Here's the unofficial report from Antioch and preview for this week.  Hope the race happens.  Quite a Sprint Car turnout last week.

Eliason Wins Sprint Car Challenge Opener At Antioch Speedway

Antioch, CA...April 1...Cory Eliason won the inaugural 30 lap Sprint Car Challenge Tour Main Event Saturday night at Antioch Speedway.  The new Sprint Car Tour, sponsored by Abreu Vineyards and Elk Grove Ford, was expected to draw a big car count, but it exceeded expectations when 58 teams showed up to race.  Unofficially, this is a record car count for a Sprint Car race at Antioch Speedway.

Eliason breezed through the preliminaries by winning his heat race and Dash 1.  This gave him the pole for the Main Event next to Dash 2 winner Shane Golobic.  Eliason charged into the lead at the start ahead of two time Watsonville champion Golobic and reigning Chico champion Sean Becker.  The race grinded to a halt on lap seven as Kenny Allen flipped.  Despite a pair of mid race yellow flags for Petaluma champion Bradley Terrell and D.J. Netto, Eliason continued to lead the way.  Though Golobic stayed not too far behind him, Eliason set a rapid pace.  In addition to winning the Metal Works Fastest Lap Award, Eliason scored the Main Event victory ahead of Golobic, Becker, Willie Croft and Mitchell Faccinto.

The car count was so big and the competition was so stacked that nine time Civil War Series Sprint Car champion Andy Forsberg had to win the 12 Lap Finley Farms B Main to earn his feature start.  He won that race ahead of King Of the West Series champion Kyle Hirst and Justin Sanders.  There were two C Mains that transferred cars to the B Main.  Justyn Cox won the first C Main ahead of Kurt Nelson, and Tony Gualda won the second one ahead of recent Chowchilla winner Ryan Robinson.  2015 Antioch champion Shawn Arriaga gave the home crowd something to cheer for by holding off rising star Ryan Bernal to win his heat race.  Eliason's heat win came ahead of Geoff Ensign.  Faccinto won his heat ahead of Colton Slack, Becker beat Croft in their heat race and Terrell won his ten lapper in front of Kaleb Henry.

Young Hunter Kinney collected his first career 15 lap BCRA Midget Lites Main Event victory.  After a lap four tangle eliminated Roy Moody and Steve Roza, Kenny found was way into the lead and set a blistering pace from there.  He took the checkered flag a full straightaway ahead of Dakota Albright.  Danika Jo Parker settled for third ahead of Craig Holsted and reigning champion Craig Dillard.

All Star Series racing action continues next week with DIRTcar Late Models, A Modifieds, Wingless Spec Sprints, B Modifieds, Limited Late Models and Hobby Stocks all in action on the fast three-eighth mile clay oval.  For further information, go to  www.antiochspeedway.com.

Race Results
Sprint Car Challenge Series
Heat 1-Mitchell Faccinto, Colton Slack, D.J. Netto.  Heat 2-Cory Eliason, Geoff Ensign, Shane Golobic.  Heat 3-Shawn Arriaga, Ryan Bernal, Andy Gregg.  Heat 4-Bradley Terrell, Kalib Henry, Kenny Allen.  Heat 5-Sean Becker, Willie Croft, Dominic Scelzi.  Dash 1-Eliason, Faccinto.  Dash 2-Golobic, Becker.  C Main 1-Justyn Cox, Kurt Nelson, Matt Perterson.  C Main 2-Tony Gualda, Ryan Robinson, Chase Johnson.  B Main-Andy Forsberg, Kyle Hirst, Justin Sanders, Buddy Kofoid, Steven Tiner.  Main Event-Eliason, Golobic, Becker, Croft, Faccinto, Bernal, Hirst, Forsberg, Sanders, Arriaga,



Six Divisions Race Into Antioch Speedway Saturday Night

Antioch, CA...After the huge Sprint Car opener at Antioch Speedway last week, All Star Series racing action returns this Saturday night to the fast three-eighth mile clay oval.  The stacked six division program features DIRTcar Late Models, Wingless Spec Sprints, A Modifieds, B Modifieds, Limited Late Models and Hobby Stocks.  This week, Promoter John M. Soares is upping the purse in the B Modified and Hobby Stock classes.

The UMP DIRTcar sanctioning is back again for the Late Models.  Antioch is the only track in California with a regular Late Model show,  and two of its regular competitors have won the last two West Region Championships.  It's no surprise that the $2000 Regional prize went to the last two track champions, Jeff Decker (2015) and Richard Papenhausen (2016).  Both drivers are anticipated for the opener.  In fact, both drivers also have A Modifieds, and we will probably see them in that division at some point this season too.

Rob Norris, himself a past A Modified champion, is planning to be there this week, along with last year's "Rookie Of The Year" winner, Mike Hynes.  Speaking of rookie's, Kimo Oreta will be taking the wheel of The Sun Drop Racing Team car this year.  He's already a three time Hobby Stock champion and won the Limited Late Model finale last year on his way to second in points there and top rookie honors.  After getting married last year, David Newquist missed some races, but the two time Top 5 ranked driver should be there for the opener.  Two time Petaluma Speedway champion Paul Guglielmoni, Dennis Souza and Danny Malfatti are others to watch for this week.

The A Modifieds are back for their 28th season, and there's a lot of anticipation in the air.  Future "Hall Of Famer" Scott Busby is on the brink of history.  With 70 career wins just at Antioch Speedway, he needs just three wins to pass the legendary J.D. Willis for the top position on the track's all time win list.  Busby is a five time A Modified champion and may very well be the driver to beat this year.  Carl Berendsen II held him off for his second championship in three years, but Carl has said he's planning to avoid point racing this season.

