By Don Martin II Photography by Paul Gould
Oreste Gonella won the 20 lap All Star Racing Series ‘A’ Modified Main Event Saturday night at Antioch Speedway. Gonella is the reigning champion at Petaluma Speedway. After three restarts for various spins and tangles, Gonella charged into the lead from his front row starting position. Reigning champion Nick DeCarlo made an inside pass on Trevor Clymens for second on lap two, and Clymens surrendered third to Duane Cleveland on lap four. DeCarlo ran closely behind Gonella, and the battle was about to get interesting as they were approaching a group of four cars to put them a lap down. Moments later, a lap 11 yellow flag waved. Gonella continued to set the pace on the restart with DeCarlo shadowing his every move. However, Gonella stayed cool under pressure and scored the well-earned victory in front of DeCarlo. Cleveland finished third. Point leader Buddy Kniss started back in 11th and charged to a fourth place finish ahead of Clymens.
Bob Newberry won the 20 lap Wingless Spec Sprint Main Event. This was the second win in a row for the reigning division champion. Point leader Shannon Newton started on the front row and charged into the early lead with Rick Panfili settling into second. A low pass in Turn 2 of the third lap gained Newberry second. Newton held about a straightaway advantage by then, and Newberry set about trying to reel him in. Newberry caught a break when a yellow flag flew for a McKenzie Newton spin in Turn 2 on lap 12. Newberry got a run on Shannon Newton on the restart lap. As they went through Turns 3 and 4 to complete the lap, Newberry moved to the inside of Newton and made the pass for the lead. Newberry would lead the remaining eight laps for the victory as Shannon Newton settled for second, followed by Dustin Maibes, Panfili and Roy Fisher.
Kimo Oreta won the 20 lap Limited Late Model Main Event. This was the second win of the season for the 2017 division champion aboard the Sun Drop Racing #15 car. Oreta had the lead from the outset and proceeded to lead the entire distance. Point leader Jim Freethy took second from Chad Hammer on the second lap and chased Oreta the rest of the way for a second place finish. Hammer settled for third, followed by John Evans and Michael Birch.
Chris Sorensen won an exciting 20 lap Hobby Stock Main Event. This was the fifth win for the point leader, and it came in a race that went without a yellow flag for the entire distance. Still looking for her first win of the season, Breanna Troen took the lead from Natalie Perry on the second lap with Trevor Clymens and Sorensen quickly settling into second and third. Troen had a pretty good lead going until the tenth lap when a slower car spun in front of her, allowing Clymens and Sorensen to close in behind her. Troen still led until getting a little sideways in Turn 2 of the 14th lap as Clymens moved around on the outside. Sorensen quickly followed into second and kept the pressure on Clymens. On the 18th lap, Sorensen made an inside pass in Turn 4 to gain the lead. Sorensen went on to victory, followed by Clymens, Josh Leach, Troen and Jacob Mallett Jr.
Travis Dutra won the 20 lap Dwarf Car Main Event. Giovanni Bertoli led the first four laps of the race ahead of Kevin Miraglio. An exciting three-wide move exiting Turn 4 of the fifth lap saw Dutra take the high side for the lead. A lap seven yellow flag waved as Miraglio spun out of second, collecting Mario Marques. At that moment, point leader Scott Dahlgren was running second. Dutra led that restart and the remainder of the race with Dahlgren not too far behind in second. Troy Stevenson finished third, followed by Bertolli and Chris Becker.
