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Things To Look Forward To In The Coming Season 

At Antioch Speedway

Antioch, CA...Preparations are being made for the 2019 season at Antioch Speedway. In just a few short weeks, the green flag will drop on more exciting racing action on the 3/8 mile clay oval. It's a tradition that goes back many decades. Aside from the entertainment value, auto racing has served to bring many families closer together.

There are lots of reasons to be excited about the coming season. As if getting a glimpse of the new cars and new paint jobs on opening night isn't enough, there are several other reasons, including the divisions the fans will be seeing and showcase events that will serve to get people excited in anticipation for racing season to begin.

We pay tribute to Donna Soares on October 5th. The 2019 championship season will conclude with the Donna Soares Memorial race. The All Star Series A Modifieds will race for $1,500 to win that night. This race is special as many of the racers loved Donna and would stop off in the office on race night to say hi. Donna and John M Soares were married for 50 years, and were together promoting Antioch Speedway from 1998 to last year. This is a race that everybody will want to win in the various divisions scheduled that night.

We have Late Models. This is the 35th championship season for the DIRTcar Late Models at Antioch Speedway. The division started at Antioch Speedway in 1967 and, with the exception of 1980, had championship seasons through 1993. Since then, there have been eight other championship seasons, and this will be the sixth consecutive year for the division in the All Star Series line-up. Jeff Decker is the most decorated champion in division history with four titles to his credit and enters this season as the driver to beat.

We have "old school" Late Models. In 2000, John M Soares added the Limited Late Model division to the roster. In an effort to sneak this division past his father, who had an established agreement that Late Models would be a Petaluma class, John called the division Super Stocks. This is the 20th season for the Limited Late Models, which are reminiscent of the Late Model division when it ran its last NASCAR season in 1993. Two-time champion Mike Gustafson and the Brown Racing Team, which has won three titles, continue to be supporters of this class since it was added. The Sun Drop Racing Team is a force with six championships and three runner-up seasons in the last nine years, while third generation racer Mark Garner is the reigning champion.

We honor the greats of the past. Last season, Antioch Speedway established it's Hall of Fame. With a history of racing going back to 1961, there have been many great competitors, car owners, crew chiefs, significant people behind the scenes and officials who have helped make the race track so special through the years. Last season, a group of 10 such individuals was inducted. At a date to be announced, we will induct more deserving individuals into the Hall of Fame, and this is a tradition that will continue for years to come.

Our A Modified division begins its 30th consecutive season. Only Petaluma Speedway, where the division got its start in 1987, has crowned more Modified champions than Antioch Speedway in California. Antioch has the second longest continuous running Modified Series in the state. From future hall-of-famer Richard Johnson in 1990 through Nick DeCarlo last year, there have been many great competitors who have entertained the crowd every season. Two such stars, multi-time champions Scott Busby and Bobby Hogge IV, share the Antioch Speedway record with JD Willis as 72 time Main Event winners. Nobody has won more Modified Main Events in Antioch Speedway history than Busby.

The Hobby Stocks begin their 25th season. The Hobby Stocks are the spiritual successor to the Street Stock division, which had a 31 year run at the speedway before being merged with the Limited Late Models in 2009. The Hobby Stocks began crowning champions in 1995 with Terrie Wacht. Last season, Chris Sorensen won his second division title in perhaps the most dominant performance of any champion at the speedway. The Hobby Stocks not only offer up the exciting, slam-bang action that fans were used to for years with the Street Stocks, they are also the entry point for new racers into the speedway. Several new drivers have come on board in Hobby Stocks in the past few years, and it's made for some great racing.

We are the track that launched Wingless Spec Sprints. In 1999, promoter John M Soares worked with Don O'Keefe Jr to create the Wingless Spec Sprint division. This was seen as Sprint Car racing to the Stock Car minded as drivers could take their Street Stock motors and put them into Sprint Car chassis and be competitive. This self starting, 360 cast iron engine, 2 barrel carburetor class has allowed drivers to race Sprint Cars who may not otherwise have done so. It's also been a place for Sprint Car racers to go to when they didn't have the budgets to run the bigger class. The racing has been fast and very competitive. Dan Gonderman won his first of two championship back in 1999, and Bob Newberry joined the two-timers club with his second title last season after a good race with Shannon Newton. Division original Rick Panfili and longtime supporter Roy Fisher remain on the roster this year, and Antioch is one of three tracks that will crown Spec Sprint champions this year.

We deliver the excitement, the drama and the excellence to the fans. Last season, Mark Garner won a thrilling battle with Kimo Oreta for the Limited Late Model championship by winning the last race of the season. It was the closest race at the track. Art McCarthy nearly pulled off the upset in the Winged 360 Sprint Car ranks when incoming leader Matt DeMartini flipped early in the race. McCarthy was leading when he blew a motor. The battle for the Spec Sprint championship was derailed in the finale as both champion Bob Newberry and contender Shannon Newton were eliminated in a crash. Chris Sorensen racked up an impressive eight Main Event wins out of 22 Top 3 finishes to win the Hobby Stock title. Nick DeCarlo was an eight-time winner in winning the A Modified championship, while Trevor Clymens got his second B Modified title on the strength of his seven victories.

We have Dwarf Cars. When the Bay Area association that promoted Dwarf Cars hit upon hard times, Oval Motorsports welcomed them under the All Star Series banner in 1998. This means that Antioch Speedway has crowned a track champion in Dwarf Cars for 22 years. It was John Anderson winning the inaugural championship, and some great drivers such as Jim Barton, Mark Chaves and Ricardo Rivera, turned in dominant performances in the years that followed. Mike Corsaro used consistency and five victories to win his second straight Dwarf Car title last season. There's a great group of younger and older competitors in the Dwarf Cars providing great racing action for the fans on any night in which they are scheduled.

We have the beautiful Bay Area Hardtops. In a throwback to the division that headlined Antioch Speedway in its early years, the Bay Area Hardtops were added as a special appearance class to the speedway back in 2008. Their signature race has its roots at Vallejo Speedway. This season will offer up the 17th Annual Chet Thomson Memorial in September, honoring the Vallejo Speedway champion who passed away in the 1960s. Chet's son Tommy runs a car with the body that he had on it in the final years of Hardtop racing at Vallejo Speedway. The Hardtops will also be a part of the Donna Soares Memorial and Larry Damitz Memorial races this year, and such hard chargers is Terry DeCarlo, Dave Mackey, Doug Braudrick and Ken Retzloff will be among the field this year. These beautiful Coupe and Sedan race cars will bring back fond memories of the days when the Hardtops ruled the roost across the country in the 1950s and 1960s.

This is the 59th annual championship season. Antioch Speedway began its current run of weekly racing in 1961. There weren't too many cars there for the opener, but car count grew rapidly beyond that. The record shows that Jimmy Stewart won the first two championships in the Hardtop Auto Claimer class. The Claimer Cars gave way to the Sportsman division, which gave way to the Late Model division and then to the A Modifieds. Many other divisions have been a part of the program through the years, and many drivers have raced hard to earn the right to call themselves Antioch Speedway champions. This season, the speedway will offer championship seasons for eight different divisions.

We have the Larry Damitz Memorial race on April 27th. Even at 87 years old, they still called him the Sun Drop Kid. Larry Damitz won the last championship that he competed for in the Limited Late Model division. He won five championships and finished second twice in his final seven seasons, was a star in the Late Models before that and ran Hardtops for some 20 years between Pacheco, Vallejo and other places. The racing community took his death hard, and the Larry Damitz Memorial race ran for the first time in 2017. This year will be the third annual event, and word is that Larry will also be inducted into the Antioch Speedway Hall of Fame. It's an honor truly befitting of a legend such as him.

We have the Jerry Hetrick Memorial race on June 8th. We lost Jerry Hetrick prior to the 2017 season. He was a track record holder in the Sportsman division who ranked as high as the Top 5 and was even a feature winner. Jerry was known for doing more with lesser equipment than most other competitors. He was also well-respected among his peers. The race for Jerry has offered bigger payouts to the A Modified division, which is the closest class to the Sportsman division that he ran in the 1970s and early 1980s.

The Firecracker 50 returns. On July 6th, the A Modifieds will compete for a $1,000 first prize in the Firecracker 50 lap race. This is a race that has been on and off the schedule since Oval Motorsports began promoting the speedway in 1998. Anytime you offer extra money like this race, it attracts some of the top drivers from out of town. Local drivers such as Nick DeCarlo, Scott Busby, Kellen Chadwick and Bobby Motts Jr will be among those contesting for the big prize.

The Civil War Sprint Car Series returns. The longest running Winged 360 Sprint Car Series in California is the Civil War Series, which launched in the early 1990s. Antioch Speedway got one of the dates this year. The track continues to offer up Winged 360 Sprint Car racing for the fans and that division will have its sixth consecutive championship season this year. With a nice payout for the drivers, the regular shows at the speedway attract a myriad of different up-and-coming drivers who are searching for their first wins. You never know who will come to town for a shot at the money. Last season, Matt DeMartini won his first championship after beating two-time champion Art McCarthy. In the quest to give the fans a nice variety of great racing, promoter John M Soares remains dedicated to giving the fans some Winged 360 Sprint Car shows.

We have several surprises in store. As always, Oval Motorsports continues to look for different ways to entertain the crowd, and there are several nice things on the drawing board to be unveiled during the season. One of the big surprises that was revealed was the $12,000 to win A Modified race that is being booked for the end of the season. This would be the biggest paying A Modified race in Antioch Speedway history and the third biggest paying in the history of the division in California. Word is that the B Modifieds will run for a substantially increased purse as well, meaning Antioch Speedway should see a full pit area for the double division program set for October 11th and 12th. More details to come.

There's been a lot of talk about at Antioch Speedway during the offseason, but it's time to put that stuff behind us and look forward to what should be a great racing season under the All Star Series banner. The racing will begin on March 30th after playdays on the 16th and 23rd. With only a couple of exceptions, Saturday night racing will continue all the way through October 12th. You won't want to miss any of the exciting action that is scheduled. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.

The Fendered Frenzy Returns To Antioch Speedway

Antioch, CA...It's been said that the All Star Series racing program at Antioch Speedway offers a little something for everybody. Open wheel fans have Winged and Wingless Sprint Car racing. The A Modified division has spawned the B Modified class, assuring that this style of racing will continue for years to come. There's even the rapidly paced Dwarf Car division to enjoy. However, Stock Car fans have not been ignored.

Antioch Speedway will continue to offer three styles of fendered Stock Car racing for the fans to enjoy this year. Back once again will be the popular DIRTcar Late Model division. Antioch Speedway is the only place in California that offers a championship season for the full on Dirt Late Models. For fans of the Late Models as they were in the early 90s, the speedway will also offer The Limited Late Models. For fans of the Street Stock style of racing, there will be the Hobby Stocks. It all adds up to some great racing on the 3/8 mile clay oval.

When Promoter John M Soares had the speedway expanded to 3/8 miles prior to the 2009 season, it was with the hopes of offering up more Sprint Car and Late Model racing to the fans. The Late Models were at that point relegated to special visits from the touring groups, but as the touring groups died out, it became obvious that Soares would have to find another way to add Late Model racing to the program. An opportunity presented itself in 2013.

Soares had booked a couple of Late Model shows that year, but neighboring Petaluma Speedway had been offering Late Model racing for several years. It just so happened that Promoter Rick Faeth decided that 2013 would be his last season of offering up this division to the fans. Soares made a phone call to find out how Faeth would feel about him taking over the Late Model program at Antioch Speedway. With the blessing of the neighboring promoter, Soares began offering Late Model races for the fans in 2014.

Two drivers who got on board with Late Model racing at Antioch Speedway from the get-go we're Jeff Decker and Richard Papenhausen. Papenhausen won the inaugural championship for the revival in 2014. In reality, Antioch Speedway's Late Model season this year will be the 35th campaign for this class at the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds based facility. Papenhausen again won the championship in 2016 and during the first 30 races for this class in its revival, nobody had more wins than Papenhausen.

However, Decker has shown more dedication to Late Model racing than anybody in the Northern California area during the past 25 years. He's racked up a string of championships at Antioch, Petaluma and Watsonville. counting his championship in 2007, Decker now has four Antioch crowns, making him the most decorated Late Model champion in Antioch Speedway history. He was so dominant last year, that a championship was never in doubt. His worst finish was a third place effort on one occasion. Decker enters the season as the driver to beat, and only Papenhausen seems poised to do anything about that. Papenhausen didn't run every race last season.

Last season saw second-generation racer and rookie Rod Oliver offer the biggest challenge to Decker, but it wasn't until the season finale when Oliver had his season-best finish in second. He never finished outside the Top 5 in the Main Event throughout the season to stake his claim on the runner-up ranking. This left the battle between two past "Rookie Of The Year" winners, Mike Hynes and Kimo Oreta, for third in the standings.

Hynes has lined up sponsorship in the hopes of mounting a challenge for his first career Late Model win this season. He is a multi time feature winner in Limited Late Models and has been steadily improving in this division. Oreta, meanwhile, has racked up more Hobby Stock wins than anybody in Speedway history and has proved to be a formidable competitor in the Sun Drop Racing #15 Limited Late Model, winning the 2017 championship. He was handpicked by Larry Damitz to drive the team's Late Model prior to Damitz passing away in early 2017, and he has certainly made the team proud. When we talk about potential first-time winners in 2019, Oreta's name should appear at the top of the list.

There are several drivers with Late Models, and Antioch would be their best bet to get some racing in this year during the nine race schedule. Among the drivers to watch for this year include past division runner-ups David Newquist and Shawn DeForest, Dennis Souza, Chester Kniss, Rob Norris, John M Soares and Paul Guglielmoni. There is word of at least one extra money event on the schedule, which could prompt visits from such heavyweights as Bobby Hogge IV and Andy Obertello. There's been talk of a visitor or two coming in from Oregon for the rumored extra money race as well.

The Limited Late Model division had the closest championship battle last season between third-generation racer Mark Garner and Kimo Oreta. Knowing the car that the Sun Drop Racing Team puts on the track each and every week, Garner knew he had to bring his a-game. With two feature wins in the final four races, Mark finally added the family's first Antioch championship trophy to the mantle. He may be out to repeat as champion, but Oreta will be hungry to bring the division honors back to the #15 team.

Mike Walko was a welcome return to Antioch Speedway last year and had an amazing start with Top 3 finishes in the first 11 races last season. He was also a four-time winner and would rank third in the standings after missing a race. Ryan Cherezian, who finished a close fourth, will be out to get his first career win in this division after several second place finishes. He offers something different for the fans to watch as he drives a truck bodied car.

Mike Gustafson has notched more feature victories than anybody in Limited Late Model history along with his two titles. However, you're more likely to see him out at the track racing to have fun than worrying about points. He showed last season on three occasions that he's not just some car on the track as he won those races. Even after all of these years, the elder statesman of the Limited Late Model division can still get it done. Another driver with a championship to her credit is Lori Brown, who ran a limited schedule last year. Lori is on a quest to return to the winner's circle and shouldn't be counted out.

Cherezian isn't the only driver looking to get his first win, but 2017 "Rookie Of The Year" Chad Hammer had his best finish of the year at the finale last year in third. Hammer is hoping this will be the year he gets a win. Another driver hanging tough in the division is the steady John Evans. Evans has finished as high as second in Main Event competition, but the win has thus far been elusive.

After talking about a return to racing for several years, past Sportsman competitor Michael Burch finally made his return to Limited Late Models last season. He should be out there this year along with Chris Long, who is teaming up with longtime speedway racer John "The Bear" Keith. 2013 champion Jim Freethy, Jon Haney, Terry DeCarlo Jr and Jim Robbins are other drivers to watch for. Robbins has been working on his car for over a year in hopes of getting it back on the track this season.

The Hobby Stock division is where the car count appears to be the strongest. Well over 30 competitors brought cars to the speedway last year at least once. Experience seemed to be the advantage for Chris Sorensen, Cameron Swank and Michael Cooper, who won the lion's share of races between them. Sorensen was an eight-time winner and only failed to make it into the Top 3 in the Main Event six times. Swank settled for third in the standings, but he has sold his car and moved up to the B Modified class. This leaves Cooper among those three still looking for his first career championship after a career-best second in the standings last year.

There were several rookies in the field last season, led by top rookie Breanna Troen, Anthony Welborn, Josh Leach and John Wacht. All four of these drivers scored a Main Event win, and Welborn did it twice. Welborn was flirting with a move up to the B Modifieds but has decided to stay in the Hobby Stocks for another year. Another driver who did well early on in the season last year with his first career feature win was fourth generation racer Billy Garner. Because of other commitments, Garner fell out of the action halfway through the season, but he is anticipated this year.

Chris Bennett enjoyed two second place finishes last year, but he is also in the process of moving up to the B Modified division. Bennett reported last year that he's not through with racing Hobby Stocks until he gets his first win in the Bob Hanson tribute car. Another of the newer drivers in the field was second-generation racer Haley Gomez. Haley looked very impressive one night in leading 19 1/2 laps before mechanical issues put an end to her bid for a first career win.

