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IMCA Sport Modifieds, Hobby Stocks
Headline Merced Speedway Race
Merced, CA...After a week off, the IMCA Sport Modifieds and the Hobby Stock division roar back into action at Merced Speedway this Saturday night as part of a four division program. Also competing will be the Valley Sportsman division and the California Sharp Mini Late Models.
With six races in the record books, there are five drivers within 18 points of the point lead in the IMCA Sport Modified division. Jeremy Hoff is one of two drivers with six Top 10 finishes, and he also has four Top 5's to lead the standings by four points over the other driver with all Top 10 finishes, Danny Roe. Hoff, who has an Antioch Speedway championship to his credit, is still looking for his first feature win of the season, and he may need it to maintain his lead.
A look back at third in the standings finds second generation racer Tanner Thomas only seven points out of the lead. Thomas has now won three Main Events out of his four Top 5 finishes and is on a pace that could put him into the point lead soon. Another driver to keep an eye on is one-time winner Bruce Nelson, who is only 10 points out of lead. Point racing is nothing new to Nelson, who has two Hobby Stock championships to his credit. Also in the thick of the battle, 18 points out of the lead, is Chris Falkenberg. These five drivers are anticipated this week along with one-time feature winner Chase Thomas, Tim Elias, Jarrod Mounce, Cody Parker and Kelly Wilkinson.
Shannon Nelson opened the season with six straight Top 5 finishes to take the point lead, but she knew that wins were needed to hold on to that. With five feature wins in eight starts, Kodie Dean has taken over the Hobby Stock point lead by four points ahead of Nelson. Dean has had a phenomenal run as he sets his sights on a second consecutive championship. Holding on to a solid third in the standings is Kristie Shearer, 24 points out of the lead, but 38 ahead of fourth ranked Austin Van Hoff.
Van Hoff has had some bad luck this year, but he's also had his moments with four Top 5 finishes. Still, he only has a two point lead over one time winner Robbie Loquaci in the race for fourth. The Hobby Stock division has had some good battles throughout the pack all season long, and other drivers to watch for this week include 2016 champion Michael Shearer, Mike Gernait, John Hensley, James Stockton and Kalob Shelton.
Four races into the season, the Valley Sportsman division finds Watsonville Speedway Hall of Famer Jerry Cecil leading the standings by just six points over Rick Elliott. Both drivers have all Top 5 finishes, and yet they are still looking for their first wins. Back in third and fourth, you'll find the two drivers who have two wins each to their credit, Chris Birdsong and Chris Falkenberg. Falkenberg has had two opportunities to pilot the 2017 championship car of Jeff Bristow. Recently, another Watsonville Speedway Hall of Famer, Ray Johnson, has joined the action, and he finds himself just six points behind Falkenberg for fourth in the standings. Other drivers on the roster this year include Gary Hildebrand, Jeff Bristow, Eric Seeley, Jeff West and Chris Corder.
Tim Crews has been fairly consistent as a podium finisher in the California Sharp Mini Late Model division. He currently leads the standings and has two feature wins. 10 points behind him in second is one time winner Riley Jeppesen, while Carson Guthrie is within striking range in third, 15 points out of the lead. Because he had two non starts, Jesse James Burks is 77 points out of lead. However, he has won four times this year, including the most recent race. These four along with Ian Shearer are anticipated this week.
Saturday night should be a nice program from start to finish. The IMCA Sport Modifieds are highly competitive as we witness the emergence of some new stars. Hobby Stocks always put on a good show, and the Sportsman and Mini Late Model classes give the fans a nice variety. For further information, go to www.racemerced.com.
Antioch Speedway Takes Week Off But Returns On July 21st
Antioch, CA...There will be noise at the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds this Saturday night, but it will be music in the air. The All Star Series racing lineup returns on July 21st with a program consisting of DIRTcar Late Models, Limited Late Models, Hobby Stocks and Bay Area Hardtops.
An interesting battle has developed at the front of the pack in the A Modified division and it involves a driver doing it with consistency against a driver with four victories. Though Bobby Motts Jr is the reigning A Modified champion, he finds himself once again in the role of underdog. It's a role that Motts seems to thrive on. Second generation racer Nick DeCarlo has racked up three championships, two Petaluma and one at Watsonville, in recent seasons. The Antioch championship is something that has eluded DeCarlo, and it's something he wants to change this year. Nick opened the point season with two victories and has won two of the last three to give him four on the season.
