Sort of ran out of time on the Merced race preview, but I did have a late night putting something together for Corder Racing.  Been wanting to do an article on Chris Corder for a while now, so I decided to do one for The DCRR Blog and share it here.

Corder Racing Is About more Than Winning, It's About Family

Down in Modesto, there's a racing team that has quietly emerged as one of the top Mini Stock teams in California.  That would be Corder Racing.  Driving the red #68c car, Chis Corder is already a two time Mini Stock champion.  And, his sister Jennifer has already racked up back to back runner up seasons racing at Merced Speedway.

Rewinding back to 2011 on the pavement of Stockton 99 Speedway, the brother and sister duo ran the Basically 4 Cylinder division, where Jennifer ranked fifth that season.  Chris finished just outside the Top 10 in 12th, but he moved up to 7th a year later while Jennifer repeated her fifth place status.  While Jennifer slipped back just a bit to seventh in 2013, Chris stepped it up and had a strong season in third.  He also ran a Pure Stock that year and was ninth.

But, the two decided it was time to head down Highway 99 to the dirt of Merced Speedway.  The team's shop, C&C Wholesale of Modesto, was adding cars, and these days they have about a half dozen Mini Socks.  In fact, Chris added a yellow Mini Truck earlier this year, which would have been perfect in the division Merced had back in the 1990's.  "Another addition to Corder Racing, " he remarked at the time.  "Should be fun.  I'm thinking I need a 2 story parking garage."

In 2014, Chris and Jennifer hit Merced Speedway like a tidal wave as they ranked first and second in  the Mini Stock class.  In fact, teammate Brian Widdowson made it a Corder Racing sweep of the podium that year.  Things were looking up for the team.  Jennifer went through with her plans to move up to Hobby Stocks for a run at "Rookie Of The Year" honors, while Chris set his sights on a repeat.

On January 4th of 2015, Chris grabbed one of the biggest wins of his career in the West Coast Nationals at Chowchilla.  The victory firmly established him as the driver to beat in that track's championship battle.  It was in March of that year when tragedy struck the Corder family with the passing of Chris and Jennifer's father, Chris Corder Sr.

Rather than slow down, the two decided to pay tribute to him by racing hard and going about succeeding in their goals.  Chris got off to a strong start, despite no wins at Merced, and he was the early point leader.  He led at Chowchilla as well.  Jennifer was in command in the Hobby Stock rookie battle, and she soon found herself ranked second in points.  Though the win was eluding her, she managed to pick up some Top 5 finishes and was learning more every week.

But for Chris, he couldn't seem to get that Merced win no matter what he did.  As a staunch supporter of Mini Stocks, he often provided two cars to the cause, and it was Robert Alger picking up a win for the team during the first half of the season.  Chris soon lost the lead to the red hot Darren Miguel, who was winning everything in sight.  He was joined in the pits by another teammate, past champion Alex Odishoo.

It wasn't all stress over points, however.  Corder supplied a couple of Mini Stocks to a special July 4th weekend, three day Rodeo Arena Figure 8 event at the Alameda County Fair.  He shared driving duties with Widdowson and Mat Schlessinger.  It was a fun experience for the team, and the crowd enjoyed the show.  Even better, Corder Racing took home an $1100 paycheck for their time.

Though Chowchilla seemed to be well in hand for Chris, he wanted a win at Merced.  Odishoo was looking for a win as well in his red, white and blue #48 car, but he was fighting a problem that saw his car run strong, only to misfire with about five laps to go in the Main Event.  Alex did finally get a win at Chowchilla before selling his car and those problems to Corder.  This was a risky move for Chris, who could ill afford to lose points to Miguel if he wanted to win that championship.

Chris was determined to get that car to run right, and he did.  He solved the motor problem and grabbed a win with six races to go in the season.  Then, he grabbed another win, and another.  Suddenly, we had a show down brewing between Corder and Miguel, and he was heading into the last race with a shot.  The car change might have hurt him in the second to last race, but Chris knew he had a winning car.

