DON'S CALIFORNIA RACING RECOLLECTIONS

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Pit Stops From Antioch, Merced And Elsewhere

First of all...

Just A Kid From The Grandstands: My Time In Auto Racing

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On Sale At Reduced Price

DCRR Racing Radio Show
Weekend Preview Edition

DCRR Racing Radio Show: Episode 57 by GenWhat

Pit Stops

We’re in the late stages of the stretch run for the 2015 season at Antioch Speedway and Merced Speedway and a few battles are still close. This week, we’ll be taking a look at few things that have caught our eye as we head into a new weekend of racing.

We start with Kimo Oreta and Nick Baldwin, both of whom were winners last Saturday night. For Oreta, it was his seventh win of the season at Antioch Speedway and 20th of his career as the all time win leader in the division. Kimo has now clinched his third straight division championship. He could still add to his win totals before the season is up and has indicated that he may visit Merced too, but he’ll be making a move up into the Limited Late Models next season.

As for his latest win, everything just clicked for Kimo. Unfortunately, the bad luck continued for Danny Jones as he lost power while leading on lap five. Jones is now 20 points out of second, but more importantly to him probably is the fact that he has five seconds and still no wins this year. Second went to Michael Cooper. Cooper got the lead with the departure of Jones, but he lost the lead to Oreta. Cooper was still an impressive second, and you have to wonder if he may be due for a win soon. He leads rookie Jordan Swank by just one point and Jones by 20 in the battle for second.

Nick Baldwin started the season off looking like he was ready for a run at the championship after his back to back Top 3 seasons at Antioch. He even won a feature this year before all the rules issues started coming into play over some confusion drivers had in interpreting the rules. Nick didn’t stop racing. He took his talents to perhaps the most competitive Pure Stock show in California, Placerville Speedway. Jay’s Welding & Fabricating is sponsoring $2,000 for the championship, and some nights this division has B Mains.

So, Nick went up to the foot hills and gave that track a shot. Past Antioch racers Dan Smith and Justin Silveira both race there as well, and he had to run at the back while he figured things out. Well, last Saturday, Nick made his move. He started with a heat race win. Though his car wasn’t the fastest out there, he ran smoothly and worked his way to the front while a few of the players had their struggles. When the checkered flag flew, it was Baldwin grabbing the victory. Considering how hard his team has had to work to get the #17 car up to speed at Placerville, you know he really earned it.

When the season started, Kevin Joaquin had his eyes on an Oval Motorsports Overall Hobby Stock championship. He’s won the Chowchilla title and is well on his way to a championship at Merced as well. Kevin has three wins at each place and was eyeing a fourth as the leader last week before a flat right rear tire put an end to that. Kevin won at Antioch recently, making him the only driver to win Main Events at all three tracks this season. He didn’t finish on Sunday. Even though top rookie Jennifer Corder was doing her usual good job of finishing fourth, Kevin’s lead is still pretty solid.

The driver in third in points at Merced is another driver who has been racing hard this season. That would be Chowchilla’s Austin Van Hoff. The talented second generation racer has already wrapped up a second place point season at Chowchilla, and he’s third at Merced. Austin regained the lead with Joaquin’s tire issue and sped home to his second Main Event win of the season. He has definitely hit stride recently. If not for a lost muffler, he had a Top 3 finish in hand a week earlier.

Before moving on, we wanted to acknowledge Robbie Loquaci’s second place feature finish and heat win at Merced. Robbie is a past Chowchilla Mini Stock champion, but he’s had some terrible luck this season. He had it dialed in for that season best second place finish ahead of the surprising Jeff Lacy. Lacy led the first half of the race in his Dan Marino Miami Dolphins tribute car, and that third place finish was his best effort yet this season.

Back at Antioch, Melissa Myers was a welcome addition to the field. The past Street Stock and Hobby Stock champion had a solid night with a win in her heat race and third in the Man Event ahead of Natalie Perry. Natalie keeps turning in solid efforts in the #40n car and has a good hold on sixth in points. Crew chief Steve Perry keeps saying if he did a better job she would be faster, but even Natalie would say he’s been doing good this year. That team has reason to smile.

Cameron Swank had a solid fifth place finish ahead of fifth ranked Frank Furtado. Cameron is getting closer to the day when he could be a Main Event winner like his father, Glenn Swank. Tony McCown was a heat race winner in a car he recently purchased from the Watsonville area.    The feature didn’t quite yield the results he wanted, but he still took a checkered flag in eighth behind Jordan Swank.

Another interesting tidbit comes from the Hobby Stocks at Sacramento Valley Speedway in Orland. Promoter Adam Zachary has recently been getting videos of the Hobby Stock races and trying to use them on Facebook for positive buzz. The most recent race ran non stop. The nine car field ran beautifully on the one-fifth mile dirt oval, and Brian Cooper came from the back and made a pass on Paul Stevens during the final ten laps for the win. Shannon Collins was third. Cooper was so happy that the Chico regular said he would be trying to recruit others from his home track for the August 29 race and would try to get some sponsorship to make the purse a little bigger. It’s that kind of support that can help Orland’s race track get stronger.

The Mini Stocks at Merced have become interesting for a couple reasons. First of all, you have a battle for the championship between Darren Miguel and Chris Corder. Secondly, cars continue to show up out of the woodwork to support the show, It’s amazing to realize that despite his 11 wins, Miguel still only leads 2014 champion Corder by ten points. Since switching to the former Alex Odishoo car, Corder has gained on Miguel in each of the last three races, and he has won two of the last three races. He nearly won the other race before Miguel passed him late, but he still gained points after winning the heat race.

The only driver close to competing with this duo right now is second generation racer Kelly Campanile, who won the heat race last week. Kelly just moved into third in the standings, taking the spot from the absent Natalie Waldrop. Last week saw four cars in the field that we haven’t seen in a while. There was Mike Germait and teammate Jimmy Stockton. Germait ended up third in the Main Event ahead of Jennifer Corder. Jennifer was driving the car she finished second with in points last season. It is the last car her father built and it has sentimental value to the Corder Racing Team.

Alica Caldwell finally made her return in a different car after her other car was destroyed in a crash at Chowchilla back in May. We’ve seen Lucy Falkenberg, Andrew Krumm and Jeff Amos in recent weeks, and you never know who may race next. The good news about the drivers showing up now is that it’s likely that both C. Corder and Miguel will be in Hobby Stocks next season, so it’s good to know other racers are out there to keep this class going. Corder Racing still has a few Mini Stocks, so seeing Chris race or have a car out there for somebody else to drive in the future would not be a big surprise.

Speaking of Mini Stocks, we finally got some word on the most recent race at Rocky Hill Speedway in Porterville. We’re still waiting on results from the two races before, but we can tell you that the August 15 race had 13 Mini Stocks on hand and a familiar winner. Point leader Jared Plumlee continued his domination with a win ahead of Bob Ellis, Josh Nelson, Justin Cook and “The Dirt Dog” Andy Boydstun. Clinton and Clifton Massey continue to be regular supporters and finished sixth and seventh, respectively. Justin Moore, Amanda McGowan and Vicky Hart rounded out the Top 10.

The Super Mini Stocks saw Roy Atchison scoring the win ahead of Russell Silvas and Kit Murphy. Defending champion Adell Shelton, Larry Ramarez, William Hughes and Brooke Dale completed the finishing order. Alvin Ince was back at his home track and keeping the Noland family out of the winner’s circle with his Hobby Stock feature win. Of course, Raymond Noland Jr. was still second and Michael Scruggs, Eric Cimental, Kart Noland Jr. and Gene Glover rounded out the finish.

Dwarf Cars were part of last Saturday’s program as the CDCRA paid the track another visit. John Isabella was the Main Event winner. Austin Figueroa held off long time division supporter and past champion Angel Figueroa for the second place finish. James Billings III was fourth, followed by Devlin Autry, James Villa, Ira Henry, Steven Brunn and Douglas Lebow. Rocky Hill Speedway returns to action on August 29 with Mini Stocks, Hobby Stocks, Super Mini Stocks, Central Valley Tanks (IMCA Stock Car rules) and a Power Puff race.

On Saturday night, there were 36 Wingless Spec Sprints competing between Antioch, Marysville and Petaluma,. All three tracks had a dozen cars. Antioch had two past champions showing up for the first time this season in two time champion Billy Macedo and past champion D.J. Johnson, but Johnson had actually brought his USAC car for a shakedown run. Macedo hasn’t lost his touch. He started on the front row, and though Alan Miranda got the jump on him, Macedo had the lead a few laps later. Billy set a rapid pace and cruised to an impressive victory.

One car not quite up to speed has presented problems to two leaders this year, but Macedo didn’t see the problem. He said he simply followed the young up and comer for a lap or two and then made his move. Nothing was stopping Macedo, not even point leader Kyle Bakkie. Bakkie gained second from Miranda and would finish there. The #19 car is running well lately, and this finish seems to have solidified Kyle’s bid for a track championship. Bakkie is a three time winner this year who finished second in points last season. When the points were totaled after Saturday, Kyle’s lead over Rick Panfili was stretchered to 64.

Panfili is considering either retiring or racing a partial schedule next year. Part of the problem is the need for sponsorship, and the other part is that he and his wife are often left as the only ones working on the car. Despite the budget situation, Rick was third in points last year and should finish at least there this season. He’s been second in points most of the year, finished as high as a career best second in the feature and won his first heat race. Despite that, impressive rookie Marcus Smith used his fourth place finish last week to move to within just 16 points of Panfili with two point races to go.

While Panfili and Smith search for their first wins, Jimmy Perry III has four of them. Jimmy couldn’t quite make his way to the front Saturday as he settled for fifth. The news from the team before the race was that the division’s all time win leader, “Jammin” Jim Perry Jr., will be back in this class next season. It could be that we will see a battle between the Perry’s for the 2016 championship.

The battle in the Limited Late Models at Antioch is the same as it is for Spec Sprints, for second place. “The Sundrop Kid” Larry Damitz is just so smooth that even when he’s not earning one of his six wins this season, he’s always near the front. He finished third on Saturday. However, heat winners Lori Brown and Mike Hynes were hoping this race would be theirs. For 14 laps, Brown led the way before steering issues cost her. She was handling everything Hynes threw at her up until that point.

For Hynes, it’s been a struggle getting his #05 car where he wanted it. The rules adjustments with the rear end left him a little behind a few drivers, but he’d made the change in recent weeks. He was starting to feel more comfortable going into this race, and it turned out that Saturday would be his night to shine. Hynes finally got a win, and in doing so, he slipped past Mike Gustafson for second in points. Hynes held off Jim Freethy, who had broken a timing chain in his motor a week ago and had some things to fix. The second for Freethy was encouraging, and the fact that he might have won this race had there been a few more laps could be an indication of what may come next time.

The points show Hynes leading Gustafson by two points and Mark Garner by 14. Garner finished fifth last week, but the night was special for a different reason. Mark was joined by his ailing father, Jerry “The Maverick” Garner, for a ceremony at intermission as he was honored for clinching the 2015 Merced Speedway championship. Mark finally gave his family their first track championship. Jerry has had several Top 5 seasons at Antioch and was Top 5 at both Antioch and Petaluma when he won the 1969 State championship.

Eric Berendsen was just excited to be back at the track. His car was back together, and the second generation racer couldn’t wait to get back out there. In fact, he forgot to bring his racing fuel with him and missed mud packing and hot laps as a result. Eric knew he wasn’t going to be as fast as the rest of the field, but he was wanting to make some laps and get comfortable in the race car again. He ended up eighth at the finish. He had a scary moment when Brown stalled in Turn 1, and he crashed into her. Neither driver was injured, and both continued to race.

The Sport Mod news we’ve heard includes a new car for Jeremy Jennings, Tim Hammett considering buying a new car and the older news that Kenny Swank has the old Loyd Cline car. State point leader Fred Ryland was in Merced on Sunday picking up a chassis, though his cars are for sale. Fred has indicated that he’s enjoying the class and will likely stick around. On Sunday, he and Bruce Nelson battled in their heat and were about to battle in the Main Event. Nelson and Ryland grabbed the top two positions, but Ryland had more problems and would end up retiring. Gary Tucker was back and running a good race in second.

