DJ Johnson #33dj won his second Hunt Series Spec Sprint race of the season. Photo by Katrina Kniss
Antioch, CA…July 29…Taking the lead from previous Antioch winner Jacob Tuttle of Oakley, Stockton’s DJ Johnson won the 25 lap Hunt Wingless Spec Sprint Main Event Saturday night at Antioch Speedway. This was the second win on the tour for the two-time Antioch Speedway champion.
Tuttle has won three times in local Wingless Spec Sprint competition, and he had the outside front row for the feature race on this occasion. He bolted into the lead at the start ahead of Bradley Terrell of Sebastopol. Following a Lap 2 yellow flag, Terrell took the lead, but contact between he and Tuttle saw Terrell spin in the fourth turn for a yellow flag. Tuttle led Johnson and Blake Bower of Brentwood on the restart. There were multiple yellow flags on the challenging track. Johnson managed to slip past Tuttle for the lead on the ninth circuit, and Bower made an outside pass a lap later to take second from teammate Tuttle.
Bower committed to the outside grove and started presenting a challenge to Johnson with a yellow flag waving on Lap 20 for Brent Steck of Roseville, who had been running in fifth. Johnson maintained his advantage over Bower on the restart, and an inside pass in Turn 1 on Lap 23 gained Series point leader Nick Robfogel of Petaluma the third position. Unfortunately, Robfogel and Tanner Boul of Auberry got together in Turn 1 for the final yellow flag on Lap 24. Johnson was undeterred as he led the final restart and brought it home to a satisfying win. An inside pass in the first turn gained Tuttle second with Terrell making a charge all the way back to third by the time the checkered flag flew. Bower settled for fourth, followed by Brentwood’s Bob Newberry.
Andrew Pearce #28g collected his third IMCA Modified win. Photo by Katrina Kniss
Andrew Pearce of Oakley maintained championship contention with his third 25 lap IMCA Modified Main Event win. Pearce also leads the IMCA Modified National rookie race and the State point battle.
Pearce charged into the lead following a complete restart. Point leader Troy Foulger of Oakley was an early second ahead of Buddy Kniss of Oakley. They ran that way until Camarillo’s Trevor Fitz slipped past Kniss for third on Lap 12. Pearce built a decent lead over Foulger by the time to checkered flag waved as Fitz settled for third ahead of Kniss and Jeffrey Faulkner of Rohnert Park.
Grayson Baca #31b maintained his Hobby Stock point lead with his fourth victory. Photo by Katrina Kniss
Grayson Baca of Brentwood maintained the point lead with his fourth 20 lap Pacific Coast General Engineering Hobby Stock Main Event win. He was an early third as Ken John’s of Antioch led previous winner Jared Baugh of Pittsburgh at the start. Following a yellow flag for Corning’s William Fogle on Lap 3, Johns continued to lead Baugh on the restart. A high pass in Turn 4 of the fifth lap gained Baugh the lead as Baca went inside Johns in the same turn for second. An inside pass in the same turn a lap later gained Baca the lead from Baugh.
Johns and Baugh had a side by side battle for second until the yellow flag waved on Lap 7. Johns took second on the restart as Baca continued to lead the way. There was a four-car battle for the runner-up spot during the second half of the race with an inside pass in Turn 4 on Lap 12 putting Todd Gomez of Antioch into the position. Johns and Baugh both got past Gomez for second and third in Turn 4 of the 13th lap, but Gomez came back strong on the inside a lap later. This battle continued to be intense as they hit slower traffic, and Baugh got around Gomez on the front stretch on Lap 17 for second. They closed in on Baca, but he prevailed at the checkered flag. Baugh ended up second ahead of Gomez, Johns and Aidan Ponciano of Oakley.
DJ Keldsen #01 scored his third Figure 8 win of the season. Photo by Katrina Kniss
DJ Keldsen of Newman picked up his third 15 lap Figure 8 win of the season. Dakota Kelson of Watsonville took the early lead ahead of Bob Brown of Elko, Nevada. Following a yellow flag on Lap 2, Dakota Keldsen continued to lead the way. Contact as they entered the X sent Brown spinning as DJ Keldsen assumed second ahead of Trevor Clymens of Brentwood. Another yellow flag waved for Dennis Keldsen of Newman at the Turn 3 exit.
On the restart, DJ Keldsen charged past his brother Dakota for the lead, and IMCA Stock Car racer Terry DeCarlo Jr of Martinez settled into third. Another yellow flag on Lap seven bunched the field, and Dakota Keldsen briefly regained the lead from DJ as Brown settled into third again. Brown was again sent spinning, and contact between Dakota Keldsen and Jimmy Robbins of Concord ended the race for Robbins. DeCarlo took the lead on a Lap 9 restart with DJ Keldsen in close pursuit. Brown had again regained third by that point. Keldsen made a Turn 1 pass on DeCarlo to take the lead on Lap 11. From there, DJ Keldsen brought it home to victory ahead of DeCarlo, Brown, Wayne Reeder of Watsonville and Michaela Taylor of Oakley.
