Antioch Speedway
June 6, 2015
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Arriaga Snatches Win From McCarthy in Winged 360 Sprint Car Feature; Veteran Driver Busby Battles Young Kyle Wilson for IMCA Modified Win

Oval Motorsports
ANTIOCH, Calif. (June 6) - Shawn Arriaga of Antioch made a daring last lap, last turn, inside pass to snatch victory away from San Joseʼs Art McCarthy in the Northern All Stars Winged Sprint Car main event Saturday night at Antioch Speedway. Back to back thrills came as Scott Busby battled Kyle Wilson side by side for nearly half of the International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) modified stock car main event prior to Arriagaʼs Win.

Early in the program, Larry Damitz of Vallejo dodged spinning cars and fenderbenders to win the Northern All Stars Limited Late Model Feature. In the Hobby Stock main event, Kimo Oreta of Vacaville came from the back of the pack after changing a flat tire to top leader Chris Sorensen of El Sobrante.

The Northern All Stars Wingless Sprint Car feature had to be red-flagged with leader Jim Perry III being awarded the win after a two-car backstretch flips involving Kyle Bakkie III of Citrus Heights and Jeremy Newberry of Brentwood.

McCarthy Admonishes Arriaga in Victory Lane

“That wasnʼt cool!” veteran sprint car racer McCarthy said to Arriaga as the two met in victory lane. Young Arriaga tried to hug McCarthy after the win. At first McCarthy shunned Arriagaʼs gesture.

The move, in which Arriaga used every inch inside of McCarthy and the inner edge of the track, could have sent both cars into a spin or worse.

“I didnʼt mean to race like that – itʼs the last lap of a short track race – it kind of takes over your instincts,” Arriaga told McCarthy

Fans hooted and hollered a full ten minutes after the race.

“I had a head of steam going into the last turn,” Arriaga tried to explain. “I tried to hug Art (McCarthy) on the inside. It turned to be very risky.”

Third place Dustin Golobic of Fremont had the birdʼs eye view of the move. He was waiting for the miscue that would hand him the win. It was his first race at Antioch Speedway.

“If it had gone a few more laps, I know I would have caught the both of them,” said Golobic, who came on strong in the last five laps, passing Jeremy Burt from Grass Valley in the process. “It was fun to be where I was and see what happened in front of me.”

When the drivers calmed down, smiles prevailed, and McCarthy got philosophical about the win being taken from him.

“It is what it is,” he said. “Shawn is like a son to me. It isnʼt good to give up a race that you led from start to the last lap. If Iʼm going to be beaten like that, Iʼd rather it be Shawn (Arriaga) who did it.

Busby Knows the Speedway Better than Anyone

Scott Busby is a living legend in California stock car racing and is said to be the stateʼs most winning driver of all time. He showed newcomer Kyle Wilson of Salinas that he still had a few tricks as the two raced side-by-side and clean for the checkered flag in the IMCA Modified feature.

“He (Busby) has been racing and winning since well before I was born,” said 21- year-old Wilson. “With him having all those years of experience, I was smiling that I was able to race alongside him like that.”

A tense moment on the last lap saw Clarence Holbrook of Galt spin sideways in the third and fourth turns, with Busby backing off just enough to miss him while keeping ahead of Wilson.

Busby just picked off drivers one by one until he reached Wilson.

“I was worried in the beginning because I had to come from the back,” Busby said. “But it turned out to be a great race – all the guys drove their lines. I was able to run down low or up high. It was a great race on a great track.”

Busby offered compliments and encouragement to Wilson in victory lane.

“If you had won, I would be just as happy as I am now,” Busby told Wilson. “The day is coming when our first and second place finishes will be reversed.”

Third went to Bobby Motts of San Pablo, closely followed by Carl Berendsen and Mike Salazar, both from Antioch.

Crazy Night of Crashes for Wingless Sprinters

“There were quite a few nasty crashes to avoid,” said Wingless Sprint Car Feature winner Jim Perry III of Concord. “Luckily I was in the front of the pack most of the time.”

The first incident resulting in a car turning over was when Marcus Smith of Manteca and Kyle Standley from Marysville tangled in the third turn. Smith went for a tumble and Standley was able to continue. On the restart, it was Standley flipping on the front stretch.

After more than half the event was completed, Newberry and Bakkie both entered into a frightening double flip down the backstretch. None of the drivers were injured.

After a prolonged red flag, Perry was named winner of the event.

“We had all the bugs worked out of the car, and it was able to perform well enough to stay up front,” Perry III added. Alan Miranda of Fairfield was second.

Damitz Untouchable

The oldest race driver continuously competing in a top division, Damitz continued the winning ways he began in 1952. His car smashed front and rear, he was able to win the Limited Late Model Feature with a quarter lap lead over second place Paul Hanley of Emerald Hills and Alamoʼs John Evans, who finished third.

Top cars crashed or suffered mechanical failure. Eliminated were front-runners Brian Zachary of Oakley, Mike Gustafson of Concord, Mark Garner of Antioch and Mike Hynes of Suisun City.

“I donʼt understand what happened out there tonight,” Damitz said. “But it was a terrible night for those guys.”

Oreta Comeback

Oreta raced the first half of the race with a softening tire after he made contact with a competitor on the opening lap. In the meantime, Sorensen, in his first race since 2010, began thinking the race was his.

While Sorenson and fellow season first-timer Brent Curran of Antioch raced one two, Oreta started back in the pack of the 15 car field. The tire change put him in the rear with about 10 laps to go.