Dwayne Short has been running pretty strong lately, but it seems his race goes away from him near the end. Dwayne led some laps before finishing fifth. Mark Odgers ran at the back early on before he began making his move. He eventually grabbed third from Short. It’s been a one or two points at a time deal for Odgers, but he still trails Short by just eight points in the battle for second. Both of these drivers have been going for it. With Josh Hensley far ahead in the point lead, this is the battle to watch in Merced Sport Mods.

Back at Antioch, Anthony Giuliani has been on a roll. Anthony is locked in a close battle with Matt Hagio for the Sport Mod championship at Watsonville, and he finally got his first win there last Friday. He was feeling pretty good after that, so he loaded up his black #15 car and headed for Antioch a night later. On his way to front, he had to try to make his move around Trevor Clymens in the blue #2c car, but he was up to the challenge. Giuliani rolled to win #3 at Antioch and has moved into tenth in the points as well. Anthony had indicated at Merced a few weeks ago that he prefers to travel around and race when he wants to. He isn’t planning to get caught up in points next year.

Clymens had second for a while before spinning, and that opened the door for Patti Ryland to get another second place finish. Since recovering from her broken foot, Patti has been running strong lately as she continues an impressive Top 5 point season as a rookie in the division. Meanwhile, husband Fred Ryland made a last turn pass on Paul Mulder to regain third, but it’s not a finish that will help him in the National point race. Fred needs full field wins. At a time when car count is struggling at Merced and is hurting a little with the added races at Antioch, he’s not getting the official IMCA “full fields” he needs.

Antioch Speedway IMCA Modified point leader Scott Busby may be wondering about the Main Event invert as he seems to be starting in the back most of the time lately. The well run Main Event meant that Scott’s charge to the front ended in a three car battle with Shawn DeForest and Bobby Motts Jr. for fifth. The three drivers ran hard and Busby settled for sixth behind DeForest. Still, it was enough to maintain the lead by 27 points over Motts, who ended up seventh at the finish.

Meanwhile, Aaron Crowell proved to be unstoppable once again in the #1c GRT Chassis. The 2004 Antioch champion started up front, but unlike last time, he had State point leader Alex Wilson right behind him, just waiting for the opportunity to make his move. That opportunity never came as Crowell drove a flawless race in victory. When you get those opportunities, you have to make the most of them, and Crowell has certainly done that. In between this win and his win last time, he had a disappointing DNF at Petaluma. It might be a good thing for the Antioch competition that Aaron hasn’t run every race or the point situation might be different.

Nick Vuscusi III has been looking good at Antioch as well. A past Top 5 Hobby Stock racer and winner of one of the 100 lappers for that division, Nick has looked good in his red, white and blue #13 car. He finished fourth last week and was a season best third at the previous race. Nick has been racing at Petaluma this season and is currently fifth in the standings. Darrell Hughes II has been running wherever he feels like, and that includes several tracks this season. On Friday, the third generation racer drove to a fifth place finish at Hanford, and he returned to Antioch with a strong third place finish on Saturday. His father, past Chowchilla champion Darrell Hughes, has a Bakersfield legal Pro Stock that he is hoping to sell. Darrell loves that class, but he’s considering what his next move will be. He thinks this car would be good for somebody just getting their start in the Pro Stock/Limited Late Model ranks.

Back at Merced, Alex Wilson was encouraged by his Antioch finish and just the way his black #36 car has been running in general. A frustrated Bill Egleston was a no show on Sunday, though the way Alex has been adding to his point lead in recent weeks, it may not have even mattered. On Sunday, Wilson turned in a stellar performance from start to finish in winning his second Main Event and stretching his point lead. It’s seeming more likely that Alex will win both the State and Merced Speedway championships.

Ryan Porter wasn’t too far behind Alex after passing his brother Kyle Wilson for second. Ryan turned in what some say was the drive of the season when his first win earlier this year came ahead of Bobby Hogge IV. Ryan also became the track’s youngest Hobby Stock champion at 16 years old before moving up in classes. The Porter family has a long history at Merced that dates back to his great grandfather, Vern Porter, in the 1950‘s. Vern raced Hardtops and years later raced against Ryan’s grandfather, Wayne Porter. Ryan’s father, Tim Porter, is a past Cal Mod champion at Merced. So, when you talk about Legend’s of Merced, which is coming up on Sunday, the Porter family has been a part of this track for many years.

Harley Turner admitted that the Sunday scheduling makes racing a challenge for the team. He even wondered if a move to Friday nights could work at Merced. Turner faced an early morning on Monday, and the day got longer when mechanical issues sidelined him from his heat race. However, the car was ready for the Main Event, which was verified when he hot lapped before the Sport Mod race. Harley finished fifth in the Main Event behind Joel Myers, who was driving his third different car at the track. Myers won his heat race as well. Myers is only ten points behind leader Nick DeCarlo in a close point race at Petaluma.

The Dwarf Cars enjoyed another good showing on Sunday as word keeps getting out about management’s desire to start this class. Nor Cal sent three hard chargers in Saturday night Marysville winner Ryan “Ice Chip” Winter, Buddy Olschowka and Scott Dahlgren, and it’s not surprising to see that all three ran strong. Winter and Oslchowka won heat races. The Olschowka family has been a part of the Northern California racing scene for many years and are very competitive. In fact, Jeff Oslchowka was racing at Quincy that same night. Come Main Event time, Winter was unstoppable, but as a past Nor Cal champion, that is no surprise. As Winters sped to victory, Dahlgren fell out from second with Olschowka claiming the spot.

Meanwhile, Mike Drake continues to support this effort and looked good in his third place finish. Drake is another racer who competes with Nor Cal and is one of their top rookies this season. Word before the races was that Mike would be driving the George Medeiros #07 Sport Mod this week at Merced. Mike actually ran Sport Mods last season. Two drivers hoping to rebound from bad luck were fourth in fifth. Chuck Weir made a nice come back from losing a fuel cell a week earlier with a fourth ahead of Alan Heeney, who had second a race earlier until spinning into the infield. Young Chester Kniss Jr. took a checkered flag in sixth. Dwarf Cars return to Merced on September 20.

This Sunday night is Legend’s Night in Merced, and the Valley Sportsman division is set to be a part of that show. One of the people lobbying to get this division back on the schedule was Kenny Birdsong. Kenny has had his #25 car at every race this year, though Chris Birdsong drove it a couple times. Kenny is living the dream of racing in this class and wanted to see it saved. He is currently second in points behind Marcus Lung, but having a good showing for this division on Sunday is more important to him.

Lung and Birdsong are both anticipated for this race, and we also expect that Mike Palmberg and Eric Sealy will be there. Jeff Bristow’s appearance may be in doubt and Mark Odgers had some concern over getting his Vern Willhoite #4m tribute body scuffed up after what happened the last time he brought the car. Birdsong has indicated that there will be cars we haven’t seen this year, raising speculation of visits by the Mike and Shane Haussman cars, Mike Henault and Tim Prothro. However, that is only speculation. Birdsong reported that Watsonvillke Speedway legend Jerry Cecil would be there in a good car and added that he was trying to get one of the top drivers on the All Time win list, Rod Poor, to show up. We’ve also heard that legendary announcer Johnny Sass wanted to be a part of this show.

While Merced is having this special night, Antioch is welcoming the California Hardtop Association back through the gates.   There has been some concern about the future of this class, but a show at Antioch in July of 2014, won by Jim Perry Jr., fielded 12 cars. Indications are that car count could reach a dozen or more once again, and there is optimism that a successful night will open the door for more races for this class at Antioch in 2016. In fact, there are some hoping a date might be landed at Merced. Late word just came in that past Merced Cal Mod and Sportsman champion Mike Friesen was bringing his two Hardtops. Mike has been a staunch Hardtop supporter in recent years.

The man responsible for negotiating this race date is none other than Mike McCann. Mike is a past Promoter Of The Year award winner for his work at Cottage Grove Speedway in Oregon, and he received high marks for work he did in promoting tracks in Banks and Eugene, Oregon and Marysville, CA, among other tracks. Mike has been a strong Hardtop supporter, going so far as running the class at Sunset Speedway in Banks, Oregon. He led a group of drivers, including fellow promoter Chuck Prather, to Sacramento and Orland in September of 2002, which is credited with starting the modern Hardtop effort in California.

Prather started a group the next year in Sacramento and Roseville, and Conrad Cavallero started what became the CHA a few years later. At least 20 Hardtops are in racing order in Northern California, and a similar number of cars exists in the Bakersfield area under the Okie Bowl Hardtops name brand. McCann is planning to bring a car and is further sponsoring plaques for heat winners and second and third in the Main Event as promoter John M. Soares is taking care of the winner. McCann is well respected by the drivers in the field and even has the blessing of CHA President John Philbert.

Topping the list of drivers gunning for the winner's plaque is Rob Waldrop. The 1998 Antioch Street Stock champion has won four Hardtop races in recent weeks driving for Bill McLaughlin. Three others who have Antioch wins in the past are Dan Williams, Tommy Thomson and “The Sundrop Kid” Larry Damirz. Damitz used to race Hardtops and raced with Tommy’s father, Chet Thomson. Both of those drivers were champions at Vallejo in the 1960‘s, and Tommy is driving the car that won the last Hardtop race there in the late 1970‘s. Dan Williams hasn’t raced a lot lately, but he has won in the black #6 car in the past. He is also a past front runner in both Dwarf Cars and Mini Stocks.

Placerville should be represented by Dennis Armstrong. Both Armstrong cars could be there, though it’s not known if Jason Armstrong will drive or Ron Rezz, who has rented the car in recent weeks. Zach Frazer, Ken Clifford, Jason Clifford, Steve Cloyes and Dave Mackey are others we anticipate for the Hardtops return to Antioch. Mackey is driving the #1 Bailey Brother’s car, which is a tribute to “The Napa Flyer” Gene Dudley and Darrell Dudley.   We’ve also heard word that past Antioch Limited Late Model and Pure Stock racer George Conner was trying to get Mike McClure to bring his car or maybe even drive it himself.

Since we have a few moments, we'll add the DIRTcar Late Models, who are entering their 13th race of the 14 race season at Antioch Speedway. It seems as if Richard Papenhausen is destined to win the 2015 Antioch championship to defend his 2014 title, but there's a problem. Jeff Decker has somehow managed to hold the lead by 10 points after 12 races. The fact is, Papenhausen has seven wins to Decker's one. If "The Hit Man" is to win this title, he's probably going to have to win one more race. Winning more is a reason he switched to this car during the season. So, can the nine time Top 3 finisher and past Antioch Late Model champion get a win and hold off Papenhausen?

The battle between Danny Malfatti and David Newquist for third in the standings seems to be changing in Malfatti's favor. Newquist has had terrible luck of late, and Malfatti's fifth place finish last time moved him to within eight points of the lead. Newquist even fell to third in points at Chico after last week's disappointment. Can he rebound with a good finish this week? It's definitely needed. Likewise, a DNS for Rob Norris helped Chester Kniss break the fifth place battle wide open. Kniss managed to pass the absent two time winner Troy Foulger after the last race.

We anticipate the Top 5 drivers and Norris and Paul Gigliemoni being in action. Dennis Souza and Terry Kuntz could be there as well. You never know when Foulger will race, but he's fast when he does. After his crash out of the latest event, word was that Anthony Restad may not be back. With a roster of over 20 cars, we see different cars showing up from race to race, keeping the 10-12 car average going. We're not predicting a huge car count, but ten cars should still be possible. The question is, does anybody have anything for Papenhausen?

In closing, Antioch Speedway will have DIRTcar Late Models, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Northern All Stars Hobby Stocks, BCRA Midget Lites and CHA Hardtops on Saturday night. It is Legends Of Merced Speedway night in Merced on Sunday night, and IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Northern All Stars Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks, Limited Late Models and Valley Sportsman cars are all part of the show. For further information, check the official Oval Motorsports Website.

