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Foulger A Double Winner In
Antioch Speedway Season Finale
Antioch, CA...October 22...Troy Foulger wrapped up an impressive double win night with his 20 lap DIRTcar Late Model feature win Saturday night at Antioch Speedway. Driving the Bowers Racing Late Model, Foulger won his heat race and raced into the early Main Event lead. Heat winner Rob Norris and Petaluma Modified star Michael Paul Jr. were in the hunt early. With six laps remaining, however, Norris got into the front wall and rolled in front of the flag stand. New track champion Richard Papenhausen took up the chase of Foulger, but Foulger stayed smooth and collected the victory. Jeff Decker finished third ahead of Shawn DeForest and Paul.
The four time A Modified champion Foulger wasn't done there. He drove the Bowers Racing Modified to his second 20 lap A Modified win of the season. The team had work to do following his bout with the wall two weeks ago, but the car was ready for a run at the $1000 prize. Foulger made all the right moves as he joined track legends Keith Brown Sr. and Bobby Hogge IV in being able to win A Modified and Late Model Main Events on the same night. Anthony Slaney enjoyed a great night of his own with a season best second place finish ahead of Michelle Paul, Chester Kniss and Bobby Montalvo. Carl Berendsen II wrapped up his second championship season in three years.
Newcomer Boy Moniz scored a surprise 20 lap Wingless Spec Sprint feature win. Moniz led all the way in a Main Event that was destined to go without a yellow flag. An open wheel racing competitor in Hawaii, Moniz drove a great race and pulled away to a comfortable margin of victory. Shannon Newton won a close battle with new track champion Jim Perry Jr. for second, while Brandon Burd outdueled Roy Fisher for fourth.
2015 champion Fred Ryland scored his fifth 20 lap B Modified Main Event win in thrilling fashion. Al Johnson raced out to the early lead ahead of Jim Waller and Alan Furuta. Rookie Mike Mates spun for his second yellow flag on lap seven. New track champion Trevor Clymens pitted from the Top 5 on lap 14. Johnson continued to lead, but Ryland was on the move and slipped past Ferguson for second. Ryland made a last turn pass and beat Johnson back to the checkered flag. Waller finished third ahead of Mike Merritt, Trent Wentworth and heat winner Megan Ponciano.
Kimo Oreta wrapped up a "Rookie Of The Year" and point runnerup season with his first career 20 lap Limited Late Model feature victory. Oreta charged into the early lead ahead of Lori Brown and Jim Freethy. After winning his heat race, five time winner Mark Garner had his sights set on second in the standings, but his race ended in a lap seven tangle with track champion Larry Damitz. Oreta continued to lead the restart. Two time champion Mike Gustafson managed to get past Brown for second and was in hot pursuit of the leader. However, nothing was going to stop Oreta from getting the well earned victory. Gustafson settled for second ahead of Brown, Damitz, Freethy and Shawn McCoy.
Guy Ahlwardt wrapped up his championship and "Rookie Of The Year" winning season with his sixth 20 lap Hobby Stock Main Event triumph. Ahlwardt jumped out to the early lead ahead of fellow heat race winner Chris Sorensen. He led on a lap six restart following a fire under the hood of the Frank Furtado car and following a red flag on lap 11 for a lost wheel from the Lindsey Buirch car. Furtado was running fourth at the time of his mishap. Bob Brown stalled for a yellow flag on lap 13. The slowdowns didn't matter to Ahlwardt as he continued to lead each restart with Sorensen in pursuit on his way to another win. Cameron Swank finished third ahead of Michael Cooper and Jordan Swank.
Rising second generation star Ben Wiesz scored the victory in the 20 lap Dwarf Car Main Event. The teen leadfoot started his night off strong with a heat race victory. Earlier this year, Wisez scored an impressive victory in a Dwarf Car Nationals Event up in Medford, Oregon. On this occasion, he had to contend with newly crowned Antioch champion Kevin Miraglio and Mike Corsaro, who won the other heat race. With Miraglio leading the chase, Wiesz stayed smooth and grabbed his first Antioch feature victory. Miraglio settled for second ahead of point runnerup Corsaro, recent Antioch winner Josh Miller and Preston Humphrey.
