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Available via print on demand at Lulu in Hard Cover or Paperback
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Wingless Spec Sprints, Hobby Stocks Run
Special County Fair Race At Antioch Speedway
Antioch, CA...It's that time once again when the Contra Costa County Fair comes to the Antioch Fairgrounds. The two divisions being showcased for the special Saturday night show at Antioch Speedway will be the All Star Series Winless Spec Sprints and the Hobby Stocks. Drivers will also get a rare opportunity to run a four lap Trophy Dash in each class.
We are three races into the season, and Bob Newberry leads the Spec Sprint point standings by just 16 tallies ahead of Alan Miranda. Newberry won the season opener, but he has been forced to settle for second in the last two events, won by Miranda and Shannon Newton, respectively. Newberry hasn't competed for points in several seasons, but he is the 2004 Antioch champion. Two years later, he won a championship at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico.
On the other end of the spectrum, division mainstay Rick Panfili has had a pair of races he'd rather forget. Last time, he was eliminated in an opening lap crash. The time before that, he ended up flipping on the opening lap. Word is that the car will be ready to go this week. Another driver who has flipped this year is ageless veteran Roy Fisher. However, Fisher finds himself 24 points out of the lead, two behind third place competitor Brandon Burd. James East, Scott Martin, Kevin Box and rookie McKenzie Newton are other drivers to look for this week.
In the Hobby Stock division, 2010 champion Chris Sorensen and Michael Cooper have been dividing the victories amongst themselves. Thus far, each has three feature triumphs. Sorensen grabbed his latest victory last week just ahead of reigning champion Cameron Swank. Swank has multiple second place finishes, but he is still looking for his first win of the season. The point race right now finds Sorensen leading Cooper by just 12 points.
John Wacht is one of the many rookies in the class this season. He has finished as high as third in the Main Event, and this has helped put him third in the standings, 20 ahead of Swank and 28 ahead of the steady Billy Garner. Garner enjoyed his best finish of the season last week in fifth after winning his heat race earlier in the evening. Tanis Rangel has done a great job of representing the colors of fictional racer Brewster Baker from the movie Six Pack. He finished fourth in the most recent race and holds sixth in the standings.
Other drivers to watch for this week include Haley Gomez, Brianna Troen, Erik Pitschner, Joey Ridgeway, Anthony VIgna and Don Phillips. Phillips and Troen are both members of the Rollover Club this season.
Saturday night will be an opportunity to enjoy the fair and come see a couple of Antioch Speedway's featured classes from the All Star Series racing line up. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.
Modified Classes Headline Show
At Merced Speedway Saturday Night
Merced, CA...Racing season continues this Saturday night at Merced Speedway with another exciting four division lineup. IMCA Modifieds return to headline this race along with the IMCA Sport Modifieds, Mini Stocks and the Valley Sportsman division.
In recent years, three-time IMCA Modified champion Paul Stone has been taking his show on the road and running some of the big events across the country. He has been at the first three races of the season and finds himself leading Brian Pearce by seven points. Stone is a two-time feature winner, while Pearce has finished as high as second. The consistent Darrell Hughes II and Jeff Streeter also find themselves in contention, 10 points and 13 points out, respectively.
Ryan Porter ran very strong in the most recent race, but unfortunately his night ended after he and two-time reigning champion Randy Brown got together. Brown is likewise looking for his first win of the season. Also in the mix this season is four time champion Ramie Stone, who currently counts himself among the Top 10 in the standings. It should be a great night of racing, and other competitors to watch for this week include Troy Stone, Shane DeVolder, Ricky Thatcher and Jarod Fast.
The IMCA Sport Modified division has been interesting to watch. After four events, the Thomas brothers have won three of them. Coming off of his second win of the season, Tanner Thomas has now moved to within five points of the lead in the standings. If not for one bad night, he would likely be leading. As it is, past Antioch Speedway champion Jeremy Hoff leads the race by just one point ahead of Danny Roe. Both Hoff and Roe are still searching for their first wins of the season and are two of the three competitors who have four Top 10 finishes so far.
Tanner's brother Chase Thomas is a one-time winner, and he is only 12 points out of the lead in seventh. He'll be out to match his brother in the win column, but he can expect some tough competition from Top 5 ranked competitors Chris Falkenberg and Tim Elias, Bruce Nelson, Kelly Wilkinson and Chuck Weir, among others.
