MERCED, California — Chris Shannon of Merced needed just a few more points to cement the track championship in the DIRTcar modified stock car division at Merced Speedway Sunday night. He got more than enough points as he won the feature event after a dogfight with Robert Marsh of Salinas and Troy Foulger of Martinez.
"I always race to win."— Chris Shannon
Shannon, seven wins strong this season, almost lost the lead on a restart with seven laps to go. Visitor Marsh passed him at the drop of the green, and Shannon fought back to pass Marsh on the white flag lap.
“He got by me,” Shannon said. “Then I had to run around the bottom of the track to get him.”
Shannon didn’t need the win to take the track championship.
“I always race to win,” he said. “This is my home track. Winning here means everything to me. Winning the championship means a lot - nothing beats racing in front of the hometown crowd.”
Champions were crowned in all six speedway divisions.
Larry Damitz of Vallejo, who is 82, is the track champ in the super stock division. Mariposa’s Buddy Thatcher ended a three-year drought to claim victory in the division, topping Mike Shearer of Los Banos and Damitz.
“I changed a few things on the car after last week, when someone crashed into the rear and broke all the mounts,” Thatcher said. “It paid off. It’s my first win in this car, which was new this season. It felt like forever- trying to win week after week.”
Ryan Hart finished 14th in a hobby stock division, which had the largest car count of the season, but he was still able to win the championship.
Cars from other tracks ventured to Merced, with Wally Kennedy taking a hard fought victory in the hobby stock feature event.
“Some lapped car was trying to take the win from me, but I would have no part of it,” Kennedy explained. “This is not my first barbecue.”
Kennedy led most of the feature, with side-by-side pressure put on by Antioch Speedway top runners Jim Freethy and Cole Oreta. A lapped car almost took out the leaders, who narrowly escaped disaster with two laps to go.
Nick Sagmiller held on to become “Four Banger” champ by driving a borrowed car and finishing ninth. Up front, Mike Shapiro of Campbell fought of Watsonville North City High School student Matt Haggio to win the feature event. Shapiro scored the victory on his second time racing at Merced Speedway. It was Haggio’s third visit to the track, finishing second after winning twice.
Tim Goodson scored his third win in the Valley Sportsman class, topping Mariposa’s Mark Odgers. It was Goodson’s third win in seven outings, but it was not enough to top Merced’s Mike Hausman, who was crowned champ.
Chowchilla’s Chistian Hickman,15, became the youngest champion in the All Star Wingless Sprint Car division and won that division’s feature event.
“Three wins and a championship - my very first championship,” he said. “I’m stoked. I can’t wait until next season.”
Merced Speedway hosts the second leg of the Budweiser Fall Classic for Western All Star Late Model Stock Cars and DIRTcar West Modified Stock Cars next Sunday, Oct. 2 The first leg is at sister track Antioch Speedway on Saturday, Oct. 1.
| DIRTcar West Modifieds |
|---|
| Heat 1 1. 32 Chris Shannon 2. 15 Bill Egleston 3. 7 Nick Decarlo 4. 5R Karl Rose 5. 76 Syd Finn 6. 22 Robert Marsh Heat 2 1. 49 Troy Foulger 2. 19 Royce Mull 3. 3 Dereck Colvin 4. 2B Brandon Leonard 5. 78 Jarod Fast 6. 13 Vance Beltran Main 1. 32 Chris Shannon 2. 22 Robert Marsh 3. 49 Troy Foulger 4. 13 Vance Beltran 5. 2B Brandon Leonard 6. 7 Nick Decarlo 7. 19 Royce Mull 8. 15 Bill Egleston 9. 3 Dereck Colvin 10. 5R Karl Rose 11. 78 Jarod Fast |
| Four Bangers |
| Heat 1 1. 14H Matt Hagio 2. 7 Sarah Leslie 3. 99X Andy LaVerne 4. 17 Tim Elias 5. 12 Karen Burns 6. 22 Justin Magleby 7. 20 Nick Sagmiller\ Heat 2 1. 71R Ronnie Cole 2. 806 Mike Shapiro 3. 99 Richard Ragsdale 4. 4T Terry Cheatham 5. 4T4 Josh Strickland Main 1. 806 Mike Shapiro 2. 14H Matt Haggio 3. 7 Sarah Leslie 4. 17 Tim Elias 5. 99X Andy LaVerne 6. 4T Terry Cheatham 7. 4T4 Josh Strickland 8. 12 Karen Burns 9. 20 Nick Sagmiller 10. 99 Richard Ragsdale 11. 22 Justin Magleby 12. 71R Ronnie Cole |
| Hobby Stocks |
| Heat 1 1. 97 Joe Willoughby 2. 92 Charles Parmley 3. 99 Jim Freethy 4. 70L Robbie Loquaci 5. 00 Chris Falkenberg 6. 03 Cole Oreta 7. 57C Gene Canepa Heat 2 1. 38 Ryan Hart 2. 130 William Kennedy 3. 27 Jeremy Davis 4. 17Tim Dean 5. 7 David Soares 6. 14 Paul Mulder Heat 3 1. 71 Jeff Tomlinson 2. 04 Dan Smith 3. 18 Gary Hansen 4. 9C Dave Coleman 5. 2 Dale McDowell 6. 87 Brandon Speck Main 1. 130 William Kennedy 2. 99 Jim Freethy 3. 03 Cole Oreta 4. 71 Jeff Tomlinson 5. 7 David Soares 6. 87 Brandon Speck 7. 27 Jeremy Davis 8. 18 Gary Hansen 9. 17 Tim Dean 10. 00 Chris Falkenberg 11. 57C Gen Canepa 12. 2 Dale McDowell 13. 97 Joe Willoughby 14. 38 Ryan Hart 15. 04 Dan Smith 16. 9C Dave Coleman 17. 92 Charles Parmley 18. 14 Paul Mulder 19. 70L Robbie Loquaci |
| Super Stocks |
| Heat 1 1. 36K Steven Hannah 2. 15 Larry Damitz 3. 61 Ricky Thatcher 4. 28 Dennis Rolfe 5. 88 Buddy Thatcher 6. 67 Mike Shearer 7. 41 Richard Scott 8. 27 Scott VanGelder Main Finish 1. 88 Buddy Thatcher 2. 67 Mike Shearer 3. 15 Larry Damitz 4. 36K Steven Hannah 5. 61 Ricky Thatcher 6. 28 Dennis Rolfe 7. 41 Richard Scott |
| Valley Sportsman |
| Heat 1 1. 55 Shane Haussman 2. 57M Mark Odgers 3. 23M Tim Prothro 4. V8 Mike Henault 5. 32 Richard Hamilton Heat 2 1. 69 John Goodson 2. 5 Ty Shelton 3. 55M Mike Haussman 4. 53 Duane Fast Main Finish 1. 69 John Goodson 2. 57M Mark Odgersd 3. 23M Tim Prothro 4. 55M Mike Hausmann 5. 5 Ty Shelton 6. 32 Richard Hamilton 7. 53 Duane Fast 8. V8 Mike Henault 9. 55 Shane Hausmann |
| Wingless Sprints |
| Heat 1 1. 10 Brandon Gandy 2. 22 Christian Hickman 3. 99 Dan Gonderman 4. 93 Doug Watts Main 1. 22 Christian Hickman 2. 99 Dan Gonderman 3. 10 Brandon Gandy 4. 93 Doug Watts |