Saving Orland Racing

I have a lot of respect for Mike McCann. The man is a Promoter Of The Year award winner and has done good things for the sport. He is also a man who is not afraid of a race track that is a challenge. I like the underdog myself. Mike said something to me the other day that meant a lot. He said that if he still had Orland Speedway, he'd drag me up there to announce and write. Well, I'd be up for that.

Mike gave it two years there, and it's really a shame it went the way it did. I think the fairgrounds needs to work with that race track, because it benefits the whole thing. The grief he got on his big open wheel night is very disappointing. Mike had to walk away, but another person was brave, or crazy, enough to step up. Adam Zachary is running the show now. I think Adam sees the potential of what is now Sacramento Valley Speedway.

The thing about going to a race track that is down is that there is only one way to go. Orland is a challenge, no doubt about it, but we've seen it work. There has been racing in Orland going back at least to the 1970's. In modern history, Paul & Carol Turner showed us how good Orland racing can be. It was working for them. One year they even had a 27 car Spec Sprint show.

I set foot in that booth, and I bring my "history matters" approach there too. So many names that have mattered there in the past that I will miss them here, but drivers like Mario Romano, Ken Lewis, John Embrey, B.J. Martin, Jimmy Pettit, Josh Jacobo. I have notes on these divers. The idea is that this place has had good racers in the past, and they have good racers now. Steve Martin, Shannon Collins, Ross Vige, Keith Ross, Nick Vidovich, Bill Hopper, Tony Richards, John Kirkpatrick and on and on. Let's build them into stars the fans want to watch.

I think having an announcer who cares matters. Having somebody writing and putting out articles wherever they can get them would help. Now, Orland doesn't draw big numbers, but you have to start some place. It can be built up. Effort will bring results. If there's 100 fans in the stands, we can make it 300. If there were 31 cars in the pits, we can get it to 40. We're building something special.

Look at it this way, we are giving the good people of Orland an entertainment option for a Saturday night. Live entertainment they can't find anywhere else. So, we work on presentation, we work on getting the word out all over town, we do promotions designed to get people through the gates and we build this back to a level that hasn't been seen in years. We make it better.

I know it has been down since the Turners, but the track still lives. My favorite line is, "As long as the gates continue to open, there's a chance for good things to happen." Last week, i see where an enthusiastic Brian Cooper won the race and remarked that he would be back for the next race and would try to bring others with him. Plus, he wants to help sponsor a bigger purse for the Hobby Stocks that night.

That is another key. Community building. We want the racers to feel like part of this community, part of the team. We have to do this together, and everybody matters. This is where my approach as a writer has always been that every driver deserves recognition. When you see your name in writing for a finish or something is said about an accomplishment on the PA, it's a motivating factor. You aren't getting rich as a racer, so this is part of the reward.

Orland has always gone with the entry level type classes, not that anything is cheap these days. Mini Stocks, Mini Trucks and Hobby Stocks are staple classes for this track. The Turners added Spec Sprints and Mike McCann added 600 Mini Sprints. Zachary is keeping all of that going, and I see a lot of potential in all of these divisions. This has potential to be a good little show. It can also be the end of a two race (Chico-Orland) weekend for fans in the area.

In fact, Chico and Orland could even work together on special series, starting with the three classes they have in common, Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks and Spec Sprints. The only limits are the ones we put on ourselves. Anyway, I could see being a part of building up racing at Orland, and no doubt I could be of help. And, there's something nice about watching a car count grow from week to week. Makes me think of 2001 at Merced. Good things can happen in Orland. It's all in the effort that's made.

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

More Detailed Antioch and Merced Race Reviews, Weekend Previews For Both Tracks

First of all...

Just A Kid From The Grandstands: My Time In Auto Racing

Available on Lulu in Paperback And Hard Cover

On Sale At Reduced Price

DCRR Racing Radio Show

Weekend Review Edition

DCRR Racing Radio Show: Episode 56 by GenWhat

Wilson, Nelson, Van Hoff And Corder

Score Second Merced Speedway Wins

Alex Wilson collected his second IMCA Modified feature win of the season Sunday night at Merced Speedway. Wilson took a big step towards winning the track championship with the win, and he won his first feature of the season two weeks ago. Bruce Nelson impressed with his second win of the season in the 20 lap IMCA Sport Mod feature. Austin Van Hoff ran strong in collecting his second Northern All Stars Hobby Stock Main Event win. Chris Corder gained a little more ground on point leader Darren Miguel in the Mini Stock championship race with his second feature win. The Dwarf Cars had a few visitors from the fast Nor Cal Dwarf Car Association, and one of their top stars, Ryan Winter, grabbed the win in the 20 lap Main Event.

The IMCA Modifieds ran two heat races, and A. Wilson won his race ahead of Ryan Porter. It was Joel Myers winning the other heat ahead of Ray Mayer.. Harley Turner had to scratch from his heat race, but the crew worked hard to get the car ready, he made a hot lap before the Sport Modified feature and started last in the IMCA Modified Main Event. Ricky Thatcher and Kyle Wilson shared the front row, but it was A. Wilson grabbing the lead at the start over Thatcher and K. Wilson. Thatcher spun from second for the only caution flag of the race on lap eight. A. Wilson went with the inside for the restart and continued to lead K. Wilson and Porter. A low move in Turn 2 of the 12th lap gained Porter second from K. Wilson. Porter was only able to gain a little ground of A.Wilson, who ran a rapid pace up front. At the checkered flag, it was A. Wilson winning ahead of Porter, K. Wilson and Myers. Turner salvaged a fifth place finish as Thatcher, Nick Viscusi III, Mayer and Chowchilla champion Danny Lukkonen rounded out the finishing order.

Fred Ryland won the first of two IMCA Sport Modified heat races ahead of Nelson, which set the stage for what looked to be the battle for the night. Point leader Josh Hensley won the other six lapper ahead of Mark Odgers. Dwayne Short had the pole for the Main Event as Ryland would start in the third row inside in front of Nelson. Short set the pace at the start ahead of Hensley and Gary Tucker. The lead five cars were swapping positions every lap early on as Tucker made a back stretch pass on Hensley for second on lap three. Nelson was third a lap later. An inside pass in Turn 1 of the fifth lap gained Nelson second with Ryland also making a low pass in Turn 4 of the same lap to take third from Tucker. Nelson slipped underneath Short for the lead on lap nine, and Ryland made a pass in Turn 3 of the same lap to claim second. Ryland was running closely behind Nelson until slowing on the back stretch as Tucker and Short were now second and third. Odgers made a Turn 2 pass on Short for third on lap 14. Nelson set a rapid pace up front and had nearly a half-lap lead on Tucker at the finish. Mark Odgers finished third ahead of Hensley, Short, Marisa Odgers and Ryland.

Robbie Loquaci was back for the first time in several weeks and started off a good night for his team by winning a Hobby Stock heat race ahead of Austin Van Hoff. Point leader Kevin Joaquin won the other heat race ahead of last week’s feature winner, Ryan Hart. Driving his Miami Dolphins #13 Dan Marino tribute car, Jeff Lacy had the pole for the Main Event with Van Hoff starting third. Lacy led early on with Van Hoff and Charlie Hunter in close pursuit. An inside pass in turn 4 of the second lap gained Loquaci third, but he surrendered third to an outside front stretch by Kevin Joaquin on lap four. Last starter Hart was up to fifth and the lead five cars ran closely. An inside move in Turn 4 of the tenth lap gained Van Hoff the lead from Lacy. Joaquin made a move around the outside of Van Hoff on the back stretch to gain the lead on lap 11. Hart was now third, but Joaquin and Hart both suffered right rear flat tires and pitted on lap 12 as Van Hoff regained the lead over Loquaci and Lacy. Van Hoff pulled away to a straightaway advantage in the non stop event for the victory. Loquaci was a season best second, while third was the best finish of the year for Lacy. Jennifer Corder was fourth ahead of John Hensley, Hart, Joaquin, Hunter and Kodie Dean.

The Mini Stock points are close as the season heads down the stretch, and C. Corder gained more on Miguel as he was second in the heat race ahead of Miguel. The win went to Kelly Campanile in a good drive aboard her Ford Pinto. Campanile and C. Corder had the front row for the feature, but Campanile got sideways coming out of Turn 4 on the first lap as C. Corder led Miguel and Jennifer Corder. C. Corder and Miguel pulled away from the pack, leaving J. Corder to try to hold off Campanile for third. An inside pass in Turn 2 of the ninth lap gained Campanile third. Mike Germait made a high pass on J. Corder in Turn 4 on lap 18 to grab fourth. Meanwhile, Miguel was on C. Corder’s back bumper for the final two laps. However, C. Corder stayed cool under pressure and picked up a much needed victory ahead of Miguel. Campanile was assessed a penalty for a rough driving call after the races, giving Germait third ahead of J. Corder, Jimmy Stockton and Alica Caldwell. Campanile was scored last and should take over third in the standings with the finish.

NCDCA competitors Winter and Scott Dahlgren ran 1-2 in their Dwarf Car heat race, while Buddy Olschowka grabbed a heat win in his first visit ahead of point leader Mike Drake. The two heat race winners had the front row for the Main Event, and Winter raced into the lead over Dahlgren and Olshowka. Olshowka made a front stretch pass on Dalhgren for second on lap seven, and Dalhgren pitted a lap later. At that point, Drake was running third ahead of Chuck Weir. Winter ran a flawless race up front and was rewarded with a victory ahead of Olshowka, Drake, Weir, Alan Heeney, Chester Kniss Jr., Tim Reeder and Dahlgren.

This Sunday night is Legend’s Night at Merced Speedway, and six divisions are on the card for a big night of racing that should include appearances from some past greats from the track’s history. IMCA Modifieds headline the show along with IMCA Sport Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks, Limited Late Models and the Valley Sportsman division. For further information, check the official Oval Motorsports Website.

Crowell, Giuliani and Oreta Continue To Roll

At Antioch Speedway

Aaron Crowell continues to run strong as he posted an impressive victory in the 20 lap IMCA Modified Main Event Saturday night at Antioch Speedway. The win was the second straight for the 2004 division champion Crowell aboard his GRT Chassis. Watsonville point leader Anthony Giuliani made it three wins in his last three appearances in the 20 lap IMCA Sport Modified Main Event. Point leader Kimo Oreta clinched his third straight 20 lap Hobby Stock championship with his seventh 20 lap Main Event win.

The IMCA Modifieds ran two heat races with Crowell holding off IMCA State of California point leader Alex Wilson to win his heat race. Nick Viscusi III won his six lapper ahead of Darrell Hughes II. Heat winners Crowell and Viscusi shared the front row of the Main Event with Crowell racing into the lead at the drop of the green flag. A low move in Turn 3 of the third lap gained Wilson second from Viscusi. Four time champion Troy Foulger lost a drive shaft for a lap three caution flag. Crowell chose the outside and continued to lead A. Wilson and Viscusi on the restart. Hughes slipped past Viscusi for third a lap later. Crowell and Wilson began to pull away from the pack as the rest of the race went caution free. Despite pressure from Wilson down the stretch, Crowell kept his cool and scored a satisfying victory. Hughes was a strong third ahead of Viscusi as Shawn DeForest held off point leader Scott Busby and Bobby Motts Jr. for fifth. Josh Combs was eighth as Trent Wentworth and Adam Elby rounded out the Top 10.

