By Candice Martin, DCRR Racing Media

Antioch, CA…October 20-21…Nick DeCarlo of Martinez and Troy Foulger of Oakley were the winners in IMCA Modified competition last weekend at Antioch Speedway. This was the Annual Bill Bowers Memorial/West Coast Nationals race with the Friday portion also paying tribute to legend JD Willis.

Car count dictated an adjustment to the show that saw two complete programs run on Friday and Saturday with the intended purse on Saturday split between the two nights. This put $1,000 into the pockets of Saturday winner DeCarlo and Friday winner Foulger, who came close to picking up the Saturday win as well.

Both nights ran two sets of heat races for each division with the points adding up to set the lineups for the feature races. State champion Andrew Pearce took the early lead of the Saturday IMCA Modified feature ahead of Kellen Chadwick of Oakley. Foulger was running third until a Lap 11 yellow flag for debris. Pearce continued to lead Chadwick with DeCarlo moving into third. When Pearce got out of shape exiting Turn 2 on the 12th lap, DeCarlo ducked low and emerged with the lead. Foulger followed closely into second. Foulger kept the pressure on DeCarlo until making the outside pass in Turn 4 on Lap 18 to grab the lead. DeCarlo stayed low and emerged with the lead in the same turn a lap later. The battle remained intense until the checkered flag with DeCarlo winning ahead of Foulger, Chadwick, Pearce and Tim Balding of Prunedale.

On Friday night, DeCarlo paced just one lap before an inside pass on the back stretch put Foulger in command. DeCarlo briefly gained the lead on Lap 14 before Foulger was back up front on Lap 15. A yellow flag also waved at that point for debris on the track. Foulger led DeCarlo and Pearce on the restart. They ran in that order to the checkered flag as Chadwick and Jim Pettit II of Prunedale rounded out the Top 5.

In IMCA Sport Modified competition, it was Mark Garner of Antioch picking up the win on Saturday with the Friday victory going to Jason Ryan Jr of Oakley. The wins paid both drivers $750. Garner had finished third on Friday night.

On Saturday, State champion Trevor Clymens of Brentwood set the early pace with Garner making an inside pass on the back stretch on the sixth lap to take second from Ryan. Garner went inside Clymens on the back stretch on Lap 7 to take the lead from him. The race was riddled with yellow flags during the second half. A heated incident between Tommy Fraser of Antioch and Ryan saw the race end for both of them. Through each yellow flag, Garner emerged with the lead and picked up a much deserved victory ahead of Clymens, Dylan Connelly of Antioch, Johnathan Hagio of Prunedale and Matt Pitts of Rodeo.

Ryan enjoyed a stellar season with second place rankings at Antioch and in the State. Heat race points put him on the front row for the Friday show, and he bolted into the lead at the start ahead of Trevor Clymens. An inside move down the back stretch on Lap 6 put three-time champion Fred Ryland of Brentwood into second. Garner moved into third on a Lap 9 restart. With Ryland in pursuit, Ryan had to make the right moves on multiple restarts during the second half of the race. However, Ryan prevailed over Ryland at the checkered flag. Garner settled for third ahead of Raymond Lindeman of Rio Linda and Trevor Clymens.

Antioch and State champion Troy Foulger of Oakley picked up $500 IMCA Stock Car victories on both Friday and Saturday night as he nudges closer to 70 combined wins all time at Antioch Speedway.

Fred Ryland of Brentwood paced the opening lap of the Saturday race with Foulger getting around Mitch Machado of Rohnert Park on the second lap. Foulger and Ryland briefly went side by side before Foulger emerged with the lead on the fifth lap. From there, Foulger sped on to the win ahead of Ryland, Dave Hill of South San Francisco, Machado and Scott Foster of Oakley.

Points from the heat races put Foulger on the front row and he led the Friday portion of the show from the start. Ryland was a race-long second. Machado was an early third, but Terry DeCarlo Jr of Martinez gained the position on the ninth lap. Foulger won ahead of Ryland, DeCarlo, Machado and Dave Hill.

Jared Baugh of Pittsburgh and track champion Grayson Baca of Brentwood picked up the Pacific Coast General Engineering Hobby Stock feature wins for the weekend. Baugh didn’t show up on Friday but picked up the Saturday win in impressive fashion.