Longtime Antioch Speedway racer Bob Brown still brings his two cars to the track now and then and gets behind the wheel of one of them. Son Chris Brown and daughter Angela Brown have taken their turns behind the wheel as well. Past Top 10 Street Stock racer Dave Hill made his return to the Hobby Stocks, and rumors suggest we may see two-time Street Stock champion Troy Shirk and past Antioch and Merced champion Rick Petruzzi back in action at some point this year. As the Hobby Stock division has evolved to become the Street Stock division of the early 1990s, this move certainly does make sense.

The lineup of great racers in this division includes longtime speedway supporter Natalie Perry in the Steve Perry car, Anthony Vigna, past division runner-ups Lindsey Buirch and Jordan Swank, James Thomson, past champions Brad Myers and Melissa Myers, the returning Judy Allison Arth, Ken Rhoades, George Silva, Jake Mercieca, Travis Tabucchi, Russell Shearer, Philip Oreta, Don Phillips and Ed Letterman.

Of the three divisions, the Hobby Stocks will be featured on the All Star Series program 19 times this season. This will include the March 30th season opener. Limited Late Models will be there 17 times, including their first race on April 6th. The Late Models will be there nine times, including the key dates of April 27th at the Larry Damitz Memorial race as well as October 5th at the Donna Soares Memorial event. On any given weekend, the fans will get to enjoy at least one of these fendered Stock Car divisions.

It's all part of a great season of racing as John M Soares of Oval Motorsports kicks off his 22nd season at the helm of the speedway, which enters its 59th consecutive year of racing. For further information about these divisions and other happenings at the track, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.

Jake's Performance Hobbies Mini Stocks Return 

To Petaluma Speedway

Petaluma, CA...The longest-running division at Petaluma Speedway is the Lumberjacks Restaurant Super Stocks. The heritage of this division stretches back to the mid 1970s, making it over 40 years in which a champion has been crowned. The McLea's Tire Service IMCA Modifieds have been crowning champions at the speedway since 1988, a year after the division was launched.

When then promoter John P Soares reached a deal with David Vodden to bring the displaced Baylands Raceway competitors to Petaluma, the Mini Stocks and PitStopUSA.com Winged 360 Sprint Cars were part of the deal. They both began racing at Petaluma in 1989. In the case of the Mini Stocks, they have a heritage that goes back at Fremont Speedway to the mid 1970s with champions being crowned every year.

Back in those days, you had everything from the stock Mini Stocks to the exotic Outlaw Sprint Buggies. The Mini Stocks and Super Mini Stocks were the two classes that came to Petaluma, but the Super Mini Stocks folded a few years later. At that time, the Volkswagen Beetle was still allowed in the field. The Super Mini Stocks at times were dominated by the Beetle of Jeff Mauldin. The Mini Stock class had such notable VW Beetle drivers as David Critchfield and the husband-and-wife team of John and Lily Campanile.

Jake's Performance Hobbies has signed on as the title sponsor for the Mini Stocks again this year as they begin their 31st championship season at Petaluma Speedway. The division has been a gateway for some drivers to get started. The very first champion in 1989 with Scott Wininger, who ended up moving up to the Modified division. After back-to-back championships in 1991 and 92, Victor Gonella moved on to Modifieds and Late Models, where he had more success.

Gonella was joined by John Moore, George Dennis and Rick Paull as the only two-time champions in the division. What's interesting is that all four drivers won back-to-back championships. After winning his title in 1999, Brett Barney went on to run Sprint Cars. Another noteworthy statistic is that after Paull won his second championship in 2004, there have been 14th straight different champions. Past champions Larry Drew and Austin Ohlinger as well as Snazzy Duckworth have all moved up to the Super Stock division in recent years. 2015 champion Eden McCormick is now in a Spec Sprint, and Mini Stock graduate William Fatu was one of the Top 5 Winged 360 Sprint Car drivers last season.

In short, the Jake's Performance Hobbies Mini Stocks have been a nice launching pad to get drivers started in racing at Petaluma Speedway. Make no mistake, the racing in this class has been competitive. The newest champion is Tom Brown. Brown, who got his start running Mini Trucks at Antioch Speedway, had almost all Top 5 finishes and one win. He used that consistency to hold off David Spindell for the championship. Spindell was a five-time winner.

The Mini Stock division has a nice lineup of competitors, including Danny Manzoni, Roy Deering, Roberta Broze, Sophie Shelly, Anthony Miramontez, Randy Miramontez, Sean Hale and newcomer Jeremy Tjensvold. Tjensvold won a Main Event last season. Car count had been down a bit in recent years, but they were back in double digits last season with 19 different competitors earning points.

Quietly, and without much fanfare, the Mini Stocks have been a part of racing at Petaluma Speedway for half of the track's existence. They may not get the glory of the Sprint Cars, Super Stocks or Modifieds, but they manage to deliver entertaining and exciting races for the fans. This should again be the case this year. They are scheduled to appear at the season opener on March 30th along with the Lumberjacks Restaurant Super Stocks and Santa Rosa Auto Body Micro Sprints. The Hunt Wingless Spec Sprint Series headlines the show. For further information, go to www.petaluma-speedway.com.

Past Petaluma Mini Stock Champions

1989    Scott Wininger
1990    Loren Hill
1991    Victor Gonella
1992    Victor Gonella
1993    Dixon Cheal
1994    Joshua Bevan
1995    John Moore
1996    John Moore
1997    George Dennis
1998    George Dennis
1999    Bret Barney
2000    Dan Williams
2001    Jim Arnold Jr.
2002    Steve Griffin
2003    Rick Paull
2004    Rick Paull
2005    Danny Potts
2006    Brandon Mattos
2007    Justin Mattos
2008    Larry Drew
2009    Kenny Drew
2010    Michael Drew
2011    Keith Benson
2012    John Veeninga
2013    Josh Williams
2014    Jake Fernandes
2015    Eden McCormick
2016    Darien Balestrini
2017    Austin Ohlinger
2018    Tom Brown

Hardtop Revival Set to Begin 12th season

Placerville, CA...The California Hardtop Association and the Bay Area Hardtops begin the 12th season of the revival of this form of racing in California with a schedule of 12 Saturday nights of racing. On only one occasion will the racers have to make a choice on where to go as there is a conflict in July between Placerville and Antioch.

The California Hardtop group began in 2008 with dates at Antioch Speedway. It went through leadership changes and is currently headed up by President John Philbert. Working with Jason Armstrong, Philbert recently released a nine race dirt track schedule that includes visits to Placerville Speedway 4 four times, Orland Raceway three times, Marysville Raceway once and Chico Silver Dollar Speedway once.

Meanwhile, Antioch Speedway promoter John M Soares gave the Bay Area Hardtop group four races, including the Larry Damitz Memorial race on April  27th, the 17th Annual Chet Thomson Memorial on September 15th and the Donna Soares Memorial on October 5th. There was some speculation about whether Bay Area leadership might pursue a visit to Petaluma, and it was also pointed out that Philbert might be able to add more dates to the California Hardtop schedule.

However, Hardtop racers are excited about the opportunity to go racing on the dirt with a schedule that isn't too taxing on the racer's budgets. There's also a bit of exciting news in the works. The Good Old Boyz band made a viral video called Hangtown Speedway, paying tribute to the Placerville track a year ago. The Hardtops were among the cars in that video.

Word is that the band is looking to shoot a sequel to that video, and additional on the track footage may be taken at a Hardtop race at a track and date to be named later. Hardtop coordinator Ken Clifford revealed that four of the racers have passenger seats and extra fire suits, which will be made available to band members if they want a little bit of on the track experience. Jason Armstrong is helping coordinate this.

The Armstrong shop has been the home of several different race cars for the group in recent years as Jason helps get them repaired and ready to go. He and his father Dennis Armstrong are both Main Event winners on the circuit and began their racing careers at Placerville Speedway. The Clifford family also owns three Hardtops. Ken Clifford just purchased a car from the McCaslin Racing Team down in Bakersfield. Ken and son Jason Clifford have both won with the group in the past.

After his primary car was damaged in a crash at Merced Speedway last year, Ken Clifford seemed to be just a little bit off the pace, but what he lacked for speed on the track he made up for in enthusiasm. Ken remains the group's biggest booster online with his sometimes viral videos of footage from the various race tracks that the group supports. Look for both Ken and Jason to go racing at various times this year, and with three cars at their disposal, you never know what cars they may show up with.

Ron Ruiz, Tom Grady, Joe Shenefield and Dave Reed are all feature winners with the group. Shenefield finally notched his first win last year, while Grady got the win on Fan Appreciation Night at Orland last season. Reed, unfortunately, saw his season cut short with a blown motor. The California Hardtop group also has such supporters as Rhett Lange, Dan Whitney, Mario Romano, Larry Wells, Joe Hopp and Roger MacShain.

Ken Retzloff came close to winning a California Hardtop race last year, but he did win the first Bay Area Hardtop race at Antioch Speedway. Driving a car with the body from Southern Oregon Racing Hall Of Famer Harold Hardesty, Terry DeCarlo picked up a pair of wins at Antioch after a battle with Jason Armstrong the first time and a battle between he, Dave Mackey and Kimo Oreta at the prestigious Chet Thomson Memorial race.

DeCarlo may prove to be the driver to beat this year, but Retzloff is hoping to have something to say about that. Mackey, meanwhile, has been busy working in Texas. However, he's putting a new motor in his car and hopes to get his old motor into the #66 car of Pete Paulsen so that that car may return to the racing action. Doug Braudrick has the famed "Junkyard Dog" ready to go, and another racer with the Vallejo Speedway ties, Tommy Thomson, is ready to go as well.

Thomson was a part of the revival of this effort back in 2008 as he and DeCarlo shared the driving duties in the popular "Green Hornet" #39 car. Though the chassis has been changed over, the body is that of the car that Tommy raced in the final few seasons at Vallejo Speedway. The Hardtop effort in the Bay Area includes such supporters as Steve Cloyes, Gene Haney, Kimo Oreta and Dan Williams.

The Hardtop effort in Northern California is alive and well, rivaling the Bakersfield effort that continues to run strong at Bakersfield Speedway and Kern County Raceway. The Northern California roster stretches into the 20s in available race cars, meaning that there can be some big turnouts during the course of the season. It is hoped that as the season doesn't have a saturation of races, this will aid the group in getting a bigger turnout on the nights in which they are booked.

For more information on the happenings of the groups, you can look for the California Hardtop Association page on Facebook or the Bay Area Hardtop page, also on Facebook.

NCMA Returns For 32nd season

Modesto, CA...The Northern California Modified Association has evolved from its humble beginnings in the late 1980s. The Sprint Car Tour races on various pavement tracks. Despite some difficult times in recent seasons, the remaining members have been dedicated to keeping this series alive. They will compete at four different tracks for a total of five races this year. At press time, there was a possibility of a date or two still being added.

The NCMA was the brainchild of founder Mike Johnson. After coming back from racing Sprint Cars across the country, Johnson found that there wasn't a style of open-wheel racing in Northern California that he could afford. After a trip down to Santa Maria to watch the unveiling of the new California Dirt Car division in 1986, Johnson began planning to start his own effort in the Northern California area.

He labeled it Northern California Dirt Cars and attempted to get dates in 1987, drawing criticism from some in the racing community who felt he was taking away from the Santa Maria effort that Doug Fort had put so much effort into. Fort actually paid the first 10 drivers who showed up at his track $500 each. Johnson competed at some races in Santa Maria, but he remained committed to starting something closer to his home in Concord.

The change in management at Antioch Speedway prior to the 1988 season offered Johnson his opening. After a successful pitch at a pizza parlor meeting that he had organized, Johnson was given the dates he needed at Antioch Speedway. Management at the time saw the California Dirt Cars as a nice new division to add to the roster. Johnson had a meeting in his own garage and formed the Northern California Modified Association prior to the beginning of the season. After taking a lot of heat from fans who wanted the new Dirt Modified division that Petaluma was offering, Johnson won the inaugural championship and was unceremoniously run out of the club a year later.

Prior to the 1990 season, Jim Booth proposed a body style rule for the class to an old style Coupe and Sedan look. This was because some of the Dirt Car bodies on the cars were less than appealing. The membership approved, and by 1991, everybody was running the new style. In-fighting nearly ripped the club apart, but the election of Booth as president in 1991 had a calming influence. The NCMA began to gather momentum, which was only heightened due to rule changes at Merced Speedway that ran off some of their Cal Mod competitors to the NCMA.

The club had such a successful season in 1996 that there were some B Mains needed. Despite the management change at Antioch Speedway in 1998, the group still managed to get the most dates they had had at that track since 1989, but a year later, Promoter John M Soares brought in Don O'Keefe Jr to create a set of rules for a new Spec Sprint Series. This proved to be successful, and within a few years, several tracks were running a similar division.

Seeing the writing on the wall, the NCMA would move away from the old Coupe and Sedan body styles to the Sprint Car look. They were soon booking races on the pavement, starting with Altamont Raceway. Prior to the now popular Hunt Series, the NCMA created the Select Series that brought together some of the best Spec Sprint drivers for big shows. This proved to be a success. At its height, the NCMA was crowning Overall, Dirt, Pavement and Select Series champions. They ran their final dirt races in 2009 as they were getting plenty of good offers to run on the pavement.

The NCMA Sprint Cars have evolved to allow a little bit more in the rules than your basic Spec Sprint Car, but they have also been the place for up-and-coming drivers like Audra Sasselli and Justin Kawahata to get into Sprint Car racing before moving up to the Gunslinger Series.

The most decorated champions in NCMA history are Daryl Shirk, Scott Holloway and David Goodwill. Holloway won six championships, while Shirk and Goodwill both won five titles. In fact, Goodwill won five in a row from 2008-2012. In the current decade, nobody has won more Main Events with the group than Goodwill, who leads Sasselli and current back-to-back champion Denny Burrell.

At the beginning of the decade, there seemed to be no shortage of race dates. The group ran mainly at Madera, Stockton and Roseville with some visits thrown in at Lakeport and Ukiah. Eric Humphries won the 2013 championship, and Sasselli picked up back-to-back titles in 2014 and 2015. During her run, Sasselli proved to be very difficult to beat.

Changes in management at some race tracks along with a more challenging time getting drivers has made it more difficult for the group to get race dates. As the NCMA entered its 30th anniversary season, Scott Holloway and others expressed an interest in helping get the group back on the dirt for some races again. However, the current membership felt that their commitment to the pavement needed to come first, and the idea has never really been pursued.

Burrell has proven to be the biggest star in the group recently with David Burchett his closest rival. Burrell finished second to Jerry Kobza in the 2016 championship race before outrunning Burchett for his back-to-back titles. The last remaining driver with a tie to the NCMA dirt track days is Rob Hammond, and he finished third last season ahead of "Rookie Of The Year" Andy Gleason and another past dirt track racer, Doug Emery.

As the group made its transition from dirt to pavement, it was Ed Amador and Pat Ariaz who were guiding the ship. Amador won four championships with the NCMA and was also a champion with the Limited Sprints at Merced Speedway prior to that. It's likely due to the leadership of these two that the NCMA survived to this point. They instilled enough of a love of this club in the group of drivers that are here now that they continue to fight for it. Burrell has worked hard to keep things going.

The NCMA continues to fight to keep this three-decade tradition alive. They remain the most affordable alternative for Northern California Sprint Car competitors to give pavement racing a go, but because the numbers have dwindled just a bit, they are working on other ideas to get newcomers to come race. How this is going to work out will be seen in the days ahead, but they continue their commitment to the keep the NCMA alive.

Every time somebody has counted this group out through the years, they've always fought back. Opening day is set for. Optimism is high that there will be more cars competing this year. For further information, go to www.ncmasprints.com.

