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Aton, Perry, Furtado, Rosa Win At Antioch Speedway
DCRR Racing Radio Show: Episode 93 by GenWhat
Aton, Perry, Furtado, Rosa Win At Antioch Speedway
Antioch, CA...August 27...Saturday night at Antioch Speedway offered something for everybody. There was a big bike giveaway for the kids during intermission and new and familiar faces in the winner's circle. Point leader Billy Aton rebounded with a win in the Winged 360 Sprint Car Main Event, while Jim Perry Jr. protected his Wingless Spec Sprint point lead with a 20 lap victory of his own. Point leader Larry Damitz caught a break late in the race to win the 20 lap Limited Late Model Main Event. Frank Furtado also benefited from the leader's misfortune to win his first career 20 lap Hobby Stock feature. Two drivers from the Marysville area came to town and won as Duane Cleveland (A Modifieds) and Phillip Shelby (B Modifieds) won their 20 lap features. Stock Car veteran David Rosa won his first career 20 lap Dwarf Car Main Event.
Billy Aton won the 20 lap Winged 360 Sprint Car Main Event. Aton needed a big night after he lost a wheel while leading last week and fell out of the running. This time around, Aton got the lead and went on to score a much needed second win of the season. Driving for Brett Lay, reigning champion Shawn Arriaga made a charge from the fifth row for a season best second place finish. Burt Foland Jr. wrapped up his best night of the year by adding a third place finish to his heat win from earlier in the evening. Art McCarthy and Dan Gonderman rounded out the Top 5. Petaluma racer Roberto Kirby won a heat race and was leading the Main Event early before flipping. He wasn't injured, but he was out of the race.
Jim Perry Jr. pretty much wrapped up his second Wingless Spec Sprint championship by winning his third 20 lap feature of the season. The stage was set for drama early on. After Shannon Newton won his heat race, Perry was black flagged from his heat for exceeding the state mandated DBA limit. Title hopeful Marcus Smith was looking for the win, but instead he blew a motor in the Richard Basden owned car. That gave rookie Adam Teves his first career heat race win. Teves graciously stepped out of the Smith owned car, though Smith made no such request.
Smith started last in the Spec Sprint Main Event, which was led early by Newton before Perry went charging by. Perry went on to victory from there. Newton held down second until Smith finally made his move late in the race. Officials ruled that Smith would only be allowed to race for money and not points as he was not competing in the car he started the evening with. Newton settled for third ahead of Roy Fisher. Brandon Burd rebounded from a hard flip last time out to finish fifth ahead of Rick Panfili. Chris Magoon flipped his car on the opening lap of his heat race to end his night.
Duane Cleveland beat a competitive field of A Modifieds for the 20 lap feature win. A past Chico champion, Cleveland led most of the race to become the tenth different feature winner of the season. Second generation racer Sean O'Gara stayed in the Top 3 point battle with his season best second place finish as division legend Scott Busby came from the back to finish third. Trent Wentworth and point leader Carl Berendsen II rounded out the Top 5. Four time champion Troy Foulger and Nick Viscusi III were the heat race winners.
Larry Damitz won his fifth 20 lap Limited Late Model Main Event, but he had luck on his side. Rookie Kimo Oreta won the heat race and set a rapid pace up front for most of the Main Event. Coming out of Turn 4 with just five laps to go, Oreta lost power and coasted to a stop. Damitz had managed to grab second from Lori Brown, and he found himself in the lead at that point. Damitz led the rest of he way. Brown surrendered second to Jeff Kendrick as she had a flat tire. Mike Gustafson finished third as Brown limped home to a fourth place finish.
In the B Modified division, three time Marysville Stock Car champion Phillip Shelby made his first visit of the season and went home with a 20 lap Main Event victory. After winning his 11th heat race of the year, point leader Trevor Clymens had his sights set on another Main Event win. However, Shelby drove a great race for the victory as Clymens settled for second. The Main Event had a red flag early on after a spectacular flip by Chuck Golden in Turn 3. Fortunately, he was not injured. Al Johnson kept his title hopes alive with a third place feature finish ahead of Shane DeVolder and Kevin Brown.