The Antioch Speedway 2016 Awards Banquet is set for November 19th, and the January 1, 2017 New Years Bash will feature A Modifieds, B Modifieds and Hobby Stocks. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.
Unofficial Race Results
DIRTcar Late Model
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Troy Foulger, Rob Norris. Main Event (20 Laps)-Foulger, Richard Papenhausen, Jeff Decker, Shawn DeForest, Michael Paul Jr.
A Modified
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Shawn DeForest, Jake Dewsbury. Main Event (20 Laps)-Troy Foulger, Anthony Slaney, Michelle Paul, Chester Kniss, Bobby Montalvo.
B Modified
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Trevor Clymens, Megan Ponciano. Main Event (20 Laps)-Fred Ryland, Al Johnson, Jim Waller, Mike Merritt, Trent Wentworth.
Wingless Spec Sprint
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Roy Fisher, Shannon Newton. Main Event (20 Laps)-Boy Moniz, Newton, Jim Perry Jr., Brandon Burd, Fisher.
Limited Late Model
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Mark Garner, Jim Freethy. Main Event (20 Laps)-Kimo Oreta, Mike Gustafson, Lori Brown, Larry Damitz, Freethy.
Hobby Stock
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Guy Ahlwardt, Chris Sorensen. Main Event (20 Laps)-Ahlwardt, Sorensen, Cameron Swank, Michael Cooper, Jordan Swank.
Dwarf Car
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Mike Corsaro, Ben Wiesz. Main Event (20 Laps)-Wiesz, Kevin Miraglio, Cosaro, Josh Miller, Preston Humphrey.
Antioch Speedway Pit Stops
With the season done at Antioch Speedway, the next order of business for the track will be the awards banquet on November 19th. The fact that speedway management decided to do an awards banquet and get it done so early is a good thing. For many years, the awards banquet used to happen in November. One of the big reasons it changed was because open comp season usually went all the way through November and some racers wanted to go racing rather than receive a trophy. This season's accomplishments will be honored at the traditional time in November.
Congratulations goes out to all of the champions at Antioch Speedway, Billy Aton (Winged 360 Sprint Cars), Carl Berendsen II (A Modifieds), Richard Papenhausen (DIRTcar Late Models), Jim Perry Jr. (Wingless Spec Sprints), Trevor Clymens (B Modifieds), Larry Damitz (Limited Late Models), Guy Ahlwardt (Hobby Stocks) and Kevin Miraglio (Dwarf Cars). Though winning a championship in 2016 is a bit different
than it was back in the 1990's, it still takes dedication to do it. It is
difficult to juggle a day to day schedule in life and still have the
time to run every race, more so when you're booked for every racing weekend as the B Modifieds were. Despite missing one race during the season, Trevor
Clymens managed to come back and beat Al Johnson for the championship
There was still some reason for Clymens to be nervous when the two rained out races were made up at the end of the season. The seven time Main Event winner had a bad night on September 24th, while Al Johnson won his first Main Event. Johnson nearly won the season finale before being passed on the last lap by 2015 champion Fred Ryland. Clymens had fallen out of the race before the finish, but Johnson could not gain enough points to pass him for the championship.
This was certainly a proud moment for the entire Clymens family. From his father Tom, who raced Stock Cars and Sportsmans in a 1970's, to mother Debbie, who competed in several divisions in her "Hall Of Fame" worthy career, and continuing with his brothers, Todd and Tommy, Trevor proudly carries on the family tradition. The championship was well earned, and he was unbeatable at times this year. While Trevor has established himself as one of the stars of the B Modifieds, the competition needs to be ready for the next generation as his nieces, Madison and Scarlett Clymens, are getting valuable experience in Outlaw Karts and could be stars at Antioch Speedway in he future.
