Antioch, CA...After taking Labor Day Weekend off, racing resumes at Antioch Speedway this Saturday night. It's the first of four exciting racing events during the month of September. Saturday's show features an exciting lineup of Pacific Coast Hobby Stocks, Wingless Spec Sprints, Dwarf Cars, 600 Micro Sprints, Mini Stocks and Hardtops.
The night is also special as we remember two members of the racing community with a special occasion. It's the Third Annual Panfili Cup race for the Wingless Spec Sprints and the fourth running of the Butch Altar Memorial for the Hardtops.
When the Wingless Spec Sprint division got started at Antioch back in 1999, Rick Panfili was one of its original drivers. Panfili had competed with the NCMA during the previous five seasons and quickly got on board with the new division. It's because of the dedication of racers like Rick that the division averaged no less than a dozen cars in each race that first year and grew to the point that several other tracks started their own version of the class.
Panfili finished as high as second in both the point standings and Main Event competition, though his first Main Event victory eluded him. He was a beloved member of the racing community who was quick to help others when he could or to volunteer at the track when help was needed. When Rick passed away in 2023, he had more feature starts than anybody in the division's history.
Butch Althar started racing at Vallejo Speedway in the 1960s, competing in the Stock Car and Hardtop divisions. He eventually became an announcer at Vallejo and was noted for his informative and fun style. He announced at Antioch Speedway for three seasons and also announced for the POSSE Super Stock Tour and at other venues as well.
September will see the Hobby Stocks busier than any other division at the speedway. They will be competing each Saturday night, with the first three races for championship points. Each race will be very important as the drivers try to improve their ranking in the standings.
2023 champion Grayson Baca of Brentwood stumbled out of the gate this year as mechanical failure kept him from even starting the second Main Event of the season. That was the low point for him, but it's been uphill since. With nine Top 5 finishes in 11 races, the three-time feature winner holds a 51 point lead over his girlfriend, Jewell Crandall of Antioch, in the point battle. If Baca doesn't have a bad night this week, it will be very difficult for Crandall to catch him in the final two races.
Crandall has had some solid moments this year, including a pair of seconds and a pair of thirds, but she would love to get her first win of the season. She may need that with the much-improved Hunter Hammett of Oakley only 14 points behind her in the race for second. Hammett is also looking for his first feature win, though he's finished second once and had a pair of third place finishes. Hunter has a 43 point advantage over Oakley's Charlie Bryant in the race for third. Bryant has three runner-up finishes as he looks for his first win of the season this week.
After a crash at Petaluma destroyed his car, James East of Oakley has a tenuous hold on fifth in the standings. He leads two-time winner Aidan Ponciano of Oakley by 14 points with 2020 champion James Thomson of Pittsburgh 22 points back in seventh and Brentwood's Jesse Paladino 28 points back in eighth. Maddie Motts of San Pablo and Larry McKinzie Jr of Discovery Bay make up the balance of the Top 10 coming into the night as rookie Daniel Braudrick of Vacaville is just 18 points out of 10th as the leading rookie in the field.
With a 56 point lead over Anthony Bruno of San Jose, Brentwood's Bob Newberry is hoping to avoid any major bad luck this week. With a pair of wins and a pair of seconds, Newberry is closing in on his unprecedented third Wingless Spec Sprint championship. He could be the first driver to win the championship three times in this class. He's also hoping to wrestle the Panfili Cup from the Ted Finkenbinder team. Finkinbinder's drivers, Blake Bower of Brentwood and David Lindt II of Petaluma, have won the previous two races.
Considering the bad luck Bruno has had, a Panfili Cup win would be a big highlight to his season. Bruno has been busy this year as the current runner-up driver with the WMR Midget series. He had mechanical issues at the previous Antioch race and merely took the green flag to maintain his points. He has a pair of third place finishes as his best Antioch efforts so far this season, and that gives him a 10 point lead over Sonora's Steve Maionchi. Maionchi has finished third in the standings on multiple occasions, but if he could overtake Bruno, it would be his best season to date.
The battle for fourth finds Elk Grove's MacKenzie Newton leading Brentwood's Jeff Scotto by four points with Shannon Newton of Elk Grove 11 points back in sixth. Only 26 points out of fourth is rookie Daniel DeKeyser of Kelseyville. The night could feature some of the top competitors from the Hunt Series in search of a Panfili Cup victory.
In the Dwarf Card division, Brentwood's Sean Catucci is closing in on his first division championship with two races remaining. Catucci has won five times in seven starts, giving him a 40 point advantage over rookie David Hays of Brentwood. Though Hays is looking for his first victory, he's finished as high as second on four occasions so far, giving him a narrow two point advantage over two-time reigning champion Travis Day of Concord. Day is also looking for his first win of the season and has just one second so far.
