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Said Myrick brothers. It's Baronian Brothers. D'oh!
IMCA Modified Classes Headline Four Division Show
At Merced Speedway
Merced, CA...Merced Speedway will be offering the fans their classic lineup this Saturday night. The IMCA Modifieds are back In action along with the IMCA Sport Modifieds, Hobby Stocks and Mini Stocks. The track will be going on summer break for a couple of weeks, so this event, sponsored by D&L Pump Service of Merced, will be your last opportunity to see some racing at the Merced Fairgrounds oval until Legends Night on August 11th.
Though he wasn't quite fast enough to overtake Kenny Schrader last time out, Darrell Hughes II had a nice charge from the back of the pack to a second-place finish. That finish moved him 19 points ahead of Brian Pearce in the IMCA Modified point battle. Hughes, who is a third-generation racer, counts one victory among his five Top 5 finishes. He's in the midst of his best season yet, and though the team isn't picking a spot for that championship trophy on their mantle place just yet, they are beginning to feel pretty good about their chances.
With Ramie Stone in the field, it's always best not to get too confident. The Big Dog is a feature winner this year and a four-time champion in this class through the years. He trails Pearce by 12 points in the race for second. Ramie's brother Troy Stone is tied with cousin Paul Stone for fifth in the standings. He has one Top 5 finish so far, but he's looking to get back into the Winner's Circle. Ryan Porter is somebody who always makes a good challenge as he searches for his first win of the season. Other drivers to watch for this week include Derek Nance, Justin Villanueva, Jeff Streeter, Ricky Thatcher, Tim Cecil and Jarrod Fast.
The championship battle in the IMCA Sport Modified division is just a little bit closer. As of this writing, we haven't seen the latest point list, but it's likely that Danny Roe used his Top 5 finish at the recent race to overtake Jeremy Hoff for the point lead. When points are added up, there should still only be less than 20 points separating Roe from Hoff, Tanner Thomas, Bubba Nelson and Chris Falkenberg. Nelson and Falkenberg also looked good last time out with their Top 5 finishes behind winner Kelly Wilkinson. Wilkinson makes five different winners so far this season.
Rising young star Tanner Thomas is the only multi-time winner at this stage of the season with three victories. His most recent start still resulted in a Top 10 finish, though not as high as he would have liked. The second generation racer is keeping the pressure on Roe and Hoff. Tanner's brother Chase Thomas is also a one-time winner this year. He will be going for another win, and other drivers to keep an eye on include Tim Elias, Cody Parker, Chuck Weir, Jarrod Mounce and Mark Odgers. Parker looked good last week before mechanical issues sent him to the pits.
The pressure is on Shannon Nelson to put the F&D Motorsports #4b car into the Winner's Circle this week. Though she is still within 5 points of reigning champion Kodie Dean, Shannon knows that she will have to start winning some races. She and Dean both have seven Top 5 finishes, but Dean has won six of the 9 Main Events held so far. Nelson hasn't scored a feature wins since 2015, but she's running well enough to get the job done this season.
Another driver on a quest for her first win since 2015 is Kristie Shearer. Shearer is a solid third in the standings, but only has one Top 5 finish so far. Austin Van Hoff, meanwhile, drove to a third place finish after a spirited duel with Donnie Shearer last time out. Though still looking for his first win this year, Austin has a slim two point lead over one time-winner Robbie Loquaci in the race for fourth. Other drivers to watch for this week include Michael Shearer, Mike Germait, John Hensley, James Stockton, Kalob Shelton and Cody Smiley.
There's a change taking place in the Mini Stock division. Three-time reigning champion Chris Corder has walked away from the division following a tech disqualification last time out. Sister Jennifer Corder, however, still is in the hunt her first championship despite being disqualified that night as well. The consistent Allen Neal holds a slim eight point lead over Lee Ragsdale. Both drivers have four Top 5 finishes in six starts. Tyler Jackson is 21 points back in third in a closer battle with Jennifer Rodgers and Jennifer Corder. The two ladies are within 10 points of Jackson, and all Top 5 drivers are still looking for their first wins this season.
Shawn DePriest recorded his first win of the season last time out. It had to be satisfying for him as both Corders were chasing him. Robert Jackson counts himself as a two-time winner this year and is also among the Top 10 drivers. Lucy Falkenberg and Devin Bolton are among the other drivers to watch for this week. Word out of the Fresno area is that Central Valley Mini Stock competitor Dan Myrick is planning to come challenge the Merced racers as his group gets ready for a big show on Sunday at Lemoore. It's also possible that a few more drivers from his group will be at Merced.
The Saturday night lineup will be good from top to bottom and is sure to leave the fans wanting more as they head into the two-week break. For further information, go to www.racemerced.com.
Late Models, A Modifieds Back As
Antioch Speedway Returns From Break
Antioch, CA...After taking a week off for a concert at the fairgrounds, the All Star Series racing program returns to Antioch Speedway this Saturday night. DIRTcar Late Models are back in action along with the A Modifieds, Limited Late Models, Hobby Stocks and the Bay Area Hardtops.
This is only the third event of the season for the Late Models, but Jeff Decker once again leads the charge on the strength of two wins and a second place finish. The standings have a different look behind him as Rod Oliver trails Decker by 16 points on the strength of all Top 4 finishes. Four points behind Oliver is Dennis Souza, who has picked up a season-high second place finish already. These two drivers have hopes of being the next one to get a feature victory, but others to keep an eye on this week include Rob Norris, Mike Hynes, Kimo Oreta, Paul Guglielmoni and two-time champion Richard Papenhausen
In the A Modified division, we have a close battle between Nick DeCarlo and reigning champion Bobby Motts Jr. DeCarlo has won four Main Events so far, but he still only leads the consistent Motts by two points. Motts has a pair of seconds and three thirds, but he is still searching for his first win of the season. DeCarlo has won championships at Watsonville and Petaluma in recent seasons, but he would like to add Antioch to his list of credentials. At the moment, Motts is the only driver offering any resistance.