It was an all Ryland affair in the IMCA Sport Modified heat races as Patti Ryland won her heat race ahead of Giuliani. Point leader Fred Ryland won his heat ahead of Chuck Golden. Giuliani started in the third row of the Main Event, and outside front row starter Trevor Clymens set the early pace ahead of Al Johnson and P. Ryland. Both P. Ryland and Giuliani slipped past Johnson for second and third on lap four before a caution flag flew for a Tim Hammett spin in Turn 4. Clymens stayed with the outside, but P. Ryand beat him back to the line to lead that lap. Clymens came back strong on the outside to regain the lead a lap later as F. Ryland took third from Giuliani. However, Giuliani moved back by F. Ryland for third on lap eight and made a low move in Turn 4 of the ninth lap to take second from P. Ryland. Giuliani used the low groove in Turn 2 to take the lead from Clymens on lap 11. Hammett spun once again for a lap 13 caution flag. Giuliani picked the outside and led P. Ryland on the restart as Clymens spun in Turn 2. Clymens kept going without a yellow flag. As Giuliani was collecting the win ahead of P. Ryland, F. Ryland made a last turn pass on Paul Mulder to finish third. Mulder settled for fourth ahead of Al Sotomayor, Johnson, Clymens, Hammett and Golden.

Making his first start in a car he just bought, Tony McCown won his Hobby Stock heat race ahead of Natalie Perry. Past champion Melisa Myers returned and won her heat race ahead of Oreta. Danny Jones had the outside front row starting position for the Main Event and raced into the early lead ahead of Michael Cooper and Oreta. Working lap five, Jones began to slow noticeably in Turn 2 as Cooper raced into the lead. The lead five cars were bunched up, and Calvin Louis hit the wall and spun in Turn 3 for a lap five caution flag. Cooper chose the outside on the restart, but Oreta raced by for the lead. Cooper continued to run second ahead of Cameron Swank, but fourth row starter Myers passed Swank for third on lap 10. A lap 12 caution flag flew for a Joey Ridgeway spin in Turn 4. Oreta went with the outside for the restart and continued to lead Cooper as C. Swank grabbed third from Myers. Ridgeway lost a wheel in Turn 3 and Jordan Swank ran it over as the yellow flag was displayed on lap 16. Oreta again stayed with the outside and remained in command ahead of Cooper. Hansen rode the outside around C. Swank for third. C. Swank got out of shape in Turn 4 of the 17th lap and surrendered fourth to Perry. However, there was no stopping Oreta as he sped home to victory. Cooper was a strong second in front of Hansen, Perry, C. Swank, Frank Furtado, J. Swank, McCown, Ridgeway and Jones.

Racing returns next Saturday night with DIRTcar Late Models headlining the show along with IMCA Sport Modifieds, Northern All Stars Hobby Stocks, BCRA Midget Lites and CHA Hardtops. For further information, check out the official Oval Motorsports Website.

Macedo Returns For Spec Sprint Victory,

Hynes Wins First At Antioch Speedway

Making his first start of the season, Billy Macedo impressed with a win in the 20 lap Northern All Stars Wingless Spec Sprint Main Event Saturday night at Antioch Speedway. Macedo is a two time division champion, and he won by a comfortable margin ahead of point leader Kyle Bakkie. Mike Hynes gained the lead after Lori Brown had mechanical issues and would win his first 20 lap Limited Late Model Main Event of the season.

The Wingless Spec Sprints ran two heat races with four time feature winner Jimmy Perry III winning his heat race ahead of two time winner Jeff Lee. A two time feature winner this season, Roy Fisher won his six lap heat race ahead of three time winner Bakkie. Macedo had a front row start for the Main Event, but fellow front row starter Alan Miranda set the early pace ahead of Macedo and Bakkie. A low move in Turn 4 of the fourth lap gained Macedo the lead. Miranda set a good pace in second, but Bakkie gained ground on him each lap. Macedo had a straightaway advantage by the halfway point of the race as Perry settled into fifth behind rookie Marcus Smith. An outside move on the back stretch of the 16th lap gained Bakkie second from Miranda. James East brought out a lap 18 caution flag to wipe out Macedo’s commanding lead. However, Macedo led the restart and would lead the final two laps for the impressive victory. Bakkie was a strong second ahead of Miranda, Smith, Perry, Fisher, Jeremy Newberry, Lee, Rick Panfili and Peter Carlotto.

Hynes started his night off right with a Limited Late Model heat race win ahead of Mark Garner. Lori Brown made her return in a big way by winning her heat race ahead of Mike Gustafson. During intermission, Mark Garner was joined by his ailing father, Antioch Speedway Legend Jerry Garner, as he was honored for clinching the 2015 Merced Speedway Limited Late Model championship. The heat race winners had the front row for the Main Event, and Brown would race into the early lead ahead of Hynes and Gustafson. Brown had blown a motor a few months ago, and this was the past division champion’s first start with her new power plant. Garner and Jim Freethy made this a close five car battle up front, and point leader Larry Damitz soon made it a six car battle. Hynes kept taking looks to the inside of Brown, but she came back strong on the outside. Brown suddenly fell off the pace on lap 14 and was running slowly when she stalled in Turn 1 and was hit by Eric Berendsen for a lap 16 caution flag. Hynes suddenly found himself in the lead and chose the outside for the restart. Freethy rode the outside into second and began to pressure Hynes. However, 2014 point runner up Hynes drove a good race the rest of the way and scored a much needed victory. Freethy settled for second ahead of Gustafson, Damitz, Garner, Ryan Cherezian, Brown, Berendsen, John Evans and John Keith.

Racing returns next Saturday night with DIRTcar Late Models headlining the show along with IMCA Sport Modifieds, Northern All Stars Hobby Stocks, BCRA Midget Lites and CHA Hardtops. For further information, check out the official Oval Motorsports Website.

Cooper Flies To Orland Victory,

Richards Wins Fourth Straight

Making a charge from the back of the pack, Chico regular Brian Cooper won the 20 lap Hobby Stock Main Event at Sacramento Valley Speedway in Orland Saturday night. Tony Richards collected his fourth straight 20 lap Wingless Sprint Main Event win. Donovan Chilton won the 20 lap Mini Stock feature, and Ross Vige won the Mini Truck 20 lapper.

Shannon Collins and Todd Cooper picked up the wins in the Hobby Stock heat races. Unfortunately, T. Cooper fell out early in the Main Event. Brian Cooper started in the back as Paul Stevens and Collins battled at the front early on. B. Cooper made it up to second by the halfway point of the race and began to reel in Stevens. B. Cooper made his winning pass around lap 15 and went on to the impressive victory. Stevens settled for second ahead of Collins, Bill Hampton, point leader Steve Martin, Earl Adams, Cody Bundy, Rich Hood and J. Cooper. Defending champion Martin holds a 35 point lead over Stevens with Collins 25 points behind Stevens in third.

Past Wingless Sprint champion Tony Richards continues to roll. He started things off with a win in his heat race as third ranked Mark Michelet was the other heat winner. Richards continued his dominance with his fourth straight feature victory. Josh Tucker grabbed his second straight podium finish in second as Jeremy Wilson was a solid third. Michelet and Ryan Owens rounded out the Top 5 as point leader Bill Hopper, David Johnson and Jeffery Crossman completed the finishing order. Hopper’s lead over Richards is now 20 points with Michelet a distant third.

Kevin Pendergrass and “Rollin” Olin Crane won the two Mini Stock heat races, but their luck turned bad come Main Event time. Donovan Chilton made a successful season debut by winning the Main Event. Nick Vidovich protected his point lead by holding off rival Tom Davis for the second place finish. Sean Perry made a season debut in fourth ahead of John Kirkpatrick, Pendergrass and Crane. Vidovich leads defending champion Davis by 20 points in a close championship battle as Kirkpatrick is 50 points behind Davis in third.

Ross Vige won the Mini Truck heat race and backed it up with his second Main Event victory of the season. Dan Webster equaled his season best effort with a second place finish ahead of William Fogle and point leader Keith Ross. Ross has a commanding 110 point lead over the tied Vige and Webster.

Racing resumes at Sacramento Valley Speedway in Orland on August 29 with Hobby Stocks headlining along with Mini Stocks, Mini Trucks, 600 Mini Sprints and 250 Mini Sprints. For further information, check out the official Sacramento Valley Speedway Website.

Late Models And Hardtops Highlight

Saturday's Show At Antioch Speedway

The DIRTcar Late Models return to Antioch Speedway this Saturday night for their 13th of 14 scheduled appearances. These high powered race cars have been putting on a good show all season long. Also featured on the five division program will be the IMCA Sport Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, BCRA Midget Lites and California Hardtop Association Hardtops.

Despite winning seven of the 12 races, Richard Papenhausen is still trailing Jeff Decker by 10 points in the Late Model championship battle. However, Papenhausen leads the DIRTcar Regional point race, which is worth $2500 if he can win it. Consistency is what has assisted Decker this season as the past Late Model champion at three tracks, including Antioch, has only failed to finish inside the Top 5 one time in 12 races. Decker has one win and nine Top 3 finishes, but he may need a second win if he is to hold off the hard charging Papenhausen.

David Newquist has been struggling lately, and he now finds himself leading Danny Malfatti by just eight points in a close battle for third. Malfatti finished fifth at the most recent race. The two drivers actually race twice a week as Malfatti is maintaining a Top 10 Sprint Car point effort at Watsonville and Newquist is third in points at Chico. These two drivers have been battling for third in the standings at Antioch since the season began.

Chester Kniss managed to increase his lead in the race for fifth in the standings after mechanical issues ended the night early for rookie Rob Norris. The Top 6 drivers in the standings are anticipated for Saturday along with one time winner Paul Guglielmoni, Terry Kuntz, Dennis Souza and others. Antioch Speedway is the only track in Northern California offering up a Late Model show on dirt, and there are usually 10-12 cars competing.

Fred Ryland was in the thick of the battle for another IMCA Sport Modified win last week when more problems came his way. His point lead at the track isn't in jeopardy, but wins at this stage of the season will go a long way towards boosting him to second in the IMCA National standings. While Fred was having his struggles, wife Patti Ryland did a good job in grabbing another second place finish. Patti is well on her way to "Rookie Of The Year" honors and is also Top 5 in the standings.

Al Johnson and one time winner Paul Mulder are tied for second in points and it's anybody's guess where this will end. Mulder moved back into a tie after his fourth place finish last week. Trevor Clymens seemed to have second in hand last week before a late spin put an end to that, but there was no stopping Watsonville point leader Anthony Giuliani from notching his third straight win. We may just see him again this week as he has been having a blast at Antioch. Others to watch for this week include Chuck Golden, Tim Hammett and Al Sotomayor.

Kimo Oreta has clinched his third straight Hobby Stock championship following his seventh victory. It was also the 20th win of his Hobby Stock career at Antioch. Oreta is planning a move up to Limited Late Models after his impressive run in this division. The battle for second is anything but settled, but Michael Cooper staked his claim on second after his season best second place finish last week. Cooper leads brother in law Jordan Swank by one point and Danny Jones by 20 after Jones lost power after leading the first five laps last week. Jones has seen his luck go from bad to worse in recent weeks.

Natalie Perry, meanwhile, has been turning things around in recent weeks. Perry collected a second in her heat race and a fourth in the Main Event last week. She has a solid hold on sixth in the standings and could make a run at fifth if a few breaks go her way. However, the steady Frank Furtado won't make that easy as he had a good run in sixth last week. Others we'll be watching for include recent fifth place finisher Cameron Swank, Tony McCown and Calvin Louis Jr.

When Antioch Speedway opened for weekly racing in 1961, the popular division of the time was the Hardtop division. Those old Coupes and Sedans were headlining shows at tracks up and down the state with huge car counts. Vallejo Speedway ran their last Hardtop races in 1979. North of California, Hardtops were still being raced, but the class didn't make a return to California until 2002. In recent years, Antioch has scheduled a race or two each season for the popular nostalgia class.

The California Hardtop Association had this race added to their schedule about a month ago after promoter John M. Soares was approached by Mike McCann. McCann has been a long time booster of this division. The division has been running at tracks north of Antioch in recent weeks, but many drivers expressed an interest in getting back to Antioch. Last season, a field of a dozen cars competed in a late July visit with open wheel veteran Jim Perry Jr. scoring the win.