For Motts, his best finishes so far have been three seconds and two thirds. After DeCarlo's recent win, he leads Motts by just two points heading into the next race. Sean O'Gara, Meanwhile holds third by 34 points over the top rookie in the division, Buddy Kniss. Bobby Montalvo has an eight point advantage over three-time feature winner Kellin Chadwick in the race for fifth. Other feature winners so far this year include two-time winner Bobby Hogge IV and New Year's race winner Travis Peery. With his two wins, Hogge is now tied with Scott Busby and JD Willis with 72 victories atop the track's all time winner's list.
At this point, the matter seems settled in the B Modified division. The track's most loyal supporter in the class, 2016 champion Trevor Clymens, Is leading the charge by over 200 points ahead of Ryan DeForest. Trevor also has notched a division-leading five feature wins and is generally the driver to beat on any given week. However, DeForest beat him last time out for the $500 victory. It was the first career win for Ryan, and it moved him 28 points ahead of Chuck Golden in the race for second. Golden is still searching for his first win of the season and has finished as high as third.
A look at the track's winners list so far finds 2015 champion Fred Ryland with three victories and Merced Speedway star Tanner Thomas, Brent Curran, Nick Spainhoward and Firecracker 50 winner Philip Shelby each with one win. There have been some very competitive drivers who have competed at the speedway this year, and Guy Ahlwardt, Aaron Crowell, KC Keller and Todd Gomez have finished as high as second as they look for their first wins here this year. Keller, Gomez and Crowell have finished second twice.
The most intriguing battle taking place at the speedway is in the Limited Late Model division. Kimo Oreta scored his third feature win of the season last time out and replaced Mark Garner atop the championship standings by just four points. Garner is a two-time winner, but his last two starts have been non finishes. Mike Walko is only 14 points out of the lead and is also a two-time winner. His fourth place finish in the eighth event was his first non Top 3 run of the season. Mike Gustafson is the only other driver with a victory, while Jim Freethy, Ryan Cherezian and John Evans have finished as high as second once this year. It's also worth noting that Cherezian is 30 points behind Walko in the race for third.
Chris Sorensen is 86 points ahead of Michael Cooper in the Hobby Stock championship race. Sorensen had to send his old car to the crusher last year after a hard crash at Watsonville. The new car he just got this year from the shop of Baker Motorsports has been a good runner. He leads the division with five feature wins and also has notched four seconds and three thirds. Cooper, meanwhile, is a three-time winner with five second place finishes. Reigning champion Cameron Swank is 29 points behind Cooper in third with four feature wins and four seconds.
With the experience of the lead trio, notching a victory in this class is difficult to accomplish. Billy Garner and rookie John Wacht scored their first career wins this season, and Chris Long won on New Years ahead of Chris Bennett. Bennett now has a pair of seconds, but he has been running a limited schedule this year. It's also noteworthy that Haley Gomez recently led 19 laps before breaking in Turn 1 to surrender what would have been a victory to Sorensen.
The Dwarf Car division Is being led by reigning champion Mike Corsaro. Corsaro holds a 74 point lead over David Michael Rosa in the battle. Corsaro has won a division leading four Main Events with three second place finishes and a third, while Rosa has two victories so far. After winning his first career feature last time out, Mario Marques moved to within 20 points of Rosa, while Street Stock legend David Rosa Is 58 points behind Marques. Other winners so far this year include past Antioch champions Danny Wagner and Kevin Miraglio and second generation racer Ben Wiesz.
We've only seen the Late Models three times this year so far, and reigning champion Jeff Decker has scored two wins and finished second in the other race. Despite that, his lead over Rod Oliver is 16 points. Oliver has finished no worse than fourth with a season high third, while third-ranked Dennis Souza had one of his best efforts to date with a second place finish. Souza is four points behind Oliver and leads past Modified champion Rob Norris by 18 points in the battle for third. Norris is tied with Mike Hynes and Kimo Oreta for the fourth position.
The Winged 360 Sprint Car division has held five races so far, and the familiar name of Art McCarthy sits atop the point standings. Art is still looking for his first win of the season and has one second and two thirds among his best efforts. His lead over two time feature winner Matt DeMartini is 26 points. DeMartini missed a race to surrender the lead and has finished no worse than fourth in his other starts. The steady Tim Burcher is four points behind DeMartini in the battle for second. David Dias leads 2016 champion Billy Aton by four points in the race for fourth. Aton, past Watsonville champion Brad Furr and multi time Marysville champion Colby Wiesz each have one win this year. Jacob Tuttle, Jake Haulot and Burt Foland Jr each have one season high second.
