCMA Modifieds paid a visit to Baylands, and Jim was interested in what he saw. A year later, he had a car of his own. "The NCMA came around at the right time for me, " said Jim. "In talking with Mike about it and seeing the rules, I knew I had found something I could afford to race and have fun doing it."

Showing just how well he could adapt, Jim hit the NCMA with the same kind of consistency he'd displayed in Sprint Cars. Though he had no feature wins, he had several top five finishes and even had a dash victory in ranking third in both Overall and Antioch points in the 1989 season. His year had many ups and a few downs, including a spectacular flip in Cottage Grove, Oregon, but perhaps the one memory that sticks out is the main event that got away. Jim was a distant second when the leader, Darryl Shirk, was trying to lap a couple of battling cars and crashed.
Suddenly, he had the lead, but he was not expecting the drag race to the checkered flag that he would lose to Gordon Chappa. "I knew where everybody else was out there on the track and I knew I had 'em covered, " Booth recalled. "I didn't know Gordon was still out there. I was just taking it easy in the corner, making sure nothing went wrong, and the next thing I knew, he was driving by me."

The question in the NCMA pits in the future would be, when will Jim finally get his first feature victory with the club. In 1996, he finally got that win at Merced and also won a shortened race there a year later. In fact, Merced has been Jim's best track in recent seasons. Since 1989, Jim has ranked top ten almost every year and was top five in the 1991, 1995 and 1996 championship point races. This year, Jim has run a more relaxed schedule and is not running for points, but he has long since established himself as one of the best and most knowledgeable competitors in the club. After running a good race with Darryl Shirk at Antioch in 1992 that was filled with many side by side laps, race winner Shirk said of runner up Booth, "Jim is one of the best drivers out there. I wasn't worried at all about him crashing into me. I knew I could trust him running alongside me and we had a good race."

In 1990, Jim had become more involved with the NCMA and was paying close attention to what was going on with the Board Of Directors and offering up ideas that would prove very helpful. One such idea was the body rule change that took the NCMA away from the California Dirt Car idea and brought it to it's current Modified look, more closely resembling the classic style non winged Super Modifieds of the seventies. In 1991, he was elected President by the membership.
He spent that first season defusing several tense situations and co-ordinating the NCMA towards it's future goals. The club nearly died that year, but thanks to Jim dealing with the things that were upsetting club members to the point of quitting, all the membership responded by supporting the final few races of the season in force. That, more than anything, saved the club from ending after only four years of existence.

Jim brought the NCMA into new relationships with tracks in Petaluma, Grass Valley and Merced, which was another key factor in the club's survival. In 1992, the NCMA actually fielded a couple car counts in the twenties, securing the club's future at its home track in Antioch as well. It is true that this club would never have had a chance to begin with if not for the tireless efforts of Mike Johnson and it is also true that Duane Watson's presence as Race Director in the last three seasons has made these 20 races per year schedules possible. However, if not for Booth's hard work as President, these last six seasons may never have happened. One thing is for sure, both on the track and off, Jim Booth is a winner.

MIKE CONLEY, THE FIGURE 8 AND THE ANTIOCH SPEEDWAY

2008-11-19T19:17:00.000-08:00

A top 5 point competitor in Stock Cars in the early 70's, Mike Conley ends up on top of tractor tires in this Figure 8 raxe3 in 1987. Mike led several olaps of Figure 8 races and finished as high as second, but a feature win eluded him.

WHAT WENT WRONG?

BY DON MARTIN II

This article appeared in DCRR Racing News in 1991

In 1987, it was hailed as a big reason for the increase in attendance. When it was quietly discontinued after the 1990 season, not much was said officially. However, insiders said the main reason it was dropped from the program was the officials' inability to control the drivers. The division that earned the praise of the fans and criticism of track management was the Figure 8. What started out as an exciting brand of racing turned into a war zone.

What was it that turned the Figure 8 into a racing form of a Destruction Derby? Why were drivers going out there with the deliberate intention of taking each other out? Could anything have been done to ease the tensions on the track and keep this form of racing alive at Antioch? Whenever a conversation is struck in the grandstands or anywhere else concerning the Figure 8, these are just some of the questions fans of this division ask.

Brian Holden revitalized his racing career in the Figur4e 8 at Antioch Speedway and may have been the best locally based driver in the four year history of the division.

When Figure 8 racing began, the crowd took an immediate liking to Brian Holden. Brian had revamped his image, taking the red, white and blue colors on his racing uniform and car and adopted the nickname "Flyin Brian". In the point race, Brian became the local hero in a battle against seasoned veteran John Keldsen. In a way, the seeds of conflict were sown in that first season, but harvest time was the following year.

"The Little Indian" John Keldsen may be the greatest Figure 8 driver in Watsonville and Antioch history with numerous championships and well over 100 victories t0o his credit.

The incident that stirred the anger in some of the drivers Brian was competing against involved Keldsen. Brian and John were staging an exciting door-to-door battle for the win as they came down the stretch to take the checkered flag. As they crossed the start/finish line, Brian's car made contact with Keldsen's, forcing Keldsen to slam hard into the front straightaway wall. The two drivers got out of their cars and exchanged a few words as Holden was declared the winner of the race. It was at this point that many people felt that Brian was playing the crowd's reaction and trying to make a fool out of Keldsen.

As a direct result of his actions in the Figure 8's inaugural season, Holden was never allowed by the competition to be a factor in the point race again, and it became a regular sight to see Brian get taken out of the action, many times by Keldsen's friend Henry Leyenberger. Legend has it on one night that Leyenberger jumped into Jim Robbins' ride one night, nailed Holden in the X halfway through the race, went to the pits and turned the car back over to Robbins, saying he'd done what he set out to do.

With Holden being taken out on a regular basis in 1988, Keldsen cruised to an easy title, but new competition emerged in 1989. Along with the new competition came a new cheif steward, Ken Taylor. The cries of favoritism by some of the drivers became even louder, and that was what would put an end to Bob Brown's run at the championship. During the course of the season, Brown had had run ins with both Mike Conley Sr. and Jim Robbins on several different occasions, and both drivers felt that the officials were favoring Brown in his title run.

"Wild" Jim Robbins #80 and Chris Shuttleworth #84 get close in the X. Over a decade later, Robbins won the Figure 8 championship when Antioch brought the class back for a season.

The run ins between those drivers culminated into an accident that cost Brown the title. Brown held the lead going into what was to be the final point race of the season. The heavy rains of September flooded the track and forced the race to be postponed for a week, much to the disappointment of Brown, who felt the season should have been called complete.

There was tension in the air on that final night. Word was out that Conley was going to get Brown. Bob was well aware of the threats, but he was not about to just run and hide. When the race finally happened, there was a close race for the win with Brown, Conley, Robbins and Keldsen all running up front in tight formation. Coming out of the X, a Robbins tap on Keldsen put Keldsen into Brown and sent Brown spinning. Bob recovered but lost enough track position to lose the title to Keldsen.

Mike Conley Sr. gets interviewed by legendary announcer Butch Althar after a Trophy Dash win.

Conley, who never actually touched Brown that night, recalls those events. "Ken Taylor gave me hell over Bobby Brown. Bobby Brown took me out three times. They came up to me and told me if I touch that car I'll never race again. I said, 'Well, I don't care. Screw you. Get away from me. You pull this crap. You pull this crap. You pull this crap.' Actually, we didn't take him out. He took himself out. He hit the brakes, and everbody ran into him. Jim did not hit Bobby Brown. Jim hit Keldsen, which knocked him into Bobby Brown."

If there ware troubles in the Figure 8's first three seasons, they were nothing compared to what happened in its final season. Perhaps the biggest indication of the problems occuring in the division was the frustration vented by Bert Bockover. Bert, who was acting cheif steward after Ken Taylor was struck by a Stock Car during mud packing a few weeks earlier, had to make a ruling on an incident involving Brian Holden and John Keldsen. Holden had been on a three race winning streak and was leading the point race. Keldsen had been concentrating on winning the Watsonville title, but he decided to start racing at Antioch again in an effort to beat his old rival and try to win the State championship.

There were some concerns among competitors and fans that something was going to happen. It seemed like old times as Keldsen and Holden ware running side-by-side in their hattle for the lead. As the two leaders were lapping Rich Irwin on their way through the X towards Turn 3, they ran out of room. Keldsen found himself running into a tractor tire, and Holden found himself in the lead all by himself. Meanwhile, Irwin's car was crunched. Keldsen backed his car up and started towards Turn 3 again. However, Keldsen would hit the rear end of Holden's car in the X, knocking him out of the lead.

Bockover was forced to make a call on this situation, and he disqualified both drivers, suspending Holden for the remainder of the season. It is rumored, though it has never been confirmed by the DCRR, that Bert said on the official's radio that Holden would never race at Antioch again. What happened next was an indication of the confusion that was going on in the Figure 8.

