7/22/2025
Antioch Speedway
Hunt Series, Hobby Stocks Headline Backpack Night At Antioch Speedway Saturday
Antioch, CA...Racing continues at Antioch Speedway this Saturday night with the annual Back To School Backpack event. The racing community brings backpacks and school supplies for the kids as they get ready for another year at school.
The Hunt Magnetos Wingless Spec Sprint Tour created this event three years ago as a way to do something for the kids. They will be featured once again along with the Pacific Coast Hobby Stocks, Dwarf Cars, Mini Stocks and the Hardtops.
Last season, reigning Antioch champion Jacob Tuttle of Oakley won this race ahead of Blake Bower of Brentwood. It turned out to be a pivotal night for last season's Hunt Series champion DJ Johnson of Stockton as he finished third. Antioch is playing a key role in the Hunt Series point battle this season with this being their third of four scheduled races at the 3/8 mile clay oval. It is the most scheduled track for the series this season.
The two races at Antioch so far have had similar results with Jake Morgan of Fair Oaks driving the Mark Dolner owned car to victory. The most recent Antioch race was also the Cameron Martin Memorial, which Morgan won ahead of Antioch point leader Bob Newberry of Brentwood and last week's Antioch winner Josh Young of Roseville.
Morgan's pursuit of a third Hunt Series championship has been an up and down endeavor. He's picked up five victories, but they are his only Top 5 finishes of the season. His other wins have taken place at Stockton, Merced and the recent Placerville race. This puts him 53 points ahead of this season's Marysville winner Eathon Landri of Milpitas. Landfri had five Top 5 finishes in the first six races, but he's struggled in the last two events.
Meanwhile, Newberry has recorded back-to-back second place finishes on the tour headed into this race, moving him to within seven points of Lanfri in the race for second. At this point, Morgan, Lanfri and Newberry are the main players in the title chase, and Saturday's race will be very important.
Rookie Braidon Moniz of Waianae, HI had a season high second place finish at the Marysville show, keeping him fourth in the standings as the top rookie this season. Moniz leads Josh Wooten of Yuba City by just 25 points. Sacramento's Paul Vandenberg and rookie Daniel Dekeyser of Kelseyville are within striking range of the Top 5 as Jeff Scotto of Antioch, Santa Rosa's Carson Hawkins and Brent Steck of Roseville round out the Top 10 coming into the night.
Like the Hunt Series, the Hobby Stocks are anticipating another good field of cars for the show. Last week, 2020 champion James Thomson of Pittsburg borrowed the Jared Baugh car and promptly led all the way to get his first win of the season. This moved him into sixth in the standings, just 21 points behind Oakley's Charlie Bryant, who ended up second last week.
Coming off of a 21st place finish at the previous race, Oakley's James East rebounded last week to finish seventh. He still finds himself 47 points behind Brentwood's Grayson Baca in the championship chase. Baca has three wins in his quest for a second division title. His fifth place finish last week was also his division leading seventh Top 5 finish.
Bryant, Antioch's Jewell Crandall and Hunter Hammett of Oakley had a spirited duel going for second last week, and Crandall and Hammett are also in a fight for third in the standings. Crandall ran just a little bit stronger in holding off Hammett for a third place finish last week, and that put the duo in a tie for third of the standings, six points behind East.
Thomson seems to be overcoming his rough start this season as he's moved into sixth in the standings, 10 points ahead of 2021 champion Larry McKinzie Jr of Discovery Bay and 12 over Brentwood's Jesse Paladino. Maddie Motts of San Pablo and hard luck racer Aidan Ponciano of Oakley round out the current Top 10.
In the Dwarf Car division, Brentwood's Sean Catucci has hit his stride. With four wins in five starts, he now leads rookie David Hays of Brentwood by 28 points in the championship race. Hays continues to knock on the door to his first feature victory and has scored three-straight second place finishes. He leads reigning champion Travis Day of Concord by 12 points in the race for second. David Rosa of Antioch has a solid hold on fourth, while his son David Michael Rosa of Antioch is seven points ahead of Brandon Aylesworth of Susuin City in the race for fifth.
With four wins in four starts, there's not much drama in the Mini Stock point battle for reigning champion Tom Brown of Santa Rosa. Last week's win keeps him 46 points ahead of rookie Ryder Holmen of Antioch. Holmen scored his best finish yet in second last week. Meanwhile, Jackie Price of Antioch is third in the standings ahead of Matt Wirth of Oakland and Don Abitz of Pittsburg.
Despite winning twice in dominant fashion, two-time reigning Hardtop champion Joel Hannagan of San Jose still finds himself in a close point battle with Don Slaney of Martinez. Hannagan leads by just 10 points. Slaney has scored three-straight second place finishes as he looks to grab his first win. Third ranked Joe Shenefield of Roseville has rebounded nicely from his rollover at the season opener and took a checkered flag in third last time out.
When the Hunt Wingless Spec Sprint Tour comes to town, they always deliver a good car count and an exciting show. It's becoming one of the more popular stops for the group as they've competed at 6 different tracks this season. The Hobby Stocks often produce the biggest car counts at the track and some exciting racing as well. The weather forecast continues to offer cooler than usual temperatures for this time of year, making the final July race a show you won't want to miss.
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 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.
Picture Info
Hunt Wingless Spec Sprint racers Nathan Schank #1, Brandon Moniz #22 and point leader Jake Morgan #7ej. Photo by Katrina Kniss
Hunter Hammett #55, Kevin Brown #17, Charlie Bryant #11a and Todd Gomez #38a battle for position in a recent Hobby Stock Main Event. Photo by Katrina Kniss
Dwarf Car point leader Sean Catucci #43 and rookie David Hays #9. Photo by Katrina Kniss
Mini Stock racers Don Abitz #23, Matt Wirth #27 and rookie Ryder Holmen #777. Photo by Katrina Kniss
Hardtop championship contenders Joel Hannagan #16 and Don Slaney #4ud. Photo by Katrina Kniss
Submitted By: Wylie Wade
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