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Saturday Night Racer >> SATURDAY NIGHT RACER >> Sprint Cars, Modifieds Headline Big Show Saturday At Antioch Speedway
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Message started by C.W. on 08/27/15 at 11:59pm

Title: Sprint Cars, Modifieds Headline Big Show Saturday At Antioch Speedway
Post by C.W. on 08/27/15 at 11:59pm

Here's the unofficial preview for the coming seven division show at Antioch Speedway Saturday night...

As racing heads into the final month of the 2015 season at Antioch Speedway, we wrap up the month of August on the three-eighth mile clay oval with a loaded seven division program. The Winged 360 Sprint Cars and Wingless Spec Sprints are both racing that night along with the IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Sport Modifieds. Also on the card will be the Hobby Stocks, Limited Late Models and Dwarf Cars.

The Winged 360 Sprint Car division is having their seventh and final race of the season for that division, and only 20 points separate Shawn Arriaga from second place Art McCarthy. The highly competitive and popular division has five different winners in the six races held so far. McCarthy started the season off with a win, but when Arriaga came back with a good finish a week later, he gained the point lead. The third generation racer Arriaga added to his point lead last time out with an impressive flag to flag romp for the victory.

Despite the fact that young Jake Haulot has won twice, his lead over Chris Magoon is only 22 points in the battle for third. The 2014 champion Magoon has struggled since finishing second in the season opener, but he’ll be gunning for a victory on Saturday night. Fifth ranked Dan Gonderman has also finished as high as second, and the two time Spec Sprint champion is anticipated on Saturday night. Ricky Brophy and past Marysville champion Jeremy Burt are among the others anticipated for this race.

The Wingless Spec Sprints are the more affordable Sprint Car class that has made it possible for many new drivers to go Sprint Car racing during the past 17 years. After his second place finish last time out, three time winner Kyle Bakkie now leads Rick Panfili by 64 points with two races remaining. While Bakkie appears headed for the championship, Panfili only leads rookie Marcus Smith by 16 points in a close battle for second. Both drivers have finished as high as second this year, but Smith gained ground with a fourth place finish last time out.

The most recent race was won by two time champion Billy Macedo in an impressive run that snapped a two race win streak by four time winner Jimmy Perry III. Perry is trailing Alan Miranda by 64 points for fourth, and even if he’s not likely to pass him, he is a threat to win. Two time winner Roy Fisher could also be a factor in the battle for victory, and others to watch for include Peter Carlotto, Chase Wood Jr., one time winner James East and Jeremy Newberry.

Aaron Crowell may have the point leaders thankful that he isn’t running for points after his impressive second straight IMCA Modified feature win. Point leader Scott Busby started deep in the pack last time and could only manage a sixth place finish. Four of Busby’s 62 career wins in this division came this year as he leads one time winner Bobby Motts Jr. by 27 points. Motts is a past Street Stock champion working on his best season yet in this division. 2014 champion Carl Berendsen II is still holding on for third with State point leader Alex Wilson 62 points behind him. Wilson won last week at Merced and was second in the most recent race at Antioch. He leads his brother, one time winner Kyle Wison, by five points in the race for fourth.

Even after a late start this season, Late Model veteran Shawn DeForest has looked impressive in the Jim Reid owned Modified. DeForest has a feature win this season and is only 22 points behind K. Wilson for fifth in the standings. Two other drivers we could be seeing this week are Josh Combs, Nick Viscusi and Adam Elby. Viscusi impressed with a fourth place finish last time out. Micro Sprint graduate Adam Elby made his second start in his father Chris’s car last time out and earned a Top 10 finish once again.

Fred Ryland continues to struggle to get back into the winner’s circle at Antioch, but the runaway Antioch point leader grabbed his 25th IMCA Sport Modified win on the circuit last week at Merced Speedway. At the last Antioch race, he finished fourth to maintain a 62 point lead over Al Johnson. Johnson is only five points ahead of one time winner Paul Mulder in the battle for second in the standings. Chuck Golden is only 11 points ahead of rookie Patti Ryland in the battle for fourth.