NCMA 2019 Schedule

April 13 - Mardera Speedway
May 11 - Shasta Speedway
July 5 - Lakeport Speedway
July 6 - Ukiah Speedway
July 13 - Madera Speedway
Subject To Change

Northern California Modified Association Champions

1988- Mike Johnson     1989- Darryl Shirk     1990- Scott Holloway
1991- Darryl Shirk     1992- Darryl Shirk     1993- Darryl Shirk
1994- Scott Holloway     1995- Duane Watson     1996- Darryl Shirk
1997- Del Quinn     1998- Scott Holloway     1999- Del Quinn
2000- Scott Holloway     2001- Ed Amador      2002- Scott Holloway
2003- Scott Holloway     2004- Ed Amador     2005- Ed Amador
2006- Gary Koster     2007- Ed Amador     2008- David Goodwill
2009- David Goodwill     2010- David Goodwill     2011- David Goodwill
2012- David Goodwill    2013- Eric Humphries    2014- Audra Sasselli
2015- Audra Sasselli    2016- Jerry Kobza


Previous NCMA Feature Winners Since 2010

September 14, 2018:  David Buchettt - Madera
August 11, 2018:  Denny Burrell - Stockton
July 14, 2018:  Robb Hammond - Stockton
July 7, 2018:  Robb Hammond - Ukiah
July 6, 2018:  Denny Burrell - Lakeport
June 16, 2018:  Denny Burrell - Stockton
May 5, 2018:  Denny Burrell - Stockton
September 16, 2017:  Denny Burrell - Madera
August 28, 2017:  Jerry Kobza - Roseville
July 2, 2017:  Denny Burrell - Ukiah
July 1, 2017:  Denny Burrell - Lakeport
May 6, 2017:  Justin Kawahata - Madera
April 1, 2017:  Denny Burrell - Madera
October 8, 2016:  David Goodwill - Stockton
September 17, 2016:  Jerry Kobza - Madera
September 10, 2016:  Jerty Kobza - Roseville
August 20, 2016:  Jerry Kobza - Roseville
July 9, 2016:  Cody Jessop - Madera
July 3, 2016:  David Burchett - Ukiah
July 2, 2016:  Audra Sasselli - Lakeport
June 18, 2016:  Cody Jessop - Roseville
May 7, 2016:  Denny Burrell - Madera
April 2, 2016:  Denny Burrell - Madera
November 20, 2015:  Jeff Burrows - Madera
November 14, 2015:  Denny Burrell - Stockton
September 19, 2015:  Audra Sasselli - Madera
September 5, 2015:  Jerry Kobza - Roseville
August 22, 2015:  Audra Sasselli - Roseville
July 11, 2015:  Eric Humphries - Madera
June 13, 2015:  Audra Sasselli - Roseville
June 6, 2015:  Audra Sasselli - Madera
May 16, 2015:  Jerry Kobza - Roseville
May 2, 2015:  Audra Sasselli - Madera
March 28, 2015:  Audra Sasselli - Madera
November 21, 2014:  Audra Sasselli - Madera
September 13, 2014:  Audra Sasselli - Madera
August 23, 2014:  David Goodwill - Roseville
August 16, 2014:  Audra Sasselli - Madera
August 8, 2015::  Audra Sasselli - Roseville
July 26, 2014:  David Burchett - Stockton
July 19, 2014:  Audra Sasselli - Roseville
July 12, 2014:  Audra Sasselli - Madera
June 14, 2014:  Audra Sasselli - Roseville
June 7, 2014:  Eric Humphries - Madera
May 3, 2014:  Audra Sasselli - Madera
March 30, 2014: Audra Sasselli  - Madera
September 14 2013:  Denny Burrell - Madera
August 24, 2013: David Goodwill  - Roseville
August 10, 2013:  Audra Sasselli - Madera
August 3, 2013:  Eric Humphries - Roseville
July 20, 2013:  Gordon Rodgers - Stockton
July 13, 2013:  Audra Sasselli - Madera
June 22, 2013:  Audra Sasselli - Roseville
June 8, 2013:  Gordon Rodgers -- Madera
June 1, 2013:  David Goodwill - Stockton
May 18, 2013:  Eric Humphries - Stockton
May 4, 2013:  Eric Humphries - Madera
April 20, 2013:  Eric Humphries - Stockton
April 13, 2013:  Eric Humphries - Roseville
March 23, 2013:  David Goodwill - Madera
October 20, 2012:  David Goodwill - Stockton
October 6, 2012:  David Goodwill - Stockton
September 15, 2012:  Denny Burrell - Madera
October 8, 2011:  David Goodwill - Stockton
September 17, 2011:  Denny Burrell - Madera
September 10, 2011:  David Goodwill - Stockton
August 27, 2011:  David Goodwill - Roseville
August 20, 2011:  Justin Kawahata - Stockton
August 6, 2011:  David Goodwill - Madera
July 9, 2011:  Denny Burrell - Roseville
July 2, 2011: Denny Burrell - Stockton
June 11, 2011:  David Goodwill - Roseville
May 21, 2011:  David Goodwill - Stockton
May 14, 2011:  Ed Amador - Roseville
April 16, 2011:  David Goodwill - Madera
September 18, 2010:  David Goodwill - Roseville
September 11, 2010:  David Goodwill - Stockton
August 28, 2010:  David Goodwill - Madera
August 21, 2010:  Ed Amador - Roseville
August 14, 2010:  Ed Amador - Madera
August 7, 2010:  David Goodwill - Stockton
July 17, 2010:  Rob Hammond - Roseville
July 10, 2010:  Ed Amador - Madera
July 2, 2010:  David Goodwill - Stockton
June 19, 2010:  Jimmy Riddell - Stockton
June 12, 2010:  Ed Amador - Madera
June 5, 2010:  David Goodwill - Roseville
May 29, 2010:  Rob Hammond - Stockton
May 8, 2010:  David Goodwill - Roseville
May 1, 2010:  Rob Hammond - Stockton
April 17, 2010:  Rob Hammond - Stockton
April 3, 2010:  David Goodwill - Madera

Western Midget Racing Coming To Ocean Speedway

Watsonville, CA...Promoter John Prentice has added a new division to the schedule at Ocean Speedway in 2019. It's another class that is sure to excite open-wheel racing fans. Prentice reached an agreement with Mike McCluney for several race dates during the course of the season. Using the Chevy Ecotec motor, It is believed that this new Midget class will take away some of the cost and help breathe new life into the Northern California Midget effort.

Racers will be familiar with Mike McCluney. In addition to his time promoting the Watsonville track prior to Prentice and his time promoting Hanford, McCluney has been actively involved in the USAC Focus Midget effort with an eye towards helping keep this newer Midget class affordable and competitive.

Mike has traveled up and down the road with his race car and has seen the lows in car count in California as well as the high car counts being offered on a regular basis by the Northwest Focus Midget group. Given his experience, he intends to be a part of sparking more interest and support for Midget racing in California.

The premise is simple. The basic Midget car being used by both BCRA/POWRi and USAC would still be legal. Where it differs is with the motor rules. The Western Midget Racing group will run a spec engine. It is a Chevy Ecotec 2.4l motor that McCluney estimates will cost the racer between $5,000 and $8,500.

One of McCluney's concerns with the fledgling Focus Midget effort in California is that the rules have produced more "follow the leader" racing than exciting battles at the front of the pack. He's been testing his cars with drivers such as Adam Lemke and Jimmy May behind-the-wheel at tracks in Madera and Ventura this year. Lemke, who is the 2018 USAC Speed2 Midget champion, has reached a developmental deal that will have him driving Stock Cars back east this year.

And that's part of the lure of this style of Midget racing. McCluney looks around at the young drivers coming in from Outlaw Kart racing and Micro Sprint racing, and they have a more difficult time making the next move up unless they have deep pockets. He is hoping that the WMR Midget group will help fill the void. We're still unclear on who all is on the roster at this point, but BCRA/USAC Midget competitor David Prickett has pledged to support the effort as much as he can.

McCluney did his best to create a workable schedule that drivers can support. Prentice gave him several potential dates to work with before he came up with the eight dates he has at Watsonville. After talking with management down in Ventura, the WMR Midgets will be allowed to go support the Focus Midget effort there. The schedule they have booked in Ventura is basically one race a month from April through October with two races in October for a total of eight races.

Ventura Raceway started their Focus Midget division as part of the USAC effort, but eventually, much like the group in the Northwest, they went out on their own. That's where they differ. Under the leadership of Carla and Galen Stewart, the support in Washington and Oregon with the Northwest Focus Midgets has skyrocketed, but it's basically flatlined in California at about a half a dozen to eight cars on any given night.

Ventura Raceway has continued to crown champions in the Focus Midgets, with Mike Leach Jr holding off Keoni Texeira and Randi Pankratz for the 2018 championship. A year earlier, it was Jet Davison winning the championship with Daniel Anderson and Gary Howard the title winners in the previous two seasons.

The WMR Midgets coming down to Ventura to support their Focus Midget effort will give the fans more of a show, and McCluney wants it known that the Focus Midget competitors will be welcome to support the Watsonville effort as well.

Through the years, there have been several different attempts to boost interest in the Midgets, particularly in Northern California. They've even gone as far as to create a special Midget division that ran within the established Midget division at one time with BCRA.

Micro Sprint veteran Ricky Young spent a couple of years fighting for another Midget effort which ran under the ASCS banner at tracks such as Chico and Placerville. Unfortunately, it never gained any momentum, peaking at about six cars before going away.

In Watsonville, McCluney has an ally in Prentice. Prentice has continued to show support for varying open-wheel divisions through the years and at one time was the promoter of the three top Northern California Sprint Car groups. Having a Midget division on the roster at Watsonville could prove to be useful in bringing new drivers into Watsonville's Ocean Sprint Car, presented by Taco Bravo, division.

McCluney has spent years researching the trends in Midget racing before coming up with the plan that is being put into place. There's much research and development still going on with these cars that will ensure for better racing in the WMR Midget class in the years to come. The first race of the eight race Ocean Speedway schedule will take place on March 29th. The first race at Ventura Speedway will be on April 13th. For further information on scheduling, go to www.racepmg.com or www.venturaraceway.com. You can also look up the Western Midget Racing page on Facebook.


Irwindale Speedway Race Results March 9, 2019
Sunrise Ford Opening Night
Late Models
Main Event #1
Ryan Vargas
Trevor Huddleston
Blaine Perkins
Jace Jones
Lucas McNeil
Dean Thompson
Dylan Garner
Nick Joanides
Kevin Furden
PJ Hernandez
Rodney Peacher
Glenn Schwenger
Takuma Koga

Main Event #2
Trevor Huddleston
Lucas McNeil
Blaine Perkins
Ryan Vargas
Jace Jones
Dean Thompson
Kevin Furden
Nick Joanides
Dylan Garner
PJ Hernandez
Takuma Koga
Glenn Schwenger
Rodney Peacher

Spec Late Models
Kenny Smith
Ed Cutler
John Watkinson
Troy Andersen

Trucks
Lucas McNeil
Andrew Porter
Jacob McNeil
Ron Peterson
Niko Mongenel
Dennis Arena
L.J. Billings

Enduro
Bory Molina
Bobby Ozman
Brad Stellman
Robert John Rice
Ian Rotundo
Mike McIntyre
Rick Conti
Robbie Salcido
Chris Voight
Joseph Bereiter
Todd Paperny
Cheryl Hyland
Robert Rice
James Bolinas
Kirk Kubik
Dwayne Wallace


Madera Raceway Race Results March 9, 2018
MAVTV Race #1 RPM Pro Late Model
RPM Pro Late Models
Main
Dylan Zampa
Logan Zampa
Jason Aguirre
Buddy Shepherd
Ross Strmiska
Jason Romero
Austin Herzog
Christian Roche
Matt Erickson
Brett Taylor
Barry Karr
Kolby Berry
Tyler Herzog
Carlos Vieira
Rick Thompson
Tim Skoglund
Toni Breindenger
Mike Beeler
Glen Cook
Erik Woods
Parker Malone
Shelden Cooper
Blaine Rocha
Ryan Phillpott
Eric Nascimento
Ryan Hart

B Main
Mike Beeler
Toni Breindenger
Glen Cook
Erik Woods
Aaron Haley
Mike Weimann
Tim Furin
Joey Brasil DQ

Jr. Late Models
Tanner Reif
Joey Iest
Seth Wise
Kabe McClenny
Kayla Eshleman
Jake Bollman
Kercie Jung
Jay Juleson
Kyler Berry
Austin Edwards
Calvin Hegje
Olivia Manke
Tyler Reif
Kasey Kleyn
Lilly Mead
Robbie Kennealy
Patrick Mullins
Jordan Walbridge
Cody Kiemele
Jesse Burks DQ


Bakersfield Speedway Race Results March 9, 2019
IMCA Modifieds
Ethan Dotson
Cody Laney
Robby Sawyer
Logan Drake
Bobby Hogge IV
Clint Reichenbach
Kollin Hibdon
Kyle Heckman
Ryan Daves
Trevor Fitz
Justin Schweitzer
Troy Morris Jr
Chris Crompe
Jake Pike
Troy Morris III
Heath Denney
Karl Noland Sr
Michael Scruggs
Roger Holder
Jerry Flippo
Dylan Thorton
Justin Dunn
Bryan Clark

Mod Lites
Zack Forster
Roy Maynard Jr
Anthony Balcazar
JD Brown
Kaden Cochrun
Kenny Cochrun
Deven Pearson
Jeff Thompson
Jakob Carey
Candi Varney
Tim Varney
Tristan Kanthack
Seth Poncetta
Cheyenne Flippo

Mini Stocks
Chris Rutledge
Raymond Noland Jr
Clinton Massey
Andy Boydstun
Clint Duncan
Matt Herod
Carter Cherry
Parker Cherry
Mason Conway
Matt Daniels
David Waller
Gary Anderson
Destiny Joplin
Brandon Wolford
David Wolford
Gene Glover
Paul Johnston

Sr Mini Dwarfs
Mason Ratcliff
Adam Nohl
Jett Yantis
Seth Hanson
Bransyn Speer
Deegan Bledsaw
Carson Conway
Mallory Meyers
Eric Vences
Brooklynn Palmer
Ethan Johnson
Kaden Cowan

Jr Mini Dwarfs
Wyatt Webb
Bryson Martin
Khloe Cotton
Emma McKellar
Blake Watson
Tom Stephens III
Travis Varney
Cameron Blankenship
Bradley Brink
Paislee Hughes
Landynn Childress

NMRA TQ Midgets
Anthony Lopiccolo
West Evans
Scott Niven
Ace Kale
Chris Thomas
Don Brashier
Kevin Kale


Tulare Thunderbowl Race Results March 9, 2019
King Of Thunder Winged 360 Sprint Cars
A Main
Mitchell Faccinto
DJ Netto
Justyn Cox
Shane Golobic
Cole Macedo
Danny Faria
Steven Kent
Grant Duinkerken
Scott Parker
Zane Blanchard
 Cole Danell
Jace Vanderweerd
Jesse Love
Nathan Rolfe
Landon Hurst
Geoffrey Strole
Tucker Worth
Mathew Moles
 Robbie Price
Rico Abreu
Bud Kaeding
Tanner Boul

B Main
Jesse Love
Danny Faria
Cole Danell
Landon Hurst
Zane Blanchard
Geoffrey Strole
Vaughn Schott
Joey Ancona
Jared Faria
Monty Ferriera
Kaleb Montgomery
Mauro Simone

World of Outlaw Sprint Cars
Main Event
Ian Madsen
Daryn Pittman
Sheldon Haudenschild
Brad Sweet
Tim Shaffer
Shane Stewart
Cory Eliason
Carson Macedo
Aaron Reutzel
Donny Schatz
Bud Kaeding
David Gravel
Kasey Kahne
Terry McCarl
Dominic Scelzi
Chad Kemenah
Chase Johnson
Brent Marks
Logan Schuchart
Tim Kaeding
Shane Golobic
Giovanni Scelzi
DJ Netto
Kraig Kinser
Colby Copeland

Last Chance Showdown
Kraig Kinser
Dominic Scelzi
Giovanni Scelzi
Chad Kemenah
Parker Price-Miller
Rico Abreu
Willie Croft
Mason Daniel
Greg Wilson
Jason Sides
Brian Brown
Logan Schuchart
Jacob Allen

The Editor's Viewpoint

To say the least, last week was a difficult week for trying to get anything out on the blog. I had 95% of the post ready to go on Sunday. That means I had seven columns written and ready to go, but of course the one I was wanting to write the most wasn't even done yet. There was no Antioch Speedway schedule available to me, which meant I couldn't put a schedule article together. To say the least, it was a bit frustrating.

I had spoken to John M Soares over a week before that, and the indication was that it was going to be out that weekend. However, that didn't happen, and then it just dragged on for a week. By the end of the week, I got key information from Orland Raceway and the Central Valley Mini Stocks, so I was getting things done. My hopes were that Saturday would be the day I'd see a schedule, but then I got the information that it might not be available until Tuesday.

The dilemma I had was whether or not to wait until Tuesday or just put out what I had. Because I had it in my mind that the next post had to include Antioch Speedway, I waited. Then, it started snowing on Sunday night, kept snowing, cut the power on early Monday morning and it went downhill from there. We didn't get power until Wednesday evening, and internet didn't come back until a couple of days later.

Just my luck, but the schedule went out while I had no way to see it. We didn't even get internet in town until Tuesday. Because I didn't need to be pecking away at a laptop and making all the noise I'm prone to do with my typing, all I could do was gather the information, catch up on messages and head back to the house on Tuesday. That still left me scrambling on Wednesday to put something out, and that even meant recording my audio show as I walked back to the library. At least that got done.

I'd be lying to you if I said I wasn't just a little bit frustrated with the way the schedule was rolled out, but there wasn't a lot that I could do from here. Being based in Oregon and dealing with a power outage meant that I could do even less then I might under other circumstances. There were a couple of things I looked at on the schedule that had me just a little bit disappointed. I'm hesitant to say anything on the grounds that people will think I'm being too critical.

When John and I spoke last year, he indicated that he was scheduling too many races and wanted to cut back. He indicated that he would rather focus on quality of race than quantity. I have to admit, I like that idea. Both the Hobby Stock division and the B Modifieds were booked too heavily last year, although the idiot John had working with him managed to screw things up so badly for the B Modifieds that some dates were pulled.

I'm still of the opinion that in 2019, you can't really book any of your regular classes much more than 14 times and expect to maintain a car count. Even at that, drivers will struggle to make every race. When John said 20 races, I had to smile. This would have been perfect in my opinion, because each division could run about 14 dates, everything could be shuffled with off nights for every class, and it would have filled a 20 race schedule.