Bockover told Holden after the races that he would be suspended. The suspension was reported in the DCRR the following week, but track manager Brynda Bockover denied a suspension had ever taken place. When Holden called NASCAR during the week after his talk with Bockover to protest his suspension, he was informed that no paper work had ever been filed on the incident. However, a conversation with Bert before the next Figure 8 race revealed that something had indeed occured. "The next time I set somebody down, they'd better stay set down, " complained the acting cheif steward. "I didn't have this (official's) suit on until ten minutes ago. Nobody else wanted the job."

One of the biggest complaints by several of the Figure 8 drivers was that they felt like Debbie Clymens was getting favored by the officials. The incident that triggered other incidents involved Larry Rapp and Debbie's husband Tommy. After one of the races, Tommy Clymens reportedly got into Larry's face about his driving on the track. Clymens maintained that Rapp, who had just had a cast removed from his hand a day earlier so he could race, hit him in the face. However, Larry denied doing anything. Rapp was suspended for one race. It is said that that was the beginning of the end of Debbie's title run. "It's funny how Kenny Taylor incriminates Someone when he doesn't even ask why, " remarked an unhappy Rapp that night.

A few weeks later, Mike Conley Sr. and Jr. were both suspended. The elder Conley was suspended for banging on Clymens during the race, the younger Conley for banging on her car in the pits in front of the scales. The latter suspension was changed after Conley Sr. argued his son's case. Originally, Conley Jr. was suspended for knocking the right rear tire off of her car during the race, but it was discovered that the tire came off because the rim cut the studs, due to loose lug nuts.

Mike Sr. talked about the incident that led to his suspension. "You know, all I did was bump Debbie. I never took her out. I never crashed her car. She never lost a spot. What I would do is I would sit next to her, and I knew she couldn't handle her car. I just held my line and let her cross right in front of me. I wouldn't give her no brakes, because breaks were over."

Emotions were high at this point, but they were stirred to a fever pitch by remerks made by Taylor a week later. Mike Conley Jr. was trying to get an official reason for his suspension, and he was talking calmly with Taylor about the race. The culmination of this conversation had Taylor saying, "If that had been my car, I'd have had my kid flip you the next week."

During this period, Clymens was finding it increasingly difficult to get any good results. Most of the anger directed towards her, she felt, was brought on by her husband and the officials. She once told the DCRR, "The officials and Tom are making me look bad, and that's why people hate me."

Also during this period, Mike Sr. tried to get Debbie to arrange a meeting between them and Brynda Bockover to try and get things resolved. Mike even tried to talk with Brynda on the phone, but he was cut off at every avenue and then accused of threatening her. "I tried to speak to her one time, " said Conley. "She called here. She cut me off on everything I had to say, shut me down, changed the subject and then told me I was threatening her. I said, 'What? I didn't threaten you. I told you what was gonna happen, and it happened.'"

"I couldn't get Brynda to even listen to me, " he continued. "I was gonna try and iron this whole thing out. So, I called up Debbie and told her what was going on. I said, 'Look, all these guys are gonna drill the hell out of you. I'm the only one that's slowing these guys down on this.' They were all pissed. All of us just wanted to race for it. We didn't care. All of the trouble came from the officials. John Meyers didn't want the Figure 8 there either, and he was there to put it down too."

The last hit in this feud might have been a bit misguided, but it was fired by Debbie at Loretta Schneeberg. When it was all said and done, the ending to the story had an ironic twist. At the final race, Clymens, Schneeberg, Andy Faust and Larry Rapp had a shot at the title. Faust retired from the event early and Clymens lost a lap, but the top five run that Schneaberg was having would earn her the title. However, Clymens felt that all the troubles she was having were brought on because the other drivers wanted Schneeberg to win the title, and she nailed Loretta in the X, giving the track championship to Rapp.

Later on in the pits, Debbie was seen holding a piece of Schneeberg's car over her head in a sign of victory. She may not have won the title, but neither did Loretta. When she was informed that her move gave the title to Rapp, Debbie replied, "I hope so, because if he does, I'm gonna be the first one to congradulate him. Other than that incident with Tommy, he's the only one I haven't had any trouble with."

It is interesting in that the "incident" with Tommy is what people thought started all of Debbie's troubles. It is also interesting to note that Holden fired the last shot in his battle with Keldsen. Brian nailed Keldsen as the two drivers were coming out of the X towards Turn 1 of the final lap. The impact knocked the rearend out of Keldsen's car. However, Keldsen still won the State championship.

In looking back at the Figure 8 and the incidents he was involved in, Mike Conley Sr. makes no apologies. "I never came out here and started any trouble, " claimed Conley. "I finished it. I might have been wrong, but what else are you gonna do? We're never gonna win. We're always gonna lose. That's one reason the Figure 8 isn't there. It wasn't the insurance. It wasn't any of that stuff."

After that season, the Figure 8 was quietly swept away. The X was replaced by advertisement signs. Why was the Figure 8 ended? Why was it taken away from its loyal fans? Was it taken away for insurance reasons, or was it too out of control for the officials to handle anymore? Perhaps these questions have been answered in this story. Then again, maybe not. One thing is for sure, the Figure 8 stirred up emotions at Antioch like no other division ever has.

Footnotes

The Figure 8 was introduced to Antioch Speedway in 1987 by promoter Bert Moreland, the man who brought the wild race to Watsonville. The race was introduced to Antioch in the hopes of attracting more fans, and it did just that. Though it only lasted for four short seasons, people still talk about the race and recall the crazy things that could and did happen, like the night Brian Holden and John Keldsen crashed across the finish line in their battle for the win (The birth of the biggest rivalry in the division's history), the wild circumstances behind Corky Pattrick's win in the only 100 lap Figure 8 main or the battle of the lady drivers in the final Figure 8 race of 1990.

I started putting up a page in memory of the division when I was doing my DCRR page. The purpose of the page was to recall some of the more memorable drivers the division had. My own Personal top ten consists of John Keldsen, Brian Holden, Mike Conley Sr., Jim Robbins, Loretta Schneeberg, Debbie Clymens, Andy Faust, Henry Leyenberger, Bob Brown and Steve Torres. I wrote about four of them briefly for the page.

Since Keldsen is already at the top, I'll start with him. The reason I have him as #1 is very simple. I've never seen a Figure 8 driver as talented as John. This guy could win a Figure 8 blind folded. We had some big fields at times, and it didn't matter if John started last or wherever, he was going to the front. He almost never got hit in the X either. To me, John is "The King" of the Figure 8.

Brian Holden joined the Figure 8 division after going through a sometimes humiliating season that saw him get spun out of the lead a few times. Brian was the Street Stock division's whipping boy in 1986, but with a new red, white and blue paint job and a new attitude the next year, he emerged as a star in the Figure 8. His popularity rose to a fever pitch when he ran door-to-door with Keldsen in a race that saw them crash across across the finish line with Holden the winner. However, Brian's playing off the crowd that night gained him a few enemies, and though he won several main events in his time and ranked second twice in the standings, there were drivers out there who would see to it that Brian never seriously challenged for a championship. Still, Brian never gave up and fired the final shot at Keldsen in their rivalry in the division's final race, knocking the rear end from under Keldsen's car.

Mike Conley Sr. never won a Figure 8 main, though he came close twice before falling back with a flat tire. He only won maybe a dash or two and he never seriously challenged for the title. If you talk to him, he'll tell you he wasn't that good of a driver, but he sure had a lot of fun. However, Mike built the engines for several of the competitors and was known to officials as a hell raiser. He was often accused of being the leader of a movement to undermine the track officials (or fight favortism), but nothing was ever proven. I like to think of him as "The Master Of Disaster". Mike would do anything to help a fellow competitor and friend, is one of the nicest guys you'd want to meet and he's not somebody I will soon forget.

There simply could not be a top ten Antioch Figure 8 driver's list without the name of Jim Robbins on it. The man truly earned his nickname, "Wild Jim", but he could run wheel to wheel with the likes of John Keldsen and come home the victor. Jim was a low buck racer, and that kept him from really running for points, but car owners like Rick Linscheid and Bob Givens recognized his talent and gave him rides. In fact, Jim won main events in three different cars one year and one of them was a Charger in a field of Street Stocks. Jim was a top five ranked driver, and for his good driving and the crazy things he sometimes did, he is truly one of the ten most memorable Figure 8 drivers ever at Antioch Speedway.

"Bouncin" Bob Brown had come very close to winning a Street Stock championship at Baylands Raceway Park in 1985 when he ran out of funding. However, he had caught the attention of George and Judy Arth that year, and they put him behind the wheel of Judy's red #74 car for Street Stock races in 1987. It was an old car, but Bob got the most out of it. On a whim, Bob started racing in the Figure 8 that year and became instantly competitive. Bob was a natural in the class and didn't remble his old conservative racing self of his earlier Street Stock days. He took chances and won races. In 1989, Bob led several weeks of the point race and came the closest of any Antioch driver to ever beating John Keldsen for a championship. He led going into the final race but was taken out of contention. Still, Bob has established himself as one of the best Figure 8 racers to race at Antioch.

