Merced Speedway And Antioch Speedway Weekend Previews And More

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Merced Speedway To Honor Bill Egleston 

At Season Opener This Saturday Night

Merced, CA...The beginning of spring signals the start of the 2018 racing season at Merced Speedway. This is the 69th consecutive season of operation for the Merced County Fairgrounds based oval track, and it begins on a somber note. In January, 2012 Merced Speedway IMCA Modified champion Bill Egleston was killed in a crash at Perris Auto Speedway.

Bill has been a regular at Merced Speedway for the past several seasons and was well respected by his fellow competitors. An outpouring of affection amongst his peers has led to an increase in the IMCA Modified winner's purse for Saturday's show. It will now pay $3,000 to win. The generosity of the sponsors doesn't end there. IMCA Sport Modifieds will pay $1,300 to win, while the Hobby Stock feature winner will receive $1,200.

It's not just about the extra money, it's about remembering somebody who was loved within the racing community. Merced has been rocked by bad news during the past year as we have lost longtime promoter Chuck Griffin, Rene Krumm and Sportsman legend Duane Noe within the past year. Saturday night will not only be a night to celebrate the beginning of the season, but also a night to remember a fellow racer.

The increased money is certain to bring some top notch competitors to an already competitive show that will feature the three above listed divisions as well as the Mini Stock class. In the IMCA Modifieds, Randy Brown has reigned supreme as the champion for the past two seasons. Though he has not dominated the winner's circle, he is seldom seen outside the Top 3 at the finish, and he would certainly have to be considered a threat to win the big race.

Multi time champion Paul Stone is a threat to win any time he shows up at the speedway and was a winner last season. Another driver who could come to town for the big race is Troy Foulger in the Bill Bowers Modified. The IMCA Modifieds are coming off of a solid 2017 season, and some of the stars to watch for this week include Mike Villanueva, D.J. Shannon, Bruce "Bubba" Nelson, Ryan Porter, Jarod Fast, Troy Stone, Ricky Thatcher and multi time champion Ramie Stone. Car count should reach into the twenties for this event, and that's just the IMCA Modified division.

The IMCA Sport Modifieds will reportedly see an increase in car count this season with a few new drivers joining the ranks. Last season, Fred Ryland came to town and used his consistency to win the championship in impressive fashion. A late season surge propelled Jeremy Hoff into second place in the standings. Hoff would have to be considered a threat to win the championship this season, but some will say the road to the championship goes through two time champion Rick Diaz. Diaz racked up seven wins last season despite bowing out of the point race.

When it comes to the future stars of Merced Speedway, they don't get much better than the Thomas brothers, Chase and Tanner. The sons of multi time Street Stock Champion Darren Thomas both ranked inside the Top 5 in the standings last season. They were kept out of the winner's circle, but both plan to change that this season.

Among the many other stars of the class are past Dwarf Car champion Mike Drake, second generation leadfoot Cody Parker, Jack Aguiar, 2015 champion Josh Hensley, Chris Falkenberg and the returning Danny Roe. Car count in this class should easily move into the twenties this week as well, and you can expect some stars from outside the area to come compete for the extra money.

As if the two talent filled Modified classes aren't enough, the track's highly competitive Hobby Stock division is also on the card. A very competitive championship battle last season went down to the wire with Kodie Dean holding off third generation star Garrett Corn to win the championship. Dean was among a group of around 40 competitors at practice two weeks ago.

The Shearer family should be well represented again this year as 2016 champion Michael Shearer and wife Kristie Shearer both have cars. Kristie finished a solid third in last year's point race. Teammate Shannon Nelson was also Top 10 ranked last season, and occasionally you'll see multi time division champion Bubba Nelson, Shannon's husband, behind the wheel of one of the team's cars.

Though the Shearer team is usually in contention every week, there are some racers looking to keep them out of the winner's circle. Austin Van Hoff had another strong effort last season in fourth, and he's ready to make a run at the increased purse this week. Word is it that his younger sister has a car in the works to debut soon. Robbie Loqauaci also had a strong season last year, though misfortune in the finale dropped him from third to fifth in the final rundown. Others to keep an eye on this week include 2015 champion Kevin Joaquin, James Stockton, Mike Stockton, Donnie Shearer and Tony Peffer.