I'm not sure what happened since then, but I have my theories. The fairgrounds still demands a high price for that rent. When you listen to the Fair Board meeting meeting that went down in February, even Mikey Slaney suggested that he and Jeremy Prince would have booked a 30 race schedule starting at the beginning of April. So, it's obvious what the fairgrounds expects. I still think you could have gotten the numbers in the pits and the grandstands up by running less races, but even then there's a lot of work involved. So what it comes down to is money. Running more races makes it easier to get the fairgrounds the money they want for the rent. Therefore, I might be disappointed, but I understand the decision.

I'm of the opinion that John had ample reason to tell the Fair Board that there were going to be less races this year because of the long and drawn-out process that it took to get him a contract renewal to run the track. Even being able to go into the pits and do things until mid-February didn't help, because of all the rain and the wet grounds. It's been difficult to get started. It was rightly pointed out to the Fair Board at the meeting that their dilly-dallying along in the process cost them races, but it looks like John has worked very hard to make it so that only a couple of races were lost at the most. Say goodbye to the New Year's race and maybe one, two at the most, March races.

From my way of thinking, you wipe March off of the calendar completely. You come back at it in April with a play day or two and the opener at the last or second to last Saturday in April. It still fits the 20 race window, and it gives you an opportunity to make sure everything is lined up and ready to go. Judging from some of the comments I've seen on Facebook, people were looking for information that they couldn't get their hands on as quickly as they would have liked. Everything has been sort of frantically rolled out because the team is under the gun. Racing season will start on March 30th at Antioch, and there will be two playdays before that. Ready or not, those gates are going open in March unless it rains.

I wish I could be down there to help the process right now as the road is a little bit bumpy and the critics are very vocal. Then came the announcement of the big race on October 11th and 12th. John had told me that he was planning to pay a $12,000 to win purse for the A Modifieds and even a nice purse for the B Modifieds at a big end-of-the-year shindig. The problem was that the bidding process forced him to give up on that idea last year, but he never completely gave up on this idea.

There are a number of ways of looking at this. What do you actually gain by paying $12,000 to win one race? It's a legitimate question. He has pulled off some $5,000 to win races for the Modifieds in the past, which was very generous as it is. These happened at a time when we didn't have B Modifieds dividing the car count. Honestly, these days a $3,000 to win race is more than generous, and if you're looking to make a statement, make sure the guys that earned starting spots in the Main Event get paid way above average. You could make it $300 to start and $3,000 to win, and everybody who can come will show up as long as it's on a night that they can support.

The point season ends on October 5th with the Donna Soares Memorial race. $1,500 to win has been advertised for the A Modifieds. What I don't know as it's not listed is whether or not this will be a double point affair. My hope is that if it's going to be that, it's listed on the schedule immediately. I don't think it's beneficial to the cause to decide a week before the race that it's double points. Just my opinion here. It's a nice way to end the season, but John had a big-money race listed a week later with a purse to be announced. This is where it started.

In a thread in which the schedule was posted on Facebook, it was pointed out that the race would pay $12,000 to win. I don't even think anybody was asking how much that race would pay, but it was posted. Now, I have a few problems with that. I don't know that it's the time to be paying $12,000 to win with the facilities having other needs. I'm not trying to be negative. It's always nice to give the drivers more money to run for, but I think people would understand if money was invested in other things and maybe the race was $3,000 to win. But let's just say it's happening and it's a good thing and there's no reason to be critical.

The problem with making the announcement in such a way is that most tracks would carefully craft a strategy for making such an announcement. This might mean a press release, a flier listing how much the purse is going to be, what the entry fee is and taking pre-registration. You want to build up the excitement, and you want to do it right. The problem was this led to rampant speculation about what was being offered, and initial comments were more negative than positive. The biggest reason for you to make an announcement of a big paying race is to get positive comments in return, and this failed.

So I believe that the initial announcement of this race was botched. What is the race called? What is the purse? What are the rules? What is the purse for the B Modifieds that night? Some of these questions remain unanswered. I'm not necessarily against having this race, even if I do believe that funds could be put towards more useful purposes for the facility itself. But what I am saying is the rollout of this race was not handled properly for the track. Most of this stuff can be fixed in the days ahead.

I'll just be honest with you. I'm against having this race on October 11th and 12th. Why? Down in Bakersfield, they've been doing the Budweiser Nationals. This is not some race that just popped up a few years ago. This is the 34th running of this race, and it's generally taken place at the same time every year. With the Late Models now off the card down there, the Modifieds and Sport Modifieds are the top two classes on the card. Has Bakersfield done something to hurt Antioch Speedway that I'm not aware of? I don't understand the booking of this race at this time when a week later would have been perfect.

I understand the argument for this race is pretty simple. You're going to book on top of somebody every week. It can't be helped. I understand that to a point. There are certain events established throughout a year that are just there. They've been there for years, and they can be avoided. At the end of the year, I definitely understand that tracks want to have their crack at a big money show. Traditionally, the first weekend in October has been the time for Antioch to have its big show. As it is these days, the last weekend of September belongs to Watsonville and the Pat and Jim Pettit Memorial Shoot Out race. The Bud Nationals in Bakersfield happens the second week of October.

Merced has been trying to establish something at the end of the year, though the date has continued to move. It's the last week of October this year. I don't think that anybody else has a legitimate established claim to the third weekend of October if Antioch wanted it. This way here, Bakersfield gets to have their traditional big show and Antioch gets a shot at those cars a week later. Otherwise, the drivers are going to be waiting for Vegas in November for their next big show.

My only motivation for saying these things is not to be critical or to slam the track. The fact that you have John stepping up and willingly advertising big money for a race like this shows that he cares enough to give the drivers something special. At a time in which he was fighting to keep the race track, he's not just opening the gates to keep a show going. He's trying to do better things. There are some big shows scattered throughout the season with the big race in October wrapping it up. There are also some key improvements being planned for the facility itself.

I recognize that morale is at an all-time low right now in Antioch, and there are people that are going to pounce on good things and find the bad in them. There are people that are going to start whisper campaigns against the track to encourage others not to support. There are people who are only going to be happy if John fails, even if he's trying to do the right thing. There are people that will look at a success that John has and call it a failure. That's where the mood has gotten. To be sure, John's not innocent in creating that mentality.

But we can either look back at the past and criticize everything and ignore anything that's good because it doesn't fit the narrative, or we can just leave the past where it is and concentrate on the future. The fact is that the gates are going to open at Antioch Speedway for 27 scheduled races, possibly more. There are some big shows on the schedule and racers are going to have the opportunity to make more good memories. I say it's a good opportunity to move on and see if we can begin to right the ship.

People are going to talk about what could be if this person or that person were there. Well, you can close your eyes and imagine pretty much anything. That's the beauty of imagination. You can play "let's pretend" or even create programs on the internet to build the fantasy you wish was real. Or, you can move on and at the next opportunity take your next shot. That's where we are right now.

Sitting up here in Oregon and watching things unfold and not being on the ground doing what I can to help is a bit frustrating. It's even worse knowing that things were happening and I had no access to the information. As I write this, I ended last weekend with severe writer's block. I literally had plans to write articles for the entire weekend and couldn't even come up with a word. Then I had a burst of creativity Monday that will lead to a pair of blog post going out, starting with this one.

It's getting closer to racing season starting at all of the venues throughout the West Coast. Up here in Oregon, we are two months away from the first race of the season, but a lot of things need to be done from a publicity standpoint. Down in Antioch, there isn't even that much time before the gates will open for the scheduled playday on March 16th. If the weather holds out, there will be another playday the next week and it just continues from there.

What I'm reminded of as I struggled during the course of the weekend is that I am sort of running low on ambition and enthusiasm for what I do in racing. What I always rely on is that once the season gets going, I'm just all in. I'm engaged in the process and only have brief moments to take a break here or there before the next story or the next race comes up. My commitment to 2019 remains, and I'll see it through from the first green flag to the last checkered flag.

I'm excited about things that have been put in place for Southern Oregon Speedway as we head into our fourth season with KJE Enterprises and Mike McCann at the helm. There will be big races for several divisions this year and some divisions are going to have an opportunity to grab the brass ring, so to speak. There are improvements planned for the facility and changes in the way the races are presented. Having Cory Penefold and his crew from Moxie Media as part of the program this year is a huge gain for the race track as they bring in their experience in hyping and publicizing the sport.

It seems to me that while we've had to struggle here and there for the first three years, some things are starting to fall into place a little easier than they have before. I'm not sure how to take that, but it's a good thing. It's taken a little bit of the pressure off of me that I've had to deal with in the past, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. There are still things that I need to get done, but everything that I'm seeing right now points to a better year for the track this year as the goal to continue to improve the program each year seems to still be on course. 

I look down in Yreka with interest because they have Kevin Barba as the promoter. He just got the keys to the facility on March 1st, and they have things to do to get it ready for some playdays later this month. Kevin is booking a busier schedule than the speedway has seen in recent years, and it will go all the way through October. There's a few things I'd like to see in the area of trying to develop car counts and certain divisions, but there are certain things they're working on now that should lead to more cars if they're done right.

I made mention in the last blog post that Orland Raceway has put a nice schedule together. When you're dealing with a track that doesn't have a bunch of money behind it and is your local mom-and-pop type of place, you might work on improving things a little bit each year, but you're not swinging for the bleachers. Rich Hood enters his fourth year and has brought stability back to that track. That right there is reason to be excited. He's going to keep the core divisions out there as this has been the bread and butter of the track for years, meaning Pure Stocks, Mini Trucks and Mini Stocks, along with the Wingless Sprints and Micro Sprint classes.

Orland will add a few attractions to the schedule, which includes the first visits for the Winged Crate Sprint class. Along with their two visits, there will also be two B Modified visits and three appearances by the California Hardtops. The Dwarf Cars will even get a race, and I've wondered for a long time why this hasn't happened sooner.

Orland Raceway, in my opinion, is perfect for that. The Thomas Schmitke Race For A Cure, Kids Bike Night and Fan Appreciation Night continue to be staple events for the track. The Battle Of The Axles and more money on the line will close the season in October. In short, Orland Raceway is looking good.

I'd like to make a few other comments here and there on tracks more closer to my old stomping grounds, but I don't have a lot of information to go on. From what I've seen of the schedules from Petaluma Speedway and Merced Speedway, I have no reason to expect anything other than great years for both tracks. Merced should continue to be featured on the blog, and I may continue Petaluma as well as Ocean Speedway in Watsonville. I'll be busy.

It does get difficult to motivate myself to get started at the beginning of the year. I always tell myself I'll slowly work on stories so that I'm not crunched for time, but I end up doing nothing. Suddenly, I have to push more creativity out of myself in a limited amount of time. Somehow, the job gets done. It's just about time to get into the swing of things again, so I'm ready. I will continue to do what I can on the blogs and do my best to give you the coverage you've been getting since I returned to weekly racing coverage in 2015.

Before I close this column, I caught an interesting thing on Facebook. An NCMA member was on the Crate Sprint page trying to recruit drivers to this new division that the NCMA is trying to start. It really opens up a lot of opinions on this subject that I'm sure I could piss a few people off by expressing. So, why not?

I'll start with the Crate Sprints. In my opinion, this division never should have come to be. I know I'll piss some people off in Marysville by saying this, and I also know it was people from Marysville who were telling us how wrong we were when we started Spec Sprints way back in 1999. If we'd only put wings on the cars, it would be a good division. If we only got rid of the starters, it would be a good division. Whatever it was that somebody wanted that our rules didn't have.

There was a movement to go with wings, but it wasn't too vocal back then. Merced Speedway had their own Limited Sprint class for a decade, and it's only because Chuck Griffin allowed Mark Amador to take over his class that Merced stopped running it at the end of the 1998 season. Chuck had done a few things to shoot himself in the foot with that class through the years. I won't deny it had potential, but his allowance of Amador taking it to the pavement opened the door for the Sportsman division we have today. I'll call that a win.

I knew we had a winner at Antioch Speedway with Spec Sprints. Don O'Keefe Jr and I did what we could to guide it through a very turbulent first year for John. We had a great group of racers supporting it, so all of the naysayers and people who were out to hurt what we were doing ultimately had to suck on it. We made it happen for John, and he's done a good job of guiding this division for going on 21 seasons.

I knew somebody would want this class eventually, but I was blown away when it was Orland Raceway that became the first track to start its own division. Darrell Hanestad has taken heat from people. They would say he threw too much money at his car and other such nonsense. In fact, I've heard that theory put forth by somebody in recent days. Whatever. I ain't got time for the BS.

I know what an ambassador for the division Darrell was. People in the Sprint Car community respected him. He may have gone fast at Antioch, but he was also willing to help others and had a great attitude. He was also the one who lobbied the hardest to get this division added at Silver Dollar Speedway. He and legendary Promoter John Padjen would talk about this, and Darrell was insistent that this was going to happen eventually. John was just looking for the way to do it. The success we had at Tom Sagmiller's first Open Wheel Roundup at Chowchilla Speedway certainly helped in this cause.

In my humble opinion, there's not a promoter in Northern California who respected Sprint Car racing more than John Padjen. His reputation speaks for itself, and Silver Dollar Speedway simply has not been the same since he left. Look at the numbers and judge for yourself. He knew Winged 410 Sprint Cars were the ultimate. He knew the Winged 360 Sprint Cars were the heir apparent, but he didn't have to sacrifice the 410 Sprint Cars for that. He also knew what the Wingless Spec Sprint division was.

When he opened his gates to this division a few years later, he didn't say it had to be this or that. He knew what the rules were and why they were. He did what good promoters do. He promoted the class. It had the biggest races ever under his promotion. Yes, over 70 cars at one of his big events. Kyle Larson drove one of these cars. The Keading family was represented. This wasn't a joke to him. He did pretty good with the class in Chico.

The Marysville effort came along because the guys from the CSRA got things started. They were actually the next group following Orland to start this class, which is why I was urging John at Antioch to start what I called the Spec Sprint Revolution Series. The building blocks were there. This was 2003. On that little track in Sacramento, they began having Spec Sprint shows. It was gaining a foothold.

The sad fact about Sacramento was that the track owner had no appreciation for that little dirt track. It's all about drag racing there. In my humble opinion, that little race track could still be running a Friday night program and doing okay, but that's not what the owner wanted. The other thing was the Spec Sprint racers understandably wanted to run on bigger tracks. This is why they started doing the shoot out races that led to the Select Series really taking off with the NCMA at Chowchilla. This is why Marysville became an option. I believe the promoter at the time was Mel Hall, and he had been looking at this class as well according to my conversations with announcer Ron Albright.

By the time Mel got a hold of the class, he didn't want to run a club. He wanted a division at the track. Spec Sprints found another home. By then, you had several tracks in California embracing this division because of its simplicity. Much like the Sport Modifieds have come into fashion because of all the older cars that were sitting around out there and deemed uncompetitive in the Modifieds, you had an abundance of Sprint Car chassis that people felt were not competitive in the Winged 360s. This was the real time for Spec Sprint racing.

Now, at this time, Silver Dollar Speedway and Marysville Raceway we're doing okay with Spec Sprints. There was a year in there where the next Marysville promoter, Paul Hawes, didn't have a Spec Sprint point race, but otherwise the division would still be there. By the time Dennis Gage stepped in at both Chico and Marysville, the Crate Sprint division became a thing. The people wanting a wing on their Sprint Cars got their way.

I still stand by my criticism as expressed on the blog back in those days. There was no reason for this division. It simply was not needed, and I said it would serve to divide car count between the new class and Spec Sprints. Therefore, fans wouldn't see a class with double digits. They would see two divisions with half a dozen or so cars. Stupid move by the promoter in my opinion. I don't think it's something John Padjen would have done, but then John always promoted with intelligence. That seemed to be lacking after he left, or was forced out as the case may have been.

Meanwhile, the NCMA was forced to scramble for race dates after torching the bridge to Antioch Speedway. This necessitated the need in some of the leaders' minds to start racing on the pavement. They had not abandoned the dirt. That didn't happen until late in the first decade of the 2000s. Instead, they got people used to running the pavement, and they promoted a nice little series they called the Select Series to bring different groups together at certain dirt races. At some point, they gave up and said it was time to focus exclusively on pavement. It was a disappointing decision, and it led to some of the hardcore supporters finally walking away from it.

So, we arrived at the point we are now. The promoter at Chico and Marysville had to make a choice, and he decided to dump the Spec Sprint division and focus on the Crate Sprint class. Marysville is their primary home. I understand the decision, even if I didn't support the class initially. I think we need to take this time to finally see what this division can do. They don't need distractions, which is what they sort of got when the NCMA went calling on Crate Sprint drivers to take off the wings and try the pavement.

If it's going to happen for Crate Sprints, it's going to happen now. It's a nice schedule mainly at Marysville, with Chico and Orland thrown in for good measure at select dates. Plus, there are Nevada options. Let's see where this thing can go. Maybe this is the ticket.

