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58th Season Of Racing Sees Eight Champions Crowned
At Antioch Speedway
Antioch, CA...Oval Motorsports wrapped up their 21st season of promoting Antioch Speedway. This was also the 58th season for the track, and 41 of those seasons have been promoted by a Soares. John M Soares beat his father John P Soares's record as he promoted the 2018 season, but it ended on a sad note.
Before the season was complete, John's wife of over 50 years, Donna Soares, passed away. She had been by his side throughout most of his racing career and was there when he took on the role of promoter of Antioch Speedway in 1998.
Once again, the track offered eight different divisions of All Star Series racing action for the fans to enjoy. Given how challenging it is to keep a car count up these days, Soares continued to employ the strategy of shuffling divisions and giving divisions nights off. However, the Hobby Stock division continued to be the hardest worked division at the speedway. The fans also got to enjoy A Modifieds, Winged 360 Sprint Cars, Wingless Spec Sprints, B Modifieds, DIRTcar Late Models, Limited Late Models and Dwarf Cars throughout the season.
The track offered its signature races, which included the Larry Damitz Memorial race, the Jerry Hetrick Memorial race, the John P Soares Memorial Top Dog race and the Chet Thomson Memorial. There were plenty of exciting shows to highlight the season and keep the crowd entertained.
There were two primary contenders for the A Modified championship. Bobby Motts Jr was going for his second division title, while Nick DeCarlo had set his sights on Antioch after winning championships at both Watsonville and Petaluma. DeCarlo made a big statement by winning the first two point races of the season. He gained four of his wins during the first half of the season, but he still couldn't shake the consistent Motts.
However, DeCarlo ended strong with four wins in the final seven races to seal the deal. All totaled, DeCarlo had eight wins, four seconds and four thirds among his best efforts. Motts had to work hard to finally get his one win of the season, which happened to be the big John P Soares Memorial Top Dog race. He also notched five seconds and three thirds to finish a close second in the final rundown.
Once again, Sean O'Gara finished third in the final standings. Among his best efforts were three third place finishes among his seven Top 5s. Past champion Kellen Chadwick ran a limited schedule, but he was a front-runner when he was there. With five feature wins, four seconds and one third, Chadwick ranked fourth in the standings. Rookie David Zeiter ended up fifth in the final rundown. David got better as the season went on and enjoyed his season-best one fifth place finish and heat race win in the closing weeks.
Bobby Hogge IV scored two wins in the A Modified division, including the Jerry Hetrick Memorial race. Oregonian Travis Peery paid a visit at the New Year's race and outran DeCarlo for that victory. Two-time champion Carl Berendsen II and Brian Cass were also feature winners with Cass winning twice. The second win for Cass came in the $1,000 finale. Season-best second place finishes were earned by Duane Cleveland, Jeff Olschowka, five-time champion Scott Busby, Anthony Slaney, multi-time Petaluma champion Oreste Gonella and Raymond Lindemann. Slaney did it twice. Season-best third place finishes were turned in by Danny Wagner, Trent Wentworth and Buddy Kniss. Wentworth and Wagner both did it twice.
it seems like the road to the Winged 360 Sprint Car championship always goes through three-time champion Art McCarthy. That was again the case last season. Despite a rough season opener, McCarthy remained consistent with two second place finishes and three thirds among his ten starts. However, second-generation racer Matt DeMartini managed to pick up two feature wins, finished second twice and finished third two times. The season finale that had the biggest car count of the year turned out to be a near-disaster for DeMartini after he flipped on the opening lap. McCarthy found himself in a position to nearly pull off the comeback as he led the race before blowing a motor. In the end, DeMartini prevailed.
Tim Burcher competed in what was his first full season and had lots of highs and lows. He made every race and had two season-best fourth place finishes to finish third in the final rundown, followed by David Dias. Dias had one season-high third place effort. Following his "Rookie Of The Year" effort, young Jacob Tuttle returned with two season-high second place finishes to rank fifth in the standings.
Second-generation racer Burt Foland Jr finally got his first win to go with one second and two thirds. Other feature wins went to Watsonville champion Brad Furr, multi-time Marysville champion Colby Wiesz, past champion Billy Aton, rising Petaluma star William Fatu, Eric Humphries and Kurt Nelson. DeMartini bears the distinction of being the only driver to win more than one Main Event. Tyler Brown and Petaluma champion Jake Haulot had season-high second place finishes, while David Lindt II, Geoffrey Strole, James Ringo and past Antioch champion Shawn Arriaga each had one season-best third.
After putting up impressive numbers in his third place effort a year earlier, Bob Newberry returned and made a successful run at his second Antioch Speedway Wingless Spec Sprint championship. Newberry got off to a very strong start by winning his four Main Events in the first seven races. He also had two second place finishes and maintained a slight advantage over Shannon Newton. Newton got hot during the second half of the season as he won two Main Events in the last four weeks to go with his division-leading four second place finishes. Newton still only just held off Brandon Burd by seven points for third. Burd's three third place finishes were his best efforts out of seven Top 5 finishes.
Fourth-ranked Roy Fisher also had three third place finishes out of his seven Top 5 efforts to stake his claim on fourth in points. It was a difficult season for division mainstay Rick Panfili. He considered selling his race car, but when the offer fell through, he came back and finished out the season. Panfili had a season-high second-place finish and seemed to be headed for that again in the finale before he was eliminated in a crash that eliminated the championship contenders as well. Newcomer Scott Martin had a fourth place finish and three fifths as he outran rookie McKenzie Newton for sixth in points by just three tallies. Newton had a season-best fourth place finish.
Alan Miranda saw the highs and the lows as he picked up three feature wins, but his season ended in a hard wreck at the tenth event of the season while leading. Young Adam Teves drove the 'Lloyd Beard Special" to a win in the season finale ahead of Bryan Speery. Past champion Kyle Bakkie and Bob Davis both had season-high second place finishes, while James East, Jessie Love IV and Keith Calvino each had one season-high third place finish.
During the past couple of seasons, Jeff Decker has been head and shoulders above the rest of the competition in the DIRTcar Late Model division. It has developed into quite the rivalry between Decker and Richard Papenhausen. Papenhausen and Decker figured to be the prime candidates competing for the championship, but after Papenhausen outran Decker to win the season opener, he skipped a race and dropped out of the championship battle. The surprising Rod Oliver emerged as the number one contender.
However, Decker was unstoppable. He scored seven wins, two seconds and a season-worst third place finish to steadily pull away from Oliver on the way to his fourth Antioch championship. Oliver never failed to finish inside of the Top 5 in any of his 10 starts. His season-high effort of one second place finish occurred in the final race of the season, while he also had four third place finishes.
The battle was for third between Mike Hynes, Kimo Oreta and Papenhausen. Hynes scored his season-high third place finish in the finale to go with four fourth place finishes. This was enough to give him a slight advantage over Oreta for third. Oreta did have two third place finishes and one fourth. Papenhausen missed the finale, but he had three wins and five second place finishes to end up fifth in the standings. Season-high second place finishes were earned by sixth ranked Dennis Souza and Shawn DeForest once each, and Paul Guglielmoni had a season-high third place finish.
The closest championship battle for any of the All Star Series sanctioned classes was had in the Limited Late Model division. Reigning champion Kimo Oreta seemed like the driver to beat in the Sun Drop Racing Team car. However, third-generation racer Mark Garner was stepping up his game, while Mike Walko returned to the track where he started his career and was an immediate contender. The battle at the top of the list went back and forth between Oreta and Garner, while Walko was still within striking distance until missing a race late in the season. Garner got hot when he needed to with two wins and a second in the final three races, which made the difference in the end.
A key factor in Garner scoring his first-ever home track championship was the fact that he won nearly every heat race that he started. He also had five feature wins, four seconds and three thirds among his best efforts. His biggest win of the season came in the Larry Damitz Memorial race. Before Garner had his strong final three races to seal the deal, Oreta won three of his division-leading six Main Events in the four races prior to that. Oreta also had four second place finishes and four thirds. Meanwhile, Walko had a better start than any of them with ten Top 3 finishes in the first 11 races. His season totals included four wins, five second place finishes and four thirds, and he needed his fifth second place finish in the finale to just beat Ryan Cherezian for third in the final standings.
Cherezian had his best season yet, and this included two season-high second place finishes and five third place efforts. Fifth ranked Chad Hammer had his season-high third place finish in the finale among his six Top 5 finishes. Two-time division champion Mike Gustafson scored three feature wins, which included his thrilling victory over Garner at the second to last event of the season. Other season-best efforts were turned in by past champion Jim Freethy and sixth ranked John Evans with one second place finish each.
The B Modified championship was really no battle at all. Trevor Clymens hit his stride midway through the season as he scored four of his seven wins during a five-race stretch. He also scored three second place finishes and two thirds. He won the championship by nearly 300 points, leaving a good battle between rookie Ryan DeForest and Chuck Golden for second. DeForest had one feature win during the season and used his better finish ahead of Golden in the last race to end up second in the standings. Golden had two season-high third place finishes among his best efforts.
Tommy Fraser missed some races getting a new car, but he had his first feature win during the stretch run to go with one second and one third among his best finishes. He ended up fourth in the standings ahead of Kenny Shrader. Likewise, Shrader had one feature win late in the season to go with two third place finishes.
2015 champion Fred Ryland didn't race regularly, but he had three feature wins during the season. Ryland won the New Year's race ahead of past Chico and Marysville champion Philip Shelby. Other wins were earned by rookie Brent Curran, past IMCA State champion Nick Spainhoward, Tanner Thomas, 2017 Chico champion Phillip Shelby and Chris Sieweke, and Thomas did it twice. Thomas won a good battle with Watsonville champion Jim DiGiovanni to win the finale.
Second was DiGiovanni's best finish at Antioch, and other season-high second place finishes were turned in by Guy Ahlwardt, Aaron Crowell, Todd Gomez, and incoming champion KC Keller. Crowell, Gomez and Keller each did it twice. Curran was also notable in scoring three second place finishes. Season-high third place finishes were turned in by Les Friend, Doff Cooksey, Kenny Neu, Randy Brown, Anthony Giuliani and Chris Falkenberg. Cooksey had two third place efforts.
After a late-season scheduling change cost Chris Sorensen a possible championship in 2017, he came into the new season with a new car. This resulted in his best effort yet. Once Sorensen gained the point lead, he slowly pulled away to a nearly 300 point advantage by season's end. Chris racked up an amazing eight wins, nine seconds and five thirds, meaning he only failed to make it into the Top 3 six times. Michael Cooper and Cameron Swank had a back and forth battle going for second throughout the season. However, Cooper prevailed for his best career effort. He won five races with six second place finishes and three thirds. Swank made his final season in Hobby Stocks count with six wins, five seconds and three thirds.
"Rookie Of The Year" and fourth place status turned out to be a battle for a while during the season. After getting his win during the first part of the season, John Wacht slowly faded from contention. Breanna Troen had things figured out by the time the season began its stretch run. Her impressive numbers included one win, one second and three thirds among her nine Top 5 finishes. She would finish fourth in the standings to secure top rookie honors. Rookie Josh Leach got his first win late in the season to go with two seconds and three thirds. He ended the season on a tie with fellow rookie Anthony Welborn for fifth. Welborn's second win of the season came in the finale, and he also had one second and one third.
