Antioch Speedway News July 12

Antioch, CA... July 7...Bob Newberry continued his quest for a second All Star Series Wingless Spec Sprint championship at Antioch Speedway. Saturday night, the current point leader picked up his fourth Main Event victory of the season. Newberry's closest threat in the Main Event is also his closest rival in the points, Shannon Newton. Newton won his six lap heat race and collected his third second place feature finish of the year. Roy Fisher settled for third, followed by James East and heat race winner Brandon Burd.

Rookie Ryan DeForest won the 20 lap topless B Modified Main Event. It was the first career win for DeForest, and it paid a $500 special first prize. DeForest led from the start. Point leader Trevor Clymens spun on lap four in his battle with Chuck Golden for second. Clymens gained second on a lap 11 restart and provided some pressure during the second half of the race. However, DeForest prevailed ahead of Clymens, Golden and Matt Taylor.

Reigning champion, Kimo Oreta scored the victory in the 20 lap Limited Late Model Main Event. It was the third win of the season for Oreta as he reminded everybody why they call him the Flyin Hawaiian. Oreta's most recent four starts are two wins and two seconds as he is closing in on the championship point lead. Oreta set a rapid pace and won by over a straightaway in front of John Evans. It was the best finish yet for Evans, who held off teammate Ryan Cherezian for the position. Mike Walko had his first non Top 3 finish of the season in fourth as heat race winner and point leader Mark Garner finished fifth.

Reigning champion Cameron Swank won the 20 lap Hobby Stock Main Event. It was the fourth win of the season for Swank, and he won the special $500 first prize. He gained the lead from Sid Smith Jr with an inside pass on the backstretch on lap three. For the remaining 17 laps, Swank had to deal with the pressure of point leader Chris Sorensen and Michael Cooper. Sorensen made a Turn 2 pass on Cooper on lap 15, but he couldn't quite get around Swank on the inside. Swank was a happy winner, followed by Sorensen, Cooper, John Wacht and Megan Ponciano.

Mario Marques scored his first career 20 lap Dwarf Car Main Event win. Marques had his hands full with point leader Mike Corsaro and 2010 champion Jerry Doty in pursuit, but he was up to the task as he scored a well-earned victory. Corsaro settled for second, followed by Doty, Chris Becker and David Michael Rosa.

Due to a concert at the fairgrounds, racing will be off this week, but it returns on July 21st with DIRTcar late Models, Limited Late Models, A Modifieds, Hobby Stocks and Bay Area Hardtops. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.

Unofficial Race Results
All Star Series
Wingless Spec Sprints
Heat winners (6 Laps)-Shannon Newton, Branden Burd. Main Event (20 Laps)-Bob Newberry, Shannon Newton, Roy Fisher, James East, Brandon Burd.

B Modifieds
Heat Winner (6 laps)-Trevor Clymens. Main Event (20 Laps)-Ryan DeForest, Trevor Clymens, Chuck Golden, Matt Taylor.

Limited Late Models
Heat winner (6 Laps)-Mark Garner. Main Event (20 laps)-Kimo Oreta, John Evans, Ryan Cherzian, Mike Walko, Mark Garner.

Hobby Stocks
Heat winners (6 Laps)-Chris Sorensen, Billy Garner. Main Event (20 Laps)-Cameron Swank, Chris Sorensen, Michael Cooper, John Wacht, Megan Ponciano.

Dwarf Cars
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Mario Marques, David Michael Rosa. Main Event (20 Laps)-Mario Marques, Mike Corsaro, Jerry Doty, Chris Becker, David Michael Rosa.




Antioch, CA...There will be noise at the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds this Saturday night, but it will be music in the air. The All Star Series racing lineup returns on July 21st with a program consisting of DIRTcar Late Models, Limited Late Models, Hobby Stocks and Bay Area Hardtops.

An interesting battle has developed at the front of the pack in the A Modified division and it involves a driver doing it with consistency against a driver with four victories. Though Bobby Motts Jr is the reigning A Modified champion, he finds himself once again in the role of underdog. It's a role that Motts seems to thrive on. Second generation racer Nick DeCarlo has racked up three championships, two Petaluma and one at Watsonville, in recent seasons. The Antioch championship is something that has eluded DeCarlo, and it's something he wants to change this year. Nick opened the point season with two victories and has won two of the last three to give him four on the season.

For Motts, his best finishes so far have been three seconds and two thirds. After DeCarlo's recent win, he leads Motts by just two points heading into the next race. Sean O'Gara, Meanwhile holds third by 34 points over the top rookie in the division, Buddy Kniss. Bobby Montalvo has an eight point advantage over three-time feature winner Kellin Chadwick in the race for fifth. Other feature winners so far this year include two-time winner Bobby Hogge IV and New Year's race winner Travis Peery. With his two wins, Hogge is now tied with Scott Busby and JD Willis with 72 victories atop the track's all time winner's list.

