Ted Stofle Classic This Saturday Night At Merced Speedway

Merced, CA....We have memorial races to remember great racers of the past, and Merced Speedway has a big event this Saturday night.  This will be the 16th running of the Ted Stofle Classic.  The Hobby Stocks are the featured class for this show with IMCA Modifieds and Sport Mods also on the card, and the event pays tribute to one of the greatest Stock Car drivers in California history, Ted Stofle.

You'd be hard pressed to find a better driver than Stofle in the 1970's.  From 1975 to 1980, nobody could beat him for the Merced Speedway championship, and he racked up several championships between Watsonville, Madera and the NASCAR Stock Car State point race.  He won over 100 Main Events in a six year span.  When he died in a tragic hunting accident in 1980, the racing community mourned the loss of a true legend.  Ted will be in the Merced Speedway "Hall Of Fame" as soon as it's established.

In those early years of the race, the Late Models ran 89 laps in honor of Ted.  Ray Morgan won the race three times and Jeff Silva won it twice.  After 11 seasons as a Late Model race, the Street Stocks got the race.  It was an exciting send off for the race.  Tom Key won as Dell Humbert spun while going for the lead on the last lap.  The race went away for over 20 years before Doug Williams spoke with the Stofle family about bringing it back.  Doug raced with Ted and felt pretty strongly that the race needed to be brought back as a Merced Speedway tradition.  The Stofle family agreed.  They even brought back Ted's old championship car as the official pace car of the race.

The Hobby Stock portion of the show went 50 laps in 2014, won by Syd Finn.  Last year, it was Phillip Vaughn winning the 30 lapper, while Nick Spainhoward won the 30 lap IMCA Sport Modified portion and Ethan Dotson won the 29 lap IMCA Modified race.  In 2016, the race ran 89 laps as a Hobby Stock race, and Michael Shearer scored the victory.  The format will equal 89 Main Event laps as is tradition.  Hobby Stocks have been taking prequalifers for the race as there is a chance that car count may require a B Main.  Nobody wants to be stuck in the B Main for this event.

Last week, Kodie Dean recorded his second win of the season and earned a starting spot in the big race along with Donnie Shearer, Robbie Loquaci and Mike Stockton.  Garrett Corn, M. Shearer, Shannon Nelson and Marc Key earned their starts with Top 4 finishes the week before.  Things are already getting interesting in points between, Dean, M. Shearer and Nelson, and double points are on the line this time.  There are several drivers capable of picking up the big win, including Darren Miguel, George Silva, Kristie Shearer, Kevin Joaquin and Austin Van Hoff.  It's possible that Bruce "Bubba" Nelson may pull double duty for this race.

The IMCA Sport Modified portion of the Ted Stofle Classic will be huge.  We're already seeing an interesting battle at the top between Fred Ryland, Chuck Weir, Chris Falkenberg, Jeremy Hoff and Rick Diaz.  What makes it even more interesting is that point leader Ryland has thus far been shut out of the win column.  The consistent Hoff is still looking for his first win as well.  The surprising Weir and T.J. Etchison have won features, while Diaz has two wins.  The battle is just getting started, and there are sure to be several more winners before the season ends.

Past champion Matt Sotomayor is a welcome addition to the roster.  The second generation racer has returned to California and is already getting Top 5 finishes.  When you start talking about who could win this big race, Sotomayor is a driver to consider.  Another second generation racer, Chase Thomas, is one to watch.  He was a feature winner last season, and he grabbed a heat win last week.  Tim Elias, 2015 champion Josh Hensley, Mark Odgers and Cody Parker are a few others to watch for.

As if the local stars aren't enough, the West Coast Sport Mod Tour will kick off their season after three straight rainouts.  The Tour has over 40 signed members, and they are chomping at the bit to get the season started.   Reigning IMCA State champion Brian Cooper will lead the charge after winning two races last week in Chico and Marysville.  Jerry Bartlett, Todd Cooper, Philip Shelby, Alan Faruta, Mike Merritt, Guy Ahlwardt, 2014 State champion Nick Spainhoward and State point leader Shane DeVolder are among those anticipated for the big race.

After losing a good battle with Ethan Dotson last week, reigning IMCA Modified champion Randy Brown will be looking for the winner's circle this week.  Multi time champion Ramie Stone hasn't had a very good start so far, but he is a driver who could turn it around with a win on any given night.  The Shannon Racing Team will also be fast as past champion Chris and son D.J. are running strong enough to win now.  There's also last year's top rookie, Bruce "Bubba" Nelson.  He already has a win at Chowchilla, but he's hungry for his first win at his home track.

Past champion Bill Egleston is another star who we know can win at any time.  Ted Stofle Classic night is a night on which everybody wants to get a win.  You can't count out such hard chargers as Ryan Larimer, fourth generation racer Ryan Porter, Late Model veteran Derek Nance, Tim Cecil, Troy Stone and three time Street Stock champion Ricky Thatcher.  The IMCA Modified stars of Merced Speedway put on a good show any time they are in action.

The Ted Stofle Classic at Merced Speedway is a night you don't want to miss.  With Hobby Stocks, IMCA Sport Modifieds and IMCA Modifieds all competing, there will be great racing from start to finish.  For further information, go to www.racemerced.com.