Fred Ryland built a car specifically to make a run at the special 50 lap, $1,000 to win race, which he won ahead of fellow past champion Brad Myers. Chris Long got his one win at the New Year's race. Billy Garner scored his first career feature win ahead of Cooper. Other season-high efforts included two second place finishes for Chris Bennett as well as a season-high second place finish for longtime Antioch racer Bob Brown. Anthony Vigna had a pair of season-high third place finishes, and other drivers to finish third during the season included Frank Furtado, Joey Ridgeway and Haley Gomez. Ridgeway did it twice. Gomez lost a heartbreaker during the year when she led all but the final lap, breaking her steering in the first turn.
It was the 20th anniversary season for the Dwarf Car division as a regular class at the speedway, and incoming champion Mike Corsaro appeared to be the driver to beat. When he won four of the first five races, Corsaro jumped out to a good lead. Corsaro won five Main Events, finished second six times and scored five third place finishes to claim his second division championship. It was a breakout season for second generation racer David Michael Rosa. Rosa won five Main Events during the season to go with one second and two thirds. He still just managed to hold off Mario Marques for second as Marques won one Main Event during the season to go with one second and one third.
Longtime Antioch Speedway competitor David Rosa was a Main Event winner once during the season with two seconds and three thirds as he had a solid hold on fourth in the standings. Chris Becker settled for fifth. He had one season-high fourth place finish. Other drivers on the winner's list included past champions Danny Wagner and Kevin Miraglio twice each. Another past champion, Jerry Doty, got a win, as did Toby Brown and Ben Wiesz.
There was also some confusion as to who was driving the Tony Carmignani car when it won the tenth race of the season. It turned out that the driver was five-time champion and the division's all-time Main Event win leader, Ricardo Rivera, rather than Carmignani. Season-high second place finishes were turned in by Michael "Spanky" Grenert, Josh Miller, Deven Kammerman, Michael Curry, Travis Hensley, Giovanni Bertoli and Thomas Lieby. Kammerman did it twice. Longtime division competitor Charlie Correia had a pair of third place finishes early in the season, and other season-best efforts were turned in by Jack Haverty and Carmignani. Carmignani did it twice. Dody also had three third place finishes.
The Bay Area Hardtops made three appearances during the season with Ken Retzloff winning the first event ahead of one of the originals of the division's revival, Terry DeCarlo. DeCarlo won the next two races. The first came in a close battle with California Hardtop star Jason Armstrong. The next one came in the prestigious Chet Thomson Memorial race after he chased leader Dave Mackey during the first half of the race before Mackey was eliminated in a crash. DeCarlo held off Kimo Oreta and Armstrong to win that race. Mackey had a third place finish in the opener, Ron Ruiz had a third-place finish in the next race and Doug Braudrick had his season-best effort in fourth in the opener.
To keep the car count at a good level and give the fans a nice variety, the divisions were rotated throughout the season. It made for some exciting racing all year, and this is expected to be the case again as the speedway enters it's 59th consecutive season of operation. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.
2018 All Star Series Antioch Speedway
Point Standings
A Modifieds
Nick DeCarlo 1040
Bobby Motts Jr. 892
Sean O'Gara 680
Kellen Chadwick 618
David Zeiter 574
Bobby Montalvo 478
Raymond Lindeman 457
Buddy Kniss 456
Brian Cass 354
Anthony Slaney 332
B Modifieds
Trevor Clymens 974
Ryan DeForest 710
Chuck Golden 708
Tommy Fraser 575
Kenny Shrader 534
Todd Gomez 392
Matt Taylor 360
Kevin Brown 352
Brent Curran 344
Guy Ahlwardt 302
Limited Late Models
Mark Garner 972
Kimo Oreta 962
Mike Walko 882
Ryan Cherezian 874
John Evans 617
Chad Hammer 604
Mike Gustafson 598
Lori Brown 250
Jon Haney 80
Michael Burch 74
Hobby Stocks
Chris Sorensen 1404
Michael Cooper 1147
Cameron Swank 1016
Breanna Troen 932
Josh Leach 861
Anthony Welborn 861
John Wacht 548
Billy Garner 504
Haley Gomez 488
Anthony Vigna 370
Dwarf Cars
Mike Corsaro 954
David Michael Rosa 836
Mario Marques 808
David Rosa 758
Chris Becker 643
Jerry Doty 476
Troy Stevenson 456
Timmy Ryan 361
Giovanni Bertoli 336
Jesse Pfieffer 308
Winged 360 Sprint Cars
Matt DeMartini 426
Art McCarthy 403
Tim Burcher 376
David Dias 368
Jacob Tuttle 336
Jeff Strole 302
Billy Aton 248
Burt Foland Jr. 188
Joey Ancona 122
William Fatu 100
Wingless Spec Sprints
Bob Newberry 544
Shannon Newton 511
Brandon Burd 504
Roy Fisher 434
Rick Panfili 380
Scott Martin 378
Mackenzie Newton 375
James East 316
Alan Miranda 316
Rick Ottderstrom 150
DIRTcar Late Models
Jeff Decker 546
Rod Oliver 488
Mike Hynes 438
Kimo Oreta 434
Richard Papenhausen 424
Dennis Souza 279
John Soares 272
Rob Norris 194
Paul Guglielmoni 176
Chester Kniss 110
Merced Speedway Carries On Under Difficult Circumstances
Merced, CA...Everything seemed to be going well at Merced Speedway. Promoter Ed Parker put together another top-notch schedule for 2018 that saw him working with other tracks whenever possible and offering some big, enticing races for the drivers throughout the season. The problem was that at times you could see the stress Ed was under in trying to always do the right thing. Nobody can ever make everybody happy, but Ed was one of those people who tried his hardest.
As the season went on, Ed was also under criticism from people who felt he wasn't giving them the best racing surface possible. He had gone to a few different promoters seminars and learned things that he hoped would work for Merced Speedway. When he realized it didn't work out, he had the crews working hard on the track after the Dwarf Car Nationals to get it into proper shape. 'You asked for it, you got it," he said in one of his famous Facebook live broadcasts. "I listen to my racers."
It wasn't too much longer after that when Ed died of a heart attack. The community was stunned. How could they go on and complete the rest of the season? However, Ed's family wanted to do it. They knew that this was what he would have wanted. Margie Mejia had been a silent backer of the program. She wasn't looking for any recognition, but she too believed in Ed's vision. With Ed gone, she stepped forward and was a little more visible as the show went on. This included one of the biggest races of the year, the Ed Parker Tribute.
The impressive line-up of divisions continued to include the IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks, Valley Sportsman and California Sharp Mini Late Models. Ed also scheduled some special shows, including the Dwarf Cars, BCRA Midgets Lites, BCRA Midgets, RaceSaver 305 Sprint Cars and 600 Micros. There was a little something for everybody to enjoy. He also had several marquee events that generally paid tribute to somebody who made the race track special through the years.
Darrell Hughes II had taken a liking to Merced Speedway coming into the season. He knew that this was going to be his home track, and he set about winning the championship. Given the quality of the field, sometimes just making it into the Main Event was a challenge. In his 12 starts, however, Darrell only missed the Top 5 once. Because of the consistency of Brian Pearce, however, he couldn't get too comfortable in the lead. He needed to close out the season with four straight wins to seal the deal. He had five wins, one second, and two thirds among his best finishes. His victories included wins in the Ed Parker Tribute, the Matt & Glass Memorial Cancer Fundraiser and the Timmy Post Memorial. It is also noteworthy that Darrell won a race long battle with Bobby Hogge IV in winning the 51 lap Ed Parker race.
Pearce, meanwhile, had his hands full battling multi-time champion Ramie Stone for the runner-up honors. He picked up three season-high second place finishes, two of which happened in the final five races. This was good enough for him to hold off Stone by a slim margin. Stone managed to get one win, one second and one third in finishing third in the final rundown. Stone had seven Top 5 finishes to six for Pearce. Meanwhile, cousin Paul Stone settled for fourth in the standings. Paul won the second and third races of the season, the second being the Ted Stofle Classic, which he won ahead of Hughes and Pearce. He had five Top 5 finishes to four for fifth ranked Ryan Porter. Porter had one win during the season.
Ethan Dotson turned in an impressive performance in winning the John Fore Jr Memorial race to end the season. It was multi-time Santa Maria champion Danny Lauer holding off Austin Burke to win the season opener. DJ Shannon was a feature winner on one occasion, and Kenny Schrader came to town and scored the win that night ahead of Hughes. Other season best finishes included second place finishes for State champion Shane DeVolder, Justin Villanueva and Jeff Streeter once each. 2017 champion Randy Brown, Derek Nance, Chris Crompe and Troy Foulger each had one third place finish.
The IMCA Sport Modified championship battle had several contenders. After a controversial disqualification call against Chris Falkenberg at the seventh event, he elected to take a break from racing at Merced. This left the battle between Danny Roe, Jeremy Hoff and Bruce "Bubba" Nelson. Hoff had won a championship at Antioch, but all three were vying for their first Merced Sport Modified crowns. Of the three, however, Nelson was the only driver with a Merced feature win. He managed to earn two of them.
Roe gave it a valiant effort with two of his three season-high second place finishes happening in the final two point races. However, it was not to be. Hoff picked up two season-high second place finishes, and his second third place finish in the finale was enough to keep Roe behind him in the final rundown. If not for bad luck in the second to last race, Nelson might have won the championship. He also gave it a valiant effort with his second win happening in the finale. He had three second place finishes as well, but he settled for third in the final rundown. Hoff topped the field with eight Top 5 finishes while Roe, Nelson and fourth-ranked Tanner Thomas each had five.
The sophomore season for second generation racer Tanner Thomas was impressive. He won three of the first six races of the season. He also made a couple of appearances at Antioch Speedway and won there as well. He settled for fourth in the standings, not too far ahead of brother Chase Thomas. Chase also won a Main Event. Two of Tanner's wins came in the Timmy Post Memorial and Ted Stofle Classic.
Chuck Weir's controversial win came after Chris Falkenberg and he made contact with Falkenberg beating him back to the line for an apparent win. Not only did Falkenberg lose the win, but he was completely disqualified as the second place finisher Weir was elevated to the win. Other victories were scored by past IMCA State champion Nick Spainhoward, sixth-ranked Kelly Wilkinson and 2017 champion Fred Ryland. Wilkinson and Ryland both won twice, and Ryland scored his second John Fore Jr Memorial win. Jack Aguiar, Jarrod Mounce and Andrew Peckham each had a season-high second place finish. Tim Elias had two third place finishes, while Ryan Bledsaw, Mark Odgers, Chris Falkenberg, Mark Squadrito and Cody Parker each had one third place finish as their best efforts for the year.
Despite the fact that Kodie Dean turned in a stellar performance throughout the season, the incoming Hobby Stock champion still had to earn this championship. Dean needed his ninth win in the season finale to secure just a seven point advantage over Shannon Nelson in the final rundown. He also picked up a pair of second place finishes and a third to account for his 12 Top 5 finishes. The consistent Nelson also had 12 Top 5 finishes. Her first and only win came in the 14th event of the season, and she also racked up four second place finishes and two thirds. Second was still her best career season. Two of Dean's wins came on Ted Stofle Classic night and at the Timmy Post Memorial.
