Antioch Speedway, Merced Speedway and Tri State Series Pro Stock Season Recaps, Marysville Raceway, More

 

First of all...

The DCRR Racing Media Books

Just A Kid From The Grandstands:  My Time In Auto Racing

Stories of my time in auto racing from the beginning to 2003 Available on Lulu in Paperback And Hard Cover

And

Don's California Racing Recollections:  Best Of The Blog And Beyond

Racing History, Stories, Statistics And Pictures
Available via print on demand at Lulu in Hard Cover or Paperback

Disclaimer 

For years we've made a commitment to cover motorsports on the West Coast, and we're very proud of our record. We always endeavor to give you the most accurate information possible, but sometimes some details aren't available to us when we go to press. Therefore, we want to remind you that any finishes listed in the articles and stats posted on this page are unofficial. As always, we refer you to each race track's webpage for official results and point standings. Our goal is to cover racing to the best of our ability, but we are an unofficial news source for the tracks covered in each post. Thank you for reading and thank you for your support.

If You Like Reading Our Articles

Support Us Via  The Tip Jar 

 You can support us at Antspeed1@aol.com via PayPal

Also...

DCRR Racing Media And PR Consulting  HERE

From the Grandstands By Ron Rodda HERE 

Blakesley Sports Media HERE

Short Track Live HERE

DRC (Daren Ricks Campbell) Motorsports Media HERE

Antioch Speedway Racing Discussion

HERE

 

DeCarlo, Welborn, Ryland Kick Off New Season 

With Antioch's Speedway Wins

Antioch, CA...March 12...Nick DeCarlo scored the 25 lap IMCA Modified Main Event win Saturday night at Antioch Speedway. This was the 62nd season opener at the track, and DeCarlo won an intense mid-race duel with Bobby Hogge IV to get the victory. DeCarlo hadn't won at Antioch in 2 years, but he bears the distinction of being the only driver in IMCA Modifieds to win track championships at Antioch, Petaluma and Watsonville.

Past champion Kellen Chadwick bolted into the lead at the start with DeCarlo not too far behind him in second. Nick's father Terry DeCarlo Sr was an early third before reigning champion Jim Pettit II got by on Lap 2. Five-time champion Troy Foulger moved in to duel Pettit for the third position, and three-time Antioch champion Bobby Hogge IV quickly closed in on them. An outside pass on the backstretch on the 7th lap put Hogge into third. Hogge tracked down the lead duo as Nick DeCarlo began challenging Chadwick for the lead. An inside pass on the backstretch on Lap 16 put DeCarlo into the lead. The next lap found Hogge making a high pass in Turn 2 to take over. DeCarlo came back strong, however, making a high pass in Turn 4 to regain first. DeCarlo would lead the rest of the way with Hogge a close second. Foulger got around Chadwick for third on Lap 17 and would finish there. Chadwick settled for fourth, followed by Pettit, Trevor Clymens, Chris Lewis, Kenneth Robles, Terry DeCarlo Jr and Terry DeCarlo Sr. Hogge and Nick DeCarlo won the eight lap heat races.

Fred Ryland got the victory in the time-limit shortened 21 lap IMCA Sport Modified Main Event. The two-time reigning champion got his weekend started right by holding off fellow Antioch regular Jacob Mallet Jr to win the race at Watsonville a night earlier.

Kelly Campanile took the early lead ahead of Marysville point runner-up Jimmy Ford and Chester Kniss. 2019 champion Tommy Fraser slipped past Kniss for third on Lap 2, and he took second from Ford a lap later. A low pass in Turn 3 of the fourth lap gained past champion KC Keller third, and Ryland found his way into fourth a lap later. As Campanile led the way, Fraser and Keller were dueling fiercely for the second position. The yellow flag waved on Lap 7 for Mike Pitts on the back straightaway. Campanile led Fraser and Keller on the restart, but Pitts and Nick Zapatero tangled for a yellow flag a lap later. Campanile led Fraser and Keller on the first restart attempt, but contact between Keller and Fraser saw both drivers spin. The next restart attempt saw a bit of contact between Jacob Mallet Jr and Campanile on the backstretch, resulting in a crash. When the wreckage was cleared, Ryland lead Andrew Pearce and Dylan Connelly on the restart. Tyler Browne moved up to battle Connelly for the third position. Ryland and Pearce had pulled away from the pack a little bit and caught slower traffic by Lap 16. However, a yellow flag waved for a spin in Turn 2. Ryland led Pearce and Tommy Clymens Jr on the restart. As Ryland and Pearce battled for the lead, Kniss started challenging Clymens for third. A high pass in Turn 4 of the 20th lap put Kniss into the third position. When Connelly spun in Turn 2, that brought out a yellow flag after 21 laps. Connelly spun again on the first restart attempt. At that point, the track officials called time, lined the drivers up properly and they took the checkered flag with Ryland winning ahead of Pearce, Knss, Clymens, Tyler Browne, Mark Garner, Mallet, Shayna Nieman, Ford and Jake Bentancourt. Eight lap heat race wins went to Keller, Ryland and Pearce.

Fred Ryland won the 20 lap IMCA Stock Car Main Event, which brought the evening to a conclusion. The win also puts him in a special category of racers who have won two Main Events on the same night, which includes Bobby Hogge IV, Troy Foulger, Keith Brown Sr, Danny Wagner and others. While Ryland stopped short of saying he was going for the championship in this class, he is hoping to be at every race.

Ryland started up front and bolted into the lead ahead of past Four Banger champion Jason Jennings and Anthony Giuliani. Driving for Rich Quadrelli, Kellen Chadwick slipped into third on Lap 2. Foulger moved up to battle Giuliani for the fourth position. By Lap 5, Ryland held a straightaway advantage as Jennings and Chadwick had a side-by-side battle for second. Just a few laps later, Ryland was a half-lap ahead of Jennings and Chadwick. Foulger had moved into the fourth position by then. Foulger got past Chadwick for third on Lap 14, but Chadwick made a high pass in Turn 4 a lap later to regain the spot. The contest got a bit too close with Foulger and Chadwick both getting around Jennings on Lap 15. A yellow flag waved on Lap 19 for debris on the track, erasing the commanding lead of Ryland. Undaunted, Ryland remained in command for the final lap and brought it home to victory ahead of Foulger, Chadwick, Giuliani, reigning champion Travis Dutra, Jennings, Rob Gallaher, Andrew Pearce, Joe Gallaher and Scott Foster. Jason Robles and Ryland won eight lap heat races.

Misty Welborn won the 25 lap Pacific Coast General Engineering Hobby Stock Main Event. Welborn was a Top 5 point competitor last season, but this was her very first win in the class. To get the win, she had to hold off the advances of seasoned veteran Les Friend, who settled for second. 

Chris Long took the early lead ahead of Aiden Ponciano and Friend. A low pass in Turn 2 put Friend into second on the second lap. Welborn was up to fourth, with reigning champion Larry McKinzie Jr, Anthony Vigna and Ponciano all battling fiercely. Long saw his race come to an abrupt end when he slowed for a yellow flag on Lap 8. A yellow flag waved on the first restart attempt for a bumper in Turn 2. On the next attempt, Friend led McKinzie and Welborn. A yellow flag waved when McKinzie spun going for the lead in Turn 2 on Lap 10. On the restart, Friend continued to Welborn, and Jewell Crandall spun from a Top 5 position. A high pass in Turn 2 of the 13th lap gained Welborn the lead from Friend. Poinciano was back in third, but Jared Baugh was giving him pressure. A yellow flag waved for Shelby Asher in Turn 1 on Lap 19. Welborn led Friend and Crandall on the restart with Baugh also getting around Ponciano over fourth. Ponciano fell out to end what had been a good run on Lap 22, and a yellow flag waved. Welborn led Friend and Crandall on the next restart. As Frend gave Welborn all kinds of pressure, Crandall had her hands full trying to hold off Baugh and Bobby Gallaher. Baugh got around on lap 24 with Gallaher following into fourth. As Welborn scored a crowd-pleasing win ahead of Friend, Gallaher made a high pass in the final turn to take third from Baugh, who settled for fourth. Crandall ended up fifth, followed by Angela Brown, Jess Paladino, McKinzie, James Graessle and Colton Haney. Danny Aves, Friend, McKinzie and Welborn picked up the eight lap heat race wins.

Racing resumes this Saturday night with the IMCA Modifieds back in action along with the IMCA Stock Cars, IMCA Sport Modifieds and Delta Dwarf Cars. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.

The Show Goes On At Merced Speedway 

Despite Challenging Circumstances

Merced, CA...There's no getting around the fact that we've gone through challenging circumstances over the past two years. With the pandemic and the government's reaction to it, several tracks struggled in 2020 to promote any races at all. Merced Speedway had carried a tradition of having a championship season every year since 1950, but no champions were crowned in 2020. The track did open and had a few good moments that year.

Restrictions were loosened up a little bit, and the schedule that had been booked for 2021 was able to proceed. However, some people were tightening their belts and not going to the races as often as they might have in the past. Also, the heat in The Valley makes it challenging to get people to come watch sometimes during the summer months. The World of Outlaws Sprint Car race was booked to get things started, but the restrictions were enough to keep the tour from coming to California in March. However, Promoter Doug Lockwood booked an appealing schedule with several highlights throughout the year.

While some tracks are booking every week, Lockwood has figured out that it's good to have weeks off. This helps with the car count and makes it easier for the fan base to support more races. The track continued to feature IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Sport Modifieds, along with Mini Stocks, California Sharp Mini Late Models and the Valley Sportsman class. The IMCA Stock Cars had their first championship season. The track also featured several open wheel nights, including visits from the Sprint Car Challenge Tour, the Hunt Wingless Spec Sprint Series and the monumentally successful USAC Nationals Midgets visit in November.

The track celebrated the accomplishments of the season with a banquet. The Top 5 drivers in the core six divisions were honored with the exception of the Sportsman division, which did the Top 3. Stepping up to the podium this year to collect the championship hardware were Jim Pettit II in IMCA Modifieds, Tyler Bannister in IMCA Sport Modifieds, Renn Bane in IMCA Stock Cars, Rick Elliott in the Sportsman division, Tyler Post in Mini Stocks and Carson Guthrie in Mini Late Models. Pettit and Bane also won their respective State championships.

Before diving into the particular championship battles, it's important to note the big shows that took place. On the Stock Car side of things, the track mourned the loss of Jerry Shannon, the father of Late Model/Modified racer Chris Shannon and grandfather of Modified star DJ Shannon, with a special season-opening race. This extra money race featured the IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Sport Modifieds. Not long after that, the Al Miller Memorial race was moved to Merced Speedway with $5,000 on the line for the Sport Modified winner and $2,000 to the Modified winner. The race was held in memory of San Jose Speedway car owner/racer Al Miller, whose sons Robert Miller and Randy Miller continue to race.

Heat forced the postponement of the annual Ed Parker Memorial race, but the extra money affair was moved back a month and produced another strong turnout. The track also ran the John Fore Jr/Bob Smith Memorial race and the season ending George Steitz Memorial, both paying bigger money for the featured classes. These races helped to serve notice to the racers and fans that though the track intends to offer big open wheel shows, the Stock Car racing that the fans have enjoyed for years isn't going anywhere.

The Sprint Car Challenge Tour didn't get a race in last year, but they were a welcomed return this year at Merced. The Hunt Series continues to be the premier effort for Wingless Spec Sprint racing in California, and they didn't disappoint the Merced crowd when they came to town. USAC Midgets and Sprint Cars along with the BCRA/CLS Lightning Sprints also came to Merced. The whole idea was that you were sure to find something on the schedule to get excited about, regardless of your tastes. Throw in the Malicious Monster Trucks and Destruction Derby visits, and the quarter-mile clay oval delivered the excitement.

When it came to big money races for the IMCA classes, Merced did better than most of the tracks in California. It started back in March with the Jerry Shannon Memorial. There were 38 IMCA Modifieds, and Cody Laney outran Ethan Dotson for the $2,500 winner's prize. The 32 IMCA Sport Modifieds had a $1,000 prize at the end of the evening, and it was Tyler Bannister holding off Fred Ryland for the win.

It was not quite a month later when nearly 120 total cars came to compete in the Al Miller Memorial event. The $5,000 winner's prize was given to the IMCA Sport Modifieds, and the podium finishers all made out very well. The 52 IMCA Sport Modifieds on hand was the biggest gathering for the class for a single event anywhere on the West Coast for the year. Just earning one of those features starts was a challenge in itself, and Jason Bannister bagged the big bucks ahead of Ryland and Tommy Fraser. The 32 IMCA Modifieds battled for a $2,000 first prize, and Kellen Chadwick got his biggest win of the year on this occasion ahead of Laney and Dotson. The IMCA Stock Cars received a $1,200 winner's prize, and Dotson bested a 10-car field to win that ahead of Jeff Streeter. 21 Hobby Stocks competed for $750 to win with Domossie Scoggins outrunning Bakersfield star Johnny Wood for that win.

The Ed Parker Memorial race was postponed from it's June date due to excessive heat and moved to late August. The IMCA Modifieds saw the $1,028 prize go to Jerry Flippo ahead of Robby Sawyer, while Ryland grabbed the $1,028 win in the IMCA Sport Modifieds ahead of Tyler Bannister. The Sport Modifieds had the biggest turnout of 24 cars for the occasion. $528 went to Dylan Wilson for his win over Scoggins in the Hobby Stocks, while Nick Johnson outran Stephen Johnson to win the $528 prize in the IMCA Stock Car race. A season-high 16 competitors competed in that class.

The John Fore Jr/Bob Smith Memorial race offers bigger prizes on both nights, and the October event is not for points. Roughly 100 competitors competed across four divisions with the bigger money on the final night. It was Bobby Hogge IV capturing the $2,500 IMCA Modified prize by outrunning Dotson. Meanwhile, Dotson got the win in the IMCA Sport Modified race ahead of Tyler Bannister, netting him a $1,500 payday. Wilson got the $1,000 prize by outrunning Bakersfield champion Ricky Childress Jr in the Hobby Stock race, while Stephen Johnson won the $1,000 prize in the IMCA Stock Car race ahead of Ryland.

The curtain came down on the season at the end of November with the George Steitz Memorial, and again a field of roughly 100 competitors came to honor a legend and compete for bigger prize money. Dotson outran Hogge to win $2,000 for his IMCA Modified victory. Jason Nation scored the $1,200 win in the IMCA Sport Modified race, followed by Andrew Peckham. Syd Finn outran Scoggins for the $750 payday in the Hobby Stock race, while the $750 win in the IMCA Stock Car feature went to Dotson ahead of Hogge.

For the second time, Lockwood also promoted the IMCA California Speedweek Tour. It became an eight-race series this time. Dotson turned in such a dominant performance for the week that he wrapped up the championship before the final race. When it came to Merced, he picked up the $1,000 win ahead of Oregon's Collen Winebarger. It was Jason Bannister getting a $700 win in the IMCA Sport Modifieds ahead of Speedweek champion Jason Nation. The IMCA Stock Cars got to compete during the first half of the series. Their final race was at Merced and won by Dotson, who collected all four wins. This event was not counted towards the track championship.

Fans got to enjoy various open wheel classes throughout the season. This included two double-header shows for the USAC Western States Midgets and USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Cars. The conditions were a little bit dusty the first time around, but the racing itself was top notch. Chase Johnson won the Midget portion ahead of USAC title contender Brody Fuson, while Ryan Bernal outran Kalib Henry in the 17-car Sprint Car race. A few weeks later, they returned with BCRA champion Colby Johnson winning ahead of Fuson. Chase Johnson won the USAC Sprint race ahead of series champion DJ Johnson. The BCRA Lightning Sprints were there that night with CLS regulars David Gasper, Dominic Del Monte and Eric Greco grabbing the podium in their shootout with the BCRA group.

BCRA got a couple of solo sanctioned Midget races, but USAC star Fuson won the first one ahead of early season title contender David Prickett. The BCRA/CLS Lightning Sprint race went to James Turnbull ahead of Bobby Michnowicz, and the IMCA Western RaceSaver 305 Sprint Car win was recorded by Ryan DeLisle in front of Michael Pombo. A month later, Prickett won the BCRA Midget race ahead of Colton Raudman. The BCRA Lightning Sprint victory went to Scott Kinney ahead of Steve Roza, while IMCA RaceSaver State champion Kyle Rasmussen won their event in front of Connor Danell.