Frank Furtado has been a Hobby Stock competitor at Antioch for several seasons, but that 20 lap feature win had eluded him until Saturday. It was rookie Anthony Vigna who set the pace up front from the start. Vigna was running a great race ahead of Futado when motor problems put an end to what could have been a victory on lap 17. Vigna's blown motor caught fire, but he was not injured. Suddenly, Furtado had the lead. Furtado held off Cameron Swank over the final three laps for the popular victory. Point leader and heat winner Guy Alhwardt rebounded from a spin to finish third ahead of Lindsey Buirch and Chris Sorensen.
Two time Street Stock champion David Rosa finally collected his first career 20 lap Dwarf Car Main Event victory. Rosa started his night by joining South Bay Dwarf Car visitor William Belfield in winning a heat race. Come Main Event time, Rosa proved to be just a little too fast for Belfield as he led him for the 1-2 finish. Buddy Kniss had third before spinning and ending up sixth. David Michael Rosa finished third ahead of Tim Reeder and Timmy Ryan.
After a week off, racing returns to Antioch Speedway on Saturday night, September 10th. The All Star Series program will include Winged 360 Sprint Cars, A Modifieds, B Modifieds, Limited Late Models, Hobby Stocks and Hardtops. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.
Unofficial Race Results, August 27
Winged 360 Sprint Cars
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Roberto Kirby, Burt Foland Jr. Main Event (20 Laps)-Billy Aton, Shawn Arriaga, Foland, Art McCarthy, Dan Gonderman
A Modifieds
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Troy Foulger, Nick Viscusi III. Main Event (20 Laps)-Duane Cleveland, Sean O'Gara, Scott Busby, Trent Wentworth, Carl Berendsen II.
Wingless Spec Sprints
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Shannon Newton, Adam Teves. Main Event (20 Laps)-Jim Perry Jr., Marcus Smith, Newton, Roy Fisher, Brandon Burd.
B Modifieds
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Trevor Clymens, Nick DeCarlo. Main Event (20 Laps)-Phillip Shelby, Clymens, Al Johnson, Shane DeVolder, Kevin Brown.
Limited Late Models
Heat Winner (8 Laps)-Kimo Oreta. Main Event (20 Laps)-Larry Damitz, Jeff Kendrick, Mike Gustafson, Lori Brown, Orerta.
Hobby Stocks
Heat Winner (8 Laps)-Guy Ahlwardt. Main Event (20 Laps)-Frank Furtado, Cameron Swank, Ahlwardt, Lindsey Buirch, Chris Sorensen.
Dwarf Cars
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-William Belfield, David Rosa. Main Event (20 Laps)-Rosa, Belfield, David Michael Rosa, Tim Reeder, Timmy Ryan.
Brown, Diaz Continue Drive Towards
Merced Championships With Victories
Merced, CA...August 27...The month of August ended at Merced Speedway with three point leaders scoring wins in their respective Main Events Saturday night. In IMCA Modified action, Randy Brown won for the fourth time this year as he is slowly starting to put some distance between himself and second place in the standings. IMCA Sport Modified point leader Rick Diaz gave the competition something to think about when he won his sixth IMCA Sport Modified Main Event. Robbie Loquaci won his second 20 lap Hobby Stock Main Event, while Sportsman point leader Kenny Birdsong scored a much needed third 20 lap Sportsman Main Event win.
The IMCA Modifieds ran two heat races with rookies winning both of them. Bruce "Bubba" Nelson won his nine lapper ahead of Ricky Thatcher, while Tim Cecil won his ahead of Mike Villanueva. Brown made another charge to the front of the Main Event. Once he got there, he was pursued by another rookie, past Sport Mod champion Ryan Larimer. Brown seems to have hit on the winning combination lately, and he was not going to be denied the victory. Larimer settled for a season best second ahead of Nelson. Ramie Stone kept his championship hopes alive and moved into second in the standings by finishing fourth ahead of Fallon, Nevada visitor Travis White, Late Model veteran Derek Nance, Troy Stone, Steve Streeter, Joe Altig and Villanueva.
On the heels of his impressive IMCA Sport Modified feature win last week, Chase Thomas won his nine lap heat race ahead of reigning IMCA State champion Fred Ryland. Chris Falkenberg was back in action and winning his heat race ahead of Marisa Odgers. Rick Diaz has been on such a roll lately that he has enjoyed six straight Top 5 finishes and hadn't finished lower than second in his previous four starts. His point lead has reached a level in which he could miss a race and still be leading. However, the quest for more wins always keeps Diaz coming back, and Saturday night saw him battle Ryland at the front of the pack. When the checkered flag flew, Diaz was increasing his point lead even more after his sixth victory. Ryland settled for second ahead of Gary Tucker. Mike Drake maintained second in the standings with his fourth place finish ahead of Thomas, Mark Squatrito, reigning champion Josh Hensley, Mike Shepherd, Odgers and Paul Espino.
