Antioch Speedway, Dixon Speedway, Ukiah Speedway, Madera Speedway, Siskiyou Golden Speedway, More

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DeVolder, Machado, Gallaher Share 
Antioch Speedway Spotlight Saturday Night

Results Were Unofficial At Press Time

Antioch, CA...June 6...Grabbing the lead from two-time track champion Carl Berendsen II, Shane DeVolder went on to win the 20 lap IMCA Modified Main Event Saturday night at Antioch Speedway. DeVolder is the 2018 IMCA State champion. Once again, the speedway was unable to open the grandstands due to the covid-19 guidelines, but all of the action was streamed online at Dirt Oval TV. The three division program attracted just shy of 80 competitors.

Berendsen charged into the lead at the start ahead of Jim Pettit II and reigning champion Buddy Kniss. An outside pass on the frontstretch of the third lap gained DeVolder the fourth position from Ryan Porter, and he made a high pass and Turn 4 a lap later to grab third from Kniss. DeVolder found the outside to his liking and began pressuring Pettit for the second position. Berendsen got out of shape in Turn 4, allowing Pettit and DeVolder to close right in on him. Moments later, Chester Kniss spun in Turn 3 for a lap nine yellow flag. Berendsen continued to lead the restart with DeVolder using an outside pass in Turn 4 the grab second from Pettit. Despite showing a bit of smoke, DeVolder closed in on Berendsen and began pressuring him. DeVolder beat Berendsen back to the line to lead lap 11, but Berendsen came back strong on the inside. Again, DeVolder ran the outside line to beat Berendsen for the lead on lap 12 and this time made it stick. An outside pass on the frontstretch of the 13th lap put Nick DeCarlo into the third position and he went by Berendsen on the outside down the frontstretch of the 15th lap to take over second. Bobby Hogge IV made an outside pass in Turn 4 on lap 16 to grab third from Berendsen. Though his car was smoking, DeVolder was not about to let this one slip away as he brought it home to an impressive win. DeCarlo beat Hogge back to the line by half a car length to finish second. Troy Foulger finished fourth, followed by Berendsen, Pettit, Kellen Chadwick, Trevor Fitzgibbon, Ryan Porter and Buddy Kniss.

There were 24 cars for this show. Fitzgibbon, Porter, Hogge and Brian Pearce were the eight lap heat race winners. JC Elrod held off Chadwick and Billy Wilker to win the 12 lap B Main. Chris Sieweke and Derek Nance completed the Top 5.

Making a charge from 18th starting, Mitch Machado won the 20 lap Tri State Pro Stock Challenge Series Main Event. Machado is the three-time reigning Petaluma Speedway Super Stock champion and 2010 Antioch Super Stock champion. Machado bided his time and took advantage of the misfortune of the leader to grab the lead late in the race. The event received a $1,000 sponsorship from Winning Attitude Motorsports of Paradise, California.

Bill Pearson had a front row start and charged into the early lead over Peter Coberly and Jerry Bartlett. Bartlett ran the outside to get by Coberly for second on lap four. Moments later, Coberly stalled in Turn 2 for a yellow flag. Pearson continued to lead on the restart as Matt Micheli began challenging Bartlett for the second position. Following a yellow flag on the fifth lap, Micheli took second from Bartlett on the restart. Ryan Smith settled into third. Bill Hall III spun for a lap ten yellow flag. After three botched attempts to restart the race, Pearson continued to lead Micheli and Ryan Smith on the restart. A lap 11 yellow flag waved, and officials dropped Micheli to the back of the pack for going too fast during the yellow flag periods after being warned twice. On the restart, Wayne Coffman used a strong outside move to get around Pearson while Ryan Smith continued to run third. Contact between Machado and Pearson dropped them both back a couple of positions, but a yellow flag waved for reigning series champion Mike Learn. This restored the duo back to their spots for the restart, and Ryan Smith saw his run up front end as he pitted. Coffman continued to lead Pearson and Machado on the restart. A low pass in Turn 2 of the 16th lap gained to Machado second from Pearson, and he made an inside pass in Turn 4 a lap later to take the lead from Coffman. Coffman began to slow and headed for the pits, and a yellow flag waved for Antonio Miramontez. Pearson had mechanical issues and headed to the pits to end his strong run. Machado had heavy pressure from Chris Smith on the restart. However, Machado would keep his poise over the remaining three circuits for the satisfying win. Chris Smith settled for second ahead of Matt Kile, Jim Freethy, Mike Walko, Bartlett, Ryan Cherezian, Chris Long and Hall.

There were 24 Pro Stocks and Super Stocks on hand for this event. Eight lap heat race wins went to Walko, reigning track champion Kimo Oreta, Bartlett and Terry DeCarlo. Oreta had mechanical problems in his heat race victory to end his night early.

Rob Gallaher won the 20 lap Jay's Mobile Welding Hobby Stock Main Event. The winner of the George Steitz Freedom Series opener also won his heat race by a wide margin. Gallaher, who is a three-time Watsonville champion, made his first appearance in the Top 5 on the fifh lap and worked his way towards first, getting the position on a lap 15 restart.

Breanna Troen led a lap before debris forced a yellow flag. On the restart, James Thomson moved in for the challenge and made the pass on the inside down the backstretch for the lead. A low pass in Turn 3 of the fourth lap gained Travis Dutra second, but he surrendered the position to Joe Gallaher's inside pass on the backstretch a lap later. Within a few laps, Thomson was caught by both Joe Gallaher and Dutra. A Turn 2 pass gained Rob Gallaher fourth on the eighth lap, and Michaela Taylor spun in Turn 4 for a lap 12 yellow flag. Thomson continued to lead Joe Gallaher as Rob Gallaher quickly charged into the third position. Another yellow flag flew for Mike Mates in Turn 2 of the 14th lap. On the restart, Rob Gallaher made a strong outside move and emerged with the lead on the backstretch. Thomson held second with Joe Gallaher and Dutra giving him plenty of pressure. After another yellow flag for Mates, Joe Gallaher gained second briefly on the restart. Unfortunately, Joe Gallaher discovered he had a flat tire and began to slow before pitting. Rob Gallaher pulled away steadily, leaving Thomson and Dutra to battle fiercely for the second spot. Gallaher's advantage was nearly a straightaway at the checkered flag as Thomson beat Dutra by half a car length. Troen settled for fourth, followed by Ken Johns, Dalton Jewell, Larry McKenzie, Lori Brown, Josh Leach and Gene Haney. Both Thomson and Johns were disqualified in post race tech, moving everybody behind them up positions.

Both Rob Gallaher and Joe Gallaher won their respective eight lap heat races by a wide margin. Other heat race wins went to Dutra and Thomson. After Phillip Oreta led much of the 16 lap B Main, it was Dustin Himes beating him by inches at the checkered flag. Jewell finished third ahead of Jeff Betancourt and Gavin Griffitts

Racing will continue next Saturday night. For scheduling information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.

Philpot, Doss Win Season Opener At Ukiah Speedway

Ukiah, CA...June 6...Jason Philpot won the 45 lap Limited Modified Main Event Saturday afternoon as Ukiah Speedway finally opened their season. Management was able to get the track open under covid-19 guidelines without any fan attendance. However, they streamed the entire show on their Facebook page for everybody to watch.

Erick Ray led the opening lap before Sierra Furia went charging by on the backstretch. Tyler Caturgeli followed Furia into the second position, and a yellow flag flew for Bo Robinson and Eric Price Jr in Turn 2 of the third lap. Caturgeli charged past Furia for the lead on the restart as Philpot began pressuring Furia for the second spot. Sammy Nuno spun for a lap five yellow flag. As Caturgeli continued to lead the restart, Philpot took the second position from Furia. An inside pass on the backstretch of the 11th lap gained Price the third position, and the battle was on at the front of the pack. An inside pass on the frontstretch of the 14th lap put Philpot into the lead, but Caturgeli ran closely behind in the second spot. However, Philpot stayed smooth and brought it home to a satisfying victory. Caturgeli settled for second ahead of Price, Cole Brown, Furia, Nuno, Roy Ingalls Jr, TJ Buzzard Jr, Tim Buzzard Sr and Robertson.

Price had the fastest lap of 12 competitors with a 13.586 effort. Philpot was second quick at 13.675. Caturgeli won the four lap Trophy Dash ahead of Price, but Price won his 10 lap heat race ahead of Brown. Philpot outrant Furia to win the second heat.

Jeremy Doss won the 30 lap Bomber Main Event. Tony Ramazzatti settled into the early lead ahead of Ron Duke Sr and Doss. Peggy Tour spun for a lap three yellow flag. Ramazzatti continued to lead the restart as Doss took second from Duke. Charley Tour settled into third on the fifth lap before a Turn 3 spin for Peggy Tour brought out the yellow flag. On the restart, Doss put the moves on Ramazzotti for the lead. Charley Tour began pressuring Ramazzotti for the second position before making a high pass in Turn 4 of the 13th lap to take the position. Despite three yellow flags during the final 10 circuits, Doss would not be denied as he brought it home to victory. Charley Tour was a close second, followed by Loren Powers Jr, Ramazzotti, Duke, Roy Ingalls, Peggy Tour and Brian White. Doss had the fastest lap of 14.555, won the four lap Trophy Dash and his 10 lap heat race to complete a clean sweep effort. Charley Tour was the other heat winner.

Reigning champion Andy Leuzinger won the 10 lap Pro 4 Modified Main Event. He led all the way to win ahead of Ron Portlock. Leuzinger had the fastest lap of 13.741, and Bud Anderson scratched after qualifying. Leuzinger won the 10 lap Trophy Dash.