I began getting messages from people a couple of years ago regarding the NCMA coming back to the dirt. It was on the eve of the 30th anniversary season, and quite frankly, the time was right. There were racers that wanted to try and get some dirt races, but the remainder of the NCMA frowned on the idea. They didn't want to divide their car count, which wouldn't have happened. The pavement drivers wouldn't have supported the dirt anyway.

Here's the deal. The NCMA was able to get about eight or ten pavement dates. This year, it's only five at the moment. Therefore, you have more than ten opportunities to try and get some dirt dates and racers willing to do it. Why? It's simple. The longevity of the NCMA is at stake. Nobody is saying dump the pavement. What they were saying is, if we can get some dirt races and be able to get the group a seat at the table in the Spec Sprint discussion, why shouldn't we?

The people lobbying for this to happen were those who actually understood the heart of what the Spec Sprint division is all about. It's always been about having affordable Sprint Car racing. Sort of an oxymoron, but a Spec Sprint is certainly cheaper to run than a Winged 360 Sprint Car or at least it should be. What we've had over the last half a dozen or so years is certain frontrunners pushing the envelope and trying to get rules changed so they can spend more money on horsepower and things of that nature.

Looking down the road, one can see the end of the Hunt Series as a Spec Sprint deal as they shift into Wingless 360 Sprint Car mode. Speculation is that this will happen within three years, leaving the door open for somebody to attempt to get a handle on things with a new Spec Sprint effort. There is still a market for traditional Spec Sprint racing, but it lacks leadership other than two promoters, John M Soares and Rick Faeth, who are keeping the flame alive at their respective tracks. The NCMA carries a 30 year plus history with them, and they are credible enough to take that seat at the table and help guide the ship.

I don't see it happening as long as certain people see going back to the dirt as a threat to the club. Also, I don't know if the people who were expressing interest to me a couple of years ago even want to take this on anymore. There's that question of what dates you can get, but you can get dates. In my mind, you don't shoot for the moon anyways. That is to say, you pick out a half a dozen or so races and promote them to the best of your ability. I think six dates, give or take one, are possible, and none of them would conflict with pavement. Then, the NCMA can crown dirt, pavement and overall champions again if they choose. It's a way to get new drivers in.

What you have to understand is because the Micro Sprint scene is healthy and there is still the Outlaw Kart scene, you have young drivers that are getting old enough to make the next move. Obviously, most of them went to go Sprint Car racing, but getting a competitive ride in a Winged 360 Sprint Car isn't so easy. They might have some sponsorship behind them that could put them in a competitive Spec Sprint. This division remains viable, even if tracks like Chico, Marysville and Watsonville have given up on trying to have a division of their own.

Tracks are always looking for an added attraction. Car count is a premium, and if you're telling some promoters that you can bring them a dozen or so cars, they are listening. Obviously, budget at the track is what it is, but the resourceful association promoter can bring something to the table too in terms of sponsorship. Where there is a will there is a way. So, I think the time and opportunity is still there for the NCMA to go after dirt again, rather than thinking they need to create another pavement class.

Right now, the NCMA and the Gunslinger Sprint Cars are the two options on the pavement, and both are struggling. Adding anything new is unnecessary and only divides things further. If the NCMA rules as they are are hurting the effort to build a car count on the pavement, then they need to look at their rules and ask why. It's not time to add something else. The Gunslingers are good for about ten or a dozen cars, and some of these drivers are graduates from the NCMA.

I know people will say I'm being negative, especially fans of Crate Sprints. I've never been a fan of divisionitis. That is to say, adding more and more divisions. Like when Antioch Speedway had a thriving Mini Truck division and added 4 Bangers. I questioned that. It divided the 4 Cylinder market in the area, and now neither class exists. But that's just one example as other tracks have done the same type of thing. There's always that driver that says if you will give me a class with this rule and that rule, I'll come race. A promoter relents. Next thing you know, we have a new division with six or eight cars when some of those drivers could have easily picked something else that the track had and built a car for that.

It's like Watsonville getting into Midget racing. Why? Watsonville has had open wheel racing forced on them since John Prentice became the promoter. I'm not knocking him for doing the right thing. In fact, Rick Farren should have brought Sprint Cars to Watsonville the moment San Jose Speedway closed. When John had people saying they'd bring sponsors and this and that, he would have been an absolute idiot not to do what he did. Sprint Cars do well at Watsonville.

But when we ignore the obvious Stock Car heritage of that track, we do it a disservice. It's like bringing in the San Jose Hall Of Fame Night to Watsonville when Watsonville has a Hall Of Fame of its own that needs to be restarted. It's like dropping the Tim Williamson Classic, which had a heritage going back to 1980. and it's like thinking you need to add another division and not looking at Limited Late Models or Super Stocks as the division to add. In my mind, nothing really needed to be added, but I certainly would have gone in that direction rather than Midgets.

I'm not somebody who's going to sit here and say you're blowing it. I want to see the Midgets get cars and prove me wrong. This is not a good time for Midget racing in California, and because the BCRA has struggled so much in recent years, other places are taking a look and thinking they can do it better. Thus, Watsonville and Madera now have their own deals. We shall see whether that works or not. Maybe BCRA aligning with POWRi will jump-start things?

One of the reasons you have seen an exodus from the speedway, and there are many, is because of the quality of the show. Back in the day, you might have had two divisions, but you had car count. Drivers got to qualify on the clock, run Trophy Dashes, heat races, a Semi Main and then you had the best drivers of the night in the Main Event battling for that win. It built up to something that the fans can get into. Now, you get a dozen drivers there, some of which would end up in a Semi Main if there were enough cars to put them there. Two or three drivers have a tendency to dominate some classes.

The whole process of how we got here took years. It didn't happen overnight. So, when I see us repeating the same mistakes by adding new divisions, I wonder why we haven't learned yet. It is what it is. We make the best of it. But, it gets frustrating when promoters don't stay the course with something and then throw another thing into the equation that screws it up worse. Two perfect examples are the Street Stock divisions at Antioch and Watsonville. Oh wait, neither track has them anymore. How did that happen? That would take a lot more time wriring than I need to do here.

I didn't want to drone on and on in this column, but I managed to do it yet again. So on that note, I'm going to end things. Until next time...

Antioch Speedway And Orland Raceway Schedule News, Stockton, Hanford, More

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Oval Motorsports Releases 59th Season Schedule 

For Antioch Speedway

Antioch, CA...A little over a week after it was announced that John M Soares and Oval Motorsports would have the contract to promote Antioch Speedway for the next five years, a new schedule has been released. This will be the 59th season of consecutive championship racing on the 3/8 mile clay oval located at the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds in Antioch.

Once again, the All Star Series lineup of divisions will feature the Winged 360 Sprint Cars, Wingless Spec Sprints, A Modifieds, B Modifieds, DIRTcar Late Models, Limited Late Models, Hobby Stocks and Dwarf Cars. The Bay Area Hardtops will also make four appearances throughout the season.

It's a busy schedule with 27 races dates booked and the possibility of a 28th event during the Contra Costa County Fair in May.  The longest continuously active division at the track are the A Modifieds.  They enter their 30th season with a 17 race schedule, including a few extra money affairs.  The Hobby Stocks will kick off their 25th season at the speedway with 19 races booked, with the Dwarf Cars entering their 22nd All Star Series season with a 17 race schedule.

The Limited Late Models will get 14 races for their 20th season, while the Wingless Spec Sprints kick off their 21st season with 12 race dates.  The B Modifieds are the most active class at the speedway with 22 race dates.  We will see the DIRTcar Late Models nine times and the Winged 360 Sprint Cars eight times.  The Bay Area Hardtops are in action four times, and they are a part of three of the biggest events of the season.

Eight All Star Series champions will again be crowned.  Last season, it was Matt DeMartini winning the Winged 360 Sprint Car title.  Nick DeCarlo won the A Modified crown, while Jeff Decker (DIRTcar Late Models), Mark Garner (Limited Late Models), Trevor Clymens (B Modifieds), Chris Sorensen (Hobby Stocks), Mike Corsaro (Dwarf Cars) and Bob Newberry (Wingless Spec Sprints) were the other champions.  For Decker and Corsaro, it was their second straight titles.

There are some big races on the schedule this season, and this includes the Third Annual Larry Damitz Memorial race on April 27th. The DIRTcar Late Models will headline the show along with B Modifieds, Hobby Stocks and Bay Area Hardtops. Another highlight comes on June 1st with the return of the California Civil War Winged 360 Sprint Car Series. Joining them will be the B Modifieds and Dwarf Cars.

On June 8th, the Third Annual Jerry Hetrick Memorial race will feature DIRTcar Late Models, A Modifieds, B Modifieds, Wingless Spec Sprints and Hobby Stocks. On June 29th, it's the Firecracker 50. The 50 lap A Modified Main Event will pay $1,000 to the winner. The Wingless Sprints, B Modifieds, Limited Late Models and Hobby Stocks will also be on the card. A week later, the July 6th program will pay $500 to the B Modified Main Event winner. Wingless Specs Sprints, Limited Late Models, Hobby Stocks and Dwarf Cars will also compete that night.

Every Saturday night through July and August will offer racing. In September, the third straight Saturday night race will be the 17th Annual Chet Thomson Memorial Hardtop race. Joining them on the September 21st program will be the A Modifieds, B Modifieds, Limited Late Models, Hobby Stocks and Dwarf Cars for what will be a loaded program. The track stays dark a week later in support of the Jim and Pat Pettit Memorial Dirt Track Shootout at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville.

Antioch Speedway will remember Donna Soares with a special memorial race on October 5th. The wife of John M Soares passed away last October. The A Modified Main Event that night will pay $1,500 to win with DIRTcar Late Models, Limited Late Models, Hobby Stocks and Hardtops also on the schedule. An open show is tentatively planned for October 12th that will include A Modifieds and B Modifieds. Further details on purse will be forthcoming. The track will also have a Hall of Fame Night, likely to be scheduled in August. However, that information will be forthcoming as well.

On March 16th and 23rd, the speedway will open for back to back play days. On the 30th, the All Star Series season kicks off with a show featuring A Modifieds, B Modifieds, Hobby Stocks and Dwarf Cars. The crew is hard at work making preparations on the race track, and this promises to be an exciting season from start to finish. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.

2019 All Star Series Antioch Speedway Schedule

March 16 - Playday
March 23 - Playday
March 30 - A Modifieds, B Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Dwarf Cars
April 6 - Wingless Spec Sprints, A Modifieds, Limited Late Models, Dwarf Cars
April 13 - Winged 360 Sprint Cars, B Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Dwarf Cars
April 20 - Wingless Spec Sprints, DIRTcar Late Models, A Modifieds B Modifieds
April 27 - 3rd Annual Larry Damitz Memorial - DIRTcar Late Models, B Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Bay Area Hardtops
May 4 - Wingless Spec Sprints, A Modifieds, Limited Late Models, Hobby Stocks
May 11 - DIRTcar Late Models, B Modifieds, Limited Late Models, Dwarf Cars
May 18 - Contra Costa County Fair - TBA
May 25 - Winged 360 Sprint Cars, A Modifieds, B Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Dwarf Cars
June 1 - Civil War Series Sprint Cars - Winged 360 Sprint Cars, B Modifieds, Dwarf Cars
June 8 -  3rd Annual Jerry Hetrick Memorial, DIRTcar Late Models, Wingless Spec Sprints, A Modifieds B Modifieds, Hobby Stocks
June 15 - Winged 360 Sprint Cars, B Modifieds, Limited Late Models, Hobby Stocks, Dwarf Cars
June 22 - Wingless Spec Sprints, A Modifieds, Limited Late Models, $300 To Win Hobby Stocks, Dwarf Cars
June 29 - Firecracher 50 - $1,000 To Win A Modifeds, Wingless Spec Sprints, B Modifieds, Limited Late Models, Hobby Stocks
July 6 - Wingless Spec Sprints, $500 To Win B Modifieds, Limited Late Models, Hobby Stocks, Dwarf Cars
July 13 - Wingless Spec Sprints, A Modifieds, B Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Dwarf Cars
July 20 - DIRTcar Late Models, Limited Late Models, B Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Bay Area Hardtops
July 27 - Winged 360 Sprint Cars, Wingless Spec Sprints, A Modfieds, B Modifieds, Limited Late Models, Dwarf Cars
August 3 - Winged 360 Sprints, A Modifieds, B Modifieds, Dwarf Cars
August 10 - Wingless Spec Sprints, DIRTcar Late Models, A Modifieds, Limited Late Models, Hobby Stocks
August 17 - Winged 360 Sprint Cars, A Modifieds, B Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Dwarf Cars
August 24 - Wingless Spec Sprints, B Modifieds, Limited Late Models, Hobby Stocks
August 31 - Wingless Spec Sprints, DIRTcar Late Models, A Modifieds, B Modifieds, Dwarf Cars
September 7 - Wingled 360 Sprint Cars, A Modifieds, B Modifieds, Limited Late Models, Hobby Stocks, Dwarf Cars
September 14 - Wingless Spec Sprints, DIRTcar Late Models, B Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Dwarf Cars
September 21 - 17th Annual Chet Thomson Memorial Hardtop Race - A Modifieds, B Modifieds, Limited Late Models, Hobby Stocks, Dwarf Cars, Bay Area Hardtops
September 28 - No Races
October 5 - Donna Soares Memorial Race - DIRTcar Late Models, $1500 To Win A Modifieds, Limited Late Models, Hobby Stocks, Bay Area Hardtops
October 12 - Open Show - A Modifieds, B Modifieds - Purse TBS

Subject To Change

Eagerly Anticipated Orland Raceway Schedule 

Finally Released

Orland, CA...The 2019 Orland Raceway schedule has just been released, and it offers even more excitement for the fans than the previous season. Promoter Rich Hood has taken things up a notch in his fourth season at the helm of the 1/5 mile dirt oval, located at the Glenn County Fairgrounds in Orland. There are some great things in store for the fans this season.

For years, the Pure Stocks, Mini Trucks and Mini Stock divisions have all been featured, and that will continue to be the case this season. The lineup also includes several dates for the Wingless Sprints, 600 Micro Sprints and 250 Micro Sprints. For good measure, Hood has booked special visits for the popular California Hardtops, the Winged Crate Sprint Cars and the Sport Modifieds. There will even be an appearance by the popular Dwarf Car division.

After playdays on March 2nd and March 16th, the track is slated to open for the first race of the 17 event season. The March 30th show will include the classic lineup of Pure Stocks, Mini Trucks, Mini Stocks and Wingless Sprints. Also on the bill will be the 600 Micros.

Last season, the wild and exciting Pure Stock championship was won by Paul Stephens ahead of previous champion Jeremy Langenderfer. It was Tom Davis out-running Barbara Crain in a hotly-contested Mini Stock battle, while Keith Ross won the Mini Truck title ahead of past champion Dan Webster. The closest battle at the speedway last year happened in the Wingless Sprint division. Tanner Thomson outdueled RJ Baker by just one point for the championship. Jake Fernandez won the 600 Micro Sprint title, while Pax Gonzalez was the 250 Micro Sprint champ.

The first special happens on April 6th with the first of three scheduled appearances by the California Hardtops. The night will also include Pure Stocks, Wingless Sprints, Mini Stocks and 250 Micros. The Hardtops return on June 1st along with Pure Stocks, Mini Trucks, 600 Micro Sprints, 250 Micro Sprints and the lone visit by the Dwarf Cars. The final appearance of the California Hardtops will be on the September 28th Championship Night. Pure Stocks, Mini Trucks, Mini Stocks and 600 Micro Sprints round out what should be an exciting program.

The Sport Modifieds will again make two appearances, the first of which will happen at the Glenn County Fair on Friday, May 17th. Pure Stocks, Wingless Sprints, Mini Trucks and Mini Stocks will also be competing. The Annual County Fair Destruction Derby will happen a night later, joined by a Boat Race and Tuff Trucks. The Sport Modifieds return on Ladies Night. The July 20th event will also include Pure Stocks, Wingless Sprints, Mini Trucks and Wingless 250 Micros.

The fans will get another taste of Sprint Cars. The Crate Sprints, which have been featured at Marysville and Chico in recent years, will make their first appearance on April 20th, joined by Pure Stocks, Wingless Sprints, Mini Trucks and 250 Micros. On August 31st, the Crate Sprints return along with Wingless Sprints, Mini Trucks, Mini Stocks, and Wingless 250 Micro Sprints.

Three of the more popular events in previous years will continue to be on the schedule this year. On June 8th, the speedway will host the Thomas Schmitke Race For The Cure event. In addition to raising money for a good cause, racing will feature Pure Stocks, Wingless Sprints, Mini Trucks, Mini Stocks and 250 Micro Sprints.

Kids Bike Night has also been a hit as the track has done bike giveaways for the kids and had the kids racing bikes for trophies on the track. This show returns on August 17th. The divisions competing that night will include the Pure Stocks, Wingless Sprints, Mini Trucks, Mini Stocks and 250 Micro Sprints.

On Fan Appreciation Night on September 14th, Orland Raceway offers a unique experience. The drivers park their cars behind the main grandstands, allowing the fans to meet them, get autographs and get their pictures taken. Pure Stocks, Wingless Sprints, Mini Stocks, 600 Micro Sprints and 250 Micro Sprints will be competing.