Sean O'Gara runs a solid third in the standings once again, leading rookie Buddy Kniss by 34 points. Third generation racer Kniss has rapidly climbed the ladder of divisions at the speedway from Dwarf Cars to Limited Late Models, and he's held his own against the more experienced competitors in an A Modified. Kniss leads Bobby Montalvo by 14 points and past champion Kellen Chadwick by 22 in a close race for fourth. Chadwick is a three-time feature winner so far this year. Other drivers to watch for this week include David Zeider, Ray Lindeman, Trent Wentworth and five-time champion Scott Busby.
The Limited Late Model championship battle is the closest at the speedway, and it pits reigning champion Kimo Oreta against third generation competitor Mark Garner and the returning Mike Walko. Walko started his career at Antioch Speedway before competing in most recent seasons at Marysville Raceway. Oreta got off to a slow start, but after his third feature win the last time, he took a four point lead over two-time winner Garner. Walko had all Top 3 finishes in his first seven starts, including two wins, keeping him 14 points behind Oreta.
Ryan Cherezian has finished as high as second this season, and he's hoping to put his truck in the Winner's Circle. He has a solid hold on fourth in the standings, leaving last year's top rookie, Chad Hammer and the steady John Evans to battle for fifth. Hammer holds a four point lead over Evans, who had his best career finish in second last time out. Other drivers to watch for this week include two-time champion Mike Gustafson, Jon Haney and Jim Freethy.
After the track's decision to adjust the schedule at the end of the season last year cost Chris Sorensen a possible championship, he seems to be making up for it as he's off to a flying start in the Hobby Stock division. Sorensen tops the win list with five victories, putting him 86 points in front of his nearest challenger, Michael Cooper. Cooper has picked up three wins this year, while reigning champion Cameron Swank has four victories. Swank trails Cooper by 29 points in a closer race for second.
It's hard to get a win in this field with those three drivers carrying such an experience advantage. However, fourth ranked Billy Garner and fifth ranked John Wacht each have a win. Garner leads Wacht by just 28 points, and Wacht leads the rookie race by over 100 points ahead of Haley Gomez. Interestingly enough, Gomez had a race a few weeks ago that she led for 19 laps before mechanical issues ended that run right after she took the white flag. She shouldn't be counted out this week, and other drivers to watch for include Breanna Troen, Anthony Vigna, Anthony Wellborn and Josh Leach.
The last time the Bay Area Hardtop division was at Antioch Speedway, Ken Retzloff with picking up the win. Retzloff has also won a race on the Hardtop circuit at Placerville Speedway. He is anticipated this week along with two drivers who have Antioch wins in the past, Terry DeCarlo and Dave Mackey. Doug Braudrick continues to work the bugs out of his race car, but he should be back this week along with Kimo Oreta. We're still waiting on Tommy Thomson to complete repairs and get his #39 car back out at the race track, which could also signal the return of Dan Williams when that happens. It's possible there could be a few drivers from the California Hardtop Association, and most likely candidates include Ken Clifford, Jason Armstrong, Dave Reed and Ron Ruiz.
Saturday night should be an exciting night of racing at Antioch Speedway with the return of the popular Late Models and A Modifieds. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.
Special Event Planned For Central Valley Mini Stocks
At Lemoore Raceway On Sunday
Lemoore, CA... Sunday will be a special occasion for the Central Valley Mini Stocks at Lemoore Raceway. Not only is it the fifth round of their championship season, but there will be a true legend on hand. West Coast Stock Car Hall of Famer Kenny Takeuchi will be there to meet the fans.
Kenny announced Super Modified races at several venues throughout California. He was known as one of the best announcers in the sport. He took great pride in doing his research on the racers so that he could let the fans know some interesting facts and statistics about each driver they were watching. He even wrote the articles that were printed in various publications.
These days, Kenny still announces the occasional race for the Legends Of Kearney Bowl Super Modifieds. Several of those Vintage Super Modified cars will be on display for the fans to see on Sunday afternoon. Many of these cars have been restored and were raced years ago. The owners take great pride in keeping these cars in pristine condition.
When it comes to the racing action, it's the Baronian brothers leading the championship standings. With multiple victories, Greg Baronian holds a 34 point advantage over Rod Baronian. Rod held off Greg to win the season opener. The margin is much closer between second and third as Dan Myrick trails Rod by just eight points. Myrick has been slowly getting his car dialed in and hopes to get his first feature win of the season on Sunday. He may need that with Ryan Doglione just five points behind him in fourth. Dan's father, reigning champion Danny Myrick, is only 10 points out of third.
The Mini Stocks will run a program that calls for qualifying on the clock, followed by a Trophy Dash, heat races, Semi Main (if needed) and Main Event. Other drivers anticipated for Sunday include Jeff Durant, Chris Goldsmith, Ben Davis, Randy Brown Jr. and Scott Glenn. Word is there will be some visitors coming from out of town as well.
If that's not enough, there will be special 50/50 drawings for various raffle prizes throughout the afternoon. The event is sponsored by John Miller Hay Co and Four Banger Garage. For further information, go to www.centralvalleyministocks.com, or check out the group's Facebook page.