Kevin Beckman was the unlikely winner of the 12 lap Jammer Main Event. Raymond Taylor Jr had the quickest car all afternoon, setting the fastest lap of 15.940 and winning the 10 lap Trophy Dash. Taylor had built a commanding lead in the race, but he began showing smoke by the sixth lap. On the 12th lap, his motor finally let go on the backstretch, giving Beckman the lead. The race was called at that point with Beckman declared the winner. 

To find out what's next on the track's schedule, go to the Ukiah Speedway Facebook page.

Gray, Hannum, Bell, Ward Win At Dixon Speedway

Dixon, CA...June 6... Cody Gray won the 20 lap Wingless 600 Micro Main Event Saturday night at Dixon Speedway. The race was shortened from 25 to 20 laps due to the numerous yellow and red flags that occurred during the first half of the race. Gray is the third different winner in four races as the track continues to hold races with no fans due to covid-19 guidelines.

Timothy Vaught charged into the early lead ahead of Austin Torgerson and Gray. The race had three yellow flags in the first four laps, but it got worse for Austin Torgerson. As they were working what would have been the sixth lap, Torgerson flipped off of Turn 1 for a red flag. Vaught continued to lead Gray and Ashton Torgerson settled in the third. There were multiple yellow flags during the next half-dozen laps. Vaught continued to lead with Gray giving him plenty of pressure. Meanwhile, Brody Fuson attempted several slide job passes on Torgerson for third, but Torgerson maintained position. Gray would eventually wrestle the lead from Vaught. Fuson saw his run come to an end on the 14th lap, and Vaught faded. However, Brandon Shaw provided Gray plenty of pressure down the stretch before Gray ultimately prevailed. Ashton Torgerson finished third ahead of Derrick Patterson, Kelvin Lewis, Ryan Holden, Jeremy Chapman, Joe Silva, Danny Carroll and Timothy Vaught.

There were about 100 total cars in the pits, and 42 of them were Wingless 600s. Gray set the fast time of 12.208, beating the 12.220 of Robbie Lewis. They ran five 10 lap heat races with wins going to Mitchel Moles, Chapman, Shaw, Ashton Torgerson and Silva. Bryant scored the 12 lap Trophy Dash win. They ran two 12 lap Semi Mains, and Jonathan Henry won the first one ahead of Kyle Grissom and Nick Vanatta. Kelvin Lewis outran Carroll to win the next Semi Main with Steve Bettanini finishing third.

Point leader Brad Hannam won the 25 lap Super 600 Main Event. This was his second win of the season. Hannum charged into the lead at the start ahead of Sage Bordenave. However, Mitchel Moles slipped past Bordenave for second on the third lap. Austin Torgerson moved into third on a lap five restart with Rickey Sanders following closely into fourth. Sanders got by Torgerson for third two laps later. The race had three yellow flag slowdowns during the second half, and the last restart happened on the 16th lap. Hannum again powered ahead with Moles searching for a way around him. Hannum made no mistakes and brought it home to a satisfying win. Moles settled for second, followed by Sanders, Brody Fuson, Gage Garcia, Austin Torgerson, reigning champion Kyle Mentch, Hailey Wood, Blain Baxter and Caleb Debem.

Bordenave was the quickest of 25 qualifiers with a lap of 10.692 on the 1/5 mile dirt oval. Hannum was second quick at 10.756. They ran three 10 la p heat races with wins going to Ashton Torgerson, Moles and Sanders. The eight lap Trophy Dash win went to Austin Torgerson, and Hailey Wood win the six lap Semi main ahead of Dillon Horsley and Christian Harris.

Bryant Bell picked up the win in the 20 lap Restricted 600s Main Event. This makes him the fourth different winner in as many races. Bell had a front row start and charged into the lead in immediately ahead of Austin Wood and Colin Kirby. Bell seemed to have the right set-up and would lead all the way, beating Wood by half a lap. Izaak Sharp and Matthew Tatoole had a race long battle that's would go in Sharp's favor at the checkered flag. Tatoole settled for fourth, followed by Kirby, Brandon Riveira, Jackson Kohler, JJ Loss, Taylor Mayhew and Isabel Barnes. Wood was the quickest of 16 qualifiers with a lap of 11.633, beating the 11.703 of Tatoole. Bell and Sharp won their respective 10 lap heat races with Bell completing a clean sweep in the six lap Trophy Dash

Nathan Ward scored the victory in the 20 lap Junior Sprinter Main Event. He had two second place finishes prior to the win, and this makes him the fourth different winner of the season. Ward charged into the lead at the start with Kyle Fernandez providing the early pressure. Reigning champion MaKayla Tatoole got past Fernandez for second on the sixth lap, but Fernandez came charging by two laps later. That battle went on directly behind Ward, who was doing his best to keep the two hard chargers at bay. Tatoole again made her move around Fernandez on the 16th lap, and this time it stuck. Ward took the checkered flag just ahead of Tatoole. As Fernandez faded, Brody Rubio finished third, followed by Peyton Whitehouse, Hayden stepyps, Fernandez, Aubry Patterson, Briggs Davis, Kellen Harper and Jonathan Andrichuk. Fernandez had the fast time of 13.058, and Rubio was second quick with a lap of 13.127. The 15 competitors ran two 10 lap heat races with wins going to Tatoole and Ward. Ward completed his clean sweep with a six lap Trophy Dash win.

Racing resumes next Saturday night, once again under covid-19 guidelines that will not allow for fan attendance. The regular group of divisions will again be competing. For further information, go to www.dixonspeedway.net.

Shepherd, Reynolds Win Special Club Race Season Opener 
At Madera Speedway

Madera, CA...June 6...Bakersfield racer Buddy Shepherd won the 40 lap Madera Late Model Main Event Saturday afternoon at Madera Speedway. Promoter Kenny Shepherd managed to secure a Club Race for the track with limited divisions, and the mostly locally-based field of Late Model drivers put on a good show. Due to the covid-19 guidelines, there were no fans allowed in the grandstands, but the track broadcast the entire program live on Facebook for free.

Shepherd had the front row for the Main Event and raced into the early lead over Austin Herzog and Logan Zampa. Dylan Zampa ran closely behind his brother in the fourth position, and Matt Kunz spun in Turn 4 for a lap 13 yellow flag. Shepherd continued to set the pace on the restart ahead of Herzog and Logan Zampa. Both Matt Kunz and Loren Kunz spun for a lap 19 yellow flag. On the restart, Logan Zampa slipped past Herzog for the second position and Shepard continued to set the pace. Glen Cook made a low pass in Turn 4 of the 21st lap to take the third position from Herzog. Following a yellow flag for a Turn 3 crash that eliminated Jon Schlundt, Shepherd continued to lead Logan Zampa on the resrart despite a little bit of right rear tire smoke coming from the Shepherd car. A low pass gained Cook the second position from Logan Zampa on lap 31 with Dylan Zampa following into third. However, Dylan Zampa made an inside pass in Turn 2 of the 36th lap to take second with brother Logan following closely into third. Nobody was stopping Shepherd as he built a straightaway advantage over Dylan Zampa by the time the checkered flag flew. Logan Zampa settled for third, followed by Cook, Trevor Schlundt, Herzog, Calvin Hegjie, Rick Thompson, Lily Mead and Matt Kunz.

Shepherd was the quickest of 15 qualifiers with a lap of 14.962, beating the 15.183 of Jacob Smith. The first of three eight lap heat race wins went to Shepherd over Dylan Zampa. Smith outran Logan Zampa to win the next heat, and the final heat went to Herzog ahead of Cook.

Ryan Reynolds won the 30 lap MST Main Event. Reynolds had a front row start and jumped into the lead ahead of a reigning champion Bert Stevens and Shaun Reynolds. Contact racing in the first turn of the fifth lap saw Shaun Reynolds gain second from Stephens. Shaun ran closely behind Ryan in the second position as Stephens had his hands full battling Patrick Geiger to hold on to the third position. A lap 23 yellow flag flew for Dennis Brannon in Turn 4. Ryan Reynolds continued to lead Shaun Reynolds and Stephens on the restart, but Stephens made an inside pass in Turn 2 of the 26th lap to take second from Shaun Reynolds. Contact racing between Shaun Reynolds and Stephens in the second turn of the 28th lap saw Geiger gain the second position. However, Ryan Reynolds had a straightaway advantage over Geiger at the finish. Shaun Reynolds settled for third, followed by Kyle Labrie, Stephens, Tim Kammerer, Brannon and Jason Kerns. Ryan Reynolds had the fastest lap of 16.575 to beat the 16.751 of Shaun Reynolds. Both Ryan and Shaun won their respective eight lap heat races.

Andrew Parr won the 30 lap Toyota Main Event. Parr charged into the lead immediately. He held a straightaway advantage over JJ Brandsen by the fifth lap. By the 10th lap, Parr led Brandsen by a half-lap as third place Johnny Williams was lapped. Brandsen went down a lap on the 15th circuit, and Parr cruised to victory over Brandsen and Williams. Parr set the fastest lap of 17.754, and Thomas Magray was an early scratch. Parr also easily won the eight lap heat race.

There will be racing at Madera Speedway once again next Saturday. For more information on that, go to www.racemadera.com

More Encouraging Signs As Siskiyou Golden Speedway 
Has Three Practices

Yreka, CA...June 5-7...The weather forecast going into this past weekend was just a little bit iffy. Though it looked like Friday's practice had decent weather in the forecast, there was the possibility of rain on both Saturday and Sunday. Despite the reports of rain in other places not far from the track on Saturday, that didn't stop over 30 different competitors from converging on the speedway during the course of the weekend to take their turns on the clay oval.