After stumbling out of the gate, Austin Van Hoff hit his stride later in the season. His win in the Ed Parker Tribute race was his second of the season. He also had three second place finishes and three thirds among his 11 Top 5 efforts to end up fourth in the standings. His absence from one race due to a blown motor accounted for him settling for fourth behind Kristie Shearer. Shearer had 13 Top 10 finishes, including a season-best two third place finishes. John Hensley settled for fifth in the standings with two season-high fifth place performances.
Past Watsonville champions Billy Nelson and Rob Gallaher both had one feature win, and two time Sport Modified champion Rick Diaz drove one of the FND Motorsports cars to the win in the John Fore Jr Memorial race. Robbie Loquaci had a good start to his season with a win, two seconds and a third during the first half of the season before falling out of the Top 10 in the standings. Other notable efforts included season-high second place efforts for past Merced Hobby Stock champions Bubba Nelson and Kevin Joaquin and Cody Johnson in the John Fore Jr Memorial race. Syd Finn had two season-best third place finishes and seventh-ranked Kalob Shelton did it once.
The name the people are used to seeing at the top of the Mini Stock point list is Corder. Chris Corder has won three of the last four championships at Merced Speedway, finishing second the year he didn't win. He and his sister Jennifer figured to be factors in the championship battle once again. However, Chris had a rough start. Though he won three of the first four races, two of the first five races saw him watching the Main Event from the sidelines. Meanwhile, Jennifer had three second place finishes in the first five races. At the sixth event, things took a turn for the worst in the tech area. Both drivers opted to take a break from racing at Merced at that point.
This meant the championship would be won by a first-timer, and there were several drivers in contention. The two biggest challenges were presented by Allen Neal and Lee Ragsdale. Both drivers had ten Top 10 finishes in their 11 starts. With car count starting out very strong at the beginning of the season, this was important. Neal saved his best for last with his two wins coming in the last two point events. He also had one second place finish and one third out of his seven Top 5 finishes. Ragsdale actually had eight Top 5s. Though he didn't win, he had three seconds and one third among his best finishes. His crash in the finale cost him the championship to Neal by a mere two points. It was the closest championship battle at the speedway.
Tyler Jackson visited the winner's circle one time with two third place finishes among his six Top 5 efforts to nail down third in the standings ahead of Jennifer Rodgers. As the season wore on, Rodgers got faster with her second and third place finishes happening in the last two races. Shawn DePriest didn't start off strong, but he eventually won two Main Events with a pair of seconds and a third as his best finishes. This gave him fifth in the final rundown.
Central Valley Mini Stocks star Dan Myrick made a visit midway through the season and held off Ragsdale for the victory. Robert Jackson picked up his two feature wins during the first five races. It was Dakota Keldsen winning the money in the John Fore Jr Memorial race, while Tyler Jackson's win came on Ed Parker Memorial night. Other season-best finishes included a second and third by Destiny Carter in the first two races. She ended up selling her car and moving up to the Hobby Stocks. Bryant Desaire also had a season-high second, while Lucy Falkenberg and past Mini Truck champion Kevin Lockerby had two third place finishes each.
The Valley Sportsman division has had at least a few races at Merced Speedway since Chuck Griffin added it to the roster in 1999. Only the 2015 season went without a champion. For last season, Watsonville Hall Of Famer Jerry Cecil and Rick Elliott were the only drivers to compete at every race. Cecil beat Elliott to the finish line in all but the season finale. Cecil's season highlights were three second place finishes and two thirds, giving him a slim advantage over Elliot in the final rundown. Elliot's best finish was one third place effort.
Chris Birdsong racked up four wins in his five starts and one second. His absence from two races cost him a sure championship. One of his wins came aboard the 2017 championship car of Jeff Bristow. He also beat the biggest field of the year on Legends Night, followed by Cecil. Bristow drove his car to a pair of third place finishes, while Sport Modified star Chris Falkenberg picked up two wins in the Bristow car. On the strength of two second place finishes in the final three races, Eric Seeley ranked fourth in the final standings ahead of Jeff West. Watsonville Hall Of Famer Ray Johnson had one season-high second place finish as his best effort. Gary Hildebrand drove the Bristow car to one third place finish.
The California Sharp Mini Late Models had their first official championship race, but Tim Crews put up numbers that made him impossible to beat. Crews won four Main Events and finished second seven times to claim the championship ahead of Carson Guthrie. Guthrie finally picked up his first win in the season finale to go with three second place finishes and one third. Riley Jeppesen missed a race, but he had one win and five seconds to finish third ahead of Ian Shearer. Shearer had three season-best third place finishes. Jesse Burks might have presented a challenge for the championship, but he missed four races. He won five Main Events to finish fifth in the standings. Logan Clay made his debut late in the season with one second place finish, while Hobby Stock racer Raulie Rodriguez drove the Clay car to a third place finish.
The speedway offered a few special attractions here and there. This included two BCRA Midgets Lites races. Dean Alexander won the first one ahead of Scott Kenney and Hunter Kenny. Southern California star Bobby Michnowicz won the second race ahead of Doug Nunes and Hunter Kinney. The BCRA Midgets made one appearance, won by BCRA dirt track champion Maria Coffer ahead of Robert Dalby and Cory Elliott. The 600 Micros made an appearance as well, won by Jacob Williams ahead of Koen Shaw and Ryan DeLisle. Grant Duinkerken won the IMCA RaceSaver 305 Sprint Car race ahead of Albert Pombo and Brooklyn Holland.
The South Bay Dwarf Cars had one race early in the season, won by Scott Dahlgren ahead of Shawn Jones and Michael Grenert. The Dwarf Car Nationals event returned later with a big turnout of cars from throughout California and other states. The Pro Main Event was won by Ryan Diatte ahead of Jonathan Henry and Tony Steffensmeier. Diatte also won the Preliminary Feature ahead of Henry and Ryan Winter. The Veterans Main Event went to Arizona visitor Steve Kapaun ahead of Mark Biscardi and Tim Fitzpatrick. Dahlgren won the Preliminary Feature ahead of Biscardi and Kevin Bender. The Sportsman feature went to Shawn Whitney ahead of Southern Oregon racer Joe Sanders and Mike Clark. The Sportsmans ran within the Veterans race for their Preliminary Feature, with Whitney leading the charge ahead of Mack Aceves and Eddy Claesson.
Merced Speedway had one of its biggest car counts ever. There were roughly 130 cars in the pits for the Bill Egleston Memorial race. Many great things happened at Merced Speedway in 2018, and that trend is expected to continue in the coming season. For further information, go to www.mercedspeedway.net.
2018 Merced Speedway Point Standings
IMCA Modifieds
Darrell Hughes 452
Brian Pearce 419
Ramie Stone 409
Paul Stone 355
Ryan Porter 330
Troy Stone 329
Justin Villaneuva 319
Jeff Streeter 315
Jarod Fast 290
Derek Nance 284
IMCA Sport Mods
Jeremy Hoff 427
Danny Roe 424
Bruce Nelson 419
Tanner Thomas 390
Chase Thomas 377
Kelly Wilkinson 374
Cody Parker 339
Mark Squadrito 318
Jarrod Mounce 277
Chris Falkenberg 236
Hobby Stocks
Kodie Dean 560
Shannon Nelson 553
Kristie Shearer 509
Austin Van Hoff 504
John Hensley 384
Mike Germait 358
Kalob Shelton 321
Race Shelton 316
Michael Shearer 309
Robbie Loquaci 296
Mini Stocks
Allen Neal 396
Lee Ragsdale 394
Tyler Jackson 380
Jennifer Rodgers 366
Shawn DePriest 350
Chris Corder 209
Kevin Lockerby 202
Bryant Desaire 200
Jason Belton Jr. 182
Jennifer Corder 215
Valley Sportsman
Jerry Cecil 265
Rick Elliot 251
Chris Birdsong 199
Eric Seely 151
Jeff West 143
Mike Freisen 114
Jeff Bristow 114
Chris Falkenberg 80
Ray Johnson 74
Chris Corder 73
Mini Late Models
Tim Crews 433
Carson Guthrie 413
Riley Jeppesen 377
Ian Shearer 368
Jesse Burks 238
Logan Clay 113
Raulie Rodriguez 38
2018 Had Plenty Of Excitement At Petaluma Speedway
Petaluma, CA...In light of the threats that surround the fairgrounds in Petaluma, it's not a given that racing will continue at Petaluma Speedway. However, fans were given good news late in the 2018 season. Glad Enterprises and promoter Rick Faeth were given a contract extension through 2022. This means that the show will go on at least that long without worrying about the checkered flag falling early on the speedway.
Faeth is a busy man working different deals for sponsorship for the speedway and the divisions. In the end, he manages to put together a nice schedule for the fans to enjoy. Last season, Petaluma Speedway continued to offer the PitStopUSA.com Winged 360 and Wingless Spec Sprints, McLea's Tire Service IMCA Modifieds, Lumberjacks Restaurant Super Stocks, Jake's Performance Hobbies Mini Stocks, Santa Rosa Auto Body 600 Micros and General Hydroponics Redwood Dwarf Cars. In addition to that, the fans were treated to special events, including The Elk Grove Ford Sprint Car Challenge Tour, presented by Abreu Vineyards, the King Of The West/NARC Fujitsu 410 Winged Sprint Cars, Hunt Wingless Spec Sprints and an appearance by the USAC/CRA Wingless 410 Sprint Cars.
The Winged 360 Sprint Cars quietly had their 30th season of championship racing at Petaluma Speedway last season, and once again it was a good battle. This one featured second generation racers Jake Haulot and Brett Rollag along with fourth generation racer Colby Johnson. All three drivers entered the season finale with a mathematical shot at the title, but Rollag's hopes ended in a flip in the Main Event. Haulot started the season strong with a second, a win and another second and his first three starts. He ended the season with two straight Top 5 finishes, earning him a seven point championship margin ahead of Johnson. Haulot had six Top 5 efforts. Johnson had a second and two thirds out of his four Top 5 finishes. In settling for a close third in the standings, two second place finishes were the best of Rollag's four Top 5 efforts.
The biggest force in the division was probably Klint Simpson. Simpson had three wins and an additional Top 5 finish, but some bad luck and his absence from one race forced him to settle for fourth. Young William Fatu made great strides in his rookie season in the class with four Top 10 finishes. He also had a win in a visit to Antioch Speedway.
Many-time Civil War Sprint Car champion Andy Forsberg won the two PitStopUSA.com Shootout races with the extra money on the line. Buddy Kofoid, 2017 champion Geoff Ensign and DJ Freitas won the other regular point races. Other season-best efforts in the regular shows included three second place finishes for Kalib Henry and one second place finish each for David Lindt II, past champion Bradley Terrell and John Clark. Season-best third place finishes were scored by Lucas Ashe and Chase Johnson. Ensign had an additional two third place finishes.
The Wingless Spec Sprint championship race didn't turn out to be very close at all. With two wins and a second out of her eight Top 5 finishes, Shayna Sylvia won the championship by a wide margin. Bradley Terrell took his turn behind the wheel in wingless action and notched three wins out of five Top 5 efforts. He won the second and third Hunt Series races, the second of which was also the annual Johnny Soares Classic. He grabbed third by just three points ahead of 2017 champion Ryon Siverling. A fourth place finish was the lone Top 5 effort for Siverling.