In recent weeks, long time Antioch racer Rob Waldrop has chalked up four victories on the circuit driving the Bill McLaighlin car. The 1998 Antioch Street Stock champion would love a win at his home track, but there will be others to contend with. Tommy Thomson, Dan Williams and Larry Damitz have all won races in this division at Antioch in the past and are planning to compete this Saturday night. Others to watch for include Steve Cloyes, Ken Clifford, Jason Clifford, Dennis Armstromg, Dave Mackey and McCann.

The BCRA Midget Lites are back again this week. Back in April, Cori Andrews impressed as she won the Main Event. Scott Males picked up a second in a competitive field two weeks ago in Placerville, and the Australian may just be the driver to beat this week. Craig Dillard leads Brian Corso by 60 points in the title battle. Scott Kinney and his son Hunter Kinney are anticipated this week, along with Chris Hansen. BCRA has been sanctioning racing for over 75 years, and the Midget Lites always put on a good show.

The racing this week should be exciting from flag to flag. Antioch Speedway is located within the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds, 1201 W. 10th St. in Antioch, Calif. Admission is $15 for adults, $12 for senior citizens, and $10 for children 6-12. Children under six years old are admitted free. A family four pack of tickets is $40. Secured parking is offered by the Fairgrounds for $5. Racing begins at 6:30 p.m.

Antioch Speedway Top 5 In Points At A Glance

DirtCar Late Models

Jeff Decker     598
Richard Papenhausen 588
Dave Newquist    480
Danny Malfatti    472
Chester Kniss    392

IMCA Sport Modified

Fred Ryland    492
Paul Mulder    432
Al Johnson     432
Chuck Golden     398
Patti Ryland     390

Hobby Stocks

Kimo Oreta     996
Michael Cooper    712
Jordan Swank    711
Dan Jones     692
Frank Furtado    660

BCRA Midget Lites

Craig Dillard    774
Brian Corso    714
Chris Hansen    682
Scott Males    667
Scott Kinney    622

Lots Of Excitement On Tap For Legend's Night

At Merced Speedway

This Sunday night at Merced Speedway is being billed as Legends Of Merced Speedway night at the races. It's a night when the track pays tribute to some of the many great competitors who have made the track so special. A few of those legendary drivers will be on hand Sunday night. A packed schedule finds the IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks, Limited Late Models and Valley Sportsman divisions all in action.

After winning his second IMCA Modified Main Event of the season last week, Alex Wilson seems to be headed for the track championship. Wilson is a very dedicated racer who has a commanding lead in the IMCA State of California point race. His brother Kyle Wilson won that title last season and is a three time feature winner at Merced this year. K. Wilson is just 15 points behind Ricky Thatcher in the battle for third in points.

When we speak of families at Merced Speedway, the Porter family comes to mind. Ryan Porter has won IMCA Modified features on multiple occasions this year and was the youngest Hobby Stock champion in the track's history. His father Tim is a Cal Mod champion in the past. Grandfather Wayne Porter raced Sportsman cars in the 1970's, and great grandfather Vern Porter raced Hardtops and was the track prep man back in the 1950's. Legendary announcer Johnny Sass was there to announce all four of them through the years. Ryan is anticipated for this race.

The track has seen eight different winners in the IMCA Modified division this season, and there's still a chance for a new name or two to be added to the list. Reports out of Winton are that four time division champion Ramie Stone is set to make his return to the division in a car formerly owned by cousin Paul Stone. Others we are watching for include Bob Williamson, Ray Mayer, Derek Nance and Bill Egleston.

Bruce "Bubba" Nelson was flying around the track last week as the two time Hobby Stock champion won his second IMCA Sport Modified Main Event of the season. He was chased across the line by another two time winner, Gary Tucker. It's anticipated that Nelson may return this week and either Gary or son Nick Tucker will race as well. From week to week, the roster seems to change as some very competitive racers show up when scheduling works for them.

Josh Hensley is in control in the track point race, but he would love to grab a second win. Dwayne Short has been running hard in an effort to hold off the threat of one time winner Mark Odgers. Short leads Odgers by eight points in the battle for second. Fourth ranked Fred Ryland is a six time winner at Merced and has been showing up in an effort to aid his third place IMCA National point status. He is anticipated this week as well.

Quietly, Austin Van Hoff has been having a great season. The talented second generation racer finished second in Hobby Stock points at Chowchilla this season, and his second win of the season last week gave him a stronger hold on third in points at Merced. Kevin Joaquin seems to be on his way to track championships at both Merced and Chowchilla. Joaquin had just taken the lead from Van Hoff in last week's feature when he suffered a right rear flat tire and had to pit.

We hadn't seen Robbie Loquaci in several weeks, but he came back in a big way last week with a heat race win and second in the Main Event . It was a season best effort for the former Chowchilla Mini Stock champion as it was for third place finisher Jeff Lacy in his Dan Marino Miami Dolphins tribute car. We may see these two again this week, and others we're anticipating include second ranked Jennifer Corder, the Josh Hensley car, Dexter Long and Ryan Hart.

Darren Miguel has his hands full trying to hold off 2014 champion Chris Corder in the hotly contested Mini Stock championship battle. Despite 11 wins for point leader Miguel, Corder's second win of the season last week cut the lead to just ten points. These two drivers have had an entertaining battle all season long. Corder has stayed in this battle through consistency, but his move over to the Alex Odishoo car may be what wins him the championship if he can pull it off.

Kelly Campanile impressed with a heat race win last week, and she has moved into third in the standings. Cars seem to be coming out of the woodwork. Alica Caldwell was a welcome return after her crash at Chowchilla back in May forced her to get another car. Teammates Mike Germait and Jimmy Stockton showed up late last week, and Germait ended up third in the Main Event. Others we could see this week include Jeff Amos, Natalie Waldrop and Jennifer Corder in the last car built by her dad, who recently passed away. Jennifer was the 2014 runner up in this division and finished fourth last week.

Mark Garner was honored in a special ceremony at Antioch last week for clinching the Merced Limited Late Model championship. Mark has dedicated the season to his ailing father, long time racer Jerry Garner, who was there with him during the ceremony. Due to his father's health, it's unknown if Mark will be there this week. We do anticipate second ranked Buddy Thatcher and third place Roy Hart Jr. will be on hand.

The Valley Sportsman division returns for Legend's Night. Marcus Lung is the current point leader. Kenny Birdsong is a distant second. His car has been at the track for every race, but Chris Birdsong ran it twice. Kenny leads Jeff Bristow by just 14 points in the race for second. Other possible competitors include Mike Palmberg and Eric Sealy, but Kenny Birdsong has been working to try and get others to the track. He recently reported that there will be some cars in action this week that we haven't seen all season.

It should be an exciting night of racing in Merced. Merced Speedway is located inside the Merced County Fairgrounds, 900 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way in Merced, Calif. Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for senior citizens and $8 for children 6-12. A family four-pack of tickets admits two children and two adults for $32. Racing begins at 6 p.m. on Sunday. The grandstand opens at 4:30 p.m.

Merced Speedway Top 5 In Points At A Glance

IMCA Modified

Alex Wilson     543
Bill Egleston     477
Ricky Thatcher     436
Kyle Wilson     422
Bob Williamson     366

IMCA Sport Modified

Josh Hensley     676
Dwayne Short     515
Mark Odgers     507
Fred Ryland     428
Bruce Nelson     404

Hobby Stock

Kevin Joaquin    824
Jennifer Corder    650
Austin Van Hoff    522
Kristie Shearer    443
Dexter Long    400

Mini Stocks

Darren Miguel     780
Chris Corder    770
Kelly Campanile    384
Natalie Waldrop    346
Kevin Lockerby    323
Dennis Copus    323

Limited Late Model

Mark Garner    442
Buddy Thatcher    252
Roy Hart Jr.    194
Scott Van Gelder 189
Peggy Sue Jarred 144

Valley Sportsman

Marcus Lung     272
Kenny Birdsong    200
Jeff Bristow    186
Mike Palmberg    150
Eric Sealy    112

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Alex Wilson Pads Merced Speedway Point Lead With Victory

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Alex Wilson Pads Merced Speedway Point Lead With Victory

Alex Wilson used a front row start to lead every lap in winning the 20 lap IMCA Modified Main Event Sunday night at Merced Speedway. The win was the second of the season for Wilson, and he used it to increase his point lead at Merced and in the IMCA State point race. Wilson came up on traffic late, but even that didn’t slow him down as he scored an impressive victory. Ryan Porter won a late race duel with Kyle Wilson for a second place finish.

Bruce “Bubba” Nelson captured his second IMCA Sport Modified feature victory of the season. The lead five drivers ran closely early on as Dwayne Short led the first five laps. Nelson started back in the fourth row, but he used an inside pas in Turn 3 to grab the lead on lap six. Nelson was challenged briefly by Fred Ryland before Ryland pitted. Nelson won by a wide margin in the non stop event. Gary Tucker was second just ahead of Mark Odgers.

Austin Van Hoff won his second 20 lap Hobby Stock Main Event. Van Hoff followed the surprising leader Jeff Lacy very closely for nine laps before making an inside pass in Turn 4 to grab the lead. Point leader Kevin Joaquin made an outside pass on the back stretch a lap later to take the lead from Van Hoff only to lose the lead on the next lap with a flat tire. Third place Ryan Hart also pitted with a flat as Van Hoff held the lead once more. Van Hoff pulled away to a commanding straightaway advantage at the checkered flag. Robbie Loquaci and Lacy enjoyed season best finishes in second and third, respectively.

Nor Cal Dwarf Car visitor Ryan Winter won the 20 lap Dwarf Car Main Event to become the fifth different winner in six races. Winter led all the way in posting the victory ahead of another first time visitor, Buddy Olshowka, and point leader Mike Drake.

Chris Corder won his second 20 lap Mini Stock Main Event of the season. Corder led all the way, but point leader Darren Miguel pulled onto his bumper with two laps to go. However, Corder continued his mission to try to regain the point lead as he collected his second win in the last three races. Miguel settled for second ahead of Mike Germait.

Racing resumes at Merced Speedway next Sunday night with a six division show that is being billed as Legends Of Merced Speedway night. IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks., Valley Sportsman and Limited Late Models are all on the night’s schedule.

Sunday August 16, 2015
Race Results

IMCA Modifieds
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Alex Wilson, Joel Myers. Main Event (20 Laps)-A. Wilson, Ryan Porter, Kyle Wilson, Myers, Danny Lukkonen.

IMCA Sport Mods
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Fred Ryland, Josh Hensley. Main Event (20 Laps)-Bruce Nelson, Gary Tucker, Mark Odgers, Hensley, Dwayne Short.

Hobby Stocks
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Robbie Loquaci, Kevin Joaquin. Main Event (20 Laps)-Austin Van Hoff, Loquaci, Jeff Lacy, Jennifer Corder, John Hensley.

Mini Stocks
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Kelly Campanile. Main Event (20 Laps)-Chris Corder, Darren Miguel, Mike Germait, Jennifer Corder Jimmy Stockton.

Dwarf Cars
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Ryan Winter, Buddy Olschowka. Main Event (20 Laps)-Winter, Olschowka, Mike Drake, Chuck Weir, Alan Heeney.

Saturday, August 15, 2015

Crowell Goes Flag To Flag In Second Straight Victory At Antioch Speedway

First of all...

Just A Kid From The Grandstands: My Time In Auto Racing

Available on Lulu in Paperback And Hard Cover

On Sale At Reduced Price

Don's California Racing Recollections: Best Of The Blog And Beyond

Available via print on demand at Lulu in Hard Cover or Paperback

Also, what could be a series of informative books...

Short Track History Project at Gofundme

Additional info on the Short Track History Project HERE

DCRR Racing Media And PR Consulting HERE

Crowell Goes Flag To Flag In Second Straight Victory At Antioch Speedway

Aaron Crowell collected his second straight 20 lap IMCA Modified victory Saturday night at Antioch Speedway. A past champion in the division, Crowell had a front row start in his GRT Modified, and he led every lap for the victory. The win still didn’t come easy for Crowell as Merced Speedway and State point leader Alex Wilson gave him a serious challenge down the stretch. In the closing laps, Darrell Hughes II made it a close three car battle. However, Crowell would prevail at the checkered flag. Wilson settled for second ahead of Hughes.

