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McMahan, Cass Keep Streak Alive At Antioch Speedway
Antioch, CA...There's an interesting streak going on in two divisions At Antioch Speedway that continued Saturday night. There have yet to be any repeat winners in either the All Star Series Winged 360 Sprint Cars or A Modified divisions. In the Winged 360 Spint Car 25 lap feature, it was Brayden McMahan getting the win ahead of point leader Billy Aton. He is now the seventh winner in seven races. Not to be outdone, Brian Cass became the ninth different winner in nine races with his 20 lap A Modified feature victory in front of point leader Carl Berendsen II.
Second ranked Marcus Smith outran his teammate, Dan Gonderman to win his second 20 lap Wingless Spec Sprint feature in the Richard Basden owned entry. K.C. Keller made a nice drive from the back and passed Trevor Clymens late to win his second 20 lap B Modified Main Event. Danny Jones held off the challenge of four time winner Guy Ahlwardt to win his second 20 lap Hobby Stock feature. Larry Damitz added to his Limited Late Model point lead with his third 20 lap Main Event win.
The track's Winged 360 Sprint Car division continues to see different visitors come out every week to keep the car count up. Many younger drivers getting their first Sprint Car laps are making it a point to come race on John M. Soares's fast three-eighth mile clay oval. This time around, it was 21 year old Brayden McMahan making his 18th start in car #18. With point leader Billy Aton in hot pursuit, McMahan scored an impressive win in 25 lap Main Event. He is now the seventh different winner in seven races. Petaluma visitor Geoff Ensign ran closely behind the lead two cars to the checkered flag. Burt Foland Jr. used his fourth place finish to move into third in the standings as heat winner Dalton Hill rounded out the Top 5. Title contender Art McCarthy took a checkered flag in sixth after earlier winning his heat race. The Main Event had a red flag midway through when young Kaleb Montgomery flipped his car six times. He wasn't injured in the crash.
The A Modifieds have an amazing streak in progress this season. In nine races, there have been nine different winners. In the latest 20 lap feature, past Hanford and Watsonville champion Brian Cass scored the victory ahead of point leader Carl Berendsen II. Cass also won his heat race. Berendsen is still in search of his first feature win, but he won his heat race earlier in the evening. Josh Combs rebounded from a rough race a week ago with a third place finish as Sean O'Gara and Norm Boeck rounded out the Top 5.
With Jim Perry Jr. struggling in recent weeks, second year racer Marcus Smith has been closing the gap in the Wingless Spec Sprint championship battle. This week, Smith stepped it up even more by driving the Richard Basden owned #20 car to victory ahead of teammate Dan Gonderman. Gonderman drives the car that Smith intended to run before getting the ride in Basden's car. Last week's winner Roy Fisher held off Perry to finish third as heat winner Brandon Burd rounded out the Top 5. Fisher was the other heat winner.
In the B Modified division, the championship battle continues to tighten between point leader Al Johnson and Trevor Clymens. Johnson won his heat race earlier in the evening, but Clymens was going for his fourth feature win of the season. Unfortunately, he lost a late race duel with eventual winner K.C. Keller. Watsonville competitor Anthony Giuliani led much of the way before surrendering the lead to Clymens as Keller worked his way from the back. Once Keller got into second, he stalked Clymens on the inside line. The duo ran side by side for several laps before Keller made his winning pass. Clymens settled for second ahead of Shane DeVolder, Igor Grandzuk and Johnson. Lonnie Leonard was the other heat race winner.
Larry Damitz won for the second time in a row and third of the season in the 20 lap Limited Late Model feature. Starting back in the last row, he worked his way to the front and held off fellow Limited Late Model veteran Mike Gustafson for the win. Gustafson also won his heat race. Rookie Kimo Oreta had another solid run in third as Lori Brown and Jim Freethy completed the Top 5. Paul Hanley was the other heat winner.