Scott Chapeta had a third place finish out of his three Top 5 finishes to secure fourth in the standings, not too far in front of Mini Stock graduate Eden McCormick. McCormick had six Top 10 finishes. Michael Faccinto won the season opener, which was also a Hunt Series race. Nick Larsen, multi-time Hunt Series champion Terry Shank Jr and Geoff Ensign were the other feature winners. Ensign won twice, including the Adobe Cup race. Season-high second place finishes were earned by Cody Spencer, past Chico champion Angelique Bell, Scott Hall, Casey McLain and Billy Aton. McLain and Aton each had two second place finishes. Season-best third place efforts were turned in by Troy DeGaton, DJ Johnson and Jake Haulot. Shank had an additional two third place finishes.
In the eight race IMCA Modified series, Jeffrey Faulkner emerged as a surprise contender for the championship. Hoping to dethrone Oreste Gonella. Faulkner got off to a strong start with a win in the opener and a second in the next race. With four Top 5 finishes in the first five races, Faulkner was in the lead, but his bad luck late in the season cost him that spot to Gonella. Gonella went winless for the season, but he scored three of his four second place finishes in the final three races to move past Faulkner and claim the championship. Gonella had a third place finish among his six Top 5 efforts. Faulkner had five Top 5 finishes, which included his third place finish in the finale.
Justin Yeager and the returning Tony Bernard had a close battle for third in the standings, won by Yaeger. It had been several seasons since Bernard had raced, but he was one of the first drivers to run in the Modified class after winning a Street Stock championship before that. Multi-time champion Michael Paul Jr placed fifth with a win, two seconds and a third among his best efforts.
Four-time Antioch Speedway champ Troy Foulger made three visits and won all three of them, including the $1,500 prize for his win in the Top Dog Nationals. Tim Yeager was a two-time winner, and Chris Sieweke also scored a victory. Season-high efforts included a second for Ryan McDaniel behind Foulger in the Top Dog race. Jerry Roy Jr, State champion Shane DeVolder and David Spriggs finished third with Roy doing it twice.
Despite the fact that Mitch Machado turned in a rather dominant performance in the Super Stock division, the championship battle was still close. Machado has spent years racing wherever he wanted to and having fun, but 2018 was the year he would focus on winning the title at his home track. His numbers included eight wins, one second and one third. Despite that, he still needed his win in the point season finale to seal the deal as the champion. Multi-time champion Steve Studebaker managed to keep it close. Studebaker won the two point events that Machado didn't win. He also finished second six times, third once and fourth once as his ten Top 5 finishes. Those numbers might have been able to win him a championship had it not been for how great a season Machado had.
Another past champion, Shawn McCoy, enjoyed two season-high third place finishes among his five Top 5 efforts to secure third in the standings ahead of Matt While. While enjoyed three season-high second place finishes and two thirds among his six Top 5 finishes. Snazzy Duckworth ended up fifth in the standings with eight Top 10 finishes in her eight starts.
The $2,000 to win prize in the Bob McCoy Memorial at the Adobe Cup event went to past Petaluma star Mike Learn ahead of Machado and Richard Brace Jr. Jim "Woody" Woodward and Manny Avila finished as high as third with Avila doing it twice.
The Redwood Dwarf Car championship managed to be close despite the fact that at times multi-time champion Dave Mosier was unbeatable. Mosier won four races in a five race span and five total. His one blemish, a disqualification during the season, may have been his undoing. Scooter Gomes had a very consistent season with two seconds and two thirds among his nine Top 5 finishes. His fourth place finish in the point finale earned him the championship over Mosier by just one point.
Past champion Chad Mathias had a win, two seconds and a third among his best efforts to nail down third in the standings ahead of Caroll Mendenhall. Mendenhall had two season-high fourth place finishes. Adam Teves won the second to last point race and had two seconds and a third among his best efforts to finish fifth in the final point rundown.
Other drivers on the Main Event winner's list included Shawn Jones, Terre Rothweiler, Zach Albers, Matt Hagermann and Miranda Chappa. Season-high second place finishes were turned in by Brandon Gentry and Mark Biscardi. Albers had a pair of second place finishes as well. Marcus Hardina, Mark Hanson, John Peters and Marty Weisler had season-high third place finishes. Peters did it twice.
The Redwood Dwarf Car Association hosted a Western States Dwarf Car Regionals event. It was Ryan Diatte winning the Pro Main Event ahead of Rothweiler and Albers. Scott Dahlgren won the Veterans Main Event ahead of Kevin Maraglio and Mike Reeder. Shawn Whitney won the Sportsman Main Event ahead of Mike Affonso and Adam Freitas.
The Mini Stock heritage at Petaluma stretches back to 1989 and is a continuation from Baylands Raceway that stretches back into the 1970s. Like the Winged Sprint Cars, the Mini Stocks quietly entered their 30th season of racing at Petaluma Speedway. The man they call "Doctor Burn Rubber," David Spindell, won an impressive five Main Events in his seven starts, but he missed a race. The consistent Tom Brown had one win along with four second place finishes among his five Top 5s to win the championship ahead of Spindell.
Danny Manzoni had a season-high second place finish out of his three Top 5s to just hold off Roy Dearing for the third point position. Dearing also had a season-high third place finish out of five Top 5s. Roberta Broze had four Top 5 finishes to end up fifth in the standings. After a late start, Jeremy Tjensvold picked up one feature win, one second and two third place finishes. Austin Ohlinger won the season opener before moving up in divisions with Danny Manzoni taking over the ride. Kelly Campanile had one season-high second place finish, while Randy Miramontez, Richard Sklarski and Simone Chrisman finished as high as third. Miramontez did it twice.
The 600 Micro Sprints continued to offer solid car counts throughout the season. David Engstrom turned in some impressive numbers. He won his three Main Events in the last four races in addition to three other Top 5 finishes. This enabled him to hold off young Cody Gray to win the championship. Gray won the second to last Main Event of the season and also had one second and two third place finishes. Kyle Grissom and Brian Slubik each had one Top 5 finish to finish third and fourth, respectively. George Nielsen had two seconds and a third but missed a race as he settled for fifth in the standings.
Nick Robfogel had a win and a third among his best efforts. Other feature winners included Jim Beck and Jared Morrison. Dixon champion Kyle Mentch and Rick Cook II had a season-high second place finish, while Cook also had a third. Another season-high third place finish was earned by Paul Alonzo.
The speedway also hosted the King Of The West/NARC 410 Winged Sprint Cars twice with Kyle Hirst winning a race ahead of Colby Copeland and Shane Golobic. Golobic came back the next time to hold off Bud Kaeding and Tanner Thorson for the victory. There were two huge fields on hand for the Sprint Car Challenge Tour visits. Willie Croft won the first race ahead of Tim Keading and Shane Golobic. It was Kyle Hirst holding off Tim Kaeding and Tanner Thorson at the next visit. The USAC/CRA 410 Wingless Sprint Car show was won by Tyler Courtney ahead of Damion Gardner and Geoff Ensign. The BCRA Midgets ran two races, the second of which was a head-to-head show with the USAC Western Midgets. Maria Cofer won the first visit in dominant fashion ahead of Ensign and David Prickett. Alex Schutte won the next race with Pricket and Michael Faccinto settling for second and third, respectively.
With two of the biggest car counts on hand for the Adobe Cup finales in October, signs are that Petaluma Speedway is on the rise. The racers can rest easy knowing that there are still four more years left on the contract for promoter Rick Faeth. This means the show will go on. After all of the great racing throughout the 2018 season, optimism is high for an even better year to come. For further information, go to www.petaluma-speedway.com.
2018 Petaluma Speedway Point Standings
PitStop.USA 360 Sprints
Jake Haulot 380
Colby Johnson 373
Brett Rollag 363
Klint Simpson 314
Will Fatu 257
David Lindt Jr 253
John Clark 252
Bradley Terrell 252
Bret Barney 238
Kalib Henry 218
Wingless Spec Sprints
Shayna Sylvia 444
Bradley Terrell 356
Ryon Siverling 353
Scott Chapeta 341
Eden McCormick 334
Dennis Furia Jr 310
Bob Davis 293
Terry Schank Jr 253
Angelique Bell 241
Wilson Chet 233
Redwood Dwarf
David Mosier 496
John Scooter Gomes 495
Chad Matthias 469
Carroll Mendenhall 448
Adam Teves 395
Mark Hanson 379
Michael Affonso 341
Matt Hagemann 340
Michael Williams 324
Sam Borland 322
600 Micro Sprints
David Engstrom 370
Cody Gray 340
Kyle Grissom 280
Brian Slubik 263
George Nielson 257
Justin Adiego 254
Jenna Perkins 216
Amber Fields 210
Scott McIntosh 193
Carroll Mendenhall 187
Super Stocks
Mitch Machado 462
Steve Studebaker 435
Shawn McCoy 335
Matt While 306
Snazzy Duckworth 286
Woody Woodward 262
Sean Cook 256
Manny Avila 238
Tim O'Hara 215
Sid Hess 211
Mini Stock
Tom Brown 427
David Spindell 381
Danny Manzoni 334
Roy Dearing 326
Roberta Broze 306
Sophie Shelley 285
Antonio Miramontez 284
Randy Miramontez 232
Jermy Tjensvold 218
Sean Hale 203
Big Things Happened At Ocean Speedway In 2018
Watsonville, CA...The 59th season of racing at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville had some big moments throughout the season. The regular Sprint Car show continued to roll along with some big events scattered throughout the season. However, for fans wondering where Stock Cars fit into the program, the marque Mike Cecil Memorial and Pat And Jim Pettit Memorial Shootout races put two of the biggest car counts on the track for the year.
Once again, promoter John Prentice presented the fans with the regular Ocean Sprints, presented to by Taco Bravo, IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Four Bangers, South Bay Dwarf Cars and the Police N Pursuit. The track was also visited by the King Of The West/NARC Fujitsu Winged 410 Sprint Car Series and Civil War Series. Prentice was big on doing things for the community, which included a Special Olympics Night and a First Responders Night. All in all, it was a great year for the coastal race track.
The Ocean Sprint Cars had a 15 race schedule, and early on it looked to be a battle between dark horse contender Koen Shaw and Justin Sanders. When Sanders missed a couple of races to compete elsewhere, Shaw found himself being challenged by multi-time champion Brad Furr down the stretch. Furr picked up two of his four future wins during the final five race stretch as he closed in on and passed Shaw for the lead. Furr also had a second and three thirds among his nine Top 5 finishes to win his unprecedented third Sprint Car championship. If not for some bad luck, Shaw might have been able to hold on. As it was, he did visit the winner's circle once among his 5 Top 5 finishes to secure his best career ranking in second.
The Chisum family competed with three different cars, and it was Jeremy Chisum having the best season of the three. His season-high fourth place finish among nine Top 10 efforts garnered him third in the final rundown. Kurt Nelson, meanwhile, finished as high as third once out of his three Top 5 finishes to end up fourth. Though he missed two races, past champion Justin Sanders still had four wins, three seconds and four thirds to grab a solid hold on fifth in the standings.
The fact that Watsonville is a Friday night track meant that several different drivers would come to town from time to time for a run at the win. The biggest win of them all was the prestigious Johnny Key Classic, and it was Tanner Thorson winning that race ahead of Shane Golobic and Bud Kaeding. Thorson also won the Howard Kaeding Classic Civil War race ahead of Kyle Hirst and Sanders.