The Midgets saved the best for last in November as the Nos Energy Drink USAC National Midgets delivered a field of over 40 cars for two nights of exciting racing. The first night didn't even have a yellow flag in the Main Event as Justin Grant got the impressive win ahead of Tanner Thorson and Series champion Michael "Buddy" Kofoid. Kofoid bested the field a night later ahead of championship rival Chris Windom and Grant. The Winged 360 Sprint Cars supported both nights, and Kyle Larson was unstoppable. Larson got the first win ahead of Colby Copeland and Chance Russell, and he won the second occasion ahead of Tanner Carrick and DJ Netto.

Fans were disappointed in the World of Outlaw cancellation at the start of the year, but the Sprint Car Challenge Tour ended July with a visit won by Copeland ahead of series champion Ryan Robinson and NARC/GSC title winner Dominic Scelzi. The Hunt Wingless Sprint Car Tour also made a visit in July, won by Series champion Shawn Jones ahead of Bradley Terrell and Daniel Whitley.

Not every event on the calendar was a special big show, but regular fans would know that it's always special when you can enjoy a night of good racing at Merced Speedway. The IMCA Modified championship saw Cody Laney take the lead early on. Laney had a win out of five Top 5 efforts, but he was never intent on running for this championship. Laney's departure left Ventura champion Trevor Fitzgibbon to battle Pettit. 

It went down until late in the season, but Pettit held on to win by 44 points. Pettit had two wins out of seven Top 5 finishes and 11 Top 10s, while Fitzgibbon got one win out of three Top 5s and nine Top 10s. Two-time IMCA Sport Modified champion Rick Diaz ended his rookie season in third, eight points ahead of Bakersfield stand out Robby Sawyer. Diaz had four Top 5 finishes and six Top 10s, while Sawyer had a win, six Top 5s and seven Top 10s. Bakersfield title winner Jerry Flippo completed the Top 5 with a win out of three Top 5s and four Top 10s. 

Making up the balance of the Top 10 in the standings where Mike Shepherd, Bobby Hogge IV, Darrell Hughes II, Watsonville title winner Cody Burke and Matthew Hagio.There were 10 total winners with both Ethan Dotson and Hogge winning on two occasions. Also visiting the winner's circle were Kellen Chadwick, Troy Morris III and Paul Stone.

Scheduling made it possible for drivers competing for other track championships to battle for the honors at Merced, and Antioch champion Fred Ryland battled Bakersfield title winner Tyler Bannister for the Sport Modified honors. This race came down to the wire with little margin of error, but Bannister prevailed by 11 markers in front of Ryland. The young charger matched Ryland with one win each, but Bannister had 10 Top 5s and 12 Top 10s. Ryland had 11 Top 10 efforts, all of which were also Top 5 performances. Tyler's father Jason Bannister grabbed two wins out of six Top 5s and seven Top 10s to nail down third. 

Local standout Chuck Weir was 14 points off of the podium. He had one Top 5 finish out of eight Top 10s to secure fourth in the standings by a comfortable margin ahead of California Sharp Mini Late Model graduate Riley Jeppesen, who had four Top 10s. Making up the balance of the Top 10 were Andrew Pearce, Richard Ragsdale, Jason Nation, Mark Squadrito and Tanner Thomas. As was the case with the Modifieds, there were 10 different winners in this class. both Nation and John Piker had a pair of wins each, while other wins were recorded by Garrett Jernagan, Jarrod Mounce, Chase Thomas, Pearce and Ethan Dotson.

History was made in the Hobby Stock division as Domossie Scoggins engaged in a thrilling battle with long time competitor Syd Finn for the championship. This one saw the point lead change hands on multiple occasions. Both drivers had to be precise when they were on the track. Scoggins outdid Finn three wins to two and beat him with nine Top 5 efforts to seven. Both drivers had 11 Top 10s. Scoggins won the title by just two tallies, making this talented competitor the first black man to win a championship in the storied history of Merced Speedway. The Shelton family is several generations deep, and it was Race Shelton doing his family proud with three Top 5s and eight top 10s to grab a comfortable hold of third in the standings. 

Chad Ragsdale used six Top 10 finishes to beat Allen Neal by just 23 points for fourth. Neal had three Top five efforts. Two-time winner Derek Ogden, Gary Hanson, Kristie Shearer, Jeff Lacy and Xavier Baez completed the Top 10. Bakersfield visitor Dylan Wilson scored five wins in his seven appearances, and Tim Elias and Ryan Hart each had a win. Long time racer Elias ended up selling his car to Marysville racer Brian Cooper.

Merced Speedway was one of two California tracks to add IMCA Stock Car racing to their schedule with a championship on the line. They had nine events, and consistent State champion Renn Bane used two Top 5s and seven Top 10s to beat Austin Van Hoff by 19 tallies for the Merced title. Van Hoff did win at Antioch as he was trying to compete for the State championship early on. At Merced, Van Hoff had three Top 5 finishes and seven Top 10s. 

Bakersfield champion Stephen Johnson had three wins out of six Top 5s and eight top 10s to finish third by 10 markers ahead of Nick Johnson, who had two wins out of four Top 5s and six Top 10s. Jeff Streeter ended up fifth with three Top 5 efforts. Ethan Dotson had three wins, while Fred Ryland, Garrett Corn and Chad Johnson each had one. With his wins, Dotson may have became the only driver to win in three different classes at Merced Speedway in the same season.

When the track added the California Sharp Mini Late Models a few seasons back, it was with the hope that drivers would move up from the Outlaw Kart circuit to the bigger track. Already, a few drivers have graduated from this division, and this season saw 11 different drivers compete throughout the year. It was a nip and tuck battle between Carson Guthrie and Tyler Tucker for the championship, but Guthrie prevailed by just six points. Both drivers had nine Top 5 finishes, and Tucker bested Guthrie five wins to three. Unfortunately, Tucker's bad luck cost him in the end. Ryder Jeppesen had a solid season with eight Top 5 finishes to rank third ahead of Brayden Morton, who had seven Top 5s and DJ Saenz, who at eight Top 10s. Matt Malcolm was the only other driver to get a win in the division.

The Mini Stock drivers didn't get as many races as they might have liked, but they were in action a half-dozen times. The consistent Brian Post and Shelby Neal matched their totals with four Top 5 finishes and six Top 10s, and Post prevailed for the championship by just two markers. Russell Myers ended up third by 27 points ahead of West Coast Sport Compact star Shawn DePriest. Myers had one Top 5, while DePriest prevailed in three of his four visits. Leo Lotz was a solid fifth. Austin Sprague, Matthew Herod and West Coast Sport Compact racer Gene Glover were the other winners. 

It was a short season for the Vintage Valley Sportsman division, which has been running for championship points at the track since 1999. However, the four-race series still counted. Rick Elliott kicked things off by winning the first race, and that proved to be to his advantage as he won the tiebreaker with two-time champion Mike Friesen in securing the championship. Elliott had a pair of Top 5 efforts, while Friesen had three. Six points behind them was Watsonville Hall of Famer and past Merced champion Jerry Cecil. Like Jeff West, Cecil had two Top 5 finishes, and he beat West by just eight points for third. Mark Odgers missed the first race, but the past division champion won a pair of races to end up fifth in the standings. The division presented double-digit car counts in three of the four races. They allowed the Hardtop drivers to come to town, and Joel Hannagan piloted the Junkyard Dog owned by Doug Braudrick to a very convincing win in their lone appearance. 

Promoter Doug Lockwood and his team works to make each and every race as good as possible. Whether it's offering special big money races or the regular events, they strive to give the fans some top notch racing entertainment. There were many good memories made this season, and they are looking ahead to the 2022 schedule. You can keep track of those announcements by going to www.mercedspeedway.net or following the track's Facebook page.

Tri State Pro Stock Challenge Series 

Successfully Completes Third Season

Klamath Falls, Oregon...It's certainly been a tumultuous time for auto racing over the past few years. Roy Bain picked an interesting time to create the Tri State Pro Stock Challenge Series. Roy has competed in Pro Stocks at several Oregon and Northern California venues through the years, and he's seen a few other things in the sport as he travels up and down the highways as a truck driver. At first glance, Roy might not have seemed like the guy to organize the premiere Pro Stock series on the West Coast, but that's exactly what he's done.

There was one thing Bain observed in his time supporting the Outlaw Pro Stock Association's big Billy Geyer Memorial race at Siskiyou Golden Speedway. This event has attracted drivers from further south, and it has produced some of the biggest car counts for the class. It was prior to the 2019 season when Roy got together with Gordon Russell Jr, who was promoting a special memorial race for his father at Cedarville Speedway. One thing led to another, and the first season for the Tri State Pro Stock Series was launched that year. 

The concept behind this series makes so much sense, and yet nobody has even attempted to do this. Various tracks on the West Coast have divisions that they call Pro Stocks, Super Stocks or even Limited Late Models. The rules are not exactly the same, but the cars are close enough in competitive speed that it begged an important question. What if you were allowed to compete in big events in the car that you race at your home track? You simply go to these big Tri State shows in a car legal to your home track, and you're allowed to compete.

Once it was decided what tracks had divisions that were competitive with the other tracks, a schedule was put together. The inaugural season didn't have as many races, but it had some really good shows. It was a nip and tuck battle for the championship, but past Petaluma Speedway champion Mike Learn managed to beat Dave King Jr to win that championship. The buzz was so positive for the Tri State Pro Stock Series and what it could bring to your race track that promoters started wanting race dates. 

The visionary among the promoters was Stockton Dirt Track and 99 Speedway head honcho Tony Noceti. Not only did he want as many Pro Stock dates as he could get for his dirt track, he did not flinch when it came to paying a really good purse. The schedule was set for 2020, and great sponsors such as Jay's Mobile Welding Service, Winning Attitude Motorsports, Workman Communications and VIP Medical Concierge got on board. All four continue to support this series. In fact, Jay's Mobile Welding Service even sponsored the point fund for the 2020 season. There was just one problem.

The pandemic that swept across the country left some tracks closed and in a holding pattern. First, they wondered if they could even open for racing, and then they had to figure out a game plan to open without fans being allowed in the grandstands. This also meant promoters were changing schedules on the fly to assure the best car count possible, and Bain became a popular man. He was making deals for the group, and they managed to hold over a dozen races in 2020 with some strong car count support. Because of the nature of the year, it was decided to suspend point racing and return this year. 

As things opened up more this year, the Tri State Pro Stock Challenge Series was able to negotiate an 18 Race season, 15 of which were considered point races. Because drivers are traveling greater distances to support the show, it was further allowed that each competitor could throw away two races. If they had two bad nights, they could wipe them from the record, or they could forgo making the trip entirely in order to save money and prepare for the next race. It led to what was an exciting season from start to finish, and the championship was in doubt all the way to the end. 

The series visited nine different tracks during the season, and nine drivers took their turns in the Winner's Circle. They never competed for less than $1,000 to win, and there were some increased rewards at certain events. The Pro Stocks headlined the Billy Geyer Memorial race in Yreka, the Rocky Nash Memorial in Medford, the Tom Tilford Tribute in Placerville and the opening night of the Gary Patterson Tribute in Stockton. They also took part in the Adobe Cup with the Bob McCoy Memorial at Petaluma and were part of the annual Bud Nationals at Bakersfield. With Cedarville still unable to open, they kept the Gordon Russell Sr Memorial alive for one of their four visits to Susanville.

The battle for the championship was between Sprint Car veteran Richard Brace Jr, Western Pro Stock Series champion Justin Crockett and car owner Lyle Hopper, who put some of the best drivers he could find behind the wheel of his car. In the Hopper's case, the car competed for championship points. Brace and Crockett elected to skip two races for their throwaway totals, and that meant that the Patterson Tribute season finale at Stockton featured a championship that was very much up for grabs.

When it came to winning, Crockett and Brace were both hard to beat. Both drivers notched four wins. Brace got off to a strong start with three of his wins in the first four races, while Crockett picked up wins in the final two races of the season. After winning the Patterson, Crockett was able to beat Brace by just 15 points to become the second champion of the series. Crockett was a model of consistency with 11 podium finishes, while Brace made it to the podium on six occasions. This duo gave the fans one heck of a show anytime they were on the track. 

The Hopper name has been at the forefront of Late Model racing for several years. Lyle Hopper runs Winning Attitude Motorsports, which distributes parts to the competitors. When the Late Models were having their run under the NASCAR banner in the Bay Area in the late 1980s and early 1990s, drivers like Ken Haskell were getting Lyle's car to the front of the pack. Another driver who goes back to the days of Ken Haskell, past San Jose champion Robert Miller, drove the Hopper car to a win in addition to another podium finish. 

In fact, seven different drivers got podium finishes for Hopper. Watsonville Sport Modified champion Randy Miller had a pair of seconds, while Royce Goetz, Fred Lind, Jim Pettit II, Walter Ball and Dr Scott Lenz also had a podium finish each. When the points were tabulated, Hopper ended up third in the final point rundown, beating the steady Matt Kile by just 25 points. Kile never made it to the podium, but he did get a pair of Top 5 finishes early in the season and was a strong supporter of the series. 

Chris Smith ended up fifth in the standings in another close battle. He beat Brent Lawrence by six points and outran his son Ryan Smith by just 19. Bill Hall III was just 22 points out of fifth. Of those drivers, Chris Smith was the only competitor to make it to the Winners Circle on one occasion. On that night in Susanville, Chris Smith outran his son to get the glory. Jay Sears ended up third on that occasion. 

Sears is shown as the top point earner in the four visits to Susanville. He got a win there and also scored the triumph in the Bob McCoy Memorial race at Petaluma in September. The record will show that Nevada racer Sears ended up ninth in the standings as Enduro specialist Rich Denman finished 10th in the Manny Avila car. 

Getting a win on the tour meant that you accomplished something special. Susanville Promoter Jeff Olschowka didn't compete in every race as he had other responsibilities. However, he scored three wins during the season. Fred Ryland drove Antioch champion Jim Freethy's car to the win on New Year's at Stockton, and Dave King Jr returned to get a win on the first night of the Bud Nationals at Bakersfield in October.

It was always a special occasion if you were able to win on the tour, but notable wins went to Olschowka in the Billy Geyer Memorial race at Yreka, Crockett in the Gordon Russell Sr Memorial at Susanville and Klamath Falls star Steve Borror in the first running of the Rocky Nash Memorial in Medford. If you couldn't get a win, reaching the podium was almost as good. Denman managed a second in Hanford back in March. Multi-time Antioch champion Kimo Oreta finished second at the first Petaluma show. Previous champion Mike Learn returned to action to finish second in the Bob McCoy race at Petaluma in September, and Tim Randolph finished second on the final night of the Bud Nationals in Bakersfield behind Crockett. Perris Auto Speedway racer Billy Griffin, Jeffrey Hudson, Late Model veteran Jerry Stewart, past Petaluma champion Matt While and Jim Pettit II each had a third place finish.

In a time when people are asking for the old Late Model style of racing but that division is struggling to stay afloat, the Tri State Pro Stock Challenge Series offers the perfect solution. The schedule is booked with care in order to provide each track the best possible car count that they can give them. In three years, this series has grown by leaps and bounds, and other racers, tracks and sponsors are looking into getting involved. Drivers who were parked because they didn't have any place to race now have a very good option.

Bain is hard at work this off season as he is putting together what is sure to be another great schedule. The purses will be top-notch, and there's even word of some new tracks getting race dates this year. It takes a team to make it all happen. In addition to Jay's Mobile Welding Service, Winning Attitude Motorsports, Workman Communications and VIP Medical Concierge sponsoring the group, people like Mike Learn and Jay Learn work behind the scenes to take some of the pressure off of Bain. Good things are in store for the future, and you can keep up with those announcements via the Tri State Pro Stock challenge Facebook page.     

Forsberg, Youngman, Cooper 

Open Championship Season At Marysville

Marysville, CA..March 12...A week after winning the Sherm Toler Memorial race, Andy Forsberg won the 25 lap Winged 360 Sprint Car championship season opener Saturday night at Marysville Raceway. 

The race was run in rapid fashion with no yellow flag slowdowns, and Forsberg led every lap from the pole. Reigning champion Billy Wallace was an early second ahead of young charger Dylan Bloomfield. Bloomfield slipped past Wallace for second on Lap 11. Jake Haulot was an early fourth before surrendering the position to Casey Schmitz on the 15th circuit. Schmitz began to make a move on Wallace for third before making the pass on Lap 23. Forsberg went on to beat Bloomfield by a straightaway. Schmitz was a solid third, followed by Wallace, Justyn Cox, Jodie Robinson, John Clark, Haulot, Kevin Lovell and Korey Lovell. 

The 24 competitors ran four eight races with wins going to Forsberg, Cox, Bloomfield and Kevin Lovell. 