One of the strongest represented classes at the playday two weeks ago was the Mini Stocks. It seems that Dale Falkenberg and Corder Racing are doing their best to get as many cars to the track as possible. Chris Corder is the three time reigning champion, having won the closest battle at the track last year ahead of his sister Jennifer Corder. Both are anticipated this week.

Lucy Falkenberg had multiple second place finishes last season, and she's hungry to get her first career victory. Likewise, Destiny Carter is hoping to put her car in the winner's circle. She had a career best third last season. Last season's top rookie, Shawn DePriest, is anticipated this week along with Jason Womack, Devan Belton and newcomer Joe Terry. Rumor has it that 2016 Watsonville champion D.J. Keldsen and brother Cody Keldsen could be there this week, and D.J. could even be doing double duty in a Hobby Stock as well.

Bill Egleston would be proud to see such a big event happening in his honor as the gates open for the 2018 Merced Speedway season. For further information, go to www.racemerced.com.

2018 Racing Season Set To Begin At Antioch Speedway

Antioch, CA...The 58th consecutive season of racing at Antioch Speedway is set to begin this Saturday night. Now in their 21st season as promoters, John and Donna Soares are presenting an exciting lineup of All Star Series racing on the 3/8th Mile clay oval. The Wingless Spec Sprint division kicks off their 20th season at the Contra Costa County based racing facility, headlining the five division show along with A Modifieds, B Modifieds, Hobby Stocks and Dwarf Cars.

The Wingless Spec Sprint division featured one of the closest battles at the speedway last year, won by Bryan Grier. The underdog in the battle was division original Rick Panfili, who has been competing in this class every season since it began. Panfili crashed in final race after contact, leaving his car severely damaged. Thanks to some good sponsorship and a little help from others, Panfili was at the practice two weeks ago and is ready for the opener.

Past champion Bob Newberry was at times unstoppable last season, but a late start kept him out of championship contention and forced him to settle for a still very close third. Newberry may very well be the man to beat if he has his sights set on the championship this year. Another driver to watch will be the steady Shannon Newton, who finished fourth last year with a season high second place finish. Much like Panfili, Newton is hoping to get his first victory. Others to watch for include Allen Miranda, Roy Fisher, Brandon Burd, James East and last year's top rookie, Abigail Gonderman.

For whatever reason, second generation racer Bobby Motts Jr seems to be slipping in under the radar. Considering he won the A Modified championship last year and won over 20 Main Events as a past Street Stock champion at the track, this just shouldn't be. Motts won his Modified title last year by a solid margin ahead of another second generation racer with Vallejo Speedway ties, Sean O'Gara.

Eric Berendsen might seem an unlikely Top 3 driver. Though he was underfunded, Eric continued to make every race last year despite the bad luck he had, and he was the top rookie in this class. Eric will be hoping for better things this year, including his first Main Event win. Another driver to watch will be fellow Top 5 ranked competitor Mike Salazar. If a hard luck driver award were handed out last season, Mike might have been the winner. Whatever happens, he always brings a positive attitude to the speedway.

All eyes will be on division mainstay Scott Busby. Nobody has won more Main Events in this division than the five time champion. At the moment, Busby is tied atop the all time winner's list in Antioch Speedway history with the legendary J.D. Willis. Both drivers have 72 wins. While Busby did the lion's Share of his winning in Modifieds, Willis won his Main Events in multiple eras driving Stock Cars, Sportsmans and Modifieds.

The B Modified division should see two of its biggest stars of the past two seasons, reigning champion K.C. Keller and 2016 champion Trevor Clymens. Promoter John Soares has already decreed that this division will compete for $500 to win when 18 cars show up to race, and there are several cars being prepared this season.