After losing the win last week on the final lap of the Hobby Stock Main Event, Danny Jones was looking to avoid a repeat in this week's 20 lapper. Jones held the lead, and it wasn't long before point leader Guy Ahlwardt managed to make it up to second from the back of pack. This time, however, Jones held on and scored his second feature victory of the season. Ahlwardt settled for second after winning his heat race earlier in the evening. Rob Waldrop finished third ahead of Chris Sorensen and heat winner Michael Cooper.
Racing continues next Saturday night with Wingless Spec Sprints, DIRTcar Late Models, Limited Late Models, Dwarf Cars, B Modifieds and Hobby Stocks all in action. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.
Unofficial Race Results, July 16th
Winged 360 Sprint Cars
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Dalton Hill, Art McCarthy, Main Event (20 Laps)-Brayden McMahan, Billy Aton, Geoff Ensign, Burt Foland Jr., Hill, McCarthy, Steven Harris, Monty Ferreira, Tim Burcher, Kaleb Montgomery.
A Modifieds
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Brian Cass, Carl Berendsen II. Main Event (20 Laps)-Cass, C. Berendsen, Josh Combs, Sean O'Gara, Norm Boeck, Bobby Montalvo, Eric Berendsen, John Bellando Jr., Terry Kaiser (DNS).
B Modifieds
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Al Johnson, Lonnie Leonard. Main Event (20 Laps)-K.C. Keller, Trevor Clymens, Shane DeVolder, Igor Grandzuk, Johnson, Anthony Giuliani, Leonard, Brown, Paul Mulder (DNS).
Wingless Spec Sprints
Heat Winners (8 laps)-Brandon Burd, Roy Fisher. Main Event (20 Laps)-Marcus Smith, Dan Gonderman, Fisher, Jim Perry Jr., Burd, Dusty Green, Rick Panfili, Kevin Box, Adam Teves (DNS).
Limited Late Models
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Paul Hanley, Mike Gustafson. Main Event (20 Laps)-Larry Damitz, Gustafson, Kimo Oreta, Lori Brown, Jim Freethy, Mark Garner, Billy Garner, Hanley, John Bellando Jr. (DNS)
Hobby Stocks
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Michael Cooper, Guy Ahlwardt. Main Event (20 Laps)-Danny Jones, Ahlwardt, Rob Waldop, Chris Sorensen, Cooper, Jordan Swank, Lindsey Buirch, Anthony Vigna, Cameron Swank, Jason Jennings, Frank Furtado, Mitch Loccicere (DNS).
Brown, Ryland Win Third Merced Speedway Features
Merced, CA. July 16... A great turnout of over 60 cars filled the pits at Merced Speedway Saturday night for a four division program. It was a night for three time winners in the two Modified divisions as Randy Brown took a step into the IMCA Modified point lead with his third 20 lap Main Event victory, and reigning California IMCA Sport Modified champion Fred Ryland won his third Main Event. Fourth generation racer Garrett Corn held off multi time Hobby Stock champion Raul Rodriguez Sr. for his first career Main Event win, while two time Sportsman division champion Mike Friesen won their 12 Main Event.
The IMCA Modified division ran two 9 lap heat races with rookie Bruce "Bubba" Nelson winning his heat race ahead of incoming point leader Bill Egleston. Karl Rose held off Ricky Thatcher to score the win in his heat race. Past Chowchilla Speedway IMCA Modified champion Randy Brown has been on a roll lately. Brown started back in the third row and was third behind D.J. Shannon and Karl Rose on lap two. A low pass in Turn 2 of the third lap gained Brown second, and he made an inside pass in Turn 4 of the seventh lap to take the lead from Shannon. Ryan Porter, himself a three time event winner last season, gave it a good run from ninth starting. Porter grabbed second from Shannon on lap 13 and chased the flying Brown to the checkered flag for a second place finish. Mike Villanueva settled into third on lap 16 and would finish there. Past Watsonville champion Robert Marsh finished fourth ahead of Rose, Thatcher, Troy Stone, Mike Meazell, Shannon and Nelson. With both Ramie Stone and Egleston finishing outside the Top 10, Brown emerged from the evening with the point lead.
