Firecracker 50 B Modified Race On Tap At Antioch Speedway

Antioch, CA...It used to be that longer distance races happened a few times every season at Antioch Speedway. Now, they are a rarity. Saturday night, the speedway is planning a $500 to win 50 lap feature for the All Star Series B Modified division. Also scheduled to compete on Saturday night will be the A Modifieds, Wingless Spec Sprints, Limited Late Models and Hobby Stocks.

Trevor Clymens is a five-time winner and the runaway B Modified point leader this year, so you know he has his eyes on the prize. However, it was Fred Ryland coming back for the first time in several weeks and capturing his third 20 lap feature win last Saturday night. These two drivers are the biggest stars of the division in the past few seasons as Clymens is the 2016 champion and Ryland won the track and State championships a year earlier.

Todd Gomez is still knocking on the door to his first win of the season, and he scored his second runner-up finish in the last four races last week. Gomez was a feature winner twice last season and he is a past Street Stock champion at the speedway. The trick of the distance races is surviving the first half of the race and making your move down the stretch. You never know who will win one of these races, and it's not unheard of to see a driver get their first win in a race such as this. One driver who is quietly creeping up the ladder in the standings in fifth is Kenny Shrader. He has a pair of third place finishes so far, but could the win be his for the taking this week?

Chuck Golden scored his second straight Top 5 finish last time to move into second in the standings in a tie with Ryan DeForest. DeForest tops all rookies in the field so far this season, but Shrader has closed to within 12 points of him. Other drivers to keep an eye on this week include Guy Ahlwardt, Tommy Fraser, Randy Brown and Doff Cooksey.

The last time the A Modifieds raced, Bobby Hogge IV scored a monumental 72nd career win, tying him with Scott Busby and JD Willis atop the all time win leaders board. With his third place finish that night, reigning Watsonville champion Nick DeCarlo moved to within two points of reigning Antioch champion Bobby Motts Jr for the lead. DeCarlo recently went to Watsonville and scored a feature victory there. He may be the driver to beat, but three-time feature winner Kellen Chadwick may have other ideas about that.

Motts, meanwhile, has thus far been shut out of the win column, but he has a pair of seconds and a pair of thirds among his best effort so far. The championship battle is very much between Motts and DeCarlo at this point. Meanwhile, Sean O'Gara only holds a 24 point lead over Chadwick in a close race for third. Rookie Buddy Kniss picked up another Top 10 finish last time out as he holds down fifth in the standings. Other drivers to watch for this week include Bobby Montalvo, David Zeiter, Trent Wentworth, Raymond Lindeman and Scott Busby.

Bob Newberry is off to a strong start as he sets his sights on his first Wingless Spec Sprint championship at the speedway since 2004. He now has a pair of firsts and a pair of seconds to his credit, but the most recent race saw him shut out of the Top 5. Newberry holds a solid 47 point lead over Shannon Newton in the championship race. Newton counts himself among the other feature winners so far this season.

It is very much a battle for Newton's second position in the standings as ageless veteran Roy Fisher is five points behind him and Brandon Burd trails by 15 tallies. Alan Miranda missed a race, but his second win of the season last time out has put him back to within 12 points of Burd for the fourth position. Six points behind Miranda you'll find division mainstay Rick Panfili. Panfili has had some rough luck so far this year, but he'll be out to turn it around this week. Other drivers to watch for include Scott Martin, James East and rookie McKenzie Newton.

Last Saturday night was a big night for the Garner family. Both Mark Garner and his son Billy Garner were feature winners. Mark Garner was picking up his second Limited Late Model win of the season after a thrilling duel with reigning champion Kimo Oreta. The battle is still close between these two as Garner leads by just 12 points.

Still hanging tough in the battle is Mike Walko. Walko picked up a Top 3 finish last time, which continues his streak of all Top 3 finishes so far. He only trails Oreta by 6 points and Garner by 18. Ryan Cherezian left the race track on a tow truck hook last week, dropping him a bit further back in the battle. Chad Hammer had an even worse night when he hit the Turn 1 wall with his rear end and rolled. Will the team be able to get the car repaired in time for this race? Drivers to watch for this week include the steady John Evans, Jon Haney and two time champion Mike Gustafson.

Last weekend, a rare occurrence transpired at the speedway. When Billy Garner scored his first career Hobby Stock win, he became the third generation of his family to win a Main Event at the speedway. His grandfather Jerry Garner and father Mark are also feature winners, and his father actually won another Main Event that night. The win for Billy Garner helped him maintain his hold on fourth in the standings, 32 ahead of the division's top rookie, John Wacht.

The two drivers chasing Garner at the checkered flag last week were Michael Cooper and Chris Sorensen. Having only earned one Top 3 finish in his previous six starts, Cooper was anxious to get his third win of the season. However, Garner forced him to settle for second ahead of four time winner and point leader Sorensen. Sorensen's point lead is now 76 ahead of Cooper. Cooper was able to move back into second in the standings by 29 ahead of reigning champion Cameron Swank.

There are several drivers hungry for their first victories, including Top 10 ranked Anthony Wellborn. Wellborn got off to a late start this season, but he is coming off of three straight Top 5 finishes. Other drivers to watch for this week include Joey Ridgeway, John Leach and Syd Smith Jr.

The B Modifieds will also be running their fifth Sharpshooter Tournament Race of the year. With Guy Ahlwardt, KC Keller, Trevor Clymens and Fred Ryland as the four winners so far, it's anybody's guess who might win this round. The best way to find out is by coming out for a great show at the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds based facility. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.



