Antioch Speedway, Marysville Raceway, Dixon Speedway, More News

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Antioch Speedway Gets Approval For 
Memorial Day Weekend Event

Antioch, CA...Thanks to covid-19, the racing season grinded to a halt before it ever got started. Tracks all across the country were shut down. Over the past few weeks, racing venues have slowly been reopening under special circumstances that meet the safety guidelines. After consulting with various county and state officials, Antioch Speedway Promoter Chad Chadwick has been able to secure two race dates for Memorial Day Weekend.

Memorial Day Weekend will feature the IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds and Hobby Stocks on both Saturday and Sunday. The Saturday event will pay the track's regular purse, while the Sunday race will be a special event. Prior to the season, Chadwick had announced the three race event the he called the George Steitz Memorial Freedom Series. These races were to take place on Memorial Day Weekend, Fourth of July Weekend and Labor Day Weekend. 

While it remains to be seen what events might be scheduled on the other two weekends, Chadwick has kept the May 24th show on the schedule as the Steitz Memorial race. IMCA Modifieds will be competing for $1,900 to win with a minimum of $200 to start. The IMCA Sport Modifieds will compete for $900 to win with a minimum of $100 to start. The Hobby Stocks will be competing for $300 to win.

Pit passes will be $50 on Sunday and $45 on Saturday. However, you need to be with one of the teams. Six people will be allowed in the pits per race car, including the driver. Children 12 and under will not be permitted. The pit gate will open at 2 p.m. on both days. Racing will start at 5 p.m. on Sunday and 6 p.m. on Saturday. The speedway will be running under strict covid-19 guidelines, which can be viewed HERE.

Sadly, the grandstands are not open at this time due to the restrictions put in place during this covid-19 pandemic. Speedway management is monitoring the situation and keeping in close communication with county and state officials. When it is safe to do so, announcements will be made regarding grandstands admittance for future races. The Memorial Day Weekend races will be broadcast via the Internet.

Although the original 2020 Antioch Speedway schedule was released back in February, the current situation has required big adjustments for scheduling going forward. Chadwick is going over all the information available to him in order to set future race dates that will also involve other divisions in addition to the three that will be featured on Memorial Day Weekend. Future race date announcements could be made at any time.

The Memorial Day Weekend will surely bring some of the top teams from not just Antioch but surrounding areas. Given the fact that Sunday May 24th is a race paying tribute to Watsonville Speedway Hall of Famer George Steitz, that race will be special for several racers who knew the man. George was known as the promoter of some of the biggest open shows ever held for Stock Car racing in the state of California from the late 1980s all the way into the early 2000s. 

In addition to that, Steitz was quite an accomplished race car driver. The owner and operator of George Steitz Towing raced impressively in the Sportsman division back in the 1970s and was a champion at both Merced Speedway and Watsonville Speedway in addition to being a State champion. He later went on to become a Late Model champion at Kings Speedway prior to retiring and becoming a special events promoter. 

Drivers in IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds and Hobby Stocks have already begun expressing an interest in being at Antioch on Memorial Day Weekend. Announcements on who will be competing will be made in the days leading up to the big show. As mentioned above, the races will be broadcast via the Internet. More details on that will be forthcoming. To keep up-to-date, go to www.antiochspeedway.com or check out the Antioch Speedway Facebook page.

Netto Wins Wild Sprint Car Feature At Marysville Raceway

Marysville, CA...May 9...DJ Netto won the 25 lap Winged 360 Sprint Car Main Event Saturday night at Marysville Raceway. The race was held in front of an empty grandstand due to covid-19 safety precautions. Despite running for 50% of their normal purses, the four division show produced an 83 car field. Netto, who is the reigning NARC/King of the West Sprint Car champion as well as the King of Thunder champion, donated his prize money to the Food Bank of Hanford.

Reigning Placerville Sprint Car champion Andy Forsberg charged into the lead at the start of a rough-and-tumble Main Event with past Petaluma champion Geoff Ensign an early second. There were two yellow flags during the first five laps, but Forsberg continued to lead ahead of Ensign and Garen Linder. Netto settled into the third position on lap nine, and Brad Bumgarner crashed in Turn 4 for a lap 13 yellow flag. Forsberg led the restart, and Ensign saw his run up front end on a lap 14 yellow flag. Forsberg led Netto and Ryan Robinson on the restart. The leaders were coming up on slower traffic, and that proved to be the downfall of Forsberg. Working the inside in Turn 1 on the 22nd lap, Forsberg got sideways trying to avoid a slower car and rolled for a red flag. This gave Netto the lead, and Netto would lead the final three tours for the victory, followed by Robinson, John Michael Bunch, TJ Michael, Jessie Love, JJ Hickle, reigning champion Michael Ing, Jodie Robinson, Mike Monahan and Jacob Tuttle.

There were 29 Sprinters for the show, and Ryan Robinson set the fast time of 12.474, beating the 12.610 of Forsberg. They ran four eight lap heat races, and wins went to Love, Brent Bjork, Linder and Ensign. Past champion Colby Wiesz won the 12 lap B Main in impressive fashion, followed by Monahan, Chelsea Blevins and Steel Powell.

Brian Cooper won the 15 lap IMCA Sport Modified Main Event. Jason Ferguson led the brutal first two laps of the race. Cooper charged by Ferguson to lead the lap three restart. Following a Turn 1 spin for Jimmy Ford on lap seven, the rest of the race went without a yellow flag. Cooper continued to lead Ferguson on the restart, and they brought it home to the 1-2 finish. Timothy Allerdings finished third, followed by Mike Merritt, Merced racer Chris Falkenberg, Mike Ficklin, Rusty McMillan, Jeff Tuttle, Ford and Scott Savell. Eight lap heat race wins went to past champion Philip Shelby, Fred Ryland and Ford.

Zach Lindgren won the 16 lap Hobby Stock Main Event in thrilling fashion. The race had several yellow flags, which seemed to be a trend in all divisions throughout the evening. Zack Thornton set the early pace ahead of Chris Van Roekel and Kyle Cheney. On a lap six restart, Van Roekel and Cheney both slipped past Thornton for the Top 2 positions. Lindgren settled into third on a lap seven restart, and Cheney pitted moments later. Van Roekel led Lindgren and Toby Merrifield on the ninth lap, but Orland star Keith Ross grabbed the third position on the 10th lap. The lead three cars had a close battle up front. Moments after slipping past Lindgren for the second position on the front stretch on lap 14, contact sent Ross spinning into the first turn. Ross was out of the event, and Van Roekel led Lindgren on the restart. Lindgren made a strong inside move on the final lap. They came out of the fourth turn side by side, and Lindgren managed to beat Chris Van Roekel back to the checkered flag for the thrilling victory. Jesse Van Roekel finished third, followed by David Caluya, Robert Warf, Jim Brookshire, Mike Stoeckel, Maurice Merrill, Merrifield and Ross. The four eight lap heat race wins went to Thornton, Johnson, Lindgren and Chris Van Roekel.

Reigning champion Brett Youngman won the 15 lap Crate Sprint Main Event along with the eight lap heat race. The race got off to a rocky start as a spin forced a restart. Cameron Haney Jr led two laps before blowing his motor at the same time that Kiely Ricardo crashed in Turn 1. David Sims led the restart with Youngman in close pursuit. Youngman made his move around Sims for the lead on lap seven with a yellow flag flying for Mike Ballentine moments later. Youngman led the restart and pulled away to a straightaway advantage ahead of Sims by the time the checkered flag waved. Chad Thompson finished third, follow by Ballentine, Haney and Ricardo.

