MERCED, California — Sprint Car driver Dave Press of San Mateo, Calif. will be fighting for a title when the wild action of open-wheeled racers returns to the high-banked quarter mile oval of Merced Speedway this Sunday.
Press just missed finishing the season on top of the point pile at Antioch Speedway, which could have been his fourth career championship in the division revered by fans as having the fastest cars on dirt. Drivers sit in a narrow frame connecting four tires and an engine, broad-sliding around the oval side by side.
“I thought I had the math figured out at Antioch,” said Press. “It looked to me like I had it (the championship).”
When the complex scoring dust cleared, Press had to settle for second. So he set sight on Merced Speedway, where he holds first place with a narrow two-point margin over Dan Gonderman.
“Championships mean a lot to me,” Press said. “Some drivers go for the win, others the season’s point battle. I like to win as much as anyone else, but I like to go into the record books, too.”
Press garnered two track championships at Petaluma Speedway, and one championship in the Northern California Modified Association’s traveling Sprint Car Division. This season, he ventured to Merced Speedway.
“I like racing, period. And, I don’t like to run at the same track over and over,” Press explained. “Merced intrigues me. It’s a different shape and size than any other track around. You have to set up a car differently. You have to change your driving style. I love a challenge, and Merced Speedway offers one.”
Press’s first venture to the new track early this year resulted in a comeback story
he’ll never forget. He flipped his car end over end in a qualifying race, fixed it, and returned to win the feature.
“Flipping is part of Sprint Car racing,” he said. “You can’t let a flip get the best of you.”
Joining the Sprint Cars will be the track’s premier division - Modified Stock Cars, along with Hobby Stocks, Valley Sportsman, and Four-Bangers.
Consistency has paid off for local driver George Lefler, who now leads in championship points after top drivers headed for national and regional races in past weekends. Last week’s feature winner Darick Colvin is climbing the points the ladder with Bill Egleston, who raced him to the finish in the most recent modified feature. Aaron Barnell is also in striking distance of Lefler. The championship battle could see a lead change this weekend.
It’s still Raul Rodriguez, Jr. leading Shane Hausmann in the Hobby Stocks. Coming on strong is Shannon Porter, who has moved up into third position. Shane’s father, Mike, leads the winged, big-tire cars of the Valley Sportsman division. He holds a narrow lead over Tim Prothro.
Two women - Tina Perez and Ashlee Cole - who have moved up to third and fourth position, are chasing the local stars of the Four-Banger division, David Coleman and Josh Strickland.
Non-stop racing action begins at 5 p.m. Sunday at Merced Speedway, 900 Martin Luther King, Jr. Way in Merced, Calif.