Reigning champion Brett Youngman won the 20 lap Winged Crate Sprint Main Event. The race had three early yellow flags before going the final 16 laps uninterrupted. Youngman started on the pole and bolted into the early lead ahead of Kelly Hicks. On the fourth lap, Mike Ballantine spun in Turn 4 for a yellow flag. A crash on the first restart attempt saw Misty Castleberry tangle with Chase Madden. The next restart attempt saw Jack McDonald spin. The race would go uninterrupted from that point on with Youngman leading at the green flag ahead of Britton Bock and Jason Ballantine. Ballantine put the moves on Bock for second on Lap 7. Youngman held off the pressure of Jason Ballantine to get the win with Bock settling for third ahead of Mike Hall, Nevada racer Jeff Macedo, Jacob Johnson, Cameron Haney Jr, Hicks, Mike Ballantine and Tyler George. The three eight lap heat race wins went to Matthew Kaiser, Jason Ballantine and Bock. 

Brian Cooper closed the evening's festivities with the 20 lap Hobby Stock Main Event triumph. David Cooper had the early lead ahead of Brian Cooper and Zach Lindgren. The race had to be restarted for Preston Hughes, who retired at that point. A Lap 5 yellow flag flew for Toby Merrifield in Turn 2, and Dave Cooper had problems on Lap 7 as Brian Cooper got the lead ahead of Lindgren and Kyle Cheney. Brian Cooper continued to lead Lindgren and Cheney on the restart. Unfortunately, a red flag waved on Lap 18 for a fire in the Willie Horn Jr car. Lindgren retired as Brian Cooper led Howard Law and Cheney on the restart. Law kept it close, but Brian Cooper scored the well earned victory. Cheney was third, followed by Joe Gillock, Maurice Merrill, David Cooper, Trevor Deadmond, Jacob Bright, David Allen and Jim Brookshire. 

There were 28 Hobby Stocks, and the four eight lap heat race wins went to Brian Cooper, David Cooper, Cheney and Lindgren. They also ran a 12 lap B Main, won by Orland Raceway champion Keith Ross. Ross started on the pole and led every lap in victory. Niles Streever was an early second before being passed by Ken Reische on Lap 3. Reische had problems on lap seven with Streever briefly gaining second. However, Mario Davis ended up in the runner-up spot on Lap 9 and chased Ross to the finish. Kevin Thomas ended up third ahead of Reische and Streever.

Keep up to date with scheduling information and other news by going to www.marysvilleraceway.com.

 

Forsberg Wins Sherm And Loree Toller Memorial

At Marysville Raceway

Marysville, CA...February 26...Highly decorated Sprint Car champion Andy Forsberg scored the victory in the 25 lap Winged 360 Sprint Car Main Event Saturday night at Marysville Raceway. This was the annual Sherm and Loree Toller Memorial event, paying tribute to the two longtime Marysville and Grass Valley racing officials.

Tanner Carrick had the pole and charged into the early lead ahead of Colby Wiesz and Forsberg. Forsberg started pressuring Wiesz for second before making the pass on Lap 6, and a Lap 10 yellow flag waved for Steel Powell in Turn 3. Tanner Carrick continued to lead Forsberg and Wiesz on the restart with a yellow flag waving once again on Lap 13 for Jimmy Steward. On the restart, Blake Carrick stalled in Turn 2 to force another restart attempt, and that attempt saw another yellow flag wave for Cody Spencer in Turn 2. Tanner Carrick continued to lead Forsberg and Wiesz on the restart. Forsberg made the move around Tanner Carrick for the lead on Lap 15 with a yellow flag waving moments later for Wyatt Brown in Turn 3. The final 10 laps went all green. Forsberg led Tanner Carrick on the restart as Brad Bumgarner settled in the third. However, Tanner Carrick regained first on Lap 18. The tenacious Forsberg stayed with him and made a thrilling last lap pass to grab the glory. Tanner Carrick settled for second ahead of Bumgarner, Wiesz, reigning champion Billy Wallace, Carson Hall, Steven Ingraham, John Clark, Korey Lovell and Jeremy Wilson.

A full field of 24 competitors qualified on the quarter-mile clay oval, and Ingraham surprised with the fast time of 12.310, beating the 12.352 of Tanner Carrick and the 12.399 of Spencer. They ran four eight lap heat races with wins going to Blake Carrick, Wiesz, Forsberg and Carson Hammes. They elected to skip the B Main as 23 drivers survived to start the feature.

Mike Hall won the 22 lap Winged Crate Sprint Main Event. Hall jumped into the lead ahead of fellow front row starter Jason Ballantine and Misty Castleberry. Britton Bock slipped past Castleberry for for third on Lap 4. Bock set his sites on Ballantine and made the movie for second on Lap 9. Bock briefly took the lead from Hall on Lap 10 with Hall regaining command a lap later. A Lap 15 yellow flag waved for Chase Madden in Turn 1. Hall continued to lead Bock and Jason Ballantine on the restart. A final yellow flag waved on Lap 21 for Kelly Hicks on the front straightaway. Hall went on to lead the final lap for the win with Jason Ballantine executing a last lap maneuver to take second away from Bock. Bock settled for third, followed by Castleberry, reigning champion Brett Youngman, David Sims, Mike Ballantine, Hicks, Madden and Kirk Miner. They had 14 competitors, and the two eight lap heat race wins went to Youngman and Castleberry.

Brent Steck beat a six car field for the 20 lap Wingless Spec Sprint Main Event win. Petaluma racer Mark Hanson had the pole and took the early need ahead of Hunt Series regular Josh Young and Steck. Steck slipped past Young for second on Lap 4 with Nathan Schank settling into third a lap later. Schank took second from Steck on Lap 12. A wild final lap saw Hanson have problems as Steck made a move around Schank that resulted in victory. Young also got by Schank for second with Schank settling for third ahead of a disappointed Hanson, James East and Orland racer Cort Marchuk. The eight lap heat race went to Hanson.

Keep up to date with the latest happenings at the track by going to www.marysvilleraceway.com.

Shelby Doubles Up At Stockton Dirt Track

Hogge, Learn, Baldwin, Winter Other Winners 

Stockton, CA...February 6...Philip Shelby picked up the wins in both the Dirt Modified and Sport Modified Main Events Saturday night at the Stockton Dirt Track. Shelby has won championships in Stock Cars and IMCA Sport Modifieds at Marysville Raceway. 

In the 25 lap Dirt Modified Main Event, Bobby Hogge IV and Ryan McDaniel shared the front row, and Hogge bolted into the early lead ahead of McDaniel and Jeffrey Faulkner. McDaniel saw his race come to an end on Lap 5, and Faulkner took the lead ahead of Shelby on Lap 7 after Hogge's race ended. A yellow flag waved on Lap 12, and Shelby took the lead from Faulkner on the restart. Josh Combs took third from Buddy Kniss on Lap 16. Shelby went on to victory ahead of Faulkner, Combs, Kniss, Jim Weiler, Danny Malfatti, Terry DeCarlo, Michelle Paul, Hogge and McDaniel. Hogge and Kniss won the eight lap heat races.

In the 20 lap Sport Modified Main Event, Shelby had the pole and took the early lead ahead of past Merced and Antioch champion Jeremy Hoff and Andrew Pearce. Pearce took second from Hoff on Lap 2 and put the moves on Shelby for the lead on the 11th circuit. Hoff surrendered third to Ryan Smith on Lap 9, and Shelby regained the lead from Pearce on Lap 15. Shelby went on to win with Pearce a strong second, followed by Smith, Hoff, Chris Sieweke, Jarrod Mounce, Matthew Hagio, Emali Van Hoff, Mark Squadrito and Jeremy Phillips. Smith and Shelby picked up the eight lap heat race wins.

Bobby Hogge IV won the 20 lap Super Late Model Main Event. Paul Gugliemoni started on the pole and led a lap before being passed by Anthony Slaney. Hogge moved into second on the third circuit and gained the lead from Slaney a lap later. Slaney had problems on the fifth lap with Ron Oliver moving into second, and Jim Pettit II gained third on Lap 8. Pettit slipped past Oliver for second on Lap 16. However, Hogge had a commanding lead that he brought to the victory. Pettit settled for second ahead of Oliver, Coos Bay Speedway champion Brody Montgomery, Richard Vander Ploeg, Slaney, Gugliemoni, David Newquist and Clay Daily. Eight lap heat race wins went to Slaney and Hogge.

2019 Tri State Pro Stock Challenge Series champion Mike Learn won the 15 lap Pro Stock Main Event. Donny Richardson had the pole and led three laps before Learn took over. Richardson saw his race come to an unfortunate end on the fifth lap with Mike Walko briefly gaining second before surrendering the position to Joey Ridgeway on Lap 7. Learn went on to win with Ridgeway not too far behind in second, followed by Walko, past Orland champion Phil Spencer, Ray Trimble, David Spindel, Richardson and Brent Lawrence. Learn also won the eight lap heat race .

Ryan Winter won the 20 lap NorCal Dwarf Car Main Event. Ben Wiesz started on the pole and led three laps before Winter went racing by. Corey Eaton fell out of third on lap 5 with Michael "Spanky" Grenert getting the position. Winter went on to win with Wiesz and Grenert in close pursuit. Shawn Whitney settled for fourth, followed by Dylan Shrum, Mike Reeder, Dan Geil, Mark Biscardi, Fred Dickey and Jace Badeker. Eaton, Winter and Whitney were the eight lap heat race winners.

Multi time Placerville Speedway Pure Stock champion Nick Baldwin won the 20 lap Hobby Stock Main Event. Baldwin took the lead from Orland champion Keith Ross on the sixth lap with Ross retiring on Lap 7. Enduro specialist Rich Denman and Scott Rogers battled for second with Denman gaining the position as Baldwin won ahead of Denman, Rogers, Troy Tatum, Jim Brookshire, Brandon Carpenter, Clarence Holbrook, Kevin Lesch, Craig Tatum and Ross. The eight lap heat race wins went to Baldwin and Denman.

Keep up with the latest happenings at the track by going to www.stocktondirtrack.com.

Macedo, Golobic, Johnson, Wolford Win Dave Helm Memorial Races At Keller Auto Speedway

Hanford, CA...February 26...Carson Macedo won the 30 lap King of Thunder Winged 410 Sprint Car Main Event Saturday night at Keller Auto Speedway. This was the annual Dave Helm Memorial race, held an honor of the long time car owner.

Macedo lined up on the pole position and bolted into the immediate lead ahead of Kerry Madsen. The duo went on to score a 1-2 finish at the checkered flag. Shane Golobic also held on to his third position from start to finish, followed by Justin Sanders, Dominic Scelzi, Mitchell Faccinto, Austin McCarl, Kaleb Montgomery, Brody Roa and Joel Myers Jr.

Mitchell Faccinto set the fast time of 12.923, beating the 13.066 of Sanders and the 13.193 of Kaleb Montgomery. The seven lap heat race wins went to Golobic and Sanders, who also claimed four lap Trophy Dash. There were 14 competitors for the occasion.

Shane Golobic scored the victory in the 30 lap King of Thunder Winged 360 Sprint Car Main Event. Golobic would lead the final 10 circuits in victory. Chase Majdic set the early pace ahead of Dominic Scelzi. They ran that way until Scelzi slipped past Majdic to grab the lead on Lap 15. Golobic the moves on Majdic for second on Lap 16. He stalked Scelzi for a few laps before making his winning maneuver. Golobic got the win ahead of Scelzi, Majdic, Grant Duinkerken, Craig Stidham, Ryan Rocha, Max Mitttry, Tucker Worth, Brendan Warmerdam and Michael Pombo. 

There were 21 competitors, and Warmerdam set the fast time of 13.646, beating the 13.672 of Caeden Steele. The seven lap heat race wins went to Majdic, Scelzi and Rocha with Rocha claiming four lap Trophy Dash honors.

Cody Johnson won the 20 lap IMCA Stock Car Main Event. Johnson took advantage of his pole position start to lead the entire distance for the win. Garrett Corn trailed Brock Hamilton for five laps before taking over second. Nick Johnson followed Corn into third and raced by Corn for second on the sixth lap. Nick Johnson held that position until Corn regained it for good on Lap 17. Cody Johnson had serious pressure from Corn in the end, but he prevailed at the checkered flag. Nick Johnson ended up third, followed by Steven Johnson, Matt McEwen, Larry Thompson, Hamilton, reigning State champion Renn Bane, Rob Gallaher and Joshua Nichols. Gallahar and Thompson picked up the six lap heat race wins.

David Wolford Jr won the 20 lap West Coast Sport Compact Main Event. Wolford took full advantage of his pole position start to lead the entire distance. Two-time reigning series champagne Greg Baronian ran third for a lap before moving into second. However, he was still quite a ways behind Wolford by the time the checkered flag waved. Nick Thompson was second before being overtaken by Baronian. Thompson ran third the rest of the way to finish there. Jason Cook settled into fourth early on and held the position until Lap 17, when Gene Glover went racing by. Glover ended up fourth at the checkered flag, followed by Shawn DePriest, Cook, Edward Marvin, Todd Minchew, Helder Santos and Eddie Humphrey III. Heat race wins went to Thompson and Wolford.

Keep up the date with the latest happenings of the track by going to www.racekingspeedway.com.

 

Dotson Dominates Opening Night 

 Of Jerm "The Worm" Smith Memorial At KCRP

Bakersfield, CA...December 3...Ethan Dotson won the 30 lap Dirt Modified Main Event Friday night at the Kern County Raceway Dirt Track. Earlier in the evening, Dotson also picked up the win in the 25 lap Sport Modified feature race. With the Modified win worth $2,000 and the Sport Modified triumph worthy of a $1,200 payday, Dotson bagged $3,200 for his efforts.

Bakersfield champion Jerry Flippo took the early lead in the Modified Main Event ahead of Danny Lauer and Dotson. Dotson slipped past Lauer for second on Lap 2. A close battle developed between Flippo and Dotson with Dotson getting by for the lead on Lap 11. A yellow flag waved moments later for a tangle that involved Gavyn Manning, Rob Sanders and Mike Shepherd. All drivers restarted in the back, and Dotson led Flippo and Troy Morris III on the restart. Bobby Hogge IV had moved into contention and took third from Morris on Lap 13. Hogge charged past Flippo for second as Cody Laney followed him into third. Laney got by Hogge for second on Lap 17, and Hogge surrendered third to Flippo on Lap 21. A yellow flag waved on Lap 23 for Jake Pike and Morris. Dotson led Lauer and Flippo on the restart, and Hogge saw his Top 5 run end for a Lap 25 yellow flag. Again, Dotson led Lauer and Flippo on the restart, and they would finish in that order. Dalton Houghton ended up fourth, followed by Manning, Lauer, Robby Sawyer, Rick Diaz, Sanders and Donald Houghton.

They had 28 drivers for the Dirt Modified portion of the show, and the eight lap heat race wins went to Brad Pounds, Morris, Dotson and Hogge. Dalton Houghton won the 10 lap B Main. Cody Barnett set the early pace ahead of Shepherd and Dalton Houghton. A yellow flag waved for Barnett on Lap 4. Dalton Houghton and Jake Pike raced into first and second on the restart, and a yellow flag waved on Lap 7. Dalton Houghton led Jake Pike and Sawyer on the restart, and they would finish in that order with Rob Sanders and Shepherd completing the Top 5.

Dotson started on the outside front row for the Sport Modified Main Event and bolted into the immediate lead ahead of Garrett Jernagan and Antioch Speedway champion Fred Ryland. Mike Dean ran fourth early on before surrendering the position to Bakersfield Speedway champion Tyler Bannister on the third lap. Tyler Bannister brought out a Lap 4 yellow flag, and Dotson continued to lead Jernagan and Ryland on the restart. Ryland slipped past Jernagan for second on Lap 6, and Troy Morris III started challenging Jernagan for third. A Lap 9 yellow flag waved for Matt Mayo. Dotson continued to lead Ryland and Jernagan on the restart, but a yellow flag waved for Adam Baker a lap later. Dotson continued to show the way ahead of Ryland and Jernagan on the restart, but Mayo and Elton Schafer tangled for a yellow flag a lap later. As Dotson led Ryland on the restart, John Piker settled into third. Jernagan regained the third position on Lap 19, and a yellow flag waved a lap later with Morris out of the race at that point. Dotson led Ryland and Jernagan on the restart, but Jernagan's run up front ended for a Lap 22 yellow flag. Again, Dotson led Ryland on the restart, and the two drove on to the 1-2 finish. Brian Baker had settled into the third on the last restart and finished there, followed by John Piker, Dylan Potter, Tyler Bannister, Billy Simkins, Jason Bannister, Jon McKinley and Dean.

