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Bigger Prize Money On The Line For Hobby Stocks
And B Modifieds At Antioch Speedway
Antioch, CA...On the heels of the big Firecracker 50 race for the All Star Series B Modifieds last Saturday at Antioch Speedway, the track is offering a $500 to win race for the class this week. Also receiving $500 for first place will be the Hobby Stocks in a program that will include the Wingless Spec Sprints, Limited Late Models and Dwarf Cars on the card.
B Modifieds will also be going topless this Saturday night. It's an opportunity for the fans to get a better look at the racers as they steer their cars around the three-eighth mile clay oval. Leading the charge will be point leader Trevor Clymens. At this stage of the season, five-time feature winner Clymens is leading the standings by nearly 200 points ahead of rookie Ryan DeForest. The battle is for second, where DeForest holds a six point lead over Kenny Shrader and a 20 point advantage over Brent Curran.
Shrader got off to a late start this season, but he picked up a respectable fourth place finish in the most recent long-distance race to move him into the Top 5 in the standings. Curran has won a Main Event this year and finished a strong second last week. DeForest, Schrader and fifth place Tommy Fraser are still looking for their first wins. Fraser and sixth place Chuck Golden are also in the hunt for second, both within 28 points of DeForest. Other drivers to watch for this week include Todd Gomez, Aaron Crowell, Fred Ryland and Kevin Brown.
Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. Actually, Hobby Stock point leader Chris Sorensen has been exceptionally good as he battles for his second championship at the speedway. Last week, Sorensen was cruising along in third when the two drivers in front of him both had problems during the final two laps. Suddenly, he found winning his fifth Main Event of the season to stretch his lead over Michael Cooper to 78 points. The $500 first prize offered this week is further incentive for Sorensen to go for his sixth victory. The two drivers in closest pursuit of Sorenson in the standings, Cooper and reigning champion Cameron Swank, are both three-time feature winners this year. Cooper leads Swank by just 37 points.
For 19 glorious laps, rookie Haley Gomez was putting a whooping on the Hobby Stock field. It was only when she raced past the white flag and into Turn 1 when she discovered she had broken steering. The win turned into another fifth place finish for the disappointed second generation racer. This week, she'll be out for redemption. Another driver who will be looking for her first when is rookie Breanna Troen. Breanna had her season best finish last week in third ahead of Anthony Wellborn. After a late start, Wellborn has shot into the Top 10 on the strength of his four straight Top 5 finishes. Other drivers to watch for include fourth-ranked Billy Garner, top rookie John Wacht, Joey Ridgeway and Anthony Vigna.
Bob Newberry continues to be the class of the Wingless Spec Sprint field. Last week, he took the lead on the sixth lap and sprinted to his third feature win of the season. The win moved him 51 points ahead of Shannon Newton, who finished second last week. Newton is a two-time winner this year.
Despite having steering issues last week, Brandon Burd somehow brought it home to a close third place finish behind Newberry and Newton. Burd still trails ageless veteran Roy Fisher by 10 points in the battle for third and is 17 behind Newton for second. Both Fisher and Burd are looking for their first wins of the season. Other drivers to watch for this week include fifth-ranked Alan Miranda, Rick Panfili, Scott Martin and James East. Division original Panfili has just announced that his car is up for sale.
The battle for the Limited Late Model championship continues to be intense. Two-time winner Mark Garner won his heat race last week but settled for fifth in the Main Event. Despite that, he clings to a 10 point lead over reigning champion Kimo Oreta and a 12 point advantage over Mike Walko. Walko picked up his second win of the season last time and is the only driver with all Top 3 finishes in the seven races held so far. Oreta has won two Main Events this season as well. Ryan Cherezian is 34 points behind Walko in fourth. Other drivers to watch for this week include two time champion Mike Gustafson, the steady John Evans, Jon Haney and fifth ranked Chad Hammer.
With a division leading four feature victories, reigning Dwarf Car champion Mike Corsaro holds a 70 point advantage over second generation racer David Michael Rosa. Rosa has won two of the last three Main Events to put 28 points between himself and third place Mario Marquez in the standings. Longtime Dwarf Car competitor Charlie Correia and Street Stock legend David Rosa are tied for fourth in the standings as both drivers look for their first feature wins of the season. Other drivers to watch for this week include Troy Stevenson, Chris Becker, Lonnie Tekaat, Jerry Doty and Tony Carmignani.
Saturday night should be a great night of racing at Antioch Speedway from start to finish. With bigger money on the line for the B Modifieds and Hobby Stocks, it'll be further incentive for the drivers to step up their game. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.
Kenny Schrader Night At Merced Speedway This Saturday
Merced, CA...Saturday night is another special night of racing at Merced Speedway. NASCAR star Kenny Schrader will be in town to do battle with the local IMCA Modified competitors. Also on the card will be Mini Stocks, California Sharp Mini Late Models and a special visit from the 600 Micros.