The Third Annual Battle Of The Axles will draw the season to a close on October 12th. The divisions are to be announced.

We are about a month away from opening the season. Weather permitting, racing will begin on March 30th. It's going to be an exciting racing season at Orland from start to finish. For further information, go to the Orland Raceway Facebook page.

2019 Orland Raceway Schedule

March 2 - Playday
March 16 - Playday
March 30 - Pure Stocks, Wingless Sprints, Mini Trucks, Mini Stocks, 600 Micro Sprints
April 6 - California Hardtops, Pure Stocks, Wingless Sprints, Mini Stocks, 250 Micro Sprints
April 20 - Crate Sprints, Pure Stocks, Wingless Sprints, Mini Trucks, 250 Micro Sprints
May 4 - Pure Stocks, Mini Trucks, Mini Stocks, 600 Micro Sprints, 250 Micro Sprints
May 17 - Glenn County Fair - Sport Modifieds, Pure Stocks, Wingless Sprints, Mini Trucks, Mini Stocks
May 18 - County Fair Destruction Derby - Stock Derby Cars, Boat Race, Tough Trucks
June 1 - California Hardtops, Pure Stocks, Mini Trucks, Dwarf Cars, 600 Micro Sprints, 250 Micro Sprints
June 8 - Thomas Schmitke Race For The Cure - Pure Stocks, Winless Sprints, Mini Trucks, Mini Stocks, 250 Micro Sprints
June 22 - Wingless Sprints, Mini Trucks, Mini Stocks, 600 Micro Sprints, 250 Micro Sprnts
July 6 - Pure Stocks, Wingless Sprints, Mini Trucks, Mini Stocks, 600 Micro Sprints
July 20 - Ladies Night - Sport Modifieds, Pure Stocks, Wingless Sprints, Mini Trucks, 250 Micro Sprints
August 3 - Pure Stocks, Wingless Sprints, Mini Stocks, 600 Micro Sprints, 250 Micro Sprints
August 17 - Kids Bike Night - Pure Stocks, Wingless Sprints, Mini Trucks, Mini Stocks, 250 Micro Sprints
August 31 - Crate Sprints, Wingless Sprints, Mini Trucks, Mini Stocks, 250 Micro Sprints
September 14 - Fan Appreciation Night - Pure Stocks, Wingless Sprints, Mini Stocks, 600 Micro Sprints, 250 Micro Sprints
September 28 - Championship Night - California Hardtops, Pure Stocks, Mini Trucks, Mini Stocks, 600 Micro Sprints
October 12 - 3rd Annual Battle Of The Axles - Classes TBA

Schedule Subject To Change

House Of JuJu Becomes Title Sponsor For 

CVMS Mini Stock Series

Lemoore, CA...Big things are in store for the 10 race Central Valley Mini Stock Series this season. CVMS Promoter Dan Myrick is constantly working on new ideas to improve things for the group, now entering its third season. Myrick made a big announcement for the coming season.

House of JuJu in Clovis and Morro Bay has been a big supporter of this series since it was established in 2017. They've sponsored several races and cars during this time and even hosted an awards banquet. This year, they've come on board as the title sponsor.

Late last year, Myrick declared his intent to pay a $5,000 point fund for the series this year, and this will now happen. It will amount to the biggest championship point fund for a Mini Stock group anywhere on the West Coast as the Top 10 drivers will be picking up point fund checks along with their season awards at the next banquet.

This year, the group has an expanded schedule of 10 dates with five taking place at Keller Auto Speedway in Hanford, four occurring at Lemoore Raceway and one on the pavement of Madera Raceway. It's a more ambitious schedule for the racers, who have mainly been competing at Lemoore these past two seasons. Since the tracks are still located within reasonable distance, most of the drivers won't be facing too difficult a tow to the various events.

Last season, Greg Baronian proved to be a little bit too much for the competition in winning the championship. He dethroned 2017 champion Danny Myrick. In both instances, the champions had to beat Dan Myrick, who settled for second both seasons. It was particularly heartbreaking for Myrick in 2017 as he may have won the championship if not for some difficult luck at the season finale. As it was, he held off a determined challenge from Ryan Doglione to finish second in the standings last year. He made sure that was the case when he won the season finale.

The Mini Stocks have been producing fields of anywhere from 14 to 20 cars on any given race night, and Myrick sees those numbers improving this season. The affordability and the ease of access to these cars are key factors in why Myrick believes the Mini Stock division will continue to grow.

It should be noted that Dan is constantly thinking of new and better ways to improve the program with the CVMS. This has led to an intriguing idea that Myrick is working on to potentially unveil in 2020. He is also looking at the possibility of a big Mini Stock event after point season racing is done this year.

In the meantime, the racers will need to get ready as the season opener is just around the corner. They go to Lemoore Raceway on March 9th. Joining them on the Saturday night card will be the South Bay Dwarf Car Association invitational race. Also part of the night's entertainment will be the Cab Street Band, who will perform a set after the final checkered flag waves. For further information, go to www.centralvalleyministocks.com or check the Facebook Page.

CVMS is exited to welcome House of JuJu as the title sponsor for the 2019 race season! Go try the best burgers, salad and flat breads in Clovis at, 565 Pollasky Ave #101, Clovis, CA 93612 or in Morro Bay at, 945 Embarcadero, Morro Bay, CA 93442.  Your taste buds will thank you!

House Of JuJu CVMS Mini Stock Point Fund
1st-$1000
2nd-$800
3rd-$700
4th-$550
5th-$450
6th-$400
7th-$350
8th-$300
9th-$250
10th-$200

Gualda, McDaniel, Ryland Win At Stockton Dirt Track

Stockton, CA...February 23... Tony Gualda won the 30 lap Winged 360 Sprint Car Main Event Saturday night at the Stockton Dirt Track. Gualda pursued Placerville champion Andy Forsberg for three laps before moving by on a lap four restart. The final 27 circuits went without incident with Gualda leading the rest of the way in victory. In the waning laps, Ryan Bernal moved in to challenge Forsberg for the second spot. As Forsberg had problems on the final lap, Bernal ended up second. Rico Abreu moved from fifth to third on the final lap, followed by Kyle Offill, Colby Copeland, Cody Hodgson, Forsberg, Jayson Bright, Nathan Rolfe and Jacob Tuttle.

The 16 Sprint Car competitors ran two sets of eight lap qualifying heat races. Gualda won his first heat race ahead of Tuttle and Bernal, while Forsberg won his first heat race in front of Croft and Copeland. It was Offill winning his second eight lap heat race opportunity ahead of Bernal and Gualda. Copeland won his second heat ahead of Croft and Hodgson.

Ryan McDaniel held off a late race challenge from previous Main Event winner Troy Foulger to win the 30 lap A Modified Main Event. McDaniel was the winner of the New Year's race. Antioch champion Nick DeCarlo led a lap before Foulger raced into the lead. Following a lap six caution, McDaniel made a move around both Foulger and DeCarlo to get the lead. DeCarlo still held second until surrendering the position to Foulger on lap 12. McDaniel was setting at a rapid pace and held about a half straightaway lead before catching slower traffic. Foulger made a good run on the inside as McDaniel dealt with the slower cars ahead of him. It was close down the stretch, but McDaniel prevailed just ahead of Foulger. DeCarlo settled for third, followed by Anthony Slaney, Mitch Machado, Tim Baulding, Chris Nieman, Jessie James Burks, Mark Abouzid and Derek Nance.

The 19 Modified competitors ran three eight lap heat races. Slaney picked up the first win, followed by Machado and Buddy Kniss. DeCarlo outran Foulger and Oregon visitor Jesse Bailey to win the second heat, and Kellen Chadwick won the final heat ahead of McDaniel and Balding.

2015 IMCA Sport Modified State champion Fred Ryland turned in a dominant performance in winning the 25 lap B Modified Main Event. Merced Speedway star Danny Roe led the opening lap before being passed by Ryland. The final yellow flag of the race flew on lap three with Ryland leading Tom Fraser and Roe on the restart. Ryland began to pull away from the rest of the pack, leaving Fraser and Roe to battle for second. Roe gained that position on lap 15, but by that time, Ryland was leading by a full straightaway. Ryland scored the impressive victory ahead of Roe, Fraser, rookie Cameron Swank, Mark Garner, Richard Vander Ploeg, Jason Womack, Joe Salvi, Brent Curran and Jeff Tuttle. Garner won his eight lap heat race ahead of Ryland and Vander Ploeg, while Curran scored the win in his heat, followed by Fraser and Roe.

Racing resumes with a big event next Saturday night. The NARC/King Of The West Fujitsu Winged 410 Sprint Car Series has their opener. The B Modifieds will be a part of the program. for further information, go to www.stocktondirttrack.com.

Netto, Rasmussen, Johnson Open Keller Auto Speedway Season With Wins

Hanford, CA...February 23...DJ Netto opened the 2019 Keller Auto Speedway season with a victory in the 30 lap King Of Thunder Winged 360 Sprint Car Main Event Saturday night. This was the opening race of a series that takes place between Hanford and neighboring Tulare Thunderbowl. Netto kicked things off with the fastest time of the 23 qualifiers and followed that up by winning his 10 lap heat race ahead of Craig Stidham. Only a second to Tucker Worth in the 8 lap Dash blemished his evening.

However, second didn't turn out to be a bad thing for Netto as he started on the outside front row for the feature. Netto charged into the lead and would hold off Mitchell Faccinto down the stretch for the victory. Coming from tenth starting, Dominic Scelzi roared to a third place finish. Worth settled for fourth, followed by Scott Parker, Zane Blanchard, Matthew Moles, Bud Kaeding, Danny Faria Jr and Jace Vanderweerd. Worth won his heat race ahead of Jared Faria, while Faccinto outran Scelzi for his heat race victory.

Kyle Rasmussen won the 25 lap opener for the IMCA RaceSaver 305 Sprint Cars. Rasmussen was the fast qualifier at 14.574, beating the 14.674 effort of Mike Schott. Rasmussen and Schott had third row starting spots for the Main Event, and Rasmussen led the 1-2 finish for the duo. Brooklyn Holland finished third, followed by Grant Champlin, Brendan Warmerdam, Connor Danell, Ryan DeLisle, Phil Heymen, Lance Jackson and Michael Pombo. Warmerdam won his heat race ahead of Grant Champlin, and Holland scored a popular victory over Pombo in her eight lapper.

Michael Johnson bested a stellar field of 22 IMCA Sport Modifieds to win their 25 lap Main Event. Johnson led a Bakersfield sweep of the podium as reigning State champion Austin Manzella and Kevin Johnson finished second and third, respectively. Merced regular Jarrod Mounce finished fourth, followed by Keith Brown Jr, Jason Nation, Michael Dean, Guy Ahlwardt, Chris Falkenberg and Gavyn Manning. The drivers ran three eight lap heat races with Michael Johnson outrunning Garrett Jernigan to win the first one. Brown outgunned Manzella for the second heat race victory, while Nation prevailed ahead of Falkenberg in the third heat.

The World of Outlaw Winged 410 Sprint Car Series comes to town on March 29th along with another IMCA RaceSaver Sprint Car show. The next regular event for the speedway is on April 20th with the King Of Thunder Winged 360 Sprint Cars headlining along with the RaceSaver Sprints, IMCA Stock Cars and California Lightning Sprints. For further information, go to www.racekingsspeedway.com. 

Pit Stops

This week's column includes a combination of tracks featured in our Jefferson and DCRR Racing blogs. We lead off with Douglas County Speedway in Roseburg where the track made additional announcements after our initial article previewing the 2019 season schedule. One of the interesting things they have done is added a Sport Modified division under their PRA sanctioning. The PRA is the association that runs the paved oval.

It's interesting to note that at this time they are not going with an IMCA sanctioning, and any of the existing Sport Modified drivers in Oregon would have to change over to give the payment a try. However, track officials are hoping that the money will be an incentive. With eight or less cars, they are talking $300 to win. A field of 9 to 11 cars would be $400 to win, and if they get 12 or more cars to start the Main Event, it's $500 to win. At 12 cars, second goes from $250 to $350, and third goes from $175 to $250. In all three scenarios, drivers get a minimum of $50 to start. These numbers would make Roseburg the biggest paying track for Sport Modifieds in Oregon.

Marysville Raceway has been throwing around bigger numbers for not just the IMCA Sport Modified class, but Winged 360 Sprint Cars and Hobby Stocks as well. We're still trying to get an understanding of what they're talking about, but the increase seems to be based on drivers who support back-to-back point racing nights from Chico Silver Dollar Speedway and Marysville Raceway. Marysville management appears to be stepping up their game to try and keep their locals supporting the Sport Modifieds, which are clearly the second best car count for their regular classes. One of the things that they are doing is offering up a big event, the Pepsi Peach Tree Nationals. This event takes place on September 14th and will pay the IMCA Sport Modifieds $1,249 to win in addition to being the final point race for both them and the Crate Sprints.

Interested racers can find out more on the Marysville Raceway Facebook page or their website, but another thing that they are doing is working with Chico on five selected Winged 360 Sprint Car dates that will offer a special bonus to anybody who can win all five of them. This is being billed as "The Drive For Five" with a $5,000 bonus to the driver that can win both nights of the Silver Cup at Chico on March 1st and 2nd, the Toller Memorial/Civil War Series Race at Marysville on March 9th, the Marysville season opener on March 16th and the Chico Silver Dollar opener on Friday, March 22nd. As an added bonus, any driver who competes in all five of those races plus the May 26th Mel Hall Memorial at Marysville will get a $250 bonus. If somebody wins four of the five aforementioned races, they get an extra $2,000 to win. If they win three of those races, they get a $1,000 bonus.

An interesting thing has happened. With the addition of All American Speedway to the NASCAR Whelen All American Series of tracks, there are now four NASCAR sanctioned Speedways in California. The Roseville track joins Kern County Raceway, Orange Show Speedway and Irwindale Speedway in a lineup of all pavement tracks, and this is the biggest number of NASCAR sanctioned tracks in California in over a decade.

The money is nice. NASCAR boasts over $15,000 in point fund money being given to each track, which is distributed among the Top 5 drivers in each of the Top 4 designated divisions. The premier classes, or Division 1, will receive $3,000 just for the championship. The division 2 champion will get $1,000. In addition to that, there will be $7,000 worth of State point fund money available to the top Division 1 stars.

Bill McAnally is in his second year of promoting All American Speedway, and he has expanded their schedule and added other divisions to help fill out the program. McAnally is also noteworthy in being a car owner and promoter of several events for the NASCAR K&N West Series, including races at all American Speedway and Douglas County Speedway. Is this a resurgence of NASCAR in California? If so, who might join next? At some point, are we going to see a dirt track get back into the NASCAR Family?

In Northwest California in Trinity County, Mountain Valley Speedway in Hayfork was hoping to get a playday in the books in February. Unfortunately, the ground was covered with snow. Optimism is high under the new organization that will be promoting the track for their second year. At the end of the 2017 season, the future looked bleak, but the new group organized and enabled the track to rise up from the ashes.

There will be one more opportunity to get a playday in on March 23rd before the season kicks off with the scheduled opener on April 13th. One of the problems we have is getting accurate information on what's happening in Hayfork. At its best, we've usually only managed to track down Top 3 finishers in the Main Events, but last season even that was difficult to achieve. This led to us getting some criticism when we attempted to put together finishes to get some word out, and we opted to leave things alone. We do support the track and would love to spread the word if we have adequate information.

One of the reasons that racing continues in Hayfork is because of some of the teams that have remained very dedicated in recent years. The Kasper family continues to field multiple cars with third-generation racer Will Kasper one of the frontrunners in the Hobby Stock division. You also have Kevin Kasper and Tim Kasper running the wild and crazy Enduro class along with several other fierce competitors, including Bryan Gummerus and William Young.

The Hobby Stocks continue to be a crowd-pleaser, and front-runners such as Burl Richardson, Russ Newman and Tresan Smith are among those giving the fans somebody to cheer for. You've also had Mini Stock stars such as Larry Richardson, past champion John Turner, Andy Blackburn and Orland based competitor Ross Vige among the Mini Stock competitors. We'd certainly like to give everybody their due, but as the Hayfork track is not exactly forthcoming with rosters, finishes and point lists, this is about the best that we can do for now.

The other thing we can tell you is that Hayfork will have a 10 race season. In addition to the aforementioned opener on April 19th, race dates include May 4th, May 18th, June 8th, June 22nd, the special July 4th Celebration race on July 13th, July 27th, the Trinity County Fair Race on August 10th, August 24th and Championship Fan Appreciation Night on September 14th. We haven't seen the specific designated date for the Clyde Cordell Memorial, but we suspect that may be on August 10th.

However, when it comes to getting the most accurate information available for Mountain Valley Speedway, we recommend you go to their Facebook page. If we get timely and accurate information, we may attempt to put out more news for the track this year.