Baugh took the lead from the start ahead of Troy Foulger, who was piloting the car originally intended for Mya Jones of Martinez. Baca held third in the early stages, but Foulger brought out a yellow flag on Lap 6. Baugh led Baca on the restart with Kevin Brown of Oakley running third. Jake Archibald of Oakley slipped past Brown for third on the ninth lap, and Baca brought out a Lap 11 yellow flag. Baugh continued to lead Archibald and Brown On the restart. Archibald was trailing by a straightaway when his race came to an unfortunate end three laps for the finish. Baugh cruised to victory ahead of Brown, Trevor Clymens, Baca and Archibald.

On Friday night, Baca took the lead from the start ahead of Trevor Clymens. Foulger moved past Brown for third on Lap 3 before a yellow flag waved. Foulger moved into second on the restart with Tommy Clymens settling into third. Baca held command by a wide margin when the checkered flag flew, followed by Foulger, Tommy Clymens, Brown and Jess Paladino of Brentwood.

On Halloween weekend, there will be candy for the kids. The Xtreme Late Models, Super Stocks and Hardtops will be having their season point finales. Wingless Spec Sprints and Print Club Mini Stocks are also in action. For further information, go to www.raceantiochspeedway.com or check out the Antioch Speedway by PROmotions Facebook page.

Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023 Race Results

IMCA Modifieds

Heat Winners Round 1 (10 laps)-Kellen Chadwick, Andrew Pearce. Heat Winners Round 2 (10 laps)-Kellen Chadwick, Andrew Pearce. Main Event (25 laps)-Nick DeCarlo, Troy Foulger, Kellen Chadwick, Andrew Pearce, Tim Balding, Aaron Crowell, Mickey Hill, Jim Pettit II, Dave Duste Jr, Matthew Hagio DNS.

IMCA Sport Modifieds

Heat Winners Round 1 (10 laps)-Mark Garner, Jason Ryan Jr. Heat Winners Round 2 (10 laps)-Mark Garner, Trevor Clymens. Main Event (25)-Mark Garner, Trevor Clymens, Dylan Connelly, Jonathan Hagio, Matt Pitts, Tommy Clymens, Al Johnson, James Graessle, Tommy Fraser, Jason Ryan Jr.

IMCA Stock Cars

Heat Winner Round 1 (10 laps)-Dave Hill. Heat Winner Round 2 (10 laps)-Mitch Machado. Main Event (25 laps)-Troy Fougler, Fred Ryland, Dave Hill, Mitch Machado, Scott Foster, Jason Robles DNS.

Hobby Stocks

Heat Winners Round 1 (10 laps)-Kevin Brown Jared Baugh. Heat Winners Round 2 (10 laps)-Kevin Brown, Grayson Baca. Main Event (25 laps)-Jared Baugh, Kevin Brown, Trevor Clymens, Grayson Baca, Jake Archibald, John Keith, Kamren Robles, Jess Paladino, Troy Foulger, Tommy Clymens.

Friday, Oct. 20, 2023 Race Results

IMCA Modifieds

Heat Winner Round 1 (10 laps)-Troy Foulger, Andrew Pearce. Heat Winners Round 2 (10 laps)-Kellen Chadwick, Nick DeCarlo. Main Event (25 laps)-Troy Foulger, Nick DeCarlo, Andrew Pearce, Kellen Chadwick, Jim Pettit II, Tim Balding, Aaron Crowell, Paul Gugliemoni, Matthew Hagio, Dave Duste Jr.

IMCA Sport Modifieds

Heat Winners Round 1 (10 laps)-Trevor Clymens, Jason Ryan Jr. Heat Winners Round 2 (10 laps)-Jonathan Hagio, Fred Ryland. Main Event (25 laps)-Jason Ryan Jr, Fred Ryland, Mark Garner, Raymond Lindeman, Trevor Clymens, Jonathan Hagio, Tommy Clymens, Dylan Connelly, Joseph Pato, Al Johnson.

IMCA Stock Cars

Heat Winner Round 1 (10 laps)-Troy Foulger. Heat Winner Round 2 (10 laps)-Troy Foulger. Main Event (25 laps)-Troy Foulger, Fred Ryland, Terry DeCarlo Jr, Mitch Machado, Dave Hill, Scott Foster.