Two drivers not really battling for points have been the hard chargers in recent weeks. Last time out, Trevor Clymes won his first Main Event in this division. Anthony Giuliani had won in his previous three starts, but he settled for second behind Clymens last time. K.C. Keller continues to run strong as well and finished fifth last week. Other drivers we'll be watching for this week include Al Sotomayor, Tim Hammett and the possible return of Ron Brown.

The Hobby Stock championship will go to Kimo Oreta for the third straight season. Now it’s a question of whether he can grab his eighth win and if he is ready should Merced and Chowchilla champion Kevin Joaquin return after winning for the second time last week. The other question is will it be Jordan Swank or brother in law Michael Cooper finishing second in points? Swank had a great night last week as the likely “Rookie Of The Year” won his heat race and finished third in the feature with Oreta right behind him. He needed that finish after Cooper had a season best second a week before that. Can either of these two take it up a notch and win the Main Event this week? Don’t be surprised if one of them does.

After five second place finishes this year, Danny Jones needed a week off to get a new motor ready. The Stock Car veteran has been fast this year, but his recent attempts to get wins have ended in motor problems. Frank Furtado is only two points behind Jones in the battle for fourth in the standings. Jeremy Jennings is getting his car together for Tony Jennings to drive this week, and other drivers we’ll be watching for include Natalie Perry, Robert Niven and hard charging rookie Cameron Swank, who finished fifth last week.

Larry Damitz has won six of the 11 Limited late Model features held so far. He leads Mike Hynes by 48 points in his quest for a fourth championship in the last five years. After winning his first feature of the season last time out, Hynes is now two points ahead of two time winner Mike Gustafson and 14 points in front of two time winner Mark Garner in the battle for second in the standings. These four have been putting on a show up front all season long, and fifth ranked Jim Freethy has been right there with them. If his second place finish in the most recent race is any indication, Freethy may be next in line for a victory.

Lori Brown returned in a big way last time by winning her heat race and leading the first 14 laps of the Main Event before mechanical gremlins struck. It’s been a few years since the past division champion Brown has won, and she is due for another one. The division enjoyed it’s best car count of the season last time with the return of sixth place finisher Ryan Cherezian and Eric Berendsen. The steady John Evans and John Keith are other drivers we’ll be watching for this week.

David Teves has a commanding 86 point lead over his son, Adam Teves, and he’s still winning races. David made an appearance at Petaluma Speedway last week in a big Dwarf Car shoot out event and scored the victory ahead of some of the best drivers in the state. David is on a roll and is anxious to get back to Antioch to go for another win. Last time out, it was Mike Corsaro grabbing his second win of the season and pulling to within 14 points of two time champion Danny Wagner for third in the standings. Corsaro has also had a win since then at Merced.

Kevin Miraglio is another driver you can usually find running up near the front, and he has a good hold on fifth in the standings with third place still within his grasp. Miranda Chappa was on her way to a Top 5 finish last time out before getting caught up in a crash. Others we’ll be watching for include Tim Reeder, Josh Miller, Jerry Doty, Brian Gray and Kurtis Kraig.

Antioch Speedway Top Five In Points At A Glance

IMCA Modifieds
Scott Busby 464
Bobby Motts 437
Carl Berendsen II 352
Alex Willson 290
Kyle Wilson 285

Winged 360 Sprint Cars
Shawn Arriaga 340
Art McCarthy 320
Jake Haulot 286
Chris Magoon 264
Dan Gonderman 232

Wingless Spec Sprints
Kyle Bakkie 636
Rick Panfili 572
Marcus Smith 556
Alan Miranda 506
Jim Perry III 442

IMCA Sport Modifieds
Fred Ryland 529
Al Johnson 467
Paul Mulder 460
Chuck Golden 432
Patti Ryland 421

Limited Late Model
Larry Damitz 576
Mike Hynes 528
Mike Gustafson 526
Mark Garner 514
Jim Freethy 460

Hobby Stocks
Kimo Oreta 1044
Jordan Swank 763
Michael Cooper 750
Danny Jones 692
Frank Furtado 690

Dwarf Cars
David Teves 664
Adam Teves 578
Danny Wagner 530
Mike Corsaro 516
Kevin Miraglio 506