FOR IMMEDIATE  RELEASE
April 13, 2011
Mike Adaskaveg (617) 694-1230
mikeadaskaveg@racemerced.com      

YOUNG CHAMP TROY FOULGER DEFENDS HIS TURF

Antioch, Calif. - Antioch Speedway DIRTcar modified stock car champ Troy Foulger may be only 20 years old, but he’s accomplished a lot in his racing career. The Martinez, Calif. driver is ready to defend his turf as the “big guns” in the modifieds invade the speedway Saturday night.

Antioch Speedway opens it’s regular season April 16 with a big show featuring Western All Stars late model stock car, modified, super hobby stock and “four-banger” feature events.

“I’m looking forward to Saturday - guys I look up to - like Bobby (Hogge) IV and Chris (Shannon) wi

ll be here,” Foulger said. “I want to race against the best drivers in the sport. And, I want to beat them.”

Foulger works hard to be a great racer. He looks to his mentor and car owner, Billy Bowers of Oakley, Calif. for knowledge to make him understand the dynamics of making his car faster.

“I’ve got a lot to learn,” Foulger admitted. “I spend my time off and weekends with Billy, who explains to me what every part of the chassis does, and what adjustments work for certain track conditions we encounter. He’s the teacher and I’m the student. He quizzes me and tells me when I’m right and when I’m wrong and why. Someday, he would like me to get to the point where I can make the right calls on the adjustments.”

Foulger raced sprint cars for two years prior to a chance meeting with Bowers at Antioch Speedway three years ago.

“Billy was saying he was building a new car,” Foulger said. “I asked him ‘for me to drive?’ as a joke.”

When the car was ready, Foulger got the invitation from Bowers and thought he was kidding him.

“I’m game,” Foulger said. “He agreed to have me drive part-time. Half-way through the season he asked if I want to go for ‘Rookie of the Year’.”

The rest is history - from 2009 Rookie of the Year he became 2010 champion. Now things will get tougher. Foulger wants to defend his championship, and wants to continue his rising career in the modified ranks. Bowers has two cars for him to drive - a new one, which he has been racing at Merced Speedway, and the refurbished championship car from last season.

Foulger has earned the respect of his competition.

“Troy Foulger has definitely stepped up,” Bobby Hogge IV said. “He’s the next generation - he wasn’t born when I started winning races, and now he’s right there, running with the top guys.”

Hogge IV, considered the top modified driver in the West, recognizes Foulger’s commitment.

“They’ve (Foulger and Bowers) are branching out - they’ve been at Merced, working hard to run well there,” Hogge IV said. “They realize the more you race the better you are going to be.”

Foulger plans on continuing the trend.

“The fans want me to repeat at Antioch,” Foulger said. “I want to drive at other tracks, too. The trick is to do both.”

Foulger could pull it off. Stitched on his fire suit is the moniker “Tricky Troy”.

Antioch Speedway is a high-banked 3/8-mile clay oval located in the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds at 1201 W. 10th St., Antioch, CA 94509. Gates open at 5 p.m. Saturday, April 16, 2011