FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 11, 2014
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Drivers Prepare for Antioch Speedway March 15th Opener

Oval Motorsports
ANTIOCH, Calif. (March 11) - Racers will be turning wrenches and cleaning cars late into the night this week to prepare for opening night at Antioch Speedway. The Contra Costa Fairgrounds 3/8 mile banked clay oval has an exciting schedule kicked off by a sixdivision program on Saturday night.

Champion Troy Foulger, 23, of Martinez, Calif. will return to competition at his home track driving the International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) Modified Stock Car owned by Oakleyʼs Billy Bowers. Foulger has an unprecedented four straight track championships, and the Bowers car has seven – three with its previous driver, Kenny Neu.

The Foulger-Bowers duo returned from a rough season-opening race this past Saturday in Chico, Calif. They chased friendly Oakley foe Kellen Chadwick across the finish line. Both are Antioch Speedway regulars.



“Any time you can beat the locals at their home track, it is quite an accomplishment,” Bowers explained. “It was a great way to start off the season. Despite bringing home second in a highly competitive field of “modifieds”,

Foulger and Bowers returned with a heavily damaged car. The damages were not from other drivers, but from the rough track surface in Chico.

“We had to go through every part of the car, checking and straightening each component and tightening bolts,” Bowers explained. “We took the body panels off to straighten them, and will make some adjustments to our chassis to prepare for Antioch Speedway.”

Rough track or not, Foulger loves racing.

“I always have fun when I am racing,” he explains. “If it isnʼt fun for you to race, then you shouldnʼt be racing.”

Foulger wonʼt commit to racing for another Antioch Speedway championship.

“Like every year, we just race and see where the season takes us,” he said. “We work hard. We learn. We make adjustments. The Bowers family puts in a 110 per cent effort and that is why we are successful.”

Across town, Hobby Stock Division “Rookie of the Year” Nick Baldwin was working on his Camaro stock car. Clean and well polished after a long-off season, Baldwinʼs car was rolled into the driveway of his suburban home to take advantage of the ability to work in the warm weather.

Baldwin, 31, has lived his entire life in Oakley. He played baseball and football at Freedom High School, and is still a major fan of the two sports. It wasnʼt until last year that he tried a new sport – stock car racing.

“I have been watching the races at Antioch Speedway since I was a kid, and I decided Iʼd like to give it a try,” Baldwin explained.

He bought a “hobby stock” from Brentwood, Calif.ʼs Brad and Melissa Myers, two of the best drivers in the division. With the car came their guidance throughout the season. Their racing friends – like Brentwood racer Fred Ryland – became Baldwinʼs friends, and also helped him out.

“Brad and Melissa were there to answer my questions and give me advice. My dad, Ed, helped me a ton - working on the car every day. My fiancé, Beth, supported and encouraged me, led the cheering, and even cleaned the mud from the car,” Baldwin said. “It was a team effort.”

Racing on the clay of Antioch Speedway, sliding through the turns while rubbing fenders with competitors, is a thrill relished by drivers.

“It is a different kind of fun,” Baldwin said. “The reward comes when you see results for all of the hard work the crew put in for the entire week.”

Hobby Stocks can be bought for $5,000 to $6,000 and can be built for much less if you are mechanically inclined to make old Camaros into stock cars.

“Like playing in the miinor leagues, racing a hobby stock gets your foot in the door to major league stock car racing,” Baldwin added. “There are no other parallels to other sports. Itʼs a whole new animal.”

When Baldwin first got on the track, he tried too hard to win races.

“Once I settled down, I got better,” he explained. “It wasnʼt long before I got hit with a pie in victory lane.”

A driverʼs first victory in Hobby Stocks is often celebrated with a strange tradition. Brad Myers sneaked up behind Baldwin and smashed a cream pie in his face.

“I didnʼt mind. I now know how hard it is to win a race,” Baldwin added. “Not only do you have to be fast, you have to catch the right breaks on the race track.”

The Antioch Speedway season opener will feature IMCA modifieds, Wingless Sprint Cars, Limited Late Models, Hobby Stocks, “Four-Bangers” and Dwarf Cars – each with their own set of qualifying heats and feature events. Gates open at 5 p.m. Racing is underway at 6:30 p.m.

Admission is $14.00 for adults, $10 for children 6-12, and $8 for senior citizens. A family four-pack of tickets is $40. The Speedway is located in the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds, 1201 W. 10th St. in Antioch. The Fairgrounds offers secure parking for $5.