Home » Lindt Wins Panfili Cup, Hannagan Wins Chet Thomson Memorial At Antioch Speedway

Lindt Wins Panfili Cup, Hannagan Wins Chet Thomson Memorial At Antioch Speedway

By Candice Martin

by CC News
Antioch Speedway

Antioch, CA — David Lindt II of Sebastopol won the 25 lap Hunt Magnetos Wingless Spec Sprint Main Event Saturday night at Antioch Speedway.

Driving the Ted Finkenbinder owned entry, Lindt won the Panfili Cup trophy in memory of Antioch Speedway Hall of Famer Rick Panfili. Lindt has finished second in Spec Sprint points at Petaluma for the past three seasons, but he got his very first win in a Winged 360 Sprint Car at Antioch Speedway prior to that.

Roseville’s Josh Young and Hunt Series point leader DJ Johnson of Stockton led the field to the green flag. Young nudged ahead of Johnson as Lindt settled into an early third. The first yellow flag flew on Lap 8 for Colson Plourde. Young continued to lead Johnson on the restart, but some very close racing in Turn 1 a lap later saw Johnson take the lead from Young. Before the lap was completed, Lindt made an inside pass in Turn 4 to take second from Young. Johnson quickly caught slower traffic, and Lindt closed in on him on the 17th lap.

There was a bit of contact between Lindt and Johnson as Lindt went low in Turn 2 on Lap 18 to grab the lead with Young following into second. Johnson pulled into the infield on Lap 19 as Heath Holdsclaw of Yuba City gained third. However, Nathan Schank of Phoenix, Arizona slipped past Holdsclaw for third on Lap 21. Lindt went on to victory ahead of Young, Schank, Brent Steck of Roseville and Antioch champion Jacob Tuttle of Oakley.

Buddy Kniss of Oakley won the 20 lap Limited Late Model Main Event. Kniss had a pair of wins in an IMCA Sport Modified this season and is the 2019 Modified champion. He gained the lead with the misfortune of recent Marysville winner Shawn DeForest of Livermore.

DeForest and Auburn’s Ray Trimble shared the front row with DeForest motoring ahead at the start. Kniss settled into second ahead of Trimble, and the race went rapidly for the first 13 laps. It was on the 13th lap when DeForest began to slow with a flat tire and brought out the only yellow flag. Kniss had the lead for the restart with new track champion Rod Oliver of Yuba City following him into second as the green flag waved. Kniss ran smooth laps for the remainder of the race and grabbed the victory ahead of Oliver. Tim Yeager of Belmont took third from Trimble on Lap 19 and would finish there as Trimble and Chester Kniss of Antioch rounded out the Top 5.

Joel Hannagan of San Jose picked up the victory in the Chet Thomson Memorial Hardtop race. The 20 lap victory for Hannagan was his fifth-straight in this big event and fourth of the year. With Merced Sportsman champion Mike Gillard of Atwater suffering front end damage while working slower traffic and retiring from the race, Hannagan was able to regain the point lead and win his second track championship driving for Doug Braudrick.

Heat race winners Gillard and Hannagan shared the front row and immediately pulled away from the pack when the green flag waved. Late Model racer Shawn DeForest was driving the Tommy Thomson owned car and enjoying a good battle with Friday night Merced Sportsman winner Gary Hildebrand of Turlock. The lead duo caught slower traffic by the sixth circuit, and a side-by-side battle began. Gillard ran high and Hannagan ran low. Hannagan had some momentum as they worked the ninth lap, but he got boxed in behind a slower car as Gillard remained in front.

The lead duo was coming up on the fourth place car rapidly as they exited Turn 2, and Gillard made contact. That was enough to give him front end damage as he coasted through the infield and came to a rest by one of the big tires in Turn 3 for a Lap 16 yellow flag. With Gillard retiring from the race, Hannagan led the restart and the remaining laps for the victory. DeForest finished second ahead of multi-time Merced Sportsman champion Rick Elliott, Hildebrand and Frank Cefaliello Jr of Ceres.

Richard Brace Jr of Grass Valley turned in an impressive performance in winning the 20 lap Super Stock Main Event. This makes him the fourth different winner in as many races. Meanwhile, Ryan Cherezian of Knightsen won the division championship with a third place finish.

The track was still a little bit slick, and front row starters and heat race winners Cherezian and Jim Freethy of Danville both got out of shape in Turn 4 as Brace nudged ahead of Justin Zwicker of Santa Rosa. Cherezian recovered in third, and he gained second when Zwicker pulled into the infield on Lap 4. Santa Rosa’s Dustin Smith began to battle Cherezian for second, and a yellow flag waved for a Michael Burch of Concord spin in Turn 4.

Brace led Smith and Antonio Aragon of Reno, Nevada on the restart. As Brace pulled away, Cherezian slipped past Aragon for third on Lap 10. Burch had a throttle issue and crashed out the exit gate for a Lap 12 yellow flag. He was okay, and Brace continued to lead Smith and Cherezian on the restart. They finished in that order as Aragon and Shawn McCoy of Petaluma rounded out the Top 5.

Ryland McCoy of Hanford won the 12 lap Mini Stock Main Event. This was his second win of the season as he had picked up a feature win earlier this year in Bakersfield.

The car count took a hit after Tony Quinonez of Corning and Randy Miramontez of Santa Rosa tangled in the heat race to end the night for both. McCoy had a front row start for the feature race and proceeded to lead every lap in victory. Patrick Kelley of Clovis was a race-long second ahead of Matt Wirth of Oakland and Jackie Price of Antioch.

The season comes to a conclusion with the $3,000 to win Pacific Coast Hobby Stock Nationals this Saturday night. The IMCA Sport Modifieds will compete for $1,000 to win and the night will close with the Third Annual Mike Conley Salute Figure 8 race. For further information, go to www.raceantiochspeedway.com.

Race Results

Hunt Wingless Spec Sprints
Fast Time-DJ Johnson 13.952. Heat Winners (8 Laps)-DJ Johnson, Heath Holdsclaw, David Lindt II. Main Event (25 Laps)-David Lindt II, Josh Young, Nathan Schank, Brent Steck, Jacob Tuttle, Heath Holdsclaw, Tyler Cato, Eathon Lanfri, Joshua Wooten, Kevin Box.

Limited Late Models
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Ray Trimble, Shawn DeForest. Main Event (20 Laps)-Buddy Kniss, Rod Oliver, Tim Yaeger, Ray Trimble, Chester Kniss, Shawn DeForest, Tyler Lightfoot, Thomas Reynolds, Clay Daly.

Hardtops
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Mike Gillard, Joel Hannagan. Main Event (20 Laps)-Joel Hannagan, Shawn DeForest, Gary Hildebrand, Rick Elliott, Frank Cefaliello Jr, Jonny Walsh, Don Slaney, Joe Shenefield, Mike Gillard, Ken Clifford DNS.

Super Stocks
Heat Winners (8 Laps)-Jim Freethy, Ryan Cherezian. Main Event (20 Laps)-Richard Brace Jr, Dustin Smith, Ryan Cherezian, Antonio Aragon, Shawn McCoy, Jim Freethy, Mike Walko, Paul Hanley, Michael Burch, Danneeka Garretson.

Mini Stocks
Heat Winner (8 Laps)-Ryland McCoy. Main Event (12 Laps)-Ryland McCoy, Patrick Kelley, Matt Wirth, Jackie Price, Randy Miramontez DNS, Tony Quinonez DNS.

Previous Antioch Speedway Races

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