27 drivers came to compete, and the eight lap heat race wins went to Matt Wankum, Tyler Bannister, Dotson and Jernagan. Adam Baker won the 10 lap B Main ahead of Jason Bannister, Tyler Blankenship, Jim Reed and Cody Hampl.

Ricky Childress Jr won the 25 lap Hobby Stock Main Event. Childress won the Bakersfield Speedway championship this year, and he turned in a dominant performance in winning this race. He started on the pole and led when the green flag waved, followed by Justin Tuey and Nick Johnson. Johnson put the moves on Tuey for second on Lap 3 with Don Mead settling into third two laps later. However, Mead had problems and fell back with Brock Crawford moving into third on Lap 6. A Lap 11 yellow flag waved, and Childress continued to lead Nick Johnson and Crawford on the restart. It was smooth sailing the rest of the way for Childress as he won with Nick Johnson not too far behind him. Crawford was about a straightaway behind the lead duo in third, followed by Stephen Johnson, Mead, Tuey, Marcus Wankum, Nick Coffman, Colby Ward and Kevin Irwin. They ran a pair of six lap heat races with the wins going to Mead and Nick Johnson.

Cody Johnson won the 20 lap American Stock Main Event. When the green flag waved, he charged into the lead over Bakersfield Speedway champion Kody Sly and Mason Conway. JR Daves settled into third on Lap 2 with Dakota Brown following into fourth. Brown slipped past Daves for third on Lap 4 before a yellow flag waved as Brock Crawford saw his race come to an end. Johnson continued to lead Sly and Brown on the restart. The lead trio ran closely with Brown taking second from Sly on Lap 11. A yellow flag waved moments later for Clay Walters. Johnson continued to lead Brown and Sly on the restart. The close battle up front continued. A tangle between Daryl Mealer and Sly brought out a Lap 19 yellow flag. Cody Johnson led Brown and Mason Conway on the restart, and they finished in that order with Daves finishing fourth, followed by Walters, Tyler Weeks, Mealer, Sly and Brock Crawford. Danny Smith was a Main Event scratch. Sly and Cody Johnson won the six lap heat races.

Gene Glover won the 20 lap West Coast Sport Compact Main Event. This was a non-point affair for the WCSC ahead of Saturday's $3,000 to win season championship finale. It was also the second win on the circuit for Glover. 

When the green flag waved, Glover bolted ahead of David Wolford and Joe Rogers Jr. Destiny Wolford was eliminated on a Lap 1 yellow flag, and Glover continued to lead David Wolford and Rogers on the restart. Championship contender Dan Myrick began challenging Rogers for the third position before getting by on Lap 10. Though David Wolford kept it close, Glover stayed smooth down the stretch and scored a well-earned victory. Myrick was about as straightaway behind the duo in third, followed by Rogers, Nick Thompson, Eddie Humphrey III, Jason Cook Sr, Jason Cook Jr, Bakersfield Speedway champion Brandon Wolford and Cory Mata. David Wolford and Glover won the six lap heat races.

To keep up with the news from the track, go to www.kernraceway.com.

Dotson Dominates Second Night Of 

Jerm "The Worm" Smith Memorial At KCRP

Bakersfield, CA...December 4...Ethan Dotson wrapped up a stellar weekend by winning the 25 lap Dirt Modified Main Event Saturday night at the Kern County Raceway Dirt Track. This was the final night of the Jerm "The Worm" Smith Memorial, and Dotson collected $3,000 for his impressive win. Fog began to set in during this race, prompting officials to throw a red flag on Lap 25 of the scheduled 40 lap event and end the evening early. Dotson also picked up the $2,000 victory in the Sport Modified race earlier in the night.

Robby Sawyer jumped into the early lead over Mike Shepard and Rob Sanders. Sanders slipped past Shepherd for second on Lap 2 with Dotson claiming third a lap later. Dotson got around to Sanders for second on Lap 4 before a yellow flag waved for Jake Pike, Andy Obertello and Gavyn Manning on Lap 5. Sawyer continued to lead Dotson and Cody Laney when the race resumed. Both Dotson and Laney put the moves on Sawyer for first and second on Lap 7, and Sanders gained a third on Lap 9 before a yellow flag waved. Dotson led Laney and Sanders on the restart, but a yellow flag waved a lap later as Justin Gonzalez saw his race come to an end. Dotson maintained his lead on the restart ahead of the Laney and Bakersfield champion Jerry Flippo. The longest green flag period of the race ensued as Dotson and Laney left the pack far behind. A lap 25 yellow flag waved for Laney. Heavy fog had set in by then, and visibility was becoming a problem. The race was ended at that point with Dotson the winner ahead of Flippo, Sawyer, Ventura champion Trevor Fitzgibbon, Troy Morris III, Sanders, Bobby Hogge IV, Brad Pounds, Larry Wise and Danny Lauer.

Another solid turnout of 28 competitors were on hand, and the eight lap heat race winners were Dotson, Laney, Morris and Pounds. The Top 4 finishers in each heat race made the show along with the Top 6 finishers from the 10 lap B Main. Pike got the win in that race. Ventura regular Dalton Houghton took the early lead ahead of Pike and Corey McDonald. Houghton had problems on Lap 5 as Pike moved into the lead ahead of McDonald and Steve Pemberton. Manning made a big move around Pemberton and McDonald on the last lap. Pemberton also got past McDonald, and Pike won ahead of Manning, Pemberton, McDonald and Cody Barnett.

All 24 drivers started the 35 lap Sport Modified feature, and Dotson led from the start ahead of Jason Bannister and John Piker. Dotson immediately started to build a big lead as Bannister and Piker battled closely for second. A Lap 9 yellow flag waved with Jim Reed out of the action. Dotson continued to lead Jason Bannister and Antioch champion Fred Ryland. Ryland got by Bannister for second with Troy Morris III following him into the third position on Lap 12. Garrett Jernagan found his way into fourth, and a Lap 17 yellow flag bunched the field and ended the race for Matt Mayo. Dotson led Ryland and Morris on the restart, but Morris got around Ryland for second on Lap 19. Jernagan settled into third on Lap 24 with a Lap 28 yellow flag waving. Dotson led Jernagan and Morris on the restart. The race had two yellow flags in the final five circuits, but Dotson won ahead of Jernagan. Morris surrendered third to Tyler Blankenship on a Lap 33 restart and would settle for fourth, followed by Ryland, Piker, Billy Simkins, Michael Black, Tim Randolph and Adam Baker. The eight lap heat race wins went to Ryland, Blankenship, Dylan Potter and Dotson.

Dakota Brown scored the $300 win in the 25 lap American Stock Main Event. Brown jumped into the early lead ahead of Friday night winner Cody Johnson and James Williams. Williams and Bakersfield champion Kody Sly moved into second and third on Lap 2 with Sport Modified star Nick Spainhoward running fourth. Spainhoward slipped past Williams for third on Lap 7 with Johnson following him into fourth. The battle between Brown and Sly for the lead was close, but a Lap 10 yellow flag signaled the end of the race for Johnson. Brown led the restart. They ran that way through two yellow flags, but a Lap 18 yellow flag ended the second place run of Sly. Brown led Spainhoward and Williams on the restart, and they would finish in that order with Sunnie Simkins fourth, followed by Mason Conway, JR Daves, Tyler Weeks, Jesse Bowles, Clay Walters and Sly. They ran a pair of eight lap heat races with Brown and Williams getting the wins.

Brock Crawford picked up the $400 win in the 25 lap Hobby Stock Main Event. Bakersfield champion Ricky Childress Jr took the early lead ahead of Crawford and Don Mead. A Lap 5 yellow flag slowed the pace, and Crawford continued to lead Childress and Mead on the restart. Childress slipped past Crawford for the lead on Lap 7 at the same time that Kevin Irwin got by Mead for third, and a Lap 9 yellow flag waved. Childress led Crawford and Irwin on the restart. Crawford began pressuring Childress and took the lead on Lap 15. Childress saw his race come to an unfortunate end for a Lap 16 yellow flag. Crawford led Irwin and Mead on the restart, and they would finish in that order. Nick Johnson finished fourth, followed by Steven Johnson, Marcus Wankum, Justin Tuey, Nick Coffman, Colby Ward and Childress. The eight lap heat race wins went to Mead and Nick Johnson.

The West Coast Sport Compats were set to run their Main Event last on the evening, and this was to serve as their season finale with $3,000 on the line to the feature winner. Unfortunately and for the second time in three races, fog kept this race from happening. The heat race points did count, and Shawn DePriest gained some points with his second place finish to Gene Glover in their eight lapper. However, Greg Baronian had enough points to win his second series championship after finishing second to David Wolford in their heat race. The other heat race saw Ryan Doglione outrun Joe Rogers Jr for the win. There were 21 Mini Stocks for their season finale.

 

Keep up to date with what's happening at the track at www.kernraceway.com.

 

The Editor's Viewpoint 

By All Rights, you shouldn't be reading this. I made a conscious decision at the end of last year that I was done with my modern media effort in racing. I was going to focus primarily on nostalgia and my books. In fact, I was getting ready to make a deeply personal announcement about myself that I'm sure might bother a few people, but racing was done for me. I couldn't even muster the energy to edit what I had written in December.

To be honest with you, I was amazed that I made it into December before I finally stopped. The one person you can thank for what you read on the blog last year was Michael Burch. Because I was getting no financial support, all the hours and hours of work I was putting into it were starting to take a toll on me. I was also tossed out into my trailer during the year and struggled to have an internet connection and all of that. It also messed with my head a little bit more, so last year was pretty difficult. Michael supporting me the way he did is why I kept going as long as I did. Every point season we've attempted to cover has been done to conclusion.

What's interesting is the timing of everything. It's pretty much the same day that I came out to Antioch Speedway in 2015. I barely could afford bus money to watch things from outside the fence and was desperate to try to save my home. A year later to the date, I was leaving California in defeat and depression to do what I did at Southern Oregon Speedway. It was the only way I could keep a roof over my head, so I buried myself into my work, which is what I've always done with racing. There is no me, only racing. I want that to stop. 

Before I go any further, I feel it necessary to say that I am eternally grateful to Mike McCann and Evonne Decker. They took me into their home and treated me like family. I love Mike and Yvonne like they are family. By the time I left, it wasn't easy in the sense that Mike and I pretty much talked every day. He was pretty much my best friend in Oregon as I didn't really make friends there. I lived like a visitor for six years, but Mike and Evonne made me feel like I was at home.

The working environment could be very frustrating for me at Southern Oregon Speedway. I didn't get the budget for all of the tools I needed, so I either improvised, made do with what I had or it didn't get done. Not getting done wasn't an option. When I saw things that needed to be done behind the scenes, I jumped in. We worked hard to improve the program in each of the four years we were there. Despite what some of the critics want to say, I think we did pretty darn good and I'm very proud of what we accomplished there. It didn't end the way I wanted it to, but I did everything I could do. I also don't blame Mike for deciding to call it a career. He has nothing left to prove either.

I was sitting in my trailer, freezing my ass off and minding my own business when Larry Adams decided to contact me. He had a solution to a problem the track was having. Things were getting broken into, and they needed somebody to keep an eye on things. I had the trailer to bring down here, so all I had to do was negotiate a deal with Tina Chadwick. 

I have to tell you, I was done. I'm not making that up, I was done. I was more done than I was in 2003, and I was at peace with it. I didn't know what was next, but I knew writing another racing article during another new racing season was not part of it.

Larry made it sound like he could get me down here if I made the deal with Tina, so I figured why not. Tina floored me with a comment that was made by somebody about me and the fact that I am different. I'll just say it, I'm transgender. A few people know that, most don't. I've struggled with it for years. It doesn't change who I am as a person. I'm awake, but not woke, and that will serve as my political statement. I just happen to be somebody who feels I was born in the wrong body, and I've used racing to suppress that. I got very good at doing what I did in racing because it was my my main focus to the detriment of other aspects of my life. 

I don't wish to merge that part of me with this column or make any sort of statement. I merely say this to give an understanding about what's going on in my head. Tina told me what was wanted in addition to that little bit of information I didn't want to hear. That bit of information was big, because I was getting ready to come out publicly to the racing community. I figured that was needed for me to start to take my steps. I'd like to appear a little bit differently than I do. Because of the comment that had been made, I struggled to even phone Tina back. I almost let it slip away and I waited a day longer to call her than I was going to. 

I sat down and wrote down any questions that I had. There may have been a dozen of them. I wanted to get a better understanding of what my duties were. I wanted to get a better understanding of what my living conditions were. I wanted to know what was expected of me. I also made her aware of my abilities and what I could do to help the place. In the end, we decided that I was keeping an eye on things around here as I'm living out here. I'm not crazy about living out here, but it's a way for me to get back to the Bay Area where I belong. I'm also okay with just writing articles. Those were the agreed-upon terms.

With that settled, I thought I'd let Larry know that we had a deal and I could get ready to go within a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, I found out that it was going to be up to me to figure out a way back. That was a mess, and I stressed on that for over a month. It almost got canceled. I was within a couple of hours of contacting Michael Burch, who brought my car and my stuff down here, to tell him it was done. He brought Jimmy Robbins up with him, and it looked like I had a way to get the trailer down a few days later. I decided to do this, and here I am.

I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed my trip down with Tom Sagmiller and Keith Trusso. They towed my trailer, and the conversations that we had made the time just slip by. We talked about everything you could imagine about racing, from the old days to the current days. Stopped off a couple of times to get food. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I don't deserve a friend like Tom. He's always been good to me. I never really got to talk to Keith before. Like I said, it was a fun trip.

I had people pitch in to make sure I could offer fuel money, because I didn't have any. The big supporter I will call my angel, because if you can believe it, they don't want credit. They just wanted to help. John Soares and Doug Braudrick both pitched in, and then Tom floored me by saying that he and Cindy didn't want the money. They let me keep it. Any money that I've been able to keep out of this will help me, because I was pretty much broke coming down here. It's a brand new start in the Bay Area for me. I'm looking forward to it.

It's a bittersweet deal for me, because I had hoped to be here for the final few years of John's run as Promoter. John and I are good, and he's told me some things in regards to the work I did for him when he first took over the place. I knew he felt that way, but hearing it meant a lot. I knew I had his respect, because he wouldn't have let me come back in here in 2018 and do a Hall of Fame and even let me announce a night if he was not happy with me. He wouldn't have let me announce races at Chowchilla and Merced in 2015. John is family to me and I love the guy. He's earned his retirement just as much as Mike McCann has, and I wish him well.

The ambitious goal is to make this place better than ever before. The reality is we're living in 2022, and there are economic challenges, not to mention the whole covid-19 thing that threw them for a loop as they tried to run the 2020 season. The community rallied behind Chad and Tina Chadwick, and you got a much cleaner facility. The race track looks nice. They've done an amazing thing here. The challenges are numerous. What I learned in Medford is you work week to week to get the crowd to come out there, and you never rest on your laurels. There's a lot that needs to be done. 

I'm just coming in here and observing what's here. There are some very good building blocks to work with, such as the Hobby Stocks, IMCA Sport Modifieds and Wingless Spec Sprints. All three did good numbers last year. The IMCA Modifieds are maintaining, the IMCA Stock Cars are growing quickly, the Mini Stocks are doing the same and the Dwarf Cars are still doing well, now using the Delta Dwarf Car brand. The bigger challenge is getting fans to come out and watch when you're running so many races. 

It's my contention that Antioch Speedway has about 10 too many races on their schedule. You only need to run about two dozen races at the very most, because you don't want to run any division more than about 14 times. Having so many divisions affords you the opportunity to shuffle things and take the pressure off of any one division. You can also put on a couple of special events. The way Petaluma Speedway and Merced Speedway do their schedules is ideal to me. 

Presentation is an important thing. We've got to get the word out quickly and let everybody know. When they come in, they need to be entertained by a good show with a quality announcer. Announcing is so important. I didn't do it in Medford, even though I wanted to. The reason was I needed to move in and out of the booth and handle other things, but I made sure the announcer always had information that would help him do a little better job of informing the fans. I did do the souvenir programs there, and I think it's important to have one for the fans.

It will always be a source of pride for me that this kid from the grandstands was able to establish the Antioch Speedway Hall of Fame. I did it for for two years from Oregon, and I think I did pretty well overall. Was it perfect? No. It was a struggle sometimes, but the community rallied around me. Chris Briggs has taken it over and is doing well. There are still ways that this event can be grown and improved upon, and the great thing is there will be a fourth year for that. One of the pet projects I'd like to take on would be the Chet Thomson Memorial night in October and possibly establishing a Vallejo Speedway reunion that would induct people into their Hall of Fame.

