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Tracks >> ANTIOCH SPEEDWAY >> Antioch Speedway Prepares for Summer Nationals Two Day Event
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Message started by C.W. on 06/25/15 at 2:58pm

Title: Antioch Speedway Prepares for Summer Nationals Two Day Event
Post by C.W. on 06/25/15 at 2:58pm

A little preview of the big event at Antioch Speedway. as always, I am unofficial, just trying to help the cause... :)

There's a lot going on with Oval Motorsports this week, but taking center stage on Friday and Saturday will be the Summer Nationals. This two day event will feature IMCA Modifieds and Sport Mods on both nights. On Friday night, Northern All Stars Limited Late Models, Hobby Stocks an Dwarf Cars are in action, and on Saturday, there is the DIRTcar Late Models.

The money is on the line for IMCA Modifieds as they race for $1500 to win on Friday and $2500 to win on Saturday. Sport Mods get a little more than usual at $500 to win on Friday and $750 to win on Saturday. Then, we have the Late Models.

Late Models were originally slated for a $1500 to win and $150 to start guarantee, regardless of Car count. At 20 cars, it would rise to $2000 to win and $200 to start. Then, one of the sponsors of Paul Guglielmoni's cars, Henner Tank Lines of Vacaville, offered $500 more to the winner. Promoter John Soares Jr. decided to fill out the rest of the purse and increase the starting money to $200.

Here is some of what we know going into Saturday's Late Model race. NASCAR star Kenny Wallace will be driving the House Car. That's the same car piloted by Bobby Hogge IV to two Antioch wins last season.

This time around, point leader Richard Papenhausen will be ready. The defending champion now has five feature wins and increased his point lead to 26 points over Jeff Decker after his latest win. Decker finished last in the 11 car field last week, but he'll be looking to bounce back in a big way.

Like Decker, Paul Guglielmoni and Troy Foulger both have one feature win this year, and both are anticipated for this race. Foulger was up in Oregon racing the Bowers Racing Dirt Modified during Speedweek, and it's expected that he will again be doing double duty in the Bowers Racing Late Model.

The two drivers battling closely for third in points, David Newquist and Danny Malfatti, are expected to continue their battle this week. Newquist leads by just eight points and is coming off of a third place finish last week. Can either of these two make a serious run at a win this week? Newquist's team car will likely be there again with Mike Hynes behind the wheel.

Another driver who has been coming on strong of late is Anthony Restad. Anthony made his season debut at Antioch about a month ago with a third place finish, and he finished second last week. Between those two finishes, he made his first start at Placerville and won the Main Event there. Might this Saturday be his night to shine?

Two drivers battling for fifth in points are 15 points apart as past Dirt Modified champion Rob Norris just grabbed the position from Chester Kniss. Kniss had a family commitment last week, but his last start yielded him his best finish yet in third. Can he take it up a notch this week?

Most of this season's competitors are expected this week, and that could include Terry Kuntz, Randy Shafer, past Petaluma champion Rod Arnold, Dennis Souza and past Chico champion Duane Cleveland. There are a few potential challengers that could show up for the increased purse, and one name being mentioned is Bobby Hogge IV.

Of course, Bobby is unconfirmed for this race, though the purse is a little more to his liking. There's reason for the competition be a little intimidated. In addition to his two wins last season, Bobby has won three Dirt Modified championships at Antioch and is third on the track's all time win list with just over 60 wins. Only J.D. Willis and Scott Busby have more wins than him.

This class is generally in the 8-12 car range and has had a good season. With the increased purse money, that number should be in the 12-16 car area at least this Saturday, and some think it could reach 20 cars.

The two race weekend for IMCA Modifieds is big for a couple reasons. For starters, the money is better. Also, there are expected to be 25-35 cars for this race. With points on the line, the standings can be shaken up big time. Currently, Scott Busby leads Bobby Motts Jr. by seven points and deafening champion Carl Berendsen II by 52.

The points are equally close in the battle or fourth as Dustin Himes leads Alex Wilson, Kyle Wilson, Chris Elby and Mike Salazar, and only 18 points separate the five of them. The Top 8 in points are all expected, and Kyle Wilson won the most recent race ahead of Berendsen. Kyle also won a pair of features at Merced Speedway in recent weeks, and his brother Alex has a share of that track's point lead with John MacDougall, who is planning to compete this week. Alex Wilson leads the State point race, which is a championship his brother Kyle won last year.

Speaking of champions, you can expect a few to show up for this race. Topping the list are two who have each one a championship at Antioch, Kellen Chadwick and Aaron Crowell. Chadwick won the first race of the year on January 1st. Nick DeCarlo recently won his fifth straight IMCA Modified Main Event at Petaluma, where he is the current point leader and defending champion. Michael Paul Jr. has won six titles at Petaluma, while Oreste Gonella is also one time champion. All are anticipated for this show.

Current Watsonville point leader and two time NASCAR Regional champion Bobby Hogge IV is said to be coming for this race. Bobby's impressive resume would take up several paragraphs, but there are many who say he is the best Dirt Modified driver in the state right now. Troy Foulger can certainly enter that argument. With over two dozen wins in a Dirt Mod at Antioch alone and four championships along the way in the Bowers Racing Modified, he will be tough to beat.