“No, no, no, I didnʼt ever think I would catch him or win after having a flat tire,” Oreta said in victory lane. “When I came back out I found the groove down low that no one was running in. I put the tire on the inside hump of the track and raced as hard as I could.”

Oreta knew driving the shortest distance around the oval would pay off, and it did. Sorenson was passed late in the race and had to settle for second, with Curran, Russell Shearer of Bay Point and Frank Furtado of Antioch following.

“I tried,” Sorenson said in victory lane. “Kimo has a great car and he is a great driver. Itʼs been a long time for me – but Iʼll be back.”

IMCA Modifieds, DIRTcar Late Models Return This Saturday Night

The fastest stock car classes on dirt - the IMCA Modifieds and the DIRTcar Late Models headline the five-division show Saturday night at Antioch Speedway. The Hobby Stock, Dwarf Car aqnd Vintage Hard Top classes will complete the card. All five divisions will have qualifying races and feature events.

Antioch Speedway is located within the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds, 1201 W. 10th St. in Antioch, Calif. Admission is $15 for adults, $12 for senior citizens, and $10 for children 6-12. Children under six years old are admitted free. A family four pack of
tickets is $40. Secured parking is offered by the Fairgrounds for $5. Racing begins at 6:30 p.m.

Winged 360 Sprints

A-Main
1 56 Shawn Arriaga
2 19 Art Mccarthy
3 9J Dustin Golobic
4 2B Jeremy Burt
5 6 Chase Wood
6 7 Jake Haulot
7 77 Chris Magoon
8 18 Brayden Mcmahan
9 5 Ricky Brophy
10 8 Dan Gonderman

Heat #1
1 2B Jeremy Burt
2 19 Art Mccarthy
3 18 Brayden Mcmahan
4 5 Ricky Brophy
5 77 Chris Magoon

Heat #2
1 7 Jake Haulot
2 9J Dustin Golobic
3 56 Shawn Arriaga
4 8 Dan Gonderman
5 6 Chase Wood


IMCA Modifieds

A-Main
1 73 Scott Busby
2 39 Kyle Wilson
3 U81 Bobby Motts
4 88 Carl Berendsen
5 29 Mike Salazar
6 396 Alex Willson
7 72 Shawn Deforest
8 44 Dean Devolder
9 80 John Pierce
10 91 Anthony Copeland
11 74 Chris Elby
12 86U John Digiovanni
13 14 Clarence Holbrook
14 46 Dustin Himes
15 59 Bill Wallace
16 141 Trent Wentworth

Heat #1
1 88 Carl Berendsen
2 141 Trent Wentworth
3 396 Alex Willson
4 72 Shawn Deforest
5 44 Dean Devolder
6 14 Clarence Holbrook

Heat #2
1 29 Mike Salazar
2 73 Scott Busby
3 80 John Pierce
4 59 Bill Wallace
5 46 Dustin Himes

Heat #3
1 39 Kyle Wilson
2 U81 Bobby Motts
3 74 Chris Elby
4 91 Anthony Copeland
5 86U John Digiovanni


Limited Late Models

A-Main
1 15 Larry Damitz
2 22 Paul Hanley
3 48 John Evans
4 2 Mike Gustafson
5 99 Brian Zachary
6 25K Jeff Kendrick
7 76A Mark Garner
8 5 Mike Hynes
9 65 Lori Brown

Heat #1
1 15 Larry Damitz
2 99 Brian Zachary
3 76A Mark Garner
4 22 Paul Hanley
5 25K Jeff Kendrick

Heat #2
1 5 Mike Hynes
2 2 Mike Gustafson
3 65 Lori Brown
4 48 John Evans


Hobby Stocks

A-Main
1 3 Kimo Oreta
2 0 Chris Sorenson
3 89 Brent Curran
4 84 Russell Shearer
5 81 Frank Furtado
6 57 Michael Cooper
7 66 Dan Jones
8 69Z Robert Niven
9 90 Chase Templeton
10 11 Christopher Brown
11 73 Jordan Swank
12 21 Swank Cameron
13 66X Jessica Jones
14 40 Natalie Perry

Heat #1
1 0 Chris Sorenson
2 21 Swank Cameron
3 11 Christopher Brown
4 40 Natalie Perry
5 84 Russell Shearer
6 90 Chase Templeton
7 66X Jessica Jones

Heat #2
1 3 Kimo Oreta
2 73 Jordan Swank
3 57 Michael Cooper
4 66 Dan Jones
5 89 Brent Curran
6 69Z Robert Niven
7 81 Frank Furtado


Econo Sprints

A-Main
1 21P Jim Perry
2 11B Alan Miranda
3 62 Jeremy Newberry
4 19 Kyle Bakkie
5 21 Roy Fisher
6 6 Chase Wood Jr.
7 44 Rick Panfili
8 54 Kyle Standley
9 28 Marcus Smith
10 24 David Dias
11 11 Rick Brophy
12 9 Paul Van Denberg

Heat #1
1 62 Jeremy Newberry
2 11B Alan Miranda
3 19 Kyle Bakkie
4 28 Marcus Smith
5 11 Rick Brophy
6 24 David Dias

Heat #2
1 54 Kyle Standley
2 44 Rick Panfili
3 21P Jim Perry
4 21 Roy Fisher
5 6 Chase Wood Jr.
6 9 Paul Van Denberg