Bud Kaeding was a three-time winner during the season, and Dominic Scelzi won the season finale. Season-high second place performances were turned in by Golobic, Dominic Scelzi, Jake Haulot, Cole Macedo, Ryan Bernal, Hirst and Mitchell Faccinto. Golobic, Bernal and Civil War champion Macedo each had two of them. Carson Macedo had a season-high third place finish, and Kyle Offill also hit that mark once.
The Burke Brothers, Cody and Austin, and past State champion Alex Wilson had a slugfest to determine the IMCA Modified championship. Cody Burke and Wilson seemed to be the most dedicated regulars at the speedway, and both picked up a pair of feature wins. Burke was slightly better in the Top 5 department with ten of them to seven for Wilson. Among Cody's best finishes were four second place efforts and a pair of thirds. Wilson had one second and one third. In the end, Cody Burke would prevail for the championship. Though Austin Burke was held winless at Watsonville, his two season-high second place finishes came in the final two point races. He also had three third place finishes among his nine Top 5 efforts to grab third in the final rundown.
Bobby Hogge IV missed some races or it's likely that he would have once again won the championship at his home track. Hogge at times was still very dominant as he won six Main Events and settled for second twice among his ten Top 5 efforts. He was a solid fourth ahead of the steady Raymond Keldsen Jr. Keldsen had a pair of fourth place finishes among his season-best efforts.
Robert Marsh picked up a pair of wins. 2017 champion Nick DeCarlo also won twice, including the Pat And Jim Pettit Memorial Shootout race, which he won ahead of four-time Antioch champion Troy Foulger and Hogge. Hogge got his sixth win of the season on preliminary night of the Pettit Shootout. Hogge also won the Mike Cecil Memorial race. Chris Sieweke made a surprise visit to the winner's circle at the point season finale. Season-high second place finishes were turned in by Foulger, past champion Brian Cass and Clint Reichenbach. Foulger did it three times. State champion Shane DeVolder, Kyle Wilson, Andy Obertello and Jeff McCown each had a third place finish.
The two most committed drivers in the IMCA Sport Modified division were past champion Jim DiGiovanni and Anthony Giuliani. They competed in all 19 events at the speedway. DiGiovanni marked two second place finishes and three third place efforts among his 11 Top 5 performances. This helped him seal the deal. Giuliani was a one-time winner with four second place finishes and three third place finishes among his ten Top 5 efforts. He would settle for second in the final standings.
With four season-high third place finishes out of his eight Top 5s, Austin Williams ran third in the final points ahead of Adriane Frost. Frost won the second race of the season and had a second and a third among her seven Top 5s. This gave her fourth in the rundown, followed by Charlie Hunter. Hunter had five Top 10 performances.
Past champion Matt Hagio and State champion Austin Manzella each picked up three feature victories. Both drivers managed to get them in four race spans. Fred Ryland opened the season with a win and returned to hold off Matthew Mayo and Williams to win the Mike Cecil Memorial race. Guy Ahlwardt picked up his first career feature win early in the season. Jack Aguiar picked up a pair of wins. Andrew Peckham was a one-time feature winner. Igor Grandzuk was a one-time winner on his way to a second win when he was taken out on the last lap. Justin McPherson scored one feature win.
It was Kevin Johnson coming in from Bakersfield to win preliminary night at the Pettit Memorial Shootout, followed by Ahlwardt and KC Keller. The big show a night later went to Brent Curran, followed by Johnson and past State champion Brian Cooper. Having lost his father, longtime racer Tim Etchison, TJ Etchison's feature win in the season finale was an emotional occasion.
The Sport Modifieds ran a marathon 19 race schedule with only the Hobby Stocks having more dates. Among the season best efforts were Tim Elias and Matthew Mayo with one second place finish each. Manzella was noteworthy in his two seconds, and Ryland had a pair of seconds as well. KC Keller picked up three third place finishes during the season.
There were 22 races for the Hobby Stocks during the season, and nobody really dominated the show. The season was a battle between Matt Kile and JC Elrod, though a late-season disqualification for Elrod dropped him a bit further back. Both drivers had impressive numbers. Kile and Elrod both won five Main Events each. Kile had four seconds and seven thirds among his 21 Top 5 finishes. It also meant he failed to make the Top 5 only once in his impressive championship season. Elrod had three second place finishes and three thirds among his 14 Top fives. The second place season was still the best yet for Elrod.
Multi-time champion Rob Gallaher missed a couple of races, but he was tough to beat when he was there. He picked up six feature wins to go with five second place finishes and three thirds out of his 16 Top 5 finishes. He had a solid hold on third in the final standings. DJ Keldsen picked up a feature win at the second race of the season and had a third place finish two races later out of his six Top 5s. He managed to hold off Terry Traub for fourth in the standings. Traub got his four fifth place finishes in the first five races of the season.
Multi-time champion Billy Nelson didn't run very often, but he had three feature wins to show for it. One of those wins came at the Pat And Jim Pettit Memorial Shootout, and the other was his victory in the 80 lap Mike Cecil Memorial race. Longtime division supporter Norm Ayers was a surprise feature winner, and Jerry Skelton picked up a win in the season opener ahead of Nelson.
Season-best second place finishes were earned by Tony Oliveira, Terry Campion, Jacob Jones, Nick Lawrence and Fred Ryland. Oliveira was back after his heart episode at the Pettit Memorial the year before, and he finished second three times. Kyle Reader, Joe Gallaher and Chris McCabe finished as high as third, and Gallaher did that twice. Campion also had a pair of third place finishes.
The Beardsley family was back in full force with three Four Bangers as they did battle with Dakota Keldsen and newcomer Abigail Kennedy in a 10 race series that went down to the wire. Bill Beardsley was the reigning champion, but it was Kate Beardsley stepping up big with a pair of feature wins and three seconds among her division-leading seven Top 5 finishes. Kate won the season finale, while Abigail Kennedy managed a fourth-place finish. This meant that Kate Beardsley beat Kennedy by just one point in the closest championship battle of the season. Kennedy picked up her first career feature win as well as three third place finishes among her best efforts. After Dakota Keldsen opened the season with a feature win, he appeared to be the driver to beat. He ran strong throughout the first half of the season, picking up his six Top 5 finishes in the first eight races. Unfortunately, he was shut out of the Top 5 in the final two races. He had three second place finishes among his best efforts to finish nine points out in third.
Nicole Beardsley picked up a feature win during the season as well as two second place finishes and a third out of her eight Top 5 finishes to finish 12 points back in forth. Bill Beardsley had two fourth place finishes out of his four Top 5s and was a solid fifth in the standings. Nick Teramo, Logan Doglione, Justin Williams and Tom Summers were the other feature winners. Teramo won twice. Kelly Campanile, Chuck Doglione and Ray Bunn finished as high as second once each. Jay Gardner, and Chuck Kessinger each had a season-high third place finish.
The track continued to pay tribute to law enforcement with the Police N Pursuit races, and once again a champion was crowned in the six race series. Jessie Mueller picked up two feature wins, but it was one time winner Chris Murphy beating Roy Iler by just one point for the championship. Murphy and Iler both had three Top 5 finishes with Iler scoring a season-best second and a third. John Hohmann picked up three third place finishes among his four top fives to finish third, nine points out of the lead. Steven Fernandes had two Top 5 finishes to secure fourth with Kyle Dorris back in fifth. Dorris had three Top 5 finishes.
Mike Mount, Cliff Sloma and Jason Kelly each scored a victory with both drivers also having a second place finish. Jason Johnson and Tony Parker both had one second place finish. Sloma also had a pair of thirds, but he missed two races to fall from championship contention. A special Ladies Race was held with the Police N Pursuit cars, and Charli Rommel won that race ahead of Franny Marasci and Cheryl Weir.
Because the South Bay Dwarf Car Association never made their point standings officially available to the people, we're not exactly sure how the points added up. Most of their races took place at Watsonville, though they also had visits to Merced and Petaluma. The battle was between Gene "Punky" Pires and Zach Price, but Pires would prevail in the end. Pires scored two of his three wins at the first two events, and Price at one time rattled off three wins in a row. Pires had an additional two second place finishes, while Price also had two seconds. Pires had three thirds, and Price had one.
Past champion Shawn Jones ended the season with his two victories, and another past champion, Terre Rothweiler, picked up two wins as well. Mark Biscardi, Eric Weisler, Ryan Amlen, 2017 champion Cameron Diatte and Kyle Jones each had a second place finish. Justin Yanez picked up a pair of third place finishes to start the season as his best two finishes, and Amlen and Jones each had a third.
The speedway also hosted three King Of The West/NARC Winged 410 Sprint Car events, and there were three different winners. Kyle Hirst won the first race ahead of Shane Golobic and DJ Netto. The Pombo/Sargent Classic went to Justin Sanders ahead of Hirst and Golobic. The Howard Kaeding Classic victory was earned by Colby Copeland ahead of Bud Kaeding and Chase Johnson. Brody Roa won the USAC/CRA 410 Wingless Sprint Car race ahead of Ryan Bernal and Chase Johnson. Chase Johnson won the BCRA Midget race ahead of Maria Cofer and Robert Dalby. The IMCA RaceSaver 305 Sprint Cars had two visits, and Blake Robertson one the first one ahead of series champion Grant Duinkerken and Kyle Rasmussen. Duinkerken won the next visit over Albert Pombo and Jacob Pacheco.
All in all, it was another solid season of racing at Ocean Speedway. Car count was up and there is plenty of enthusiasm heading into the season ahead. The track has created a nice mixture of open-wheel and Stock Car oriented racing, giving the fans a nice variety of things to enjoy. For further information on the happenings at ocean Speedway, go to www.racepmg.com.
2018 Ocean Speedway Point Standings
IMCA Sport Modifieds
Jim DiGiovanni 664
Anthony Giuliani 617
Austin Williams 592
Adriane Frost 550
Charlie Hunter 476
Justin McPherson 454
Matthew Hagio 316
Austin Manzella 306
Jack Aguiar 302
Steven Allee 272
Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo
Brad Furr 2539
Koen Shaw 2460
Jeremy Chisum 2366
Kurt Nelson 2312
Justin Sanders 2244
Jason Chisum 1914
Bud Kaeding 1844
Cole Macedo 1784
Richard Fajardo 1575
Kyle Offill 1571
IMCA Modifieds
Cody Burke 523
Alex Wilson 501
Austin Burke 497
Bobby Hogge IV 459
Raymond Keldsen Jr 419
Robert Marsh 417
Todd Hermosillo 383
Jeff McCoun 299
Shane DeVolder 280
Brian Cass 275
Hobby Stocks
Matt Kile 747
JC Elrod 653
Rob Gallaher 635
DJ Keldsen 465
Terry Traub 447
Tony Oliveira 392
Joe Gallaher 347
Jerry Skelton 346
Chris McCabe 251
John Farrell 232
Four Bangers
Kate Beardsley 552
Abigail Kennedy 551
Dakota Keldsen 543
Nicole Beardsley 540
Bill Beardsley 516
Tom Summers 365
Ray Bunn 304
Justin Williams 292
Kelly Campanile 239
Jay Gardner 215
Police n Pursuit
Chris Murphy 316
Roy Iler 315
John Hohmann 307
Steven Fernandes 304
Kyle Dorris 297
Jesse Mueller 288
Mike Mount 254
Cliff Sloma 228
Scott Morasci 178
Jared Johnson 147
Merced Speedway Prepares For 70th Consecutive Season
Merced, CA...Immediately after the 2018 season ended, there was speculation about who would be running Merced Speedway in the future. However, it didn't take too long before the next team stepped forward and got the contract to run the Speedway for its 70th consecutive season. Long-time racers and past champions Paul Stone and Chris Shannon formed S&S Motorsports and brought in Doug Lockwood to run the operations.