The racing community is unanimous in one opinion. Everybody is ready to put their cars on the track under racing conditions. We've had three great practice weekends, and there are very few local racers who haven't taken the opportunity to go out there and make some laps at least once. Promoter Kevin Barba and his crew have endeavored to give the drivers a good racing surface and plenty of opportunity to put their cars through their paces and iron out the bugs. In the process, speedway officials have learned a few things about the track as well. 

Again, some top-notch racers were part of practice. Reigning Southern Oregon Speedway champion Zach Fettinger brought his car to town as did local standout Travis Peery. David Satterfield, James Welschonse, Jeremy Krebs and Steve Borror were there with their IMCA Modifieds as well. From the IMCA Sport Modified ranks, past track champion Colt Boswell and three-time reigning Southern Oregon Speedway champion Jorddon Braaten were back making laps again. Joby Shields has been making the most of his practice opportunities. Division newcomers Chance Gorden and Brionna Fuller were among the other Sport Modified competitors at the track.

Terry Alford and Kassidy Wilkinson were there representing the local Mini Stock contingent. Outlaw Pro Stock Association standout Matt Harlow was there in the Maurie Skaggs owned car. One of the Massey Racing Team Late Models from the shop of Rapp Racing was there, and past Southern Oregon Speedway Modified and Pro Stock champion Dustin Knight was taking his turn behind the wheel. Ageless Southern Oregon Dwarf Car racer Fred Hay was excited to get back out on the track again along with relative newcomer Travis Davis. This was just a sampling of the drivers in Yreka making practice laps. 

Second-year promoter Barba was learning a few things and made sure that the track followed all the covid-19 guidelines as outlined by the county health officials. Kevin will continue interacting with those same officials in the hopes of opening the gates for an actual race soon. The good thing is that there have been three great weekends of practice, and this was the best one yet. All three nights saw happy racers eagerly getting back to doing what they love to do. It's anticipated that a race date will be announced soon. The best way to keep updated is by going to the Siskiyou Golden Speedway Facebook page.

Race Tracks Matter

The Perfect Way To Get Fans In The Grandstands Once Again

So many race tracks right now are unable to open enough to sell tickets to fans in the grandstands due to the guidelines put in place because of this virus. In fact, some tracks are still trying to get the gates open at all. Meanwhile, the country seems to have moved from the panic over this virus straight into protesting, rioting and looting. Concerns over health issues have morphed into an exercise in free speech. However, race tracks still sit in waiting. 

Ace Speedway in North Carolina defied orders and gathered over 2,000 fans in the stands to watch a race under the guise that they were exercising their civil rights to protest. However, what Ace Speedway didn't have completely right was a slogan. If we're going to open these grandstands up, we need a slogan. We went to show how peaceful protesters for this cause are, so we want to ask everybody to be on their normal Saturday night race track behavior when we get this thing going. However, we have a slogan that you can put on your signs. 

We're starting a movement called, "Race Tracks Matter." Now, I know what people are thinking. They might say that we are being disrespectful to the other movement that's happening across this country, but that's absolutely not true. While this virus caused a shutdown of businesses across the country, state governors started drafting plans for how to get back open again and the guidelines that must be followed. What they didn't do was create any guidelines that would allow race tracks to open not just to their competitors but to the fans who enjoy watching the races as well.

What I'm basically saying here is that race tracks all across the United States have been marginalized. They've been ignored. Is this fair to those who like to race and those who like to watch races? In my opinion, no it isn't. It's time that we all stand up for our civil rights to gather and assemble at the race track in peace. Therefore, I think we all can agree that Race Tracks Matter. This is the way to get the grandstands back open again and exercise our right to free speech. 

Fans are encouraged to bring signs exercising their free speech, though they should only wave them proudly between races. We aren't just going to be enjoying the races, we will also have brief rallies at designated times during the night, prior to the first race being held and during intermission. During that time, there will be a few limited speeches highlighting how race tracks matter, how they have been marginalized and how auto racing has brought so many families and friends together. Husbands and wives have met each other at tracks all across the country and developed lasting marriages as a result. Many families carry on traditions of going to the races together.

We have to be respectful of the business model in place for a race track. Nobody is actually charged to protest. This is an exercise in free speech. However, race tracks are feeling the pinch right now with no fans in the grandstands. Some of the fairgrounds these tracks are based at are in dangerous financial times. Nobody will be charged to come into the grandstands. However, there will be suggested donations at the ticket booth to support the struggling race tracks. To get into the grandstands and exercise your free speech rights, you must present a ticket at the gate to enter.

Now more than ever, we need to engage in our First Amendment right to free speech and lawful assembly. Our race tracks need our support. Therefore, I'm suggesting a way for race tracks to begin opening their grandstands to fans who wish to spectate and also voice their opinions on what's been going on with the virus and how it affects these tracks. We won't just be gathering at the race track to enjoy an amazing night of racing. We will be there to express a united opinion. Race Tracks Matter.


Madera Speedway Unofficial Race Results June 6, 2020
Late Models
Buddy Shepherd
Dylan Zampa
Logan Zampa
Glen Cook
Trevor Schlundt
Austin Herzog
Calvin Hegje
Rick Thompson
Lily Mead
Matt Kutz
Del McIntosh
Jon Schlundt
Mike Shapiro
Jacob Smith
Loren Kutz

MSTs
Ryan Reynolds
Patrick Geiger
Shaun Reynolds
Kyle Labrie
Bert Stephens
Tim Kammerer
Dennis Brannon
Jason Kerns

Toyotas
Andrew Parr
J.J Brandsen
Johnny Williams


Ukiah Speedway Unofficial Race Results June 6, 2020
Limited Modifieds
Jason Philpot
Tyler Caturegli
Eric Price Jr
Cole Brown
Sierra Furia
Sammy Nuno
Roy Ingalls Jr
TJ Buzzard
Tim Buzzard Sr
Bo Robertson
Erick Ray

Bombers
Jeremy Doss
Charley Tour
Loren Powers Jr
Tony Ramazzotti
Ron Duke Sr
Roy Ingalls Jr
Peggy Tour
Brian White

Pro 4 Modifieds
Andy Leuzinger
Ron Portlock

Jammers
Kevin Beckman
Raymond Taylor Jr


Dixon Speedway Unofficial Race Results June 6, 2020
Wingless 600s
Cody Gray
Brandon Shaw
Ashton Torgerson
Derrick Patterson
Kelvin Lewis
Ryan Holden
Jeremy Chapman
Joe Silva
Danny Carroll
Tiimothy Vaught
Austin Taborski
Steve Bettanini
Kyle Grissom
Drew Laeber
Brody Fuson
Nick VanAtta
Robbie Lewis
George Nielson
Austin Torgerson
Jonathan Henry
Blake Parmley
Mitchel Moles

Semi Main 1
Jonathan Henry
Kyle Grissom
Nick VanAtta
Travis Sullivan
Chris Parmley
Jared Byrd
Tucker LaCaze
Brandon Alvarado
Clayton Harris
Jackie Whiteson Jr
Don McLeister DNS
Dennis Gile DNS
Harlee Aguilera DNS

Semi Main 2
Kelvin Lewis
Danny Carroll
Steve Bettanini
Darrell Busby
Taylor DeCarlo
Matt Santana
Chuck Patterson
Savannah Brown
Norman Harley Rose
Jim Beck
Tommy Carroll DNS
Trevor Schmid DNS

Super 600s
Brad Hannum
Mitchell Moles
Ricky Sanders
Brody Fusion
Gauge Garcia
Austin Torgerson
Kyle Mentch
Hailey Wood
Blaine Baxter
Caleb Debem
Dillon Horsley
James Andrichuck
Sage Bordenave
Hayden Saich
Jason Chapman
Darrell Busby
Tony Alosi
Kanoa Cordeiro
Pete Piantanida
Christian Harris
Logan Trevino
Ashton Torgerson

Semi Main
Hailey Wood
Dillon Horsley
Christian Harris
Pete Piantanida
Todd Job
Jarrett Heimlich

Restricted 600s
Bryant Bell
Austin Wood
Izaak Sharp
Matthew Tatoole
Colin Kirby
Brandon Riveira
Jackson Kohler
JJ Loss
Taylor Mayhew
Isabel Barnes
Rylee Whitehouse
Elijah Gile
Teagen Moles
AJ Neilson
Tallon Becker
Kyle Cravotta

Jr Sprints
Nathan Ward
Makayla Tatoole
Brody Rubio
Peyton Whitehouse
Hayden Stepps
Kyle Fernandez
Aubry Patterson
Briggs Davis
Kellen Harper
Jonathan Andrichuk
Braxon Vasconcellos
Blayden Graham
Jacob Battle
Devin McLeister DNS
Ryder Byrd DNS

The Editor's Viewpoint 

Thursday Night Thoughts

I'm opening this column with a few observations on Thursday evening. I find that I need to keep an eye on things every day in case important information comes out. News changes everyday, and there are already a couple of things to talk about. I only put up the last blog post a few hours ago, and this is how quickly things change. The first item wasn't really a surprise. Ocean Speedway would not be running on Friday night. I knew this. It's not as big surprise to me, and it's 50-50 as to whether they get to run on June 12th either.

This all depends on how cooperative the Santa Cruz County Health officials will be with the track. I don't doubt that Promoter John Prentice is ready to do what it takes to open those gates, even if the first order of business would be a practice. I know Tom Sagmiller has been out there prepping the track, so they would just like to do something. Last week they put out the dire report that they had no luck talking with the health officials and would be forced to push their opener out to June 19th.

If that was their statement, why make an announcement on Thursday that Friday would not have a race? First of all, things are evolving and it could have been an announcement that they were going to open for something. Secondly, it was on Saturday when they put out a post on Twitter that they were still hoping that maybe the Friday race could be salvaged. In either case, June 5th was a no-go. You never know with the health officials, but you've still got to try.