Chuck Golden is hungry for his first win after finishing as high as second last season in what ended up being a third place point effort. Another driver to watch for who had multiple second place finishes last season is second generation competitor Nick Caughman Jr. Like Kenny Neu, Caughman was fast last year, but bad luck served to derail his efforts to get a win. Other drivers to watch for this week include Kevin Brown, Randy Brown, Tim Hammett, Guy Ahlwardt and last year's top rookie, Todd Gomez.

The Hobby Stock division was the most active class on the roster last season, and they've been scheduled 26 times in what will be a marathon season this year. Brent Curran won top rookie honors last year, and he's moving up to the B Modified class. Reigning champion Cameron Swank is anticipated this season. He was seen driving the Travis Tabucchi Chevelle on New Years, but we haven't heard what car he'll run this season. It certainly would be interesting to see somebody making a run for the division championship in a non Camaro.

After his car was demolished in a crash at Watsonville, 2010 champion Chris Sorensen has a new car from the shops of Baker Motorsports. Last year's third ranked competitor, Chris Bennett, has landed some new sponsorship as he sets his sights on his first career Main Event victory in the Bob Hanson Tribute car. The one driver who could make things very interesting in the championship race is multi time champion Melissa Meyers, who won four times in her limited starts last season.

The Hobby Stock class boasts a roster well into the 30s, though it will be challenging for the drivers to make the entire season with such a busy schedule. Billy Garner has the old Jim Freethy car as he is aiming for his first win. A two time winner last season, Michael Cooper will be another driver to keep an eye on, as will his teammate, Jordan Swank. Frank Furtado, Ken Rhoades, Angela Brown, Lindsay Buirch, Anthony Vigna and Joey Ridgeway are other drivers to watch for.

The Dwarf Car division begins its 21st campaign with a wide open race anticipated for the championship. Mike Corsaro was always exciting to watch last season in winning his first championship. Though he took a nasty tumble one week that kept him out of the Main Event, he usually finished in the Top 3 and had several wins. Corsaro could be the driver to beat, but the father-son duo of David Rosa and David Michael Rosa hope to have something to say about that. The elder Rosa racked up more Street Stock Main Event wins than anybody in that division's history at over 40, while his son is looking for his first win. David Michael finished second three times last year.

Another driver to watch in the quest for victory is last year's second ranked driver and top rookie in the field, Devan Kammermann. Devan adapted well in his move up from the Quarter Midgets, and he seemed to get better as the season progressed last year. Longtime Dwarf Car competitor Charlie Correia, Chris Becker, Brian Gray, 2016 champion Kevin Miraglio and Chuck Conover are among the other drivers to watch for this week.

The drivers are excited about getting their cars back on the track in racing conditions, and Saturday is shaping up to be a great night from start to finish. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.

Pit Stops

As of Wednesday morning, the weather looks very iffy for the coming weekend as the Bay Area tracks in California are all prepared to open. While Antioch Speedway has their five division All-Star Series racing program set for Saturday and Merced Speedway is also kicking things off with the Bill Egleston Memorial, Petaluma Speedway has a four division offering.

PitStopUSA.com Winged 360 Sprint Cars and Wingless Spec Sprints headline a show that also includes the Redwood Empire Dwarf Cars and Santa Rosa Auto Body 600 Micros. The playday last week was rained out. This season, the speedway will also feature the Jake's Performance Hobbies Mini Stocks, McLea's Tires IMCA Modifieds and Lumberjack Restaurant Super Stocks. In fact, Super Stocks and Mini Stocks will join the Dwarf Cars and C&H Hunt Wingless Spec Sprint Series on March 31st.

Last season, the track's Dwarf Car division formed the Redwood Empire Dwarf Car Association. Petaluma Dwarf Cars have conformed to the Western States Dwarf Car Association rules as it was, meaning the track has had Regional events every year for the past several seasons and a shootout race with the neighboring South Bay Dwarf Car Association, which is based in Watsonville. The record shows that Dave Mosier again won the Dwarf Car championship last season ahead of previous champion, Chad Matthias, who beat Scooter Gomes by just 11 points for third.