Soares & Oval Motorsports Get Five Year Contract At Antioch Speedway

2008-11-17T18:13:00.001-08:00

Since I mentioned the bids were up for Antioch Speedway again in my last post, so I will mention that Oval Motorsports and John Soares Jr. will be back for five more years. Congratulations John and good luck next year and the years ahead. Below are the minutes from the Contra Costa County Fair Board Meeting regarding the track:

D. Speedway Contract 2009-2013
Manager Marshall stated that the Speedway Contract was scored yesterday and handed out a copy of the proposal. Manager Marshall stated that the Long Term Contracts Committee scored and accepted a 5-year contract with Oval Motorsports, the current promoter.

President Parsons asked members if there were any questions or comments regarding the Speedway Contract.

There being no questions or comments regarding the Speedway Contract. Director Busby made a motion to approve the Speedway Contract, as submitted. Director Rubay seconded the motion. Motion affirmatively voted upon by all members present. Motion carried.

A Few Antioch Speedway Observations

2008-11-07T13:05:00.000-08:00

This was another bidding year for Antioch Speedway. Will there be a change? Who else wants it? What will anybody else do with the track that isn't being done now? I don't have enough information to endorse anybody, and I doubt I would anyway. Change is needed, but that doesn't have to mean change in management. Just change in the way things are being done.

I grabbed this from the September minutes of the Contra Costa County Fair Board Meeting:

I. Long Term Contracts-President Parsons

President Parsons stated that the RFP for the Speedway went out and asked Manager Marshall to comment. Manager Marshall stated that three RFP’s went out. Manager Marshall stated that the bid packets are due back by October 2nd and scoring is tentative for October 7th. Manager Marshall stated that a $15,000 contract reduction had been granted to the current promoter, so the same numbers were used as a minimum guarantee for the new RFP.

Manager Marshall stated that she estimated approximately $80,000 in revenue.

Director Spinola stated that the current promoter seems to run a single minded venue. Manager Marshall stated that he does offer a variety of races throughout the season. Manager Marshall stated that it is hard to recoup the cost for specialized events but the possibility of doing so next year has been discussed.

Take out of that what you will. Would anybody want the track at this point? They mention three RFP's went out, but were three returned? I fully expect John Soares Jr. to remain in charge for the next five years. I just don't think anybody cares at this point. Those left out there just want to race. In this economy, local race enthusiasts should just be happy they have a place to race. It's not 1988 anymore, it's 2008. Times have changed.

I was looking around the web last night out of boredom and found this column that talked about the struggle coming into the 2008 season. Observations to follow:

Antioch track tries to weather storm

By Curtis Pashelka

JOHN SOARES JR. had to postpone last year's season-opening race card at Antioch Speedway twice due to rain. The year before, the season-opener had to be pushed back an incredible seven times because of bad weather.

The speedway's owner and promoter didn't want to risk the same thing happening again this year and scheduled the start of the season for Saturday. Ironically, the weather has been ideal three of the past four Saturdays, and there's a chance of showers for the Bay Area this weekend.

Any postponement would be a bad beginning to what looks like a make-or-break season for Soares and the 56-year-old facility. Attendance was down last year as the speedway struggled to attract first-time fans from East Contra Costa County.

"It's the last year of our (five-year) contract (with the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds)," said Soares, whose company, Oval Motorsports Inc., has owned the speedway since 1997.

"As bad as things are getting for motorsports at short tracks, we really need to have a good season to even consider re-upping. It's tough to keep going if you can't make a living at it."

Soares said he faces many challenges. The local economy is in a rut (East County is one of the state's hardest hit areas in the subprime mortgage crisis), newer residents are less aware of the facility's history or location (1201 W. 10th St., Antioch) and televised motorsports on Saturday nights has kept some race fans at home.

"They don't have to leave the house, and that's killing local speedways," Soares said. "(Televised) Saturday night racing totally kills Saturdays for the local tracks."

To keep Antioch Speedway competitive, Soares kept ticket prices the same as last year ($12 for adults, $6 for kids and seniors for most events). Next weekend, a large field is expected for the Golden State 410 winged sprints race and in June, a yet-to-be-determined NASCAR Sprint Cup driver will race in the Western All Stars Late Models event.

Okay, cue the violins.

Seriously, people aren't aware of the track? Who's fault is that? It isn't the people's fault John. It's yours. Simply put, if you want people to know about this track, than YOU have to do something about it. It's that simple.

It starts by hiring somebody to get the word out. No, I'm NOT lobbying for a position for myself. I don't think I want to go back out there, and my price would probably be to high at this point. I like Jack Menges. He's a nice guy, but he has never demonstrated since John hired him that he can get the job done.

When I worked in publicity at Antioch (handling the racing publications), I heard Jack tell John how we could never get the newspaper coverage, and John believed it. That right there is the problem. The Contra Costa Times traditionally did cover the track for decades until John came in and barred Tim Tyler from the track.

I'm not saying removing Tim was a problem. But replacing something with nothing was a problem. Suddenly you don't read stories about the track in the local newspaper. NOTHING. The Publicity Director at ANY race track should do whatever it takes to get the track covered in every newspaper possible.

When I went down to Chowchilla, Tom never really asked me to do all the newspapers, but I did. I knew if we were going to build support from the people, they needed to know we were there. In 2000, I think I focussed on the Chowchilla News (They printed my full race review stories), Merced Sun Star, Fresno Bee and Modesto Bee.

Tom can attest to this, I was known to rip newspapers at our post race dinners sometimes if I didn't see our track covered. Buddy used to laugh at that. I didn't always get printed, but in 2001 we started getting coverage in several newspapers. Attendance that second season went up too.

Now, we didn't always get printed, but I sent a race review story immediately following the races to several papers and a hype story on Wednesday to those same papers. By doing that, they knew what was coming on a regular basis and the track started getting better coverage. that is what it takes.

There are other tactics that need to be employed, but that's a good example. It's not up to the newspapers to just realize you are there and respect you with coverage. There are dozens of other events competing for that ink. It's up to the track to show the newspapers why they should be covering them. And IT CAN BE DONE. Any PR guy at my track that told me they couldn't do it would be fired.

Don't even get me started on people not being aware of the history. I lobbied hard for a Hall Of Fame night at the track in 2000, only to be put off on the subject because John basically wasn't impressed with the list of potential inductees. Jackie and I were prepared to organize the first pre race picnic and induction ceremony.

I also had the Antioch library ibnterested in featuring the track in their display case for all to see. Ariel shot of the track, story of the history and list of past champions would have been included. As I could see track management's attitude changing, I backed off and just did the basics that were expected. That was a lot in itself.

But, I don't want to get off subject. I see the bit about people staying home and watching the races on TV. This is true. People have other options, and they are exploring them. What the track promoter has to come up with is the even ideas that will make the races a must see for the race fan.

Back in the day, the NASCAR banner and Regional and State points were an attraction. Special events, like 100 lappers that attracted the out of towners, were a factor. When John first got Antioch, huge car counts drew in the fans.

These days, (I'll use the words of a former local car builder) you get a "cookie cutter show" with too many divisions with not enough cars in most. You need more than that. Fewer divisions with more of a traditional show would be a positive change. Time trials, trophy dashes for all (with trophy ladies presenting).

So when you book the show, you need to ask if this will be good enough to draw a few people away from the TV race or the movie theater or whatever to check out the action? Be honest. Also, are you doing enough, or is your PR guy doing enough, to get the word out?

It's a different world than it was 10 or 20 years ago, and if you want the fans (Or the racers for that matter), you need to do what it takes to get them to come out and support your show. They aren't coming out just because it's been there for 56 years.

Please don't misunderstand me I wish nothing but the best for the race track and continued success to come. I just wanted to put a few thoughts out there for consideration. Here's to a strong 2009 season.

Why I Left The CMA After Just 1 Season

2008-11-03T14:05:00.001-08:00

I find it truly fascinating to see Hardtop racing growing here in California with the Okie Bowl Hardtops in Bakersfield and the Nor Cal Hardtop effort. Meanwhile, the Sportsman effort in Merced still lives and just completed it's tenth season. I may have to do a blog about that sometime.

It was maybe six years ago, on my birthday, when Don and I went to Sacramento Raceway. The occasion was a visit by Mike McCann's Cascade Hardtop group holding an exhibition race. The next night they were off to Orland. I actually have a story floating out there on the net about that race, won by Steve Lemly by a wide margin if I recall. Chuck Prather would then attempt to get a Hardtop movement going in California the next year.

A couple years earlier, Mike Johnson brought one of his Hardtops to the BCRA Hall Of Fame picnic. Now, Mike has always been a good talker, some would say bs'er. I can't really argue that.