Anthony Giuliani won his third 20 lap IMCA Sport Modified Main Event in his last three visits. Giuliani ran a patient race, coming from the third row to second by lap nine. Trevor Clymens led from the start, but an inside pass in Turn 2 of the 11th lap gained Giuliani the lead. Giuliani ran strong up front, and Clymens spun from second in Turn 2 on lap 15. Giuliani led the rest of the way for the well earned victory with Patti Ryalnd collecting another second place finish. Point leader Fred Ryland just beat Paul Mulder to the line for a third place finish.

Two time Wingless Spec Sprint champion Billy Macedo returned in a big way by winning that division’s 20 lap Main Event. Macedo had a front row start, but Alan Miranda led the first three laps. Macedo made an inside pass in Turn 4 on lap four to grab the lead. Once Macedo had the lead, he was never seriously threatened as he scored the impressive victory. Point leader Kyle Bakkie made a late move around Miranda on the back stretch to finish second.

Mike Hynes finally broke through to win his first 20 lap Limited Late Model Main Event of the season. Hynes ran behind Lori Brown for 14 laps before Brown slowed with a steering issue. Hynes led the restart with Jim Freethy shadowing his every move. However, Hynes would not let his first win of the season get away as he won ahead of Freethy and a fast closing Larry Damitz.

Kimo Oreta pretty much clinched his third straight Hobby Stock championship with his seventh 20 lap Main Event win of the season. Danny Jones led the first five laps before slowing with a motor problem. That gave the lead to Michael Cooper, but Cooper surrendered the lead on the restart to Oreta. Despite a few caution flags during the final 15 laps, Oreta remained the leader and would score the impressive victory. Cooper enjoyed a season best finish in second ahead of past division champion Melissa Myers.

Racing resumes next Saturday night at Antioch Speedway with a five division show that will include DIRTcar Late Models, IMCA Sport Modifieds, BCRA Midget Lites, Hobby Stocks and CHA Hardtops.

Race Results
Saturday Night, August 15, 2015

IMCA Modified
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Aaron Crowell, Nick Viscusi III. Main Event (20 Laps)-Crowell, Alex Wilson, Darrell Hughes II, Viscusi, Shawn DeForest.

IMCA Sport Modified
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Patti Ryland, Fred Ryland. Main Event (20 Laps)-Anthony Giuliani, P. Ryland, F. Ryland, Paul Mulder, Al Sotomayor.

Wingless Spec Sprint
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Jimmy Perry III, Roy Fisher. Main Event (20 laps)-Billy Macedo, Kyle Bakkie, Alan Miranda, Marcus Smith, Perry.

Limited Late ModelHeat Winners (6 Laps)-Mike Hynes, Lori Brown. Main Event (20 Laps)-Hynes, Jim Freethy, Larry Damitz, Mike Gustafson, Mark Garner.
Hobby Stock
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Tony McCown, Melissa Myers. Main Event (20 Laps)-Kimo Oreta, Michael Cooper, Myers, Natalie Perry, Cameron Swank.

Thursday, August 13, 2015

Pit Stops

First of all...

Just A Kid From The Grandstands: My Time In Auto Racing

Available on Lulu in Paperback And Hard Cover

On Sale At Reduced Price

The Bakersfield Speedway segment of the Bako Motorsports Power Hour is viewable HERE

The Lumberjack's Restaurant Super Stock Main Event from Petaluma Speedway last week can be viewed HERE

Heat race coverage from Bakersfield Speedway last week can be viewed HERE

Highlights from the race at Marysville on August 1 can be viewed HERE

DCRR Racing Radio Show
Weekend Preview Edition

DCRR Racing Radio Show: Episode 55 by GenWhat

Pit Stops

Merced Speedway again welcomed the Dwarf Cars last Sunday with word that there are drivers looking at coming to the track. Word in the pits before the races was that South Bay Dwarf Car championship contender Gene "Punky" Pires was planning to race and that others from that group have expressed interest. Last season, the two decent car counts achieved were accomplished due to SBDCA support, so it might not be a bad idea to call them up in the future to get some support.

Mike Corsaro admitted when he showed up that he had no idea there were dates booked at Merced. The Top 5 Antioch competitor and most recent winner there enjoys racing at Merced. Back in June, Mike actually took a checkered flag in first in what was seen as merely a shakedown run for the division. However, the only driver of the six to pull into the infield after the race was Mike Drake. Officials elected to disqualify the other five, which proved to be a controversial decision. Oval Motorsports intervened on behalf of the other five drivers and saw to it that they were all paid purse money that night.

Points are actually being calculated, though it's unknown if this will be an officially recognized championship. Corasro certainly helped his case for a possible Top 3 run when he scored the win Sunday night ahead of point leader Mike Drake. Alan Heeney led early and was second until he spun in Turn 4 at the halfway point of the race. Heeney, third place finisher Lionel Francis and 14 year old rookie Chester "Buddy" Kniss Jr. were also making their first Merced starts of the year. Young Kniss was a lead lap fourth in a solid effort.

Drake is there for a reason. He wants to help establish a Dwarf Car division at his home track. He actually ran the Sport Mod division last season before switching it up with a Dwarf Car. He run's the #7n car as one of the Nor Cal Dwarf Car regulars, and he's currently leading the rookie race in that group. A "Rookie Of The Year" honor and a track championship would be a nice way to get things started. But, he's not just a champion on attendance. He does have two feature wins to his credit.

The Dwarf Cars are in Merced again this Sunday, but who might be there is unknown. Drake is likely to be there. Chuck Weir lives in Merced, but he lost his fuel cell early in last week's race. We'll see if he gets that situated and returns to try to protect second in points. Kniss might want to be there to make more laps, but school has just started too. It may be that he will wait until the next Antioch race. We'll just have to see who comes. At one time, drivers were lobbying to make this a special race in honor of Joe Reeder.

Antioch Speedway has two pet projects this season as they continue to work on establishing Late Models under DIRTcar sanctioning and Winged 360 Sprint Cars. In this day and age, where promotional dollars are tight, Oval Motorsports believes in both divisions and the value they still have with the fans. It has been a bit of a struggle at times getting the Sprint Car thing going, but Late Models have had no less than 10 cars for 11 of the 13 races held so far.

One of the more enthusiastic racers in the Sprint Car ranks is the driver leading the point race, Shawn Arriaga. Shawn put together a second car in the hopes of having his father, former San Jose Super Modified racer Fernando "Fred" Arriaga, out there racing with him. Unfortunately, he hurt the motor making practice laps a week earlier and had to postpone those plans. Actually, Shawn has expressed interest in possibly building a Wingless Spec Sprinter and having his dad race that car in 2016.

Saturday night was a night for Shawn to make a big statement, and he made it emphatically. He wants this championship. After winning his heat race, he proceeded to dominate the Main Event in impressive fashion. After quite possibly the most impressive drive by anybody in this division all season, Arriaga now holds a 20 point lead, but he knows not to get comfortable just yet. That lead is over two time Petaluma and past Antioch champion Art McCarthy, who finished fifth. If anybody is capable of turning it around in one night, it's Art.

The Haulot family made their presence known Saturday night. Young Jake Haulot has two wins this season and ranks third in points. Jake was stuck back in the fifth row of the non stop feature and managed to finish second. It's no surprise that he's this good. Jake and his father, former Late Model racer Danny Haulot, go everywhere they can to race. Danny believes this is what is helping his son get better. At this point, the focus is on just getting lots of seat time and not chasing points. In other Haulot news, Danny has indicated that we may see Matthew Haulot in a Sprint Car before the year is up.

Meanwhile, Jeremy Burt was back at Antioch. He is currently second in points at Marysville and a champion there. His home track was dark and he passed up Placerville to race at Antioch. He was the first winner on the expanded track back in 2009, and he won twice. He enjoys coming to Antioch whenever he can. Traffic was a factor in losing second to Haulot late in the race, but he still brought it home a respectable third.

One of the cars in traffic was Ricky Brophy. Considering the struggles the second generation racer has had in getting to the finish line this season, he's happy he managed to finish at all. Motor troubles of all kinds have plagued him, and he's missed races waiting on the motor. Saturday was the best he's looked this season, and that was encouraging for the young college student. Ricky is reportedly planning to make one more start at Petaluma before pulling the motor. He's not against racing the final Antioch race, but his studies take a priority. Either way, he says it's likely he'll be there supporting Shawn Arriaga anyway.

Papenhausen Leading Charge

For $2500 DIRTcar Late Model Prize

The Late Models never fail to put on a good show at Antioch, and Saturday was no exception. Richard Papenhausen and Jeff Decker continue to have a close track championship battle despite Papenhausen having many more wins. While Decker claims to not be watching the points, the Papenhausen team is very interested in points. It's just the UMP DIRTcar Regional points they are looking at. This isn't mentioned much at Antioch, but there's a tidy sum of money on the line this year.

One of the factors in Oval Motorsports securing the DIRTcar sanctioning and booking the ambitious schedule was to give the drivers a little pot of gold to pursue at the end of the season's rainbow. In this case, it's a $2500 championship, and Papenhausen was leading that by 3 points going into the latest race. As usual, the Papenhausen Construction/Mohawk Trading Co. Warrior Chassis was running strong last week, and Richard won both his heat race and the Main Event. While he leads the Region, he trails Decker by just 10 points at Antioch with two races remaining.

In a heat race earlier, it was Terry Kuntz collecting the victory over Dennis Souza for his first win. Kuntz is the teammate of Paul Guglielmoni, and, like Travis Meyerhoff, he had no prior experience before getting a Late Model. Kuntz had a fourth place run going in the Main Event, behind eventual third place finisher Guglielmoni, when he had to make a pit stop.

If the Souza name sounds familiar, it may be because his brother is Ron Souza, a past Top 20 Street Stock racer at Watsonville in the early 1990's. Back then, there were quite a few Street Stock racers making the trip from Pescadero along with Souza. This included the hard charging Ralph Sampson, Bob Prigan, Jason Prigan and Mike Phipps, among others. Dennis decided to jump into racing in a Late Model, and the Top 10 ranked competitor is having fun,. Even a rollover earlier this year hasn't kept him down. It wasn't a hard crash and didn't do too much damage to the car. Dennis didn't finish last week, but it's a good bet that he'll be back in his blue #83 car.

Nance Returns To Merced Speedway IMCA Modifieds,

Ramie Stone Is Next

Merced Speedway welcomed Derek Nance back into action in the IMCA Modifieds last Sunday night. Nance is the last of the Merced area racers to compete in a Late Model, which is a class he loved. Sport Mod up and comer Tm Cecil had a hand in getting Nance thinking about coming back to begin with. Derek is actually the third owner of the car, though it was barely run before him. The original owner ran it once before deciding he didn't like it. Derek's shake down run resulted in a sixth place finish, but it's a good bet he will be compering for wins as he gets things dialed in to his preferences.

The news of returns gets even better with word out of Winton that "The Big Dog" Ramie Stone is about ready to make his return to the IMCA Modifieds. Ramie lost a close battle with Rick Diaz in Sport Mods last season. He had been away for years, but he knew after last season that he was still comfortable with racing. Therefore, he bought his cousin Paul Stone's old car, which needed repairs after a crash in an open show during the winter. Ramie was in no hurry as his budget wasn't going to allow him to race immediately.

If you are wondering who Ramie is, he's won six championships in his career and may be the best driver of the last 20 years at Merced Speedway. Among his accomplishments are Mini Truck and Street Stock championships and then four IMCA Modified titles, an IMCA State title and two DCRR Sweet 16 State championships. It would be a mistake to think that Ramie won't be up at the front of the pack with Alex and Kyle Wilson, Ricky Thatcher, Bill Egleston and Bob Williamson.

