ANTIOCH, Calif — - There’s no place like home.
Just ask Scott Busby, California’s most winning stock car driver. He finished third in last Saturday’s DIRTcar West modfied stock car season opener after a thrilling battle with Randy and Ryan McDaniel. Even though he finished third, he finished with a smile on his face.
“Antioch Speedway has always been our home,” he says. “It has been since the late 70’s. Last Saturday’s race was exciting, and it was very clean for an opening night feature. But Antioch Speedway can be the opposite this week. It can be brutally rough. That’s how it has always been.”
Antioch Speedway is where Busby began his career in a street stock. Then he graduated to a sportsman car in the early 80’s. The sportsman division became the modified stock car division. Busby dominated on dirt tracks; so he went on to conquer paved tracks. To this day, he has 457 feature wins, a record few can challenge.
“I used to race 70-80 races a year,” Busby explains. “The day of the hustle and bustle is over for me. Now, I stay closer to home.”
The Martinez building contractor towed his meticulously prepared blue No. 73 modified from Oregon to Southern California in the old days. He ventured to the Midwest, too. Today, he still keeps two pavement late model stock cars in his garage along with the modified he races at Antioch and Merced Speedways.
“If the equipment is ready to go, we race,” he says. “If it needs more work, we skip a week. We’ll be ‘home’ this Saturday, though.”
Busby has racked up 12 championships, but isn’t setting his sites on another.
“It’s all fun,” he adds. “I like the big shows, the weekly shows. When Antioch has a big event, the outside competition comes in. There’s more diversification. I like that.”
Last week, Antioch Speedway drew 28 DIRTcar modifieds, resulting in four heats, a “B” main and an “A” main. With sister track Merced Speedway quiet for Easter this Sunday; an abundance of cars should fill the Antioch pits.
The Saturday “Big Show” features six divisions of racing: DIRTcar Modifieds, Wingless Sprint Cars, Hobby Stocks, Limited Late Models, Dwarf Cars and “Four-Bangers”. Gates open at 5 p.m., racing starts at 7 p.m.
Antioch Speedway is located at 1201 W. 10th St., Antioch, CA. in the Contra Costa Fairgrounds. Admission is $12 for adults, $6 for children, $6 for seniors, and a family pack of two adults and two children is $30.
Notes:
Merced Speedway is dormant this Sunday for Easter. Racing resumes at the quarter mile Central Valley track on Sunday, May 1 at 5 p.m. DIRTcar West Modifieds, Wingless Sprint Cars, Hobby Stocks, Valley Sportsman and “Four Bangers” will be featured that Sunday.