Mike will always be the founder and driving force that made the NCMA happen. I doubt anybody else would have started that class in the Bay Area if not for Mike, but it took people like Jim Booth, the Lokmor family, Gordon Chappa, Duane Watson and Del Quinn to keep it going.

Things behind the scenes led to Mike's "departure" from the NCMA at the end of just one season, just when it looked like car count was ready to really explode. Maybe that's why I got behind Mike a few years later to right what I perceived to be a wrong that was done to him. I don't know.

It's my belief that if not for all the turmoil behind the scenes in 1988, NCMA would have had car counts in the teens that second year, but people were put off by what was going down at NCMA meetings and car count stayed about the same for two years until Jim Booth made some key changes. This could also be a good topic for a blog.

I was a big believer in what Johnson talked about. Big car counts were possible for this class, and I never wavered in my belief in that. Under Booth, the NCMA got it's first car count into the 20's, but it stalled from there. I've been told by somebody who may not want to go on the record that all the NCMA wanted was 12 car shows. I never wanted to believe that, but around 1993 I felt like the class needed something if it was to ever get going.

It wasn't until Don and I got the ball rolling for John at Antioch with Wingless Spec Sprints that things began to truly take off. Again, another subject for a blog sometime as there are some interesting stories to tell about what we had to go through to start so successfully in 1999.

But in 1993, Mike Johnson resurfaced with another idea on how to get things going. His idea was a new Modified class called California Modified Association, and it had an ambitious and controversial goal, a bigger series called the California Modified Series. Mike looked at the NCMA, Santa Maria California Dirt Cars and Merced Limited Sprint Car classes with a eye towards a series of big rosters. I liked what I heard and decided that 1993 would be my final year as secretary and publicity director for NCMA.

Mike, as I've said, had a flair for talk, or bs as I'm sure some will say, and there were some well known names interested in what he was talking about. By the time 1994 came along, these people decided against the CMA, and I can't say I blame them. I won't speak for them here as to why they didn't stay, but I know some of the reasons. I decided to stay and see what we could do.

The first indicator that we were up against the wall was a meeting at then NCMA Business Manager Gup Turner's house. Mike and I and Don O'Keefe went together and were surprised to see Mike Lokmor there as well. I think we knew what was to come nexe. Mike and Mike did not see eye to eye on things, and anything Johnson proposed was shot down by Lokmor. This resulted in a shouting match. I'm not sure if Don or I was the first person to leave, but it was close either way.

As 1993 came to a close, Mike had set up agreements with the leaders of all the groups, and I put together a roster showing how many cars these groups represented. I believe it was over 60 at the time. This was never an attempt to say CMA had that many cars, but that a Cal Mod Series could have cars from all groups for bigger shows. The roster was made available to all the leaders.

Mike and I went to Reno to set the wheels in motion. We landed several CMA dates, including joint races with the NCMA at Antioch and Grass Valley and were also penciled in at Santa Maria. I'd have to dig the schedule up for specifics, but it looked good. Of course, by the time Turner returned to the NCMA with the news, the effort began to destroy the CMA. What they didn't count on was the lengths that Mike would go to to keep the CMA alive.

The first driver outside CMA to join the CMS as a member was Mark Nation of Santa Maria. I'm not sure how many cars were there that night, maybe a dozen, but Nation stomped the field. It wasn't even close. Tom, the chief steward of Antioch, advised Nation not to pour it on the rest of the field, so he won just ahead of Scott Holloway.

For the record, Brynda Bockover acknowledged the CMA by cutting a check to CMA both nights we were there for the cars we brought (four each night), but announcer John Myers refused to call the CMA members CMA members either night. In fact, in 1999, he basically accused me of trying to kill the NCMA with WSS.

Maybe I'll have to tell the story of all I tried to do to help the NCMA when we started WSS that year. If the NCMA had tried to perform to the level they were capable of, I never would have looked elsewhere to try and promote this class. All I ever wanted was more cars and better shows, and I stand by my decisions to promote CMA and WSS. I think I helped leave the situation in much better shape than it was, AND the NCMA still lives.

But after two races at Antioch, Mike decided he could not trust the NCMA. He was not happy with interactions with NCMA and decided to break all dates he had with them. As had happened before, I was the one left having to face the NCMA members who chose to bitch at me, and there were a few.

One of the last interactions CMA had with NCMA until the end of 1994 was a meeting in which my sister, of all people, volunteered to speak with NCMA leadership. Now, Jackie went into that room with Quinn and Lokmor and the others and explained what a full invert was and the concept of slow heat and fast heatm rather than the staggered heats NCMA ran at the time. It was no use.

Mike broke away from Merced as I recall because to bring CMA cars there would have meant joining CCMR. He had no problem putting wings on the cars. Knowing the advantage the bodies had on the Santa Maria Dirt Cars, Mike wanted to be able to run wings on the CMA cars to make the trip down to Santa Maria worthwhile After Anthony Pombo finished second at Santa Maria with a wing on his Limited Sprint Car, the idea was nixed by Santa Maria.

So, where the hell was CMA gonna race? Grass Valley, Antioch, Merced and Santa Maria were out the window. But Mike always seemed to have his eyes open. An idea he proposed for the NCMA in 1988, racing on pavement, returned to the table, and we pursued two lesser known tracks in Sacramento Raceway and Yreka. CMA and CMS lived, and we even had groups to run with. Plus, better purses than the NCMA at that time.

Mike also took the purse and distributed it more equally among the members, rather than as top heavy as NCMA was at that time. This MAY have been a catalyst towards the NCMA doing the same. My concern was aways to make sure the little guy had enough money to pay something for his night's effort.

One group we opened up to was the SMRA 360 SuperModifieds of Madera. The first date was Roseville, where we had 10 cars as I recall. This was billed as an exhibition date, though series points were available. There was no purse, but the crowd donated the equivalent of $50 per car which was paid evenly. Mike's car was not at this race, leaving the CMA championship to be fought between Mikie Esseltine (Mike's nephew) and Dave Johnson (Mike's dad).

We went to Lakeport for a show where Roger Galleano beat Mike. At Yreka, we helped open the door for carbureted Sprint Cars. They had a winged four barrel class called Sportsman Sprints that ran with injected Sprints and looked like a slow car. When we arrived, the Sportsman Sprints had their own show with guys like Ron Godwin, Cale Carder and Carl Tresser. Mike grabbed a win there in one of our visits on his way to the CMS title. And yes, we ran wings there. On one weekend when we were in Yreka in 1994, NCMA was in Susanville, which I found interesting.

We did what we had to do to keep this thing going, and in this case Mike was trying to milk the nostalgia angle. During this time, the lone car outside Mike's garage, Rick Young, crashed in his visit to promote the CMA at Sacramento.

I was beginning to get frustrated with the CMA not having cars outside Mike's garage. We had Mike and Dave and Mike and two cars being built. One was to be driven by John Burton. Steve Woodburn had two cars of his own, but Steve was more of a car collect0or. He bought the "blue goose" from Lee Jennings and the old Darryl Shirk car from Ray Aydelot, but both cars ended up parked. Ray's old car could have made an appearance, and it would have been a sign of growth.

Not only that, Steve was upset with Mike. Why? I'm not sure, but it threatened to take Dave's car out of the equation. That never happened, thankfully. Ricky Young's car ended up in Mike's possession as the fifth car. The problem with having five cars in one shop is being able to afford to put them out there.

We came to Sacramento with Mike and Dave and Mike's cars along with NCMA visitors Henry Mitchell III and Duane Watson. I had been trying to get Duane signed with CMA, but we never seemed to connect. Anyway Duane was to become one of the more successful NCMA Business Managers. On this night, Duane won his first feature to go with his NCMA "Rookie Of The Year" honors. Meanwhile, Dave passed his grandson Esseltine to win his first championship. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

So, with the season done, what next? It seemed like doors were open at Yreka, Sacramento and
Lakeport. Burton would have a car in 1995, but we had work to do for recruiting. Mike and Duane were talking about the possibility of NCMA/CMA dates in 1995. There appeared to be some potential. And then, I got a phone call.

Mike had a new pitch. He wanted to introduce Hardtops to the equation. He had two of them. By this time, Mike sort of fancied the Modidieds as a low buck SuperModified and Hardtops would fit right in. We would run them together. Steve would bring a car and Mike knew others who would do it too. Well, it's not that I was against Hardtops, but we had work to do on Modifieds. It felt unfocussed to me, and I didn't like the idea. I walked away to await the next opportunity to make a difference.

In the end, I think CMA had a positive influence on NCMA, because it forced them to step up and make a few changes. Four of Mike's cars made appearances with the NCMA in 1995 with Mike, Dave, Mike and John all getting to drive. NCMA held their first races at Yreka. NCMA purses actually grew and for a few seasons, NCMA car count grew.

It's just another piece of racing history, I suppose. One thing CMA allowed me to do was excersize my skills at promoting and hyping. By the time WSS was being conceived, I was ready to make something big happen. But that's for another blog. I've bored you enough here.

