Championship racing heading to the wire at Antioch Speedway
Kellen Chadwick #83 moved to within four points of the IMCA Modified point lead with his third win last time out. Photo by Katrina Kniss
By Candice Martin, DCRR Racing Media
Antioch, CA…After holding a practice night last weekend, Antioch Speedway returns to championship point racing this Saturday night. What some refer to as the “classic lineup” returns with IMCA Modifieds back in action along with IMCA Sport Modifieds, IMCA Stock Cars and Pacific Coast General Engineering Hobby Stocks. There is just this race and the September 17th point finale for these divisions before special events take place in October and November.
The IMCA Modified battle has been a classic showdown between 2018 champion Nick DeCarlo and 2006 title winner Kellen Chadwick. DeCarlo tipped his hand as to his interest in winning this championship as he brought his car to practice last Saturday to fine tune things. Nick has four wins to his credit this season, keeping him just four points ahead of Chadwick in a very tight race. Chadwick was the winner of his third Main Event of the season last time out.
Past champion Bobby Motts, Jr. had been in this battle, but a series of unfortunate breaks finds him just 10 points ahead of Trevor Clymens and 12 over Terry DeCarlo, Jr. in the race for third. Clymens and DeCarlo also have a battle going for top rookie honors, and Clymens is coming off of back-to-back podium finishes, which enabled him to take the lead over DeCarlo. DeCarlo had a sixth-place finish last time out to keep the point damage to a minimum. Rather than come practice with his brother, he headed to Medford, Oregon for a big money event last weekend.
Andrew Pearce #15 suffered misfortune while leading last time as he fell further behind in the IMCA Sport Modified title chase. Photo by Katrina Kniss.
Two-time reigning IMCA Sport Modified champion and current point leader Fred Ryland was also in Medford, Oregon. In his case, he was picking up the $3,000 win in the 69 lap Dwayne Melvin Memorial race. Last time out, his championship rival Andrew Pearce was leading with a few laps to go when he had a mechanical failure send him pitward. Four-time feature winner Ryland leads Pearce by 13 markers and could take a step closer to the championship just by having a strong outing this week. State point leader Jacob Mallet Jr has a first and a second in his last two starts, keeping him just seven points behind Pearce for the runner-up spot.
Back in third is past champion KC Keller. He leads Chuck Golden by one marker, Kenny Shrader by 11 and Mark Garner by 14. Golden has been on a bit of a run lately after picking up his first Main Event win of the year in Quincy, California and then heading to Watsonville for a second-place finish last weekend. This is an interesting battle for Top 5 point positions that will go down to the final checkered flag on September 17th.
Jason Robles #78 was at practice last week as he tried to find some speed in pursuit of his third IMCA Stock Car win of the season. Photo by Katrina Kniss
Jason Robles brought his IMCA Stock Car to practice last time out. He’s been concerned with not moving forward in the pack enough in recent races, so he was making some laps trying to figure it out. Robles has two wins to his credit, but some bad finishes leave him 20 points behind reigning champion and current point leader Travis Dutra in the championship chase. Dutra has yet to win this season, but he’s racked up five second place finishes.
The consistent Jason Jennings has his eyes on third in the standings as well as top rookie honors. He leads Dave Hill in the third-place battle by 21 points. Hill was on hand for practice last week as he and chief mechanic Jim Reid were dialing a few things in. Two-time winner Fred Ryland still holds fifth in the standings by 22 points ahead of Jeff Bentanourt and 24 over Dan Gonderman. Gonderman has a new car and has picked up a pair of Top 3 finishes in his most recent starts.
Michaela Taylor #71a will be out to try to reclaim second in the Hobby Stock point standings this week. Photo by Katrina Kniss
Misty Welborn hit the Pacific Coast General Engineering Hobby Stock championship race like a hurricane, winning three of the first four events. Unfortunately, she’s had trouble making a return to the Winner’s Circle, and just getting a Top 10 finish has been a solid night for her. She was at practice trying to find a little bit more speed. The red hot Jared Baugh has moved into second in the standings, trailing Welborn by 50 points and leading Michaela Taylor by 12. Taylor does have a podium finish this year, but she’s still in search of her first feature win. A few weeks back, she needed to win a B Main to make it into the show, and she’s had a bit of bad luck in recent races.
Top rookie Taylor DeCarlo leads the resurgent Grayson Baca by 20 points in the race for fourth with Jewel Crandall 30 points back. Baca had a feature win earlier this season and finished third last time out. DeCarlo has battled back from a couple of really bad nights and has managed to lead several Main Event laps as she tries to close in on her first career win.
This lineup of divisions should offer some great racing for the fans this Saturday night. The grandstands will open at 4:00pm with the first race starting at 6:00pm.
Adult tickets are $20, Senior/Military $15, Kids (5-12) $15 and kids four and under free.
For further information, visit www.antiochspeedway.com.
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