Since stepping away from full-time racing on the NASCAR Cup circuit, Kenny Schrader has kept himself busy racing against some of the best local drivers at various venues across the United States. On Saturday night, he'll be coming to Merced Speedway. Racing on dirt is a passion for Schrader, and he enjoys going from town to town and visiting different race tracks.
When he gets there, Schrader will find the competition to be pretty tough. Darrell Hughes II maintains his point lead after winning his first Main Event in the Timmy Post Memorial last week. Darrell also leads the division with five Top 5 finishes in 10 starts, giving him a four-point advantage over multi-time track champion and two-time feature winner Paul Stone. Only seven points behind and quietly hanging in the race is Brian Pearce. Pearce has 3 Top 5 finishes and is due for a win.
Ramie Stone has won four championships in the IMCA Modifieds through the years and knows a thing or two about point racing. Stone counts himself as a one-time winner this year and he is tied with Ryan Porter for fourth in the standings, 22 points behind Pearce. Porter, Jeff Streeter, Troy Stone, Derek Nance and Justin Villanueva will be other drivers to watch this week in the battle for victory.
It's been a few weeks since we've seen them, but the Mini Stock class is putting up impressive numbers in what has been their best season so far. The consistent Jennifer Corder is one of three drivers with three Top 5 finishes in five starts. All three drivers in the Top 3 in the standings have three Top 5 finishes as Corder leads Allen Neal by six points and Lee Ragsdale by 12 tallies. Robert Jackson is actually a two-time winner with four Top 5 finishes, but his absence from one race leaves him 27 points out of the lead.
Chris Corder missed one Main Event due to mechanical issues and fell out early in another one. Though the three-time reigning champion is also a three-time winner this year, he trails his sister by 37 points. There are several hungry drivers just looking for their first wins this year, and other drivers to watch for this week include Bryant Desaire, Tyler Jackson, Jennifer Rodgers, Abigail Kennedy and hard charger Lucy Falkenberg.
The California Sharp Mini Late Model division continues to have a good battle for the championship. Tim Crews won his second Main Event of the season last week to build a nine point advantage over one time winner Riley Jeppesen. Carson Guthrie is only 12 points out of a lead in third. Three-time winner Jesse Burks finds himself trailing fourth place competitor Ian Shearer by 26 points in the standings as he has scratched from two Main Events so far this year.
Not a lot is known about what competitors will be out there in the 600 Micro Sprint class, but it is known that there are several drivers in the area just looking to go racing on a bigger track like Merced Speedway. It should be an exciting night of racing with this four division lineup. For further information, go to www.racemerced.com.
Newberry Leeds Spec Sprints Into
Antioch Speedway Show Saturday Night
Antioch, CA...Bob Newberry leads the pack into Saturday night's All Star Series Wingless Spec Sprint program at Antioch Speedway. The 2004 champion scored his third Main Event win of the season last Saturday night after taking the lead from James East on lap five. With some pressure from Shannon Newton and Brandon Burd during the remaining few laps, Newberry still prevailed.
The win for Newberry increased his lead to 51 points over Newton in the championship battle. Newton, who is a two-time feature winner this season, needed to run smooth during the final laps himself as Burd was close behind him in third. Burd had steering issues down the stretch but still managed to muscle his car to the finish line.
Ageless veteran Roy Fisher finished fourth, meaning Burd didn't gain much on him in his quest to move into third in the standings. Fisher leads Burd by just 10 points, while one time winner Alan Miranda is 20 points behind Burd in fifth. Fisher and Burd are still searching for their first feature wins of the season.
Only eight points behind Miranda in his quest to get back into the Top 5 is Rick Panfili. Panfili has had just about everything that can go wrong take him out of the action so far this year, and he has put his car up for sale. He leads Scott Martin by just 18 points in the battle for sixth. Martin picked up his first heat race win last Saturday night.
Also making a good showing for himself in fifth last Saturday night was young hard charger Adam Teves in the Lloyd Beard Special. Adam has been running Dwarf Cars much of the season when he's had the opportunity to get behind the wheel, and he was excited to get back to driving the Spec Sprint.
Saturday night should be another great night of Wingless Spec Sprint racing, and other racers to watch for this week include Kevin Box, top rookie McKenzie Newton and 2015 champion Kyle Bakkie. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.
Antioch Speedway Point Standings
All Star Series
Wingless Spec Sprints
Bob Newberry 320
Shannon Newton 269
Roy Fisher 262
Brandon Burd 252
Alan Miranda 232
Rick Panfili 224
Scott Martin 206
James East 188
McKenzie Newton 183
Kevin Box 106