Thanks to several different sponsors, the reduced purse still got increased by roughly $3,000 across all four divisions. For updates on future events, check out the Marysville Raceway Facebook page or go to www.marysvilleraceway.com.

Carey, Day, Parreira Win Dixon Speedway Main Events

Dixon, CA...May 9...Brandon Carey won the 25 lap Wingless Micro Sprint Main Event Saturday night at Dixon Speedway. The season opener for the speedway happened in front of a closed grandstands due to covid-19 safety guidelines. The show had 82 competitors across four different divisions.

Kelvin Lewis charged into the early lead ahead of Timothy Vaught and Carey. They ran in that order until the midpoint of the race. Lewis had problems as Carey, Vaught and Austin Stone charged into the first three positions on lap 13. The first yellow flag flew on lap 15, and Carey continued to lead Vaught and Stone on the restart. Carey pulled away just a little bit on Vaught, but another yellow flag waved on lap 21. Carey led the restart and the rest of the way for the victory. Vaught brought out a lap 22 yellow flag to end his race, and Stone would finish second, followed by Tucker LaCaze, Cody Gray, Lewis, Dylan Bloomfield, Nick Robfogel, Joe Silva, Justin Stretch and Robbie Lewis

The Wingless class at a strong 34 car turnout, and Carey had the quickest time of 11.739. Kelvin Lewis was second quick at 11.775. Ten lap heat race wins went to Carey, Lewis, Jared Byrd and Nate Wait. Lewis also won the ten lap Trophy Dash. Travis Sullivan won the 12 lap B Main ahead of Chris Parmeley, Robbie Lewis and Jim Beck.

Corey Day won the 25 lap Super 600 Main Event. From his front row start, Day charged into the lead ahead of Brad Hannum and Caeden Steele. Steele slipped past Hannum for the second position on lap four before a yellow flag waved. Steele and Hannum had a good battle going for second with Hannum making the pass on lap 13, only to surrender second back to Steele a lap later. A lap 20 yellow flag bunched the field one final time, but Day would not let that deter him. He led the rest of the way for the impressive victory. Hannum charged back into second and would finish there, followed by Steele, Guage Garcia, James Andrichuck, Hailey Wood, Ron Singh, Devon Courtnier, Hayden Saich and Kanoa Cordeiro.

Steele was the fastest of 23 qualifiers with a lap of 10.279 on the 1/5 mile dirt oval. Hannum was second quick at 10.280. Ten lap heat race wins were earned by Wood, Colby Greig and Courtnier. The eight lap Trophy Dash win went to Hannum.

Dalton Parreira won the 20 lap Restricted Micro Sprint Main Event. Parreira charged into the lead at the start with Austin Wood and Izaak Sharp settling into second and third early on. The race ran 12 laps before Wood flipped to end his race on a red flag. Parreira continued to hold command on the restart with Sharp in second. Brandon Riveira briefly took over third but was passed by Colin Kirby for the position on lap 14. Parreira went on to score the victory with Kirby overtaking Sharp on the final lap for second. Rylee Whitehouse finished fourth, followed by Riveira, Matthew Tatoole, Jackson Kohler, Bryant Bell, Cash Lovenburg and JJ Loss. Parreira was the quickest qualifier at 11.200, beating the 11.433 of Riveira. Ten lap heat race wins went to Parreira and Whitehouse. Kelvin Lewis was the 10 lap Trophy Dash winner.

Kyle Fernandez won the 20 lap Junior Sprint Main Event. Braxon Vasconcellos led the first six laps of the race before bringing out a yellow flag. Nathan Ward took the lead on the restart ahead of Fernandez and reigning champion Makayla Tatoole. A yellow flag waved on lap nine, and Ward continued to lead Fernandez on the restart. Two laps later, Fernandez put the moves on Ward to gain the lead. Fernandez had built a decent lead when the final slow down of the race occurred on lap 18. Fernandez would lead the final two laps for the victory, followed by Ward, Brody Rubio, Tatoole, Ty Lovenburg, Hayden Stepps, Peyton Whitehouse, Kellen Harper, Jonathan Andrichuk and Aubrey Patterson. Fernandez set the fastest time of 13 qualifiers with a lap of 12.980, beating the 13.995 of Tatoole. Vasconcellos won both his 10 lap heat race and the six lap Trophy Dash, and Ward was the other heat race winner.

For updates on future events check out Dixon Speedway on Facebook or go to www.dixonspeedway.net.

Pit Stops

Unfortunately, we don't have many updates to give you from actual races. Several drivers have been presenting their race cars on Facebook as they wait for the opportunity to finally put them on the track. The good news at Antioch Speedway, as indicated in another article on this post, is that There's a big two race weekend set for Memorial Day Weekend. Furthermore, divisions that have been left out of that big event get an opportunity for at least one day of practice on May 16th with the possibility of May 17th being added. Promoter Chad Chadwick is working hard with county and state officials to get things going again.

Placerville Speedway managed to pull off a practice last Saturday. Scott Russell had an amazing season planned this year, and like the other promoters, he's been left trying to figure out how to proceed during this time of the virus. He was able to work a deal with fairgrounds and county officials to open for a playday last Saturday. Indications are it was a resounding success as the pits were quite full. 

At least 70 competitors were there across multiple divisions. This included Winged 360 Sprints, Wingless Spec Sprints, Pure Stocks, Limited Late Models, Dwarf Cars, IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Mini Trucks, BCRA Midgets, BCRA Midgets Lites and one car each from the California Sharp Mini Late Models and the California Hardtops. The track looked to be in good shape judging from the footage we saw of practice laps for a few of the divisions. If this is any indication, it's going to be one heck of a show at Placerville Speedway once they're finally able to throw a green flag on an official race.

Tri State Pro Stock Series Promoter Roy Bain has certainly had to deal with some disappointment in the second year of the group. They came out like gang busters with a pair of successful events at The Stockton Dirt Track, and this got division enthusiasts all along the West Coast excited about what was to come. Roy had lined up a full and exciting season of race dates, and then the virus hit and shut everything down. 

The thing about the Pro Stock Series is that several of these events have special meaning to them, and we've already lost two of them. The annual Billy Geyer Memorial was set to happen in May at Yreka. This is a race that honors a man who competed in the Pro Stock class at Yreka and Medford. It has been cancelled. Likewise, the Gordon Russell Sr Memorial that was set for the end of June at Cedarville Speedway has also been cancelled.

This was heartbreaking for event Promoter Gordon Russell Jr as he created this race not just to honor his father and other fallen Cedarville racers of the past, but also to bring racing back to the town. He says they will schedule this race again next year. One of the things that Russell cited in his decision to cancel so early was that the virus has been tough on the economy and he didn't feel good about asking for support from sponsors who are struggling at the moment. 

Bain has worked hard to secure sponsorship and race dates for this group, and he landed a great sponsor in Lyle Hopper of Winning Attitude Motorsports of Paradise, California. Hopper has come on board as a sponsor for the Rocky Nash Memorial that will hopefully happen in mid July at Southern Oregon Speedway. The race honors a man who not only competed with and won races with the Outlaw Pro Stocks but also was a winner in the NASCAR West Series throughout his impressive career. 