Troy Foulger #49 earned his seventh IMCA Stock Car Main Event win of the season. Photo by Katrina Kniss
Troy Foulger picked up his division leading seventh IMCA Stock Car 20 lap Main Event win in the Bowers Motorsports entry. Foulger currently leads both the track and State point battle.
Brentwood’s Fred Ryland returned and set the pace early on. A low pass in Turn 2 of the second lap gained Foulger second from Kenneth Robles of Rio Vista. Jarrod Mounce of Atwater moved into third. Following a yellow flag for Kenneth Robles on the fifth lap, Ryland continued to lead Foulger on the restart. They ran that way until Foulger found an opening on the outside on Lap 15 and slipped past Ryland to take command. Foulger went on to win the race with Ryland settling for second ahead of Mounce, previous winner Terry DeCarlo Jr of Martinez and Jason Robles of Rio Vista.
Drake Edwards #4m got his fourth WMR Midgets feature win. Photo by Katrina Kniss
Drake Edwards of Surprise, Arizona won his fourth WMR Midgets 20 lap Main Event. Series point leader Logan Mitchell of Santa Cruz led the opening lap before an inside pass on the back stretch gained Mitchell the lead. Championship contender Bryant Bell of Oakley made a Turn 4 pass on Lap 5 to take second from Mitchell. Edwards drove a flawless race and brought it home to a satisfying win ahead of Bell, Mitchell, Jerry Kobza of Folsom and reigning Series champion Blake Bower of Brentwood.
Tom Davis #75 got his sixth Print Club Mini Stock win. Photo by Katrina Kniss
Point leader Tom Davis of Los Molinos picked up his sixth Print Club Mini Stock win of the season aboard the Delbert Rios owned car. Reigning champion Tom Brown of Santa Rosa put the Bob Davis owned Pinto into the lead at the start ahead of Tom Davis. Tony Quinonez of Corning spun in Turn 2 for the only yellow flag on Lap 2. Brown led Davis and Merced point leader Daniel Bond of Oakdale on the restart. They ran that way until Brown slipped up a bit in Turn 1 on Lap 10, allowing Davis to get by on the inside for the lead. Davis went on to victory from there with Brown settling for second ahead of Bond, Quinonez and Rick Barry of Modesto.
Racing continues next Saturday night with a special $5 Fan Appreciation Night. The IMCA Modifieds, Sport Modifieds and Stock Cars will be competing along with the Wingless Spec Sprints, USAC Western States Midgets and Print Club Mini Stocks. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.
Antioch Speedway Race Results
Hunt Wingless Spec Sprints
FT-Jacob Tuttle 14.104. Heat Winners (8 laps)–Tanner Boul, Bradley Terrell, DJ Johnson, Blake Bower. B Main (12 laps)-Bruno Bianchi, Jeff Scotto, James East. Main Event (25 laps)-DJ Johnson, Jacob Tuttle, Bradley Terrell, Blake Bower, Bob Newberry, Shawn Arriaga, Evan Goularte, Shawn Jones, Jarrett Soares, Dylan Newberry.
IMCA Modifieds
Heat Winners (8 laps)-Troy Foulger, Andrew Pearce. Main Event (25 laps)-Andrew Pearce, Troy Foulger, Trevor Fitz, Buddy Kniss, Jeffrey Faulkner, Marcus Frazier, Ryan DeForest, Paul Guglielmoni, Mickey Hill, Brian Lewis.
Hobby Stocks
Heat Winners (8 laps)-Grayson Baca, Misty Welborn, Ken Johns. Main Event (20 laps)-Grayson Baca, Jared Baugh, Todd Gomez, Ken Johns, Aidan Ponciano, Mike Walko, Misty Welborn, Jason Ryan Jr, Ken Winland, Trent Golden.
IMCA Stock Cars
Heat Winner (8 laps)-Jason Robles. Main Event (20 laps)-Troy Foulger, Fred Ryland, Jarrod Mounce, Terry DeCarlo Jr, Jason Robles, Kenneth Robles, Steve Stone DNS.
WMR Midgets
Heat Winners (8 laps)-Bryant Bell, Blake Bower. Main Event (20 laps)-Drake Edwards, Bryant Bell, Logan Mitchell, Jerry Kobza, Blake Bower, Anthony Bruno, Darin Horton, Adriana DeMartini, Rick Faeth, Adam Weisberg.
Print Club Mini Stocks
Heat Winner (8 laps)-Tom Davis. Main Event (20 laps)-Tom Davis, Tom Brown, Daniel Bond, Tony Quinonez, Ryder Greene, Rick Berry, Charles McElroy.
Figure 8 (unofficial)
Main Event (15 laps)-DJ Keldsen, Terry DeCarlo Jr, Bob Brown, Wayne Reeder, Michaela Taylor, David Rosa, Jimmy Robbins, Dakota Keldsen, Trevor Clymens, Dennis Keldsen.
