After rolling his car in the hot lapping session between the first and second round of qualifying heat races, Don Shelton came back strong with a win in his second heat and then a $150 victory in the 15 lap Race Of Champions during Friday night's qualifying format for Saturday night's $22,000 Winter Chevrolet 100 at All Pro Series sanctioned Antioch Speedway. $100 for the winner of the dash was sponsored by Tiffiny's Lounge and the track paid the rest $50 to start as that race was added to the show on raceday. Impressive second generation racer Chris Wadsworth was the only driver to win both of his qualifying heat races as there were 15 winners in 16 heat races.
The heat races were lined up during the first session based on the order the drivers registered to race and were ten laps each. Two time Petaluma champion Joe Carr gained the lead in the first heat on lap six after leader Keith Brown Sr. backed his car in Turn 1 and would go on to win ahead of Bert Elworthy. Wadsworth held off the ever present Bobby Hogge IV to win the next heat. Bart Reid won the third heat race in impressive fashion ahead of Brian Cass. Many time Antioch champion J.D. Willis scored the win in his heat ahead of Michael Paul. The fifth heat race saw Shelton and 1999 Pacific Coast Regional champion Mark Welch, driving the Fred Jenson car, put to the rear after two bad starts, and Brad Coelho scored the win ahead of Oregon leadfoot Tom Glover. Todd Souza cruised to victory in the sixth heat ahead of Chad Chadwick. Mark Garner held off Chico racer Dustin Jenks to win the seventh ten lapper. The final heat race of the first round saw an impressive Kenny Neu drive his Cobra car to victory with former Marysville champion Randy McDaniel and former Chico titlist Richard Papenhausen pressuring him the whole way.
Elworthy came back to win the first ten lap heat of the second round ahead of Neu. Chadwick outdueled Garner to win the second heat. The most action of the heats occurred in the third whn Mike Sohnrey spun out of the lead in Turn 3 of the eighth lap with Todd Souza put to the rear for his part in the incident. Bill Wallace Jr. inherited the lead, but he pushed in Turn 4, allowing Shelton to race by for the victory. Shelton and crew had repaired his Pro Chassis following his Turn 1 rollover during hot laps between the first and second rounds of heat races, and the crowd donated $150 for the Rollover Fund. Dan Dozier surprised the field with an impressive win in the fourth heat ahead of Willis. Medford "Rookie Of The Year" Mark Wauge held off Tom Glover to win Heat 5. Hogge made a low pass in Turn 4 of the eighth lap to beat Brian Curran in the sixth heat. Wadsworth made a charge from the back to beat Carr in the seventh heat, and Nick Perivolaris edged out Brian Cass in the final heat.
At the end of the heat races, score keepers added up the total points for the drivers in both of their heats with a point for a win, two for secont, etc. The 16 drivers with the lowest point totals made the A Main for Saturday, the next 16 made the B Main and so on down the line. Ties were broken based on who had the highest finish in the second heat. With his two heat wins, Wadsworth made the feature as did heat win and second place finishers Garner, Willis, Hogge, Neu, Elworthy and Carr. Shelton, Dozier, Paul, Cass, Chadwick, Wallace, Glover, Perivolaris and Reid also qualified for the rich race.
A Race Of Champions was added to the show with drivers winning Dirt Modified titles eligible. It was a 15 lapper with 1998 Antioch champion Shelton racing into the lead ahead of former Chico champion Richard Papenhausen and 1999 Watsonville titlist Bobby Hogge IV. Driving the Fred Jenson car, 1999 Stockton 99 Speedway champion Mark Welch and former Marysville champ Randy McDaniel raced by former Petaluma champ Joe Carr for fourth and fifth. However, Welch's night ended as he smacked the Turn 4 wall for a lap ten caution flag. Shelton, Papenhausen and Hogge had pulled away from the pack in a nip and tuck battle up front. Shelton chose the outside on the restart option, but he momentarily stalled his car in Turn 2, allowing Hogge to race by Papenhausen for second. Hogge pulled alongside Shelton, but Shelton was back in front by the time they hit Turn 3. With Hogge and Papenhausen shadowing his every move, Shelton scored the popular victory as Hogge settled for second ahead of Papenhausen, Cottage Grove, OR champ Jason Kocks and Glover.
RACE RESULTS
DIRT MODIFIED
H 1A-Joe Carr, Bert Elworthy, Bob Grenier, Gary Fleish, Mel Maupin.
H 2A-Randy McDaniel, Bobby Hogge IV, Debbie Clymens, Dennis Furia Sr., Mike Sohnrey.
H 3A-Bart Reid, Brian Cass, Bill Wallace Jr., Scott Reierson, Calvin Louis.
H 4A-J.D. Willis, Michael Paul, Bob Scott Jr., Jason Kocks, Mike Salazar.
H 5A-Brad Coelho, Tom Glover, Mark Welch, Nick Perivolaris, Don Shelton.
H 6A-Mark Hannum, Chad Chadwick, Chris Elby, Brian Curran, Michael Doolin.
H 7A-Mark Garner, Dustin Jenks, Troy Shirk, Don Camilli, Bob Newberry.
H 8A-Kenny Neu, Randy McDaniel, Richard Papenhausen, Dan Dozier, Phil Indihar.
H 1B-Elworthy, Neu, Furia, Jenks, Salazar. H 2B-Chadwick, Garner, Grenier, Tim Kennady, Al Artero. H 3B-Shelton, Wallace, Papenhausen, Shirk, Todd Souza. H 4B-Dozier, Willis, Welch, Camilli, Elby.
H 5B-Mark Wauge, Glover, Scott, Bobby Hogge III, Maupin. H 6B-Hogge IV, Curran, Reid, Coelho, Kocks. H 7B-Wadsworth, Carr, Paul, Jim DiGiovanni, Doolin.
H 8B-Perivolaris, Cass, McDaniel, Keith Brown Sr., Ed Davies.
RACE OF CHAMPIONS-Shelton, Hogge, Papenhausen, Kocks, Glover, McDaniel, Carr, Welch, Reid, Shirk.
