Antioch, CA — Troy Foulger wrapped up an impressive double win night with his 20 lap DIRTcar Late Model feature win Saturday night at Antioch Speedway.
Driving the Bowers Racing Late Model, Foulger won his heat race and raced into the early Main Event lead. Heat winner Rob Norris and Petaluma Modified star Michael Paul Jr. were in the hunt early. With six laps remaining, however, Norris got into the front wall and rolled in front of the flag stand. New track champion Richard Papenhausen took up the chase of Foulger, but Foulger stayed smooth and collected the victory. Jeff Decker finished third ahead of Shawn DeForest and Paul.
The four time A Modified champion Foulger wasn’t done there. He drove the Bowers Racing Modified to his second 20 lap A Modified win of the season. The team had work to do following his bout with the wall two weeks ago, but the car was ready for a run at the $1000 prize. Foulger made all the right moves as he joined track legends Keith Brown Sr. and Bobby Hogge IV in being able to win A Modified and Late Model Main Events on the same night. Anthony Slaney enjoyed a great night of his own with a season best second place finish ahead of Michael Paul, Chester Kniss and Bobby Montalvo. Carl Berendsen II wrapped up his second championship season in three years.
Boy Moniz #22 made his first appearance at Antioch a winning effort with his Wingless Spec Sprint victory. Photo by Paul Gould
Newcomer Boy Moniz scored a surprise 20 lap Wingless Spec Sprint feature win. Moniz led all the way in a Main Event that was destined to go without a yellow flag. An open wheel racing competitor in Hawaii, Moniz drove a great race and pulled away to a comfortable margin of victory. Shannon Newton won a close battle with new track champion Jim Perry Jr. for second, while Brandon Burd outdueled Roy Fisher for fourth.
2015 champion Fred Ryland scored his fifth 20 lap B Modified Main Event win in thrilling fashion. Al Johnson raced out to the early lead ahead of Jason Ferguson and Alan Furuta. Rookie Mike Mates spun for his second yellow flag on lap seven. New track champion Trevor Clymens pitted from the Top 5 on lap 14. Johnson continued to lead, but Ryland was on the move and slipped past Ferguson for second. Ryland made a last turn pass and beat Johnson back to the checkered flag. Ferguson finished third ahead of Mike Merritt, Mitch Enos and heat winner Megan Ponciano.
Kimo Oreta wrapped up a “Rookie Of The Year” and point runnerup season with his first career 20 lap Limited Late Model feature victory. Oreta charged into the early lead ahead of Lori Brown and Jim Freethy. After winning his heat race, five time winner Mark Garner had his sights set on second in the standings, but his race ended in a lap seven tangle with track champion Larry Damitz. Oreta continued to lead the restart. Two time champion Mike Gustafson managed to get past Brown for second and was in hot pursuit of the leader. However, nothing was going to stop Oreta from getting the well earned victory. Gustafson settled for second ahead of Brown, Damitz, Freethy and Shawn McCoy.
New champion Guy Ahlwardt #10 won his sixth Hobby Stock Main Event of the season. Photo by Paul Gould.
Guy Ahlwardt wrapped up his championship and “Rookie Of The Year” winning season with his sixth 20 lap Hobby Stock Main Event triumph. Ahlwardt jumped out to the early lead ahead of fellow heat race winner Chris Sorensen. He led on a lap six restart following a fire under the hood of the Frank Furtado car and following a red flag on lap 11 for a lost wheel from the Lindsey Buirch car. Furtado was running fourth at the time of his mishap. Bob Brown stalled for a yellow flag on lap 13. The slowdowns didn’t matter to Ahlwardt as he continued to lead each restart with Sorensen in pursuit on his way to another win. Cameron Swank finished third ahead of Michael Cooper and Jordan Swank.
Rising second generation star Ben Wiesz scored the victory in the 20 lap Dwarf Car Main Event. The teen leadfoot started his night off strong with a heat race victory. Earlier this year, Wisez scored an impressive victory in a Dwarf Car Nationals Event up in Medford, Oregon. On this occasion, he had to contend with newly crowned Antioch champion Kevin Miraglio and Mike Corsaro, who won the other heat race. With Miraglio leading the chase, Wiesz stayed smooth and grabbed his first Antioch feature victory. Miraglio settled for second ahead of point runnerup Corsaro, recent Antioch winner Josh Miller and Preston Humphrey.
The Antioch Speedway 2016 Awards Banquet is set for November 19th, and the January 1, 2017 New Years Bash will feature A Modifieds, B Modifieds and Hobby Stocks. For further information, go to www.antiochspeedway.com.
Unofficial Race Results
DIRTcar Late Model
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Troy Foulger, Rob Norris. Main Event (20 Laps)-Foulger, Richard Papenhausen, Jeff Decker, Shawn DeForest, Michael Paul Jr.
A Modified
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Shawn DeForest, Jake Dewsbury. Main Event (20 Laps)-Troy Foulger, Anthony Slaney, Michael Paul, Chester Kniss, Bobby Montalvo.
B Modified
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Trevor Clymens, Megan Ponciano. Main Event (20 Laps)-Fred Ryland, Al Johnson, Jason Ferguson, Mike Merritt, Mitch Enos.
Wingless Spec Sprint
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Roy Fisher, Shannon Newton. Main Event (20 Laps)-Boy Moniz, Newton, Jim Perry Jr., Brandon Burd, Fisher.
Limited Late Model
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Mark Garner, Jim Freethy. Main Event (20 Laps)-Kimo Oreta, Mike Gustafson, Lori Brown, Larry Damitz, Freethy.
Hobby Stock
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Guy Ahlwardt, Chris Sorensen. Main Event (20 Laps)-Ahlwardt, Sorensen, Cameron Swank, Michael Cooper, Jordan Swank.
Dwarf Car
Heat Winners (6 Laps)-Mike Corsaro, Ben Wiesz. Main Event (20 Laps)-Wiesz, Kevin Miraglio, Cosaro, Josh Miller, Preston Humphrey.
All information provided by Don Martin II
