Chadwick Unstoppable At Antioch Speedway

Antioch, CA...July 28...Kellen Chadwick scored another 20 lap All Star Series A Modified Main Event win Saturday night at Antioch Speedway. This was the fourth win of the season for Chadwick. Shawn DeForest set the early pace ahead of point leader Nick DeCarlo. DeCarlo made a move around DeForest for the lead as they worked lap 5, only to see DeForest restored to the lead as there's no racing to the yellow flag. DeForest led two more laps before DeCarlo made an inside pass in Turn 2 of the seventh lap for the lead. Chadwick followed into second and made an inside move in Turn 4 of the 10th lap to take the lead from DeCarlo. Chadwick begin to stretch his advantage to nearly a straightaway by the checkered flag. Anthony Slaney made a charge from sixth on lap 11 to second on lap 14 and would finish there, followed by Carl Berendsen II, DeCarlo and DeForest.

Billy Aton was the winner of the 20 lap Winged 360 Sprint Car Main Event. This was the second win of the season for the 2016 champion. Aton and Nick Larson won their respective heat races to grab front row starts for the Main Event. Aton raced into the lead, and the battle was for second. Jacob Tuttle was enjoying a good race with championship contender Matt DeMartini. In the end, Aton grabbed the checkered flag ahead of Tuttle, DeMartini, Larson and Jeff Strole

Shannon Newton scored his second 20 lap Wingless Spec Sprint Main Event win of the season. He also won his heat race earlier in the evening. With incoming point leader Bob Newberry falling out before the finish, Newton gained several points in his bid to overtake Newberry in the championship chase. Hoping to shake off his early-season bad luck, Rick Panfili charged into the lead at the start. Panfili led the first seven laps before being overtaken by Newton. A three-wide racing moment in Turn 3 of the 16th lap resulted in a Brandon Burd spin, which collected Newberry. Newberry retired from the race at that moment. Newton led the restart and the remaining laps for the victory. Panfili matched his career-best effort in second, followed by Roy Fisher, Burd and Scott Martin.

Chris Sorensen picked up the win in the 20 lap Hobby Stock Main Event. This was the sixth win of the season for the current point leader. Front row starter Breanna Troen set the early pace while Sorensen worked his way up from eighth starting. Sorensen was second by the halfway point of the race and set his sights on Troen. With six laps to go, Sorensen made his winning move. Michael Cooper also made a late pass around Troen as Sorensen won ahead of Cooper, Troen, Anthony Wellborn and Tom Cline.

Tony Carmignani won his first 20 lap Dwarf Car Main Event of the season. Heat race winners David Michael Rosa and his father David Rosa had the front row for the feature, and the younger Rosa led for three laps before heading for the pits. Carmignani gained the lead at that point. Carmignani spun in Turn 3, but the yellow flag had already flown for the for a Giovanni Bortoli spin. Carmignani was restored to his spot in the lead and paced the remaining 15 laps for the win, followed by Travis Hensley, Mike Corsaro, Mario Marques and David Rosa.

Racing continues next Saturday night with All Star Series Winged 360 Sprint Cars, A Modifieds, Limited Late Models, Hobby Stocks and Dwarf Cars. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.

Unofficial Race Results
Antioch Speedway All Star Series
Winged 360 Sprint Cars
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Billy Aton, Nick Larson. Main Event (20 Laps)-Billy Aton, Jacob Tuttle, Matt DeMartini, Nick Larson, Jeff Strole, David Dias, Joey Acona, Tim Burcher, Art McCarthy.

A Modifieds
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Carl Berendsen II, Buddy Kniss. Lone Wolf Tournament-Nick DeCarlo. Main Event (20 Laps)-Kellen Chadwick, Anthony Slaney, Carl Berendsen II, Nick DeCarlo, Shawn DeForest, Bobby Montalvo, Mikey Slaney, Buddy Kniss, Chuck Golden, Kenny Shrader.

Wingless Spec Sprints
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Brandon Burd, Shannon Newton. Main Event (20 Laps)-Shannon Newton, Rick Panfili, Roy Fisher, Brandon Burd, Scott Martin, Mackenzie Newton, Bob Newberry.

Hobby Stocks
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Chris Sorensen, Cameron Swank. Main Event (20 Laps)-Chris Sorensen, Michael Cooper, Breanna Troen, Anthony Wellborn, Tom Cline, Ed Letterman, Lori Brown, Mike Matheson, Jake Fletcher, Frank Furtado.

Dwarf Cars
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-David Rosa, David Michael Rosa. Main Event (20 Laps)-Tony Carmignani, Travis Hensley, Mike Corsaro,  Mario Marques, David Rosa, Chris Becker, Jessie Pfeiffer, Giovanni Bortoli, David Michael Rosa, Chuck Conover.


Limited Late Model Championship Battle Continues
At Antioch Speedway Saturday Night

Antioch, CA...When racing resumes at Antioch Speedway this Saturday night, the fans will get another look at the closest All Star Series championship battle currently happening at the speedway. Limited Late Models will be back in action. Also on the card will be the Winged 360 Sprint Cars and A Modifieds, both of which have close battles at the top of the point list as well. Dwarf Cars and Hobby Stocks round out an exciting program.

