As always, I am unofficial, just trying to help the cause...

IMCA Modifieds, Sprint Cars Headline At Antioch Speedway

Antioch, CA...It's been two weeks since there was racing at Antioch Speedway, but the action returns to the fast, three-eighths mile clay oval this Saturday night.  The IMCA Modifieds, Winged 360 Sprint Cars, Wingless Spec Sprints, Limited Late Models and Hobby Stocks will be on the card this week.

The battle between Scott Busby of Martinez and San Pablo's Bobby Motts Jr. continues in IMCA Modifieds.  The two time winner Busby finished third last time out and took the lead by just four points ahead of the one time winner.  Motts ended up in a crash, though he still took a checkered flag several spots behind Busby.  Motts will be out for some redemption this week.

Speaking of redemption, the last two times defending champion Carl Berendsen II of Antioch was in the hunt for a win, he ended up being spun from a Top 3 spot.  Carl has a fast car, but he's still getting comfortable as he goes for his first win.  Carl has a not too comfortable six point lead over Manteca's Dustin Himes in the battle or third.  Previous winner Jeff Thomas of Petaluma, Mike Salazar of Antioch and the Wilson brothers of Salinas, Alex and Kyle, are others who could be there.

With three races in the books, there have been three different winners in the Winged Sprint Car division.  The list includes two of this season's regulars, Jake Haulot of Cotati and San Jose's Art McCarthy.  Haulot's win still didn't gain him the lead from Antioch's Shawn Arriaga, who finished third and won his heat race last time out.

The division is still being established, and there have been 12 different winners in the last 12 races.  The top 4 drivers in points have all won during that time frame, and chances are good that one of them will win.  Brentwood's Chris Magoon is the 2014 champion and is tied with McCarthy for third in points.  San Jose's Brandon Powell just passed Antioch's Dan Gonderman in a close battle for fifth.

With three wins, Kyle Bakkie holds a 26 point lead over Rick Panfili of Antioch in the Wingless Spec Sprint division.  Bakkie won the most recent race, while Panfili passed Fairfield's Alan Miranda on the last lap in that race to finish third.  Panfili has competed in this class since it started in 1999 and is looking for his first career win.

The Bakkie win came after a late race pass on Antioch's Roy Fisher, who seemed headed for his third win up until then.  Fisher will be competing in one of the two Sprint Car classes on Saturday.  Others to watch for include impressive rookie Marcus Smith of Tracy, NFL alumni Jeremy Newberry of Brentwood and Concord's Jimmy Perry III.

Vallejo's Larry Damitz has been the driver to beat in Limited Late Models with three wins in six races.  The three time champion holds an 18 point lead over Antioch's Mark Garner.  Garner is a one time winner at Antioch and leads the points at Merced Speedway.  With two wins in his last three starts, Concord's Mike Gustafson is 24 points out of the lead in third.

Word out of Hayward is that Calvin Louis is set to debut his new car.  It was just two races ago when 2013 champion Jim Freethy of Brentwood debuted his new car.  Freethy finished second to Gustafson last time and seems poised to get a win.  Lori Brown of Antioch, Mike Hynes of Suisun and Peggy Sue Jarred of Antioch are others anticipated for this race.

Kimo Oreta of Vacaville holds a commanding lead in Hobby Stocks and is coming off of back to back feature wins.  The battle is for second between Castro Valley's Danny Jones, Michael Cooper of Bay Point and rookie Jordan Swank of Concord.  Only six points separate the three, and all are gunning for their first wins of the season.  Jones has three seconds and Swank is coming off of a career best third place finish.

The division has become very competitive and unpredictable this season, and Antioch's Frank Furtado has moved into a career best fifth in points.  Others to watch for this week include past champion Dan McCown of Antioch, Cameron Swank of Concord, Natalie Perry of Antioch and Robert Niven of Concord.

Saturday's race should be a good one.  Antioch Speedway is located within the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds, 1201 W. 10th St. in Antioch, Calif. Racing begins at 6:30 p.m.

Top 5 In Points At A Glance

IMCA Modifieds

Scott Busby        217
Bobby Motts        213
Carl Berendsen II  165
Dustin Himes        159
Jeff Thomas        130

Winged 360 Sprints

Shawn Arriaga     144
Jake Haulot       138
Chris Magoon     130
Art McCarthy       130
Brandon Powell     84

Wingless Spec Sprints

Kyle Bakkie     344
Rick Panfili     318
Marcus Smith     296
Alan Miranda    264
Roy Fisher     248

Limited Late Model

Larry Damitz     310
Mark Garner     292
Mike Gustafson     286
Mike Hynes     284
Jim Freethy     266  

Hobby Stocks

Kimo Oreta     474
Danny Jones    325
Michael Cooper     3200
Jordan Swank     319
Frank Furtado    284

Some brief notes...

This is the beginning of a busy month for IMCA Modifieds.  They will race four times this month, including the big money, two race weekend at the end of June (26-27).  It will be interesting to see how that effects the Busby-Motts battle.  Been also keeping an eye on Carl Berendsen II and Mike Salazar as I have a feeling at least of of them will win a feature soon.  It would be the first for Berendsen.

IMCA Modifieds and Hobby Stocks are probably the big car count of the night.  Still nervous about Modifieds, though I see them hitting double digits.  I'm hearing rumors of the season debut of past champion Dan McCown, Jessica Jones and Brent Curran in Hobby Stocks.  Car count could pop again in this division.

Limited Late Models have an outside shot at ten cars, but I see eight as more realistic.  Calvin Louis could be there, and I'm thinking Ryan Cherezian may make an appearance.  Louis has a nice car.  We'll see what he does with it, but he had his moments in Late Models and American Stocks in the past.  Actually, rumor has it that Calvin Jr. may get to drive it.

I was hoping the Winged Sprint Cars could break into the ten car bracket, but with word that one of the Brophy cars may not make it and Ryan Timmons aiming for the next race, that seems less than likely.  Need to get more word out about this effort.  This division remains a work in progress at Antioch, but we could still see eight cars.  The top point players should all be there.

Likewise, I suspect the top point runners will show up in Wingless Spec Sprints.  It could see ten cars once again.  It's been a struggle making the switch over to the "Econo" rules package, and some drivers were lost to elsewhere in the process.  Still, things are coming along, and the racing has been close.  I think we're about to see a first time winner, but I'm not sure who.  Marcus Smith, Rick Panfili and Alan Miranda are looking.

Overall, it should be a pretty good show.  The Summer Nationals of late June is the event to mark on your calender.  Most of the divisions race that weekend, IMCA Mods and Sport Mods race both nights and Late Models are running Saturday.  NASCAR racer Kenny Wallace will drive a Modified and a Late Model, not to mention anything else a car owner is willing to put him in.  The dates again are June 26-27 and the track's website will have more information.