Geoff Ensign had an impressive season as he was the Winged 360 Sprint Car champion at both Petaluma and Watsonville. At Petaluma, he beat Klint Simpson by just 12 points to win the title. David Lindt II won a battle of second generation racers with Jake Haulot to finish third. It's interesting to note that most of Petaluma's Winged 360 shows this year fall on nights in which Antioch Speedway is not running the class, meaning fewer conflicts between the tracks. Meanwhile, Ryon Siverling was the surprising champion in the Wingless Spec Sprint class, beating past champion Sparky Howard by just one point. Young William Fatu notched third of the standings by just four points over past champion Klint Simpson.

The Santa Rosa Auto Body 600 Micro class continues to give the fans a solid show. Nick Robfogel won last season's championship ahead of George Nielsen and Jim Beck. Petaluma Speedway historians will note that the Super Stock division's lineage stretches back all the way to the mid 1970s with continuous racing. Matt While backed up his 2017 championship by holding off Steve Studebaker by just two points. Jim "Woody" Woodward finished third, seven points ahead of another past champion, Shawn McCoy. Super Stocks will return on March 31st, as will the Mini Stocks.

Historians will also note that Petaluma has continued the lineage of Mini Stock racing that was started back in the 1970s at Baylands Raceway. The division has had a championship season every year since then at Baylands prior to 1989 and Petaluma ever since. The division is also noted for graduating drivers into other divisions. For instance, Wlliam Fatu and Bob Davis are both Top 5 ranked Spec Sprint racers who started in Mini Stocks. Last season, Austin Ohlinger won the championship ahead of David Spindell and Sean Hale.

It's worth noting that Petaluma will have several big shows sprinkled throughout the season, including visits by the Elk Grove Ford Sprint Car Challenge Tour, presented by Abreu Vineyards, the King Of The West/NARC Sprint Cars, USAC Western States Midgets, USAC-CRA Sprint Cars, the Johnny Soares Classic for the Hunt Wingless Spec Sprints and the Adobe Cup. For further information, check out www.petaluma-speedway.com.

Friday night is scheduled to be an appearance by the World Of Outlaw Sprint Cars at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville. If the weather cooperates, IMCA Sport Modifieds and South Bay Dwarf Cars are also on the card. Ocean Speedway will continue to offer up their other divisions during the season, including the IMCA Modifieds, the popular American Stocks, Mini Stocks and Police In Pursuit cars. Not to be forgotten are the headliners of the speedway, the Taco Bravo Winged Sprint Cars.

Promoter John Prentice will offer up several big events during the season, including the Pombo-Sargent Classic and Johnny Key Classic for Sprint Cars, the Mike Cecil Memorial for American Stocks and the IMCA Modified classes and the big Pat Pettit Memorial Shoot Out for the IMCA Modified classes and the American Stocks. That's just a taste of the great things to come. Coming into the season, Matt Hagio is the reigning Sport Modified champion. Hagio wrapped up his second championship in three seasons by holding off Mark Hartman. Meanwhile, Cameron Diate was the Dwarf Car champion. For further information on Ocean Speedway, check out www.racepmg.com.

Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico has a regular show booked for Friday night. It features the Winged 360 Sprint Cars, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Wingless Spec Sprints and Hobby Stocks. Last season's final Winged 410 Sprint Car champion was Andy Forsberg. It will be interesting to see who writes their name in the books as the first Winged 360 Sprint Car champion. Phillip Shelby won the IMCA Sport Modified championship ahead of Tyler Rodgers and State champion Shane DeVolder. Kyle Allen won the Hobby Stock championship ahead of the tied Nick Vidovich and Shannon Collins. Tony Richards won the Wingless Spec Sprint title ahead of Craig Swim and Casey McClain. For further information, check out www.silverdollarspeedway.com.

Marysville Raceway will attempt to get the season opener for the Civil War Series into the books this Saturday night. Joining them will be the IMCA 305 RaceSaver Sprints and the IMCA Modifieds. The record shows that Andy Forsberg is the ten time reigning champion for the Civil War Series, having won the title by a wide margin ahead of Jeff Ensign last season. Philip Shelby won the championship for the Sport Modifieds last year, while the RaceSaver Sprint division is having their first season. Marysville will continue to offer up a Winged Street Stock division along with Hobby Stocks, Crate Sprints and the regular Winged 360 Sprint division. For further information, go to www.marysvilleraceway.com.

