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JD Willis Salute Offers Great Antioch Speedway Lineup For Final Race Of August

Antioch, CA...On the heels of the Workman Communications 50 and the Dean Cline Classic, Antioch Speedway has another great lineup set for this Saturday night. It's also the Third Annual JD Willis Salute, honoring the Antioch Speedway Hall of Famer.

The final August race features a loaded lineup of IMCA sanctioned Modifieds, Sport Modifieds and Stock Cars, Pacific Coast Hobby Stocks, Late Models and 600 Micro Sprints. The Modified race is also the seventh and final race for the IMCA Modified All Star Series.

For those who have been around Antioch Speedway for long enough, the name JD "Ubetcha" Willis is well known. Willis started his career in Stock Cars in 1967 and was a feature winner that year. He continued his winning ways through multiple decades and ultimately retired as the all-time Antioch feature win leader with 72 victories.

In 1970 and 71, Willis won the Stock Car championships at Antioch, adding the 1971 Petaluma title as well. He moved on to the Sportsman division and enjoyed great success there. His third place season in 1974 began a streak of five-straight Top 5 seasons, including the 1977 championship. He retired at the end of the 1980 season.

However, his retirement didn't last long when Buzz Wadsworth put him behind the wheel of his Stock Car in 1981. JD enjoyed some legendary battles with NASCAR Regional champions Dave Byrd and Jim Pettit II and only lost the 1983 and 1984 championships to Byrd by a combined 10 points. He won the 1984 Stock Car championship and was ready to retire at that point.

However, Bruce Curl had other ideas as he put JD behind the wheel of his car. That resulted in him winning Late Model features again and ranking Top 5 in both 1985 and 1986. Willis had also managed to win Main Events at Petaluma, Baylands, Watsonville and Merced through the years. He retired again, but Bill Curl had him driving his Street Stock in the early 90s. JD finished as high as second in his limited starts.

It had been about a decade since Willis wheeled his trademark #2a car, but he reunited with the Bowers team for some IMCA Modified racing with a pair of Top 3 seasons in 2000 and 2001. In 2003, he won the Antioch championship, and he lost the 2004 title to Aaron Crowell by a mere three points. He ran limited race dates for a couple of seasons before retiring for good.

When it comes to discussions about who the greatest driver is in Antioch Speedway history, JD's name comes up more often than not. He's certainly one of the greatest drivers the track has ever seen and proved that by running with and beating the best drivers in multiple eras.

Billy Bowers continues his family's tradition of building fast race cars, and his current driver, Troy Foulger of Oakley, is also in the discussion of the all-time greats of Antioch Speedway. Troy went winless in the first five IMCA Modified races, but a third place finish was his worst outing to that point. His win in the most recent race keeps him 15 points ahead of 2023 State champion Andrew Pearce of Oakley.

Further back, there's a battle going on for third. Reigning State champion Jacob Mallet Jr of Oakley leads current state point leader Katelynn Robertson of Reno, Nevada by two points with Bobby Hogge IV of Salinas just 11 points back.

Hogge is anticipated this week. The two-time NASCAR Regional champion is leading the All Star Modified Series after five races, and that title is worth $1,200 from the $3,500 purse. Hogge had wins in the first Antioch and Watsonville races, while Gavyn Manning of Bakersfield won at Tulare and Merced wins went to Foulger and Andy Obertello of Hollister.

Several front-runners from out of the area are anticipated, including multi-time Watsonville champion Cody Burke of Salinas, current Watsonville point leader Jim Pettit II of Prunedale, Merced point leader Josh Combs of Roseville and Jonathan Hagio of Prunedale.

In the IMCA Sport Modified division, rookie Alfred Johnson of Antioch is the talk of the track. The second-generation racer had been turning really good laps in the two races leading into last week and was competing for Top 5 finishes. It was obvious he was due for a good finish, but nobody saw it coming when he led all 20 laps last week to hold off Joseph Pato of Oakley for his first career victory.

With two victories to his credit this year, two-time reigning champion Kenny Shrader of Pacheco can sense a third championship on the horizon. Shrader holds a 10 point advantage over Jason Ryan Jr of Oakley and an 11 point lead over Trevor Cleymens of Brentwood. Ryan and Clymens need something big to increase their championship hopes. Meanwhile, Tommy Clymens Jr of Oaklry has a solid hold on fourth.

Fred Ryland of Brentwood is faring much better in the IMCA Stock Cars, where he picked up his division-leading fourth victory last week. In doing so, he puts himself in a good position to clinch the championship after Saturday night. Mitch Enos of Manteca didn't see his evening start well last week, but it ended with him charging from the back to snatch a second place finish from Jared Baugh of Pittsburg. The finish moved Enos into second in the standings.