Robbie Loquaci gave indication of things to come when he held off Kodie Dean to win one of the Hobby Stock heat races. A good turnout of cars called for three nine lap heat races with Austin Van Hoff holding off Darren Miguel to win their heat race. Jeff Lacy drove his Dan Marino Miami Dolphins tribute car to a heat win ahead of Cody Parker. A past Mini Stock champion at Chowchilla Speedway, Loquaci was looking for his second feature win of the season. He still has hopes of finishing second in the standings, but reigning champion Kevin Joaquin currently holds the position. Joaquin is still looking for his first win of the season, but Loquaci held him off for the impressive victory. Joaquin settled for second once again. Van Hoff had his best finish of the season in third ahead of Phil Vaughn. A two time winner last season, Cody Parker had his best finish of the year in fifth as point leader Michael Shearer, Garrett Corn, Lacy, Kyle Singleton and Donnie Shearer completed the Top 10 in the 19 car field.
After his tow vehicle broke down on Legend's Night and forced him to miss the race, Jeff Bristow was back winning the Sportsman division heat race ahead of point leaer Kenny Birdsong. Birdsong was in need of a good night after his disappointing showing last time, and he got just what he needed. Birdsong battled Bristow in the Main Event, but it was Birdsong prevailing at the checkered flag in the Rod Poor Tribute car. Mike Friesen followed Bristow for the third place finish as Jeff West, Jesse James Burks and Tim Prothro completed the finishing order.
After a two week break, racing returns on Saturday, September 17th with IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Mini Stocks and the Valley Sportsman division. For further information, check out www.racemerced.com.
Race Results
IMCA MODIFIEDS - A-MAIN
1 16B Randy Brown Chowchilla
2 47M Ryan Larimer Merced
3 4B Bruce Nelson Winton
4 06 Ramie Stone Snelling
5 01 Travis White Fallon, NV
6 5N Derek Nance Merced
7 4 Troy Stone Winton
8 1X Steve Streeter Chowchilla
9 04 Joe Altig San Diego
10 69M Mike Villanueva Merced
11 61 Ricky Thatcher Mariposa
12 1C Tim Cecil Merced
13 09 Mitch Enos Manteca
14 59 Robert Miller
IMCA Sport Mods - A-MAIN
1 714 Rick Diaz Los Banos
2 7J Fred Ryland Brentwood
3 10T Gary Tucker Delhi
4 O5 Mike Drake Turlock
5 209 Chase Thomas Atwater
6 31 Mark Squadrito Copperopolis
7 86 Josh Hensley Ballico
8 23 Mike Shepherd Atwater
9 57M Marisa Odgers Mariposa
10 33 Paul Espino Merced
11 22 Tanner Thomas Atwater
12 33G Gavin Espino Merced
13 51 Chuck Weir
14 3CF Chris Falkenberg Merced
15 44 Tim Elias Los Banos
16 07 George Mederios Merced
Hobby Stocks - A-MAIN
1 70L Robbie Loquaci Madera
2 97 Kevin Joaquin Sonora
3 44 Austin VanHoff Chowchilla
4 76K Phillip Vaughn Merced
5 28 Cody Parker Merced
6 67J Michael Shearer Atwater
7 C29 Garrett Corn Cathey's Valley
8 13L Jeff Lacy Fresno
9 02 Kyle Singleton Clovis
10 37J Donnie Shearer Merced
11 86 John Hensley Denair
12 4B Shannon Nelson Atwater
13 86JR Darren Miguel Ballico
14 78 Brandon Pugh
15 41 Jason Pugh Clovis
16 73J Kristie Shearer Atwater
17 4T4 Cody Brown Chowchilla
18 7 Kodie Dean Chowchilla
19 66 Tony Olivera Watsonville
VALLEY SPORTSMAN - A-MAIN
1 25M Kenny Birdsong Merced
2 14 Jeff Bristow Turlock
3 121 Mike Friesen Atwater
4 69J Jeff West Turlock
5 69 Jesse James Burks Le Grand
6 23M Tim Prothro Merced