NorCal Hardtop Photos

2008-10-31T20:44:00.000-07:00

I noticed a few NorCal Hardtop photos from the Antioch Speedway show on September 20th. They had their cars on display at the car show at the fairgrounds earlier that night to promote the NorCal Hardtop effort and pay tribute to the past. I had a few anecdotes I thought about sharing, but I'll save it for another post.

If you are really craving a look at some cool Hardtop photos, check out Don O'Keefe's page, which is linked on the right. There are tons of photos and some stories as well, along with plenty of links. As far as I can tell, Don was about the first person doing a page to remember the Hardtops of California, and now there are other cool pages out there as well. This is very important. Why?

Because racing should honor it's past and the great tradition that it is.

As far as the California short track scene is concerned, it has failed miserably for the most part with exception of a few places. One of my disappointments was I was unable to get John to sign off on an Antioch Speedway Hall Of Fame night. Would have been great for the track, and my sister and I were willing to put the whole deal together with a pre race picnic induction ceramony at the fairgrounds as BCRA has done for years for their guys.

Don't want to go off on a rant here.

The California Sportsman effort at Merced has wrapped up it's 10th season of the old 1970's style racing (Congratulations to new champion Mark Odgers). Don and I had frequent discussions after Merced got going on the subject of Hardtops. I made a trip to Sacramento Raceway on my birthday about 6 years ago for a Hardtop race there.

Over the last couple of years, Hardtops have made a comback in California, first with Chuck Prather's goup in the Sacramento area, then with Okie Bowl Hardtops and this year with the NorCal Hardtops. Let me just say there are some nice cars out there and more coming.

The NorCal Hardtop page is here:

http://norcalvintagehardtops.com/

I have grabbed 7 pictures in the hopes of spreading the word about this cool Hardtop effort. The first 5 are from http://sports.webshots.com/album/567294173CYjwov and were posted by
norcalvintagehardtops

The last two are from http://rides.webshots.com/album/567276779RtkygO and posted by hotrodbob46

A Few Results From Antioch

2008-10-31T13:00:00.000-07:00

With Antioch Speedway's website being run by a new webmaster, results aren't as easy to come by. I tracked down some of the more recent results and thought I'd post them here just in case anybody was interested. Looks like the season may have ended with some good car counts.

Following are the final results for races held at Antioch Speedway on Oct. 11.

DIRT MODIFIED: Heat winners — Brian Pierce, Scott Busby, Duane Clevland, Kellen Chadwick. (B Main First Flight) Richard Papenhausen, Ty Duggins, Jimmy Coppin. B Main (Second flight) — Nick Caughman, Travis Perry. Main event — Ryan McDaniel. Kenny Neu, Nick DeCarlo, Pierce, Jerry Movrich.

SUPER STOCKS: Heat winners — Jeff Oschowka, Jermey Petrell. Doug Haigo. Main event — Olashowka, Mitch Enos, Ricky Thatcher, Eric Berendsen, John Haney.

PURE STOCKS: Heat winners — Fred Ryland. Billy Barnes. Dave Lincoln. Main event — Megan Ponciano. Ryland, Joshaua Davis. Dan McCown, Brian Beard.

Following are the results from the Sept. 27 races at Antioch Speedway.

DIRT MODIFIEDS: Heat winners — Ryan McDaniel, Richard Pappenhausen, Kenny Neu, Rob Norris. C Main — Keith Brown, Sr, Aaron Crowell, Cody Burke, Chester Kniss, Bill Wallace, Don McClean, Nick DeCarlo (all transfer to B main). B Main — Brown Sr., Randy McDaniel, Mike Learn, DeCarlo, Steve Noack, Kniss (all transfer to A main). A Main — ($3,500 to win)-Bobby Hogge IV, Pappenhausen, Brown, Sr., Michael Paul, DeCarlo, Kniss, Kellen Chadwick, Jr., Noack, Phil Indihar, Ryan McDaniel.

SUPER STOCKS: Heat winners — Doug Hagio, Mitch Enos, Jeff Silva, Carl Berenadsen. B Main — Darren Thomas, Jeremy Prince, David Brown, Jon Haney, Mitch Mashed, Bruno Korbraucher (all transfer to A main). A Main — Jeff Olshowka, Doug Hagio, Todd Gomez, Machedo, Enos, Silva, Terry DeCarlo, Matt Petrell, Haney, Michael Newman.

PURE STOCKS: Heat winners — Fred Ryland, Megan Ponciano, Nick DeLucca. A Main — Ponciano, Ryland, Cole Oreta, Gene Haney, Brian Beard, Michael Redman, Delucca, Jack Jonker, Dan McCown, Billy Barnes.

A Word About Voting And A Trip Down Memory Lane

2008-10-22T16:58:00.000-07:00

I was taking a walk up the hill today. Well, I do that every day to try and stay in shape. It's nice to walk down roads that didn't even exist a little over a year ago. Boy are they building houses and condos here. Not sure who can afford them, but at least people still have jobs building them, so that's a good thing.

I voted absentee yesterday to avoid the lines on election day. Sometimes I wonder why I bother. I guess maybe because I still have a right to, but I wonder sometimes what difference it really makes. Don't want to go there. I wrote a book about some of my thoughts on things anyway.

What I do want to say is vote, because you can. And vote for what you believe in. If you don't like what you hear from either party on the news, do some research on the other candidates that they don't show on the news. I know, I know. If you don't vote for one of the two, you throw your vote away. WRONG!!!

You throw your vote away only if you can register to vote and don't or if you are registered to vote and don't. So, whatever you believe in, take a few hours to get informed and vote, because you still have a right to.

Anyway...

Are you as bored as I am with NASCAR? I don't even watch. It just isn't racing to me. I could enjoy Cup racing 20 years ago, but The Chase has ruined it for me. The passion is gone, but they have a guy leading it now who they like, so that's all that matters. I happened to be watching a NASCAR Now show on ESPN (I miss the days when Speed Week actually covered the whole world of racing).

What I saw was a report on an unbelieveable ending to an ARCA season. The point leader got taken out by the guy in second. His championship hopes were killed, so he came back out and took that guy out, handing the point lead to the guy in third. This is right out of Days Of Thunder and totally a Saturday night dirt track move.

Stuff like that isn't really cool, but it does get people talking and keeps them coming back. Back in the mid 90's, Antioch had a similar deal where David Rosa and Phil Torres were battling for the championship under the back drop of a full moon. David had the car to beat all year long, but he stumbled down the stretch. This allowed the consistent Torres to close the gap.

Torres was normally a very clean racer, while Rosa was more aggressive. However, it was Torres who made a bump to pass move cutting slightly into the infield to do this. Rosa had one more shot coming out of 4 on the last lap. He went for it, but fell just inches short at the line.

It wasn't over there. Being on the inside, Rosa took Torres right out the exit gate in Turn 1 at full speed in a spectacular crash through the fence. David always has maintained publicly that his throttle stuck. Did it, or was he just unhappy with the bump to pass move and the fact that he lost the title by such a slim margin? It's a racing memory most people who were there won't forget.

The interesting side note to that was Tom Manning was Chief Steward and a law and order guy in his second year in that post. He cleaned things up with a hard line approach. I've always believed he would have made the call, but as track manager Brynda Bockover said, they didn't have to after that crash. Tom just smiled at me when I asked him back then, but I know he would have done the right thing had the crash never happened.

But who knows? Moments like that are what add to the mystique and make the sport so special to racing fans. The ups and downs, the come back stories, the first time wins and on and on. Rosa had been kicked out of the track at the end of a season that had seen him make Top 20 for the first time in his career after he fought the track champion for wrecking his car (Maybe I'll do a post about that driver as there's a lot to say of that controversial figure).

I saw David go from a C Main racer who ran Figure 8 races to get more track time. His first Top 5 finish was in the 8. Under the guidance of Tim Martin, David grew into a title contender. I have respect for him, because he overcame a lot and became a champion and the all time winningest driver in Antioch Street Stock history, going back over 25 years.

I meant to to acknowledge another milestone last post. This is the 20th Anniversary of not only the NCMA and DCRR Racing News (It was Antioch Speedway Magazine before that), but the Dirt Modifieds. At Petaluma Speedway in 1988, John Soares Sr. had his first full season for Dirt Mods (won my Joe Carr if my memory serves).

That's right folks, IMCA didn't start the Dirt Mod effort in California and neither did NASCAR. It was John Soares Sr. at Petaluma. In a trip back east in 1986 or 87, "Pops" was watching the class and decided he should bring it to California. The first Petaluma Dirt Mod races happened halfway through 1987.

It's at this point where the Dirt Mods cross paths with the NCMA. In 1987, one of the Dirt Mod car builders was a man named John Procopio. John had been crewing for Al Nordstrom for a few years and decided to get in on the ground floor of the new class. There was a growing interest in getting the class at Antioch, and then Antioch promoter Bert Moreland had John bring his car out for a demo at the end of 1987.

