________________________________________
Ryland Takes Two - Tops in IMCA SportMods, Wins the Delta Classic 100 for Hobby Stocks 
Oval Motorsports
ANTIOCH, Calif. (August 9) - “Fast Freddie” Ryland of Brentwood lived up to his name Saturday night - flying past the competition to win two features in two different divisions at Antioch Speedway.
Schedule/Results |
2014 Point Standings First, Ryland strapped into the Hobby Stock car that was qualified by his wife, Patti, in a heat race. He drove for 72 laps, which was the predetermined re-fueling break for the 100-lap Delta Classic.
While the Hobby Stocks made their pit stop, the International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) SportMod feature took place. While guzzling a sport drink, Ryland jumped from his wife’s car and into his SportMod. He chased down and passed nationally ranked 2nd place driver Nick Spainhoward of Bakersfieid in the final two laps of the IMCA race.
If that wasn’t enough, Ryland slid back into the driver’s seat of the Hobby Stock for 28 more laps of racing. He battled cross-town rival Brad Myers and Vacaville’s Nick Viscussi, III to the finish line to win the Delta Classic.
“This ranks as the best night of racing I ever had,” Ryland said. “I do not know which of the two wins was better. I always race to win, but I was not expecting these results.”
Both wins came by way of passing the field, because Ryland started near the back of the lineup. In the IMCA SportMod feature, Ryland broke free from the pack after passing Rob Gallaher of San Jose and Megan Ponciano of Oakley.
Caution Flag Takes Spainhoward’s Lead Away Spainhoward raced to had a quarter-lap lead by the mid-point of the SportMod event.
“Without a caution I would never have caught him,” Ryland said.
Luckily, a spinning car brought out the yellow flag and put Spainhoward and Ryland side by side with five laps to go.
“I went for the top line on the restart,” Ryland said. “I did to him what he did to me at a race in Watsonville. I drove high on the track.”
Ryland used the same strategy two weeks ago at Antioch Speedway, when he upset Spainhoward on his first visit to the track.
“I’ve raced against him several times at several tracks,” Ryland said of Spainhoward. “But I’ve only been able to beat him here.”
Spainhoward was in disbelief at the finish.
“I’m just frustrated,” he said. “The caution erased my lead. What a great race.”
Late in the race, Gallaher passed Ponciano, who finished fourth. Jeremy Hoff of Copperopolis passed Jordan Hagar of Bakersfield for fifth.
Longevity And Luck of the Draw Help Ryland Cars broke down and engines failed as the hobby stock drivers tried to get their cars to last 100 laps. They normally compete in 20 lap feature events.
“Things come loose on the car when you race that long,” Ryland, who is an auto mechanic, explained. “Maintenance is a key factor in a long race. So is patience. I started way in the back and just took my time.”
After the break, the cars were allowed to draw for re-start position. Patti Ryland drew “first” for her husband and her car.
“I wanted to drive her car in the big race,” Ryland said. “She’s the best. She said she could help me more in the pits – and she was right.”
Myers emerged as Ryland’s top challenger in the final 28 laps.
When Ryland took a comfortable lead, Viscussi III made his move on Myers as they came down the front stretch to the checkered flag. Viscussi III’s front bumper crossed the finish line just inches ahead of Myers’ bumper.
Following third place Myers was Dan McCown of Oakley. Fifth went to Danville’s Jim Freethy. Top runner Nick Baldwin of Oakley took sixth after missing laps to repair a broken ball joint.
Fan favorite Kimo Oreta of Vacaville left the race early after his engine failed, causing his car to catch fire.
Learned in Limited Late Model Stock Cars Mike Learn of Petaluma scored his fourth feature win of the season in the Limited Late Model stock car division. Concord’s Mike Gustafson and Larry Damitz of Vallejo chased him to the finish, but could not make a move on him.
Learn lead wire to wire for the win.
“I had a rough start to a strange season,” he added. “I missed the first three races, then won the next four.”
Limited Late Models A-Main
1 11H Mike Learn
2 2 Mike Gustafson
3 15 Larry Damitz
4 99 Jim Freethy
5 5 Mike Hynes
6 313 Peggy Sue Jarred
7 76A Mark Garner
8 48 John Evans
9 10X Ron Brown
Heat #1
1 76A Mark Garner
2 99 Jim Freethy
3 5 Mike Hynes
4 2 Mike Gustafson
5 313 Peggy Sue Jarred
Heat #2
1 15 Larry Damitz
2 11H Mike Learn
3 48 John Evans
4 10X Ron Brown
Sport Mods A-Main
1 7 Fred Ryland
2 40 Nick Spainhoward
3 1 Rob Gallaher
4 22 Megan Ponciano
5 5 Jeremy Hoff
6 9J Jordan Hagar
7 65 Al Sotomayor
8 22A Adriane Desousa
9 15 Anthony Giuliani
10 2 Chuck Golden
11 96M Paul Mulder
12 11 Lloyd Cline
13 21R Mike Shapiro
14 43 Al Johnson
15 128 Keith Brown Jr
Heat #1
1 40 Nick Spainhoward
2 2 Chuck Golden
3 65 Al Sotomayor
4 9J Jordan Hagar
5 43 Al Johnson
Heat #2
1 96M Paul Mulder
2 7 Fred Ryland
3 1 Rob Gallaher
4 11 Lloyd Cline
5 128 Keith Brown Jr
Heat #3
1 22 Megan Ponciano
2 22A Adriane Desousa
3 21R Mike Shapiro
4 5 Jeremy Hoff
5 15 Anthony Giuliani
Hobby Stocks A-Main
1 7 Fred Ryland
2 13 Nick Viscusi
3 32 Brad Myers
4 25 Dan McCown
5 99 Jim Freethy
6 17 Nick Baldwin
7 6 Robert Sharp
8 77X Kenny Rickner
9 4 Dan Smith
10 11 Christopher Brown
11 57 Michael Cooper
12 3 Kimo Oreta
13 1 Dan Jones
14 40 Natalie Perry
Heat #1
1 4 Dan Smith
2 3 Kimo Oreta
3 57 Michael Cooper
4 17 Nick Baldwin
5 11 Christopher Brown
Heat #2
1 1 Dan Jones
2 32 Brad Myers
3 40 Natalie Perry
4 99 Jim Freethy
5 77X Kenny Rickner
Heat #3
1 6 Robert Sharp
2 13 Nick Viscusi
3 7 Fred Ryland
4 25 Dan McCown
Pages: 1