Last week, Fred Ryland gained the IMCA Sport Modified Main Event win with the disqualification of a Mark Squadrito for coming in light at the scales. Ryland started the evening off by winning his nine lap heat race ahead of Jared Tickel. Dwayne Short began a good evening with a win in his heat race ahead of Gary Tucker while Alex Odishoo won his heat race ahead of Rick Diaz. Ryland remains a force in California IMCA Sport Modified racing, but he had to earn this one. Short grabbed the lead from Odishoo early on, and Mark Odgers took third from rookie Tanner Thomas on lap six. An inside move on the front stretch on lap nine gained Odgers second from Thomas. Ryland finally made his first Top 3 appearance from 11th starting on lap 11, and a low move in Tun 4 of the 12th lap put Ryland into second. Ryland made a Turn 4 pass on Short to take the lead as point leader Diaz moved by Odgers for third on lap 15. Diaz made a lap 19 pass on Short for second, but Ryland was a straightaway in front by then. Ryland sped to his third victory ahead of Diaz. With Steve Stone suffering his second straight non finish, Diaz increased his point lead. Short still had his best finish of the season as he finished third ahead of the 2015 point runner up Odgers. Mike Drake continues to be in the title hunt aboard the George Medeiros owned car as he finished fifth, followed by defending champion Josh Hensley, G. Tucker, Odishoo, Tickel and Marysville regular Jerry Bartlett.
The Hobby Stocks ran three nine lap heat races with Phil Vaughn beginning a strong night with his heat race victory ahead of George Silva. Kristie Shearer held off Mike Stockton to prevail in her heat race, while Raul Rodriguez Sr. won the third heat race ahead of Donnie Shearer. Rodriguez was gunning for his fourth Main Event win of the year, but the surprising Garrett Corn was there to keep that from happening. The fourth generation racer Corn won a hard fought battle to grab the checkered flag ahead of Rodriguez. Rodriguez took the lead from Donnie Shearer on lap two. Corn was third on a lap four restart, and he made an inside pass in Turn 2 of the fifth lap to take second from D. Shearer. Kristie Shearer suffered mechanical problems and stalled on the track for a lap 12 yellow flag. Rodriguez led one more lap before a high move in Turn 2 put Corn into the lead. Corn sped to his first Hobby Stock win with Rodriguez an apparent second. Unfortunately for Rodriguez, he was disqualified in tech for having an illegal rim. This moved point leader Michael Shearer into second and Vaughn into the final podium position. With Michael's wife Kristie Shearer failing to finish, he will add more points to his lead in the championship battle. Reigning track champion Kevin Joaquin finished fourth as D. Shearer rounded out the Top 5. Stockton placed sixth ahead of Robbie Loquaci, Kodie Dean, Cody Parker and Darren Miguel.
In the popular Valley Sportsman division, title hopeful Jeff Bristow battled Mike Friesen to score the win in the heat race. That was the last time Friesen would settle for second. Coming off a runner up finish in the previous Main Event, the two time champion Friesen impressed with his first win of the season. Bristow led two laps before Friesen used a low pass in Turn 3 of the third lap to take over. Contact between point leader Kenny Birdsong and Bristow saw Bristow spin in Turn 1, and his race was over. After rearend problems sidelined him for a few races, Tim Prothro rebounded in a big way. Prothro was second on the restart and challenged Friesen the rest of the way. However, Friesen grabbed his first win with Prothro a close second ahead of Birdsong. Watsonville Speedway Sportsman division legend Jerry Cecil finished fourth ahead of rookie Shannon Fry, Bristow and Jeff Amos.
When racing resumes next weekend, the IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Sport Modifieds will be back in action along with the Mini Stocks and a Kart event on the smaller track in the infield. The track then takes two weeks off before coming back for Legend's Night on August 13th. For further information, go to www.racemerced.com.