I knew nothing about Medford racing history when I came up there, but I took a crash course. I organized statistics and did a bunch of things to illustrate to the people what the history was there. I respected it. I pitched an idea a couple of days into moving to Oregon, and Mike was there along with Uncle Rich. 

I said we needed a Southern Oregon Racing Hall of Fame and we needed a race to honor the late great R Charles Snyder, the voice of Medford racing and popular DJ. A year later, both things came to pass. These things matter as they illustrate the legacy of racing in the area. I don't know if Medford is going to keep the Hall of Fame going as they didn't do it last year. I hope they do.

Some people may know that I have established some nostalgia pages on Facebook. One is the Chowchilla Speedway Glory Days page. I also created Merced Speedway Days of Old back in 2015, and a couple of years ago I started Petaluma Speedway Days of Old. The latter two pages were designed so that we could get more of the history out there and get discussions going about starting a Hall of Fame in both locations. We had a rousing conversation on the Petaluma page last year, and I know there's an interest. My concern is we need to settle the future of the track as it is being threatened.

The late Ed Parker wanted me to go to Merced while he was doing Legends Night, which had been established by Doug Williams in 2013, or was that 14? I'd have to look. Ed and I had conversations, but he wasn't sure how to do it. Sadly, he passed away. I've always had a vision in my mind that you start with the legendary Dennis Moomjean, Vern Wilhoite, Ted Stofle, George Steitz and Johnny Sass. It would be easy to come up with another four or five in that first year, but those four drivers are on the Mount Rushmore of Merced Speedway greats in my opinion. Johnny would be my first man behind the scenes to put in there. There's a list of greats that would be very easy to pick from. Merced Speedway has been around for 70 years, so you're going to have some easy choices early on.

In December, Promoter Doug Lockwood messaged me to ask about helping him get it going at Merced. I'm all in favor of that. Since I'm located where I am, it could be possible that I would be able to make it there for that night. It depends on the duties I have here. As a writer, I can easily do stories and take a week off from the track, because the information is easily accessible to do a proper story. I'm all about the nostalgia, and I think Merced Speedway has a great history to celebrate. I'm on board with that.

You see, that's kind of where I am now. I'm not enamored with racing as it is now, but I don't begrudge people enjoying it. I'm glad somebody's trying. I only tell you that if I came out here as a kid and the program we have in 2022 was what I saw, all the things I did in racing probably wouldn't have happened. It wouldn't have captured my imagination the way the Sportsman division did in the 1970s or even the Stock Car class of the early 1980s. Everything looks so cookie cutter these days. There's good racing, but it doesn't really capture my imagination.

I could easily get involved with organizing a couple of nostalgia events that featured the Sportsman cars, Hardtops, Super Modifieds, Vintage Midgets and maybe a newly established Vintage Stock Car class. I'd love to see something happening in Antioch or some other dirt track location. The problem would be that promoters aren't going to make a lot of money on that, but the racing community would fully embrace it. Therefore, doing things like Hall of Fame night or trying to get something Vallejo Speedway related and associated with the Chet Thomson Memorial race would be another appealing thing.

There are two people who have written some really good racing books. Tom Motter has done several for BCRA and Oakland Speedway. A lot of pictures, and it's good stuff. Dennis Mattish is probably the premier guy. If you haven't seen his books on Watsonville, San Jose, San Francisco racing or Baylands, check them out. There will be an Altamont book soon. Dennis gives you lots of good pictures and there are some stories in there too. As time passes on, we are in danger of forgetting this history. Part of me says why fight it, and another part of me says I need to fight it. 

I have a vision for a race at Antioch Speedway, but it could easily be at Watsonville or Merced. I can't think of a better promoter in the history of our sport in California then Bob Barkhimer. How many people remember Barky? How about Bert Moreland, who ran multiple tracks for Barky? How about John Pershing Soares, who also ran multiple tracks? What about Jerry Piper? In fact, I'm sure there's a couple of other names that were part of this family that I don't even remember, and that's a travesty. 

What I thought would be cool is a night that had an open wheel class of either Winged 360 Sprints or Wingless Spec Sprints, a Modified class and a Stock Car class. We'd call it the Founders Cup. This would celebrate all of the legends, even guys down south like Doug Fort and Doug Bainton. We'd talk a little bit about them on the PA, put display boards up near the concessions and celebrate the people who created these circuits. Barkhimer had about two dozen tracks before he brought them into NASCAR, and people are forgetting that history.

I haven't talked to Dennis to figure out where he might go with his next book after Altamont. I'm thinking he may go to Fresno and do Kearney Bowl, Clovis, Selma and those tracks. I don't know who is going to do the books for Antioch Speedway, Petaluma Speedway, Merced Speedway, Vallejo Speedway. I mean, there's so much out there about Vallejo Speedway, it would be easy to do a year by year breakdown with lots of pictures. Was there a more prolific photographer than Bob Bockover? His son John was a hell of a photographer as well.

What prevents me from doing racing books the way they need to be done is weekly racing. I do enough weekly coverage that I just don't want to mess with the books. I'd like to do something completely unrelated to racing, but oftentimes I'll just sit down and vegetate until it's time to go to the track again. I'm tired of that cycle, but yet I have to deal with it a little bit longer. That's one of the reasons why I'm trying not to take on too many duties, so it's not every day stress on something racing related. I do it to myself, because I keep adding more. 

Antioch Speedway will kick off the season with IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds and IMCA Stock Cars. The Hobby Stocks also get to be a part of the rotation. I think they should do pretty well in attendance. I think opening nights tend to do pretty well for a track. 

It's all new, new bodies on the cars and new cars. People want to see all of that. However, we also have to do a better job of putting the word out. If the average is 350 or 400 people a week, and I don't know this, we need to aim higher. Whatever the average is, our goal needs to be 200 more people, and how do we get that?? That's how I approached Medford.

One of the concerns I had about the IMCA Stock Car class was the price tag of these cars. They aren't cheap. They aren't entry level. In fact, they are higher level than the Hobby Stocks. They're even higher level than the Sport Modifieds. They are different looking and put on a good race, but is this thing going to grow into the 20s? These days, a promoter tries to get a dozen to 16 cars in any class, and if a division delivers that, they are important to the roster. If not, you keep working until you get a division that does.

The Super Stock division was something John Soares thought would be nice as a way to bring back the Late Model class we saw from the late 1980s and early 1990s. We had people like Ron Brown out there hunting down the old chassis, and the division didn't do too bad after a few years. 

The last five or six years have seen them struggle to get 10 cars. This was just low enough that management decided the division needed to go. I was asked what I thought about it, and my thing would be to know how many drivers want to fight to keep it alive. If they want to fight for it, possibly they could justify getting a date or two as there's going to be nights when the track needs cars as the numbers will be low with the divisions they have booked.

You can say it's over, and you may be absolutely right about that. I like this style of class, because it brings a Late Model style without a Late Model budget. There is the Limited Late Model class using crate motors, but I question whether we're going to get that division up beyond a dozen cars. I hope so as an effort is being put forth by Mike Slaney with the Xtreme Limited Late Model Series. Placerville has done okay with it, but can it expand beyond Placerville? This year, we're going to find out.

If you are a fan of a division, it might be harder to watch it fade away. For instance, the Sportsman division was something I loved. There might have still been a dozen cars in Antioch in 1982. Even if the track wasn't going to run them as the featured class, they might have been able to put together a little series between Antioch and Watsonville that could have brought a dozen cars and kept it around for a while longer. 

Would it have been worth fighting for? Obviously the NASCAR brass didn't think so, and it was over. I lamented that loss for a few years and didn't warm up to the Stock Cars early on. I don't think I truly appreciated the Stock Car show until looking back in hindsight, and that's because I loved the Sportsman class so much. 

I didn't like when John took the Super Stock class and merged it with the Street Stocks. Some could say that his Super Stock idea should have died at that point. They only had five or six cars, but the Street Stocks were getting a dozen to 14. He merged the two classes, but within a couple of years, the Street Stocks were all parked. 

I'm baffled by that, not to mention the fact that Watsonville doesn't even have something like it. We're talking Street Stock/Late Model haven, and Watsonville doesn't have that? What John really accomplished at Antioch was eliminating a decent Street Stock division and still keeping a Super Stock class that struggled to get 10 cars. 

Therefore, I don't blame people for saying the division is over. When it was decided to add the IMCA Stock Cars, this division was able to get to double digits somewhat regularly in its first full season. It's got good names getting involved here, and I think it's going to continue to grow. What way would you go? Do you go with the IMCA Stock Cars that are growing on the West Coast, or a Super Stock class that might remind you of the good times but doesn't have a car count? If the drivers want it bad enough, they better demonstrate they can get double digits and justify getting another chance. 

I have asked for people's input, and I'm not getting much there. I also asked for input from the Hardtop racers. If I have to pick one of these things, I'll talk more with the Hardtop guys. My concern is that Antioch Speedway and the Bay Area Hardtops ought to be able to have at least eight Hardtops based in the area on any night they are booked. This doesn't count people who come down from Sacramento or Sportsman cars, and you're going to have a problem justifying them on the roster if so many guys stay parked. For teams that are committed to other types of racing, send your Hardtop with another driver if you like this class. Bottom line.

In any case, I'm still here for now, and I'm not going to write much longer than I have here. The nucleus of what I would consider covering on this blog if it doesn't get too stressful would include Antioch, Petaluma, Merced and Watsonville. I may include Orland, but they have to give me information. If I have Orland's spot available, I'd hand that to Yreka. Otherwise, since it looks like the Limited Late Model series has a writer, I would support Roy Bain's Tri State Pro Stocks and Dan Myrick's West Coast Sport Compacts. Without adding more than that, I think it would be manageable on this blog. 

What I've always failed to remind myself was that even if I covered a fraction what was being offering on this blog in recent years, it's still more than you'll find in most places. People are giving up on writing the articles and instead just look at the statistics. It doesn't mean that there aren't people interested in the color or any insights into what's going on, but a lot of people want to get in and get out and get on with their lives. As a writer, I can be succinct, but oftentimes I'm not. It is what it is. I don't feel I have to write another word about racing, because I feel like I've done quite a bit as it is. I'm doing it this week, and we'll see from here. 

I'm very happy to be back in Contra Costa County, not too far from Concord, which would be my ideal area to live. I'm within walking distance of a lot of things, and I can start getting the help that I need. I need to get up on my feet and get moving. I've recently established my own personal relationship with Jesus Christ, which I say only because it works for me. 

You do you, but I can tell you why it works for me if you want to know. If you don't and you're good to me and we're friends, we're still going to be friends. I'm not the type of person who would abandon anybody who's been good to me. I want to spread that love all around.

There's also the matter of the girl I call Candice. She came out in 2008, and I'm sure people in the racing community saw her. She didn't do everything right, but she did build a wardrobe. She is a work in progress, and she'd like to make progress and become who she was meant to be. This girl has been in my head since I was a child, and explains a lot about why I am where I am now. I never got the help I needed. I buried it. It's time to work on that. I know some people may not accept me if they see me changing too much, but others will.

I don't ask anybody to do me any special favors. I don't get all temperamental if I'm misgendered or misnamed by people who knew me, provided that they're not doing that from a negative place. I only know I want to be me. I don't know if the new me that people will see fits in the racing scene, or whether I'd want to stick around. But I'm here now. I don't want to get into the trans topic in my racing column. It's a bit like getting into politics. It doesn't belong here, but I wanted to tell you a little bit about what was going on with me.

For Saturday night, I will be at Antioch Speedway, and I intend to be monitoring Watsonville on Friday night. We're just going to play everything week to week and see what we can do. I wish all of my friends happiness and the best of luck in whatever they do. I look forward to seeing my racing friends at the track, because these are the people who made me want to be involved in the first place.

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

Antioch Season Opener, Antioch Speedway Season Preview, Antioch Speedway Season Recap

 

First of all...

The DCRR Racing Media Books

Just A Kid From The Grandstands:  My Time In Auto Racing

Stories of my time in auto racing from the beginning to 2003 Available on Lulu in Paperback And Hard Cover

And

Don's California Racing Recollections:  Best Of The Blog And Beyond

Racing History, Stories, Statistics And Pictures
Available via print on demand at Lulu in Hard Cover or Paperback

Disclaimer 

For years we've made a commitment to cover motorsports on the West Coast, and we're very proud of our record. We always endeavor to give you the most accurate information possible, but sometimes some details aren't available to us when we go to press. Therefore, we want to remind you that any finishes listed in the articles and stats posted on this page are unofficial. As always, we refer you to each race track's webpage for official results and point standings. Our goal is to cover racing to the best of our ability, but we are an unofficial news source for the tracks covered in each post. Thank you for reading and thank you for your support.

If You Like Reading Our Articles

Support Us Via  The Tip Jar 

 You can support us at Antspeed1@aol.com via PayPal

Also...

DCRR Racing Media And PR Consulting  HERE

From the Grandstands By Ron Rodda HERE 

Blakesley Sports Media HERE

Short Track Live HERE

DRC (Daren Ricks Campbell) Motorsports Media HERE

Antioch Speedway Racing Discussion

HERE

 

DeCarlo, Ryland, Welborn Open Season With Wins
At Antioch Speedway

Misty Welborn #75 win her first Hobby Stock Main Event. Photo by DCRR Racing Media

 

Antioch, CA...March 12...Nick DeCarlo scored the win in the 25 lap IMCA Modified Main Event Saturday night at Antioch Speedway. This was the first race of the 62nd championship season at the track, and it was DeCarlo's first win in two years.

Kellen Chadwick jumped into the lead at the start with Nick DeCarlo not far behind him in second. Bobby Hogge IV made an outside pass on the backstretch to take third from reigning champion Jim Pettit II on Lap 7. The leaders caught heavy traffic on Lap 15, and DeCarlo made an inside pass on the backstretch on Lap 16 to grab the lead. Hogge made a high pass in Turn 2 on Lap 17 to take the lead from DeCarlo, but DeCarlo came back strong with an outside pass in Turn 4 to regain command. During the final circuits, Hogge kept it close, but DeCarlo prevailed for the well-earned victory. Five-time champion Troy Foulger ended up third ahead of Chadwick and Pettit

The Haney Family working on the motor of one of their Hobby Stocks. Front is father Gene Haney, back left is son Jon Haney and back right is grandson Cameron Haney.  

Photo by DCRR Racing Media 

Misty Welborn won the 25 Lap Hobby Stock Main Event. This was her first win in the class. Welborn ranked in the Top 5 in the standings last season, and many people said she was due to get a win at any time. 

Chris Long moved up from the second row into the lead at the start. Long led the race until his car slowed after Lap 8. Les Friend found himself in the lead on the restart ahead of reigning champion Larry McKinzie Jr. Welborn quickly struck to second on a Lap 12 restart. Welborn made a high pass in Turn 2 on Lap 13 to take the lead from Friend. For the second half of the race, Friend kept it very close. However, Welborn prevailed for her first win. Friend settled for second ahead of Bobby Gallaher, Jared Baugh and Jewell Crandall.

Reigning champion Fred Ryland won the time limit shortened 21 lap IMCA Sport Modified Main Event. He picked up a win at Watsonville a night earlier to make it a double win weekend in the class. Ryland wasn't done as he came back out and turned in a dominating performance in winning the 20 lap IMCA Stock Car feature.

 

Kelly Campanile had a front row start and bolted into the lead when the green flag waved ahead of Jimmy Ford. 2019 champion Tommy Fraser moved into second on Lap 3. On a third restart attempt on Lap 9, contact on the backstretch between Jacob Mallet Jr and Campanile resulted in a tangle between the two. Ryland took over on the restart. Despite some serious pressure from Andrew Pearce during the second half of the race, Ryland prevailed in the end. Pearce settled for second ahead of Chester Kniss, Tom Clymens Jr and Tyler Browne.

Fred Ryland #7 won the IMCA Stock Car Main Event.

In the IMCA Stock Car race, Ryland bolted into the lead at the start ahead of Jason Jennings. Jennings had a side-by-side battle going behind him between Kellen Chadwick and Anthony Giuliani. Ryland held a half-lap lead by the seventh circuit. Troy Foulger moved into fourth behind Chadwick and made it a side by side battle for third. Some close quarters racing on Lap 14 saw Foulger and Chadwick shuffle Jennings back. Even a late yellow flag wouldn't stop Ryland as he maintained his lead from there to the impressive win. Foulger finished second ahead of Chadwick, Anthony Giuliani and Travis Dutra.