Continuing our trek up through the Jefferson region, Placerville Speedway offers their season opener, which features the Winged 360 Sprint Cars, Limited Late Models and Pure Stocks. The NorCal Dwarf Car Series joins this show. The record will show that Steven Tiner was the Sprint Car champion last year ahead of Greg DeCaires and Jimmy Truli. The Limited Late Model championship was won by Matt Micheli ahead of Mike Lightfoot and Tyler Lightfoot, who were separated by just six points. The Pure Stock championship was won by Jason Palmer ahead of 2017 titleist Nick Baldwin and past champion Scott Grunert. Danny Wagner won the NorCal Dwarf Car title last season. For further information, go to www.placervillespeedway.com.

The season opener at All American Speedway might be delayed by a couple of weeks, but word is that the track will have a race season. Bill McAnally is still in negotiations on the final details of his contract. It is hoped to have the shorter season this year and get more race dates next year. McAnally has promoted the NASCAR K&N West Series at Roseville and other venues for the past several seasons. One change in the schedule this year will be the lack of a Vintage Classic event in October. Whether that event returns in 2019 is up in the air. What we are hearing is there will be a season, and you can go to www.allamericanspeedway.com to look for future announcements or check out their Facebook page.

Orland Raceway and Diamond Mountain Speedway in Susanville are still a few weeks away from putting cars on the track, but Siskiyou Motor Speedway racers will be able to put their cars on display at the Sportsman's Expo in Yreka this weekend. It's been a rocky off season for the race track as we have waited to see if they could save the speedway. Suffice it to say, there were some things happening via the SCMA treasurer that the rest of the SCMA board and association knew nothing about.

The good news in all of this is that the season has been saved, although we haven't heard all the details. Rumor has it that the Outlaw Pro Stock Association, based largely in Klamath Falls, Oregon, came through with some funds to help, although we are shaky on the details. It was also mentioned last season that the SCMA allowed the Outlaw Kart group to break free of them in an effort to save the Kart program should something happen to the big track. According to the Siskiyou County Fairgrounds board minutes, the contract for both tracks will belong to the SCMA again this year. It was also pointed out that failure to do so will result in the termination of the SCMA's contract at both tracks.

What this really means for racing fans is Siskiyou Motor Speedway will continue to feature IMCA Sport Modifieds and Mini Stocks. The Modified division will run some IMCA sanctioned and some non sanctioned events this year, while the Outlaw Pro Stock division will continue to call Siskiyou Motor Speedway their home track. There will also be a couple of visits by the Southern Oregon Dwarf Cars and special IMCA Modified Speedweek and Winged 360 Sprint Car Speedweek events. The trademark Arnberg/Hitson/Caveye Memorial Race takes place on Memorial Day Weekend with the Rod Restad event in late September closing things out. You can go to www.siskiyoumotorspeedway.com for further information.

Southern Oregon Speedway just had their Outlaw Kart awards banquet and informed the competitors of an exciting 11 race season, which kicks off with a two-day show on May 18th and 19th. The bigger track has so many things happening this year that it will be nonstop action from the moment the season opens on April 28th to the closure on September 22nd. IMCA will again sanction Modified and Sport Modified racing, while the big track continues to feature Mini Stocks, Valley Stor-All Late Model Lites, JOAT Labs Hornets, Late Models, Southern Oregon Dwarf Cars, OTRO Hardtops and Outlaw Pro Stocks.