The Wilson brothers were in Santa Maria last Saturday. Though Alex had his struggles, Kyle brought it home second behind point leader Josh Vogt. Kyle seemed to be a little faster than Alex until Alex sat behind the wheel of a new car a few weeks ago. Suddenly, Alex started winning, (at Santa Maria and then Merced) and it was Kyle chasing him across the finish line. Last week, a spun slower car knocked Alex from what could have been a win, but he still charged back to pass his brother for second. The Wilson's enjoy racing every chance they get, sometimes three nights a week, and they are always hard at work getting the setup just right before the next race. That kind of dedication is why Alex is the State and Merced point leader and Kyle won State honors last season.

Second ranked Bill Egleston is no slouch either as the 2012 Merced Speedway champion. Bill has had his struggles of late, and he was hoping to turn that around last week as he put a new body on his car heading into this race. He was running pretty fast last week, but a spin in Turn 3 early in the race saw him a little frustrated at what he felt was contact racing with K. Wilson. The race sort of went down hill from there, and this reporter hopes that Bill regroups and comes back at it again this week. He is fully capable of winning and has been a positive presence at Merced Speedway in recent seasons.

Ricky Thatcher led for several laps once again, but a spin put an end to that. He still salvaged a fourth place finish ahead of veteran Bill Mayer, and he holds a 17 point lead over the rapidly closing K. Wilson in the battle for third in points. With four consecutive championships at Antioch and some 26 feature wins there in the Bowers Racing Modified, Troy Foulger is traveling around this year and trying to get ready for bigger money events. His travels led hm back to Merced, where he finished second last time out. This week, he was right there to capitalize on A. Wilson's misfortune. Once Troy got the lead, nobody was taking it away as he sped to his first Merced win of the season. He has three wins at Antioch this year and is a threat to win any time he shows up.

There's no more helpless feeling for a racer chasing points than to win over 20 Main Events on the circuit and still lose the point lead. This is what happened to Fred Ryland in the IMCA Sport Mod National point race. Fred shot out of the gate like a cannon in January with big money wins at Chowchilla and Merced. He has recently been in a slump at Antioch as anything that can go wrong has gone wrong. He came to Merced last Sunday in hopes of jump starting his point effort and at least moving from third to second in The Nation. The good news is he won. The bad news is it was one car shy of an "official" full IMCA field, meaning it's treated as a second place finish where points are concerned. That may still help him just a little bit.

The battle for second in points at Merced is close as Josh Hensley has sort of checked out on the rest of the field. Mark Odgers and Dwayne Short have both missed a few races and are fighting for second. Odgers has seemingly had better results with a win in recent weeks. He finished a strong second last week. However, Short isn't going down without a fight and has been battling Odgers on the track every week. He finished fifth last week and still holds a ten point lead in that battle. As good as these two are running, either one of them could pick up a win this week. For that matter, Hensley should not be counted out. If not for a brush with the back wall giving him a flat tire, he may have won last week.

Danny Roe was back with a new body on his car. He was involved in a hard crash last time and was merely there to see if everything was in working order. He didn't finish, but his plans center around a trip to Boone, Iowa for the IMCA Nationals next month. Tim Cecil was back in action, and he picked a good time to come back. Cecil seemed to get more comfortable as the race went on, and he ended up with a season best third place finish. That finish moved him into the Top 10 in the standings. Nick Tucker could end up in the Top 10 if he keeps getting finishes like he did last week. The son of two time winner Gary Tucker, Nick came back from some early problems to finish fourth.

At Antioch on Saturday, second ranked Al Johnson was hoping it would be his night to shine. The second place point runner has had more than his share of bad luck this season, but he came into the night in second in the standings. After winning another heat race, Johnson stepped it up a notch by leading the Main Event for several laps with Watsonville point leader Anthony Giuliani and Antioch leader Fred Ryland right behind him. He was doing a great job of holding them off before something broke and he spun in front of the other two, collecting them both.

While Patti Ryland raced into the lead, F. Ryland and Giuliani regrouped at the back. Ryland had problems and would retire, but Giuliani worked his way through the pack and into the lead. Giuliani has now won in his last two starts at Antioch. Though the car count is in free fall at his home track in Watsonville, he still finds himself in a battle to hold off Matt Hagio for that championship. He leads Hagio by just a few points in the standings at Watsonville and is close to moving into the Top 10 at Antioch.

P. Ryland spun a lap after losing the lead to Giuliani. She was still unhappy with herself when speaking of the race at Merced a night later, but the "Rookie Of The Year" leader still managed a fifth place finish to maintain her Top 5 point status. Jeremy Hoff was maybe a bit of a surprise visitor, but maybe not. Hoff loves racing at Antioch, though Merced is closer to home. The 2013 champion and 2014 runner up had a strong running car Saturday night and finished second. Hoff pocked the $1750 first prize at Antioch back in January's West Coast Nationals event.

In all of the talk about Patti Ryland, one may overlook the talented Megan Ponciano, but she reminded everybody last week of how good she really is. Megan made a last turn pass on 2012 point runner up Jimmy Ford to grab a third place finish, keeping her tenth in the standings. Megan herself is the 2013 Sport Mod runner up as well as a four time feature winner, and let's not forget that she is a past Hobby Stock champion. So, any success she has in her green #22 car should not come as a surprise.

Ford was still the leader of the Marysville visitors last week with his fourth place finish. Jimmy is currently second in Sport Mod points at Marsyville, and the defending Mini Stock champion currently leads Shaun Merritt in that race this season. Another Merritt, Shaun's brother Mike Merritt, was making only his second Sport Mod start and ended up with an eighth place finish. Meanwhile, another Marysville visitor, Alan Furuta, had mechanical issues in his heat race and was a Main Event scratch.

K.C. Keller overcame a flat tire last week and still managed to grab a sixth place finish as he continues a string a good finishes. He finished a season best third in the previous race after winning his heat race and had a Top 5 finish the race before that. This is Keller's first season in a Sport Mod. but he does have past racing experience. In recent years, he's done some off road racing, and before that, he ran Quarter-Midgets and also Mini Cup cars at Altamont. It wouldn't be a big surprise to see K.C. competing for a win before the season is over.

Joaquin Has Wins At Anrioch, Merced And Chowchilla,

Hart 14th Different Merced Hobby Stock Winner

Kevin Joaquin finally made good on his plans of visiting Antioch Speedway. The Chowchilla champion and current Merced point leader has three wins each at those tracks, but he wanted to win at Antioch to stake his claim as the top driver on the Oval Motorsports circuit. Unfortunately, he had a motor issue that left him on seven cylinders in hot laps. The crew rushed to fix things and missed the heat race.

His first Antioch race would be the Main Event, and he would start in the fifth row. By halfway through the race, Kevin would make his move into the lead. Not long after that, Antioch point leader Kimo Oreta was second, and Kevin couldn't quite shake him. He did manager to get the win, but he later revealed that he again was running on seven cylinders as the problem returned. The crew had only rigged something that they hoped would get him to the finish line. That mission was accomplished, and Kevin has won at all three Oval Motorsports tracks this season.

Danny Jones was commenting prior to the race two weeks ago that he just wanted to finish. The long time Stock Car competitor has gone through a myriad of motor problems in his quest for his first win of the season, and it hasn't been pretty. His five second place finishes helped keep him in the battle for second in the standings. That night, he took it up a notch by leading 15 laps of the Main Event. Then, the right front ball joint broke and he clobbered the Turn 1 wall.

The one thing about Danny is he's not a quitter. He had his Pete Paulsen's House Of Wheels Special #66 tribute car back and running last week and he led the first half of the Main Event. Though he lost the lead, he crossed the line with a much needed third place finish. It was a good night for the Jones family as daughter Jessica crossed the line with a lead lap seventh place finish, Jessica is in her first year in Hobby Stocks after some success racing Mini Trucks and Four Bangers in recent seasons.

The thing is, Danny's two rivals in the battle for second in the standings have definitely upped their game in recent weeks. Rookie Jordan Swank had a fifth place finish last week, right behind his brother in law, Michael Cooper. Cooper also won another heat race earlier that night. We've been talking about how Jones is due for a win, but the same can be said for Swank and Cooper. At the moment, "Rookie Of The Year" hopeful Swank leads Cooper by just nine points with Jones only 13 points out of second. This has been a fun battle to watch all season long.

Another driver looking good lately is Natalie Perry. Perry had a season best third place finish two weeks ago. Just getting to the finish line has been a struggle at times for the sixth ranked driver as all sorts of problems have challenged her. However, she and crew chief Steve Perry have faced it all with a positive attitude and keep coming back. Last week, Natalie finished a lead lap sixth in another solid effort. Steve Perry revealed that he had a faulty tire gauge and missed Natalie's tire pressure in that third pace finish, but she did a good job of compensating for that.

Rookie Lindsey Buirch was making just her second start last week. The teenage rookie is simply trying to make her first laps, stay out of the way and get to the finish line, which she has accomplished twice now. In her latest effort, she was a little more willing to hit the gas and was noticeably faster in her eighth place finish. Sometimes it takes baby steps to get comfortable in a race car, but Lindsey seems to be doing it the right way. The next step will be to get a little more aggressive in the turns.

At Merced Speedway, the Hobby Stocks remain exciting, sometimes wild and unpredictable. In 18 races, there have been 14 different winners. Only point leader Kevin Joaquin and Kristie Shearer have multiple wins as each has three. Kevin was a front row starter and was on his way to a fourth win when it happened. The 2011 champion Ryan Hart passed him for the lead and victory. Kevin has about a half dozen second place finishes now. It may just be that the motor issue from Saturday at Antioch resurfaced under the hood of Kevin's #97 car, though this reporter hasn't confirmed that.

For Ryan Hart, his primary focus this season has been his Late Model effort at Madera Speedway. At the moment, he is enjoying a good season as the point leader of the Loan Mart Late Model Series, which is also televised on MavTV. Sunday night found Ryan taking his car to Merced Speedway for the first time this season, He was happy he did after winning his heat race and the Main Event. He started back in the fourth row of the feature and slowly worked his way to the front with some good driving. It's not known if we'll see Ryan more at Merced in the final weeks of the season, but it would make things more interesting if he returned.

Another driver who makes things interesting when he's out on the track is "Mr. Excitement" George Silva in his blue #8 car. Two weeks ago, he led most of the race before being passed. He put the blame on himself for making the mistake that cost him the lead. During the week leading up to last week's race, George was working with Darren Miguel and the Hensley team to get Miguel's Hobby Stock motor ready. Darren had purchased the former Aaron Widick car and made the race. Silva, meanwhile, had another heat win and a Top 3 feature run before blowing a motor in Turn 4.

The third place finish went to the #86 Josh Hensley car. On the PA, the driver was credited as David Richards, but Hensley had said prior to the races that he was once again planning to drive both this car and his Sport Mod. In either case, the driver had a good race. Also looking good was Adam Reed. Reed was making his fifth start at Merced and was back for the first time since a June crash in Chowchilla. He looked good in finishing second in his heat race and earning his third fourth place finish. Teammate Bobby Williams didn't do so well in his first start since his sixth place finish in the Ted Stofle Classic, but he continues to maintain his Top 10 point status. Both drivers expressed an interest in racing at Chowchilla whenever the October dates are announced.

Austin Van Hoff is another of the drivers on the winner's list this year at Merced. He has already wrapped up a second place season at his home track in Chowchilla, and his start on Sunday enabled him to take third from Kristie Shearer in the standings at Merced. Austin had a Top 3 run going before losing a muffler. Dexter Long's latest effort, a sixth place finish, moved the rookie into fifth in the standings according to the latest official update. Long isn't likely to overtake second ranked Jennifer Corder in the rookie battle, but a Top 5 point effort after the luck he's had this year is still good. Corder drove another respectable race to finish fifth last week.

Garner Clinches Merced Limited Late Model Title,

But Where Are The Cars

Mark Garner will be the 2015 Merced Speedway Limited Late Model champion after his seventh win of the season. He and second ranked Buddy Thatcher are the two biggest supporters of this division at Merced, but it has still been a struggle getting things going. Roy Hart Jr. almost certainly would have been there Sunday, but he was recovering from recent surgery. For Garner's part, he came to Merced specifically to win the championship and give his family their first ever track championship. His father, Jerry Garner, is the 1969 State champion, but he is currently battling an illness. Mark's mantra this year is "All for a reason" as he dedicates it all to his dad.

