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IMCA Modifieds, Ted Stofle Classic Qualifier Part Of Merced Speedway Show
04/28/17 at 4:23pm
 
IMCA Modifieds, Ted Stofle Classic Qualifier Part Of Merced Speedway Lineup Saturday Night


Merced, CA...On the heels of last week's exciting BCRA Midget race, Merced Speedway returns to action this Saturday night with an exciting five division show. The Hobby Stocks have been added to the program, and the Top 4 finishers will earn starting spots in the May 6th Ted Stofle Classic. IMCA Modifieds are back after a week off, and the IMCA Sport Modifieds, Mini Stocks and Mini Late Models are also part of the show.

Reigning champion Randy Brown leads the IMCA Modified field back to Merced this week. During the week off, Brown headed back to Ocean Speedway, where he won back in September. He was in contention again before problems derailed his effort. Brown was third in the All Star Series race two weeks ago at Merced, and he still seems to be the driver to beat in the championship battle. However, the season is just getting started, and there are some drivers who might disagree with that assessment.

Tim Cecil, Ryan Porter, Chris Shannon and past Hanford champion Mike Villaneuva were the only other locals that made the star studded Main Event. After his win in this big race last year, multi time champion Ramie Stone was hoping to repeat his success, but he had problems in the B Main and didn't finish. Porter and R. Stone are two drivers who could give Brown a run for the money this week. While it won't be the 48 car field we saw two weeks ago, a field of 14-18 competitors seems likely this week. Bruce "Bubba'" Nelson is hoping to back up his recent Chowchilla win with a Merced victory after the two time Hobby Stock champion also missed the big All Star Series Main Event. Other stars to watch for include Ryan Larimer, Ricky Thatcher, past champion Bill Egleston, Derek Nance, D.J. Shannon and Jeff Streeter.

Four Hobby Stock competitors are already locked into the Ted Stofle Classic on May 6th. This includes Garrett Corn, who won the most recent Main Event ahead of Micheal Shearer, Shannon Nelson and past champion Marc Key. Corn was rebounding from a DNF at the opener. Shannon Nelson was a Main Event winner in 2015. When she returned late last season and spun out while running fourth, she was just a bit upset with herself. Her heat win and third place finish last week shows that she's back in winning form again. This follows her Top 5 finish at the opener.

Chances are good that there could be enough cars to have a B Main at the Ted Stofle Classic, and nobody wants to be stuck in that race at the risk of missing the big feature. Two drivers to watch this week are Chowchilla residents Kodie Dean and Austin Van Hoff. Dean won the season opener and had a second place finish recently in Chowchilla. Van Hoff has won multiple Main Events at Merced, and he finished sixth behind Dean last week. 2015 champion Kevin Joaquin hasn't had a good start so far, and he'll be looking to rebound this week. Robbie Loquaci, Darren Miguel, Tony Peffer, Jerry Tubbs and Mike Stockton are other drivers to watch this week.

Shifting gears to the IMCA Sport Modified division. With a pair of Top 3 finishes going into last week, 2015 IMCA State champion Fred Ryland held a slim one point lead over Jeremy Hoff, who also had two Top 5 finishes. Like Ryland, Hoff is a past Antioch Speedway Sport Mod champion. The race is still close with Ryland leading after Ryland was third and Hoff finished fifth last week. Rick Diaz appears to have stepped out of the championship picture after missing the latest race. Of course, whether he's in the point battle or not, Diaz is a threat to win any time he's there.

The stars last week were third generation racer T.J. Etchison and second generation racer Chris Falkenberg. Falkenberg led several laps, but the past Chowchilla Hobby Stock champion was passed by Etchison and would settle for second. What's interesting is the fact that we have three different winners in three races as Diaz and Chuck Weir are the other two winners. Weir settled for tenth last week, which keeps him atop the rookie leader board. It should be a competitive field this week, and other drivers to watch for include brothers Chase and Tanner Thomas, Paul Espino, Tim Elias, Dwayne Short and Jarred Tickel, who finished fourth last week.

Everybody knows the Keldsen family at Ocean Speedway. They've been racing and winning there for almost five decades now. The latest member of the family to go racing is D.J. Keldsen, and he's the 2016 Mini Stock champion at Watsonville. It appears as if Watsonville isn't enough for D.J., who has won both Main Events in Merced. Another strange occurrence is the fact that the top Corder in Mini Stocks right now is Jennifer Corder, who recently won the Main Event at Chowchilla. Brother Chris Corder, who has won a championship in each of his last three seasons, took a nasty tumble in his #48 Mini Stock at Chowchilla that day. Both Corders have two Top 5 finishes, and they are within six points of Keldsen.

If the Corder Racing Team is looking to get a win, you also can't count out second generation racer Lucy Falkenberg, who sits fourth in the standings after two races. If D.J. is racing, we might be seeing his brother Cody Keldsen, who made his debut in second at the recent Chowchilla race. Third ranked 2016 competitor Destiny Carter is expected this week as part of Corder Racing. Jason Womak and Paul Laoretti are among the others to watch for this week.

With the rain claiming their first race, the Mini Late Models headed to Dixon recently. Timmy Vaught went on record as the first Mini Late Model winner in California by sweeping the heat, Main Event and Trophy Dash ahead off Timmy Crews. These two are anticipated this week along with Riley Jeppesen and Ian Shearer. Michael Shearer is the California Sharp Mini Late Model dealer, and he's hoping to build up a presence in Merced. At Dixon, Kart star Brody "The Bully" Armtrout drove the Jeppesen car to a third in the Main Event. It will be interesting to see how this division progresses and who the next new driver will be.

Saturday night will be a great night of racing at Merced Speedway with IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Mini Stocks and Mini Late Models. For further information, go to www.racemerced.com.
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