Bain hasn't been content to put X's on his calendar as he loses races due to the virus. He's been looking for ways to salvage the season and perhaps add dates at the last minute. One promoter he's been talking to throughout the year is Antioch Speedway Promoter Chad Chadwick, who is interested in working with him. Roy went live on Facebook this past weekend to announce that he was working on a date at Antioch in June, and that date has been announced for June 6th. Plus, Hopper has come on board to sponsor $1,000 towards the purse.

When Roy did his Facebook broadcast a few days ago without knowing what the Antioch date was, he had nearly 20 racers commit to showing up. He also made it clear that all Antioch legal cars would be allowed to run with his group as there had been some question about that. This opens up the possibility of Brian Zachary competing in the Jim Freethy car. Chris Long and Chad Hammer are two other locals planning to attend, and both drivers were Antioch feature winners last season. Last season's Antioch point runner-up, Michael Burch, hopes to have his car ready in time to compete as well. 

Reigning series champion Mike Learn plans to compete along with Jesse Gonzalez, who won the first two races at Stockton this year. Gonzalez is a past Nevada Late Model racer as is Bill Pearson, who also plans to compete. Past Watsonville Hobby Stock champion Matt Kyle will be in the Calhoun Brothers entry. Chaz Thompson will be competing in Bain's car. From Bakersfield, Chris Smith and Ryan Smith will be coming along with past Bakersfield Street Stock champion Brady Bell and Pro Stock title-winner Justin Crockett.

Chico and past Petaluma star Richard Workman will be there along with two other Chico stars, Brent Lawrence and Corey Hall. Petaluma racer Randy Miramontes said he is coming, and two-time Petaluma champion Matt While expressed an interest. Placerville racer Jay Bryant will be there. Santa Maria Late Model veteran Jerry Stewart is planning to be there along with Peter Coberly. Ryan Cherezian, who is hot on the trail of his first win in this class, has said he will be there as well. There were other drivers who have expressed interest but didn't officially say they were going. Expectations are that the Pro Stock group will produce more than the 20 cars that were requested.

The Tri State Pro Stock Series is an important effort to fans of this type of more affordable Late Model style racing. As we've watched most of the tracks in California drop the Late Model class, this is what's left to present that style of racing to the fans, and it's been struggling in recent years. What Roy has endeavored to do is get as many tracks on the same rules set as possible to make it easier for drivers to travel to other places on off nights and also make it easier for series dates to be booked at those tracks. The virus may have slowed things down, but it's not going to stop this effort. 

Finally, the effort of Cory and Sandy Penfold to build their little field of dreams race track on their property has been proceeding steady as she goes. This little 1/8 mile dirt oval track saw its first practices held last year as Penfold and his Moxie Media crew have been building things. In the 72 hours leading up to last Saturday afternoon, the crew erected a fence around the track to help make it safer and prevent drivers from driving off the end of the turns. 

It was looking beautiful this last Saturday. The Karts were all parked on the green grass, and there were roughly two dozen of them across multiple divisions. Two of Oregon's top racers in Modified and Late Model competition, Joey Tanner and Gray Ferrando, were both in attendance, among others. The fence got tested during the first session of practice with the youngest kids in their Box Stocks.

Both drivers spun in Turns 3 and 4. One young lady managed to get her Kart going, but she was going in the opposite direction. That's when she realized her throttle stuck and she collided with the fencing in Turns 1 and 2. She was not injured, but her day was done. She will be back in a new Kart as soon as possible. 

The afternoon was certainly an adventure for Penfold, who is making his foray into promoting. Cory also has his eyes on promoting a big track one day, so this is certainly a good crash course for him. Speaking of crashes, Fernando ended up flipping his Outlaw 500 Kart later on and was not too delighted by the experience. 

Though this was practice, they ran a series of races for no money or trophies. It culminated in the main race for the 206 Flat Karts. Eight competitors lined up to do battle in a race that was destined to go without a yellow flag. Everybody was good about keeping it going if they spun or pulling off the track if they were experiencing mechanical problems. The yellow flags probably wouldn't have stopped Tanner from putting the whooping he did on the rest of the field. He nearly lapped everybody as he was closing in on 2nd and 3rd by the time the checkered flag put an end to the race. Following Tanner at the finish line were Zack Cates and Rodney Angerbauer.

There will be more action at the track now known as Marion Creek Speedway, though Cory hasn't put any official schedule together just yet. Things are still being done week by week and day by day. They have plans to put some bleachers up and also to put a bridge across the creek to make it easier to haul the cars to that side. For now, they have a tractor with a little trailer that hauls the Karts across a smaller bridge, one by one.

It's all part of the game plan to do this a little bit at a time, and there's no rush. Cory and Sandy just want to get everything right, and the Moxie Media Team is behind them 100%. It's not known when an official race will be held there, but it's a good bet they'll have plenty of Karts parked all over the green when that day comes as the track really gets put through its paces. These past couple of practices have reached into the 20"s, which is a good indication that they are doing things right at Marion Creek Speedway. It could quickly become the place to be for Outlaw Kart racers in the area.

Marysville Raceway Unofficial Race Results May 9, 2020
360 Sprints
A Main
D.J. Netto
Ryan Robinson
John Michael Bunch
T.J. Michael
Jesse Love
J.J. Hickle
Michael Ing
Jodie Robinson
Mike Monahan
Jacob Tuttle
Andy Forsberg
Geoff Ensign
Cody Spencer
Colby Wiesz
Nick Larsen
J.J. Ringo
Brad Bumgarner
Alec Justeson
Garen Linder
Sean Becker
Brent Bjork
Stephen Ingraham

B Main
Colby Wiesz
Mike Monahan
Chelsea Blevins
Steel Powell
J.J. Ringo
Nick Larsen
Stephen Ingraham
Jacob Tuttle
Pat Harvey Jr
Kevin Lovell
Brandon Dozier
Lonny Alton

IMCA Sport Modifieds
Brian Copper
Jason Ferguson
Timothy Allerdings
Mike Merritt
Chris Falkenberg
Mike Ficklin
Rusty McMillan
Jeff Tuttle
Jimmy Ford
Scott Savell
Aaron Farrell
Hunter Merritt
Branden Wilson
Fred Ryland
Theo Van de Sande
Craig Nieman
Shawn Smith
Phill Marino
Shaun Merritt
Phillip Shelby

Hobby Stocks
Zach Lindgren
Chris Van Roekel
Jesse Van Roekel
David Caluya
Robert Warf
Jim Brookshire
Mike Stoeckle
Maurice Merrill
Toby Merrifield
Keith Ross
Rick Etchieson
Logan Clay
Zack Thornton
Kyle Cheney
David Allen
Jose Hernadez
John Edgington
Zac Bulloch
Jacob Johnson
Sam Glover
Matt Rivera
Jimmy Berhorst

Crate Sprints
Brett Youngman
David Sims
Chad Thompson
Mike Ballantine
Cameron Haney Jr
Kiely Ricardo


Dixon Speedway Unofficial Race Results May 9, 2020
Wingless Micro 600
A Main
Brandon Carey
Austin Stone
Tucker LaCaze
Cody Gray
Kelvin Lewis
Dylan Bloomfieid
Nick Robfogel
Joe Silva
Justin Stretch
Robbie Lewis
Travis Sullivan
Blake Parmley
Austin Taborski
Norman Harley Rose
Tyler Chamorro
Chris Parmley
Jim Beck
Tiimothy Vaught
Derrick Patterson
George Nielson
Nate Wait
Jared Byrd