As the story goes, and I had heard this first hand, Dirt Mods would get a 12 race deal in 1988, but Moreland was released from Antioch in favor of the late George Styles. Styles had earned a lot of respect in NASCAR as a guy who could get things done and turn things around. He relocated from Nevada for this job.

It's at this point that a Concord based California Dirt Car racer named Mike Johnson entered the picture. Mike had raced a hand full of races at Santa Maria in the division's first year in 1987, finishing as high as second. After a special Dirt Car race was arranged for San Jose with Styles and Rick Farren among those in attendance, Styles was convinced to give California Dirt Cars a chance.

This led to animosity by those who felt Dirt Cars had stolen the spot from Dirt Modifieds, which some thought of as the second coming of Antioch's beloved Sportsman class of the 70's. I was among those for a while at least. It wasn't until a conversation with Mike a few weeks into the season that I was convinced I should support this cause, which I did for several years.

Mike held a meeting at a Concord pizza parlor that had about 100 people, and he gave a presentation on this class. While Petaluma was already in double digits with it's class of Dirt Mods for the first full season, only two cars showed up for Antioch's California Dirt Car class on opening day. Oh, and by the way, unbeknownst to Styles, Johnson had formed the NCMA in his garage before the season started.

Now, Johnson had to deal with a lot of crap that year There are stories I could tell you and some rather interesting quotes. Meetings at that time in the NCMA could get vocal. I really credit Jim Booth with getting the NCMA on the right path. One of the things Johnson had to deal with was comments from those who said he only did the NCMA to get himself an easy championship. There were also very real threats to sabotage the division.

One night, Procopio (with Keith Brown driving) and John Buccellato managed to get invited to race at Antioch against the NCMA in their Dirt Mods. Buccellato was involved in a crash with Hall Of Famer Darryl Shirk that saw Shirk knocked unconscious, and Brown lost the main event by mere inches to Johnson. Some wonder what could have happened for the Dirt Mods at Antioch had Brown won.

Well, the NCMA voted to outlaw the Dirt Mod from future races. Within a year, they also outlawed Santa Maria's bigger wheel based California Dirt Cars as the NCMA went down the old Super Modified chassis path for a while. Procopio lobbied unsuccessfully to get a special demo race for the class at Antioch that year where he said 10 cars would appear. The class didn't finally get it's first season at Antioch until 2 years later in 1990.

The NCMA rose above the problems to have 20 seasons with lots of good racing memories, and the Dirt Mods basically unseated the Late Models as headline class at several tracks. It all started in 1988.

I go on and on, and I'm probably boring you again. I don't write in months, and then two long winded posts.

I'll just wrap it up with this. I think John's son Jim Soares has done a nice job of turning things around at Petaluma. This year, car counts looked pretty good, and it really amazed me what he did with Spec Sprints. Over at Antioch, John Soares Jr. completed his tenth anniversary season as promoter. The "Sons Of Soares" are still continuing the family legacy.

Just one question boys:

We don't have a race for Barkhimer or Moreland, which we should. I leave you out of this, but John is your dad. Where would you be without him? He is worthy of a big race, and I'm not really talking open show. Back in the day, we used to have 100 lappers, they were part of the point deal and they were special. How about a John and Gladys Soares Menorial 100 for your mom and dad? Just a thought

That's all for now. Until next time...

The Editor's Viewpoint

2008-10-15T16:36:00.000-07:00

(Well, not really, but I thought it might be nice to use that as a title for this blog post)

It's been a while since I've posted anything here. Sorry about that. My mind has been elsewhere. Plus, I haven't been to a race since I visited Don & Linda in Indiana last year. For the most part, I haven't even been tempted, other than a Freedom Series race at Antioch, a trip to one of Jim's Petaluma shows or the big Spec Sprint bash at Chico. It's been five years since I attended a race here in California. Will I finally go next year? Can't really say for sure. It's not something I think about that much, but anything is possible.

I made AIDS Walk in July. I even participated in Trans March a month earlier. I'm proud to have been a part of both events. I didn't made "Star Walker" for AIDS Walk, but I raised over $300 for the cause, was among thousands of others walking through Golden Gate Park that day and I enjoyed the 6 mile walk. I walk a lot anyway, so 6 miles is no big deal.

Special thanks goes to Don & Linda O'Keefe for their sponsorship and helping get me going. I've been wanting to do the walk for a few years now, and their support is what put it all in motion.

Belated Happy Birthday wishes are in order for Don and an old friend, Dan Nordstrom. Their birthdays both came within the last week of this writing, but I'm lagging and it's taken this long. Really don't know where my head's been at lately. I can't state enough the support Dan's family gave me early on when I was just getting started as a racing reporter. Dan's father and former Stock Car and Sportsman racer Al used to sneak me into the pits at Baylands back in 1984 and 85. And me and Dan used to have a lot of fun hanging out back in the day.

I see Don has been racing more this year and making plans for Chili Bowl '09. This is just awesome news to me, because I know how much he's been itching to get back behind the wheel, only to have one thing or another stop him. Don & Linda are enjoying life in Indiana, and I'm so glad they are. Sometimes a change of scenery can be just the thing a person needs in their pursuit of happiness.

I don't have to tell you how my friends Don & Linda have supported my efforts to be a part of helping the sport of racing. DCRR would have folded two years earlier if not for them. Some may think that would have been a good thing. Can't say I blame them for that as I was pretty grumpy the last year. I'm sad to see nothing other than John Kelley's MotoRacing magazine is left standing in the age of the internet. The sport really needs a weekly publication on the dirt track level. There are still plenty of things happening.

This year marked the 10th season of Wingless Spec Sprint racing at Antioch (Thank you Jim at Petaluma for understanding what we were saying with "Spec" and keeping that in the name at your track). Ten seasons at Antioch, and a new champion crowned this year. I'd say it was a success. It could have been more successful under different circumstances these past few seasons, but the show went on regardless.

I'm proud of what Don and I accomplished putting the class together. He had the rules covered and I had the hype. If a racer sneezed, I wrote about it to get the word out. It's no different than what I was doing for the NCMA before that. People won't give a damn if they know nothing about what's happening. That's a problem at some tracks these days. No publicity.

Anyway, Don and I had several fires to put out that first year from people who would see us fail, but the proof is in the pudding. Look at the roster of new Sprint Car racers and returning veterans. Guys who never thought they could do anything winning their first races. 12 cars opening day, never anything less at Antioch that year and 29 total cars. Enough for a B Main opening day the next year.

Petaluma, Chico, Placerville, Marysville and Watsonville joining Antioch with their own classes. Open Wheel Round Ups at Chowchilla. Big shows with huge fields (52 cars this year) at Chico. Would this be happening had we not started Spec Sprint a Antioch?

Now, I'm not about to put down the NCMA. They still live, and it's 20 years old this year. There are things I didn't like about what they did on their path, but I respect that they made it here through all the tough times. They aren't the carbureted Sprint Car class that started it all, but they are the one that made it (Santa Maria Dirt Cars and Merced Limited Sprints both folded).

So, congratulations to the NCMA on 20 years and all the exciting races that you've had. Here's to the future.

As I said, I haven't been to a race here in 5 years, but I do look at the numbers and names. Many new faces among some familiar ones. I don't think the sport is where it could be, but we are in tough times. We're lucky it's here at all, so enjoy. And, you really never know. The promoters may hit on something that will get big and create new excitement. As long as tracks are open and trying to do something, there is a chance.

I did notice a couple things that brought a smile to my face. While looking through results in my local newspaper not that long ago (We get results sometimes, but no stories), I say Hardtops had visited Antioch and an old Hardtop, Sportsman and Super Stock racer named Conrad Cavallero had won. I though that was cool to see him and the NorCal Hardtop effort putting on a show.

Secondly, Mark "The Missle" Odgers is the Sportsman champion at Merced. Yes, the Sportsman class still lives there, and it's Mark's first championship.

Actually, Mark is listed as the point leader at Chowchilla before the plug was pulled on CCMR's first season trying to promote there. They made it to August, but I don't know if the drivers there will be honored in a banquet for their accomplishments.

Now, I think the Chowchilla Fair Board needs to understand something. Making a track even happen at that place in 2000 was an absolute miracle. What Tom and Cindy Sagmiller did probably couldn't have been done with ANY of the other promoters in the area. Why? Because Tom & Cindy bucked the trends and what other promoters considered "the way to do things".

Why? They had to, or they would have failed at the start. They had plenty of bumps along the way and made mistakes, but their successes far out weighed those mistakes. A lot of racers considered Tom & Cindy friends (I know I do), because they know they were appreciated. It was nothing for a racer to drive 3 hours or more just to get there, losing money in the process. Why? Because they knew a fun time as waiting for them when they got there.

It ain't the money. It ain't the winning. It ain't any of that in the long run. If it ain't fun and you don't feel like you are among friends, you ain't staying.