Baugh has found that the Stock Car division can be a bit more challenging than the Hobby Stocks, but he's improved with each start. He even led a couple of laps last week before finishing a division-best third. He's 17 points behind State point leader Austin Van Hoff of Chowchilla, who leads Kenneth Robles of Rio Vista by four points.

The 50 lap Dean Cline Classic for the Hobby Stocks shook the point standings a little bit. Despite breaking a transmission while leading with 15 laps to go, however, three-time winner Grayson Baca of Brentwood continues to hold a 45 point lead over his girlfriend, Jewell Crandall of Antioch. Crandall had to make a pit stop about the time Baca saw his race end, but she made a furious charge to the front to match her season-best second place fiinish.

Hunter Hammett of Oakley was in the hunt for another Top 3 finish when mechanical issues late in the race sidelined him. He's now 20 points behind in the battle for second. The odd man out in this scenario is Oakley's James East. East missed the recent race due to a crash at Petaluma Speedway the week before. However, he still holds fourth in the standings ahead of Charlie Bryant of Oakley.

After suffering their own mechanical failures last week, Oakley's Aidan Ponciano, Larry McKinzie Jr of Bethel Island and Trevor Clymens of Brentwood will be among the drivers scrambling to get their cars ready for Saturday. Aidan's mother, past champion Megan Ponciano of Oakley, made her first start of the year in a Hobby Stock that she'll be handing over to her daughter eventually. Megan won the B Main and finished seventh in last week's feature.

Making up the balance of the Top 10 in the Hobby Stock standings going into Saturday are 2020 champion James Thomson of Pittsburg, Jesse Paladino of Brentwood, Aidan Ponciano, McKinzie and Maddie Motts of San Pablo.

Late Models will be a part of the show, and they'll be running topless this week to give the fans a better view of the drivers. This is both an Antioch and Xtreme Late Model Series point race. The Antioch battle is being led by Placerville point leader and reigning Antioch champion Rod Oliver of Yuba City. He's trailed by both Livermore's Shawn DeForest and Ray Trimble of Auburn by 40 points as Tim Yeager of Belmont and rookie Joey Ridgeway of Antioch are the current Top 5 at Antioch.

The Xtreme Late Model Series battle is closer, and it's becoming more likely that there could be a first time champion in the group. DeForest is leading Trimble by nine points. Further back is the race for third, where Oliver leads Yeager by five points. The duo are still within 43 points of DeForest coming into this crucial race. The series is offering a beautiful custom-made trophy to the winner in honor of JD Willis.

Rounding out the field will be the 600 Micro Sprints, and interest in this class continues to grow in what has been the track's best season for them so far. Through consistency, Buddy Chappell of San Jose is the current leader by 26 markers ahead of a pair of two-time winners, Payton Gentry of Santa Rosa and Kyle Mentch of Alameda. Just two points behind them is Ryan Dotson of Fremont. Devon Zuffa of Oakley sits fifth, and other drivers to watch for this week include Matthew Linde of Pittsburg and Charlie Kight and Roberto Monroy, both of Antioch.

All of the winners of the Main Events this week will receive beautiful trophies. The Late Models and Modifieds are sure to bring the speed this week, while the Hobby Stocks, Sport Modifieds and other classes will be bringing the excitement. This will be a night you won't want to miss.

The gates will open at 5:00 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 Information:
IMCA Modified championship hopefuls Troy Foulger #49 and Andrew Pearce #15p. Photo by Katrina Kniss

IMCA Sport Modified racers Jason Ryan Jr #52, James Grassle #44g and Fred Ryland #7j. Photo by Katrina Kniss

Close Hobby Stock racing between Hunter Hammett #55h, Kevin Brown #17b, Todd Gomez #38 and Charlie Bryant #11a. Photo by Katrina Kniss

IMCA Stock Car point leader Fred Ryland #7j, Nick Caughman Jr #32, rookie Jared Baugh #07 and Mitch Enos #09. Photo by Katrina Kniss

Xtreme Late Model Series championship contenders Shawn DeForest #72 and Ray Trimble #37. Photo by Katrina Kniss

600 Micro Sprint point leader Buddy Chappell #99, Ryan Dotson #67 and Ken Carter #84. Photo by Katrina Kniss

JD Willis in his 1977 Sportsman championship winning car. Photo from The Willis Family Collection

JD Willis from his 1984 Stock Car championship season. Photo from The Willis Family Collection

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