Meanwhile, Jennifer's goal turned out even better than she had hoped.  She easily won "Rookie Of The Year" honors, but she also finished second in the standings.  Chris dabbled in the Hobby Stock class, but his lone appearance resulted in a blown motor.  Rather than worry about that, he focused his efforts on the Mini Stocks.  This included the beautiful blue #24 car, which was the last car built by his dad.  Jennifer got behind the wheel and took it to a fourth place finish.

Entering the finale, Chris did all he could.  He collected his fourth win in the last six events.  Miguel was not far behind him, meaning Miguel won the championship, but only by two points.  Chris was the Chowchilla champion, however, and he ended the season at that track by sweeping the heat, main and dash in the final race that year.  Not a bad way to end a season, but he wasn't done.

Chris headed to Porterville in November for the special Turkey Shootout race, and he won the big money race there.  At this point, there truly was no hotter driver on the Mini Stock circuit in California than Chris Corder.  With all of the racing done, Chris got a party bus to make sure he and his friends could go to the awards banquet in Antioch and celebrate in style.

Though he has found his niche, he's not just sticking with Mini Stocks.  He does have a Sport Mod in the works.  Teammate Alex Odishoo also has a rather nice looking Sport Mod, which means that eventually the two friends will be battling for position in another division.

But, Corder Racing has added a new teammate to their ranks.  It's young Destiny Carter.  For years, Destiny and her mother Dawn Carter went to Merced Speedway.  When Dawn lived back east, she had a local track that she grew up at, and she wanted that for her daughter.  From the time before she could even crawl, Destiny has been going to Merced Speedway.  As she grew up, she caught that racing bug.

Destiny has done what she can to help the track through promoting it on social media.  When she could help a team during the week and learn about race cars, she would do it.  On race day, she would help too, and that led her to the Corder Racing pit area.  Knowing Destiny's passion for the sport, and given the strength she has shown in difficult times, which includes maintaining good grades in school, Chris put a car together for her.

Destiny is excited about racing this season.  "I don't know how much more I can ask for, " she admitted.  "This year will be my rookie year of racing.  As much as I'm excited, I am so nervous, but I will be doing it for my mom. I couldn't ever thank these guys enough for welcoming me into the family and giving me this opportunity."

Destiny put a lot of thought into the car number and the colors on the car.  She will run the #82c.  This is not a reference to former Merced and Chowchilla competitor Dennis Clay, who had the same number.  The #8 is her favorite number and #2 is the age in which she became an aunt for the first time.  The c, of course, is for Corder Racing.  The purple on the car is her mother's favorite color, and the blue is Corder Racing blue.

Destiny's first practice had some mechanical issues, but she still got to take the car out on the racing surface for the first time.  Last week, she experienced a bit of excitement with some contact on the track, but she still learned quite a bit.  "I'm feeling it today, " she admitted the next day.  "I'm officially a racer. First door slam of my career, but I felt like I did good and my family is proud, so I'm happy."

Destiny eagerly awaits the season opener on Saturday (April 2) which features Mini Stocks along with IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds and Hobby Stocks,  She knows her mother will be looking down from above and still very proud of her, not just because she is living her dream of being a race car driver.  Destiny continues to move forward in life despite the setbacks, and she's giving it 100% effort every day.

As for Chris Corder, there's no bragging coming from him.  He's done some good things in a race car and put other racers behind the wheel, but he's not looking for the accolades.  It's just the kind of guy he is.  "Chris continues to amaze me with his kindness and generosity, " said long time friend Frank Lopez. "I have always told people he is the guy who would give the shirt off his back to someone in need, and he continues to do things like this. I'm sure Destiny is a great young lady, and I'm glad she has this racing community behind her."

So, Corder Racing will be well represented at Merced Speedway this year.  You'll have Jennifer Corder in her blue #13 Hobby Stock as she pursues her first feature victory.  Chris will be back, as will the #48 Sport Mod of Alex Odishoo.  And, there will be Destiny Carter as well.  It really is  people like Chris and Jennifer Corder and the whole team who hep make Merced Speedway such a special place to race.  More information on this weekend's races at Merced Speedway and other track information can be found at www.racemerced.com