Racing will resume this Saturday night with the IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars, IMCA Sport Modifieds and Delta Dwarf Cars. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.

Antioch Speedway

Unofficial Race Results 

IMCA Modifieds

Heat Winners (8 laps)-Nick DeCarlo, Bobby Hogge IV. Main Event (25 laps)-Nick DeCarlo, Bobby Hogge IV, Troy Foulger, Kellen Chadwick, Jim Pettit II, Trevor Clymens, Chris Lewis, Terry DeCarlo Jr, Kenneth Robles, Terry DeCarlo Sr.

IMCA Sport Modifieds 

Heat Winners (8 laps)-Tommy Fraser, Fred Ryland, Andrew Pearce. Main Event (21 laps)-Fred Ryland, Andrew Pearce, Chester Kniss, Tommy Clymens Jr, Tyler Browne, Mark Garner, Jacob Mallet Jr, Shayna Nieman, Jimmy Ford, Jake Bentancourt.

Hobby Stocks

Heat Winners (8 laps)-Danny Aves, Les Friend, Larry McKinzie Jr, Misty Welborn. Main Event (25 laps)-Misty Welborn, Les Friend, Bobby Gallaher, Jared Baugh, Jewell Crandall, Angela Brown, Jess Paladino, Larry McKinzie Jr, James Graessle, Colton Haney.

IMCA Stock Cars

Heat Winners (8 laps)-Jason Robles, Fred Ryland. Main Event (20 laps)-Fred Ryland, Troy Foulger, Kellen Chadwick, Anthony Giuliani, Travis Dutra, Jason Jennings, Rob Gallaher, Andrew Pearce, Joe Gallaher, Scott Foster.

Antioch Speedway Prepares For 62nd Season Of Racing 

 

Antioch, CA...The first race of the 2022 season is about ready to happen at Antioch Speedway. This year, the track has welcomed Pacific Coast General Engineering as the title sponsor for all of the action throughout the season. Chad and Tina Chadwick of PROmotions are returning for their third season, and they've introduced an exciting lineup once again. 

Since 1990, the IMCA Modifieds have been a regular part of the program, and this is their third season with the IMCA sanctioning body. Likewise, the Sport Modifieds and the Stock Cars are being governed by the oldest sanctioning body in the United States. This is the 10th Anniversary season for Sport Modifieds at the track, and they continue to produce one of the strongest fields. The Stock Cars are in their second season and already growing by leaps and bounds. 

The popular Hobby Stock division returns for their 26th year at the track, and the Wingless Spec Sprints are back for their 23rd season. Both divisions continue to produce solid car counts and frequently needed B Mains last season. The Dwarf Cars have been a regular feature at the track since 1998 and are in their third season under the Delta Dwarf Car Association banner. They also produce strong fields. The Mini Stocks are in their third season as the entry level class and continue to grow rapidly. 

The track will welcome the Xtreme Limited Late Model Series on several occasions as the Super Stocks end a more than 20-year run at the track. Management is also looking to the Bay Area Hardtops for some appearances. The growing WMR Ecotec Midgets will visit the track on multiple occasions, and there are special events lined up throughout the year, which will go through the end of November. This will include the Malicious Monster Truck Insanity Tour, which will be booked for the last weekend of April and September 10th and 11th.

It all gets kicked into high gear on March 12th with the season opener, which will feature IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars and Hobby Stocks. The Hobby Stocks will be replaced by the Delta Dwarf Cars the following week as the fast little cars kick off their season. On many occasions, you'll see at least two of the three IMCA sanctioned divisions on the same bill. 

Noteworthy on the schedule will be the Sixth Annual Hetrick Memorial race, which will include all three IMCA classes and Hobby Stocks. The three divisions will also have their championship Night on September 17th and will return for the Bill Bowers Memorial West Coast Nationals on September 29th-October 1st

The first of the Xtreme Limited Late Model events at Antioch coincides with the opener for both the Wingless Spec Sprints and Mini Stocks on March 26th. Delta Dwarf Cars will be a part of that occasion. Late Models return on April 9th, May 28th, June 18th, July 23rd, August 13th and September 24th.

The Limited Late Models also get to compete on November 25th along with the Wingless Spec Sprints, 600 Wingless Micros and Mini Stocks. That's the opening night of the final weekend of the year, and the following evening will see the IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds and IMCA Stock Cars on the bill along with Hobby Stocks. On October 8th, it's the Donna Soares Memorial Hall of Fame event. The Wingless Spec Sprints will be there along with the Delta Dwarf Cars and the BCRA Lightning Sprints.

Special events will dot the season. On April 16th, there will be a special Easter Egg Hunt in the infield for the kids. WMR Midgets, Wingless Spec Sprints, Delta Dwarf Cars and Mini Stocks will also share the spotlight on the night's racing card. WMR Midgets will return for more excitement on June 11th, August 20th and September 24th. Also noteworthy about the June 11th appearance is the Hunt Wingless Spec Sprints. The popular Wingless tour will also be joined by Hobby Stocks and Mini Stocks. 

The aforementioned Malicious Monster Truck Insanity Tour has been booked, and the first dates will either be April 29th and 30th or April 30th and May 1st. Keep track of the Antioch Speedway Facebook page and website for specifics. They return on September 10th and 11th. 

Mother's Day on May 9th will see the return of the popular Mini Van race for mothers. The IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds and IMCA Stock Cars will be there as well. A Destruction Derby is being planned for during the Contra Costa County Fair on May 14th.

The Delta Dwarf Cars get to shine in the spotlight on July 15th and 16th as they host the annual Western States Dwarf Car Association Nationals event on both nights. Hobby Stocks will join the fun on the 15th with IMCA Stock Cars there a night later. The point window is scheduled to close on September 24th for Championship Night #2, featuring Wingless Spec Sprints, Hobby Stocks, Limited Late Models and the WMR Midgets. 

However, racing is far from over at that point. The aforementioned Bill Bower Memorial race happens at the end of September and early October with the Donna Soares Memorial/Hall of Fame night happening on October 8th. October 15th is scheduled to be a 200 lap Enduro, paying $2,000 to win. Dwarf Car Mania returns on October 22nd. The Delta Dwarf Cars are going to be joined by the Mini Stocks and the the Bay Area Hardtops. 

The October 22nd date for the Hardtops is the 20th Annual Chet Thomson Memorial event, which has its roots at Vallejo Speedway in the 1960s. Chet is a BCRA Hall of Famer and the father of current Hardtop competitor Tommy Thomson. In addition to the Bay Area drivers, visitors come from the Sacramento area, and the Merced Sportsman drivers also like to come to Antioch to have fun. Other Hardtop dates on the schedule include April 2nd, May 28th and August 20th.

Last season, the speedway introduced The Hobby Stock Nationals. This event paid $5,000 to win and attracted over 50 of the best Hobby Stock drivers in the state. This event is currently being scheduled for October 28th and 29th with the aforementioned final races of the season taking place on November 25th and 26th.

Any Saturday night at Antioch Speedway is a fun occasion to bring the family and be entertained. This has been a tradition at the fairgrounds going back to 1961. The excitement continues. You want to be there to see all of the action as the drama unfolds and the championship battles get decided. 

To keep up to date with all of the happenings, go to www.antiochspeedway.com or follow the speedway at the Antioch Speedway Facebook page.

potato

If for some reason you can't make it to the track, www.antiochpeedway.tv will be providing pay-per-view coverage.

61st Season Of Racing At Antioch Speedway 

Offered Plenty Of Excitement

2021 IMCA Modified champion Jim Pettit II and wife Veronica collected their championship trophy at the season opener. Photo by DCRR Racing Media

Antioch, CA....The second season for PROmotions at the helm of Antioch Speedway and 61st overall saw more opportunities to go racing for the drivers and a return of the fans. 2020 was one of the most difficult seasons in racing history, but Promoters Chad and Tina Chadwick managed to make most of that season happen despite the fact that they couldn't have a crowd. Very early on in the 2021 season, fans were allowed back into the grandstands. 

The season had over 40 events from March through the end of November, and that meant sometimes scrambling to fill spots in the lineup. The track had eight championship earning divisions and several others that competed at least once throughout the season. It assured the fans that they would have something exciting to watch on any given Saturday night.

The IMCA Modifieds returned for their 32nd season of racing as one of the headline classes in the lineup. They had some strong moments throughout the season, but some of the biggest turnouts were provided by the IMCA Sport Modifieds, Hobby Stocks and Wingless Spec Sprints. The track also hosted several big events, including the hugely successful Malicious Monster Truck Insanity Tour show, the Hetrick Memorial race, the Bill Bowers Memorial West Coast Nationals, the Hobby Stock Nationals, Donna Soares Memorial/Hall of Fame night and the Freedom Series races.

A check of the standings finds that Jim Pettit II was IMCA Modified champion. Fred Ryland (IMCA Sport Modifieds), Kevin Miraglio (Delta Dwarf Cars), Larry McKinzie Jr (Hobby Stocks), Jim Freethy (Super Stocks), Ryon Siverling (Wingless Spec Sprints), Tom Brown (Mini Stocks) and Travis Dutra (IMCA Stock Cars) were the other champions for the 2021 season.

Because the neighboring Stockton Dirt Track got the New Year's date, Antioch went ahead and ran on the second of January. Jim Pettit II picked up the IMCA Modified portion of the show ahead of Nick DeCarlo and Troy Foulger. The IMCA Sport Modified win went to Todd Gomez ahead of Trevor Clymens and Guy Ahlwardt. In the Hobby Stock class, Jason Robles got the win ahead of Tim Elias and Travis Dutra. The IMCA Stock Cars ran their first point race with Cody Johnson getting the glory ahead of Joe Gallaher and Michael Shearer.

Jim Pettit II Gets It Done In IMCA Modifieds

Already in the Antioch Speedway Hall of Fame and inducted into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame during the year, Jim Pettit II has nothing left to prove. However, he has enjoyed racing IMCA Modifieds at Watsonville and is a champion there. To improve his game, Pettit decided to take his car to every event he could, and the result was him winning the California State championship and the title at Merced Speedway as well as the Antioch honors. If not for the decision to not count the final race of the season, Pettit likely would have won the Watsonville title as well. 

In 16 starts, Pettit managed to win four times and score a division leading 13 Top 5 finishes. Despite that fact, he still had 2019 track champion Buddy Kniss just 29 points behind him. Kniss was the only other driver with 16 starts, and nine of those were Top 5s with one being a victory. 

The battle for the final podium position was close with only 21 points separating three drivers. 2004 titlist Aaron Crowell managed to garner the honors with six Top 5 finishes, while 2016 champion Bobby Motts Jr was six points behind him with three Top 5 finishes. Another past champion, Kellen Chadwick, was in the hunt until missing some races. He had 10 Top 5 finishes, including three wins.

Driving for Bowers Motorsports once again, previous champion Troy Foulger missed some shows. He was a force when he was there and had eight Top 5 finishes and three of those were wins. He beat two-time champion Carl Berendsen II, who managed seventh in the standings with three Top 5s. Matthew Hagio had a pair of wins out of four Top 5 finishes, and Jeff Browne had one Top 5 finish to hold down ninth in the standings. Nick DeCarlo had five Top 5 finishes to secure 10th in points.

Bobby Hogge IV scored three additional feature wins, while Ryan McDaniel and Terry DeCarlo Sr each had a win to their credit. There were some notable moments during the season that made winning extra special. The Speedweek race in early May went to Hogge ahead of eventual Speedweek champion Ethan Dotson and Troy Morris III. Foulger got the win in the Hetrick Memorial in late June ahead of Pettit and Chadwick. 

With bigger money on the line in the Bill Bowers Memorial, it was Ryan McDaniel coming to town to claim the win ahead of Paul Stone and Darrell Hughes II. Foulger brought the curtain down on the season on Thanksgiving weekend by winning ahead of Raymond Lindeman and Brent Curran. Curran, who's made the move up from the Sport Modifieds, came within a whisker of beating Terry DeCarlo Sr in the previous race, which proved to be a popular occasion for DeCarlo.

Ryland Back In Charge In Sport Modifieds

The IMCA Sport Modifieds delivered a solid car count, and needed B Mains quite often. Because of that, the track would often run them last on the grid even when the Modifieds were there. Fred Ryland was able to dethrone champion Trevor Clymens when it was all said and done. Ryland was also able to recapture his lead as the division's all-time Main Event winner, and this was his second championship in the division. 

Ryland didn't leave a lot of doubt as he collected 15 Top 5 finishes in his 17 starts, and that included six wins. He beat Trevor Clymens by 34 points. Clymens spent the year traveling up and down the road and won the IMCA State championship, which has prompted him to take a look at the IMCA Modified class. Clymens is a three-time champion at Antioch, and he had nine Top 5 finishes, including one win. 51 points out of the lead in third was past division champion KC Keller. Keller had 12 Top 5 finishes and four wins, but he only made 14 starts. 

Andrew Pearce was only seven points behind Keller in what turned out to be a good year for the new driver. He picked up seven Top 5 finishes and one victory, keeping fifth place driver and past State champion Guy Ahlwardt at bay. Ahlwardt had seven Top 5 finishes and stayed seven points ahead of past division runner-up Kevin Brown, who had five Top 5 efforts. 

Newcomer Tyler Browne was seven points behind Kevin Brown in seventh. Much like eighth place Chuck Golden, Browne had two Top 5 efforts. Past track champion Tom Fraser ended up ninth with three Top 5s and a win, while newcomer Emali Van Hoff ended up 10th with two Top 10 finishes.

Other drivers to write their names in the win column during the season were Todd Gomez and Kenny Shrader with two each and Jacob Mallet Jr and Tyler Bannister with one each. Bannister grabbed his win during the Speedweek series visit in early May. He was chased across the line by Ryland and Josh Most. 

The win at the Hetrick Memorial race in late June went to Shrader ahead of Ahlwardt and Trevor Clymens. The Sport Modified portion of the Bill Blowers Memorial race in October went to Ryland ahead of Pearce and Keller. the curtain was brought down on the season at the end of November with the win going to Mallet ahead of Ryland and Gomez.

Dutra First Ever IMCA Stock Car Champion At Antioch

The track added IMCA Stock Cars to the roster for their first championship season. At the Bill Bowers Memorial race a year earlier, Troy Foulger picked up the wins on both nights in what turned out to be an impressive field of competitors. Foulger has finally joined this class with the Bowers Motorsports team car.

However, the 2021 season championship honors went to Travis Dutra. The points remained somewhat close all season between Dutra, Watsonville Hobby Stock champion Joe Gallaher and two-time Wingless Spec Sprint title winner Dan Gonderman. Only 23 points separated the three by season's end. 

Dutra scored a division-leading 13 Top 5 finishes out of his 15 starts, and that included three Main Event triumphs. He beat Gallaher by 19 tallies. Gallaher was one of two competitors who made 16 starts, and like third-ranked Gonderman, he had nine Top 5 finishes. Gonderman only trailed him by three points. 19 points behind Gonderman in fourth was Jason Robles. Robles looked impressive with 11 Top 5 finishes and three victories, beating Austin Van Hoff by just four points for the fourth position. Van Hoff had four Top 5 finishes and one win.

State champion Renn Bane made the trips from Fresno to compete at Antioch, and he had one Top 5 finish as he ended up sixth in the standings. Three-time Watsonville Hobby Stocks champion Rob Gallaher had three wins out of his seven Top 5 finishes to secure seventh in the standings ahead of Jay Bryant. Bryant had three Top 5 finishes and beat Kellen Chadwick by 23 points. Chadwick had four Top 5 finishes. In 10th was Garrett Corn, who had two Top 5 finishes and one win. 

Bakersfield racers Nick Johnson and Cody Johnson each had two victories with other wins during the season going to Brock Hamilton, Loren DeArmond, Fred Ryland and Foulger. Nick Johnson got the win at the Bowers Memorial race ahead of Rick Diaz and Ryland. In the final race at the end of November, the win went to Foulger ahead of Ryland and Chadwick.

 McKinzie Perseveres For Jay's Mobile Welding Service Hobby Stock Title Win

The closest championship battle of the season was found in the Hobby Stock division, which was sponsored by Jay's Mobile Welding Service for the season. Jeff Bentancourt and Larry McKinzie Jr battled back and forth for the honors. However, Mckinzie prevailed in the end.

Only Mckinzie and Kenneth Robles had 22 starts for the season, and Mckinzie had a division leading 13 Top 5 finishes and three wins. Jeff Bentancourt ended up 40 points behind McKenzie in second with 10 Top 5 finishes and one win. Robles ended up a solid third with 10 Top 5 finishes of his own and three victories. Misty Welborn held fourth by 20 points ahead of Jared Baugh. Welborn had six Top 5 finishes while Baugh had four, including one win.