Longtime fans of the speedway will know Doug as he practically grew up at the speedway before moving on and rising up the ranks as an official with the USAC West Coast Sprint Car and Midget tours. Given the opportunity to come home and make a difference, Lockwood jumped at the opportunity. In addition to naming past Speedway great Doug Williams as the Race Director, Lockwood assured all of the local competitors that they would still have a home at the speedway with an exciting new schedule.
The IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Sport Modifieds will continue to be featured at the quarter-mile clay oval. Likewise, Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks, Valley Sportsman and California Sharp Mini Late Models have also been booked as regular championship divisions. In addition to that, Lockwood has set up visits from several open wheel groups, secured another Dwarf Car Nationals event, created a series between Merced and Bakersfield Speedway and added several other nice touches.
Over the past three seasons, Merced Speedway has stayed dark on the first weekend of August to allow the local Modified and Hobby Stock racers to travel to Watsonville for the Mike Cecil Memorial. While those divisions will again be dark this year, the track has a huge Sprint Car show scheduled for August 3rd. It will be the Elk Grove Ford Sprint Car Challenge Tour, presented by Abreu Vineyards. A field of some 40 winged 360 Sprint Cars should be there that night along with the local Mini Stocks and California Sharp Mini Late Models.
The Bay Cities Racing Association Midgets will make two visits to the speedway in co-sanctioned events with USAC. On April 20th, the Midgets will be competing along with IMCA Modifieds, Hobby Stocks and Mini Stocks. On July 27th, the Midgets will be joined by the IMCA Modifieds, Mini Stocks and Valley Sportsman. The BCRA Midget Lites will get two visits to the speedway as well. They are on the April 27th program along with Hobby Stocks, Valley Sportsman and Mini Late Models. They return on June 22nd along with the Hobby Stocks, Valley Sportsman and Mini Late Models. Plus, the Legends Of Kearney Bowl Super Modifieds will be there.
Merced Speedway also landed a USAC/CRA Speedweek event on September 6th. These exciting Wingless 410 Sprint Cars will be joined by the Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks and Mini Late Models. The IMCA RaceSaver 305 Winged Sprint Cars get two visits. They will be on hand on April 6th along with the IMCA Modifieds, Mini Stocks and the Valley Sportsman division. They return on May 25th along with IMCA Modifieds, Valley Sportsman and Mini Late Models. The Hunt Wingless Spec Sprint Series comes to town on July 20th along with IMCA Sport Modifieds, Hobby Stocks and Mini Late Models.
The South Bay Dwarf Car Association will be on hand for the season opener on March 23rd along with IMCA Sport Modifieds, Hobby Stocks and Mini Stocks. On April 12th and 13th, the South Bay group will host the Third Annual Western States Dwarf Car Nationals. IMCA Modifieds and Sport Modifieds will be there on the 12th. The Sport Modifieds return on the 13th along with Mini Late Models.
Another highlight for the season will be an appearance by the Malicious Monster Truck Tour. The Monster Trucks come to town on May 3rd and May 5th for two appearances. On May 4th, the IMCA Modifieds headline the show along with Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks and the Valley Sportsman division.
Some signature events the fans have been used to have been removed from the schedule. Lockwood explained that the greats from the past will be honored at the August 10th Legends Night event. This is also a special North vs South Highway 99 Challenge Series event for IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Sport Modifieds. Hobby Stocks and Mini Stocks round out the exciting program that puts the locals in head-to-head competition with the stars from Bakersfield Speedway. The Ed Parker Tribute will happen on June 15th, featuring the same four divisions as Legends Night.
The night traditionally known as the Timmy Post Memorial night, July 6th, will be the Fireworks Spectacular. A tradition that past promoter Chuck Griffin started, free admittance for the fans into the grandstands, will continue. IMCA Sport Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks and Mini Late Models will all be there. The track will also have a race during the Merced County Fair on June 5th, featuring IMCA Modifieds and Sport Modifieds.
The end of the season John Fore Jr Dirt Nationals will take place on October 25th and 26th. This is the fourth annual salute to the late Sport Modified driver, who died in a work-related accident prior to the 2016 season. IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Hobby Stocks and Mini Stocks will be on hand for both nights. Mini Late Models will be there as well on October 25th, while the Valley Sportsman division will compete on the 26th.
2019 will be the 70th consecutive season of championship racing at the historic racing facility. Lockwood has put together an impressive line-up of racing that the fans are sure to enjoy. It all starts at the aforementioned March 23rd season opener. Point racing will continue almost every weekend from then through the point season finale on September 21st, which will feature IMCA Sport Modifieds, Mini Stocks, Valley Sportsman and Mini Late Models. For further information, go to www.mercedspeedway.net.
2019 Merced Speedway Schedule
3/23/2019 - South Bay Dwarf Cars, IMCA Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks
3/30/2019 - IMCA Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Valley Sportsman, Mini Late Models
4/6/2019 - IMCA RaceSaver Sprints, IMCA Modifieds, Mini Stocks, Valley Sportsman
4/12/2019 - Dwarf Car Nationals, IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods
4/13/2019 - Dwarf Car Nationals, IMCA Sport Mods, Mini Late Models
4/20/2019 - USAC Western Midgets with BCRA, IMCA Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks
4/27/2019 - Hobby Stocks, Valley Sportsman, Mini Late Models, BCRA Midget Lites
5/3/2019 - Malicious Monster Truck Tour
5/4/2019 - IMCA Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks, Valley Sportsman
5/5/2019 - Malicious Monster Truck Tour
5/18/2019 - IMCA Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks, Valley Sportsman, Mini Late Models
5/25/2019 - IMCA RaceSaver Sprints, IMCA Modifieds, Valley Sportsman, Mini Late Models
6/5/2019 - Merced Fair Race - IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods
6/15/2019 - Ed Parker Memorial - IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks
6/22/2019 - Hobby Stocks, Valley Sportsman, Mini Late Models, BCRA Midget Lites, Legends of Kearney Bowl
7/6/2019 - Firework Spectacular FREE GRANDSTANDS - IMCA Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks, Mini Late Models
7/20/2019 - IMCA Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks, Mini Late Models, Hunt Wingless Series
7/27/2019 - USAC Western Midgets with BCRA, IMCA Modifieds, Mini Stocks, Valley Sportsman
8/3/2019 - Winged 360 Sprint Car Challenge Tour, Mini Stocks, Mini Late Models
8/10/2019 - Legends Night / North vs South 99 Challenge Round 3 - IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks
8/17/2019 - IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods, Valley Sportsman, Mini Late Models
8/31/2019 - IMCA Sport Mods, Mini Stocks, Valley Sportsman, Mini Late Models
9/6/2019 - Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks, Mini Late Models, 410 Sprints - Non-Winged
9/14/2019 - IMCA Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Valley Sportsman, Dwarf
9/21/2019 - IMCA Sport Mods, Mini Stocks, Valley Sportsman, Mini Late Models
10/25/2019 - John Fore Dirt Nationals - IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks, Mini Late Models
10/26/2019 - John Fore Dirt Nationals - IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks, Valley Sportsman
Subject To Change
Petaluma Speedway Gears Up For 58th Season
Petaluma, CA...Petaluma Speedway is set for its 58th consecutive season of racing on the 3/8 mile adobe oval. Promoter Rick Faeth has again put together an attractive schedule that will offer all of the local divisions the fans have come to expect with some marquee events sprinkled throughout the season.
Faeth is hard at work putting together sponsorship deals for the speedway and the divisions once again. PitStopUSA.com has again come on board to sponsor the Winged 360 and Wingless Spec Sprint divisions. This will lead to some extra money and contingency prizes for both divisions during the season. Jake's Performance Hobbies has returned as the Mini Stock sponsor, and other sponsorship announcements will be forthcoming. The popular Super Stock division will be back along with IMCA Modifieds, 600 Micro Sprints and the Redwood Dwarf Cars.
Notable once again are Northern California's three premier Sprint Car series returning for visits this season. The Elk Grove Ford Sprint Car Challenge Tour, presented by Abreu Vineyards, makes its first appearance at the speedway on April 27th, supported by the 600 Micro Sprints. They return on June 30th with the Micro Sprints again in support. The King Of The West/NARC Fujitsu Winged 410 Sprint Car Series also makes two appearances. First, they race on June 1st along with the IMCA Modifieds, Redwood Dwarf Cars and Mini Stocks. They return on July 13th with the Super Stocks, Redwood Dwarf Cars and Mini Stocks in support.
Though Faeth has sold his interest in the Hunt Wingless Spec Sprint Series to concentrate on his local effort, the Hunt Series returns on March 30th along with the Super Stocks, 600 Micros and Mini Stocks. The Hunt Series will also headline the 8th Annual Johnny Soares Classic on August 17th, supported by the Redwood Dwarf Cars, 600 Micro Sprints and Mini Stocks.
When it comes to Wingless Sprint Cars, there is no bigger tour in California than the USAC/CRA 410 Sprint Car Series. The annual Speedweek event will come to town on September 2nd, supported by IMCA Modifieds and Super Stocks.
The fans will also get an opportunity to check out some USAC West Coast Sprint Car Series action at Petaluma this season. The Wingless 360 Sprint Car Tour will be in town on May 18th, supported by the IMCA Modifieds, Redwood Dwarf Cars, in a shootout race with the South Bay Dwarf Cars, and the 600 Micros. The West Coast Sprint Cars get to make another appearance as part of the second night of the Adobe Cup that will take place on October 12th. The Redwood and South Bay Dwarf Cars will run twin 25 lap features that night with the 600 Micro Sprints also running in support of the show.
The Bay Cities Racing Association Midgets will come to town for their first appearance on June 8th, along with the Winged 360 Sprint Cars, Super Stocks and Mini Stocks. On July 20th, the BCRA Midgets co-sanction a race along with USAC. The Winged 360 Sprint Cars, 600 Micros and Mini Stocks will also be in action that night.
There will be two special PitStopUSA.com Shootout races for the Winged 360 Sprint Cars and Wingless Spec Sprints. The first happens on May 11th, and Super Stocks and Redwood Dwarf Cars will run in support that night. The second event will happen on September 7th with the same four divisions on hand. The big event for the Winged 360 Sprint Cars will be the 7th Annual Adobe Cup on October 5th. They will race for $5,000 to win, while the Super Stocks will run the Bob McCoy Memorial race, which paid $2,000 to win last season. The speedway will also run a race during the County Fair on June 23rd, featuring Wingless Spec Sprints, IMCA Modifieds and Super Stocks.
Petaluma Speedway has been given the opportunity to host a Western States Dwarf Car Regional event for the past several seasons, but this year it has been elevated to Nationals status. This means it's a two-day event, scheduled for June 14th and 15th. Micro Sprints support the 14th, while Wingless Spec Sprints support the 15th. Last season, Faeth reintroduced the Top Dog Nationals, a big IMCA Modified event that was founded by Promoter John P Soares back in the 1990s. The event is again scheduled to pay $1,500 to win and will happen on August 10th. Super Stocks and 600 Micros will run in support.