Race Results
Hobby Stocks
Heat Winners-Phil Vaughn, Kristie Shearer, Raul Rodriguez Sr. Main Event-Garrett Corn, Michael Shearer, Vaughn, Kevin Joaquin, Donnie Shearer, Mike Stockton, Robbie Loquaci, Kodie Dean, Cody Parker, Darren Miguel
IMCA Modifieds
Heat Winners-Bruce Nelson, Karl Rose. Main Event-Randy Brown, Ryan Porter, Mike Villanueva, Robert Marsh, Karl Rose, Ricky Thatcher, Troy Stone, Mike Meazel, D.J. Shanon, Nelson.
Valley Sportsman
Heat Winner-Jeff Bristow. Main Event-Mike Friesen, Tim Prothro, Kenny Birdsong, Jerry Cecil, Shannon Frye, Bristow, Jeff Amos.
IMCA Sport Modifieds
Heat Winners-Dwayne Short, Fred Ryland, Alex Odishoo. Main Event-Ryland, Rick Dias, Dwayne Short, Mark Odgers, Mike Drake, Josh Hensley, Gary Tucker, Odishoo, Jared Tickel, Jerry Bartlett.
Article is based on unofficial statistics from live scoring on Race Monitor. Results are unofficial and subject to computer error and official's decisions.
Hirst Wins Howard Kaeding Classic For
Civil War Sprint Cars At Ocean Speedway
Watsonville, CA...July 15...Kyle Kirst won the Howard Kaeding Classic Civil War vs Taco Bravo Sprint Car 30 lap Main Event Friday night at Ocean Speedway. He led all the way in victory with Bud Kaeding finishing second. A good field of 37 cars competed, and there were four ten lap heat races. Shane Golobic won the first heat ahead of Tyler Walker. Bud Kaeding held off Mason Moore to win the second heat. Reigning track champion Justin Sanders won the third heat over Civil War Point leader Andy Forsberg and local leadfoot Jerry Bonnema won the fourth heat ahead of King Of The West point leader Hirst. Hisrt came back to win the six lap Trophy Dash ahead of Bonnema. Steven Tiner scored the 12 lap B Main victory ahead of Buddy Kofoid, Chase Johnson, D.J. Freitas and Bradley Terrell.
Hirst raced into the lead at the start of the Main Event with Brent Kaeding grabbing second from Bonnema on lap three. Bud Kaeding struck quickly to third and finally took second from his father on lap 15. Despite a few yellow flags to slow the pace, Bud Kaeding was unable to make a move on the flying Hirst. Ryan Bernal gained third on a lap 16 restart and would hold on for the final podium finish. Sanders finished fourth ahead of Brent Kaeding, Tiner, Forsberg, Johnson, Moore and Terrell.
Terre Rothweiler won the 20 lap South Bay Dwarf Car Association Main Event. The lead four cars ran closely in the waning laps of the race with past champion Nick Sqauatritto leading the way ahead of Rothweiler, reigning champion Gene "Punky" Pires and point leader David Teves. Rothweiler made his winning pass around Squatritto on lap 18 and brought it home to victory. Teves made a last lap pass on Squatritto for second as Squatritto settled for third. Making Teves's performance even more impressive was the fact that he rolled his car on lap 4 and still finished. Pires was fourth, followed by Joey Dale, Mark Biscardi, Kyle Jones, Eric Weisler, Ryan Klein and Justin Yanez. Pires won an eight lap heat race ahead of Yanez, and Teves won his heat race ahead of Weisler.
Terry Campion won the 20 lap American Stock Main Event. Campion also won the eight lap heat race ahead of Robert Huckaby. Jerry Skelton was a Main Event scratch, and Tony Oliveira led the early laps of the Main Event as Katie Briggs ran second. Campion moved by Briggs for second on lap five, and he made what turned out to be his winning pass on Oliveira for the lead on lap eight. Nick Triolo was fourth by lap ten, and he took third from Briggs on lap 12. Campion set a good pace up front and scored a well earned victory ahead of Oliveira, Triolo, Huckaby, Briggs, John Ferrell, Charlie Hunter and Randy Fernandez.
