Antioch Speedway News July 5

Antioch, CA...On the heels of the big Firecracker 50 race for the All Star Series B Modifieds last Saturday at Antioch Speedway, the track is offering a $500 to win race for the class this week. Also receiving $500 for first place will be the Hobby Stocks in a program that will include the Wingless Spec Sprints, Limited Late Models and Dwarf Cars on the card.

B Modifieds will also be going topless this Saturday night. It's an opportunity for the fans to get a better look at the racers as they steer their cars around the three-eighth mile clay oval. Leading the charge will be point leader Trevor Clymens. At this stage of the season, five-time feature winner Clymens is leading the standings by nearly 200 points ahead of rookie Ryan DeForest. The battle is for second, where DeForest holds a six point lead over Kenny Shrader and a 20 point advantage over Brent Curran.

Shrader got off to a late start this season, but he picked up a respectable fourth place finish in the most recent long-distance race to move him into the Top 5 in the standings. Curran has won a Main Event this year and finished a strong second last week. DeForest, Schrader and fifth place Tommy Fraser are still looking for their first wins. Fraser and sixth place Chuck Golden are also in the hunt for second, both within 28 points of DeForest. Other drivers to watch for this week include Todd Gomez, Aaron Crowell, Fred Ryland and Kevin Brown.

Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. Actually, Hobby Stock point leader Chris Sorensen has been exceptionally good as he battles for his second championship at the speedway. Last week, Sorensen was cruising along in third when the two drivers in front of him both had problems during the final two laps. Suddenly, he found winning his fifth Main Event of the season to stretch his lead over Michael Cooper to 78 points. The $500 first prize offered this week is further incentive for Sorensen to go for his sixth victory. The two drivers in closest pursuit of Sorenson in the standings, Cooper and reigning champion Cameron Swank, are both three-time feature winners this year. Cooper leads Swank by just 37 points.

For 19 glorious laps, rookie Haley Gomez was putting a whooping on the Hobby Stock field. It was only when she raced past the white flag and into Turn 1 when she discovered she had broken steering. The win turned into another fifth place finish for the disappointed second generation racer. This week, she'll be out for redemption. Another driver who will be looking for her first when is rookie Breanna Troen. Breanna had her season best finish last week in third ahead of Anthony Wellborn. After a late start, Wellborn has shot into the Top 10 on the strength of his four straight Top 5 finishes. Other drivers to watch for include fourth-ranked Billy Garner, top rookie John Wacht, Joey Ridgeway and Anthony Vigna.

Bob Newberry continues to be the class of the Wingless Spec Sprint field. Last week, he took the lead on the sixth lap and sprinted to his third feature win of the season. The win moved him 51 points ahead of Shannon Newton, who finished second last week. Newton is a two-time winner this year.

Despite having steering issues last week, Brandon Burd somehow brought it home to a close third place finish behind Newberry and Newton. Burd still trails ageless veteran Roy Fisher by 10 points in the battle for third and is 17 behind Newton for second. Both Fisher and Burd are looking for their first wins of the season. Other drivers to watch for this week include fifth-ranked Alan Miranda, Rick Panfili, Scott Martin and James East. Division original Panfili has just announced that his car is up for sale.

The battle for the Limited Late Model championship continues to be intense. Two-time winner Mark Garner won his heat race last week but settled for fifth in the Main Event. Despite that, he clings to a 10 point lead over reigning champion Kimo Oreta and a 12 point advantage over Mike Walko. Walko picked up his second win of the season last time and is the only driver with all Top 3 finishes in the seven races held so far. Oreta has won two Main Events this season as well. Ryan Cherezian is 34 points behind Walko in fourth. Other drivers to watch for this week include two time champion Mike Gustafson, the steady John Evans, Jon Haney and fifth ranked Chad Hammer.

With a division leading four feature victories, reigning Dwarf Car champion Mike Corsaro holds a 70 point advantage over second generation racer David Michael Rosa. Rosa has won two of the last three Main Events to put 28 points between himself and third place Mario Marquez in the standings. Longtime Dwarf Car competitor Charlie Correia and Street Stock legend David Rosa are tied for fourth in the standings as both drivers look for their first feature wins of the season. Other drivers to watch for this week include Troy Stevenson, Chris Becker, Lonnie Tekaat, Jerry Doty and Tony Carmignani.

Saturday night should be a great night of racing at Antioch Speedway from start to finish. With bigger money on the line for the B Modifieds and Hobby Stocks, it'll be further incentive for the drivers to step up their game. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.




Antioch, CA...June 30...Reigning Chico and Marysville champion Philip Shelby made his first appearance of the year at Antioch Speedway and left with the $500 prize for winning the Firecracker 50 for the All Star Series B Modifieds Saturday night. The race was split into two 25 lap segments, and Shelby made his move into the lead at the start of the second half of the race. The division also ran it's fifth 12 lap Sharpshooter Series race with KC Keller grabbing his second win in that event.