Word from Nevada was that another champion, Robert Miller, was planning to compete this week. Robert has won his share of races at Antioch in a Late Model and is a past NASCAR Regional champion. The people at Fernley Raceway know just how good he is in an IMCA Modified these days. Then, there are rumors that point to a visit by 2014 Chowchilla and Ventura champion Josh Vogt. Josh loves racing at different tracks and adapts to them very well. He has wins at Chowchilla, Santa Maria and Ventura this season already. 2014 Merced champion and past Hanford champion Paul Stone was said to be considering an Antioch visit, and a few top drivers from the Southern Oregon area were considering the same.

Limited Late Model ace Mark Garner has secured a ride for this race, and others looking to make their presence known include Nick Viscusi III, Trent Wentworth, Josh Combs, Jeff Tomas, Norm Boeck, Terry Kaiser, Anthony Copeland and past Merced champion Jim DiGiovanni.

And, we haven't even gotten into the fact that NASCAR star Kenny Wallace will be competing in a Dirt Modified.

The IMCA Northern Sport Mods also have two races, and a scheduling issue may see a few divers not at Antioch on Friday due to a point race at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville. Antioch management has made the Friday race an non track points race with points for only the State, Region and National races. As Fred Ryland is locked in a tight battle with Anthony Giuliani at Watsonville, he is likely to be there Friday, along with Patti Ryland, Paul Mulder and Al Sotomayor. However, the four are expected on Saturday night

F. Ryland's lead over Keith Brown Jr. at Antioch is 35 points after Brown crashed out of the recent race. Ryland finished second despite two spins, and Paul Mulder moved to within a dozen points of third place Al Johnson after wining that race. Hard chargers Ron Brown, Chuck Golden and Megan Ponciano are all anticipated this weekend, and there could be a few others paying the track a visit.

Merced has three top notch racers who are expected. There's Merced point leader Josh Hensley, 2013 Antioch champion Jeremy Hoff and Bruce "Bubba" Nelson. Nelson is a two time Merced Hobby Stock champion who grabbed a Sport Mod win at his home track last week. Bubba also won the January 1st race ahead of Hoff, but it was Hoff winning the $1750 first prize at Antioch a night later as Nelson was third. There's no telling who else might visit from Antioch's sister track.

From Marysville, word is that Top 5 point competitors Jimmy Ford, Jason Ferguson ad Alan Furuta could be coming to Antioch. All three are fast competitors, and Ford had a second place finish the last time he was in town. Jimmy is the 2014 Marysville Mini Stock champion, but he started his career at Antioch driving Street Stocks and then Late Models.

On Saturday, it's possible there will be visitors from Watsonville, led by Anthony Giuliani and Matt Hagio. Both are in the title hunt at their home track this year, and Hagio is a feature winner. The second generation racer came to Antioch last week and finished third after a close battle with Mulder and IMCA National point leader Ryland. Car count should be in the 15-25 car range.

The track's Northern All Stars Limited Late Models will be racing, but gradually, Larry Damitz is pulling away from the pack as he keeps winning. He won the most recent race to stretch his lead to 32 over veteran Mike Gustafson. Gustafson is the only driver with more Limited Late Model wins than Damitz, and the two account for over 70 wins in this division alone. Merced point leader Mark Garner is two points behind Gustafson, while Mike Hynes is eight back. Garner has extra incentive to try to get his second win of the year as he is racing for his ailing father, Antioch Speedway legend Jerry "The Maverick" Garner.

Add Jim Freethy, Lori Brown, John Evans and Peggy Sue Jarred to the mix, and we're anticipating 8-10 cars for this show. The question is, can anybody beat Damitz?

They're asking the same question of Kimo Oreta in Hobby Stocks. Oreta's numbers are very impressive. He is a runaway point leader and two time defending champion. His five wins this year gives him 18 in his career and make him the division's all time win leader. He's also the man to beat, and Danny Jones nearly pulled it off last week. Jones finished second for the fifth time this year, and there's just 26 points between him, Michael Cooper and Jordan Swank in a close battle for second. Cooper finished a career best third last week.

Frank Furtado is on his way to a career best fifth in points, and he is anticipated this week along with Robert Niven and Natalie Perry, who finished a season best fourth last week. There was rumor that a Stock Car champion from the 1970's might be driving Perry's #40 car, nicknamed The Mean Kitty, but that has yet to be confirmed. Among those joining these seven will be 2010 champion Chris Sorensen, Jeremy Jennings and Chris Long as car count is expected to be in the 10-14 car range.

Dwarf Cars always put on a good show, and David Teves is engaged in a renewal of a battle he had in 2013 with two time defending champion Danny Wagner. Wagner won that battle, but Teves has a 12 point lead going into this race. Both drivers are three time winners this season, but Teves seems to have the fastest car of the moment with wins in the two most recent races. David's son Adam Teves sits in third in points, and the two time winner leads one time winner Mike Corsaro by 12 points.

Word was that Kenny Wallace was willing to drive any car he has an opportunity to drive, and Brian Gray was planning to let him drive his #17 Dwarf Car. Wallace can expect to go wheel to wheel with fifth ranked Kevin Miraglio, rising young star Miranda Chappa, Dillon Hume, Kurtis Kraig, Tim Reeder, 2013 Petaluma champion Travis Dutra and others. A field of 12-16 cars is anticipated.

Overall, the Summer Nationals is shaping up to be an event you won't want to miss.