B Main
Travis Sullivan
Chris Parmley
Robbie Lewis
Jim Beck
Norman Harley Rose
Ryan Holden
Matt Santana
Tommy Carroll
Chuck Patterson
Nick VanAtta
Clayton Harris
Steve Bettanini
Brandon Alvarado
Charlie Kight
Don McLeister DNS

Super 600 Micros
Corey Day
Brad Hannum
Caeden Steele
Gauge Garcia
James Andrichuck
Hailey Wood
Ron Singh
Devon Courtnier
Hayden Saich
Kanoa Cordeiro
Brett McColloch
Tony Alosi
Sage Bordenave
Caleb Debem
Michael Faccinto
Angel Cappas
Kyle Mentch
Colby Greig
Christian Harris
Hayden Saich DNS
Jarrett Heimlich DNS
Tommie Piantanida DNS

Restricted 600 Micros
Dalton Parreira
Colin Kirby
Izaak Sharp
Rylee Whitehouse
Brandon Riveira
Matthew Tatoole
Jackson Kohler
Bryant Bell
Cash Lovenburg
JJ Loss
Kyle Cravotta
Austin Wood

Jr Sprints
Kyle Fernandez
Nathan Ward
Brody Rubio
Makayla Tatoole
Ty Lovenburg
Hayden Stepps
Peyton Whitehouse
Kellen Harper
Jonathan Andrichuk
Aubry Patterson
Braxon Vasconcellos
Ryder Byrd DNS

The Editor's Viewpoint

I'm still in a grumpy mood as I do this column, but the good news is I had reason to do a column. We managed to get some cars on some race tracks in California Saturday night. Meanwhile, the state of Oregon waits impatiently for their opportunity to go racing. Likewise, the state of Washington has gone without. I find this whole situation to be beyond ridiculous and I'm speechless as to how people continue to put up with it. But, that's the situation we're in right now.

In Indiana, the governor shut down racing this past weekend. I believe there were four tracks planning to either race or have practice, and all but one of them went down without a fight. The track fighting the good fight was Daugherty Speedway. I know Michael, the promoter there, doesn't have very many fans on his side for other reasons that I'm not really familiar with, but he decided to stand on top of the hill of The Constitution and fight the good fight.

All week long, Michael was saying that he was going to run this race. He maintained that his Constitutional rights would not be infringed upon. He tried to follow social distancing guidelines, which meant only some grandstand tickets would be available to maintain social distancing. However, he had over 100 racers in various divisions signed up to go racing. It was looking like he would have one heck of a show, and I noticed something interesting.

A lot of times on social media, I've noticed people basically siding with the idea that we should just stay locked up at home, curled in a fetal position. It seemed like the racers in Indiana were planning to race and were ready to fight the good fight. It was only on Friday afternoon, when Michael received a cease-and-desist notice, that he threw in the towel. As if to drive home the point, they put concrete slabs in front of his facility to prevent access. The race was effectively canceled.

I didn't think it was going to happen to be honest with you. It seems like a bit of a publicity stunt for a man who's trying to sell his track. However, given the way he went down fighting, I have to at least consider the possibility that he really intended to run this race. He will get hero points from a certain segment of the fan base for sure. He went through all of the motions and never actively held a race. I don't think he'll be facing any fines by letting this play out the way it did, and he still comes off looking like he did right by his racers.

I made a visit recently to Southern Oregon Speedway, which has now missed two scheduled races. If we knew we we're able to open without restrictions, the race would almost certainly go on as scheduled on May 16th. The problem is, right now you can only have 25 people or less. After a certain period of time, that goes up to 50, but conditions that would allow even a full open practice are a ways away yet. This is all complicated by the statement that Oregon Governor Kate Brown gave on Thursday, which said that sporting events and mass gatherings would not happen through the end of September or until there was a vaccine. Really?

People down in Southern Oregon are getting a little bit grumpy, and a couple of people did something that I think was misguided and classless. I don't want to get into it any further than that, but I will say one thing. The lack of racing at Southern Oregon Speedway or any of the tracks in Oregon to this point is not the fault of either the promoter of the race track or county officials. If you want to blame somebody, blame the governor. If you want to protest somebody and cause a problem, blame the governor. Yeah, people want racing, but according to the current mandate, it's not possible to hold a race at any of these tracks as of this last weekend.

I keep saying that the situation is fluid. First of all, people will only put up with this for so long. Protests are getting louder and frustration is high. Believe me, I understand. People are starting to get outdoors because, surprise surprise, the weather is warmer. This is what we do when we have warm weather. Some of us go to race tracks as part of our summer ritual, and that's been taken away by overzealous politicians and an over reaction to something that is not nearly as bad as we are being told. It is what it is, but the beginning of change either involves sitting at home and keeping your fingers crossed that your elected officials really care or getting out and making your voice known. What do you think? The choice is yours.

In a nutshell, what I'm saying is that unhappy Oregon racers and fans need to make their voices heard by the governor. Waiting until the end of September to have mass gatherings and sporting events of any kind is unrealistic. I figured that we'd go through a period of limited practices, which should be happening now. Then regular practice and then racing in front of limited grandstands. My best case scenario was that racing in front of limited crowds might happen sometime in July until the governor said what she said Thursday. Now, I'm not so sure. I thought Oregon would be ahead of California when it came to this, but that's not the case. 

This could seriously cause race tracks to cease operations. If you're not able to take advantage of the warmer months to do business and keep those gates open, some will be forced to give up. Oregon only has nine outdoor racing venues for big cars, and not all of them are on solid ground anyway. Take Willamette Speedway, for instance. Really, the shutdown could be a godsend for owner Jerry Schram. Schram was faced with a litany of improvements he was expected to implement before the county would give him approval to race. 

As General Manager Loren Kruesi was trying to raise the funds, we were speculating back in late February about whether or not the track would have an actual racing season or just some special events. In a recent TV piece about the Cottage Grove and Willamette race tracks, Kresci indicated that Willamette Speedway hopes to have the World of Outlaw race in September, though I wouldn't say it's set in stone at the moment. There is reason to be concerned about the future of that race track if a buyer who likes racing isn't found for that property.

Bottom line is housing tracts are going up around Willamette Speedway, also known as the house that Clair Arnold built. The property is becoming more valuable for a sale than a race track, and therefore selling it to people intent on building houses could become an option for Schram at some point. I'm not saying that's the case, but he has bills of his own to pay. Considering the cost to get everything up to code reaches into six figures, Jerry may get to a point where fighting the good fight for racing in Willamette isn't worth the effort. Time will tell.

The article that I wrote last week talking about tracks being built in certain areas is relevant here. People in the Willamette area might do well to find property for some sort of option in the event that they do lose their beloved race track. Whether something could be done at the oval track that is rarely used in Albany or something else, I don't know. I've been saying that I don't think the state of racing in Oregon is all that solid as it is with so few tracks and certain struggles we have here. Losing Willamette Speedway would be a blow to the racers, especially considering some regard it as one of the Top 3 tracks in the state. Late Model racing at this track back in the day was absolutely legendary.