Fans will get their first taste of racing action on March 30th with the Hunt Wingless Spec Sprint Tour, which will be supported by the Super Stocks, 600 Micros and Mini Stocks. There are lots of great events scheduled and other surprises in store for the fans for this coming season. It all adds up to a season that you won't want to miss. For further information, go to www.petaluma-speedway.com.
2019 Petaluma Speedway Race Schedule
March 23 – Test & Tune
March 30 – Hunt Wingless Sprint Tour, Super Stocks, 600’s, Mini Stocks
April 6 – Wing 360, Modifieds, Dwarfs, Mini Stocks
April 13 – Wingless Spec Sprints, Modifieds, Super Stocks, 600’s
April 20 – Wing 360, Wingless Spec Sprints, Dwarfs, Mini Stocks
April 27 –Sprint Car Challenge Tour, 600’s
May 4 – Wing 360, Wingless Spec Sprints, Super Stocks, Mini Stocks
May 11 – Wing 360, Wingless Spec Sprints, Super Stocks, Dwarfs, Pit Stop USA Shootout Race #1
May 18 – USAC West Coast 360, Modifieds, Dwarfs w/South Bay, 600’s
June 1 - KWS – NARC Sprint Car Series, Modifieds, Dwarfs, Mini Stocks
June 8 – W360, BCRA Midgets, Super Stocks, Mini Stocks
June 14 (Fri) – WSDCA National, 600’s
June 15 – WSDCA National, Wingless Spec Sprints
June 23 (Sun) – Sonoma Marin Fair: Wingless Spec Sprints, Modifieds, Super Stocks
June 30 (Sun) – Sprint Car Challenge Tour, 600’s
July 13 – KWS – NARC Sprint Car Series, Super Stocks, Dwarfs, Mini Stocks
July 20 – Wing 360, BCRA-USAC Western States Midgets, 600’s Mini Stocks
July 27 – Wing 360, Wingless Spec Sprints, Super Stocks, Dwarfs
Aug 10 – Wing 360, Top Dog Modifieds National, Super Stocks, 600’s
Aug 17 – 8th Soares Classic: Hunt Wingless Sprint Tour, Dwarfs, 600’s, Mini Stocks
Aug 24 – W360, Mods, Dwarfs, Mini Stocks
Sept 2 (Mon) – USAC-CRA Sprint Cars Series, Modifieds, Super Stocks
Sept 7 – W360, Wingless Spec Sprints, Super Stocks, Dwarfs Pit Stop USA Shootout Race #2
Sept 21 – Wingless Spec Sprints, Super Stocks, 600’s, Mini Stocks
Oct 5 – 8th Annual Adobe Cup – Wing 360’s, Bob McCoy Super Stock Open
Oct 12 – Adobe Cup II – USAC West Coast 360, Dwarf Twin-25’s w/South Bay, 600’s
Subject To Change
Ocean Speedway Prepares For Another Exciting Season
Watsonville, CA...Ocean Speedway is preparing to open up for their 60th consecutive season of racing at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds facility. Coming off of what by all accounts was a strong season last year, promoter John Prentice has booked another exciting lineup for the fans to enjoy.
The Ocean Sprint Cars, presented by Taco Bravo, will compete in a 17 race season. Other featured divisions in the lineup include the IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Four Bangers, South Bay Dwarf Cars and Police N Pursuit cars. The speedway will also offer up several big Sprint Car events during the season and will also launch a new Ocean Midgets division.
Two signature events during the season belong to the King Of The West/NARC Fujitsu Winged 410 Sprint Car Series. On June 21st, it will be the Pombo/Sargent Classic. IMCA Modifieds, Four Bangers, South Bay Dwarf Cars and Ocean Midgets will all run in support that night. The Howard Kaeding Classic event, set for July 19th and 20th, will feature the Winged 410 Sprint Car Series once again on the 20th, joined by the IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Hobby Stocks and Ocean Midgets.
On July 19th, the oldest Winged 360 Sprint Car Series in California, the Civil War Series, will run a head-to-head show with the Ocean Sprint Cars, joined by IMCA Sport Modifieds, Hobby Stocks and South Bay Dwarf Cars. The Civil War Series will go head-to-head with the Ocean Sprints once again as part of the Johnny Key Classic on August 17th. IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modified and Ocean Midgets will run in support.
Not to be left out of the equation, there will be three big Stock Car themed events during the course of the season. The Bill Egleston Memorial will be on the card with extra money on the line for the IMCA Modifieds on May 17th. The IMCA Sport Modifieds are also in action along with Hobby Stocks, Four Bangers and the Police N Pursuit. The 22nd Annual Mike Cecil Memorial race takes place on August 2nd and 3rd as it is now a two-day event. IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds and Hobby Stocks are all on the card. Traditionally, the Hobby Stock Main Event on Saturday night has been an 80 lap race. The biggest race comes with the 9th Annual Pat And Jim Pettit Memorial Shootout race on September 27th and 28th. There will be extra money on the line for the IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds and Hobby Stocks. The All Star Series IMCA Modifieds will also have point events on August 3rd and September 28th.
The BCRA Midgets will run as part of Salute To Father's Day night on June 7th. The Ocean Midgets will be there along with the IMCA Sport Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, South Bay Dwarf Cars and Police N Pursuit. May 10th will be a Salute To Mother's Day event, featuring the Ocean Sprints, Hobby Stocks, Four Bangers and Ocean Midgets. The speedway also has Special Olympics night on April 5th, featuring the Ocean Sprints, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Four Bangers and Police N Pursuit.
The racing season officially kicks off with the World of Outlaws coming to town on March 22nd. The best Winged 410 Sprint Car drivers in the United States will be in town for a show that will also include the IMCA Sport Modifieds and South Bay Dwarf Cars. The regular point season kicks off on March 29th with Ocean Sprint Cars, IMCA Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Four Bangers and Ocean Midgets.
It's a great lineup of races that will keep the fans entertained from the start of the season to the end. Plus, there will be other special announcements made during the course of the season. For further information, go to www.racepmg.com.
2019 Ocean Speedway Schedule
3/29/2019 - Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo, IMCA Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Four Bangers, Ocean Midgets
4/5/2019 - Special Olympics Night at the Races - Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo, IMCA Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks, Four Bangers, Police n Pursuit
4/12/2019 - Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo, IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks, Four Bangers
4/19/2019 - Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo, Police n Pursuit, South Bay Dwarf Cars, Ocean Midgets
4/26/2019 - Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo, IMCA Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Four Bangers, South Bay Dwarf Cars
5/3/2019 - Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo, IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks
5/10/2019 - Salute to Mother's Day - Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo, Hobby Stocks, Four Bangers, Ocean Midgets
5/17/2019 - Bill Egleston Memorial Race & First Responders Appreciation Night - IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks, Four Bangers, Police n Pursuit
5/31/2019 - Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo, IMCA Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks, Four Bangers, South Bay Dwarf Cars
6/7/2019 - BCRA Midget Night & Salute to Father's Day - IMCA Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks, Police n Pursuit, South Bay Dwarf Cars, BCRA Midgets, Ocean Midgets
6/14/2019 - Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo, IMCA Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks, Four Bangers
6/21/2019 - Pombo/Sargent Classic with NARC/King of the West Sprint Cars
IMCA Modifieds, Four Bangers, South Bay Dwarf Cars, King of the West Sprints, Ocean Midgets
6/28/2019 - Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo, IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks, Police n Pursuit
7/12/2019 - Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo, IMCA Modifieds, Four Bangers, Police n Pursuit, South Bay Dwarf Cars
7/19/2019 - Kaeding Classic Night # 1 - Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo, IMCA Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks, Ocean Midgets
7/20/2019 - Kaeding Classic Night # 2 - IMCA Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, King of the West Sprints, Ocean Midgets
7/26/2019 - Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo, IMCA Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks, Four Bangers, Police n Pursuit
8/2/2019 - 22nd Mike Cecil Memorial Race Night # 1 - IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks
8/3/2019 - 22nd Mike Cecil Memorial Race Night # 2 - IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks
8/9/2019 - Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo, Hobby Stocks, Four Bangers, Police n Pursuit
8/16/2019 - Key Kick-off Party at Taco Bravo in Campbell
8/17/2019 - Johnny Key Classic -
Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo, IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods, Ocean Midgets
8/23/2019 - Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo, IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods, Four Bangers, South Bay Dwarf Cars
9/20/2019 - Lady Police Night - IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks, Police n Pursuit, Ocean Midgets
9/26/2019 - Pettit Car Show and Kick-off - IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks
9/27/2019 - Pettit Shootout Night # 1 - IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks
9/28/2019 - Pettit Shootout Night # 2 - IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks
10/4/2019 - Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo, IMCA Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks, Four Bangers
Subject To Change
Central Valley Mini Stocks Announce
Ten Race Schedule For 2019
Lemoore, CA...The Central Valley Mini Stocks enter their third season on a high note as the competitors look forward to a ten race schedule. The series launched at the 1/5 mile dirt oval in Lemoore two years ago, but as it has grown, the group has looked to branch out and race at other tracks. Series promoter Dan Myrick is constantly looking for ways to improve the series and make it better for the racers.
A couple of things planned for this year include Saturday night racing at Lemoore Raceway on the occasions in which they are there. For the past two seasons, they have run on Sunday afternoons, but Myrick believes that switching to Saturday nights and trying a few fan-friendly promotions will be the key to helping the program grow at the home track. Also, Myrick is working on a point fund for the top finishers in series points this year. Furthermore, there will be support divisions at each of the Lemoore races.
The season will kick off on March 9th at Lemoore Raceway with a show that will also feature the South Bay Dwarf Car Racing Association. They will be a part of the April 20th program at Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford before heading back to Lemoore on May 18th for a show that will also include the Southern California Enduros. June 1st will see them back at Hanford, and on the 15th, they make another appearance at Hanford.
The Mini Stocks will make their first appearance on the pavement of Madera Speedway on July 13th before coming back to Hanford for a race on August 10th. September 14th has them back at Lemoore Raceway for a show that will also include the California Mod Lites. On October 12th, they make their final appearance of the year at Lemoore for a show that will include the VRA Dwarf Cars. The season will end on November 16th as the Central Valley Mini Stocks support the program at Keller Auto Speedway.
The season opener on March 9th at Lemoore has another added bonus as the Cab Street Band will be doing a show live after the races. This will be the first of the ten race point season, and Myrick made the announcement that he is working on a point fund that could be worth as much as $1,000 for the champion with tenth place getting a minimum of $200. Details are still being finalized. Furthermore, he is considering a one-race throwaway rule for the series, allowing drivers to get rid of their worst finishes. This has been effective in making close point battles with the various Dwarf Car organizations on the West Coast.
In January, the group held their awards banquet. Greg Baronian turned in a rather dominant performance last season in winning most of the Main Events. In the end, he won the championship by 65 points. He also picked up the "Quick Time" award at the banquet for having the fastest time of the year.
With his season-ending feature victory, Dan Myrick beat Ryan Doglione by just 11 points to finish second in last year's championship chase. Doglione didn't get a feature win, but he did finish as high as second during the season. The steady Jeff Durant was fourth in the standings. Brent Myrick was a solid fifth in the standings and showed much improvement throughout the year. He was awarded with the "Most Improved Driver" honors at the banquet. He did finish as high as second in the Main Event as he knocks on the door to his first win.