The Mini Stock division is having a surge in car count. Once again, there were over 20 competitors in the field last week. It was a battle of the Corder siblings at the front of the pack. Jennifer Corder, who is currently leading the standings, was battling Chris for her first win of the year. Unfortunately, her brother Chris Corder, who is the three-time reigning champion, sped past her for his third win of the season. Because of a bad night, Chris is 22 points out of the lead.
Jennifer is being challenged by a trio of newcomers. Allen Neal is just four point behind her, while Bryant Desarie is eight points out and Lee Ragsdale is nine points back. Another rookie, Tyler Jackson is 18 points out of the lead in sixth. Robert Jackson counts himself as the other feature winner so far. Other drivers to watch for this week include Jennifer Rodgers, Abigail Kennedy, Lucy Falkenberg, Jason Belton Jr, Devin Belton and Joe Terry.
The last time Watsonville Speedway Hall of Famer Jerry Cecil found himself at the top of a point list, he was winning the 1981 Watsonville Sportsman championship for the fourth time. Nobody has more wins in that division at his home track than Jerry. After two events, he leads Rick Elliott by three points and rookie Chris Corder by five tallies. All three drivers are in search of their first Sportsman wins of the year.
Last time out, Sport Modified star Chris Falkenberg took the wheel of reigning champion Jeff Bristow's car and put it in the Winner's Circle. He and Chris Birdsong have won the Main Event's so far. Both drivers will be looking for repeat performances this week.
It should be a great night of racing at Merced Speedway this Saturday. This four division event is being presented by Garton Tractor. After Saturday's races, the speedway will go dark for the rest of the month before coming back for the Wednesday Fair race on June 6th. IMCA Modifieds, Hobby Stocks and California Sharp Mini Late Models will compete that night. Then, on June 15th and 16th, the Western States Dwarf Car Association will hold their big National event. The Saturday show will see the Dwarf Cars joined by the Hobby Stocks, California Sharp Mini Late Models and an appearance by the Vintage Super Modifieds. For further information on the happenings at the speedway, go to www.racemerced.com.
Orland Raceway Offering Racing During Glenn County Fair
Orland, CA...One of the highlights of the racing season is the event held during the annual Glenn County Fair. It's an opportunity for the fans to enjoy the fairtime experience and then head to the main grandstands to watch some exciting racing on the one-fifth mile dirt oval. The track will offer of nice variety of exciting racing divisions this Friday night. On Saturday, there will be a crowd thrilling Destruction Derby.
One of the track's staple classes is the Mini Stock division. Something very interesting is happening this season after two events. You're winner in both races is Barbara Crain. Last season, Barbara debuted a new car and had a best finish of second place. So far this year, she has been unstoppable in Main Event competition with two straight wins. Getting a win in this division isn't easy when you have reigning champion Tom Davis and two-time champion John Kirkpatrick among the roster. Other drivers out there vying for victory include Sean Perry, Dustin Hills, Jason Libbee, Les Fernandez and Scott Camper.
The Crain team shared the Winner's Circle in the most recent event as Jeff Bennett battled reigning champion Keith Ross for the Mini Truck victory. Orland has the longest running Mini Truck division on the West Coast at over 20 years. Ross bested a good field in the season opener to be the Main Event winner that night. Another past champion, Dan Webster, is part of a growing truck roster along with William Fogle,
The track's Pure Stock division is offering some exciting, door-to-door action for the fans to enjoy. At the top of the list is reigning champion Jeremy Langenderfer. Jeremy won the first two races of the season, and he recently scored another win at Chico. Last season's runner-up in points, Shannon Collins, had a second in the season opener, but he's hoping to rebound from a disappointing ninth place finish last time out. There are some great racers on this roster, including past division champions Paul Stevens, Steve Martin and Jerry Bartlett and other notables such as Amanda McAbel, John Camper and Brad Ray. Stevens was the winner of last year's $1,000 prize in the Battle Of The Axles.
There has been a few more racers in the Wingless Gas Sprint division this season as the track continues to build the class back up. Many time champion Josh Jacobo remains the driver to beat and is a feature winner this season. Hard chargers such as Rob Worthington, Tanner Thomson, Josh Tucker, Jeff Crossman, RT Bakker and David Johnson are also making their presence known at the speedway.
The record will show that the 250 Micro Main Event was won by James Barnes, while the recent 600 Micro feature was won by BJ Martin. If the Martin name sounds familiar, it could just be because he is a past Mini Stock, Mini Truck and Mini Modified champion at the speedway. The Micro Sprint divisions continue to offer some great entertainment for the fans.
Orland Raceway is off to a great start this season, and the Friday night event should be entertaining from start to finish. For further information, go to www.orlandraceway.com or check out the track's Facebook page.