We will do a season review in a future article, but we wanted to give some praise to Al Johnson and his efforts this year. Al ranked second last season to Fred Ryland. This season saw him lead the points for several weeks. Johnson had four seconds and five thirds. He debuted a new car during the second half of the season and got his first career win. He nearly won the finale before Ryland made his last lap pass. Overall, however, Johnson did well this year and can be proud of his accomplishments.
There was still some reason for Clymens to be nervous when the two rained out races were made up at the end of the season. The seven time Main Event winner had a bad night on September 24th, while Al Johnson won his first Main Event. Johnson nearly won the season finale before being passed on the last lap by 2015 champion Fred Ryland. Clymens had fallen out of the race before the finish, but Johnson could not gain enough points to pass him for the championship.
This was certainly a proud moment for the entire Clymens family. From his father Tom, who raced Stock Cars and Sportsmans in a 1970's, to mother Debbie, who competed in several divisions in her "Hall Of Fame" worthy career, and continuing with his brothers, Todd and Tommy, Trevor proudly carries on the family tradition. The championship was well earned, and he was unbeatable at times this year. While Trevor has established himself as one of the stars of the B Modifieds, the competition needs to be ready for the next generation as his nieces, Madison and Scarlett Clymens, are getting valuable experience in Outlaw Karts and could be stars at Antioch Speedway in he future.
We will do a season review in a future article, but we wanted to give some praise to Al Johnson and his efforts this year. Al ranked second last season to Fred Ryland. This season saw him lead the points for several weeks. Johnson had four seconds and five thirds. He debuted a new car during the second half of the season and got his first career win. He nearly won the finale before Ryland made his last lap pass. Overall, however, Johnson did well this year and can be proud of his accomplishments.
On championship night, Troy Foulger put on such a driving clinic with his Late Model and A Modified Main Event wins that it was a reminder of the championship credentials he carries. Bowers Racing has a reputation when it comes to winning championships, and Foulger won four of them in a row. The team hasn't been chasing points in recent seasons as they focus on trying to win bigger races, such as their All Star Seres Tour victory at Tulare this year. The DIRTcar Late Model win came ahead of new track champion Richard Papenhausen.
Papenhausen chased Foulger for his third second place finish of the season. His $1500 win in the John Soares Sr. Memorial two weeks ago was his third victory of the season. Richard was leading the battle going into the October 8th race when reigning champion Jeff Decker skipped the race. Interestingly enough, a look at the UMP DIRTcar West Regional point list as of today (October 24) shows Decker still leading as the October races weren't factored in. Last season, Decker's championship was worth $2000.
Decker and Bobby Hogge IV were two time winners this year, while Clay Daly and past Antioch champion Andy Obertello join Foulger as one time winners. Car count took a hit in both the Antioch and Southern California efforts, but Antioch still had 21 different cars during the course of the season, Ten cars competed in the tenth and final race of the season, and it is anticipated that the division will be back for its fourth straight championship season.
The A Modified division was marked by the fact that there were 12 different winners in 17 races, and Foulger, Scott Busby and Brian Cass were the only multiple time winners this year. Carl Berendsen II was on his way to his second championship in two years without a feature win, but he did finally get that win. Berendsen battled one of the greatest drivers in division history, Busby, to win this championship. Even a rollover couldn't stop him. His championship is well earned. Busby's efforts were marred by motor problems during the summer, but he added three more wins to his total, giving him 71 in his Antioch career. He is one win behind J.D. Willis.
Bobby Montalvo might have passed Sean O'Gara for third in the standings after finishing fifth in the finale, but enough cars between the two received no points due to not being regulars that O'Gara will still hold onto that position. O'Gara, like Anthony Slaney in the season finale, has finished as high as second in the Main Event this season and was also second in points in 2012. Montalvo will still be "Rookie Of The Year" this season.