Big things, such as the R Charles Snyder Salute, Hall Of Fame night, the Dwarf Car Nationals and the Herz Precision Part Cascade Wingless Sprint Car ($3,500 to win) Challenge Race are on the schedule. The more immediate interest will be the Road To The Iron Giant $1,000 to win 50 lap Street Stock race on May 19th, the Open Wheel Showcase, featuring Northwest Focus Midgets and Kendall Oil Winged Sprint Cars on May 26th and the Rodger Haudenshild Tribute Race, featuring IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Outlaw Pro Stocks and Southern Oregon Dwarf Cars on June 2nd. For further information, go to www.southernoregonspeedway.com.

Coos Bay Speedway just had their car show at the local mall last week. NASCAR racing will again be the thing when the oval track opens on April 14th. The Super Late Model champion stands to make as much as $6,000 this year for the championship. The Sportsman Late Model champion could walk away with $1,000 or more. These two divisions kick off the season along with the NASCAR Street Stocks, Mini Outlaws and Hornets. The Winged Sprint Cars and Humboldt Motorsports Side By Sides will make this a complete program from start to finish. You can go to www.coosbayspeedway.us for more information.

They've already been very active in Roseburg as they get ready for their new season. Last week was the annual Roy Harvey Bowling Tournament, which also acts as a fundraiser. Saturday night, they're having a chili cook off, which will be followed by a 200 lap Enduro race. The season kicks off on May 5th with PRA Modifieds, Hardtops, Streets Stocks, Mini Stocks, Hornets and Bangers. Noteworthy in the early goings of the season will be the NSRA Sprint Car show on May 19th and the NASCAR K&N West Show on June 30th. For further information, go to www.douglascountyspeedway.com.

The forecast calls for rainy and gloomy weather for the next few days, meaning there may not be much racing at all this weekend. However, California and eventually Oregon will be roaring with the sound of motors soon enough as spring has just begun and summer is just around the corner.


Silver Dollar Speedway
Race Results March 9, 2018
360 Sprints
Andy Forsberg
Colby Copeland
Jake Haulot
Michael Ing
D.J. Freitas
John Clark
Jodie Robinson
Lucas Ashe
R.C. Smith
Chelsea Blevins
Justin Sanders
Kalib Henry
Dustin Freitas
Justyn Cox
Mason Moore
Tony Gualda

Dwarf Cars
A Main
Ryan Winter
Jeremy Blackshere
Anthony Pope
Mike Reeder
Mike Grenert
Kevin Bender
Buddy Olschowka
Chuck Conover
Scott Dahlgren
Jeff Fitch
Ryan Plexico
Shawn Whitney
Bryan Bender
Wade Ehrlich
Austin Quilty
Justin Winter
Josh Wiesz
Daniel Weger
Danny Wagner
Zach Price
Devan Kammermann 
Vince Guerrero

B Main
Daniel Weger
Justin Winter
Wade Ehrlich
Devan Kammermann
Austin Quilty
Vince Guerrero
Ben Wiesz
Brian Quilty
Ron Jones
Sam Wren
Kevin Miragilo

Wingless Spec Sprints
Shawn Jones
Troy DeGaton
Angelique Bell
Nick Larson
Terry Schank Jr.


Chico Silver Dollar Speedway
Race Results March 10, 2018
360 Sprints
Andy Forsberg
Michael Kofoid
Willie Croft
Justin Sanders
Tony Gualda
Tanner Thorson
Cody Lamar
Michael Ing
John Carney
Colby Copeland
Lucas Ashe
Chelsea Blevins
Dustin Freitas
Billy Wallace
Tanner Boul
Brent Bjork
John Clark
Ryan Souza
Kalib Henry
Jake Haulot
D.J. Freitas
Justyn Cox 
Jodie Robinson

Dwarf Cars
Anthony Pope
Danny Wagner
Buddy Olschowka
Mike Reeder
Scott Dahlgren
Kevin Bender
Jeff Fitch
Ryan Plexico
Mike Grenert
Zach Price
Wade Ehrlich
Toby Brown
Bryan Bender
Ron Jones
Justin Winter
Daniel Weger
Ryan Winter
Devan Kammermann
Tim Fitzpatrick
Sam Wren

Wingless Spec Sprints
Sparky Howard
Shawn Jones
Max Adams
Brent Steck
Angelique Bell
Troy DeGaton