For now, we hurry up and wait. Do we get to race in the month of May in Oregon? I'm doubtful of that. Could we see a practice somewhere before the end of the month? I think that is 50/50. Could we actually have a race in June or July? It depends on how what the governor said about no sporting events or mass gatherings until the end of September is interpreted. If counties are allowed to have their say, we could get to that point, but the news from the governor certainly was not encouraging. For now, we wait. 

I've had this feeling that the race I attended at Southern Oregon Speedway last September might be the final one for me. I'm not filled with confidence at this point, despite the fact that I'm still residing in Oregon and haven't made the move I was hoping for back to California. Seeing the facility again recently was like seeing a good friend of mine. I put a lot of effort and love into what I tried to do to help this place out, and the work wasn't done yet. All I can do now is wait and see like everybody else, but I won't be surprised to see racers from Oregon heading to California.

I know that Kevin Barba to the south of Southern Oregon Speedway is hoping to get the track in Yreka, California up and running. Last month he and his crew was kicked out of the fairgrounds. They were making so much use of the time. Since they couldn't do any racing there, they were working on the facilities and making loads of progress. I know Kevin was looking forward to the mid April opener, and indications are that he would have done well with that. With the Medford track not scheduled to be open that month anyway, it's a good possibility that his numbers would have been up. 

As of this writing, he's not doing work at the track, but he is still getting work done on equipment and making plans for when they can get going again. I've heard that Siskiyou County is a little bit behind the curve of other California counties, which may be a reason why Kevin and his crew aren't allowed to work on things at the track. The minute that breaks, I would bet that you'll hear some sort of announcement. He'll practice as soon as they let him, and he'll race as soon as they let him. I have Kevin figured as somebody who will hold at least one race in front of an empty grandstand if that's a possibility. But again, we'll have to wait and see how things break.

In California, the counties are different. Madera County gave Kenny Shepherd at Madera Speedway the go-ahead for limited practices initially. Sounds like Perris Auto Speedway also has limited practices happening. John Prentice at Ocean Speedway just announced that he hopes to open the track on June 5th. No details were given, but I'm wondering if he picked that date because of the possibility that he could have at least limited grandstands. I've been doing the math, and it makes business sense.

Simply put, if you have a seating capacity somewhere in the neighborhood of 3000 people or more, which I believe Watsonville does, you can still do okay. If you can only fill it up to 50%, that's 1500 tickets you can still sell. I don't know that they're averaging much more than 600 or 700 fans anyway on most nights. Therefore, even at 25%, that allows them to sell 750 tickets. It will be interesting to see what breaks there as what I'm saying right now is pure speculation. It's hard to even make predictions because this is a fluid situation that seems to be changing daily.

I don't have the details on the Placerville Speedway playday, but reports suggest there were at least 70 drivers making laps  amongst several different divisions. I've seen some video footage of a few different divisions practicing, but I wouldn't even try to hazard a guess how many cars were there practicing and how many people were there in the pits. I don't know if they'll release those numbers. However, I think Scott Russell played the smart, conservative move here by making this a practice instead of trying to have a race. Then again, maybe that's the only option he had for the weekend. I really don't know. Personally, if I was going to open up a track in front of empty grandstands at this point, which I am against, I would do it with a practice first and see what shakes down after that.

I'm a bit confused about the way this whole social distancing thing is being done. Certain places are shut down and other places are deemed essential. No matter how many safety precautions you might take at the grocery store, which is an essential place, you're not going to keep people safe from germs. If there's a virus out there that's bad enough, people gathering at that place, even six feet apart, will spread it around. That's just the way it is. As I've been saying, the actual numbers associated with this virus don't match up with the major hype and fear the media keeps giving us daily, but I digress.

Marysville Raceway and Dixon Speedway both had races in front of closed grandstands. Both tracks had live streaming services going so that people could pay to watch and the tracks could get at least a little bit of revenue from spectators. I was monitoring the live scoring at both tracks while also watching Speedshift's coverage of Marysville. From the numbers on the screen, it looks like the Dixon program ran smoothly. Both tracks had just over 80 different cars in the pits. However, Marysville ended up being a rough program that got done at midnight. The track was not in the best of shape as the night wore on, and that contributed to the numerous mishaps in the Main Events. 

It was announced a few days before the Marysville race that the track could only pay half the purse due to the fact that there were no grandstands. Not surprisingly, there were a few people grumbling about that. There was also some complaining about the fact that Marysville really didn't hype this up very much on social media to get more competitors, but I don't necessarily think that was the goal. The track was simply trying to get the gates open again and do something. I give them credit for that. Obviously, if you can't get fans in the stands, it's going to be hard to pay a full purse. Again, I'm not so sure I would want to open the gates at my track under these conditions, but that's me. You want to provide the racers a place to race, but it's also a business. There must be balance.

I would say based on the car count, both tracks probably had at least 300 people in the pits. That's a guess as I don't have the exact numbers and don't expect to see them. I would go on to further speculate that Marysville probably had more people in the pits. If you have 300 people in the pits, is this a mass gathering? We keep hearing these things about how we can't have mass gatherings, and I keep hearing numbers like 25 people. I also keep hearing how we're not supposed to have any sporting events, so I'm a little confused about how we proceed.

I'll go on record as saying I think this is all hype and all race tracks should be open right now and doing business, but I'm starting to smell BS from the media and our elected officials. It just doesn't add up to me. What I'm saying here highlights how inconsistent this is. We know we have to have supermarkets up and running because people still need to buy groceries. Obviously, there will be long lines, and that becomes a mass gathering. It's deemed essential. Gathering at a bar or a restaurant or a movie theater in full capacity is deemed unessential. Granted, some of these things will open to limited capacity at first.

Sporting events are deemed non-essential. I know we will have some NASCAR races in front of empty grandstands, and it's possible a couple other sports might get going with no crowd as well. We'll see what happens when the NFL gets started in September, but none of these sporting events are operating under full capacity. Not having a crowd in the stands severely impacts these major sporting events, and it really hurts sports on our level because organizers need to make money to keep it going. So, it's been deemed acceptable to open race tracks with no grandstands. You could have anywhere between 300 to 500 people in those pits at the races that have been happening across the nation these past few weeks. I don't know.

Is this not a mass gathering at a non-essential event? Is this merely acceptable because you're not allowing fans to come spectate? So basically, you'll have a big gathering on one side of the fence and not the other? How does that make sense? If it is acceptable to have 300 to 500 people in the pits, why is it unacceptable to have 300 to 500 people in the grandstands? You don't have to have the people on the grandstand side mingle with the people on the pit side, and that means there will definitely be more than 6 ft separation between people on both sides, right? You have to worry about proper spacing in the grandstands.Who makes the decision that you can have races but fans can't come watch?

As I look at this, it is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of. What side of the fence people gather on determines whether it's acceptable or not? In other words, we can actually race, but we can't have people watching? Who makes these decisions? How is that a safe environment if this virus is as big a threat as they are telling us? Is it okay if racers and their crew members come out and get sick, but somehow fans who want to risk it aren't allowed to come out and possibly get sick? I'm not exactly sure how we got to this point, but this return to normalcy is being done in a half-assed manner. That's what I'm saying.

Promoters who have not opened are forced to sit and watch and decide whether they want to do anything under these conditions if possible. At what point does it become feasible for a promoter to open the gates? Can they open just for playdays? Can a promoter start running races in front of an empty grandstand if they cut purses or don't have a purse at all? Could a promoter open for track rentals if teams are willing to pay the fee required? This is what promoters are forced to think about as they decide whether to open their gates or not. We should be opening the gates and letting it rip. Get as many fans and racers as you can and go back to normal. If it's not safe enough to do so, nothing should be done until it is. 

