Fourth try for Season Opener

By Candice Martin, DCRR Racing Media

Antioch, CA…It seems like it’s been a broken record. It’s happened a total of six times this year, including the two practices that were scheduled before the original season opener on March 11th. Antioch Speedway has been rained out six times this year, including four races in a row.

As the rain let up after Wednesday last week, there might have been a chance to hustle to get the races in over the next couple of days, but the grounds were very saturated on Thursday. It didn’t start looking good out there until Saturday. The decision to cancel last week was a good move. It gives the crew and the staff time to make things right for this Saturday night’s races and Kid’s Easter Egg Hunt.

The Pacific Coast General Engineering Hobby Stocks will take center stage, joined by the Delta Dwarf Cars, BCRA Midgets and Lightning Sprints and the always fun to watch Hardtops. As if that’s not enough, the season will now open with an exciting Figure 8 race. There’s lots of excitement on the card for fans looking for their racing adrenaline rush.

Danny Wagner of Bay Point has competed in all sorts of divisions and been a winner in everything. The three-time Delta Dwarf Car champion has also won feature races in the Mini Trucks, IMCA Modifieds and Winged 360 Sprint Cars. During the off-season, Wagner built a Hobby Stock, and he debuted it at Merced Speedway last week with results you might expect from him. He picked up the feature win in his first start.

Whether Wagner goes for points or not, he is sure to be a force in Hobby Stocks anytime he’s there. There are some good Hobby Stock drivers looking to take it up a notch after last season, led by Jared Baugh of Pittsburg, Michaela Taylor of Oakley, Jewell Crandall of Antioch and Grayson Baca of Brentwood. The Hobby Stocks were averaging car counts in the mid-20s last season, and expectations are that they will remain on that level this year.

Hobby Stocks are the car of choice for the exciting Figure 8 race. Antioch featured this race from 1987 to 1990 and briefly in the early 2000s. Last season, the crowd approved of the return of this race, which came back with a $1,000 to win event, won by two-time Spec Sprint champion Dan Gonderman of Antioch. Longtime Figure 8 supporter Jimmy Robbins of Concord, Mike Conley Jr of Antioch and Newman’s DJ Keldsen and Cody Keldsen are among the drivers anticipated when the cars take the track this Saturday night.

Dwarf Cars are the third longest tenured class at the speedway, following IMCA Modifieds and Hobby Stocks. The king of the mountain these days may be Danny Wagner, but he’ll get stiff competition from last year’s Most Improved Driver, Devan Kammermann of Dublin, who won two races. Throw in great competition from the likes of Ellie Russo of Bay Point, Sean Catucci of Brentwood, Travis Day of Concord and five-time champion Ricardo Rivera of Hollister, and the Dwarf Cars will definitely entertain.

There isn’t an older sanctioning body based out of California than the Bay City’s Racing Association. The BCRA Lightning Sprints have been making periodic visits to the track every year, but it’s been a couple of seasons since we’ve seen the BCRA Midgets. The popular Open Wheel class ruled the roost in California throughout the 1940s, ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. Through the ups and downs, BCRA has remained to sanction these racers, and they still have drivers committed to bringing exciting Midget racing.

The Lightning Sprints made two appearances last season. Unlike the Midgets, they run with wings and they turn some of the fastest laps at the speedway. This division has been under the BCRA banner for over two decades now and always puts on a good show. There’s another division that was once sanctioned by the BCRA throughout the 1950s into the early 1960s, and they are on the card on Saturday night.

The popular Hardtops return, likely to be joined by some of the Valley Sportsman racers from Merced Speedway. Unlike the Hardtops, the Sportsman division runs a wing and is a class that was featured at Antioch Speedway throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

Last year, the Hardtops held the Butch Althar Memorial race, won by two-time Merced Speedway champion Rick Elliott. It was Joel Hannagan piloting Doug Braudrick’s Junkyard Dog to his third-consecutive Chet Thomson Memorial win last season.

