Antioch, CA — There’s plenty of excitement on tap at Antioch Speedway throughout the month of June, and it begins this Saturday night with Youth Baseball/Softball Night at the races. Boys and girls in their baseball or softball uniforms get into the grandstands for free.
The popular and always exciting Pacific Coast Hobby Stock division will be back in action this Saturday night for the sixth round of their championship season. On the heels of their thrilling Main Event last week, the Wingless Spec Sprints return along with the Dwarf Cars, Hardtops and Super Stocks.
If not for the fact that he does have two Main Event victories so far, Oakley’s Aidan Ponciano could make a strong case for hard luck driver of the season. He stumbled out of the gate with mechanical issues keeping him from making it out of the B Main at the season opener and also has an additional non finish in the Main Event.
You can also add the fact that he hit the Turn 2 wall while leading early in the third Main Event of the season, resulting in his team having to rebuild the car. Fortunately, Pittsburg’s Jared Baugh let Aidan drive his car to keep him out there on the track. As a result of his fifth place finish and win in that car, Ponciano finds himself just 35 points out of the lead in fifth.
There’s a little bit of history in the works for the third-generation racer. Aidan’s grandfather and grandmother, Dan and Denise McCown, are both past Hobby Stock champions. His mother, Megan Ponciano, also won the division title. If Aidan is able to accomplish the same task, they would be the only family with three generations of champions in the same division in the track’s 65 year history.
Accomplishing that goal won’t be easy, however. After following his 2023 championship with a year off, Brentwood’s Grayson Baca currently leads the standings by 11 markers in front of 2021 title winner Larry McKinzie Jr of Discovery Bay. Baca has a win this year. Though Mckinzie has only finished as high as third once, he’s the only driver with five Top 10 finishes.
Oakley’s James East, a past star in Wingless Spec Sprint competition, has been a factor in Hobby Stocks so far with four Top 5 efforts. Last week at Petaluma, he scored his first feature victory in the division. He sits 13 points out of lead in third, while Oakley’s Hunter Hammett is enjoying a breakout season in fourth, 33 points out of the lead.
The Hobby Stock division has become a wide open battle, and you never know who might get a feature win on any given week. Antioch’s Jewell Crandall, Charlie Bryant of Oakley, Jesse Paladino of Brentwood, Maddie Motts of San Pablo and Oakley’s Michaela Taylor make up the balance of the Top 10 in the standings going into the night. A field of 20 or more cars is anticipated this week.
While Ponciano has his eyes on a bit of history, the same can be said for Brentwood’s Bob Newberry in the Wingless Spec Sprint division. No driver in the division’s 27 year history has won more than three championships, and Newberry would like to become the first driver to do it. Last week, he rebounded from an early crash to make a series of Turn 4 passes that gave him his first feature win of the year.
The battle is still close between Newberry and WMR Midget star Anthony Bruno of San Jose, who has been very consistent so far. Newberry leads Bruno by eight points with Eathon Lanfri of Milpitas 16 points out of the lead in third. Lanfri led several laps last time out before settling for second. Josh Gillis of Sacramento is fourth in the standings, trailing Newberry by 22 markers and leading Daniel DeKeyser of Kelseyville by six.
Last week, Sean Catucci of Brentwood served notice to the rest of the competition that they will have to deal with him in the championship battle. He scored his second win of the season, keeping him 16 points ahead of impressive newcomer David Hays of Brentwood. After a pair of fourths, Hays had his best showing yet when he finished second last week, moving him six points ahead of reigning champion Travis Day of Concord.
Antioch Speedway Hall of Fame member David Rosa of Antioch didn’t have the best of times last week, but he still brought his car to the finish line and remains 28 points out of the lead in fourth. After a couple of disappointing outings, David Michael Rosa returned to his own car last week to finish third in the Main Event, but his rough start has pretty much eliminated him from the title chase. He is just three points behind one-time feature winner Chris Durden of Hollister in the race for fifth.
The Hardtop and Sportsman division is scheduled to compete this week, and reigning champion Joel Hannagan of San Jose is hoping to rebound from a rare mechanical failure that kept him from finishing the most recent race. The team was prepared to head to Merced during the week to do battle with reigning Merced Sportsman champion Mike Gillard of Atwater in front of the County Fair crowd. Gillard collected the win last time out ahead of Don Slaney, and just 4 points separate Gillard, Hannagan and Slaney in the championship battle.
Joe Shenefield would rather forget the last race. While battling with Slaney for position in the heat race, Shenefield got too high exiting Turn 2 and ended up flipping to end his night. He’s expected to compete this week, and you never know what Hardtop or Merced Sportsman drivers might show up.
In Super Stock competition, Petaluma’s Mike Learn and Randy Miramontez of Santa Rosa have found themselves battling for position at both Antioch races. Last week’s Tri State Pro Stock race found Learn holding off Miramontez to finish fourth, and the race before saw Learn winning just ahead of Miramontez, who has been piloting Dustin Smith of Santa Rosa’s car.
Learn has gotten off to a strong start this year. His three Petaluma wins in three starts has him leading that championship battle once again. Subbing for Jim Freethy of Danville, Brentwood’s Fred Ryland finished third at the first Antioch race and actually grabbed the lead in the Tri State race last week before mechanical issues sent him pitward. This week’s race will also be a good tune-up for the Tri State Pro Stock Series return on Fan Appreciation Night on June 14th.
Speaking of Fan Appreciation Night, that occasion will offer a $5 ticket for the fans with many giveaways being planned for the kids that night. In the meantime, Saturday’s show should produce a lot of excitement with the Hobby Stocks and Wingless Spec Sprints on the bill.
The gates will open at 4:00 with the first race starting at 6:00.
Adult tickets are $15, Senior/Military $15, Kids (5-12) $15. Kids (5-12) in their little league uniforms and kids four and under free.
For further information, go to http://www.raceantiochspeedway.com or check out the Antioch Speedway by PROmotions Facebook page.
Previous
- June 4 – Smith, Slaney, Newberry, Catucci, Rasmussen, Gentry Are Larry Damitz Memorial Winners
- May 20 – Hogge Scores 80th Career Antioch Speedway Win In IMCA Modified All Star Challenge
- May 13 – Netto Wins Contra Costa County Clash at Antioch Speedway
- May 6 – Slaney, Johnson, Ryland, Pearce, Brown Are Soares Memorial Winners at Antioch Speedway
- May 2 – 10th Annual Soares Memorial Set For Saturday at Antioch Speedway
- April 29 – Morgan Wins Hunt Series Race at Antioch Speedway
- April 22 – Ponciano Rebounds For Antioch Speedway Win, Ryland, Pearce, Foulger Also Victorious
- April 15 – Young, Shrader, Catucci, Mentch, Gillard Win at Antioch Speedway
- April 8 – Bobby Hogge Scores 70th Win at Antioch Speedway
- April 4 – New Championship Season Begins Saturday At Antioch Speedway