Kimo Oreta learned a long time ago that it's not easy holding your spot at the top of the point list. However, he has won three Hobby Stock championships and is the reigning Limited Late Model champ behind the wheel of the Sundrop Racing #15 car. Oreta has picked up a three feature wins so far this year, but his lead is only two points ahead of Mark Garner and eight in front of Mike Walko. Oreta has also scored a pair of seconds and  earned his second third place finish at the most recent race, giving him a slight advantage in the standings.

Since winning his second Main Event of the season four races ago, Mark Garner has experienced a myriad of problems that have derailed his attempt at winning #3. Last time out, Garner was turning in a rather dominant performance and could see second place ahead of him eight laps into the race. It wasn't long after that when he broke a rear axle. Remarkably, he managed to get to lap 17 before being overtaken by Walko and he retired moments later. Walko has been the most consistent driver of the bunch with a pair of wins and a season-worst finish of fourth in nine starts. While Garner and Oreta figured to be the two battling it out for the championship, Walko has served a reminder to everybody. He's been racing for quite some time, and he is not to be taken lightly.

Ryan Cherezian is hanging in there, though he needs a little bit of luck to move him further to the front. He has finished as high as second this year, and he's 34 points behind Walko for third. The next battle in line is between the steady John Evans and Chad Hammer for the fifth position. Evans leads by one point while two-time champion Mike Gustafson is 31 points out of fifth. Saturday night should be a good show for the division that is now in its 19th season at the speedway.

Art McCarthy has somehow managed to lead the Winged 360 Sprint Car standings after six events. He's done this despite a last place finish at the most recent race and no feature wins so far. Art is clinging to a 10 point advantage over two-time winner Matt DeMartini following the third place finish DeMartini had last time out. The steady Tim Burcher is 18 points behind DeMartini and only 24 ahead of 2016 champion Billy Aton. Aton drove a flawless race last time out to score his second win of the season.

Meanwhile, last season's top rookie, Jacob Tuttle, matched his career-best effort with another second-place finish last time out. This keeps Tuttle just five points behind David Dias in the race for fifth in the standings. Tuttle shows a lot of potential, and he's definitely capable of gaining the 29 points needed to overtake Burcher for third in the standings. The Winged 360 Sprint Cars are an entertaining show, and you never know who will come to town from week-to-week to make a run at the money.

Nick DeCarlo might be hearing the call of the money race this week, which would leave him with a decision to make. The four time feature winner has already won championships at Petaluma Speedway and Ocean Speedway, but Antioch Speedway has been elusive so far. However, he finds himself leading reigning champion Bobby Motts Jr by 22 points. The prize money being offered at Watsonville on Saturday night might tempt DeCarlo, and it will certainly have him wondering if he could afford to skip the race and not hurt his championship effort too much.

The problem comes from the fact that Motts has gotten some good finishes this season. Despite the fact that he has yet to get a feature win this year, Motts has been a consistent Top 5 finisher with three season-high second place finishes. If DeCarlo were absent this week, Motts would surly to take the point lead.

Kellen Chadwick is another driver who might have an easier choice to make considering the fact that he's not in championship contention. Kellen dominated another Main Event for his fourth victory of the season last week, and he only trails Sean O'Gara by 20 points in the race for third in the standings. However, Chadwick is running strong enough to go to many different places and compete for the bigger prize money. The question is, what will he do?

There are some good racers just chomping at the bit to get their first feature wins of the season. O'Gara is one for such driver. He has finished as high as third so far this year. Rookie Buddy Kniss has been looking faster behind the wheel as he's gotten more comfortable, and the fifth-ranked competitor is certainly a threat. Other drivers to watch out for include Bobby Montalvo, Shawn DeForest, David Zeiter and Raymond Lindeman. Anthony Slaney impressed last time out as he scored a season-high second place finish.

At this stage of the season, the point race doesn't have a lot of drama in the Hobby Stock division. With six feature wins to his credit, 2010 champion Chris Sorensen leads Michael Cooper by nearly 100 points. Cooper has notched four wins so far this year, while reigning champion and third-ranked competitor Cameron Swank is also a four-time winner. Unless these drivers decide to take a break, their positions in the Top 3 are not in doubt.

The bigger question is who might be next in line to get their first career win. It's tough with the Top 3 drivers out there, but Billy Garner and rookie John Wacht have both managed to get their first wins. Last time out, rookie Breanna Troen did an exceptional job of leading most of the Main Event before settling for third behind Sorensen and Cooper. Anthony Wellborn, Haley Gomez, Anthony Vigna and Joey Ridgeway are others who seem poised for victory.

The Dwarf Car championship seems to be in the familiar hands of reigning champion Mike Corsaro so far. Corsaro started things off strong as he won four of the first five Main Events for the class this year. His advantage is now 82 points over two-time winner David Michael Rosa. Corsaro has been shut out of the winner's column for the last six races, but he has three second place finishes to show for it

Mario Marques is hanging in there in the battle to overtake Rosa for second. As a one-time winner, Mario is only 12 points back, and he's 58 points ahead of the older Rosa, Street Stock legend David Rosa. It's a competitive group of Dwarf Car drivers, and seven different drivers have claimed victories after 11 events. Tony Carmignani was the most recent winner. Other drivers to watch for this week include Chris Becker, Troy Stevenson, ageless veteran Charlie Correia and 2010 champion Jerry Doty.

Saturday night's racing program should be a good one from start to finish. There's also further good news that due to popular demand, the B Modifieds will return to the schedule, starting with the August 11th event. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.