I'm not sure, but it is possible that the floodgates are just going to burst open on this deal. After all, we've had mass gatherings all across the United States in the form of protests. People walking arm-in-arm, people hugging, shaking hands, you name it. Scientifically, they wouldn't know if this had any effect on anybody for a couple of weeks, but that hasn't stopped people from gathering en mass for the last week. If that's going to happen, then they may be giving up this whole notion that we can't have mass gatherings. It's a theory anyway. I'm looking forward to what news I might discover on Friday. 

With Coos County being given the green light to go into Phase 2, Promoter Drake Nelson wasted little time adding a Friday night drag racing event to his Saturday mud drag event. Phase 2 says you can have 100 people or less in a mass gathering, but I can assure you of one thing. There will be more than 100 people on the property. How many more, I don't know. I don't think it'll be just a few more, but that's just a guess. Furthermore, Nelson is continuing to use the Coos Bay Speedway Bar and Grill idea, which to me is utterly ridiculous. Then again, remember what we were saying recently about the wording and legalese and all that fun stuff. If it will help Drake in his goal, he's all in.

Somebody has to be the person leading the charge to open these race tracks, and Nelson has really been the only promoter who's made any serious effort in Oregon. He's listing all the covid-19 guidelines you need to follow and the procedures the track is going to do from the restrooms to the concessions. The pathways will be clearly marked for one direction to the other for ease of foot traffic. It all looks real good. I think much of this stuff can be found in the World of Outlaws guidelines I was talking about in the previous Viewpoint article. 

There are just too many race tracks on the West Coast for state government officials to not come up with guidelines for how they can open on both the pit side and the grandstand side. It's utterly ridiculous that this is the case right now. So, if a promoter is playing games to get the job done, more power to them. It is a dangerous game being played, because if the wrong state health official gets wind of it and doesn't like it, he can not only shut you down, he can also hit you with a big fine. All Nelsen is basically saying is, if a bar and grill, a restaurant or what have you can open, why can't I open my race track? 

There is merit in the idea that you do it one week at a time. Drag racing is the thing this week, but oval track racing is on deck. In the comment section of the post announcing the events today, management alluded to the fact that there will be an oval track announcement early next week. This could be the June 17th Wednesday night IMCA Modified, IMCA Sport Modified and Junior Stinger event, coupled with the June 20th Late Model, Limited Sprint, Street Stock and other divisions deal on June 20th. Or, it could be something different. Either way, it's obvious that Drake intends to open the oval track.

If June 17th is the date, this could be the first outdoor oval track race in the state of Oregon for this year. That means that the gates are open to get something started, but the tracks in other areas will do things differently. It's possible that even a few tracks that want to get going won't do anything in June. It's also possible that before the end of the month, there will be two or three other tracks doing something if Coos Bay is successful in what they're doing. 

River City Speedway has already indicated they want to race. I guess I just don't like the sneakiness of changing the name of your race track and playing those kinds of games, but this is what promoters are forced to do. It is a business after all. It's not just the idea of opening your track for people to come compete and people to spectate in the normal way. Nelson is trying to make money off of a facility that he may or may not still be making payments on. I'm not sure if he owns it outright yet or if he's still buying it from Chuck Prather. Either way, he's going for it.

Friday Thoughts

It's Friday morning as I start writing my thoughts on what I'm hearing today. Coos Bay Speedway is having a drag race tonight and mud drags tomorrow. To my knowledge, this is the first outdoor race track in Oregon having a race where fans can buy tickets this year. They have this elaborate set of social distancing guidelines and all of that, but we just entered Phase 2. This means 100 people or less can gather. Is it legal what these guys are doing? You know, not only do I not know, I don't care. Probably not? They're doing it anyway, and like I said before, somebody has to be first in line to challenge this BS.

Drake Nelson is probably taking a big breath and just going for it. When he did the last drag race on a Friday, which I believe was May 15th, he had another one planned for later in the weekend. He was doing it under the guise of Coos Bay Speedway Bar and Grill. Friday went off okay, and then he got the cease-and-desist letter from the state. That put an end to the Sunday race and whatever was being discussed for Memorial Day Weekend. I understand it was to be a two-day event on Memorial Day Weekend at the oval track, but I never saw anything from him. I only have the PSM Sport Modified guys to go by.

The first person will be the one who sounds the alarm. They open the floodgates. Whenever you want to use to describe it. If Drake gets away with this event, the other tracks have to pay attention to what he's doing. It was my understanding, based on what was sent to me, that the oval track would open on a Wednesday, June 17th. Right now, that could very well be the first outdoor oval track event in Oregon, unless somebody tries to do something earlier. It looks like this is going to happen, whether there's an announcement from the State Supreme Court regarding the case brought on by the church in Baker City or not.

I was reading comments on a post regarding Clint Bowyer not being happy that NASCAR isn't allowing fans in the grandstands. NASCAR fans tend to lean a certain way politically, so it's not surprising to me that there was support in what he was saying. People were saying NASCAR doesn't have the guts to open even to limited fans. They were saying NASCAR has forgotten about its roots and on and on. Clint was a popular man in his opinion, at least with the commenters there. I didn't see a bunch of people chiming in with, "But it's for our own good. We have to be safe." I saw none of that.

The tide is turning on this whole deal, and that's because of the rioting and looting on the streets that stemmed from the protests after the unfortunate death of a black man at the hands of the police. Those officers are now being charged, and the next big deal will be, do they get convicted and serve some significant time, or do they get a slap on the wrist? What I've seen repeatedly through the years is either a slap on the wrist or nothing at all. The Black Lives Matter people have a point when it comes to law enforcement officers going overboard, that's all I'm going to say. Well, I'll point out that there are people of other races who have learned that the hard way as well, not just black people. That's not the point of this column. 

Here's one of the problems we've had during this whole virus shut down. As some people running small businesses have realized they need to open up and start generating revenue again, they've challenged the restrictions. They've been shut down again and hit with hefty fines. At that point in time, you've seen a lot more people who don't understand what it's like to establish, own and operate your own business. They don't understand the work, blood, sweat and tears that goes into that. It's easy for them to type something from their keyboards about how the business owner is worse than Hitler and endangering us all. What a bunch of morons. Well, that's what I think every time I read one of those posts. I've never bought into the narrative they spouted over this virus.

The thing is, while business owners have been restrained by the powers that be as much as possible, at least the small business owners, we now have looters and rioters. They are given free reign. In fact, there are bricks conveniently placed in certain locations in some cities. "Go ahead, do what you need to do with him. We are looking the other way." 

Some of these small businesses have been ruined because of these selfish looters and rioters. I'm not saying they all come from the people who were protesting for a different reason, but it doesn't matter. Looting and rioting has ruined some businesses. I wonder if any of the small businesses that have been ruined actually had the business owner get fined for daring to open a few weeks earlier? Makes me wonder, considering many of the people who have destroyed their businesses through their destructive actions probably won't be charged with anything.

Have you noticed we're not getting so much of the scare tactics about the virus lately? We're not hearing things like, "We need to be cautious. We could be spreading it to everybody." Okay, that's not entirely true. They did stick their narrative into the most ridiculous situation possible. You see memes about this thing. You know, "Skydiver dies in unfortunate parachute accident. It was ruled a covid-19 death." I'm sure you've seen that joke. Well, according to the autopsy of the man who was killed by the police, George Floyd, he had covid-19. Next thing you know, they'll say that's why he died. Once the rioting calms down that is. The funny thing is, if they said that, there'd be a significant chunk of the population that would believe it.

I know I'm sounding a little bit grumpy today, but these are my feelings, and I will steer them back towards racing. If we're watching people walking shoulder to shoulder, arm and arm in protest. Not to mention, we're watching police officers standing side by side. Does that look like social distancing to you? Nope. It isn't. Nobody's really talking about that anymore, because they moved on to the next narrative. Unfortunately, businesses are still stuck in the old narrative, and that includes race tracks. In the last few days, I've been reporting about tracks that either can't open or are opening without fans due to all of this virus stuff, and yet look at all the people out on the streets right now.

The local news up here did talk about moving into Phase 2 and what that means for swimming pools and movie theaters and bowling alleys and that sort of thing. They will be opening, but we can't have too many people. Still nothing on the race tracks. It's time to move things up a little bit. It's time to allow race tracks to have races again, even if you have to put that social distancing rule in effect. Even if you might have to limit how many people can come in with a crew. Any track that wants to open, can have races. To make it so that race tracks will want to do that or at least think about it, you must open the grandstands to either 25% or 50% capacity at first. Use your social distancing guidelines if you must. Mark off spots in the seats. It's time.

I actually don't fault Drake Nelson for just jumping in and doing something else, and I'm sure he's talked to Coos County officials about this. This plan was set in place before Phase 2 was officially announced. County officials are different than state officials. In some counties, you're going to have the Sheriff's Department and other such authority figures say they're going to turn the other cheek and not enforce these rules. Sheriff's officers in general are sworn to protect The Constitution. They are a different law enforcement unit than a local police department. Drake feels confident enough to step forward and do this. 

I've been told that Jeff Olschowka at Diamond Mountain Speedway in Susanville has been marking off seats in the grandstands as a way to set up for social distancing and allow fans to come. This is before he even knows whether his proposal will work. I speculated in the previous article that this might not happen until his second weekend of racing at the end of the month, but it seems like he's hopeful of getting fans in the stands on June 13th. If he pulls this off, he'd be the first to do it. I tend to believe that he should be allowed to try. Whether they say he can sell to 25% capacity or 50% or whenever, it's time to see how that works. 