We've shut everything down since March. It's been about two months of this nonsense. You've got counties on the west coast in a panic over a virus that has killed nobody in that county. Nobody. You're talking about tens of people who were supposedly infected by it. The numbers don't add up for the panic that this has created, and it's time for this nonsense to stop. It's time to just open things up and see what happens. Sure, proceed with some sort of caution. Spacing people in the pits properly and the grandstands properly as well might be a way to go. I don't know. It might be that you just give it a try for a few weeks and see what happens. I have a sneaking suspicion that it won't make a difference. People will be fine.

The problem is the fear that has already been created has been affecting people's brains. There are some people so afraid to live their lives that they sit at home and worry. When they see other people going out and trying to live their lives, they start throwing a guilt trip at them. How dare you live your life when I'm at home following these ridiculous rules. You are going to get us all killed. Look at the numbers they have released. Even if you don't include the fact that they've inflated the death numbers and attributed some people as dying with this virus when that's not what ultimately ended their lives. Look at the numbers and ask yourself a question. Does the fear generated here require everything to be shut down? I know what I think. What do you think?

While the state of Oregon is trying to figure out if there will be any racing this year, other tracks in California are considering when they can reopen to one degree or another. Around the time as the program was wraping up in Marysville, Merced Speedway announced that they will be waiting for two weeks before making an announcement. Then, they may wait another two weeks to make an announcement, or you may be hearing about the next scheduled race there. We don't really know. I know the team in Merced has to be climbing the fences wanting to get back into action. Maybe they'll have a race date announcement by the time Memorial Day Weekend rolls around?

Speaking of Memorial Day Weekend, Chad Chadwick made the announcement that Antioch Speedway will have two races that weekend. It will be a Saturday and Sunday affair. Despite the fact that they can't have an open grandstand, Chad has decided to pay the normal purse for his IMCA Modified, IMCA Sport Modified and Hobby Stock event on Saturday. The Sunday race, being held in honor of George Steitz, will pay a bigger purse for all three divisions involved. It's already anticipated that they will overflow the pits due to the distancing requirement and be parking cars in the parking lot. I wouldn't be surprised if Antioch Speedway had 100 cars or more for this one, meaning the pits could have 400 to 500 people. Given the fact that six people are allowed per car, 100 cars could put that number over the 600 person mark once you add the officials and safety crew that will be working the event. Yeah, a mass gathering that doesn't allow fans, just the competitors and their crews.

From Chad's perspective, I know he's trying to conduct business. He's invested quite a bit as he's taken over the track from John Soares, and I know he'd like to see how things are going to go. I don't know how this event will ultimately generate revenue without good sponsorship, but I am sure that Chad has crunched the numbers. He's thinking something. If he gets the kind of full pit that I am thinking he will, it may ultimately pencil out. It's almost like a big open show. If you look at George's old model when he used to promote the big races, profit was made just in the people who were in the pits. The grandstands were gravy. Unfortunately, this show will have no grandstands. Fans will be able to watch online, though I haven't seen the details of that as of this writing.

I don't want to drag this column out long as and I'm prone to do, and I am quite grumpy given the current situation. However, I made a trip further north in Oregon to visit the Outlaw Kart track built by Cory and Sandra Penfold. They call it Marion Creek Speedway, and it's located right next to a creek. There's plenty of green grass, tall trees and shade on one side of the creek. It's really a beautiful setting. They were having a practice, not an official race. Although, they were running a race format. It looked like there could have been close to two dozen competitors across multiple classes. 

Cory and the Moxie Media crew have put countless hours into this place, and it shows. Over a 72 hour period leading up to this practice, they put a wall around the track. The track is probably a 1/10 mile oval, which works for these cars. It turned out to be a good thing that the wall was in place as the youngest competitors were hot laping while I was concluding my visit. One of the kids had the throttle stick on their Kart and they tested the durability of the fence. Fortunately, it stopped them and they didn't get injured. They could have taken a wild ride off of the track and possibly gotten injured before the fence was put in place.

He's got a nice plan for this place, and I don't want to get into things too much. This will be up to Cory to announce as they formally do everything the way it should be done and all of that. What I can say is they built this track a little bit at a time. As they've been building it, and once they had a racing surface to put Karts on, they've been practicing. Gradually, things have come together here. There's lots more planned as improvements will continue. I got to thinking about what Cory and his team are doing there, and it makes me think about how somebody could do a track on a bigger level.

Basically, once you get the property and know that it's zoned to have a race track, you have to make sure you can build the track without major headaches. This requires dealing with the local politicians and community groups to make sure there won't be some big protest. It can be done gradually. In other words, you can cut a race track on the property and shape it. As you're doing that, you can have limited practices and start to build things up around that track. It could take place over a two or three year time period, which could come in handy if you know there's big investments you need to make and don't have the money for everything all at once.

What does concern me is Cory is located not far from Willamette Speedway, which was the track that inspired him. I know he's somebody who looked up to Clair Arnold. Sadly, the property on which Willamette Speedway sits is becoming more valuable for potential houses than a race track itself. They are also faced with code violations that will take six figures to deal with. The fact that we've all been shut down because of this virus situation comes at the perfect time for Willamette Speedway since they don't have to worry about having a season. However, the bigger concern could be that they may not have a track in a few years time. This has been the rumor for a few years now, but the code violations have certainly put more pressure on the situation. 

As I looked on at what Cory and his crew have done with Marion Creek Speedway, it made me think about how this could be done on a bigger level. Perhaps that's the way an alternative to Willamette Speedway could emerge somewhere in the area? I don't know. What I do know is the MX track in Albany was having an event. We noticed several motorcycles in action as we were driving by, and we weren't quite sure how they were able to have any kind of motorsports event on that beautiful Saturday afternoon, while every other track in the state was shut down. It made no sense. I'm quite sure that eight of those tracks would have had a program Saturday if they could have. How did the MX track in Albany get away with this? I'm quite sure something is going to give here very soon. I sense that the people are getting fed up.

The other interesting thing about the Albany location is that there is an oval track there. Could that be the place for the replacement track for Willamette Speedway? It seems like it might be a good fit, but the Leach family has done quite well with their MX bike racing. They have no reason to want to make a foray into Stock Car and Sprint Car racing, although it could become a profitable endeavor if something does happen to Willamette Speedway. I'm just not sure the Leach family will do that after the experience they had with Cottage Grove Speedway. Then again, you never know. Oregon racing certainly needs a swift kick in the butt to get it going again.

That's about all I need to say right now. I write this knowing that news can break at any time that might require me to add to this column. The intent is to post earlier this week, but I already feel like I am moving slowly and it may be a day or two beyond that. My duties at the Medford track could also affect that and push the post back later in the week. I guess I'm going to literally call this a night. I'm writing this just before bedtime early in the Sunday morning hours. I will edit it later and hopefully not have to add anything to it. We'll see how I feel tomorrow.

I should have known I couldn't let this thing end where I had it, so I'm adding a little bit more to this column. Did you know they had a rodeo in Cottonwood last weekend? Well, they did. Social distancing did not exist in Shasta County that day, but they had one hell of an event. People sitting shoulder-to-shoulder as they would in any other regular situation, a good show for the rodeo fans and a good time was had by all. The county didn't seem to have a problem with it. We'll see what happens with the state.