Michaela Taylor had her first season behind the wheel of the iconic #71a made famous by Debbie Clymens. She ended up sixth in the standings with one Top 5 finish and 11 Top 10s in her 18 starts. Returning Street Stock veteran Charlie Bryant was just six points behind Taylor in seventh with six Top 5 finishes. He tied James Graessle for the position as Graessle had two Top 5s. Past Super Hobby Stock champion Gene Haney finished ninth with three Top 5 finishes, and Gavin Griffiths matched that total as he ended up 10th in the standings.

Modified veteran Brad Coelho returned to his fendered Stock Car roots in big way with six wins in his nine starts. Ken Johns managed to visit the winner's circle on three different occasions. Bakersfield star Dylan Wilson picked up a pair of wins, matching the total of incoming champion James Thomson. Other wins were recorded by DJ Keldsen, Steven Johnson, Joe Gallaher and Jason Robles.

The highlight of the season was the $5,000 to win Hobby Stock Nationals event in October, won by Dylan Wilson ahead of Nick Johnson and Brian Cooper. The Hobby Stocks also got to compete during the Hetrick Memorial race with Kenneth Robles getting the win ahead of Jeff Bentancourt and Brad Coelho. It was Coelho bringing the curtain down with the win in the the final race of the year in November, followed by Misty Welborn and Jared Baugh.

Siverling Uses Consistency To Win Wingless Spec Sprint Championship

The Wingless Spec Sprints entered their 23rd campaign and Ryon Siverling got the opportunity to return to his home track as the rule changes made it possible. Siverling had won a championship at Petaluma previously. The grandson of NCMA driver Burt Siverling, Ryon Siveling won the championship with a consistent performance.

Siverling made 11 starts and picked up eight Top 5 finishes, which led the division. He beat two-time champion Bob Newberry by 52 points. Newberry had five Top 5 efforts and two wins, keeping him six points ahead of Petaluma Modified graduate Tony Bernard, who ended up third with three Top 5 finishes. James East matched Bernard in Top 5 finishes to secure fourth in the standings and missed third by just four tallies. Kevin Box picked up a pair of victories as only Top 5 finishes, giving him fifth in the final rundown.

Ageless veteran Roy Fisher ended up sixth with one Top 5 finish, matching the total of seventh place finisher Jeff Scotto. Steve Maionchi was eighth in the standings with just one Top 10 finish. Ninth went to past Watsonville champion Jimmy Christian, who had four top five finishes and one win. Past Antioch and Petaluma 360 Sprint Car championship Shawn Arriaga ended up 10th with four Top 5 efforts.

Past Petaluma 360 Sprint Car champion Geoff Ensign drove the Ted Finkenbinder car to three wins, and Hunt Wingless Sprint Car champion Shawn Jones had two wins. Incoming champion DJ Johnson and Josh Young each had a win of their own.

Miraglio Claims Second Dwarf Car Championship At Antioch Speedway

Kevin Miraglio returned to the Delta Dwarf Cars and turned in an impressive performance throughout the season. Miraglio had won the championship in 2016 and made this his second title as he fended off two-time division champion Danny Wagner. Wagner played an important role in bringing the Dwarf Cars into the Delta Dwarf Car Association under the bigger WSDCA umbrella a year earlier.

Miraglio, Wagner and Devan Kammermann each had a dozen starts, but Miraglio topped the season with 11 Top 5 finishes and one win. Wagner led the division with six victories out of his nine Top 5 finishes. Kammermann continues to chase his first win but notched five Top 5 efforts to grab a solid hold of third in the final standings.

Dennis Gilcrease had four Top 5 efforts to end up fourth in the standings ahead of Chance Russell by just six tallies. Russell had five Top 5 finishes and beat newcomer Ellie Russo by just two points for fifth. Russo had one Top 5 finish, but that turned out to be a win for her.

2019 Antioch champion Scott Dahlgren and incoming champion Travis Day each had three Top 5 finishes to finish seventh and eighth in the standings, respectively. Jack Haverty ended up ninth ahead of Sean Catucci. Haverty had one Top 5 effort with Catucci getting four of them. Camarillo long tow Tommy Velasquez III, who won the Watsonville South Bay Dwarf Car title, had three wins to his credit, with Nick Velasquez and Shawn Jones each getting one win.

The the fact that the Delta Dwarf Cars are under the WSDCA banner now affords Antioch the opportunity to have and a Dwarf Car Nationals race. This is broken down into Pro, Veteran and Sportsman divisions, the latter of which is for the new drivers. The Nationals also has its own point race. On Main Event night, Petaluma champion Chad Matthias got the Pro win ahead of Darren Brown and Adam Teves. Miraglio got the Veteran win ahead of Eric Weisler and Brian Quilty. Santa Maria long tow Scotty Preast got the win in the Sportsman class ahead of Ellie Russo and Orey Woods. The win on Dwarf Car Mania Main Event night in October went to Nick Velasquez ahead of Dylan Shrum and Travis Dutra.

Brown Adds Antioch Championship To His Credentials

The Mini Stocks were in their second full season of their revival, and car count continued to grow. It his fast Ford Pinto, Tom Brown made it a banner season as he notched the championships at both Antioch and Petaluma, where he is now a two-time champion. However, Brown had to play catch up with Eddie Humphrey III for most of the season before finally prevailing.

Brown led the division with six wins in his eight starts, all of which were Top 5 efforts. Humphrey had no wins but had seven Top 5 finishes in his nine starts. He trailed by 14 points and was two ahead of third ranked Dan Abitz. Abitz had six Top 5 finishes. Dana Gardner was a distant fourth with five Top 5 efforts, and Laina Bales ended up fifth with two Top 5s.

Three-time Merced Speedway champion Chris Corder had one win out of his two starts, beating West Coast Sport Compact competitor Jeff Durant by just four points. Durant also had a win. West Coast Sport Compact competitor Shawn DePriest had one Top 5 finish to end up eighth in the points ahead of the tied Dan Myrick and Gene Glover, who each had a win. Both of those drivers were also part of the West Coast Sport Compact Tour.

The West Coast Sport Compacts competed in The Valley, but they made two trips to the Bay Area. It was Dan Myrick winning the April visit ahead of Chris Corder and Eddie Humphrey III. May 15th race saw 15 competitors with Glover getting the win over Ryan Doglione and West Coast Sport Compact champion Greg Baronian.

Jim Feeethy Brings Curtain Down On Super Stocks Run At Antioch Speedway

Jim Feeethy won what could turn out to be the final Super Stock championship in track history. For Freethy, it was his second title. He picked up five wins out of six Top 5 efforts and was never really threatened by Joey Ridgeway, who had a solid hold on second. Ridgeway had five Top 5 finishes, while third ranked Chad Hammer had three. Hammer held off two-time champion Kimo Oreta by just 20 points for third. Oreta had four Top 5 efforts and one win. Jason Robles was a solid fifth with three Top 5s.

The Tri State Pro Stock Challenge Series paid Antioch a visit in April and delivered the high car count of the season with 16 cars. Richard Brace Jr got the win ahead of Randy Miller and Justin Crockett. It was Jim Freethy getting the win at the Larry Damitz Memorial race in October ahead of Joey Ridgeway and Michael Burch.

In Other Season Highlights

There were several special attractions throughout the course of the season, including the Malicious Monster Truck Tour in September, the Flat Track Motorcycles and the Mother's Day Mini Van race in May, which proved to be very popular. Kim Solis won the Mini Van race ahead of Tracy Paladins and Jen Thomson.

Some of the notable occurrences included a win by BCRA Midgets champion Colby Johnson in their first visit. Unfortunately, the next race they appeared at saw the night ended early after Tyler Slay flipped hard in the WMR Midgets feature and was airlifted from the track. Slay has been on the road to recovery ever since. The BCRA Lightning Sprints race that night went to Hunter Kinney.

The Limited Late Models, using the Placerville Crate Late Model rules, made three late season visits with wins going to Jay Norton, Anthony Slaney and Dan Brown Jr. The division will make several appearances next season as the new Xtreme Limited Late Model Series has been formed. The track also had four 600 Micro Sprint races with the wins going to Jack Clark, Don McLeister and Rob Brown. McLeister won twice.

The Bay Area Hardtops made several appearances during the season. In early June, Doug Braudrick's Junkyard Dog was driven by Joel Hannagan to victory ahead of Jim Perry Jr and Watsonville Sportsman Hall of Famer Jerry Cecil, who is also a Merced Sportsman champion. The Hardtops with their Sportsman visitors also got to compete at the Hetrick Memorial with Hannagan getting the win ahead of Rick Elliott and Ken Retzloff. Scheduling conflicts affected the car count on that occasion.

The July show saw Hannagan winning ahead of Retzloff and Kevin Joaquin, who was subbing for two-time Merced Sportsman champion Mike Friesen. The 19th Annual Chet Thomson Memorial, which has its roots at Vallejo Speedway dating back to the 1960s, went Hannagan with an impressive drive. There were 14 competitors for the October race, and the Sportsman of Dwayne Short finished second ahead of Chet's son Tommy Thomson, Jimmy Perry III and the Sportsman of Rick Elliott.

The track has been trying for the last 2 years to get a Winged 360 Sprint Car effort going, but unfortunately the drivers haven't really gotten on board with it. The wins in the three races held went to Dylan Bloomfield, Brad Bumgarner and Daniel Whitley.

With over 40 races booked for the season, it proved challenging sometimes to fill the roster, but the track managed to consistently deliver an exciting show for the fans as a great season was put into the record books. To keep up to date on what's happening at the track, go to the website at www.antiochspeedway.com or check out the Antioch Speedway by PROmotions Facebook page.

Ocean Speedway Opens Season, Antioch Speedway Season Opener Preview, Ocean Speedway Season Recap

First of all...

The DCRR Racing Media Books

Just A Kid From The Grandstands:  My Time In Auto Racing

Stories of my time in auto racing from the beginning to 2003 Available on Lulu in Paperback And Hard Cover

And

Don's California Racing Recollections:  Best Of The Blog And Beyond

Racing History, Stories, Statistics And Pictures
Available via print on demand at Lulu in Hard Cover or Paperback

Disclaimer 

For years we've made a commitment to cover motorsports on the West Coast, and we're very proud of our record. We always endeavor to give you the most accurate information possible, but sometimes some details aren't available to us when we go to press. Therefore, we want to remind you that any finishes listed in the articles and stats posted on this page are unofficial. As always, we refer you to each race track's webpage for official results and point standings. Our goal is to cover racing to the best of our ability, but we are an unofficial news source for the tracks covered in each post. Thank you for reading and thank you for your support.

If You Like Reading Our Articles

Support Us Via  The Tip Jar 

 You can support us at Antspeed1@aol.com via PayPal

Also...

DCRR Racing Media And PR Consulting  HERE

From the Grandstands By Ron Rodda HERE 

Blakesley Sports Media HERE

Short Track Live HERE

DRC (Daren Ricks Campbell) Motorsports Media HERE

The DCRR Racing Radio Show

Backup Link HERE

The show will be back soon 

 

 

 

Hogge, Ryland, Gallaher, Stragalinos 

Open Ocean Speedway Season With Wins

Watsonville, CA...March 11...Bobby Hogge IV opened the 63rd season of racing at Ocean Speedway with a win Friday night. Hogge turned in a rather dominant performance from his pole position starting spot. 

 

Bobby Hogge IV IMCA Modified Winner Photo by Tom Sagmiller

 

The race had to be restarted after a tangle eliminated Chase Aue and Raymond Keldsen Jr. That proved to be the only slowdown of the race. Hogge led the restart ahead of reigning State champion Jim Pettit II and reigning track champion Cody Burke. Burke took second from Pettit on the fourth lap, and Pettit fell back to fifth on Lap 6 as Matthew Hagio settled into third. Hogge held a half-lap lead over Burke by the 11th lap. Burke fell out on Lap 12 as Hagio was now second ahead of Anthony Copeland. Pettit slipped past Copeland for third on Lap 18, but he was a lap down as Hogge won ahead of Hagio, Pettit, Copeland, Burke, Aue and Keldsen. Hagio won the eight lap heat race.

 

Fred Ryland #7j IMCA Sport Modified Winner Photo by Tom Sagmiller

 

Fred Ryland won the 20 lap IMCA Sport Modified Main Event. The reigning Antioch Speedway champion started up front. The race got a complete restart. Ryland led past Ocean Speedway champion Jim DiGiovanni and Igor gradzuk on the restart. Gradzuk took second from DiGiovanni on Lap 4, only the surrender the position to Jacob Mallet Jr a lap later with DiGiovanni third. A yellow flag waved on Lap 8 for a tangle involving TJ Etchison III, Mike Ficklin and Gradzuk. Ryland led Mallet and Markus Frazier on the restart. Ryland was pulling away a little bit when a final yellow flag slowed the pace on Lap 17. Undaunted, Ryland bolted ahead on the restart and brought it home to victory. Mallet settled for second ahead of Frazier, DiGiovanni, Hagio, Kelly Campanile, Shayna Nieman, Mike Ficklin, Haley Gomez and Duane Bieser. Eight lap heat race wins went to DiGiovanni and Ryland.

 

A jubilant Joe Gallaher #1 wins Hobby Stock race Photo by Tom Sagmiller

 

Reigning champion Joe Gallaher picked up right where he left off last season with a 20 lap Hobby Stock Main Event win. Six-time champion Sam Kennedy paced a lap before surrendering first to Gallaher. Jerry Skelton slipped past Kennedy for second on Lap 3. By the 9th lap, Gallaher held a straightaway advantage over Skelton. Kennedy moved in to challenge Skelton for second, and he made the pass on Lap 14. Steve Remde also got by for third. Nobody was stopping Joe Gallaher as he won by a half-lap ahead of Kennedy. Remde was a solid third, followed by final lead lap finisher Ryan Muller, Bobby Gallaher, Brady Muller, Norm Ayers, Skelton, Shane Freeman and Nick Scetani. Skelton and Kennedy picked up eight lap heat race wins.

 

Kenny Stragalinos #720 Mini Stock Winner Photo by Tom Sagmiller

 

Kenny Stragalinos won the 15 lap Mini Stock Main Event. Troy Moore jumped into the lead at the start ahead of TJ Santos and Amaya Flowers. Santos took the lead from Moore on the fourth lap. However, Moore regained first on Lap 7 as Stragalinos took third from Flowers. Stragalinos was able to jump past both Santos and Moore for the lead on Lap 8, and Flowers brought out a Lap 9 yellow flag. Stragalinos maintained the lead over Moore and Travis Van Gilder on the restart. A yellow flag slowed the pace on Lap 13 as Moore saw his race come to an unfortunate end. As Stragalinos led the restart, Bill Beardsley took second from Van Gilder. Stragalinos went on to win the race as past champion Bill Beardsley settled for second ahead of Van Gilder, Nicole Beardsley, Flowers, reigning champion Tony Gullo, Moore and Santos. Moore got the win in the six lap heat race.

 

Hunter Gather #243 Police N Pursuit Winner Photo by Tom Sagmiller

 

Hunter Gather won the 15 lap Police N Pursuit Main Event. Gather represents Santa Cruz law enforcement. Gather jumped into the lead at the start ahead of Scotts Valley Police Department representative John Hohmann and Jackie Yeung. Gather held a straightaway lead over Hohmann by the ninth lap, and Yeung fell out on Lap 12 as Pat Sullivan moved into the third position. Gather went on to win by a straightaway advantage over Hohmann. Eric Perez settled for third, followed by Sullivan and Yeung. Reigning champion Roy Iler was a Main Event scratch. Gather also claimed six lap heat race honors.

 

Police N Pursuit drivers on parade Photo by Tom Sagmiller

Racing continues next Saturday with the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Tour coming to town. The IMCA Sport Modifieds will run in support. For further information, go to www.oceanspeedway.com.

 

 

Antioch Speedway Prepares For 62nd Season Opener 

Saturday Night

Antioch, CA...The roar of the engines will be heard from the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds this Saturday night. Antioch Speedway will begin it's 62nd season of continuous operation with a full slate of auto racing action. 

 

Saturday nights will be busy from then all the way through the end of October with a special Thanksgiving weekend show putting a bow tie on what is surely going to be an exciting racing season.

After three consecutive practice events, Saturday night will see the IMCA Modifieds anchor a show that will also include the IMCA Sport Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars and Hobby Stocks. The three IMCA classes will also compete the following Saturday along with the Delta Dwarf Cars. 