The winner of the Dwarf Car Main Event will receive a special trophy in memory of Jim Barton. Barton was one of the driving forces in bringing the Dwarf Cars under the Antioch Speedway banner in 1998. He built some of the race cars that competed during those early seasons and picked up a pair of championships along the way. When Jim retired, Ricardo Rivera stepped in for the team and began his own Hall of Fame career. Barton was well respected among his racing peers and was one of the reasons why the division was so strong in its early years at Antioch.
The 600 Micro Sprint division has been interesting this season as a few newcomers to Antioch have helped grow the car count. Despite still looking for his first win of the season, San Jose's Buddy Chappell holds a 22 point lead over Payton Gentry of Santa Rosa. Chappell has three second place finishes in his last four starts, but he may need to take it up a notch to hold off Gentry, who has a division leading four wins so far this year. 14 points behind Gentry is Ryan Dotson of Fremont. Two-time winner Kyle Mentch of Alameda holds a 24 point lead over Oakley's Devon Zuffa in the race for fourth.
Tom Brown of Santa Rosa has been the dominant force of the Mini Stock division, and another championship seems likely at this point. The bigger question is, can anybody beat him this week? Santa Rosa's Jason Higgins showed up last time out and picked up his second runner-up finish at Antioch. Higgins has picked up three feature wins at Petaluma this year and would seem to be one of the top contenders to beat Brown should he be there this week.
Reportedly, new Petaluma Mini Stock champion Michael Valente of Penngrove will be making an Antioch visit this week in his fast Pinto Wagon. He has a third place finish in his lone appearance this year. Meanwhile, Ryder Holmen of Antioch has a solid hold on second in the standings as the top rookie in the field. Matt Wirth of Oakland is third, 36 points ahead of Don Abitz of Pittsburg. Jackie Price of Antioch currently holds fifth, 28 points ahead of Higgins.
It's interesting to note that the Butch Altar Memorial has seen three different winners in three races. Multi-time Merced Sportsman champion Rick Elliott of Merced picked up the inaugural victory in 2022 with current point leader Joel Hannagan of San Jose winning it a year later. Last year's victory went to current Merced Speedway Sportsman champion Mike Gillard of Atwater. That race actually gave Gillard the point lead going into the finale last season, where he had mechanical misfortune sideline him.
Gillard did win the season opener this year, but we haven't seen him since. Hannagan seems to be the odds-on favorite to grab the victory as a four-time winner this year. Don Slaney of Martinez rattled off four-straight second place finishes this year before a crash at the start of the most recent feature sidelined him. He's still holding second in the standings while Joe Shenefield of Roseville is third. Shenefield picked up his second heat race win in as many visits to Marysville last week before finishing second in the Main Event.
The first race of September offers a nice variety of divisions to enjoy, anchored by the always exciting Hobby Stocks and the fast Wingless Spec Sprints. The 600 Micro Sprints, Dwarf Cars and Mini Stocks will provide further thrills, and the Hardtops have some of the nicest looking cars at the track. It should be a great night of racing as we remember two beloved members of our community with the Panfili Cup and the Butch Althar Memorial.
The gates will open at 5:00 with the first race starting at 6:00.
Adult tickets are $15, Senior/Military $15, Kids (5-12) $15 and kids four and under free.
For further information, go to http://www.raceantiochspeedway.com or check out the Antioch Speedway by PROmotions Facebook page.
Picture Information:
Wingless Spec Sprint point leader Bob Newberry #36, Anthony Bruno #9, MacKenzie Newton #17n and Kevin Box #71 getting ready to take the green flag. Photo by Katrina Kniss
Hobby Stock racers Todd Gomez #38, Aidan Ponciano #225, Charlie Bryant #11a and Lily Mead #17 in a close battle. Photo by Katrina Kniss
Don Abitz #23, Mini Stock point leader Tom Brown #3, Ryder Holmen #777 and Matt Wirth #27. Photo by Katrina Kniss
600 Micro Sprint championship contender Payton Gentry #31. Photo by Katrina Kniss
Dwarf Car point leader Sean Catucci #43, David Hays #9 and Travis Day #88. Photo by Katrina Kniss
Joel Hannagan #16 and Don Slaney #4ud in Hardtop Main Event action. Photo by Katrina Kniss
Antioch Speedway Hall of Famer Mike Conley being interviewed by announcer Butch Althar after a Trophy Dash win in 1989. Photo by Candice Martin
Antioch Speedway Hall of Famer Rick Panfili. Photo by Katrina Kniss
- Wylie Wade on Sep 04, 2025
- Article Date: 9/4/2025