Darren Wilson finished sixth in the final rundown and was yet another driver who finished as high as second in Main Event competition. Rod Baronian started out strong and was a winner early in the season before settling for seventh in the standings, followed by Scott Glenn, Dick Adams and Ryan Blank. Glenn picked up the "Rookie Of The Year" hardware at the banquet.
Ryan Doglione was notable in being the highest finishing Central Valley Mini Stock competitor in the group visit to Hanford last year. He crossed the line second that night. This event was a catalyst in getting Hanford on the schedule more in 2019.
Myrick worked hard last season to add special touches to the program. On one occasion, he had several drivers from the Legends Of Kearney Bowl group put their beautiful Super Modifieds on display for the fans to see. For the last two events, he booked support divisions to give the fans more of a show, which is a trend that will continue at all events at Lemoore this season. Mod Lites Star Zach Forester won their appearance at the speedway ahead of rising young star JD Brown and Colby Lewis. The Dwarf Car visit was won by Mike Clark ahead of John Harris and Becca Clark.
The Central Valley Mini Stock competitors are excited about the busy schedule booked for 2019. Many good things are on the horizon with special announcements to come. For further information, go to www.centralvalleyministocks.com.
As it was last year, we are sort of forced to be vague on some of the statistics for the drivers at Orland Raceway. This is because the track did not release full finishes on a regular basis. They did finally release a point list that showed how many points the drivers earned each week. Based on the information we had, we attempted to review the 2018 season as best we could. We proudly support Orland Raceway and only wish to see things continue to grow in the future.
Orland Raceway Continues Its Momentum In 2018
Orland, CA...The show continued on at Orland Raceway in 2018. Under the third year of Rich Hood promoting the 1/5 mile dirt oval, they continued to feature the Pure Stocks, Mini Trucks and Mini Stocks with several appearances from the Micro Sprints and Wingless Gas Sprints. It's the show the fans have grown accustomed to over the past 20 years, and it's not lost on many people that had it not been for Hood stepping in three years ago, there may be no show at all.
The numbers continued to improve in both the pits and the grandstands. Hood continued to add more touches to the schedule and remained community-oriented. If there was some way he could use the track to help others, he did so. This included the annual Thomas Schmitke Race For A Cure event. The track also offered kids bike race and bike giveaway night, Fan Appreciation Night, which included a meet and greet with the fans and racers before the show, and the second annual Battle Of The Axles events to close the season. There was plenty of reason to go to Orland Raceway and enjoy some great racing competition.
The Pure Stock championship battle was close throughout the season and got just a bit heated at one point between incoming champion Jeremy Langenderfer and longtime competitor and past champion Paul Stephens. Midway through the season, after the two drivers finished 1-2 in the Main Event, both were disqualified after things got a little too heated. Langenderfer enjoyed a championship effort at nearby Silver Dollar Speedway and made a strong bid to repeat at his home track. He topped the Main Event winners list with seven victories. Unfortunately, his bad luck throughout May and early June kept him playing catch up with the consistent Stephens. Stevens won a pair of Main Events and racked up an impressive six second place finishes. In the end, his championship margin over Langenderfer was 22 points.
Past champion Steve Martin went without a feature win during the season but did have a couple of podium finishes. He was a somewhat consistent Top 5 finisher and was a solid third in the standings ahead of the steady Amanda McAbel. After his runner-up season a year earlier, Shannon Collins elected to run for the championship at Marysville and missed three shows. However, he finished as high as second with four podium efforts. His final podium run in the last race enabled him to take fifth from one-time feature winner Thomas Pavalik.
The annual Thomas Schmitke Memorial Race was won by Langenderfer, and he also won the Fan Appreciation Night event. During the fair, it was Richard Vander Ploeg battling teammate and past track champion Jerry Bartlett for a close victory. Placerville star Dan Jinkerson made an appearance during the season for a victory, and he also won the $1,000 prize in the Second Annual Battle Of The Axles race in October. More importantly, car count numbers maintained strong with only two nights in which they didn't hit 10 cars out of their 13 scheduled events.
A very close battle for the championship took place in the Mini Stock division. Reigning champion Tom Davis came in as the man to beat, and he might have been a bit surprised by who his top challenger was. After debuting her new car late in the 2017 season, Barbara Crain was prepared to make a big run. After opening the season with back-to-back wins, Barbara emerged as the early point leader. She picked up two more mid-season victories to strengthen that. Unfortunately, less than stellar runs in the August race and the first event of September put her behind Davis, who scored three of his four feature wins in the final three point races. Despite Crain picking up second in the point finale, Davis was the winner and won the championship by just 10 points.
Sean Perry didn't have quite the season he was hoping for, but he was a consistent Top 5 finisher and notched four podium finishes. Despite that fact, he found himself in a tight battle with the Pinto driving Jason Libbee for third. Perry needed his Top 5 finish in the finale to beat Libbee by just two points for third in the final standings. Libbee had two podium finishes, including the race on Fan Appreciation Night, which he led for several laps before his hood flew up. Scott Camper was a solid fifth in the standings. Pure Stock champion Paul Stephens was the only other driver with a Main Event win and finished seventh in the standings behind rookie Cindy Wagner. Davis won the $500 prize in the Battle Of The Axles finale.
The Mini Truck division didn't have a close battle after past champion Dan Webster missed the second race of the season. Reigning champion Keith Ross turned in a stellar performance by winning six of the point races. Dan Webster was a two-time winner and also won a hastily scheduled nonpoint event in June. Ross missed the finale and still won the championship by 18 points ahead of Webster.
The consistent William Fogle was one of three drivers who made it to every point event during the season. Fogle had mostly Top 5 finishes to finish 12 points ahead of rookie Tony Quinonez. Quinonez did score multiple podium finishes, and another season highlight for him was a feature win in Hayfork. Rocky Wagner finished fifth in the final rundown as Kalvin Kvalvik rounded out the Top 6 with a podium finish to close the season. Jeff Bennett drove the Olin Crain truck to a feature win at the second race of the season. After the Crain truck was out for a few races for repairs, Olin Crain got behind the wheel of it and picked up a win of his own in August. Webster won the special Battle Of The Axles $500 prize to end the year.
In a bid to keep the Wingless Sprint Car race close among the locals, the track adjusted rules so that motors could only run on gasoline. This for the most part prevented drivers from Chico from visiting. After winning two of the first four races, multi-time champion Josh Jacobo sat out the final four races of the season. The battle was between Tanner Thomson and RJ Baker, neither of whom had a win. Baker picked up five podium finishes and managed to finish as high as second. Likewise, Thompson finished as high as second, including a photo finish with winner Josh Tucker at the fair race. Tucker, like Jacobo, was a two-time winner. In the end, the podium finish earned by Thomson in the finale earned him the championship by one point ahead of Baker.
Jacobo still managed to finish third in the final standings. After a late start, past Orland champion and reigning Chico champion Tony Richards hit the speedway like a hurricane. Richards made four appearances in the final five shows and won all of them to finish fourth in the standings ahead of Tucker. Richards also scored the $500 win in the Battle off The Axles event. Jake Van Tol won the only Main Event he started with this division in August.
The 250 Micro Sprint championship was earned by Pax Gonzalez by just four tallies ahead of James Barnes. Gonzalez had four podium finishes and was also a feature winner. Barnes was a feature winner as well, but bad luck in the finale cost him the point lead to Gonzales in the end. The steady Ronnie Heyer also had a pair of podium finishes two notch third in the standings ahead of Michael McCarthy and Zack Webster. Other feature winners during the season included Alex Fowler, 2017 champion Jackie Whitson Jr and Kylee Porath. Porath also won the special 250 Micro Sprint race during the Battle of The Axles.
Jake Fernandez won the 600 Micro Sprint championship. To put the icing on the cake, he won the season finale. Past Orland champion BJ Martin scored a pair of victories to finish second in the final rundown. Likewise, Jessica McManus was a feature winner to settle for third in the standings ahead of Jeremy Wilson and Amber Fields. Antonia Boscacci and Cody Gray also won Main Events during the six race season. McManus won the 600 Micro Sprint Main Event during the Battle Of The Axles.
The track hosted two special Sport Modified races, the first of which attracted a dozen competitors. Local standout Jake Van Tol won that race, while past Chico and Marysville champion Philip Shelby won the final visit. After canceling a race earlier in the season due to heat, the California Hardtops were a part of Fan Appreciation Night with Tom Grady winning that race. Hunter Elkin won the season-ending $1,000 first prize in the Battle Of The Axles Destruction Derby.
The schedule lost one race due to the fires in the area. As the Camp Fire raged in Paradise after the season was up, it took a toll on the community. A few competitors lost everything they owned. Dan Webster began to form a plan to do a fundraiser race, and he approached Rich Hood with the idea. After Hood was able to set things up, a date was booked in January. Despite the fact that it was pouring rain, competitors came out anyway and ran mud packing for the crowd who was there in attendance. They raised nearly $5,400 for two charities that were helping the fire victims.
Not long after the January event, the community received bad news when longtime competitor Olin Crain passed away. Olin was somebody who was quick to help his fellow competitors and put other people's efforts in front of his own. He was also known as one of the voices of reason when debate got heated. He will truly be missed by all who knew him.
After the February banquet, word will probably come out about the 2019 schedule. It is anticipated that most of the highlights people enjoyed this past season will continue. There's been talk of a few new additions to the schedule as well. With Hood at the helm of the good ship Orland Raceway, the future looks bright indeed.
Orland Raceway 2018 Points
Pure Stocks
Paul Stephens 568
Jeremy Langenderfer 546
Steve Martin 531
Amanda McAbel 456
Shannon Collins 426
Thomas Pavalik 424
Scott Camper 394
Jason Matlock 331
Richard Vander Ploeg 198
Jerry Bartlett 198
Mini Stocks
Tom Davis 460
Barbara Crain 450
Sean Perry 393
Jason Libbee 391
Scott Camper 344
Cindy Wagner 292
Paul Stephens 265
John Kirkpatrick 250
Dustin Hills 238
Les Fernandez 212
Mini Trucks
Keith Ross 485
Dan Webster 467
William Fogle 453
Tony Quinonez 441
Rocky Wagner 411
Kalvin Kvalvik 401
Justin Vance 314
Jeff Bennett 155
Olin Crain 146
Dani Libbee 118
Wingless Gas Sprints
Tanner Thomson 449
RJ Baker 448
Josh Jacbo 256
Tony Richards 220
Josh Tucker 162
Jeff Crossman 125
Kyle Pendergrass 90
Rob Worthington 89
Nathan Johnson 86
Jake Van Tol 53
250 Micro Sprint
Pax Gonzalez 382
James Barnes 378
Ronnie Heyer 341
Michael McCarthy 329
Zach Webster 237
Kylee Porath 217
Alex Fowler 140
Jackie Whitson Jr 100
Jess Garland 95
Kyle 51
600 Micro Sprints
Jake Fernandez 270
BJ Martin 210
Jessica McMannus 154
Jeremy Wilson 100
Amber Fields 99
Tony Alosi 90
Antonia Boscacci 55
Jeromie Chrisman 52
Cody Gray 51
Koen Shaw 51