Now, Tom & Cindy kept the Freedon Series alive this year at Antioch, and from what I see, it was a success. The George Steitz Memorial Shoot Out at Hanford is next. They need their track back. I read Ken Bonnema's comment on a forum that the Chowchilla Fairgrounds will only have one shot at this, and I agree.

What I'm trying to say is they need to look at what they had and realize they did make money with Tom & Cindy. Maybe not as much as some of the other tracks, but more than they had before the track opened. Tom has kept the big races alive and in the people's minds. The racers still remember him and they will support him. Any promoter that comes in there expecting a "traditional" show will fail, because that's not what this place is all about. Tom & Cindy know what it takes and they put their hearts into that place.

Bottom line is the fairgrounds needs to get on the phone with Tom and made a deal and make it happen. Otherwise, I don't see that race track having much of a future, and that would be a shame.

I haven't been doing much with the book at this stage. I was working on other projects, but recently not doing much at all. I have decided, due to the lack of information from places I need information from, that the history covered in the book will go to 2007. Antioch is a central part of the book (not the only part) and information has sort of dried up since Dennis Daniel retired as Antioch Speedway Webmaster. I can't understate how important his work was on that page. We may have disagreed occasionally, but I respect his work, especially on the web page.

I wrote a couple blogs a year or so ago that were conroversial but covered topics I wished to clarify. I may dig them out and post them for some offseason material if anybody is reading. And if you did read this and care to reply or just say hi, post a comment. It's nice to know if anybody is reading.

Until next time, my best wishes to all of you.

I Have Officially Signed Up For AIDS Walk

2008-05-05T19:00:00.000-07:00

Before I get to the point of this post, I just want to apologize for the lack of updates on this page. My head has been some place else. The book idea is on the back burner, but it still lives. I am writing a book that is non racing related at the moment, but I do intend to get back to work on the racing book at some point in the not too distant future.

I have been walking every day and continuing to eat better than I did when I was involved in racing. I'm told I have lost over 100 pounds. I couldn't tell you for sure as I don't own a scale and did not want to weigh myself when I started down this path. It was about feeling better physically and mentally, not how many pounds I lost.

I could write a whole blog post, but nobody would probably care about that. This is a racing blog after all. So why this post? I want to put my walking to good use and raise some money. AIDS effects all of us in one way or another, and I want to attempt to raise money for the cause.

I Have Officially Signed Up For AIDS Walk

I just signed up for AIDS Walk. I do enough walking every day that I feel like putting it to good and positive use for others. There are other events I am looking at, but I'm starting with this. It's a little over 6 miles, and I pretty much do that every day anyway.

Too many people have died because of this disease. We are making strides, but we have a long way to go. I signed up for the ambitious Star Walker program, which means I hope to raise $1,000. I don't know that I will get that, but I'll try. I like the term "star walker" even though I've never considered myself a star.

We've lost so many lives to AIDS and yet people are living longer now because of funds that have been raised for research. Yes, people are making a difference, and I want to be one of the people who makes a difference. It was on my sister's birthday of all days that Freddie Mercury died of AIDS. I miss Freddie and the music and just the smile he always brought to my face as one of the greatest singers of all time.

I dedicate my first AIDS walk to my sister Jackie and also to a young lady who continues to inspire me, Gwen Araujo. If anybody is interested in supporting my effort, my fund rasing page can be found here and you can donate onine:

http://aidswalksanfrancisco2008.kintera.org/remembergwen

This is the text the website gives us for spam e-mails, and I find it relevent enough to put here:

I am writing to let you know that I have registered for AIDS Walk San Francisco and am very excited about the event. This is a very important issue to me so I have set an ambitious fundraising goal. I want to do as much as I can to make a difference in the lives of men, women, and children affected by HIV and AIDS. Even though there has been a lot of publicity about drug treatments which are prolonging some people's lives, they don't work for everyone and there is still no cure in sight. Moreover, young people are still getting infected at alarmingly high rates.

I want your help. Will you please sponsor me for the AIDS Walk? Just click on the website address below to enter my personalized web page and charge your donation. Thank you, in advance, for supporting this important cause and for showing that you join me in wanting to end this epidemic.

http://aidswalksanfrancisco2008.kintera.org/remembergwen

A Few Chili Bowl Photos

2008-01-16T19:10:00.000-08:00

The Tulsa World newspaper actually gave this race some good coverage, and you can still find it at their web page of you hurry. I grabbed a couple photos to share with you.

NASCAR star Kasey Kahne powers into the first turn during his heat race on Friday night in the 22nd annual Dodge Chili Bowl Midget Nationals at the QuikTrip Center at Expo Square. STEPHEN HOLMAN / Tulsa World

Jason Holt of Brownsburg, Ind., sits upside down in his car following a crash during a heat race on Friday night. STEPHEN HOLMAN / Tulsa World

This is from before Jason Holt drove the #8j car on Friday.

Jason Holt and Don O'Keefe Jr. had quite an adventure. Don actually started off running stronger than it would appear in the stats on opening day, but an incident with another racer, who was maybe a little too aggressive, ended what could have been a good effort. Instead of transferring to a better main that night, Don ran the C Main and was done early with mechanical problems in that race.

On Friday, the crew must have thought they were in for more bad stuff. Jason was running strong in his heat, but a tangle with another driver left Jason on his lid in a roll over. Damage wasn't as bad as it could have been, but the crew had to scramble to get it together for one of the Last Chance races. The effort paid off as Jason won his race. Former Antioch Wingless Spec Sprint champion Travis Berryhill was fifth in that race.

Jason managed a ninth place finish in his B Main later that night, which set him up for the front row start he had for Saturday's E Main. As you saw from my previous post, he finished third in that race and sixth in the D Main, missing the C Main and a chance to be on the Pay Per View by a just a few inches. All in all, though, the team had a good showing and can be proud of their efforts.

Chili Bowl Update-Jason Holt

2008-01-13T11:55:00.000-08:00

Jason Holt prepares his car in the O'Keefe shop for the next Gas City race.

On Saturday, the LOK Enterprises cars both had Main Events to run. Don, who ran a heat and main on opening day, was in the K Main. Meanwhile, Jason Holt had qualified for the pole of the E Main in the second LOK Enterprises Midget.

During the season, Don has worked with Jason on car setup for Jason's Wingless Sprinter at Gas City Speedway. Jason enjoyed his best career season with 9 top ten finishes in 13 starts and a third place point effort. Quite a season for Jason. From my visit last year, I could see that he is quite a racer with a bright future ahead of him. Look for him to grab a victory this season.

I'm sure Don will post on his web page what went down. I'm guessing he scratched from the K Main to focus on Jason's E Main run. A front row spot meant Jason could transfer up at least one race, and he would do just that with a third place finish. From there, Jason came from the last row to sixth in the D Main, missing a transfer by just one spot. Still, he was in the first half of a field of over 200 cars. All in all, not a bad job by Jason and the whole crew.

But it gets more interesting. This all star field saw previous winner Tony Stewart winning a B Main to get into the show, but the win went to none other than Damion Gardner ahead of Dave Darland, Shane Cottle, Bryan Clauson and Jon Stanbrough. All five hail from the state of Indiana, and Gardner has actually relocated to Don's hometown of Pittsboro.

I recall meeting Damion and his father back in the mid 90's at Antioch. He was racing a Nor Cal Dwarf Car back win Nor Cal and Pacific Coast were having some classic battles at Antioch Speedway. He was a star in the making and won the NCDCA Dwarf Car championship a couple years later. He became one of the stars of SCRA (Top 5 ranked) and went on to win a CRA Sprint Car championship. He is rapidly climbing the ladder to an eventual NASCAR or IRL ride, and this could be the biggest win of his career.

Congratulations Damion.

A Few Quick Notes

2008-01-11T17:07:00.000-08:00

I believe people in Merced will be seeing schedules soon, if not already. I looked at the Merced Speedway page a few days ago, and Chowchilla dates are listed there as well. A few notes:

1-IMCA sanctioning for Mods at both tracks. Could be a boost for car count, but as I said before, it may be a little late in the game for this. Let the car count speak for itself.

2-Pretty much what I expected, a Merced schedule at both tracks, and likely CCMR rules as well. How this might effect Street Stock or Pure Stock car count remains to be seen. What sort of allowances will be made for Chowchilla regulars that may need to change according to the rule changes remains to be seen. I would anticipate a grace period, but we'll let track management make the announcements.

3-It looks like NCMA has booked dates at one or both tracks. Congrats. to NCMA. These guys always seem to be able to get race dates just when you think there may be trouble. I say the more carbureted Sprint divisions in California, the better.

4-I hope a certain purple #20 car will be allowed to compete at Chowchilla if the driver so chooses. Knowing the situation, I doubt it, but I hope I'm wrong. Tom Sagmiller will always be a part of Chowchilla Speedway, no matter what.