The bigger question is where are the cars? There have been ten different cars to compete in the first nine races, and twice there were six car fields. At the start of the season, Garner was joined by Antioch racers Peggy Sue Jarred and John Evans, but Jarred blew a motor at Merced and hasn't been seen too many times since. Jeff Kendrick debuted the former Jeff Silva car with a second, but he's more of an Antioch racer and recently crashed hard there. The bottom line is the Antioch racers can't be counted on to prop up this division,. Local support is needed or this division won't work at Merced.

The local contingent of Buddy Thatcher, Roy Hart Jr. and Scott Van Gelder are currently second through fourth. Hart has a heat and Main Event win. Thatcher should be able to hold on for second in points just by showing up. Van Gelder had that position, but three races ago, his car got damaged in a heat race crash. He hasn't returned since. These three were the best of the local support, while Donny Richardson and Joel Chavez are two others who have competed at least once this year.

Just before the Sunday switch, this division had the two six car fields. Is the Sunday switch the cause of the drop? If it had stayed on Saturday, would car count have grown? That is the big question. Last year, car count wasn't that strong either, and some might wonder if there's enough local interest in Limited Late Models at Merced. Some might even wonder if a Super Street Stock division could produce a few more cars per race than this. Oval Motorsports is committed to this division, and we'll see how things work out at Merced when this division returns for Legend's Night on August 23.

Car count is a little stringer at Antioch, but the division still needs cars. And, they need to be fast to beat Larry Damitz, who has won over half of the Main Events so far this year. Larry is leaving little doubt that he may be the track champion for the fourth time in five seasons after his latest win. In that race, he had a front row start and led every lap with Mike Hynes in close pursuit. Hynes has been improving in the past few weeks, and the 2014 point runner up is hoping to get his first feature win of the season. With Damitz around, it's a challenge for anybody else to get a win.

In fact, the only other winners this season are two time winners Mike Gustafson and Mark Garner. Gustafson shadowed Hynes through the whole race last week for the third place finish, and the division's all time feature win leader is six points ahead in a close battle for second in the standings. Not to be left out is Garner, who trails by only ten points. All three of these drivers are running strong, and it just may be the driver who can win down the stretch will get second in points. As Damitz will start last on Saturday, it could be one of these three who wins.

Jim Freethy seemed poised to be that winner. A flat tire knocked him out of the lead two races ago. There have been little things he's worked on with setup and the motor in the car he debuted during the season, but the 2013 champion may have suffered a setback with motor problems knocking him out early last week. Jim put this car together with winning races in mind. He would love to give Damitz a run for the money. Jim says he has the utmost respect for Larry. He is the driver who prevented Larry from winning four championships in a row, so we know what he's capable of.

The steady John Evans managed to grab another checkered flag in fourth last week. Usually, John is finishing races in his #48 car, even if he's not the fastest driver in the field. John brings a lot of enthusiasm with him to the races, but it just may be that he needs an experienced crew chief on his team to help him dial things in better. While Evans maintained sixth in the standings with his latest finish, John Keith was stuck on the sidelines watching the race after a mechanical issue in his heat race. Hopefully, it's not serious enough to keep him out this week.

We’ve been hearing that past division champion Lori Brown is ready to return any time. Her husband, Ron Brown, has been dealing with a health issue that he said might take him out for a couple of weeks. Of course, this would probably delay Lori's return. Peggy Sue Jarred was reportedly having more motor issues. Others with cars we know of are Chris Long, Gene Haney, Cecil Henry, Jim Robbins, Calvin Louis and Kimo Oreta. Oreta and Louis are putting cars together, and Louis may debut soon. Long and Haney were at the January race, but Long had enough problems with the car to park it. Henry hasn't been seen since last year, while Robbins is trying to raise the funds to get a motor in his car. We also received word that seventh ranked Hobby Stock racer Robert Niven bought a car from the Napa area recently.

Wingless Spec Sprints boils down to a 46 point lead for Kyle Bakkie over Rick Panfili, who leads rookie Marcus Smith by just 26 points. Bakkie was second last year, and at this point he and Panfili are headed for their best seasons ever. We anticipate that this week could produce a double digit car count once again as drivers like Jeremy Newberry (who raced at Petaluma last week), Keith Shipherd and Nick Dunn are rumored to be coming. Dunn made his return last time as he hadn't been seen since a Turn 4 crash earlier this year.

Jimmy Perry III's latest win gives him four for the year as he is third on the division's all time win list. He has also assumed fifth in the standings as he moved by two time winner Roy Fisher. Others on the win list include three time winner Bakkie, two time winner Jeff Lee and one time winner James East. Panfili, Smith, Newberry and Alan Miranda have yet to win, but all of them have second place finishes in this competitive division. Peter Carlotto has been a welcome addition to this class in recent weeks and already has finished in the Top 5. We suspect we'll see him this week as well.

Busby Continues Drive For #5 In Antioch IMCA Modifieds,

Miguel-Corder Battle Heats Up In Merced Mini Stocks

Four time champions Scott Busby and Troy Foulger account for seven wins this year in the IMCA Modifieds at Antioch as Busby has four and two of Foulger's three wins came in the biggest races of the season aboard the Bowers Racing Modified. We're not sure if Foulger will return on the heels of his recent Merced win, but Busby should be there to go for win #69 of his impressive career at Antioch. At the moment, Busby leads one time winner Bobby Motts Jr. by 26 points. A past Street Stock champion and winner of over 20 Main Events in that class, Motts has gained a few points on Busby in recent races, but failing to qualify for the Friday Summer Nationals feature will probably prove to be his undoing in the championship battle.

One time winners Kyle Wilson and Shawn DeForest, in the Jim Reid car, should both be on hand for this Saturday's race. Wilson sits fourth in the standings, just ahead of his State point leading brother Alex Wilson. DeForest is closing in on the Top 5 as the six ranked driver. Carl Berendsen II has a car capable of winning as the 2014 champion ranks third in the standings,. He bought that car from recent winner Aaron Crowell, who we anticipate will be there this week. After his second place finish ahead of past 100 lap Hobby Stock feature winner Nick Viscusi III, we are also guessing Terry Kaiser will be there in his "General Lee" #01 car as well.

Viscusi has been racing at Petaluma this season, and that track is dark to the class this week. That could open the door for a few visits from the Sonoma-Marin County fairgrounds track. Topping the list of those we think could show will be six time Petaluma champion Michael Paul Jr. and one time champ Oreste Gonella. Both drivers are very much in the hunt at that track this year, though Nick DeCarlo has won seven Main Events, We suspect DeCarlo will be in Petaluma driving a Spec Sprint, but you never know. Past Top 5 Antioch IMCA Modified racer Norm Boeck could be at Antioch as well.

It's interesting to look at where we are in the Mini Stock battle at Merced. After all of these races and the 11 wins earned by Darren Miguel, he still only holds a 14 point advantage over one time winner Chris Corder. Corder has switched to the former Alex Odishoo car and has a first and second place finish already. In fact, he has gained on Miguel in the last two races, and that means the 2014 champion is still very much in the hunt for a repeat. Corder is the Chowchilla Speedway champion as well.

The move to Sundays at Merced seems to have given the division a bump in interest. Kelly Campanile and Natalie Waldrop have been racing more, and Waldrop moved into third in the standings with three time feature runner up Campanile right behind her. Meanwhile, 1999 Mini Truck champion Kevin Lockerby returned last time. He has a feature win this year and says he may try to finish out the season. Even Dennis Copus has indicated he'll try to get one more start in if he can. Work is why Copus had to abandon a third place point effort.

The Falkenberg team had so much fun with Lucy Falkenberg making her first start in sixth two races ago that Dale Falkenberg bought her Chris Corder's #68c car. With a new paint job, Lucy drove the #18 car to a fifth place finish last time. Andrew Krumm started his daughter's car last time as she still isn't comfortable with shifting. The Jeff Amos car was out last time with a new paint job, and we could be seeing all three of these cars on Sunday night. Whatever the reason for the renewed interest, it's nice to see more Mini Stocks at Merced.

Nostalgia Divisions Coming To Antioch

And Merced August 22-23

More Sportsman cars for Legend's Night at Merced Speedway would be a nice thing too. On August 23, the division will be welcomed back, and the hope is that at least a half dozen cars will compete. Leading the charge will be point leader Marcus Lung and hard core division booster Kenny Birdsong, who hasn't missed a race this season. We also anticipate that Eric Sealy and Mike Palmberg will be there of the drivers who have competed so far this season. We aren't sure about Jeff Bristow, and Mark Odgers indicated that he didn't want to hurt the Vern Willhoite tribute body on his car, though he also said he wants to see this division survive. More cars will make that happen.

Birdsong has reportedly been working behind the scenes as one of the people trying to drum up interest. He has indicated that we will see cars we haven't seen in a while. Names that makes us think about include past champions Mike Hausmann, Shane Hausmann and Mike Henault. Tim Prothro is another one who comes to mind. Six or eight cars that night will go a long way towards keeping it alive. Kenny has also indicated that Watsonville legend Jerry Cecil and Merced legend Rod Poor could be there. We've heard Dennis Moomjean would drive the pace car and that legendary announcer Johnny Sass was interested in being there as well.

It should also be noted that Promoter John Soares Jr. has also indicated that he would drive a car if the ride was offered.

A night earlier at Antioch Speedway (August 22), the California Hardtop Association has been invited back. This is in no small part thanks to a respected racing promoter named Mike McCann. In addition to his work as a "Promoter Of The Year" award winner at Cottage Grove Speedway and other tracks, Mike is a long time Hardtop booster. He and Chuck Prather brought Hardtops down from Oregon for what is credited for sparking the modern Hardtop movement in California back in September of 2002.

The division was in Placerville last Saturday night where Rob Waldrop drove Bill McLaughlin's car to his fourth straight win ahead of Zach Frazer and Ron Rezz, who was in the Jason Armstrong car. Waldrop will be in Antioch, which is his home track. He raced for many years in Street Stocks and is the 1998 champion, Drivers in Placerville that we anticipate for Antioch include Ken Clifford, Jason Clifford, Steve Cloyes, Dan Whitnety, Frazer and Waldrop. Long time Placerville racer Dennis Armstrong and son Jason Armstrong aren't confirmed, but we think they may be there as well.

There were already a few confirmations we knew of prior to last week. Tommy Thomson and Dan Williams are both Hardtop feature winners at Antioch in the past, and we've heard both will be there. Second generation racer Thomson drives the Hardtop he drove at Vallejo Speedway over 35 years ago. Dave Mackey will be there, though the team's second car, driven by Jim Perry Jr., may not. Larry Damitz is expected, and George Conner has indicated he's trying to get the Mike McClure car to the track to support the cause. Mike McCann is planning to bring a car as well. We know the roster for this class is in the 20's, and a field of 10-14 cars appears very possible that Saturday night.

McCann got the blessing of CHA President John Philbert to book this date and poll the drivers on their thoughts about the state of Hardtop racing at the moment. Philbert will probably be in the pits, but his car may not be ready until Calistoga next month, McCann is among those who feel Antioch Speedway is an important part of the future of this effort, and a good showing will go a long way towards more races there in 2016. McCann has also sponsored plaques for the heat winners and second and third in the Main Event as the track will provide the award for the winner. All indications are that August 22 at Antioch Speedway will be a night Hardtop fans won't want to miss.

In the meantime, racing resumes this Saturday night at Antioch Speedway with IMCA Modifieds, Brentwood Auto Parts IMCA Sport Modifieds, Northern All Stars Wingless Spec Sprints, Hobby Stocks and Limited Late Models all in action. On Sunday night at Merced Speedway, the IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Sport Modifieds headline again along with Northern All Stars Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks and Dwarf Cars. For further information, check the official Oval Motorsports Website.