Cedarville Speedway only has one race. It's the Gordon Russell Sr Memorial event on June 29th. This race came about because of Pro Stock competitor Gordon Russell Jr. Gordon watched his father race at the track in Cedarville and even began to race there himself. When his father passed away, he had the hope of putting on a big race for him in Cedarville. When he finally made the first one happen in 2017, Gordon Jr dedicated it not just to his father but to all of the fallen racers who helped to make racing special in Cedarville

The last time the track had any kind of a regular racing program, it was more than a decade ago and featured Street Stocks. it was an association driven program at the time, and there would also be the occasional Late Model and Modified races. Gordon didn't just want to put on a big Pro Stock race in Cedarville, he was hoping to inspire something more for the race fans in the area.

The big Pro Stock race this year will also be the second round of the five race Tri State Pro Stock Challenge Series, and the Hobby Stock division will be on the card as support. Russell was recently in Cedarville for a meeting with officials regarding the organization of the third annual event. Gordon has been busy coordinating the Pro Stock Challenge Series with Roy Bain and Jerry Bartlett, and there will also be events at Yreka (May 4), Reno Fernley (August 17) and two races at the Stockton Dirt Track (July 13 and September 14).

Russell recently reported that there is news in Cedarville of some racers organizing a new Hobby Stock Association. The hope is that the new group will be able to get more races scheduled in Cedarville in the future with the big Pro Stock race coming to town once a year as well. Perhaps, in addition to Hobby Stocks, the locals could organize a new Mini Stock class as a way to attract other new drivers with an inexpensive form of racing to get them started. We'll be monitoring the scene and updating as more news becomes available.

We know that new Siskiyou Golden Speedway Promoter Kevin Barba has an interest in the Pro 4 Modified division. He competed on the tour with the group that races on pavement tracks such as Lakeport, Ukiah, Roseville and Eureka. At one time, in the early days of the group, Lakeport had worked out a series with the dirt track in Orland. Orland had a budding division during the early part of the 2000s. Unfortunately, when the Turner era ended at Orland at the end of 2007, so did the division.

Barba admitted that he currently has a couple of these cars, and one of the first promoters he talked to at WARPA last year was Orland Promoter Rich Hood. Hood revealed that there were still cars in Orland that don't quite meet the rules of the classes that he has. Barba has an interest in doing something with this division, though he has yet to make an announcement. Most people will concede that Yreka needs something new to get more cars in the pits. Could a Pro 4 Modified division fit the bill? We'll be watching to see what may develop in the days ahead.

Down in Merced, it's a milestone year for the Valley Sportsman division. This is the 20th Anniversary season for the revival. After Mark Amador took the Limited Sprint division from the dirt of Merced to the pavement, then Promoter Chuck Griffin needed something to replace the division. As one of the last drivers to compete in the Sportsman division at Merced in 1979, he always had a soft spot in his heart for this unique and popular style of racing. Working with Luis Miranda, Griffin came up with a set of rules and relaunched the Sportsman class in 1999.

The division at one time was putting as many as a dozen cars on the track, but these days it seems to be a good night if seven or eight cars show up. It's known that there are well over a dozen cars in different states of repair that have competed at Merced during this run. The lineup of drivers from the past includes such stars as future Merced Hall Of Famer Rod Poor, Kevin Freitas, Keith Van Houten, Billy Mattos, Neill Barcellos, Dennis Barcellos, Robb Schropp, Gary Hildebrand. Mike Hausmann and Shane Hausmann.

Last season, the Sportsman division saw ten different cars at the speedway at various times. Watsonville Hall Of Famer Jerry Cecil wrote his name into the record books as the latest champion after beating Rick Elliot for the title. Others on the list of competitors included two-time champion Mike Friesen, Jeff Bristow, Chris Birdsong, Watsonville Hall Of Famer Ray Johnson, Jeff West, Chris Corder and Eric Seeley. And still, other drivers such as past champion Mark Odgers, Marcus Lung, Larry Pierini and Tim Prothro have cars.

What sets the Sportsman division apart from everything else out there is the uniqueness of these vehicles. Whereas Modifieds and Sport Modifieds pretty much look alike, the Sportsman cars have different looks to them that appeal to longtime racing fans. Fortunately, the new management at Merced Speedway has kept the division on the roster for this season for a championship series, and this is currently the only track at which you can see these cars.

One of Ed Parker's contributions to Merced Speedway two years ago was the addition of the California Sharp Mini Late Models to the lineup. These small scale Late Models with 600cc engines in them were brought to the speedway as a way to get young drivers up from the Kart ranks and onto the bigger track. Car dealer Michael Shearer has gotten six vehicles onto the track so far. What we haven't heard during this offseason is any news on any other possible drivers joining the ranks this season. It appears as if Jesse James Burks, who won most of the Main Events last year, will be running a Modified, though we don't know the status of the car he drove in this class last season.

The very consistent Tim Crews finished no worse than second in any of his starts last year in winning his championship, while his chief rival Carson Guthrie won the season finale. These young drivers have done a good job, and others in the field include Ian Shearer, Riley Jeppesen and Logan Clay. We'd certainly like to see this class grow at Merced, and it would also make a nice addition to any of the Micro Sprint tracks in the state. You can look up the California Sharp Mini Late model page on Facebook for more information.

Stockton Dirt Track promoter Tony Nocetti has to be smiling from ear-to-ear after his third event of the season. Tony took the gamble of running some early races this year, and it might have been seen as a challenge. The Sprint Cars generally don't get their season going until March and have had very few races before that in recent years. However, Tony has managed to get car counts in the mid-teens in his two races for that class. But, there's more going on than that.

We've speculated that if the Stockton Dirt Track wanted to begin to take things to the next level, they would need to begin to establish some of their own classes. The track is now seen as a special events place for such groups as the World of Outlaws, King of the West, Sprint Car Challenge Series. What Tony has learned in three races is that there is potential to do more with A Modifieds and B Modifieds. Car count in both divisions after three races have definitely been encouraging, and there will still be more appearances for the B Modifieds this year.

Where things might need just a little bit more work would be with the Bomber and Basically 4 Cylinder divisions, which are both featured on Stockton's pavement track. Tony attempted to have a race for both of these divisions on New Years, but count wasn't as big there. You can still see the potential to do something with the two classes, but it may take a bit more work to make it happen. The advantage to doing that is that you're not talking as big a purse as you would be with the other divisions. There are still more Stock Car type things happening at Stockton throughout the season, and judging from what's been going on so far, we can expect that this will be a trend heading into next year as well.

Dates for Stock Car enthusiasts to check out at Stockton this year include the B Modified, Bomber and Basically 4 Cylinders event on June 14th during the San Joaquin County Fair, the July 13th Tri State Pro Stock Challenge race, which will also include B Modifieds, Bombers and Basically 4 Cylinders and the Al Miller Memorial Tri State Pro Stock Challenge Race on September 14th. In addition to that $5,000 to win event, Sport Modifieds, Bombers and Basically 4 Cylinders will also be competing.

Speaking of Bomber racing, an interesting thing is happening on the pavement. Furia Motorsports of Lakeport and Ukiah Speedways, Dave Twyman of Shasta Speedway and the new management team at Redwood Acres Raceway in Eureka have put together a nice little seven race shootout series for the popular Bomber class. One thing that sets these races apart is that the winner will receive $1,000 among The increased purse. Scheduled dates include Eureka on May 11th, a doubleheader weekend at Lakeport May 25th and Ukiah May 26th, Shasta June 22nd, Eureka on July 20th, Ukiah on August 24th and the finale at Shasta on October 5th.

We've been awaiting the announcement of race dates for the California Hardtop Association. Apparently, group President John Philbert is still finishing up the details, but we can tell you that four dirt tracks are listing dates for the group on their schedules. It's worth noting that the group, which has been around for over a decade, now has over 20 cars that have actively competed in the last couple of years, and interest continues to grow for these classic Ford and Chevy Coupe and Sedan racers.

It's not just about racing, but the camaraderie behind the scenes. The drivers do their best to respect each other's equipment on the track, but they also race hard on any given night. The glory has been shared among several competitors, including 2018 winners such as Jason Armstrong, Ron Ruiz, Joe Shenefield, Tom Grady, Dave Reed and Ken Retzloff. But the group is made up of many great competitors, such as Ken Clifford, Jason Clifford, Dennis Armstrong, Roger MacShain, Larry Wells, Joe Hopp and Rhett Lange.

When the schedule is released, there will be pavement and dirt races. While we await the official announcement from the group, we've seen the race track schedules on the dirt. Placerville is offering three dates with events booked for April 20th, July 20th and May 11th. They will make three appearances at Orland Raceway on April 6th, June 1st and September 28th. They are booked at Silver Dollar Speedway on June 7th, and here's a point of confusion that will need to be cleared up. They have visits planned for Marysville Raceway on May 18th and August 31st.

Ken Clifford made the biggest news during the offseason when he purchased one of the Marc McCaslin team cars from Bakersfield. This gives the Clifford shop three race cars and gives Ken choices for what to run on race day. Much like the car Ken purchased for his son four years ago, the McCaslin car is also one that has won several races.

We haven't heard if the Hardtop group is actively trying to find buyers for cars, but the McCaslin team still had another one for sale. Also, Spenser Nice now has his car for sale as well. Nice bought the car driven by CHA original Jack Low when the group was founded. Also, the Sam Huff Tribute Car built by Mike Friesen is for sale. While we know that the Bakersfield Hardtop group still has dates booked at Bakersfield Speedway and Kern Raceway, the Bay Area contingent was still awaiting their schedule.

As the CHA didn't deal with Petaluma Speedway, a resourceful Bay Area Hardtop leader might be inclined to speak with Petaluma management about possibly getting that date. However, it's what dates are offered at Antioch that concerns them. Dave Mackey revealed that he was hoping to get the motor he ran last year put into the Pete Paulsen car to get that one back on the track again. Meanwhile, he'll have another motor for his car, but as Dave is working in Texas, he'll have a long commute to go racing. Dave reveals that the company has offered to fly him out for race days.

The Bay Area Hardtop group includes feature winners Terry DeCarlo and Ken Retzloff. DeCarlo won last year's Chet Thomson Memorial ahead of fellow Bay Area racer Kimo Oreta. Others on the roster include Gene Haney, Doug Braudrick, Steve Cloyes and division original Tommy Thomson. While we are aware that division original Dan Williams has a car, he has not committed to the group at this time. Car builder Nick DeCarlo recently sold a couple of cars that he was building. We haven't heard who bought them or if Nick might be building another car to join his father for some Hardtop racing once again.

Getting back to Marysville, the track opened for a playday last Saturday night. Roughly 40 competitors were on hand for the opportunity to give their cars a shakedown run. Drivers representing Hobby Stocks, Winged 360 Sprints, Wingless Spec Sprints, Crate Sprints, Limited Late Models, Super Stocks, IMCA Sport Modifieds and Dwarf Cars were all on hand. It's interesting to note that the biggest turnout of more than a dozen cars was offered by the Hobby Stocks.

Reigning track champion Shannon Collins took his first laps behind the wheel of a car that is new to him. Kyle Cheney, Jacob Johnson. Mel Byers, Anthony Doubledee and Willie Horn were among the drivers making laps. It's looking like this Hobby Stock season at Marysville may be their best one yet. Jimmy Ford had his IMCA Sport Modified on the track to make his shakedown run for the season. Antioch Speedway Late Model point runnerup Rod.Oliver and Placerville star Tyler Lightfoot were there to make laps as was Top 5 Antioch Limited Late Model competitor Ryan Cherezian.

The Crate Sprint division is pretty optimistic this year with Marysville once again their home track but other appearances penciled in at Chico and Orland. Past Chico champion Mike Sayre was there as was Jeff Macedo. The Wingless Spec Sprints are on the outside looking in at both Marysville and Chico, and we haven't heard if the rules have been relaxed in Orland to allow them to come support that show. There were about a half-dozen drivers making laps on Saturday, including reigning champion Cody Spencer, Josh Young, Jesse Walker and one of the Ted Finkenbinder cars. We're not sure who was driving it.

Winged 360 Sprint Cars continue to be the featured class at Marysville, which has been the case since past Promoter Mike McCann introduced the division to the lineup back in 1990. Jeremy Wilson was there making laps along with Justin Henry, Anissa Curtis, Adam Brenton and Brad Bumgarner. All in all, it was a positive day for Marysville Raceway as drivers are excited about the coming season.

The Editor's Viewpoint

After a contentious off-season process, we can now tell you that John M Soares and Oval Motorsports has been awarded the contract to run Antioch Speedway for the next five years. I've debated what to say about this. There is a lot to say. If you want to get a real good idea of just how contentious everything was, I would recommend contacting the Contra Costa County Fair Board and looking into the possibility of getting a written transcript. I don't know what the rules are on such things and if they make these available for a price, but if they do, the debate will be eye-opening. It will say it all. In fact, that meeting alone would make an exciting and dramatic made for tv movie or a really nicely done web series that could be put on YouTube.

Here's what I can tell you after talking with John in October. He was already in the middle of making plans in early September to do a big money race. You really have to hear what he was talking about to believe it, but knowing John, it would have happened. He was looking at the end of October. Otherwise, he would have fit it in somewhere next year, or I suppose that's this year now. Plus, he was thinking about the New Year's race and what he wanted to do there. He had some plans swirling around in his mind, but it all got derailed.

The problem is he wanted to evoke his five-year clause to come back, and the Fair Board had other ideas. I don't even know what the legalities are in that case. I am not a lawyer. However, the Fair Board went ahead and did it. There was somebody hanging around and talking about what they were ready to do for the track, and it was music to at least a couple of board member's ears. The next thing you know, the process begin. The interested party was none other than Jeremy Prince. Mike Slaney was also involved in Prince's effort.

During my visit to Antioch, I heard the words that I had been wanting to hear for quite some time. After what was a really nice visit, my hope was that I would be back soon. Let's put it that way. When I heard that Prince was going to be competing against John, I admit I really wasn't too worried about it. These things usually come down to experience, and they don't have nearly the experience John has, right?

The only worry I had in the back of my mind was if an established player in the game, somebody running one of the other established tracks, decided to jump in. That didn't happen. The deadline approached, and Prince was the only name I heard competing with John. Well, that takes care of that. John won. Time to start planning the next season, right? Wrong!

I haven't seen the proposals and what went into them, so it's very difficult for me to comment in-depth on anything. However, I can tell you that Jeremy Prince was scored as the winner. Before he could be officially declared the winner at the next Fair Board meeting, however, John exercised his legal right and issued a protest in Sacramento. It wasn't just one point that he had contention with. There were four of them. He was looking at five, but I think he backed off on the fifth one. Understand that he didn't need to have all of them ruled in his favor. If he was right on just one of them in Sacramento's eyes, the bid by Prince would be disqualified. What Sacramento found, after a much lengthier process than was needed, was that the Prince bid was incomplete.

Here's what I can tell you when it comes to submitting proposals for anything to the state. You had better dot all of your i's and cross all of your t's. If they ask you for anything, you had better give them an answer. If they ask for five copies of something, don't give them four. Give them five. Be very thorough. I cannot emphasize this enough.

As an example, back during the offseason before 2004, the track came up for bid. One of the interested parties was George Steitz. Because he didn't include something in his proposal, it was disqualified. Only this time, it didn't have to go to Sacramento. The board members involved in grading the proposals discovered it.

The criticism I have of the process was that it didn't seem on the up-and-up with regards to the fair board. From what I've heard and even some things I've seen online, certain members have been very unprofessional. I'll leave it at that. But because there was an interest in the track expressed by somebody other than John and these board members were interested in seeing if they could get somebody else in, things happened. Again, I will leave it at that. I felt that there were some things going on that were cause for concern, and evidently so did Sacramento.

Of course, people are going to say that I am against Jeremy Prince, and to that I can only say no I am not. I feel that John is the better person for the job at this time. Unless a hand-picked successor to take over the corporation can step forward, the next best alternative would be to bring in a proven established promoter. Given the money that they expect to make out of the track at the fairgrounds, that's really the best way. I do not fault Jeremy and Mike for stepping in and trying. Quite the contrary. I respect them for thinking they could come in there and make a difference.

It didn't go the way they wanted. The state ruled to overturn the bid by Prince and gave the Fair Board two options to consider. They could either restart the lengthy process and put the track up for bid again, or they could go with the only other person who went after the track, John. If they were to choose the former, they risked either getting an abbreviated season in 2019 or none at all. If they went with John, they had a chance of getting in a season. By this point, people who were not in favor of putting the place out to bid in the first place basically said, "Hey, look, we're back where we started again. We had better go back to the one who brought us here and get the show on the road." That's what happened.

I'm going to say one thing pretty clearly. Some people hate John, and some people love John. That's just the way it is. It seems like most of the positive things that John has ever done in the sport have been washed away by people who have selective memory. It's all been bad, he's ruining racing, he's running off the drivers and all of that. These are feelings that were even expressed at the most recent meeting. As I said, contact the Fair Board about getting a written transcript, if those are available. You'll be fascinated as you read and picture this whole thing playing out in the moment.