That being said, I wish both tracks luck, and I wish the best for all of the racers. Had things turned out differently, I would gladly have stayed and worked at BOTH tracks in 2003. I wash my hands of the whole grudge business. I have my opinion and always will, but who cares? I know I tried to help make a difference. It wouldn't surprise me if we haven't heard the last of things on this matter, and I say, so be it. I guess it just has to be what it has to be.

Let the racing begin

I didn't count the dates listed on the Petaluma Speedway page, but Jim Soares has booked Spec Sprints. Looks like they have a point race of their own there. Way to go Jim, and keep up the good work. You've done awesome there. Ten years since Don O'Keefe Jr. and I put this deal together for the first Spec Sprint season at Antioch, and look at this class go!!!

Ocean (Watsonville) Speedway has added Wingless Spec Sprints to their schedule as well. Lots of options for the drivers to choose where to race. You gotta love it. I wish Watsonville luck.

The Turner's have turned Orland Raceway back over to the fairgrounds. I'm sorry to see them go as they did a great job with that little track and had some good shows over the years. It's not the best place to run a racetrack, in the shadow of Chico, but they guided the track through one of it's most successful periods. Plus, they had Spec Sprints there as well. Thank you Paul & Carol and good luck in whatever you do next.

Also, it looks like Bob & Nadine Strauss have stepped down as promoters of Lakeport. I gotta tell you that Nadine is one of the best promoters in California and was so rewarded by RPM for her outstanding efforts. I'm sad to see them leave at a time when we need good promoters here in the state, but they have earned the break. Thank you Nadine and good luck in whatever you do next.

O'Keefe Races At Chili Bowl

2008-01-11T16:49:00.000-08:00

Don O'Keefe Jr. raced on the first day. He ran his heat and his main. I'm glad to see he got to drive his race car. I know it's been a while for him. Haven't heard how thecar ran, but hopefully he had some fun. Tonight, Jason Holt gets to run with the big boys in Don & Linda's second car. Hopefully he'll have a good run and keep it in one piece. Jason did a great job of making the top five in points at Gas City this season in his Sprint Car.

More Thoughts On The Book

2007-11-20T16:06:00.000-08:00

One of the staples of The DCRR was the controversial column The Editor's Viewpoint. I make no apologies for what I used to write there. I called it like I saw it. I got in trouble more times than I can count because of it. People loved it. People hated it. What I always tried to do with that column was give credit where it was due or bring about change where I thought it was needed. At some point in the future, I will probably share a few of the old columns here on the blog and comment on what I said back then.

That said, the book that I intend to release next year needs to stick to facts and avoid that sort of commentary where possible. There will be opinion in the book. I don't believe it can be avoided. But, I don't want to dwell on the things that were wrong or are wrong, in my opinion, with racing. I want this book to be a celebration of what is right with racing. The past champions, the close point battles, the big name drivers and contenders and some of the people who made it all happen.

Specific looks at important periods in racing. The Sportsman division. The beginning of the Street Stock class and what it meant. Late Models and the golden age of that class. Dirt Modifieds. The unity that existed between the tracks and the great series we had because of it. The State and Regional champs that came from that. Wingless Spec Sprints. Okay, you'll get observations of things during these times. It simply cannot be avoided. But, I want to keep it as light as possible. There are people and decisions I disagreed with. I don't want my opinions to overpower that too much.

Basically, where things happen, such as the death of Late Models as headline class, the birth of Dirt Modifieds, the end of what was once Barkhimer's huge racing empire, the whole Merced-Chowchilla thing and other things, I will attempt to stick with the facts as I know them and try to leave my opinions out as much as possible.

What this book needs to be is a celebration of racing at my area tracks, Watsonville, Antioch, Merced, Petaluma and Chowchilla. A look at the past 30-40 years at these tracks. A look over at San Jose and Vallejo and also Spec Sprints. There has been much good associated with these tracks. Many good times. Many good people. Many unforgetable memories. I want to focus on that. I want to celebrate the sport the way it deserves. So, that is my goal at this time.

Now, could a book be fortcoming where I do get more into details and opinions? Lord knows I've been there and I've seen quite a bit. I'm sure I could piss off a few people with such a book. Maybe it will get written in time. But, I do have this blog if I feel the need to go to controversial places on occasion. I just want the book that is fortcoming to be about a celebration of the tradition of racing in my area.

I Heard The News Today, Oh Boy

2007-10-29T18:45:00.001-07:00

You can see the above posted at the Chowchilla Fairgrounds Sight

What can you say at a time like this? I can think of a few things. I've had my opinions through the years on this subject as some of you know. What does it matter? There are probably a few people (if that) who I would tell what I think even now.

In case you don't know what this image means, Central California Motorized Racing is Chuck Griffin, and he has Chowchilla Speedway now To complete the thought, there have been those in racing who were not happy with Chuck for various reasons that I have neither the time, nor the room, to get into. Some went to other tracks, Hanford, Antioch, Stockton and Altamont. One had good people (investors) behind him and ended up starting Chowchilla Speedway to give people a fun alternative.

Chowchilla Speedway over the last eight seasons held some of the biggest stock car and open wheel programs in the state, and it never would have happened without the leadership of Tom & Cindy Sagmiller. To me, it's hard to think of Chowchilla Speedway and not think of Sagmiller. Would the track be there if not for that conversation between Tom and original investor Charlie Ruth? No. Let me rephase that, HELL NO!!! If you think otherwise, you aren't being honest.

Chowchilla came out of left field, offering hope to fans who needed it. Not just the ones in The Valley looking for a place that was more fun, but to Bay Area fans reeling from the loss of San Jose Speedway. Tom gave us hope of something better and something different in racing at a time when we desperately needed it.

This is difficult for me to say. I happen to like Tom and consider him a friend. I also happen to like Chuck and Marylee Griffin. Like or hate Chuck, people, Merced's gates have opened and racing has continued week in and week out, even during tough times, throughout some two decades with the Griffin's at the helm. That is a fact. Financially speaking, the Chowchilla Board made what had to be considered a safe decision.

I know a few people will ask if the board even paid any attention to that winter Barneburner Series run by a Chowchilla resident and long time racer Joe Diaz Jr. I understand Joe put in a bid, and it's not like he hasn't already been making money for the fair.

But, Chuck was a safe pick, because the bills get paid on time with him. Plus, at Merced, he has built up a pretty good record with the community. I know, it sounds like I'm being too nice here. I'm amazed the internet community hasn't ripped into this topic more than I've seen. Perhaps they are too tired to care anymore, or maybe it's shock? Who knows?

Can we be truthful here for a minute?

Chuck's bid, right or wrong, seems to have more to do with him making a point. I don't even care anymore, but he never got the "justice" he sought in his feud with Tom. True, he could have just been happy with the news that Tom was out at Chowchilla, but coming to Chowchilla as the next promoter gives him that victory, that sense of closure he was looking for. What am I talking about? If you don't know by now, I damn sure ain't telling you. Look around, fool. Does it even matter at this point?

I can tell you that Tom helped save Merced Speedway. I know what you are thinking. You're nuts Donny. How the hell do you figure that? Moving dates early in Chowchilla's run, at financial loss to Chowchilla, to try to help Merced, for one.

Tom forced Merced to ditch the non Camaro Pure Stock (less that 10 cars) for the Hobby Stock class that made it into the 30's that second year. Tom's success in running big shows at Chowchilla was no small influence in Merced's decision to run the 9-11 races that were big for a couple years. Fact is, Chowchilla's existence helped grow Merced car count. I can cite other examples, but I'm getting tired, and really, what's the point?

When we look at the decision, we really have to ask what Chuck can bring to Chowchilla that will make a difference? It's a fair question. I'm guessing that bills being paid on time is first and foremost. IMCA sanctioning? Yes, but really, who needs the IMCA? This move is probably five years too late. I may be wrong, but then again, where were the Mods at Merced this year?

Chowchilla regulars will be left wondering what divisions will stay, and what will go. That will be up to the CCMR office to address. I look forward to what they will say. But I think people can expect a further departure from the loose and racer friendly way that RACE did things to how CCMR will do things.

Simply put, if Chuck is running Chowchilla and you plan to race there, you better know the rules and follow them as closely as you can. No rule is safe from a DQ. Stay in line with the rules and keep the attitude in check, or you won't last in a point race there.

What really has me wondering, though, is the fact that Chuck is not getting any younger. It was my understanding a few years ago that he and Marylee were considering retirement. This is doubling the work load. It's likely that his daughter and son in law will take a bigger role in things. However, I can't see Chuck making a two track hand off. This would seem to indicate that retirement will have to wait a year or two.

Time will tell, I guess.

My purpose in posting this was not to bash or point fingers. I don't care about repeating things said years ago, because this is 2007. What's the point? If this helps racing in The Valley, great. It's needed. But, will it help? I just don't know.

Watsonville has been turned around and had a great season.

Jim Soares has done some great things with Petaluma these past two years as well.

What will Chowchilla's future be? Time will tell.