Hobby Stocks

Heat Winner Round 1 (10 laps)-Grayson Baca. Heat Winner Round 2 (10 laps)-Grayson Baca. Main Event (25 laps)-Grayson Baca, Troy Foulger, Tommy Clymens, Kevin Brown, Jess Paladino, Trevor Clymens.

By Candice Martin, DCRR Racing Media

Antioch, CA…After a weekend off to allow the local racers who desired to take a trip down south to support the show in Bakersfield, racing returns in a big way this Friday and Saturday night at Antioch Speedway. It’s the fifth running of the West Coast Nationals Bill Bowers Memorial Race.

The event hearkens back to when Antioch Speedway first had a West Coast Nationals IMCA Modified race in 1993. Then champion Scott Busby of Martinez was looking to prove a point regarding the value of this growing class. He did the legwork, and the first show produced a track record 83 Modifieds.

To this day, it’s one of the biggest Modified turnouts in California history. There are two other interesting points regarding that race. It was won by Mark Welch of Orangevale. The car Mark drove to victory was purchased by current Promoter Chad Chadwick as he came out of retirement to go racing again.

After four more runnings of this race, it was retired when management changed hands to John Soares in 1998. Enter Chad Chadwick and PROmotions.

Chad had been in negotiations to take over the track and was given the opportunity to promote a big race in October of 2019. Thusly, he brought back the West Coast Nationals name. When longtime friend and employee Bill Bowers passed away, he decided to make it a memorial race in his honor.

Bowers and JD Willis are both Antioch Speedway Hall of Fame members, and they won many races and championships together. Willis, a 72-time feature winner and five-time champion at the track, will be saluted on the Friday night portion of the program.

The format is still being set as management encourages the racers to submit their ideas. The IMCA Modifieds, Sport Modifieds and Stock Cars are the featured divisions. When the purse was announced two weeks ago, the Pacific Coast General Engineering Hobby Stocks were added to give them another big race.

The Modified drivers will be competing for one of the coveted feature starting births on Saturday night, which pays $300 minimum to take the green flag. The winner of the race takes home $2,000. The Sport Modified drivers get $200 minimum to start that race and $1,500 to win, while the Stock Cars get $150 to start and $1,000 to win.

More than that, the drivers want to win this race in honor of Bill, one of the most beloved figures among the local racing community. Bill’s motors were fast, and people are still competing with them to this day. Last year, his son Billy and driver Troy Foulger of Oakley teamed up to win both the Modified and Stock Car races, making it a special occasion for the family.

The Sport Modified win went to Kenny Shrader of Pacheco, who was notching his second West Coast Nationals victory. In fact, the winners of last year’s big event were a sign of what was to come this year. They won track championships in their respective divisions.

In Modified competition, there’s never been a repeat winner. The previous winners in order have been Kellen Chadwick of Oakley, Jacob Hobsheidt of Plattsmouth, Nebraska and Ryan McDaniel of Olivehurst. The first race paid an even bigger purse, and Bobby Hogge IV of Salinas had the win in hand until Chadwick used slower traffic to snatch the victory.

After Shrader got the first Sport Modified win in 2019, Guy Ahlwardt of Antioch and Fred Ryland of Brentwood won the next two. The IMCA Stock Cars got an audition in 2020 that yielded a good car count and led to the class being added for championship points a year later. Foulger won that weekend, while Nick Johnson of Bakersfield came to town and won in 2021.

Drivers come from everywhere in California to compete in this event. A few competitors will even show up from out of state. The addition of the Hobby Stock class to the program adds a new dimension of excitement. When last we had a race at the speedway two weeks ago, Buddy Kniss of Oakley was collecting a $3,000 Hobby Stock Nationals payday in the Dave Baca owned car.

The fans will get an opportunity to see some top talent that they don’t see at the speedway every week. The four division lineup should offer them plenty of excitement from start to finish on both nights. With the money and the glory on the line, who will be leaving with the victories this year?

It should also be pointed out that excitement is building in Antioch with the second running of the Open Wheel Showcase planned for November 11th. That night will see some of the top Winged 360 Sprint Car drivers from California in action. Fans have been asking for more Winged Sprint Car racing, and that night will fulfill their need for speed.

The gates will open on both nights at 4:00 with the first race starting at 6:00.

Adult tickets are $20, Senior/Military $15, Kids (5-12) $15 and kids four and under free.

For further information, go to www.raceantiochspeedway.com or check out the Antioch Speedway by PROmotions Facebook page.