Bobby Motts Jr. was the 2015 point runnerup, but he enters the season with a heavy heart following the passing of family member Steven Cunningham.  Another past point runnerup in the division, Mike Salazar, is anticipated this week along with last season's third ranked driver, Sean O'Gara.  After a year in B Modifieds, Brian Pearce makes his return to the A Mod division this season.  2016 "Rookie Of The Year" Bobby Montalvo, hard charger Trent Wentworth, Josh Combs and Nick Viscusi III are just some of the drivers to watch for.  There are likely to be some surprises in the field on Saturday.

Wingless Spec Sprints are back for their 18th season, and it's anybody's guess who will win the championship.  We haven't heard the status of reigning champion Jim Perry Jr. or his son Jimmy Perry III.  Rules adjustments left them scrambling to get ready, but this is a team we've learned to never underestimate.  After his second straight runnerup season, Marcus Smith will be back.  James East and Alan Miranda should both be there.  East was looking fast at playday, and Miranda was putting his new motor in his car at last report.  Division veteran Rick Panfili may miss a race finishing preparations on his car.

2016 "Rookie Of The Year" Adam Teves is ready to go, and Shannon Newton, Brandon Burd and ageless veteran Roy Fisher are among the other racers to watch for this week.  The division also has some new drivers.  Third generation racer Abigail Gonderman is making her debut as she moves up from the 4 Banger class.  Past official Josh Floyd gets to go racing, and he'll be wheeling the #02 car that was last driven by the late Jimmy Lavell.  When last we saw the division, a Hawaii native named Boy Moniz won his Antioch Speedway debut.  It's possible that we may be seeing him again this week.

At $500 to win the B Modified feature, it's about double the usual payday.  The competition level is expected to pick up this year, and some top teams are anticipated this week.  With Merced Speedway dark to this division, it's hoped that there could be some visitors from there for the extra money.  They don't come much faster than Trevor Clymens.  The reigning division champion won seven times last season and just may be the driver to beat.  One driver who will have his eyes on the prize is K.C. Keller.  Keller won twice last season and was a Top 5 driver in the standings.

Mark Garner has a B Modified and a Limited Late Model.  We know he's looking to make a run at the Limited Late Model championship, but the bigger prize may entice him to go B Modified racing as well this week.  The Brown Brothers, Ron, Randy and Kevin, will probably field at least one of their cars this week.  Other drivers to watch for include Danny Jones, Chuck Golden, Mike Mates, Megan Ponciano, Tim Hammett and rookie Alfred Johnson.  Alfred's dad is two time runnerup Al Johnson, who will probably be racing in either this class or A Modifieds.  Al took a nasty tumble in the New Year's Bash race, but the car should be back together for Alfred to race.

There's a shadow hanging over the Limited Late Model division with the passing of future "Hall Of Famer" Larry Damitz.  Larry was the champion for the fifth time in six years last season.  Two drivers we expect to step up and run for the championship are Kimo Oreta and Mark Garner, who finished second and third, respectively, last season.  Garner won five Main Events.  There's another veteran of some 40 years of racing that nobody should be ignoring.  He's the division's all time feature win leader and two time champion Mike "The Blue Knight" Gustafson.  Should he decide to make his presence known in the point battle, he may prove difficult to beat.

Likewise, past champion Lori Brown had her car dialed in last year and was in the hunt for a feature win before the season ended.  Jim Freethy bears the distinction of being the only driver in the last six years to beat Damitz for a championship.  He missed races last year, but he got his new car sorted out and won a Main Event along the way.  Top 5 Petaluma competitor Ryan Cherezian, the steady John Evans, Paul Hanley, John "The Bear" Keith and Buddy Kniss are other drivers too watch for this week.  Kniss won the Dwarf Car "Rookie Of The Year" title last year, and the teen leadfoot decided it was time to move up.  Baseball season may effect how much racing he does.

The Hobby Stocks open with a $300 to win race and a question of who will be the new champion.  The only drivers currently with Antioch legal Hobby Stocks who have won the championship are the husband and wife team of Brad and Melissa Myers, and the extra money could lure them out for a race.  Melissa won twice last season.  Danny Jones appears to be back, and he carries the experience advantage over the rest of the pack in the Ryan Thomason owned car.  However, it was another Hobby Stock veteran, Chris Long, who won the New Year's Bash.  Long could also prove tough to beat this year.  Another Chris, Chris Sorensen, has both a B Modified and a Hobby Stock and may see action in both classes this year.

The driver nobody should be ignoring is Michael Cooper.  If not for his work schedule, he would be a definite title contender.  Even with that, he's a threat to win when he's there.  Brother in law Jordan Swank is another driver to watch.  Swank is coming off of back to back Top 3 point seasons.  Jordan's cousin, Cameron Swank, is also a fast competitor.  There are lots of talented racers to watch for his week, including Frank Furtado, Natalie Perry, Lindsey Buirch, Russell Shearer, Robert Niven and Anthony Vigna.  There are some rookies to watch for this season, led by fourth generation racer Billy Garner, Chris Bennett and Sid Smith.

Saturday night is an action packed program of All Star Series Racing.  With DIRTcar Late Models, A Modifieds, Wingless Spec Sprints, B Modifieds, Limited Late Models and Hobby Stocks all on the card, this will be a show you won't want to miss.  For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.