I still feel this thing as ridiculous. We should just be allowed to have at it again. However, they're going to make you jump through the hoops. If a promoter wants to mark off six feet of space in the grandstands so people know where to sit, fine. If they want to have signs or foot trails directing the flow of traffic in the grandstand area, engage in serious social distance and covid-19 guidelines to open the grandstands and do the same with the restrooms, if they want to have people wearing masks, if they want somebody to make sure people are wearing masks and social distancing and if they want to do cashless transactions and whatever other things they have to do to satisfy state and county officials, have at it. It's time to move this thing along.

What happened to just living life? A serious virus sweeping across the country and the world would have a high death total. I don't dismiss 100,000 deaths in the United States, because every life does matter. Even after you adjust the inflated numbers to the actual numbers, it does matter. People die from the flu every year, and some of them die after receiving vaccines that were supposed to protect them. We don't shut everything down because some people have died from the flu, and this was never an instance where things should have been shut down either. I think deep down, most intelligent people understand this. To the others, I say, "Don't be afraid to live life. It's going to be okay. It's the next virus they throw at us that might scare the people a little bit more." But, that's just me being a little suspicious of the powers-that-be.

I can't even imagine being a race track promoter engaging with certain officials. Some of them have had lengthy conversations that eventually gained them some ground. It still has to be stressful as you find out what you need to do and prove that you can do it. Then, you have to go ahead and implement the guidelines. Some tracks, like I've been saying, aren't as serious about this. Once they get the go ahead, they go ahead. They've got guidelines up, doesn't that count? Other tracks actually try to follow through with what they've agreed to. You've got a promoter worrying that somebody who could shut them down or fine them may be watching, so they are trying to do it the government's way.

Then, you've got other promoters who are still waiting for approval to open. They have been talking until they're blue in the face.' "Please, I can do this. I will follow these rules. Please, give me something." And they get the run-around. They get told that they can't. How many hours of phone and/or face-to-face conversations might they have had? I don't know, but that's even more stressful for them to deal with. They've been trying and failing, and yet they keep trying. This whole situation sucks. If this is what we call the new normal, you can take the new normal and shove it up your posterior. That's my thoughts as I get my day started on a Friday morning..

A Little Later On Friday And Positive Oregon News

And still more news comes across the desk. Phase 2 in Oregon was to mean 100 people or less gathering in one place with proper social distancing. This is interesting. I'm not sure how it is with all the counties. I'm paying closer attention to Jackson County as Southern Oregon Speedway is there and I'm involved with the track. As Phase 2 rolls out in Jackson County, we are now allowed a gathering of 250 people or less with proper social distancing measures in place, along with whatever else they deem necessary. On the state website, it says that in Phase 3, there will be no social gatherings bigger than 250 people until a vaccine is found.

Let me read word for word what it says on the website.

Phase 3 - Mass gathering such as major concerts or sporting events with live audiences will require a reliable treatment or vaccine to be available. 

According to the guidelines that they drafted back in April, this is as far as it gets. There doesn't appear to be any sort of guideline in place that would allow something like Motorsports to consider gatherings in the pit area and gatherings in the grandstand area to be two separate places. In other words, if you can have 250 people in the pits, you can't have 250 people in the grandstands too. Exploring that avenue is going into uncharted territory, and there are other hoops that you have to jump through. Is it possible to consider the pits and the grandstands two separate areas? I don't know. I also should point out, as Mike reminded me today, the governor could amend this ruling to allow more people to gather, such as bumping it up to 500 people. Also, the State Supreme Court could rule in a way that dismisses most of this stuff.

At 250 people, it looks like you can actually have a practice. If and when word comes out that a practice will happen at Southern Oregon Speedway, there will be huge interest. The biggest factor that could affect the interest is if other tracks within range open up to an actual race. Siskiyou Golden Speedway is on a path to have a race in front of empty grandstands soon, maybe even as early as June 13th. I'm not really sure. The June 17th date at Coos Bay is the target for Oregon at this point. If they are successful, other Oregon tracks will jump in. 

A lot of people have eyes on both Southern Oregon Speedway and Cottage Grove Speedway, and I'm not sure what Heather Boyce might do at The Grove. If she has the same 250 person limit at her track as is now apparently an option in Medford, she could call for a practice. I don't know about a race. This is why she did track rentals during the week but left the weekends open, just in case she can do something bigger. The situation appears to be evolving quickly in the state.

If there's not an actual race within reasonable striking distance for the racers in the Medford Area, they are going to want to go to their home track again. I'm assuming that people will have to sign up ahead of time, so the infrastructure would have to be put in place at that point. It might also include paying digitally rather than with cash. Again, I'm speculating here. That seems to be the trend. The reason you need to find out who's coming isn't just to contact trace people but also to make sure you're within the 250 person guideline. Believe me, if there is no racing option for the racers, driver interest in a practice will still challenge the 250 person number. More people will want to come out and crew for the drivers, and many drivers will want to practice. The pits are big enough in Medford to effectively use social distancing guidelines and still have quite a gathering of racers.

This is just me speculating and I don't speak for anybody but DCRR Racing News. 250 people is much better than 100 when it comes to trying to do something. You could clearly have a race in front of an empty grandstand, but there are financial things to consider. You have to consider rent, insurance, EMT, staff and other bills that will come up to operate the track. Without grandstands, there is simply no way that racers would be able to compete for a full purse. What they could compete for, I don't know. Some tracks have put it at 50%. Other tracks have just bit the bullet and paid in full, but I can assure you, that won't happen at this track. If it happens, it would be 50% at best.

I look at what Cory Penfold has done at Marion Creek Speedway. He is basically saying practice under a racing format, but he's also doing this with Outlaw Karts. I'm wondering if you can do a practice race with big cars. Drivers are going to be practicing and making several laps, so why not do it in racing conditions, right? The problem is, contact happens and cars get wrecked. I don't think very many people would be hip to the idea of doing it for free. If they were willing to do that once, I don't think it would happen multiple times.

What I could say here when looking at what it is we are dealing with is that if racing happens, the 2020 schedule that was released prior to the season is very likely out the window. There would be no big-money races or any of that as long as the track can't operate to the fullest of its capacity. Any races would be limited to some sort of reduced purse event. That is, if racing makes financial sense to stage. It could be that if the gates open, practicing will be the way to do it. In fact, my guess is that there could be a decent chance that there will be practicing at Southern Oregon Speedway, maybe before the end of June. I don't know. It's also not my decision to make.

We've had that order looming over our heads this whole time. It says no mass gatherings until a vaccine or an effective treatment is available. That's what the Governor of Oregon state is saying. Therefore, 250 people or less may be the best that we get without an amendment, and we would have to work with that from this point to the end of what would be racing season. It's going to be very difficult to have racing under these circumstances, but practices could be a possibility. I'm not saying it would be impossible to have races, but there would have to be some sort of financial viability to making this happen. 

In any event, this is another one of those things that has changed from day-to-day. We were hearing 100 people or less. This has been on the news. Suddenly, It's 250 people or less. This clearly means that you could have a full practice of some sort, while engaging in social distancing. Other factors have to play into this, such as what the county health officials expect you to do and what you're equipped to do. That's the next step. I'm not speaking for any race track in what I put here. I'm just reporting the news as I hear it. I'm sure there will be a statement from Southern Oregon Speedway in the near future.

Even more news is breaking as we move to Friday afternoon. Cottage Grove Speedway has indeed shifted gears to open to practice. Much like Jackson County, they have been greenlit to have 250 or less people in the pits. What this basically means is they can have a practice. Therefore, Promoter Heather Boyce has booked practices for both June 13th and 14th with certain covid-19 guidelines in place. Progress is finally being made in Oregon as I write this. I couldn't tell you if she's mapping out a plan to have races in front of empty grandstands or maybe even petitioning to get some fans in the stands, but I bet she is. Heather is in the process of buying this race track from Jerry Schram, and she's lost a lot of opportunity to make money. She'll do what she can.

What I do find interesting about the plan that Heather has outlined for these practices is the way she's doing it. She's doing these practices in shifts, bearing in mind that you can have 250 people or less on the facility at any moment. By doing that, it opens the door to having more than 250 total people practicing during the course of a day. The early shift will be Street Stocks and IMCA Sport Compacts on Saturday. Then comes the IMCA Modifieds and Sport Modifieds and finally the Late Models and Sprint Cars. That right there sounds like more people, and I would say it's all covered under the same insurance policy since it's being done on the same day.

On Sunday, she's allowing the Outlaw Kart competitors to come in and have their time on the track, followed by an open practice for everybody within the 250 person guideline to close the day. She's asking people to come in and do their sessions and load up and leave when they are done. She's not looking for people to start a big line waiting to get in for their session and asks them to show up no earlier than 20 minutes. There are other covid-19 guidelines in place. This may only be a practice opportunity, but Heather has grabbed the bat and is swinging for the bleachers to make the most of this one. I don't count her out when it comes to running a race, even in front of empty grandstands, if she can do it in a way she thinks makes sense. That could happen before the end of the month.

More Oregon progress came up at Madras Speedway. Not long after a Southern Oregon Speedway made the April announcement of no racing there until restrictions were lifted on spectator involvement, Madras management made a similar announcement. We don't know what that means as far as the track opening for racing if there are no grandstands. We may hear more on that in the coming weeks. What we can say is that they are opening for a practice, and the date selected for that will be June 20th. It's almost like a light switch has been flipped on and things are just going to start happening now that the nationwide panic narrative has been switched from this virus to looting and rioting.