Other divisions that will be seen in the regular rotation this year at various times will include Wingless Spec Sprints, Mini Stocks and Limited Late Models. There will also be other exciting special attractions throughout the season.

The IMCA Modifieds have been featured regularly at the speedway since 1990, though it was promoters Chad and Tina Chadwick of PROmotions who brought the IMCA banner to the Speedway in their first season at the helm in 2020. They are currently the longest tenured class in the lineup. The IMCA Sport Modifieds bring solid car counts as do the Hobby Stocks, and the IMCA Stock Cars are growing rapidly as they will begin their second championship season.

Jim Pettit II notched the IMCA Modified championship last season as well as the State title. Pettit, who is the all-time winningest driver in Late Model history at the track and a Hall of Famer, is now a four-time champion when counting his three Late Model titles. He can expect some stiff competition this Saturday night from drivers like last season's point runner-up Buddy Kniss and 2004 champion Aaron Crowell. 

For the second time in his career at Antioch, Fred Ryland claimed the championship in the IMCA Sport Modifieds last year. He also retook his position as the division's all-time Main Event win leader. Meanwhile, three-time champion Trevor Clymens won the State title as he has his sights set on a move up to the IMCA Modified ranks.

 

A strong turnout of competitors is anticipated this Saturday night, which could necessitate the need for Semi Main to fill up the remainder of the Main Event field.

Larry McKinzie Jr won a spirited duel last year with Jeff Bentancourt to claim the Hobby Stock title. The Hobby Stocks have been featured at the track since 1996 and at times had the strongest turnout of the night last year. There's a mixture of drivers with some experience and newcomers that makes for some exciting, slam bang action in this division.

The IMCA Stock Cars have been growing rapidly on the West Coast, so management knew the time was right to get involved. Travis Dutra wrote his name into the record books as the first champion in this division's history at the track. Dutra has been a force in every division he's competed in, which includes Mini Trucks, Dwarf Cars and Hobby Stocks, but he knows the competition level will be higher with standouts such as Fred Ryland and Troy Foulger on the roster this year. 

Any night of racing Is one you don't want to miss, but there's something magical about an opening night. There will be brand new race cars and new bodies on the cars and a full slate for the drivers as they set their goals for the new season. 

The gates will open at 4:00 pm to enable you to get your favorite seat, and ticket prices are $20 for adults, $15 for military, senior (60 and over) and children (under 11) with children five and under free.

Racing is scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m. and will wrap up by 10:00 p.m. To keep up the date with the happenings at the track, go to www.antiochspeedway.com or check out the Antioch Speedway Facebook by PROmotions page.

 

 

62nd Season Of Racing At Ocean Speedway 

Offered Plenty Of Excitement

Watsonville, CA...For closing in on two decades, John Prentice has promoted Ocean Speedway. The Taco Bravo Sprint Car class has been a featured player in the lineup during most of those years, and last season turned out to be a strong one for them. With some key Sprint Car events in the lineup and some other shows that showcased the stock car classes, fans were treated to plenty of excitement on the quarter-mile clay oval from the beginning of the season to its conclusion. 

The track continues to host the Pombo/Sargent Classic as well as the Howard Kaeding Classic for the Sprint Cars. The Johnny key Classic, which started at the old San Jose Speedway many years ago, also gives the fans a marquee show to enjoy. The track continues to honor its heritage as they brought back Hall of Fame night last season along with introducing the Terry Traub Tribute. The Pat and Jim Pettit Memorial Dirt Track Shootout ended the season on a high not.

The track hosts eight different championship divisions in its current lineup, and the 2021 Parade Of Champions includes Bud Kaeding (Winged 360 Sprint Cars), Cody Burke (IMCA Modifieds), Randy Miller (IMCA Sport Modifieds), Joe Gallaher (Hobby Stocks), Blake Bower (WMR Midgets), Tony Gullo (Mini Stocks), Roy Iler (Police N Pursuit) and Tommy Velasquez III (South Bay Dwarf Cars).

Kaeding Claims Sprint Car Championship

Because sometimes scheduling makes even the Friday night track a challenge for some of the top competitors to support, management has given them a two-race throwaway rule. This keeps the championship battle close for those who want to commit. Justin Sanders had a banner season with roughly 20 wins on the Sprint Car circuit in California. However, he missed more than two races, and that enabled Bud Kaeding to steal the title in the end. 

For Kaeding, it was a solid year. He picked up 11 Top 5 finishes and three wins in his 16 starts, which kept him 86 points ahead of Sanders in the end. Sanders had 15 starts with 13 Top 5 finishes and nine wins. Relative newcomer Joey Ancona made the trek from Concord to compete at Watsonville and had six Top 5 efforts to grab third in the standings by 17 tallies ahead of past champion JJ Ringo, who had four Top 5 finishes.

Kurt Nelson had a solid lock on fifth in the standings with three Top 5 finishes. The ever-present Jeremy Chisum had three Top 10 finishes to end up sixth in the standings, while Keith Day Jr had three Top 5s to end up seventh. Jason Chisum had three Top 10s of his own to put him eighth in the standings by 17 points ahead of Koen Shaw, who had one Top 5 finish. Past USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car champion Tristan Guardino had two Top five 5s to end up 32 points ahead of Josh Chisum for 10th in the final rundown.

Other drivers on the winner's list included Dominic Scelzi and Shane Golobic with two each and one each for Kaleb Montgomery and Sprint Car Challenge Tour champion Ryan Robinson. The SCCT Sprint Cars got to headline the Johnny Key Classic, and that accounted for one of the wins for Golobic as he beat Scelzi and Robinson to the checkered flag. The track also hosted the NARC Winged 410 Sprint Car Series for the Pombo/Sargent Classic on June 11th with Tim Kaeding getting the win ahead of Bud Kaeding and Golobic. The series returned for the Howard Kaeding Classic on July 17th with the win going Sean Becker ahead of Tanner Carrick and Mitchell Faccinto. Faccinto won the last NARC appearance of the year in August ahead of Robinson and Scelzi.

The other interesting thing to note is that the Watsonville Sprint Car show needed a B Main on just about every occasion throughout the year.

Burke Beats Pettit for IMCA Modified Championship

The IMCA Modifieds once again had a knockdown, drag out fight to find out who the champion would be. It was decided prior to the season to not count the Pat and Jim Pettit Memorial Dirt Track Shootout among the point races, and the lack of that race's inclusion may have ultimately cost Pettit the triple crown and grand slam as he had won the Antioch, Merced and State championships. Pettit had been battling fiercely with Cody Burke and JC Elrod for the lead throughout the season. With Austin Burke also in the mix, only 9 points separated the Top 4 competitors in the end. 

Cody Burke ended up with another championship on the strength of eight Top 5 finishes in his 12 starts and one victory. Pettit matched him with eight Top 5 finishes and led the field with four victories. Elrod had seven Top 5s with Austin Burke three points behind him on the strength of six Top 5s. The steady Raymond Keldsen Jr ended up fifth in the standings with six Top 10 finishes. Kyle Bryan matched him in Top 10 finishes and trailed him by just 11 points in the end. 

Bobby Hogge IV matched Pettit in the win column with four out of his six Top 5s. Following Hogge was Matthew Hagio in eighth with two Top 5 efforts. Andy Obertello returned to action on occasion and ended up with three Top 5 finishes and one win. Steve Pemberton had one Top 5 finish to secure 10th in the final rundown. 

Other drivers to pick up wins throughout the season included past Antioch champion Carl Berendsen II and Rick Diaz. Notable wins include Rick Diaz picking up a victory at the second night of the Howard Kaeding Classic ahead of Matthew Hagio and Troy Foulger. Pettit got the win on Terry Traub Tribute night ahead of Andy Obertello and Austin Burke. On the second night of the Pat and Jim Pettit Memorial Dirt Track shootout, Hogge outran Pettit and Diaz for the $3,006 victory.

Miller Gets The Glory In IMCA Sport Modifieds

For years, when you think Miller, chances are you're thinking Robert Miller. In IMCA Sport Modified competition, Randy Miller has become a force. Robert's brother set his sights on the IMCA Sport Modified championship, and only State champion Trevor Clymens proved to be any kind of threat. In the end, Miller was just a little too quick as he won the title by 19 points. 

Clymens had never chased points at Watsonville before, but he was a three-time Antioch title winner and a definite threat to Miller's goals. However, Miller led the division with 12 Top 5 finishes in his 16 starts, including three wins. Clymens didn't do too badly with nine Top 5 efforts, and he was never threatened for second. Duane Bieser managed to win a good battle with Antioch champion Fred Ryland for third, beating Ryland by just 19 tallies on the strength of his two Top 5 efforts. Ryland made 13 appearances, but seven of those were wins out of his 11 Top 5 finishes, giving him a slim eight-point advantage over the next driver.

Fifth place went to Max Baggett, who had one Top 5 five. Baggett beat Cody Bryan by 11 points as Bryan also had one Top 5. Seventh place went to incoming champion Adriane Frost, who had six Top 5 efforts. Charlie Hunter had four Top 10s to end up eighth ahead of past champion Jim DiGiovanni and Kelly Campanile, both of whom had three Top 5 finishes.

Other drivers on the winner's list in the well-supported division included Jonathan Hagio, Richard Ragsdale, Tyler Bannister and Dennis Simunovich. Cale Kanke picked up a pair of wins in his only visits. Miller scored a notable win on Pombo/Sargent Classic night ahead of Simunovich and Clymens. They were also there on the opening night of the Howard Kaeding Classic as Miller won that race ahead of past champion Jarrod Mounce and Clymens. The win on the second night of the Pat and Jim Pettit Memorial Shootout was worth $1,006, and Kanke grabbed the glory ahead of Ryland and Todd Gomez.

Another Championship For Joe Gallaher In Hobby Stock Action

Joe Gallaher has come into his own in the Hobby Stock division, and he backed up his previous championship with another one in what turned out to be a very impressive performance. Only Jerry Skelton came close in the Terry Traub Tribute car, but he was 97 points back. 

Joe Gallaher made 19 starts, 15 of which were Top 5 finishes and four that were victories. Skelton had one win out of his 11 Top 5 finishes, giving him a 24 point advantage over Norman Ayers for second. Ayers had a win out of his 9 Top 5 finishes, easily enabling him to be a lock for third in the standings. Three-time champion Rob Gallaher picked up five wins out of 10 Top 5 finishes, and he only made 11 starts.

Sixth in the standings went to Ryan Muller, who had six Top 5 efforts and beat rookie Bobby Gallaher by just nine points. The younger Gallaher had nine Top 10 finishes as the top rookie in the field. Brady Muller ended up with two Top 5 finishes for seventh in the standings, beating Adriane Frost by 19 markers. Frost had six Top 5 finishes. Past champion Terry Campion had one win out of three Top 5 finishes, and ageless veteran Tony Oliveira had four Top 5s in his Ford powered race car to secure 10th in the final breakdown.

Past champion Billy Nelson scored four wins and proved to be very difficult to beat in special occasion races. Other winners included Quentin Harris, Chad Ragsdale, Joe Willoughby and Austin Van Hoff. The Hobby Stocks ran support for both nights of the Howard Kaeding Classic. The win on the first night went to Nelson ahead of Rob Gallaher and Ragsdale. A night later, it was Van Hoff winning ahead of Frost and Joe Gallaher. The Hobby Stocks also supported both nights of the Johnny Key Classic. The win in the first night went to Ayers ahead of Frost and Skelton. A night later, Willoughby won the race ahead of Ryan Hart and Skelton. 

The Mike Cecil Memorial race was replaced by the Terry Traub Tribute race, and Nelson got to win on that occasion ahead of Dylan Wilson and six-time champion Sam Kennedy. Kennedy gave it a valiant effort in his quest for the $506 prize at the Pat and Jim Pettit Pettit Dirt Track Shootout. However, Nelson scored a slightly controversial win ahead of Kennedy and Campion.

Bower Wins WMR Midgets Championship At Watsonville

The Western Midget Racing group is growing strong, and one of the reasons this division is even out there is because Ocean Speedway gave them some of their first dates. The Friday night venue remains an important part of their schedule. Blake Bower wrapped up the overall championship, but he also brought home the championship trophy at Watsonville.

In his eight starts, Bower picked up six Top 5 finishes and three wins, giving him a 54 point advantage over Megan Moorehead. A past Hobby Stock racer, Moorehead had five Top 5 finishes to beat incoming champion David Prickett by just 10 markers. Prickett had three wins to his credit out of six Top 5 finishes. Winged Sprint Car star Shawn Arriaga picked up two Top 5 finishes to grab fourth in the standings. Like Arriaga, Cameron Beard and DJ Freitas each had a pair of Top 5 finishes to end up fifth and sixth, respectively.

Seventh in the standings went to Sage Boardenave, who had one win as his only Top 5 finish. Each with one Top 5 finish of their own, Brody Petrie, Antonia Biscacci and Kala Kelinoi rounded out the Top 10 in the standings. Bryant Bell was the other feature winner.

Gullo Grabs Mini Stocks Honors

Tony Gullo has been coming on strong in recent seasons, but he finally got over the hump to win the Mini Stock division championship. As is usually the case at Watsonville, to win the Mini Stock championship, you have to beat a Beardsley. In this case, Gullo had to hold off past champion Kate Beardsley to get the job done. He beat her by just 13 markers.

Gullo had nine Top 5 finishes in his 12 starts, including four wins. Kate Beardsley had a solid season with 11 Top 5 finishes of her own, including two victories. While it wasn't good enough to overtake Gullo, she did hold off her sister Nicole Beardsley, who settled for third with 11 Top 5 efforts. With one win to his credit, Travis Van Gilder fell just one point short of overtaking Nicole Beardsley for third. He did have six Top 5 finishes, and that kept him ahead of fifth place finisher and past champion Bill Beardsley, who had eight Top 5 finishes.

Richard Mitchell had some impressive moments during the season, and the six Top 5 finishes and three wins he had kept him sixth in the final breakdown. Joseph Marsh ended up seventh in the standings with four Top 10 finishes. TJ Santos and Nick Scetani, each had one Top 5 finish, but Scetani had a win. Forest Movrich had one Top 5 finish to end up 10th in the final breakdown. DJ Keldsen was the other Main Event winner.

Iler Beats The Field In Police N Pursuit Competition

The speedway also offers Police N Pursuit racing, which is sort of a public outreach program that brings the law enforcement officers from various cities together with the community. They also manage to raise money throughout the year for the Special Olympics. They had seven events during the year, and Roy Iler managed to win a close battle between himself, Nate Graham and John Hohmann. Iler represents the San Benito County Sheriff's Office, Graham represents Santa Cruz law enforcement and Hohmann is a member of the Scotts Valley Police Department.

Iler had six Top 5 finishes, including three wins. Graham had five Top 5 finishes and matched Iler in victories. Hohmann had six Top 5 finishes to end up third. Pat Sullivan had a good year with four Top 5 finishes to end up fourth, 15 points ahead of Tony Weir, who had seven Top 10 finishes. Fernando Telez ended up sixth in the standings with one Top 5 effort. Jackie Yeung had six Top 5 finishes, beating AJ Waltrip by four points for seventh. Waltrip had one win out of his five Top 5 finishes. Eric Perez had one Top 5, and Ryan Luke had three Top 10s to end up 10th in the final breakdown.

Velasquez Scores South Bay Dwarf Car Championship

With the Dwarf Car programs in decline in Southern California, Camarillo's Tommy Velasquez III was a regular at Ocean Speedway. At times, he proved to be unbeatable, and he became the newest champion of the group. 

Tommy Velasquez III did get some competition from incoming Antioch Delta Dwarf Car champion Travis Day, but he would prevail by three points in the end. Velasquez led the field with six wins and a trio of runner-up finishes. Day didn't get a win, but he did earn four third place finishes. Meanwhile, past champion Mark Biscardi had a solid hold on third with a pair of victories and a runner-up finish as his best showings.

Fourth place Eric Weisler had a runner-up finish as his best effort, and Barry Waddell had a season high fourth. Eddie Claessen ended up sixth with a season high fifth place finish. Next came one-time fifth place finisher Dan Zuger, Keith Costas, past champion Gene "Punky" Pires and Trafton Chandler. Pires had a season high third place finish as he ran a limited schedule. Chandler had a pair of fourth place finishes. Past champions Shawn Jones and Terre Rothweller each had a victory.

2021 was a great season at Ocean Speedway that offered a little something for everybody. The racing program has been going on strong since the first season in 1960, and it's showing no signs of going away anytime soon. The coming season will have even more excitement to enjoy at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds racing facility. For further information, go to www.oceanspeedway.com.