Jimmy Ford had the front row of the B Modified race with Todd Gomez, and he set the early pace. Gomez took over on lap 7, and 2015 champion Fred Ryland settled into second on lap 10. Shelby was third on lap 15, and Ryland slipped past Gomez for the lead on lap 20. At the halfway break, Ryland led Shelby, Gomez, Brent Curran and Aaron Crowell.

On the start of the second segment, point leader Trevor Clymens got spun out. Another tangle involved third place Gomez for a yellow flag. On the restart, Shelby pressured Ryland hard and ended up making the pass for the lead. Once in front, Shelby would not relinquish the top spot as he led the rest of the way. Curran made a late pass on Ryland to take the second place finish as Ryland settled for third, followed by Kenny Shrader and Clymens.

Nick DeCarlo should find himself leading the A Modified point race following his fourth 20 lap Main Event win of the season. DeCarlo had to charge from the back of the pack as Bobby Montalvo led the race for eight laps. A tangle with another car resulted in Montalvo spinning, handing Buddy Kniss the lead. Kniss charged into Turn 1 and spun on the restart lap, putting DeCarlo in lead. DeCarlo led the rest of the way, and incoming point leader Bobby Motts Jr made a strong charge from outside the Top 5 in the final 10 laps to finish second. Danny Wagner, Eric Berendsen and Montalvo rounded out the Top 5.

Bob Newberry strengthened his hold on the Wingless Spec Sprint point lead with his third 20 lap Main Event victory. Kevin Box shared the front row with James East, and East charged into the lead. Box gained the lead on lap three when East went high in Turn 2, but McKenzie Newton lost a wheel on the back stretch for a red flag. This put East back in the lead, but Newberry made a Turn 2 pass on lap five to take over. Newberry continued to lead the way with Shannon Newton giving him a good battle all the way to the checkered flag. Brandon Burd was third ahead of Roy Fisher and Adam Teves.

Chris Sorensen had luck on his side in capturing his fifth 20 lap Hobby Stock Main Event win. For 19 laps, rookie Haley Gomez was doing an exceptional job of leading the way. Sorensen battled from the back of the pack and gained second when Anthony Wellborn spun in Turn 4 on lap 18. Gomez had a big lead as she took the white flag. Unfortunately, she broke her steering racing into Turn 1 and spun. This handed the lead to Sorensen, who was happy to take the win, followed by Michael Cooper, Breanna Troen, Wellborn and the disappointed Gomez.

Mike Walko won his second 20 lap Limited Late Model Main Event. Walko is the only driver in the field with no finishes worse than third as he makes a strong bid to win the division championship. Walko had a front row start and charged until lead ahead of Jim Freethy. Heat race winner and incoming point leader Mark Garner spun in Turn 3 on lap six and would end up retiring from the race four laps later. A lap 14 yellow flag provided reigning champion Kimo Oreta the opportunity to make a move past Freethy for second on the restart. However, nobody would stop Walko as he won ahead of Oreta, Freethy and Paul Hanley.

Racing resumes next Saturday night with special $500 to win races for the All Star Series B Modifieds and Hobby Stocks. Also on the program will be the Wingless Spec Sprints, Limited Late Models and Dwarf Cars. There will also be a special Drone Air Race. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.

Unofficial Race Results
All Star Series Antioch Speedway
Wingless Spec Sprints
Heat Winners (6 laps)-Scott Martin, Alan Miranda. Main Event (20 Laps)-Bob Newberry, Shannon Newton, Brandon Burd, Roy Fisher, Adam Teves.

A Modifieds
Heat Winners (6 laps)-Nick DeCarlo, Jeff Decker. Main Event (20 laps)-Nick DeCarlo, Bobby Motts Jr, Danny Wagner, Eric Berendsen, Bobby Montalvo.

B Modifieds
Heat winners (6 Laps)-Philip Shelby, Brent Curran, Trevor Clymens. Sharp Shooter Race (12 Laps)-KC Keller, Fred Ryland, Philip Shelby. Main Event (50 laps)-Philip Shelby, Brent Curran, Fred Ryland, Kenny Shrader, Trevor Clymens.

Hobby Stocks
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Michael Cooper, Cameron Swank. Main Event (20 Laps)-Chris Sorensen, Michael Cooper, Breanna Troen, Anthony Wellborn, Haley Gomez.

Limited Late Models
Heat Winner (6 Laps)-Mark Garner. Main Event (20 Laps)-Mike Walko, Kimo Oreta, Jim Freethy, Paul Hanley, Mark Garner.