I don't know how the governor might react to that or the racing that we did. I'm not even sure how aware he was of what was going on and how many people might be there. I think they had these events under some sort of grey area. Regardless, they happened. One of the things I was waiting for was to see if Marysville was going ahead with the Sprint Car, IMCA Sport Modified and NorCal Dwarf Car event they have on their schedule for this weekend. Troy Hennig seemed to indicate that this was going to happen as he announced during the show, but I'm waiting for the official word as I write this, but the NorCal Dwarf Car Association indicated that the race was on with only NorCal members being allowed to compete in the Dwarf Car class. 

I was mentioning Oregon didn't have anything happening on any tracks this past weekend, but I keep forgetting about the track by the ocean. Coos Bay Speedway has in fact been running limited practices for a while. I caught a glimpse of some video footage of a couple of Sprint Cars practicing this past Saturday. One of the drivers was none other than past Southern Oregon Dwarf Car champion RJ McGahuey. This was his first time behind the wheel of the Sprint Car. I'm not sure if his intent was to race at Southern Oregon Speedway or Cottage Grove Speedway this year. He lives in Grants Pass. Looks like he was making good laps. 

Drake Nelson is entering his fourth year as the promoter as he is buying the track from Chuck Prather. He's had more of a challenge in building things up since half the area that he could draw potential spectators or racers from is in the ocean. Putting the NASCAR banner on that place was actually a good move and has started to breathe life into his Late Model effort. The last thing he needs is this momentum killer. It definitely has hurt. Things were looking good in the Hornet division, as you might expect. The Junior Stingers seemed to be getting new kids as well, so I know Drake has to be waiting impatiently.

The race he had booked for this past weekend was an ISCS Sprint Car race. Coos Bay has generally seen over 20 competitors for those events. It was to kick off at Cottage Grove Speedway on Friday night for what they call Fast Fridays. You know, Heather actually charges $5 for admission for those special Friday shows, and this was to be the case for the premier Limited Sprint Series in Oregon and IMCA Sport Modifieds last Friday. Very interesting.

To go to Heather for just a moment, I was skeptical about this Fast Friday idea, and I still am to an extent. I don't know how you can come out ahead in a $5 per ticket scenario that generally includes one of your top divisions, sometimes two. It must be working for her, because she had several on her schedule again this year. I've spoken to Mike about what if we did that at Medford, but my way of thinking would be to use it as a showcase for the lower half of the card. Some might complain that the $5 ticket didn't include any of the top classes, but it would be racing. They might come out for IMCA Sport Modifieds and Mini Stocks, Pro Stocks and Dwarf Cars or something like that. Not likely to happen there, but Willamette Speedway was starting to try the Friday approach last year as well.

In Oregon, we're in a difficult position. The window to go racing doesn't really open wide until May. That is to say, the weather warms up and there isn't as much rain. You still might get a rainout or two, and some tracks will attempt to get going in April. Usually, there's more rainouts then, but you have a good window from the time the season opens all the way until the end of August. We still run in September, when the rain comes around a little bit. We still seem to do okay in September. Given the weather patterns these days, you could even try something in October, but it's hunting season. People disappear on you to engage in that hobby and start putting their race cars away. One of the ways promoters can try to get more racing in is the $5 Fast Friday approach that Heather is pioneering.

Speaking of October, the first Saturday of that month is when Chuck Prather hosts the annual Lucas Oil Open Show. It gets rained out every other year, but it's a good show when it doesn't get rained out. Back to Drake, I have a hunch that he could be the first promoter to attempt to run a race in Oregon this year. He has different tracks on the facility, and it's not a state property. He'll be crunching the numbers in his head, I'm sure. If anybody rolls the dice and opens up within the next couple of months for a race, my money would be on Nelson to do it first. If the other tracks don't open, he might even be able to add divisions not normally featured at Coos Bay, such as IMCA Modifieds. All hypothetical at this point until something happens.

As I mentioned above, something will be happening at Antioch Speedway. I have some questions about how this Memorial Day Weekend event will be happening, but I'm going to keep my mouth shut. I don't want to give any detractors anything to go on. What I do know is Saturday afternoon saw a few people at the speedway doing more work. Chad had a list of things that he was trying to get accomplished. The cool thing was he had the community behind him and was able to hold multiple work parties to clean things up in late February and early March. 

If he had his way, they would have had eight races in the books by now, barring any rainouts. Even then, work would have been ongoing at the facility to get it ready. The shutdown itself might not have hindered that, but orders came down that only five people could be on the grounds at any given time. Needless to say, some things had to stop. It kind of sucks that stuff still couldn't have been worked on. At least ways the track would have had that much more done to it by the time the gates finally opened.

In any event, IMCA Sport Modified State champion Guy Ahlwardt was doing some work on the lighting in the pits. Where he was working definitely needed some improvements, so it was great seeing something being done. I had concerns that this positive vibe going around in Antioch Mike dissipate given the current situation with the virus, but that's not the case. People want to rally around this race track. Larry Adams has put a call out for people who intend to race on Memorial Day Weekend so there is a bit of a head count. I'm not privy to who all has committed, but I know that there are probably three dozen or more people who have thrown their hats into the ring by now. This show should be big. The only thing that would make it better is allowing spectators.

I will reiterate my stance that it doesn't make sense to be able to have races and not have fans. You're having gatherings in two spots, but they do not have to mingle. In other words, no crossover privileges and social distance rules are observed in the grandstands. I would guess that anywhere from 500 to 700 people could attend the races at Antioch Speedway in the grandstands while still observing social distancing. Some of the seats might not be ideal this way, but I bet people would still be willing to come. It's hard not to be able to sell tickets and get fan support. Having 500 people in attendance and allowing concessions sales would make this a more worthy endeavor for a promoter.

Speaking of promoters, Tri State Pro Stock Series Promoter Roy Bain has been somewhat restrained considering some of the biggest races on his schedule have already been canceled. This series came out like gangbusters for the first two races of their second season. The Stockton performances were both very entertaining, and everybody was talking about the Pro Stocks and how this series is doing something for this division on the West Coast. Then, the virus hit.

The first race off the schedule was the annual Billy Geyer Memorial race at Siskiyou Golden Speedway. This is generally the biggest race for the Outlaw Pro Stock Series. Then, we got word that the Gordon Russell Sr Memorial race at Cedarville in late June was off the schedule. I know this hurt Gordon Jr to cancel as the race means everything to him. It's not just about honoring his father and the greats of Cedarville's past. It also is a way to bring racing back to Cedarville. I know Roy is waiting nervously as the Rocky Nash Memorial might be on shaky ground at Southern Oregon Speedway in July. So much has been done to make that race big, and I hate seeing this race go away if it ultimately does. I have wanted a race in Medford honoring Rocky since we lost him. 

I think Gordon inspired Roy to go live on Facebook to let people know when he has something to say. He has been giving the Pro Stock crowd updates during the past couple of months when there's been something to say. He's basically reminding everybody that the group is still here and will move forward when racing is allowed. He's not going anywhere and he's committed to his mission of uniting the rules of the Pro Stocks/Limited Late Models/Super Stocks so that this division can thrive and get stronger on the West Coast.