Guy Alhwardt had hopes of winning the Hobby Stock "Rookie Of The Year" honors this year, but he exceeded that goal with the track championship. Alhwardt had the lead, lost it and regained it before his closest rival and five time winner Danny Jones parked in protest of an official decision The Alhwardt team earned this by battling through all of the obstacles and never giving up. With six wins and six seconds, it was difficult for anybody to keep up with him. Meanwhile, Lindsey Buirch ranked second in her rookie season, and she was the youngest competitor at the track at 16 years old. Buirch withstood the late season surge of Jordan Swank to earn second. This was also the season in which division veterans Frank Furtado and Michael Cooper got their first feature wins.
This will come as a surprise to nobody, but 87 year old Larry Damitz is the Limited Late Model champion for the for fifth time in seven seasons. He finished second the other two seasons. You have to be consistent to beat Damitz when he is out there winning six races and finishing second another five times. Mark Garner gave it a great effort, but the five time winner was out early in the season finale. Meanwhile, Kimo Oreta already knew he was "Rookie Of The Year" this season, but his first career win in this division in the season finale kept him second in the standings behind Damitz. Damitz has been somewhat of a mentor to Oreta this year. Oreta's win came ahead of one of the division's best ever, Mike Gustafson, who won twice this year.
Speaking of one of the best ever, Jim Perry Jr. is the Wingless Spec Sprint champion for the second time in his career. The open wheel veteran had four wins this season to add to his total of over 40 Antioch wins. Second year racer Marcus Smith won the battle with Roy Fisher for second in the standings. Fisher had one win this year to three for Smith, but the field was shocked in the finale by a little known racer from Hawaii named Boy Moniz. Moniz won impressively while Shannon Newton held off Perry in a good battle for second. It was Newton's second runnerup finish, matching the total of fourth ranked Rick Panfili.
With his fifth second place finish in the finale, Kevin Miraglio wrapped up his Dwarf Car championship season. Kevin's impressive numbers included two seconds and three third place finishes. Mike Corsaro started the year off with a win, but his mid season luck was so bad that he couldn't challenge the consistent Miraglio. His second place ranking ahead of rookie Buddy Kniss made this a career best season for Corsaso. The season also included first time Antioch wins for Ben Wiesz, Jenna Frazier and Josh Miller, while Stock Car veteran David Rosa got his fist Dwarf Car win. As with all of the divisions, the Dwarf Cars at Antioch were very competitive with ten different feature winners.
Speaking of a long list of winners, the Winged 360 Sprint Cars also had a list of feature winners in double digits. Originally, the final race of the season was going to include this division until it was realized that Tulare was running the Trophy Cup. When past Spec Sprint champion Billy Aton scored his third win in the September 24th finale, he held off three time winner Art McCarthy to win the closest championship battle at the track. These two drivers were the only ones to win more than one race, and the win list included such young up and coming drivers as Colby Johnson, Kaleb Montgomery and Brayden McMahan. The racing was good and usually had at least ten cars as management stepped up its commitment to establishing this division with more races.
Promoter John M. Soares won't have much of an off season with a November 19th banquet to prepare for and the big January 1, 2017 race that will feature A Modifieds, B Modifieds and Hobby Stocks. He will assess the numbers this year and could even have a 2017 schedule to announce as soon as the banquet. All divisions that competed this year should be back next year, along with visits from the Hardtops and BCRA Midget Lites. Unknown at this time is if there might be any new divisions or if there is any truth to the rumors that any Prentice Motorsports promoted Sprint Car or Modified series dates might be booked, though rumors are that it is possible. We can say that the October 22nd finale did end the season on a positive note and brings optimism of good things to come in 2017.
Note: This article is based on live scoring and subject to computer error and official decisions. It is therefore unofficial.