The Wingless Spec Sprint battle is in full gear and 2004 champion Bob Newberry sits atop the point standings by 51 tallies ahead of Shannon Newton. Newberry has picked up four wins and two seconds, while Newton has a win and three seconds among his best efforts. Newton's lead over ageless veteran Roy Fisher is still just 15 points. Fisher has two season-best third place finishes and is still searching for his first win. Alan Miranda is the other feature winner with two victories. Other noteworthy finishes include Petaluma competitor Bob Davis and 2015 champion Kyle Bakkie each with one second place finish and James East, Brandon Burd and rising young star Jesse Love IV each with one third.
Antioch Speedway may be dark this week, but action will kick into high gear with racing every Saturday night From July 21st all the way to the final program scheduled for October 13th. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.
Five Division Program Scheduled For Saturday Night
At Orland Raceway
Orland, CA...With summer now upon us, there are some great rivalries developing at Orland Raceway. This Saturday night, the exciting Pure Stocks head up a five division lineup of racing. The Mini Trucks are also back along with the Wingless Gas Sprints and 250 and 600 Micro Sprint classes.
Saturday's race will also serve as a fundraising event for iconic local couple Bob and Priscilla Pasero. The couple are recovering from a house fire and major medical issues they both are currently experiencing. Bob continues to be a huge part of our small town community. He continues to serve the town with fairness and kindness. He is an advocate for our veterans and is very involved in the Missing In America Project.
The Pure Stock division has been a battle at the front of the pack between reigning champion Jeremy Langenderfer and 2015 champion Paul Stevens during the past two races. Langenderfer has won both of them as he now has four wins. Stevens has had a fast car all season, and he didn't come back to settle for second. Paul has won some big races through the years, including last year's $1,000 Battle Of The Axels, and he'll be looking for his second win of the season this Saturday.
Nobody on the roster has raced more than Shannon Collins this year. Last season's championship runnerup planned an ambitious schedule that has him racing sometimes twice each week. Last week's third place finish was one of his best this year at Orland, though he wasn't happy with himself for a tangle that dropped rookie Thomas Pavlik further back in the finish. Shannon has won at Marysville this year, but he'd like to get a win at the home track.
Another driver anxious to get his first win of the season is two time champion Steve Martin. Martin has been running strong so far, and the win could come this week. Other racers to look for this include Amanda McAbel, Thomas Matlock, Cody Bundy and Earl Adams.
It may have been short notice for the hastily booked Mini Truck show two weeks ago, but reigning champion Keith Ross still found his way to the winner's circle. Ross has been battling 2016 champion Dan Webster and Jeff Bennett this season, and the other two drivers have also recorded victories. Bennett was able to make the last race, but he may have wished he hadn't after crashing into a tractor tire and getting his front wheels way in the air. Fortunately, Jeff wasn't injured and the truck is fixable. Saturday night should be another good show, and other drivers to watch for include Kevin Kvalick, Tony Quinonez and William Fogle.
After winning the first two Main Events of the season, multi time champion Josh Jacobo may have thought It would be easy going for him in the Wingless Gas Sprint division. However, he's been shut out of the winner's circle for the past three races. It was Josh Tucker winning the next two races, including a photo finish across the line with Tanner Thomson. Then, the news got even better for the fans of the division. It was reigning Chico champion Tony Richards returning at the most recent race to pick up the Main Event victory. The competition level has risen in this division as RJ Baker, Rob Worthington, and David Johnson are other drivers to watch in the race for victory this week.
The track will be running both Micro classes this week. The difference is the size of the engine. Both are running motorcycle engines. There are 600cc and 250cc classes. Last time out, Antonia Boscacci was the latest driver to win a 600 Micro Main Event. Other stairs in the division include Kyra Michelet, Tony Alosi and Cody Gray. Meanwhile, Alex Fowler was the most recent 250 Micro class winner. Other stars in the class include James Barnes, Pax Gonzalez and Zach Webster.
Saturday's racing program on Rich Hood's 1/5 mile dirt oval should be a good one. For further information, go to the Orland Raceway Facebook site.