We reported in the previous Viewpoint article that the California Micro Sprint Speedweek Series that would have taken place at the end of June was canceled. It wasn't an easy decision to make for the people behind this series, but as of today, only Dixon Speedway has even held a race of the four tracks involved. Lemoore Raceway will have its first race on June 13th. While Stockton is dragging its feet allowing the fairgrounds tracks to open, which includes Delta Speedway, Plaza Park Speedway finally made an announcement today. They will have to follow some of those strict covid-19 guidelines, but they are planning a practice on June 12th. They will have more details on their Facebook page soon.

It's been a busy Friday afternoon for sure, and another Southern California race track got some good news. Irwindale Speedway, one of the four NASCAR sanctioned pavement facilities in the state, has been given the green light to have a race. They will be observing strict covid-19 guidelines, which includes having no grandstand attendance as of yet. It's interesting that they are going the same way as Skagit Speedway did on Thursday. They will be streaming their race on Irwindale Speedway TV for people to watch. This will happen on June 13th. More progress. Not enough?

We also found out on Friday afternoon that Placerville Speedway will get to go racing on June 13th. What's interesting is last month at the same time Marysville Raceway was opening for a race in front of empty grandstands, Placerville Speedway had a practice. Everything seemed to go well, but at that point everything stopped. We were wondering what exactly was going on. Surely, Scott Russell would have a race booked soon after that, wouldn't he? The problem was the El Dorado County Health officials weren't exactly being cooperative, and we next heard some dire remarks from the fairgrounds itself that they could go out of business if unable to have the annual County Fair.

The good news for racing fans is that Placerville Speedway will race on June 13th. The bad news is the fans won't be able to come out and spectate. Can't have any of that, can we? Hang tough people, the dam is about ready to break. A race track somewhere in California will have fans in the month of June. I don't know where and don't know the specific date, but I can see that happening and more tracks following. For this race, Placerville will be on SpeedshiftTV, and it's going to be four divisions of excitement. The Thompson's Auto Group Winged 360 Sprint Cars will be there along with the Limited Late Models, Pure Stocks and BCRA Midget Lites.

This morning I saw footage of Kevin Barba out on the grader at Siskiyou Golden Speedway. I know he had to be pretty excited about three days to practice. I mentioned in the previous post that he had over two dozen competitors across multiple divisions practicing last weekend, and it was sounding like he might do even better this time. The biggest problem he has though, unfortunately, is the weather isn't looking good for Saturday or Sunday. Sunday doesn't look particularly encouraging. If the weather cooperates one iota on Saturday, something could still happen there, but it looks like Friday will go off without a hitch either way. After the weekend, he gets to go back to the county health officials and make a pitch for why he should be able to have a race.

Saturday Thoughts

It's Saturday morning as I write this. Siskiyou Golden Speedway had a practice last night that seemed to go pretty well. Misty put quite a bit of footage up on the track's Facebook page. I just noticed that Kevin was at the track already and shot a few photos of how the surface looked after all the practice. No rain in Yreka as I write this, so Kevin and the crew will get to work for today's practice. I'm not sure when the rain was supposed to head in, and they may get lucky today. Weather also looks iffy tomorrow. 

With all the cars he's had practicing out there, I know Kevin has to be hoping that next week will be the week they let him open it up for a race, even if they can't have fans just yet. From this point, I just have a feeling that it won't be too long before grandstands will start opening with some restrictions. Everything is in motion right now, and I think we'll be getting more positive news than negative news in the days ahead regarding many tracks. 

Willamette Speedway put out a call for people to come out to the track with different gardening equipment to help bring down the weeds and the grass and whatnot. I don't think the track can open for a race with fans due to code violations that still haven't been resolved just yet. On the other hand, I'm sure the track could open for a practice or two and might even be able to open for a race without fans, if that's something that Loren has in mind. The only race he's said is on the schedule right now is the World of Outlaws in September, and I know he's going to want to have grandstands by then. However, it might be in his best interest to at least get some practices on that track to keep up the good faith with the racers. 

Oregon has begun racing. Coos Bay Speedway had a drag race last night, and guess what? They managed to do it without getting into trouble. I didn't think that would happen anyways, but today they are doing mud drags. They've got a little bit cooler and rainy conditions, but that's not an issue when it comes to the mud drag racing they do there. Next up for Drake will be an announcement on what's happening at the oval track, which he has hinted he will make on Monday. There could be two days of racing coming up, as we mentioned earlier in this article. The first target date will be June 17th, unless Nelson adjusts those plans. Yeah, that could happen.

California has racing tonight at five venues that I know of, plus there are other places practicing. This is the most active the tracks have been in California since this whole mess broke out. Antioch Speedway has been leading the charge of not just racing but getting as many drivers as they can in the pits. They're at it again tonight along with Dixon Speedway and what should be a solid Micro Sprint program. Ukiah Speedway happily jumps into the fray with their own show of the local racers, while Madera Speedway hosts a Club Race with Late Models and the Toyota divisions. Not a full slate, but Kenny is following stricter guidelines as outlined between he and the county officials. There's also an Outlaw Kart race happening at Cycleland. 

During this whole mess, the MVPs of this return to racing have to be Dennis Gage at Marysville Raceway and Jeremy Prince at Dixon Speedway. They opened first. Both went to their county officials and figured out a plan that would work. They've had no issues from the state. Dennis didn't have a race scheduled this weekend and is sticking to that plan. What will be interesting, if they can't have fans next week, is what he does for a live stream if he attempts to race. Placerville has SpeedshiftTV. Or, will SpeedshiftTV do two tracks? I'm not sure they could get a crew for the filming at Marysville since those guys will probably be in Placerville. We'll see.

Gage and Prince went about things just a little bit differently, but both were successful in their efforts. Quietly, Dixon Speedway has produced some big car counts with the Micro program. It's not always an easy thing to do when you go to the county officials to talk about something like this, so these two people were ahead of the curve and I salute them. Somebody has to lead the way. I should point out that Scott Russell at Placerville did try. He had a practice under these difficult circumstances, but he didn't open again until the race that will be coming up next week. I don't know exactly what the reasons were for that, and I won't speculate.

I will classify Kenny Shepherd as a leader because this guy didn't follow any blueprint laid out by the World of Outlaws. There wasn't anything in place, so he and his people had to figure out a way. There was quite a bit of negotiations going on, and he managed to make this Club Race happen. Nobody knew how long all of this was going to last. It may be that things are going to open up more and quicker in the next week or two, but Kenny found a way to get them going while it appeared as if everything was moving in slow motion for the sport.

The ballsiest leader in the movement could be Chad Chadwick. I will include Tony Noceti in this with what he did at Stockton 99 Speedway. They were having limited practices, but opening up the way they did is another matter. He made that race happen, regardless of the fact that they told him he couldn't run this week. You risk a lot when you defy the politicians at a time like this, so both do get credit in my book. What's interesting about Chadwick is he didn't just open a little bit. He filled those pits. I know enough to know the risk he took and what could have been at stake, so I can't help but give him that extra bit of credit for the way he opened things up. I'll also give some credit to the county officials Chad spoke with who we're on his side in all of this. Antioch Speedway has a promoter that wants to build this thing up bigger and better, and he's willing to think outside the box to do great things for that track.

The only person in Oregon who was trying was Drake Nelson. He was a leader in this movement. The bar and grill thing to me is pretty ballsy. So, I'll call him a ballsy leader at that. Even when they shut him down, he was still figuring out a way and had the drag strip open again last night. He had another plan on the board as well, but it looks like the state is going to be opening up more now. 

As I sit here on Saturday morning, I believe there will be multiple oval tracks in Oregon having full practices or no spectator races before the end of the month. Having fans in the grandstands doesn't seem as unlikely now. Perhaps something could happen in July? Yeah, I know about the 250 person restriction, but I also know that Drake is selling tickets for fans to come in and spectate this weekend's events. I can see it happening all over the state before too long.

Moving along to Saturday afternoon, did I mention that Jeremy Prince has been a leader in the movement to get things going again? Sure, we lost the Micro Sprint Speedweek Series due to the fact that some tracks haven't been able to get open yet, but it looks Dixon Speedway and Lemoore Raceway have found a solution. As a placeholder for the end of June, the two tracks will host a pair of races each, which they are calling the Covid Cup. This is definitely a good name given the circumstances, and this particular event should see a strong turnout across all of the divisions that will be there.

I'm sure the details will start coming out in the next few days or so, but Dixon Speedway will have races on June 24th and 25th. Lemoore Raceway will take over from there with races on June 26th and 27th. This is definitely encouraging news. As we mentioned, Lemoore Raceway will have a race on June 13th, their first of the season. It's interesting to note that Plaza Park Speedway has a practice booked for June 12th. Could that mean there's the possibility of Plaza Park getting involved in this particular deal? I don't know, but I do know that the Covid Cup has been announced for Dixon and Lemoore and that means we still get a big Micro Sprint series in June after all.

Saturday Racing Thoughts

As the races were getting underway at both Ukiah Speedway and Madera Speedway, Diamond Mountain Speedway in Susanville announced their purse for the June 13th event. The IMCA Modifieds will get $1,000 to win. Both the IMCA Sport Modifieds and Hobby Stocks will run for $400 to win. The Mini Stocks get $150 to win. From the looks of things, Promoter Jeff Olschowka is paying the full purse for all four divisions and maybe even a little bit more for the IMCA Modifieds. 

Jeff was asked if it looked like there would be grandstands for this race, but he said he hadn't heard back from the county on that yet. As we expected, they are trying for fan admittance of some kind for this race, even if they have to limit the crowd and engage in social distancing. Hence, they were marking off the grandstand seats as we had heard a couple days ago.

