ANTIOCH, CA -- With double points on the line Saturday night at Antioch Speedway, Chad Chadwick came through with a big victory in the 50 lap All Pro Series Dirt Modified feature. The event was billed as the Firecracker 50 and paid $800 to Chadwick aboard his Oakley Sterndrive sponsored Pro Chassis. Chadwick will gain major ground on point leader Chris Wadsworth in the hotly contested championship battle. Mel Maupin kept it clean for a solid $400 second aboard his Dunn-Wright Appliance Service sponsored Harris as early leader Bart Reid was third. This event was part of a three division program that also included the track's first fireworks display since 1982.
With over an hour left to run this main event, track officials elected to count caution flag laps until the cars doubled up for the restarts and not count yellows the last ten laps. Track officials also went with an 18 car main event format for the first time this year in the hopes of cutting back on caution flag laps. Bobby Hogge III and Chris Wadsworth shared the front row with Wadsworth putting his Harris out front early ahead of Hogge and Kenny Neu. Neu pitted on lap four, and a high move in Turn 4 of the fifth lap gained Chad Chadwick third from Rick Karnes. Hogge spun in Turn 3 of the seventh lap, collecting Dennis Furia Sr. and Karnes in the process for a yellow flag. Wadsworth chose the outside on the restart option and continued to lead Chadwick and Reid. Hogge broke for a for a lap 11 caution, and Mark Garner brought out another caution flag on lap 15. Wadsworth led the first restart, but the lap 17 restart saw Chadwick and Reid take over the top two spots when Wadsworth got sideways in Turn 3. Reid used a Turn 3 pass to get by Chadwick for first, and the lap 25 mark found Reid, Chadwick, Wadsworth, Maupin and Don Shelton in the top five.
A lap 35 caution flag flew for a tangle between Shelton and Bill Wallace Jr. Reid picked the inside and continued to lead Chadwick and Wadsworth on the lap 37 restart. Wadsworth crashed for a lap 43 caution flag, but he returned for the restart in an attempt to limp around the track for more points. Chadwick led Reid and Maupin on this restart. The leaders quickly came up on Wadsworth, and there was contact on the back stretch. A final caution flag flew on lap 45, and Reid pitted with a flat tire. Karnes and Furia unlapped themselves on the restart in what was thought by some at the time to be a pass for the top two spots. However, Karnes and Furia were lapped after their earlier tangle with Hogge as caution flag laps counted. Chadwick cruised to victory with Maupin and Reid the final lead lap cars. Furia and Mark Hannum rounded out the top five, both a lap down.
There were 30 Dirt Modifieds on hand for the event, and the new format called for four qualifying heats with the top three transferring into the main event and six transfers from the B Main to make up the 18 car main event. Eight lap heat race wins went to Hogge, Tim Kennady, Garner and Neu, all from the front row. Hogge also won the trophy dash. George Crithfield held off Bob Newberry and Brian Curran to win the shortened five lap C Main. Mark Hannum beat Wallace and Southwest Tour racer Steve Petty, who was debuting a new Harris Modified, to win the 12 lap B Main. Both Crithfield and Shelton came from the C Main to eventual top ten feature finishes.
RACE RESULTS
DIRT MODIFIED
H 1-Bobby Hogge III, Bert Elworthy, Mel Maupin, Bill Wallace Jr., Chester Kniss.
H 2-Tim Kennady, J.D. Willis, Rick Karnes, Debi Clymens, Clay Twigg.
H 3-Mark Garner, Chad Chadwick, Dennis Furia Sr., Mark Hannum, Brian Cass.
H 4-Kenny Neu, Bart Reid, Chris Wadsworth, Mark Schrader, Jerry Harless.
DASH-Hogge, Garner, Willis, Neu.
C MAIN-George Crithfield, Bob Newberry, Brian Curran, Steve Petty, Don Shelton, Tim Benintendi, Nick Caughman Jr., Tobi Madden.
B MAIN-Hannum, Wallace, Petty, Curran, Shelton, Crithfield, Clymens, Newberry, Benintendi, Kniss.
A MAIN-Chadwick, Maupin, Reid, Furia, Hannum, Karnes, Kennady, Wadsworth, Shelton, Crithfield, Garner, Wallace, Curran, Elworthy, Willis, Petty, Neu, Hogge.