Garner And Wiesz Families Have Father-Son Night In Antioch Speedway Winner's Circle

Antioch, CA...June 23...It's a rare moment when you have a father and a son both scoring Main Event victories at Antioch Speedway. Saturday night, there were two occasions as Mark Garner and Billy Garner won their respective Main Events and Colby Wiesz and Ben Wiesz were winners in their Main Events. The Garner family has been competing at Antioch Speedway since the 1960s, going back to when Mark's father Jerry Garner was the NASCAR Stock Car State Champion in 1969.

Mark Garner is wheeling a Limited Late Model these days, and he had his hands full in outrunning reigning champion Kimo Oreta for the 20 lap Main Event win. After winning his heat race, Garner started back in the third row in the Main Event while Mike Walko set the early pace. Garner made his move into second on lap five and begin challenging Walko. Two laps later, Oreta was in third, and the battle was on. Garner made a low pass in Turn 3 on the ninth lap to gain the lead, and Oreta was second two laps later. Oreta made a Turn 2 pass on Garner for the lead as they worked lap 17, but his pass was negated when Chad Hammer spun for a yellow flag. The restart saw a red flag unfurl as Hammer clipped the Turn 1 wall with his rear end and rolled. He was uninjured. Garner led the restart and repelled Oreta's advances to score the victory as Walko, Hammer and Jon Haney rounded out the Top 5.

In the Hobby Stock division, Mark's son Billy Garner scored his first career 20 lap Main Event win. Newcomer Tom Cline led one lap before Garner raced by for the lead. Point leader Chris Sorensen and championship contender Michael Cooper settled into second and third a lap later. Garner had his hands full with those two drivers chasing him around the three-eighth mile clay oval. Cooper gained second on a lap nine restart, but Garner was making no mistakes ahead of him. Garner scored a well-earned victory as Cooper settled for a close second ahead of Sorensen, Matt Wacht and Anthony Wellborn.

Multi time Marysville Raceway Sprint Car champion Colby Wiesz returned and picked up the victory in the 20 lap Winged 360 Sprint Car Main Event. Incoming point leader Art McCarthy had the pole and was aiming for his first win of the season, but he was out of the event on lap three along with heat race winner Jacob Tuttle and Glenn Bryan. Wiesz had to battle recent Marysville winner Jake Haulot, but he gained the lead and brought it home to victory. Haulot settled for second ahead of Matt DeMartini, Jeffrey Strole and heat race winner William Fatu.

In the 20 lap Dwarf Car Main Event, it was Colby's son Ben Wiesz scoring the Main Event victory. Wiesz chased outside front row starter Lonnie Tekaat for 12 laps before making an inside pass on the backstretch to take over the lead. A lap 16 caution flag bunched up the field and allowed point leader Mike Corsaro a shot at the victory, but Wiesz was not to be denied as he took the checkered flag in first. Corsaro had a solid night in second, followed by David Rosa, Tekaat and Tony Carmignani.

Fred Ryland closed in on his 50th career Antioch Speedway win with a rather impressive 20 lap B Modified victory. Ryland had the lead from the start as point leader and previous winner Trevor Clymens had to start last. The battle was for second between Chuck Golden and Todd Gomez for several laps, but Gomez gained the position on a lap 12 restart. Clymens made an outside pass for third on lap 18. However, there was no catching Ryland as he won by a straightaway, followed by Gomez, Clymens, Golden and Randy Brown.

Next Saturday night will be the Firecracker 50 for the All Star Series B Modified division, and it will pay $500 to win. Also on the card will be the A Modifieds, Wingless Spec Sprints, Limited Late Models and Hobby Stocks. The B Modifieds will also have another Sharpshooter Tournament Race. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.

Unofficial Race Results
All Star Series
Winged 360 Sprint Cars
Heat Winners (8 laps)-Jacob Tuttle, William Fatu. Main Event (20 laps)-Colby Wiesz, Jake Haulot, Matt DeMartini, Geoffrey Strole, William Fatu, David Dias, Tim Burcher, Art McCarthy, Glenn Bryan, Jacob Tuttle.

Limited Late Models
Heat Winner (8 laps)-Mark Garner. Main Event (20 laps)-Mark Garner, Kimo Oreta, Mike Walko, Chad Hammer, Jon Haney, Ryan Cherezian, Chris Long

B Modifieds
Heat winners (8 laps)-Trevor Clymens, Fred Ryland. Main Event (20 laps)-Fred Ryland, Todd Gomez, Trevor Clymens, Chuck Golden, Randy Brown, Kenny Shrader, Tommy Fraser, Doff Cooksey, Tim Roland, Kevin Brown DQ

Hobby Stocks
Heat Winners (8 laps)-Cameron Swank, Anthony Wellborn. Main Event (20 laps)-Billy Garner, Michael Cooper, Chris Sorensen, John Wacht, Anthony Wellborn, Breanna Troen, Tom Cline, Angela Brown, Cameron Swank, Jake Fletcher.

Dwarf Cars
Heat Winners (8 laps)-Josh Wiesz, Mike Corsaro. Main Event (20 laps)-Ben Wiesz, Mike Corsaro, David Rosa, Lonnie Tekaat, Tony Carmignani, David Michael Rosa, Mario Marquez, Chris Becker, Josh Wiesz, Charlie Correia.