It's rather interesting to see that both Ukiah Speedway and Madera Speedway gave away their entire show for free to anybody who tuned in on Facebook. In fact, Madera was hoping to have multiple camera angles with a pro shot feel to this one, but they were having trouble getting the equipment in synch with their internet. Still, even a single camera angle with an announcer piped-in was nice. Both tracks had slightly under 30 entries across all of their divisions as they weren't trying to pack the pits. They were working within the guidelines they were given by their respective counties. 

I find this to be a very nice gesture on behalf of respective promoters, Kenny Shepherd and David Furia. It's challenging to even book a race at your track if you can't have fan attendance. Most of the tracks that have opened so far have had a streaming pay service. This way they can make up for some of the loss if not all of the loss incurred by having no fans in the stands. These two tracks could have left it blank if they wanted to. However, they wanted to share the good news of racing happening with the fans at home who wanted to tune in. Though they didn't gain anything in the short-term, they gained good faith from the fans by giving them the show for free. What can I say? Furia and Shepherd are pretty darn cool to do this.

Sunday Morning Thoughts

I managed to keep pretty busy at the desk on Saturday night. It would have been more fun to be at the race track, which seems to be becoming more possible by the day. I'm not sure what Mike has in mind for the Medford track, but weekends are usually his time to decompress. Unless something absolutely urgent comes up, he's usually not going to be on the clock, but he is thinking. I just don't know what he's thinking. The only comment I have to go on was him saying that it looked like we would probably be doing a practice soon. When that would happen, I don't know. It could be a rush job to make it happen this weekend, or more likely a little bit more planning for the next week or two. But again, I'm speculating. Nothing has been announced.

I enjoyed being able to keep track of Ukiah and Madera via their streams on Facebook and the Race Monitor app. That kept me busy, although it lined up perfectly with Madera Main Events happening before the Ukiah Main Events. I doubt that was planned, but it was still nice. I feel bad for the fans who want to be at the track and they can't. Obviously the tracks want you to buy a pay service, if they get one, and I reiterate my statement that it was very cool of these two tracks to give something away like that. 

I've noticed that Madera Speedway is very good on social media with video updates. Kenny likes to keep his fans informed and puts on a very good presentation. At Ukiah, you had a guy sitting in the grandstands announcing. Probably their regular person, but forgive me for not remembering his name. He was happy to be there, and he did a respectable job of presenting the show.

Because we have absolutely no budget right now, no money coming in or any of that, I was unable to watch the Antioch Speedway live stream again. There were people running live streams all night. I know that tracks don't like to see that happen when they are offering a pay service, but I can guarantee you there were people that appreciated it very much. I'm not going to lie. I was watching them myself. With somewhere around 75 total cars competing, people wanted to see. Roy Bain likes to present the Tri State Pro Stock Series when they have a race, so he'll be running a camera and giving updates if he's not behind the wheel. What a show it was for the Pro Stocks.

They had 24 cars, or so I'm told. I would have to look back in my records around 2002 through 2004 to see if Antioch even hit 20 cars in the Super Stock class. If it happened, it was a very rare occasion indeed, but I believe they just set another car count record with this one. The Tri State Pro Stock Series is on a roll, and they are getting the attention of people from the Late Model division. This could certainly be a blessing, but I think they've got a good set of rules. They have to be on guard for people who might want to push things just a little bit further. That's not what this division needs to be. 

Late Model racing has been an important part of the scene on the West Coast for many years, but we've watched it fade away. As the Modified presence has gotten stronger and the Sprint Cars keep moving along with big numbers, we haven't seen too many real efforts to preserve this style of racing. I've seen Late Model tours come along, but other than the one that Sandy Bainton put together in the late 1990s and early 2000s, nothing has stuck in California. Oregon still has several tracks with a Late Model class, but California is just about done.

There are fans who like this style of racing, and there are racers who enjoy it as well. There were several drivers in that field at Antioch with Late Model backgrounds. Like I said, there are others looking. If you can deliver 20 or more cars for a race in this class wherever you go, you will be welcomed with open arms. I'm told that this division has been invited back. I also believe that the Super Stock division that they ran with at Antioch will grow a little bit. It can't help but go up from the car count it's had in recent years. Their Main Event was certainly quite eventful, but it was interesting to watch how the battle for the lead changed so much in the second half of that race. 

If I'm going to talk about leaders who have stepped up during this difficult time, I need to mention Roy Bain here. He put together such a good schedule this year, only to watch the covid-19 mess start eliminating those races. When tracks started opening, he started getting on the phone and was able to put together this race and the race on June 27th at Susanville. There are so many enthusiastic drivers behind him that the shows are going to be good. Roy has also sort of helped facilitate Late Models getting a visit at Susanville on the 27th and has put out a word to the Oregon racers in the Modified classes about Susanville. I know that he's already forging good relationships with promoters like Chad Chadwick, Jeff Olschowka and Tony Noceti. This is the trademark of a good leader.

One of the things I like about Roy is I don't see a hint of ego coming from the man, and I've seen that with some leaders of other groups. He should be proud of what he's accomplished in such a short time, but it's also nice to see that he's more in awe of what's going on. He's happy to see that things are happening, but not braggadocious about it in the least. If this thing is guided the right way, it's going to get bigger, in my opinion. But, the main goal right now is to maintain the momentum and keep each race going well. I know Susanville is in for one heck of a show. 

Antioch Speedway has been having one hell of a run for a track that can't open with grandstands. Somehow, Chad Chadwick has managed do this whole thing up in a way that everybody is watching. It's like everybody wants to be there if they can. I understand the whole idea of a captive audience. This was the only place in town, so you did have drivers coming here only because there were no other options. Still, it's an opportunity for the track to put themselves in people's consciousness as a place you want to be, and I think this mission is being accomplished quite well. When everybody's tracks are opened and we get back to some sort of normalcy, I think Antioch will still be doing strong numbers in many of their classes.

I know I kind of have to put the asterisk next to the division records that have been hit by the Super Stocks, IMCA Sport Modifieds and Hobby Stocks because of the situation we're in, but those are still record turnouts that we've seen in the last few weeks. Also, I believe the Winged 360 Sprint Car show the track had recently was the biggest supported track promoted Sprint Car race in its history with 25 cars. Yeah, they've had more with touring Winged 360 Sprint shows, but this was a track promoted deal. Anyway you slice it, I think Chadwick has to be very happy with the numbers and the way his team has gelled in keeping this show moving.

I'm not sure how I feel about the racing surface itself after watching these past few weeks. It's different. They were going for different. They've got a very good low groove, probably better than it's been in a long time. When guys have that low groove, they like to go lower. Those tires in the infield still get knocked onto the track. It's kind of funny how this place has been widened out, and yet people still want to go lower and lower. What I'm missing is that beautiful outside groove that John Soares cultivated through the years. 

I'm still wrapping my mind around this and observing and thinking about it. People do pass on the outside, but it almost feels like the middle groove, not the outside grove. This is because the track has been reshaped to produce different results. I don't necessarily think that it's bad, it's just different. There's something to be said about watching those cars go way outside the way they used to on the hooked up track and gathering the momentum. To me, that was a highlight of watching a race at Antioch Speedway. However, you've still got multiple grooves of good racing.

The other concern I have is the way the place is being prepped, the weather in the area and how that will probably make this place go dry slick more often. My thinking is you don't want to turn the place into a dry and dusty track. I understand a lot of racers don't necessarily care and like it dry, but unless you're not worried about fans, you need to keep an eye on that. Nights will get away from you and go dry, and that's just going to happen. It's a concern that I have. The track seemed like it held up decently for this show, so that's good. I have been saying that they've got a plan in mind for that track and are still working the soil, so to speak. As they learn more about it, they'll get the right combination. I hope it's one that doesn't lead to too much dust in the air.

I will say that the IMCA Modifieds in particular made the most of that track. Though the outside groove isn't as outside as it used to be, they're still getting good bite out there and gathering momentum. That was very evident on Saturday night. Then again, I rarely hear anybody in the IMCA Modified class say they don't like dry tracks. This is exactly the kind of track guys in this division want. It's not one of those one-groove tracks either, and I see the new technique at play. After the heat races are done, the track crew goes to work getting the outside groove ready for Main Events, and that has proven to be a difference-maker so far. 

People are using new ways to prepare tracks, and I kind of still go back to the older way of doing things. However, they do things differently back east, and that way of doing things with the sheeps foot and different techniques is just the wave of the future out here I guess. It's different, but it's still producing some pretty good racing out there. The Modifieds put on the show of the night without a doubt. Dust was evident once again, though not as bad as I recall from Memorial Day Weekend. 

Hardcore fans will bring goggles. They don't care. Casual fans may not adapt to the conditions. Therefore, that's something to be kept in mind when it comes to this idea of making Antioch Speedway great again. Part of the vision is getting more fans in the stands like we had back in the day. We can't keep the grandstands closed forever, so we went them back in bigger numbers when they finally return.

Like I said, the crew is gelling nicely. Once they got started, they kept things moving along. The intermission break was probably 10 or 15 minutes long, and then it was back to racing. It was around 10 when they got this show done, which I think is the ideal time. While I think a Fairgrounds track should continue to have the right to go up until 11 curfew if it's needed, the goal should be to get things done by 10 whenever possible. That's just my opinion on things. It's kind of about being a good neighbor and also sending people home happy, entertained and looking forward to more next time.

Overall, you can't look at what's going on at Antioch Speedway under the circumstances and not call it a resounding success. Nobody wants to open a track with no fans in the stands. You need fans in the stands to generate revenue. They've managed to get something with this live streaming thing at least. However, what they've done with car count and quality of show is remarkable. Since making the purchase of this race track, Chadwick has been on a roll. He's had the momentum. Even when covid-19 shut these tracks down, he quickly worked to form a plan and recaptured that momentum. We're only in June, and I have a feeling we haven't seen anything yet at this track.