At this point, the matter seems settled in the B Modified division. The track's most loyal supporter in the class, 2016 champion Trevor Clymens, Is leading the charge by over 200 points ahead of Ryan DeForest. Trevor also has notched a division-leading five feature wins and is generally the driver to beat on any given week. However, DeForest beat him last time out for the $500 victory. It was the first career win for Ryan, and it moved him 28 points ahead of Chuck Golden in the race for second. Golden is still searching for his first win of the season and has finished as high as third.

A look at the track's winners list so far finds 2015 champion Fred Ryland with three victories and Merced Speedway star Tanner Thomas, Brent Curran, Nick Spainhoward and Firecracker 50 winner Philip Shelby each with one win. There have been some very competitive drivers who have competed at the speedway this year, and Guy Ahlwardt, Aaron Crowell, KC Keller and Todd Gomez have finished as high as second as they look for their first wins here this year. Keller, Gomez and Crowell have finished second twice.

The most intriguing battle taking place at the speedway is in the Limited Late Model division. Kimo Oreta scored his third feature win of the season last time out and replaced Mark Garner atop the championship standings by just four points. Garner is a two-time winner, but his last two starts have been non finishes. Mike Walko is only 14 points out of the lead and is also a two-time winner. His fourth place finish in the eighth event was his first non Top 3 run of the season. Mike Gustafson is the only other driver with a victory, while Jim Freethy, Ryan Cherezian and John Evans have finished as high as second once this year. It's also worth noting that Cherezian is 30 points behind Walko in the race for third.

Chris Sorensen is 86 points ahead of Michael Cooper in the Hobby Stock championship race. Sorensen had to send his old car to the crusher last year after a hard crash at Watsonville. The new car he just got this year from the shop of Baker Motorsports has been a good runner. He leads the division with five feature wins and also has notched four seconds and three thirds. Cooper, meanwhile, is a three-time winner with five second place finishes. Reigning champion Cameron Swank is 29 points behind Cooper in third with four feature wins and four seconds.

With the experience of the lead trio, notching a victory in this class is difficult to accomplish. Billy Garner and rookie John Wacht scored their first career wins this season, and Chris Long won on New Years ahead of Chris Bennett. Bennett now has a pair of seconds, but he has been running a limited schedule this year. It's also noteworthy that Haley Gomez recently led 19 laps before breaking in Turn 1 to surrender what would have been a victory to Sorensen.

The Dwarf Car division Is being led by reigning champion Mike Corsaro. Corsaro holds a 74 point lead over David Michael Rosa in the battle. Corsaro has won a division leading four Main Events with three second place finishes and a third, while Rosa has two victories so far. After winning his first career feature last time out, Mario Marques moved to within 20 points of Rosa, while Street Stock legend David Rosa Is 58 points behind Marques. Other winners so far this year include past Antioch champions Danny Wagner and Kevin Miraglio and second generation racer Ben Wiesz.

We've only seen the Late Models three times this year so far, and reigning champion Jeff Decker has scored two wins and finished second in the other race. Despite that, his lead over Rod Oliver is 16 points. Oliver has finished no worse than fourth with a season high third, while third-ranked Dennis Souza had one of his best efforts to date with a second place finish. Souza is four points behind Oliver and leads past Modified champion Rob Norris by 18 points in the battle for third. Norris is tied with Mike Hynes and Kimo Oreta for the fourth position.

The Winged 360 Sprint Car division has held five races so far, and the familiar name of Art McCarthy sits atop the point standings. Art is still looking for his first win of the season and has one second and two thirds among his best efforts. His lead over two time feature winner Matt DeMartini is 26 points. DeMartini missed a race to surrender the lead and has finished no worse than fourth in his other starts. The steady Tim Burcher is four points behind DeMartini in the battle for second. David Dias leads 2016 champion Billy Aton by four points in the race for fourth. Aton, past Watsonville champion Brad Furr and multi time Marysville champion Colby Wiesz each have one win this year. Jacob Tuttle, Jake Haulot and Burt Foland Jr each have one season high second.

The Wingless Spec Sprint battle is in full gear and 2004 champion Bob Newberry sits atop the point standings by 51 tallies ahead of Shannon Newton. Newberry has picked up four wins and two seconds, while Newton has a win and three seconds among his best efforts. Newton's lead over ageless veteran Roy Fisher is still just 15 points. Fisher has two season-best third place finishes and is still searching for his first win. Alan Miranda is the other feature winner with two victories. Other noteworthy finishes include Petaluma competitor Bob Davis and 2015 champion Kyle Bakkie each with one second place finish and James East, Brandon Burd and rising young star Jesse Love IV each with one third.

Antioch Speedway may be dark this week, but action will kick into high gear with racing every Saturday night From July 21st all the way to the final program scheduled for October 13th. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.