I hadn't seen any sort of announcement, but the rumor that I heard was that Chadwick and Roy had been talking about a possible race at Antioch. There had been rumblings of moving the Larry Damitz Memorial race to October as part of the Donna Soares race, though I didn't see any announcement. Then, the virus hit. That talk went away, but Roy and Chad were still communicating. It turns out that Roy and Chad are talking about a possible Pro Stock race in June. Already, Roy has managed to get Lyle Hopper of Winning Attitude Motorsports on board as a sponsor. He's pitching in $1,000 for the Antioch date, which will reportedly happen on June 6th.

The moment Chadwick announced Memorial Day Weekend would be a two-day affair with IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds and Hobby Stocks, drivers in other divisions were asking the same question. What about us? I think the reason Chad went with the three divisions he led with was because there's more potential for drivers to come out in bigger numbers and make this a big success. Obviously, a case could be made for Dwarf Cars as I'm sure the drivers would have flooded the pits there, but I agree with the initial three divisions.

Chadwick had to take the schedule he had posted and tear it up. We're in different times now, and he's trying to figure out when he can race and all of that. However, he's not forgetting about the other divisions. He's merely reworking things to come up with something a little more realistic given what we are going through. I don't have an ETA on when the Antioch Speedway schedule will go up on the website, but my guess is it could happen at anytime. We just got the early Monday evening report that there will be a practice on Saturday, May 16th with the possibility of another one being added on Sunday. We just have to be patient, which is difficult given what we're dealing with now. However, you can rest assured that Chadwick is working hard to get things back in action. As is the case with any track, it's good to keep an eye on Antioch Speedway's Facebook page and website for up-to-the-minute updates.

I do have a brief follow-up on Willamette Speedway, where some work was done to get the facility up to code. Loren Kruesi reported that there was a crew of people clearing out the area beneath the grandstands. One of the most expensive improvements required by the county was a sprinkler system underneath the grandstands in case of fire. At least they were able to get to work on that, so I'm guessing that the plan to have a World of Outlaws race in September is still on their minds if that is achievable. I don't mind saying I'm happy to see work taking place at the track as I don't want to see this track ultimately closed down. As I said above, we don't have enough tracks in Oregon to begin with.

The racing news continues to change hourly as this whole virus situation evolves. I was hoping to have things done as we headed into Monday evening, and here I am adding more to this column instead. I've got to be honest with you, I'm trying to give myself a good reason to want to keep doing this, and I'm not coming up with it. It's more about the commitment I made and trying to honor it than really enjoying it at the moment. All the insanity surrounding the virus situation isn't helping. Regardless, the blog will not disappear as long as having it is still an option, but I see no reason to continue regular racing coverage beyond this year unless things change for me personally. 

Things are barely going right now, so I'm dreading how I'm going to feel when things kick back into full gear again. I'm going to try to cover most of what I did last year, so I'll be busy. The extra stuff like sending my articles out to various publications may not happen once we get going. it depends on how much stress that puts me through. I had an option to send an article for Dixon Speedway, and the reason I didn't was to spare them problems. Problems? What if somebody decides to complain to the county that they had a gathering at Dixon Speedway after reading an article I sent to the newspaper? I was getting them coverage on a regular basis last year, and the idea is to help them, not hurt them. 

A developing story down in Bakersfield suggests that an open wheel oriented race will happen on Memorial Day Weekend, both Saturday and Sunday. Extra prize money is on the line, and they are talking Winged 360 Sprint Cars using ASCS rules, Wingless 360 Sprint Cars, 305 Sprint Cars and Western States Dwarf Cars. I haven't seen an official statement from Kern Raceway, which is where this sort of event would likely happen. 

Originally, Bakersfield Speedway had a big event planned for their regular classes, but that's all out the window now. I suspect Scott Schweitzer is waiting to have at least some spectators before opening the gates after his announcement that there will be no racing there through the month of May.

Given the fact that every county is different right now, reopening tracks in California is uneven. Apparently, some counties are slightly behind the curve, and they're not doing much at the fairgrounds tracks in those counties. Siskiyou Golden Speedway just gave an update a bit ago that nothing has changed there. They are not even allowed on the facility to do work. What I've heard is that Siskiyou County is one of the counties that's lagging behind, so getting into the next phase seems to be an issue there. I know Kevin would like to get back to business, but I don't have an ETA on when that will happen. My guess is the first thing you may hear about is a practice as soon as they're able to. They are good about updating things on their Facebook page as they get more information, so I would advise people to check there for potential good news.

It also looks as if San Joaquin County is behind the curve. This greatly effects the business of Tony Noceti, who operates the Stockton Dirt Track, Stockton 99 Speedway and the Micro Sprint track at the fairgrounds. Tony issued a statement on the Stockton Dirt Track and Stockton 99 Speedway Facebook pages that indicated the tracks and local businesses need the support of the racing community in the form of letters that can be presented at the County Supervisor Meeting that will be held on the 12th. Sounds to me like Tony has been struggling to get something going and is looking for all the help that he can get. 

After what certainly sounds like a successful playday in Placerville, I'm not certain when Scott Russell intends to have a race. One indicator may be the fact that the Hunt Wingless Spec Sprint Series made an announcement today that in addition to losing the May 16th race at Merced, the Placerville race on May 30th is also cancelled. Not sure what's going on in Placerville, but I have mentioned above that Merced will make an announcement by Memorial Day Weekend as to whether they get to race, or they may make an announcement two weeks from then. 

This little ditty came across my desk as it is mid Tuesday afternoon. Yeah, I'm still working on this column. Anyway, the El Dorado County Fairgrounds just issued a statement that doesn't sound too good. They are starting to feel the financial pinch of the shutdown, having lost all of their April events and most of their May events. Though several fairgrounds have already announced the cancellation of their County Fairs, this fairgrounds is still hoping to have the annual tradition in July. However, they may be forced to pull the plug. They're also trying to make sure that the animal auctions could still go on regardless of the status of the County Fair.

I wasn't really considering the possibility that some fairgrounds might start announcing serious doom and gloom, that is to say potential closures. However, this is what has been hinted at on the El Dorado County Fair Facebook page. If they lose the County Fair, they indicated that the fairgrounds could even close, not only hurting the community as far as not having all the events that the place hosts throughout any given year, but also costing us a great race track. They are asking that people in the county submit letters to their county officials in support of the fairgrounds.

I haven't studied this, so forgive me if it's over simplistic. As I understand it, the counties have to demonstrate that they are doing adequate enough testing for covid-19 and the case numbers have to be in decline, or something like that. I heard that was an issue in Siskiyou County, but I haven't heard what's been going on in Merced County. Contra Costa County said they were keeping shelter in place going until the end of May, and yet it looks like Antioch Speedway will have had quite a bit of action by the time the month of May comes to a close.

I start thinking we are on the path to opening places up after last weekend's activity and then get bad news. It's hard to get a feel for what is going to be salvaged from this racing season. This whole situation is fluid, and there are other factors at play. If they see the numbers making a slight increase, elected officials may go into panic mode and start shutting things down again. Plus, you have to factor in the protests that have been happening across the nation and how that will affect things. 

I don't claim to be a Christian, but I would be remiss if I didn't point out that I'm seeing things happening in the world that a certain chapter in The Bible warned us about. I may need to brush up on The Book Of Revelations again and compare notes with what's happening now. Too many 6's are popping up on official documents, and considering what those numbers relate to, it's a bit freaky in my mind. I'm not somebody who really believes in coincidences.

On that note, I will end this column. Until next time...