Meanwhile, Dixon Speedway has also pretty much had the only game in town for a while. They've had four of their Micro Sprint programs while no other track in California has been able to get their Micro shows going. Of course, this Saturday night will see that change with Lemoore Raceway jumping into the fray. There were again about 100 competitors in the pits. Unfortunately, there was no streaming service for people to watch, and this might have been one of those shows fans would have enjoyed, especially if they don't mind being up at all hours of the night.

I will say I like what they do at Dixon Speedway. They've got a good program, even on a regular night when we don't have these circumstances. What they've done through the years to build the infrastructure around the oval track that was sitting there is respectable in my view. I just wish they had more of a sense of urgency with time. I don't know if they are hit with an 11 pm curfew or not. They are kind of out in the middle of nowhere, which is an advantage if you need to go late. However, you shouldn't aspire to go late. When they were putting cars on the track to qualify at 8, I knew this was going to be a long night. It was midnight, and they were still just getting started with the Wingless Micro finale. Then again, they didn't have fans. I'm sure the competitors didn't mind racing late. They probably feel fortunate to be racing at all.

The Micro program itself is so important to the racing scene in general. It's kind of a step up from the Outlaw Kart shows, which appear to be fading in California somewhat. The Micros are a good training ground to teach the next generation of Sprint Car competitors, and the fact that they do it with wings and without wings is a plus. Dixon Speedway has graduated some good racers through the years, and that also makes this an important venue. I am thinking that even though they can't have fans in June according to the last report, that could change in July. As always, you need to check the track's Facebook page.

From the chatter I'm seeing on social media today, Petaluma Speedway is hoping to have the show they had scheduled for this weekend. The local Redwood Dwarf Car Association is hosting the two-day Western States Dwarf Car Nationals event, and this is a gathering of drivers from not just California, but Oregon, Nevada, Arizona and other states. It's a big deal. With covid-19 guidelines being pushed and the track putting out forms that people must fill out, this might affect some of the party atmosphere that you usually get with one of these events. They set up their own banquet area for award ceremonies and good food and conversation at the end of the night.

What's going to make this show even bigger for the Dwarf Cars is the fact that we haven't had much racing for the class anywhere in California since the whole virus mess broke out. To my knowledge, there has been Antioch Speedway and Marysville Raceway each with a race. This means you've got drivers very anxious to go racing. The Nationals events are big as they are, but this could inflate the numbers a little bit more. I think they were in the 70s last year, so being in the 80s or more is certainly a possibility. 

I admit to being nervous about this being the race they open with, and I say nervous when it comes to the county health officials giving approval. The reason being is if they take a hard line like the Madera County officials did in regards to people coming from out of town. There will be lots of those. On the other hand, you've got to open the gate sometime, right? It'll be interesting to see what announcements are made in the next few days, but it looks like they are moving ahead with this. I'm also curious in regards to the PitStopUSA.com Wingless Spec Sprint race that was supposed to happen on Saturday given the fact that Antioch Speedway is expected to announce that June 13th will see the track feature the Hunt Wingless Spec Sprint Series, among other classes.

I noticed IMCA Sport Modified competitor Joby Shields was just putting his car on the race track at Siskiyou Golden Speedway a moment ago. This means that despite the weather forecast, they managed to have all three of their scheduled practices this weekend. It's about time that Kevin had a little bit of good luck on his side when rolling the dice and gambling on the weather. It hasn't been too kind to him in his short tenure, but it worked out fine this time. The Yreka track is building up a little bit of momentum, and there were quite a few cars out there practicing on Friday and Saturday. I'm hoping to get some more information on that a little bit later today.

One of the things that Barba works with when he goes back to the county health officials each week to see what he can do is the data on how things worked the previous weekend. Health officials are certainly interested in knowing if you pulled everything off okay or not. They want to be satisfied that you are doing what you say you're going to do. He wants to keep the gates open for something this weekend, but racing is high on the list of priorities. This is a conversation that will come up tomorrow, and who knows which way it will go.

We know that Diamond Mountain Speedway in Susanville got the go-ahead for the show they will be running this Saturday night. We also know that the Yreka Outlaws will be competing on the little track at the fairgrounds on June 12th. Could the 13th be the night that some sort of racing happens for the first time this year on the big track? I couldn't tell you. 

The other question would be what divisions get to compete, but we already know the IMCA Sport Modifieds and Mini Stocks would be part of that. IMCA Modifieds should be included, and I suspect the Jefferson State Jalopies as well. There could be other divisions thrown in, but I'm speculating here on Sunday. I'm sure there will be an announcement on Siskiyou Golden Speedway's Facebook page regarding what they get to do, and it could be up on Monday.

I'm in a weird position here as I add a little bit more on a Sunday night. Basically, I have what I add here to go over, and then there's five articles ready to go. It's just before 8 pm. There's going to probably be some big news breaking tomorrow on a couple of fronts, so do I wait to post this or do I go ahead and put things out now? This colum is already taking on the form of a novel as it is, and that's because of how crazy it's been since I started writing this on Thursday night. And still, there is more breaking news that I've just seen. 

I've watched whoever is handling the NARC/King of the West Fujitsu Winged 410 Sprint Car Series Twitter page lament their struggles to get the season going. They recently posted that they figured the Howard Kaeding Classic at Watsonville on July 18th would be their first race of the year. There were other dates between now and then, but the group seemed skeptical. This weekend was to be the Pombo/Sargent Classic at Ocean Speedway, which is another important event for the group. Unfortunately, the track just announced that the race had been canceled. Does that mean anything this Friday night is canceled or just the 410 Sprint Car show?

Remember, we're playing mother may I right now with the county health officials, and I'm sure John Prentice is still doing the dance, so to speak. They'd like to open those gates to something on Friday, but I'm getting a negative vibe once again. You can sense the dam is about to break on all of this virus stuff keeping the tracks closed. You can sense that tracks are all getting ready to open, and their grandstands won't be far behind. Yet, I haven't heard a hint of who will get to open their grandstands first. Somebody gets the honors, so who is it going to be?

If Watsonville is going to have anything happening on the track this Friday night, it won't involve the NARC/King of the West Sprint Cars. Otherwise, you just have to keep an eye on the Ocean Speedway Facebook page to know. However, new Promoter Peter Murphy at Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford did make an announcement this evening. They have some strict covid-19 guidelines to follow. Okay, when it comes to opening these tracks, who doesn't have those guidelines to follow? They are trying to have a practice this Saturday. That's the okay news. 

The good news is it appears as if they've got clearance to have a race on June 20th. Peter isn't just throwing an ordinary division out on the track that night, and this is what surprises me given the fact that he can't have fans in the grandstands just yet. It was just announced that the NARC/King of the West Sprint Cars will open their season on June 20th at Keller Auto Speedway. SpeedshiftTV will be broadcasting the event. Peter will probably be booking a support division, and obviously everybody down in the area is lobbying for it to be their class.

The real problem with NARC is that they command a high purse to maintain these race cars, and I've heard nothing about a pay cut. Therefore, there's a temptation to go ahead and book something that doesn't require a big purse. Unless, that is, you want to make a grand statement. If that's the case, then by all means throw in the King of Thunder Winged 360 Sprint Cars or RaceSaver 305 Sprints. Why not throw in the IMCA Modifieds for that matter. That would certainly sell more pay-per-view purchases.

If you're playing it close to the vest and being conservative, the obvious choices would either be the IMCA Stock Cars, Central Valley Mini Stocks or both. Dan Myrick had already booked a race at Bakersfield Speedway on June 13th, so he will be checking to see if anything is happening there that week. He's let it be known that the group is willing to give their show away for free at this time while grandstands are not open. When Hanford has this group, they generally get two dozen cars or more. If you're talking no purse, this is exactly the kind of thing that Peter could use. So, what's he going to book? 

To me, it's risky to open your track without grandstands as it is. I get doing it if you're going to pay half the purse or whatever, and yet we've seen Antioch Speedway open with full purses. Susanville will be doing the same this weekend, and it looks like Hanford is upping the ante. The purse doesn't get any more expensive for any of these non special shows than a NARC/King of the West Series event. As this is an evolving situation, I would recommend people go to the Keller Auto Speedway Facebook page for current updates on the matter.

This is either the last addition to this column for Sunday or the column is done and I'm posting it tonight. In either case, we've seen the protesting going on across the country. It seems like it's okay to not engage in social distancing if you want to take part in the civil unrest going on. However, if you're operating a business, you have to abide by certain rules. There's probably a few spots in this country that are unable to open as they haven't been given permission yet by their local governments. Go figure. Yes, I think it's incredibly lame, but such is the time we're living in.

Ace Speedway in North Carolina decided they would try another approach to opening their track. They were being hit with severe limitations that would make it impossible to open those gates this past weekend. Track management decided to declare this past weekend's racing event a peaceful protest. People were exercising their constitutional rights to assemble in the spirit of free speech, or so the saying goes. You figure it out. They reportedly had over 2,000 fans in the stands to witness this race. I can't help but smile at this promoter's creative way to open the gates. Good for them.

Covering the effort to open these tracks while dealing with this whole virus mess over the last few weeks has been interesting. You hear one good thing and then you hear a bad thing. I've tried to be nice in my opinions on some of the stuff that I regard as BS. I also realize that this column has gotten longer and longer because of my style of covering things. I'm considering relaxing that just a little bit as it seems like things are going to be opening up a little bit more. Do I need to keep hitting this as hard as I am right now unless it's something earth-shattering? I don't know. 

I feel pretty good about the effort we have made on this. This wraps up another weekend of writing and watching racing. I'm going conclude this week's effort. There's no definite plan for when the next post will go up. We shall see. On that note, I'll end this column. Until next time...