BRENT CURRAN, TODD GOMEZ, KELLEN CHADWICK, BRYAN GRIER AND JEFF DECKER SCORE WINS IN POINTS RACE #2

Points racing returned to the Antioch Speedway Saturday on April 29th and fans were treated to a great show with good, competitive racing throughout. The Hobby Stocks, B Mods, A Mods, Wingless Sprints, and the Late Models were all on the card, with Brent Curran, Todd Gomez, Kellen Chadwick, Bryan Grier and Jeff Decker all picking up victories in their respective divisions.

The night would start off with a bang, as A Mod front runner Scott Busby’s throttle appeared to stick, causing him to slam into the turn 2 wall destroying his right front and ending his night in hot laps. The Hobby Stock heat races would start the racing portion of the night, with the strong 18 car field being split into three 6 car heats. Brent Curran would lead the entire 1st heat, enjoying a comfortable win over Chris Sorensen and Anthony Vigna. Chris Bennett had been running third but spun on the last lap and would finish 6th. Heat 2 would see a good battle between Lori Brown and Chris Long, with Brow escaping with the narrow victory over Long and Russell Shearer. Heat 3 began with a good three car battle for the lead between Frank Furtado, Lindsey Buirch, and Gene Haney. Unfortunately on lap 5, Furtado and Buirch would lock bumpers and bring out the caution, ending their heats. Haney would go on to win, as only 2 cars finished, with Dominic Taduchi (?) the only other running car. Steve Perry would leave lap 5 and Billy Garner would not be able to complete the final lap with mechanical issues.

The B Mods would be 2nd up for heat races, with the 12 cars being placed into two heats. Anthony Giuliani would make a lap 5 pass on Doff Cooksey to win Heat 1, with Mark Garner finishing third. Randy Brown would win a close Heat 2, holding off numerable charges by Todd Gomez. Kevin Brown would complete the top 3. A Mods were up next. Lap 3 in Heat 1 would see a wreck involving Jake Dewsbury, Eric Berendsen and Greg McEllheny (?), ending Dewsbury and Berendsen’s heat. Kellen Chadwick would run away with it, with McEllheny and Bobby Motts completing the top 3.

Wingless Sprints would be the next to last division to run heats, with Bryan Grier picking up an easy win over James East and Jeremy Newberry. Heat 2 would go to the 23 of Henriques (?), with Roy Fisher and Rick Panfilli rounding out the top 3. Late Model Heats would go on last, with Richard Papenhousen outlasting Jeff Decker to winn heat 1, with Dave Newquist finishing 3rd. Heat 2 would be an interesting one. Things would run smooth up until a lap 6 restart, as all 5 cars remaining in the heat would get involved in a pileup on the front straightaway. Dennis Souza and Paul Guglielmoni would be done for the heat. Shawn DeForest would go on to win over Joey Olschowska and Mike Hynes.

Main Events were next, with the Hobby Stocks rolling off first. It would get out to a hot start, with a lap 3 caution for Taduchi having a fire under his car. Lap 4 restart and the battle between Chris Sorensen and Brent Curran would continue, with Cameron Swank making his presence felt, moving all the way up to 3rd by lap 4 after starting 11th. Heartbreak would come for Sorensen a lap later, having to pull off on lap 5 with mechanical issues. A great battle would ensue between Curran, Swank, and Long, with close hard racing the next 6 laps before a lap 10 caution for Steve Perry spinning. Once we restarted it mainly became a 2 car show with Curran and Swank providing excellent action racing for the lead. Lap 13 would bring another caution for Chris Bennett, with Gene Haney’s strong run coming to an end, pulling off with mechanical issues. Another spin by Rick Foster would end his night on the restart. Once we got going again the show started again, with Swank making a pass on the lap 13 restart, and trying to hold off Curran. He would do so until the last lap, getting loose and out of shape in turn two, allowing Curran to drive by and earn his first career Hobby Stock victory, with Long, Last week’s winner Micheal Cooper, Swank, and Joey Ridgway rounding out your top five.

The B Mods were second for the main events, And would see Doff Cooksey and Todd Gomez lead the field to the green. Kevin Brown would break on lap 1, ending his night early. we would go caution free until lap 9, where Mark Garner would spin after contact with Trevor Clymens. On the restart,Anthony Giuliani would make hard contact with the turn 1 exit wall, collecting Tim Hammett, Doff Cooksey and Kc Keller. Giuliani’s night would be over and racing would continue until a caution on lap 10 for Mark Garner, who’s second yellow would end his night. At this point the race had gone on long enough that it was announced the next flag would end it, and a lap 13 caution for Cooksey and Hammett would end it, with Todd Gomez picking up the victory after leading every lap. A strong run by Megan Ponciano would earn her a second place finish, with KC Keller, Randy Brown and Mike Mates rounding out the top 5.

A Mods were next out and the racing up front early was great, with a 4 car battle between Mike Salazar, Jake Dewsbury, Carl Berendsen, and Kellen Chadwick providing excellent racing. A lap 6 stoppage by Eric Berendsen   on the front stretch would bring out the first caution. On the restart, Dewsbury would manage to get around Salazar on the high side as that great 4 car battle continued until Dewsbury spun to a stop on lap 9. On the restart Kellen Chadwick in Brian Pearce’s Mod would take the lead and start to run away with it. Lap 11 would see Bobby Motts move up to second but no one could get close enough to Chadwick to make a pass. Sean O’Gara’s top 5 run would end on lap 17 with mechanical issues. Back up front, Chadwick would eventually take the checkered flag with a comfortable advantage over Bobby Motts, Carl Berendsen, Eric Berendsen, and Gary Hetrick.

The Wingless Sprints would go on next to last. The race would start with Alan Miranda and Rick Panfilli on the front row. Miranda would lead the first 13 laps as Bryan Grier would quickly move up through the field.  Lap 13 would bring out the first caution as a three car crash including Brandon Burd, the 23 Henriques, and James East, ending all of their nights.  Once we went back to green it was all Bryan Grier, Early leader Alan Miranda would pull off on lap 16 ending a great run by the 11 team. Grier would wind up scoring an easy victory ahead of Jeremy Newberry, Roy Fisher, Rick Panfilli, and Jeff Lee. Robert Floyd would finish 6th, as the young driver in his first race did very well, staying with the pack and keeping out of trouble.

Last but not least was the Super Late Models. Richard Papenhousen would get out to an early lead with “The Hitman” Jeff Decker following close behind. Lap 7 would bring out the first caution for a 2 car incident between Terry Kuntz and Dennis Souza. Dave Newquist’s good run would come to an end as he pulled off on lap 9. The next lap Joey Olschowska and Paul Guglielmoni would tangle to bring out the second caution. The ensuing restart, Decker would use the high line to get around Papenhousen for the lead. Olschowska would spin again on lap 11 to bring out his second yellow and end his night. We would go green once again as Papenhousen would continue to chase Decker until he would make contact with turn 2 on lap 14, and would not return. The rest of the race would see DeForest continue to chase Decker and getting close a few times, but not being able to make the pass, As Decker would win the main over DeForest, Chester Kniss, Kimo Oreta, and Mike Hynes.

Next week will see the return of the Winged 360’s, Wingless Spec Sprints, A Mods, B Mods, Limited Late Models, and the Hobby Stocks.

                                                                       Daren Ricks
                                                                       DRC Media Relations