McDaniel, Bartlett, Marino Win
Marysville Raceway Taxi Cab Open
Marysville, CA...October 22...Ryan McDaniel won the 20 lap Limited Late Model Main Event Saturday night at Marysville Raceway. The Limited Late Models headlined the Annual Gold Fever Taxi Cab Open, and third generation racer McDaniel started the night with an eight lap heat race win ahead of Matt Micheli. Wayne Trimble set the early pace, and a lap five yellow flag for Eddie Garnder in Turn 2 opened the door for McDaniel. McDaniel took the lead on the restart. Trimble began to fall off the pace, and M. Micheli grabbed second on lap 15. By then, McDaniel held a half lap lead. Ray Trimble took third from W. Trimble on lap 18, and W. Trimble was lapped late as McDaniel won ahead of Micheli, R. Trimble, W. Trimble, Gardner, Marysville legend Leroy Perry, Ken Micheli and Jason Palmer.
Past Stock Car champion Jerry Bartlett won the 20 lap Super Stock Main Event. New champion James Castleberry held off three time champion Phillip Shelby to win his eight lap heat race. Mike Walko won the other heat in front of Rod Oliver. Driving the championship car of the late Billy Knoop, Shelby set the early pace ahead of Castleberry, but a yellow flag for past Petaluma champion Steve Studebaker slowed the pace on lap four. The restart saw Shelby spin in Turn 1, putting Castleberry into the lead ahead of Bartlett and Walko, Shelby brought out a lap six yellow flag and retired from the race. Castleberry continued to lead with Bartlett in close pursuit. Bartlett made his winning move late and scored the victory ahead of Castleberry, Walko, Studebaker, Oliver, Kyle Cheney and Shelby.
Two time Chico champion Phil Marino won the 20 lap Street Stock Main Event. The Street Stocks had the biggest turnout of the night, and defending race champion Brent Lawrence was a heat race winner ahead of recent Petaluma Adobe Cup winner Mitch Machado. Marino grabbed the second heat win ahead of Mickey Owens, and Kevin Lesch won the final heat in front of Phillip Shelby. Marino set the pace from the start in front of Lawrence and Machado. A lap three caution flag flew for Ted Ahart in Turn 1, ending the race for Ahart. Petaluma champion Matt While brought out a lap four caution flag. Marino continued to lead through this and three other restarts. Following the final caution flag on lap 17 for While and Kyle Cheney, Machado made a move around Lawrence for second on the restart. However, Marino drove a flawless race and scored the victory ahead of Machado. Lawrence pitted late as Shelby finished third ahead of Lesch, Studebaker, Shawn Smith, Owens, Cameron Hammett, Clinton Earl and Ryan Cherezian.
Orville Owens led all the way to win the 20 lap Pure Stock Main Event. Owens also won his eight lap heat race ahead of Russ Murphy. Ryan Compton won the other heat ahead of Les Friend. Owens had the lead from the start in front of Murphy and Jason Palmer. Murphy's run up front ended in Turn 4 for a lap four caution flag. Owens led Palmer and Compton on the restart. Placerville champion Nick Baldwin moved into fourth and started battling Compton for third before making the pass. A lap 18 yellow flag wiped out a straightaway lead for Owens. Owens still led the restart and the final two laps ahead of Palmer, Baldwin, Compton, Friend, Rick Grunert, Ryan Peter, Robert Mull, Ted Ahart and Travis Emery.
Ryan Compton dominated the 20 lap Hobby Stock Main Event in victory. Compton also win his eight lap heat race ahead of Shayna Robertson. Kyle Allen won the other heat ahead of Shannon Collins. Jimmy Ray Huffman and past Placerville champion Scott Grunert scratched from the Main Event. Collins led Compton early, but Compton gained the lead on lap 11 as Collins retired. Allen gained second at that point, but he surrendered the position to Robertson. Robertson trailed Compton by a half lap by lap 15. Compton cruised to victory as Todd Hemman made a late pass on Robertson for second. Allen, Josh Gish and Collins rounded out the finishing order.