Through the 21 years of Oval Motorsports at Antioch Speedway, just like the six years they had Merced Speedway, the bills have been paid. 99.9% of the races that could go on unless bad weather hit them went on. Only by fluke were any events scheduled and not completed. Being an expensive a place to operate, that money might come out of John's pocket if the money wasn't there from the gates. This also means that somebody in a lesser financial state than John might throw in the towel if they couldn't pay the bills. It also means that this is not as easy as some people think it is. There is a risk involved. At the end of the day, more promoters than not are going to walk out of the gate hated and demonized. It's the nature of the beast.

The last thing I'm going to to tell you here is that everything has been perfect at the speedway in recent years. That is simply not true. Some of it is self-inflicted by management and officials and certain other personnel who went into business for themselves, and some of it is just the sign of the times. What certain people involved with the fairgrounds tried to insinuate and later found out to be false was that Antioch was the only track suffering down times. Again, not the case. Other tracks that once rode on high times every week, such as Watsonville, Petaluma and Merced, sometimes found themselves struggling to get people to come watch. That's just the reality of the times we live in.

We are also in a time in the sport that, quite frankly, I'm not fond of. It's a time in which tracks will often resort to running five or six divisions just to get the numbers they need in the pits. This is done because the days where you can get 20 plus cars in most of your divisions seems to be long gone. There are those nights that become the exception at some places, and of course there are your big shows, but that's not the norm. Though there might be a couple of tracks on the West Coast that buck that trend, I can assure you that the majority of them are in the same boat. The easiest thing to do is to point a finger at the promoter and say, "Hey, this is the prick who's causing all the problems. Get rid of him."

Everything started out with so much hope when John took over Antioch Speedway. I was there, and I remember not only lobbying for him to step in, but I remember being a part of the team for the first three years. I remember watching as we would have three, sometimes four divisions with B Mains. I remember how we got to the point where there were over 100 cars in the pits on most occasions, and twice as many fans as you'll see in the stands these days.

Then, the bottom fell out in 2001. 9/11? Partly to blame, but I could see what was coming ahead. There were a couple of divisions that were performing pretty well at Antioch through most of the decade until John's brother got a hold of Petaluma Speedway and started both of those divisions. There went the car count. At one time, it's important to remember that John and his dad had agreements as to which divisions would run at which tracks. Jim was the one who broke the deal.

John could see what was happening, and he wasn't okay with it. He could also see where help was needed that he wasn't getting. John has always been a man willing to do things up big. Generally speaking, he's been one who will try to be consistent with the rules and bear the local racer's budgets in mind when putting those rules together. He's also been one willing to put up a purse and pay what he says.

But, the numbers were going where they were going. The missed opportunity for me, as I was not ready to take said opportunity, was when I was invited back to take on the role I had in the first three years. This offer was made prior to the 2010 season. I wrote about that in my book, Just A Kid From The Grandstands, and I don't need to rehash it here.

Even when the tough times were hitting, John would still dust off those big-money races. I'm talking $5,000 to win for the Modifieds. This is before the Sport Modified class came in and divided the car count. He would pull off Late Model shows and the occasional Sprint Car show as well. He was the first promoter at Antioch or Merced to bring in the World of Outlaws. He was the promoter who came in and saved Merced Speedway from closing in 2010. But, he is still "that prick" by a lot of people. Doesn't matter what he does.

I know the numbers, and they haven't been so good in recent years. John has been working on ideas to improve things, but one thing he's lacked in recent years is having the right personnel in the right positions. In the past few years, we've watched him add big money memorial events, such as the races for Larry Damitz, Jerry Hetrick and his dad. He gave the Chet Thomson Memorial Hardtop race a place, and put in a few other specials.

The biggest problem? Not a lack of willingness to pay, but a lack of putting the word out. A lack of anybody in the key position of helping present the program as a Publicity Director or announcer. What I have done over the last three years from afar has been done because of my desire to see any kind of good word go out for the racers and that race track, but he's needed somebody there who can do the job adequately in person. What he's had is somebody holding their hand out and doing the bare minimum for a paycheck.

Sorry if I am a bit evasive on personal matters at the moment, but it needs to be that way for now. You should hear more from me on things soon. However, that's about all I will say on the matter for now. I know there are some bitter feelings. I know there are some people asking themselves if they can ever go back to the track again. I am only going to say that you've got to do what you feel is right.

It's supposed to be fun for you, and if it's not, you have a problem. I don't believe anybody will go to a race track and get it 100% the way they want it every time. Oftentimes, 80% is the number to shoot for, and even if that 20% really irks you, you forget about it and realize that for the most part it's still pretty fun. But it's up to the individual to decide if this is what they want to do. I would hope that what is done out there will create an environment in which people will want to come back.

Jeremy Prince goes back to the drawing board, and I know it has been a difficult offseason for him, just as it's been for John. With John, he's been grieving over the loss of his wife of 50 years. With Jeremy, he protected his wife from getting burnt badly in an accident in the pits at Dixon, so he has spent the offseason recovering from those terrible burns. He's still got a long road to recovery. So basically, you had John and Jeremy battling for Antioch Speedway at a time when they've had what they've had going on in their lives. I know with Jeremy, Mike Slaney has helped to take up some of the slack in that area.

Jeremy will go back to Dixon. What he does there, I'll be interested to see. They've got a nice little Micro Sprint program. I'm not sure what's going on with the Outlaw Kart end of things as they didn't do much of that last year or the year before for that matter. They have also established that you can run Mini Stocks and Dwarf Cars on that track. In fact, bigger cars have practiced there before. Does Jeremy have a mind it to do any of that? I don't know. Terry DeCarlo Jr seemed to be a driving force in making that happen before, but the last time we saw those divisions there was in early 2014.

I don't know what they will do other than the Micro Sprint stuff, and I can't speak for them. I'm only speaking for what the potential is, but when you start doing bigger things, there are things that need to be done at the facility too. I only bring this up as I've clearly seen that Jeremy has a desire to try to do something on a bigger scale. Antioch Speedway was the stage he wanted to play with.

While that is not a possibility for him for the next five years, he still has the ability to do something bigger at Dixon Speedway. What he will do there will be interesting to see. I just hope other certain rumors I've heard about the situation there don't turn out to be true. But I won't speculate any further than that.

If you think the drama that played out in Antioch is crazy, you should take a look at what's going on in Chandler, Indiana. Elvis impersonator Reno Fontana has been running his mouth for well over a year about turning Chandler Motor Speedway into Movieland Speedpark. He has grand plans for the place, but when you look at the scheme of things it is nowhere near the upper echelon of tracks in Indiana.

The reality is that nobody in Chandler Is looking for some big statement to be made for the sport of racing. They simply want their oval dirt track and their drag strip up and running again. While Fontana has been making wild statements and claiming ownership of the property, it has been seized and put up for auction on March 20th to satisfy a lien from a bill that was owed to a company that was making repairs to the drag strip.

Even with a sign posted at the front of the property stating that the auction will take place and the auction house verifying that this will indeed happen, Fontana has claimed that the auction will never happen, the dirt track is his and will open in April. According to reports in the area, no work has been done to the facilities in some time, and currently the weather conditions aren't conducive to getting much done now either.

Fontana has succeeded in dividing the community into people who are true believers and those who see him as a con artist. There are still legal issues to be resolved regarding the former property owner, who owed back taxes for the past two years before making a questionable deal with Fontana last December to purchase the track. There are questions regarding what it is that Fontana really owns and whether it's legal at all.

At this point, it looks like the auction will happen, but Fontana's apparent confidence makes whatever his next move will be a "can't miss moment" for people who have been following this drama. Some people are speculating that the auction will bring a higher price for the property than whatever Fontana actually has in his budget to spend. The biggest concern for the people in the community is that they have a race track to come back to. It's anybody's guess what will happen next.

I'd also like to note the efforts of two people right now who have stepped up to try to help make this sport a little bit better. Dan Myrick launched the Central Valley Mini Stock Association at Lemoore Raceway back in 2017. I liked the novelty of the Mini Stocks running on the 1/5 mile dirt oval known more for its Micro Sprint racing. However, this was no novelty. Dan has dreams of making this into something special.

When we've communicated during these past couple of years, I have to admit I like his thought process. There are some things even now that he is considering doing that would be good for the 4 Cylinder racing fans in the area, but it's what was just announced that should have everybody's attention. Dan has landed House Of JuJu as the title sponsor for the group. About a month or two ago, he made his plans known for a $5,000 championship point fund. House Of JuJu has come on board to make it happen.

This 10 race series will take place at three different tracks. There is a one-race throwaway rule where a driver can get rid of their worst finish or not suffer if they happen to miss one race. If you're able to even get 10th place in the standings, you'll leave the banquet with your award and a $200 check. The championship is worth an impressive $1,000. I don't think you'll find a Mini Stock group anywhere on the West Coast with a bigger championship point fund than the Central Valley Mini Stocks. I look forward to a good season for the group and what's in store for the future.

Gordon Russell Jr did a good thing for Cedarville when he brought the memorial race for his father to that Speedway two years ago. In the planning of the third annual event recently, Gordon found out that there are some Hobby Stock racers in the area who are discussing the formation of their own association. The Hobby Stocks are already the support class for the June 29th Gordon Russell Sr Memorial, but this move has significant meaning.

The Hobby Stock association could lead to more racing in Cedarville than just the big Pro Stock race in June. In the past, when the track featured a Street Stock show, it was a driver run association that kept it going. Gordon always hoped that the locals would pick up the mantle and re-establish a more regular racing event for the fans, and it could be that this will be happening in the not-too-distant future. It just goes to show what people can do for the sport when they step up and make an effort.

On that note, I'm going to end this column for the week.  Until next time...

Can Bigger Things Happen At Dixon Speedway?

Dixon, CA...With the news regarding Antioch Speedway, Jeremy Prince will return to his post at Dixon Speedway. He was going to be at the helm of the track regardless of the news at Antioch Speedway, but obviously the opportunity to promote Antioch Speedway would have presented to him a bigger platform to do bigger things. But there is a question. Is Dixon Speedway a place in which he could attempt to promote bigger racing events?

Running big shows in Dixon is not something that hasn't happened in the past. If you go to the fairgrounds, there was a time when there were big Sprint Car and Open Comp shows at that track. Unfortunately, the fairgrounds went another way. Now, they choose to promote concerts during the fair and an annual Destruction Derby.

One of the first things you're going to hear from people is that Dixon is a 1/5 mile clay oval and therefore not big enough to do much of anything. Set aside the question of the possibility of expanding the track, which may not be an option, there are two tracks in California that check in at 1/5 mile that promote big car racing.

Orland Raceway has had a successful Mini Stock program for years, and they eventually added Wingless Sprint Cars to the lineup. They've also had Modified and Sport Modified races there.

Down south in Ventura, California, Promoter Jim Naylor has taken it up a notch. He has a competitive Wingless Sprint Car show there. These are not Spec Sprints, but 360 injected Sprints. They also host one of the big USAC races, Turkey Night, in November. Plus, they have big Midget races and IMCA Modified shows among other classes. Lest you think the racing isn't good, all you need to do is watch a video to see otherwise.

Prior to making the announcement that a Kart season will happen at Hills Ferry, there was an interested promoter looking at the possibility of running some shows with bigger cars. This would have included Mini Stocks, Dwarf Cars and other potential classes. The space is there to do something, though one of the knocks against the location is that you don't have a big enough grandstand. Given the numbers we get these days, 500 to 600 fans at some venues on race night, this venue probably could have accomplished that. The pit area probably could have accommodated 50 to 60 cars as well. Maybe the potential for huge shows wasn't there, but a nice little bi-weekly program could have been cultivated. As it is, they still host some big Kart races and other shows.

There's also the case of Sacramento Raceway. Right next to the drag strip is the stadium oval. They didn't have a long run of things, but in the mid 1990s, they managed to have a somewhat successful Stock Car program with Modifieds, Midgets and other classes. From the walls, the track was a quarter-mile, making it a small quarter-mile at that. Yet they managed to hold many races there. Even into the next decade, the track hosted several Spec Sprint and Hardtop shows. If not for the owner's lack of interest in doing much with the dirt track, they could still be hosting races there.

Before Dixon Speedway came to be, Argyle Park had the 1/5 mile dirt oval sitting out there. There were no bleachers or lights or anything, just an oval track. Drivers would still come out there to test their Street Stocks, Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks and even Sprint Cars. This went on for a few years. When Vallejo Speedway 2 was threatened, some of the racers came to Dixon and formed CORA. CORA Speedway came into being around 2005. It started out as a Kart race track, but it evolved from there.

Eventually, Micro Sprints became the thing with a few different classes. Dixon is also included in the King of California Series with three other venues, giving them some big events for the Micro Sprints. As this has grown, unfortunately, the Kart program has sort of waned. but an interesting thing started to happen around 2012.

Terry DeCarlo Jr began pushing for some Mini Stock and Dwarf Car races, and the drivers responded. You can even find some footage on YouTube, and if you look through the MyLaps history of Dixon Speedway, you'll also see the results. There were races that had 12 cars in either class. What helps the Dwarf Car division is the fact that there are a few different associations and an abundance of cars in the area.

At the time the Mini Stocks were being given dates, however, Marysville Raceway, Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico and Antioch Speedway all had 4 Cylinder classes. That is not the case at the moment. Petaluma, Merced and Orland still have 4 Cylinder classes. There are likely some cars still sitting around that could be cultivated, but the one thing a 4 Cylinder class has going for it is that you can build cars relatively quickly at an affordable price.

In 2014, the 4 Cylinders had their peak date with the New Year's Hangover 100. 12 Mini Stocks competed in that show, most of which were Four Banger type cars. There was a good crowd to watch this show, and video footage from other races before that seemed to show crowd interest as well. The Enduro featured action from turn to turn for the entire distance. The track did run some Dwarf Car and Mini Stock shows after that, but things seemed to die down.

What happened? Was it a case of lack of interest or was it a case of lack of promotion? Judging from the video footage, you can get competitive Dwarf Car and Mini Stock races on that track. This has been proven. It would add an element to the racing program that isn't there now. If enough interest were generated, you could host a limited number of races that featured Mini Stock and Dwarf Car type of racing.

Before going on, we should point out that in no way would we suggest taking the emphasis off of the division that is featured there now. Micro Sprints keep the track going and should continue to do so. However, you also don't book Micro Sprints every week. Drivers in the area sometimes choose to go to other places on nights off or just recuperate, repair and come back for the next race. The door would seem to be open for maybe four to six other special shows at various times during the year.

The other question to ask is, what divisions beyond Mini Stocks could you get away with running at Dixon? Could you book a Midget race and get support? Bear in mind that the BCRA Midgets have raced at venues only 1/8 mile around in the past. Could you get away with Midget Lites? Could you book Hobby Stocks? What divisions could you book there?

An idea that was proposed by The DCRR back in 2002 was a sort of practice session. At the time, all that was there was the oval, no bleachers or anything else. What you could do is gather drivers from as many divisions as are willing to come. You could put the cars out there one or two a time and run practice and qualifying laps. If you get any sort of division support, even five or six cars from the Modified division, for example, you could have a qualifying contest. Who sets the fast time? Prize monies or just best time trophies or plaques could be awarded to the winners. Maybe it is about plaques and just coming out there and having a good time at first.

If you could get drivers to come out there as it is now on some specially scheduled night, you can not only make this a gathering of sorts, the drivers could offer input on the track itself. Doing cars one or two at a time would seem safe, and there's precedent for that. Dixon Speedway likes to host practice nights as it is. At various times, drivers have put Hardtops, Modifieds, Midgets and Spec Sprints on that track. So doing cars one or two at a time is something that can be accomplished now with the goal of something bigger in the future.

What you could then do is book something of a racing program that also includes qualifying sessions. In other words, book Mini Stocks, Dwarf Cars and Mini Late Models to race. Whatever divisions you come up with. You could also offer qualifying opportunities for the bigger classes with the incentive that if you get so many cars, it becomes a fast time qualifying session with the winner getting a plaque, trophy or whenever. The idea also being that you could build a consensus for what can be done at the venue in the future.

Could something such as this open the door for Dixon Speedway to expand? Of course, this is all just speculation. Management at Dixon Speedway understands their situation better than we do. There may be things in the way preventing this, or it may just be that they haven't considered this very much lately. Or, it could be that they're thinking along these lines as we write this.

The other question would be, why do more than what you're doing now? One obvious answer is for business. If you're doing okay now, could you do better? Could you continue to nurture the Micro program while also expanding and bringing in bigger things? Also, if Jeremy Prince and his crew had a mind to go promoting at another track, even though that fell through, Dixon Speedway is still there waiting for new ideas.

Another question that would be asked is, why do anything with all the other tracks that are out there? Dixon is located in a place that could probably encourage visitation from the Sacramento area and the Petaluma area with the bonus being that drivers wouldn't have to pay a bridge toll to come. They are also not far from Antioch, allowing drivers to come from there as well. Merced racers might even come take a look.

This is all just speculation. Though we have long since looked at this venue and thought about what more could be done there, it could just be that the management team has it the way they want it. There may be reasons why it won't go beyond this. But then again, who knows? You could just hear about the track booking something for big cars sometime in the not-too-distant future. Whatever the case, this venue is not without potential. Where there's a will, there's a way. In the meantime, you can find out all about their plans for this year by going to www.dixonspeedway.net.