The diverse lineup of cars scheduled this Saturday night offers a little something for every fan. If you want fast, and open wheel, look no further than Midgets and Lightning Sprints. If you want slam-bang, fendered Stock Car racing, Hobby Stocks and Figure 8 will fill the bill. If you like a little bit of nostalgia in your program, look no further than the Hardtops. It’s sure to be a good show.

The evening will also have an Easter Egg Hunt and bike giveaway for the kids. This has become a happy tradition at the speedway in recent years and another reason families come to the speedway.

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

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

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

By Candice Martin, DCRR Racing Media 

There’s no doubt this has been a wetter winter than we’ve had in recent years. The Contra Costa Event Center (county fairgrounds) has received so much rain that it was flooded in areas this year, and Antioch Speedway was under water throughout much of January and February. This has left the crew scrambling to get things ready.

With pumps removing the water from the racing surface, there has been optimism of getting races going in recent weeks. However, steady rainfall has put an end to that. This Saturday night, the 63rd season of auto racing is set to begin with an action-packed card.

The Trifecta of IMCA, Modifieds, Sport Modifieds and Stock Cars, will be competing along with the Pacific Coast General Engineering Hobby Stocks, Super Stocks and the WMR Miidgets.

Though there is rain forecast for early in the week, there is optimism that this week will indeed happen. The season opener is always an exciting time at the race track. Drivers show up with new bodies on their cars or even brand new race cars. The point standings have been wiped clean, and it’s a fresh new start. Anybody can make their move.

Last season saw a spirited duel between Kellen Chadwick of Oakley and Nick DeCarlo of Martinez go down to the final IMCA Modified race with both of them still tied in the end. DeCarlo ended up with his second Antioch championship due to the fact that he had four Main Event wins, while Chadwick had three.

The consistent Bobby Motts Jr of San Pablo ended up third. A competitive field that will include a few past champions is anticipated on Saturday.

Nobody has won more races in the IMCA Sport Modifieds then Fred Ryland of Brentwood, but the three-time champion needed four wins to hold off young star Andrew Pearce of Oakley for the championship last season.

Another rising star, Jacob Mallet Jr of Oakley, ended up third in the standings and also won the IMCA State crown. This year will be interesting with the return of another three-time champion, Trevor Clymens of Brentwood.

The exciting new IMCA Stock Car division continues to grow by leaps and bounds. This division offers a different yet very exciting style of racing compared to the Modified classes, and drivers are still getting used to these cars.

Past Dwarf Car and Mini Truck champion Travis Dutra of Concord notched his second-straight division championship after a season-long battle with Rio Vista’s Jason Robles. Top rookie Jason Jennings of Pittsburg ended up third in the rundown. New drivers are anticipated this year.

No division offered a bigger car count per week then the Pacific Coast General Engineering Hobby Stocks last season. It was a year of the ladies with Misty Welborn of Castro Valley finishing first, Michaela Taylor of Oakley ending up second, Taylor DeCarlo of Martinez fourth and Jewell Crandall of Antioch fifth. Several drivers have just gotten started in this class in recent years and are getting better with every turn behind the wheel.

Super Stocks have been at the speedway for over 20 years, and Danville’s Jim Freethy won the championship last year over Brentwood’s Joey Ridgeway and Concord’s Jimmy Robbins.

Car count is expected to increase a little bit this year. Among the several big events lined up at the track this year will be the Larry Damitz Memorial race on May 13th, featuring the Tri State Challenge Pro Stocks.

Midget racing has been a big deal in California for over 70 years, but the Ecotec motor program introduced by the WMR Miidgets is bringing new blood into the class. They are a division that is in high demand and competes at several venues on the West Coast.

Antioch is looking forward to hosting this coming race, which could have a field of a dozen or more cars. Two of the champions on the tour in recent years are Blake Bower of Brentwood and David Prickett of Fresno.

We’ve definitely needed the rain in California, but now racing fans need a little bit of dry weather. It’s time to go racing, and Speedway Management is optimistic that this week will be the time for it to finally happen.

Once we unleash the beasts, we’ll have racing pretty much regularly all the way through the last weekend of October with a few events lined up in November. Special Sprint Car touring races and big events like the Bill Bowers and Hetrick Modified races are highlights of what should be an action-packed season.

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

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

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