7/17/2024
Antioch Speedway
IMCA Divisions Headline Soares Memorial Event This Saturday Night
Antioch, CA...July has certainly turned up the heat in the weather and in the racing action at Antioch Speedway. This Saturday night, the show goes on with another special occasion. This will be the ninth running of the Soares Memorial race.
The event, which is paying tribute to the family that promoted the Speedway for 42 seasons, will feature the IMCA sanctioned Modifieds, Sport Modifieds and Stock Cars. Also competing will be the Dwarf Cars and the Hardtops.
In Bay Area racing, the Soares name has been synonymous with racing promotions. It started with West Coast Stock Sar Hall of Famer John Pershing Soares. The elder of the Soares family competed and won in Stock Car racing and Hardtops before turning his attention to racing promotions in the 1950s.
In the 1960s, he started promoting both Antioch and Petaluma Speedway as part of BBA Incorporated under the NASCAR banner. As he continued promoting, son John Michael Soares started racing Hardtops and Sportsmans before graduating to pavement NASCAR Stock Car racing.
Meanwhile, his other son Jim was making a name for himself in race track preparation, racing photography and even got the opportunity to promote Merced Speedway in the early 1980s. John Pershing's wife Gladys, John Michael's wife Donna and Jim's wife Karen were all part of the racing effort.
John Pershing wrapped up his promotional career at the end of the 2002 season and was inducted into several Hall of Fames, including Antioch Speedway. At that point, Jim, who had made a name for himself as one of the premiere race track prep men and as a Dwarf Car champion, took over at Petaluma Speedway.
John Michael had made a name for himself as a champion in Sportsman and Stock Car racing and as the promoter of the USA versus Australia Sedan Racing Series in Australia for several years. He was also a well-respected car builder before stepping away as a full-time racer to become the promoter of Antioch Speedway in 1998.
When John Michael passed away in 2022, it signaled the end of the family dynasty. All three Soares men and their wives are now remembered with the Soares Memorial race, which started as the John Pershing Soares Memorial before ultimately being rebranded as the Soares Memorial.
The IMCA Modified division has featured a battle between reigning State champion Andrew Pearce of Oakley and Kellen Chadwick of Oakley so far this season. Despite the fact that Chadwick has picked up a pair of victories, it's his nephew leading him by just one marker after four races.
Back in third, two-time Antioch Speedway champion Bobby Hogge IV of Salinas is four points ahead of reigning champion Troy Foulger of Oakley. Both drivers have scored one win at Antioch so far this year. 14 points behind them is State point leader Jacob Mallett Jr of Oakley.
To nobody's surprise, the IMCA Sport Modified championship battle is one of the closest races happening at the track this year. After six events, Jason Ryan Jr of Oakley holds a slim one-point advantage over reigning champion Kenny Shrader of Pacheco. Both drivers have picked up one victory so far.
The competition level is so fierce that there have been five different winners in six races. 20 points out of the lead in third Is Brentwood's Tommy Clymens Jr. He has taken up the mantle as the family's top point competitor this year while brother and reigning State champion Trevor Clymens of Oakley recovered from hip surgery. Trevor has since rejoined the action.
Oakley's Kelly Campanile has been running strong this year. Despite some bad luck, she is just 13 points behind Tommy Clymens in a good battle for third. 19 points back is three-time champion Fred Ryland, who has a pair of victories.
James Graessle of Antioch has had a solid rookie season, and the Hobby Stock graduate is just seven points out of fifth. Last time out, James won his first heat race.
Last Saturday was a big occasion for IMCA Stock Car star Jason Jennings of Pittsburg. He served notice to the competition that his point lead is for real as he recorded his very first feature triumph in this division. The 2022 Rookie Of The Year collected that win ahead of his closest point rival, Jason Robles of Rio Vista.
Robles picked up the win in the Trophy Dash last week to go with his two future wins so far this season. While he is within striking distance of the lead, he's going to have to start chipping away at Jennings' advantage soon. Jason's son Kenneth Robles of Rio Vista made his season debut last week with a heat race win.
Just 12 points behind Jason Robles is State point leader Scott Foster of Oakley. He has been running strong enough to get a win this year, but the brakes haven't quite gone his way yet. Brentwood's Fred Ryland is a feature winner this year and is 16 points behind Foster in fourth.
Some of the drivers to watch for include Jeff Bentancourt of Brentwood, reignining champion Troy Foulger of Oakley and Dave Hill of South San Francisco.
The Dwarf Car point list hasn't been released, but Concord's Travis Day should be shown as the leader when the standings are revealed. Day and Brandon Aylesworth of Benicia have picked up two of the wins this year. David Rosa made his season debut in the most recent race, and the Antioch driver recorded the win. It was the 60th career win for the Antioch Speedway Hall Of Famer.
Both Hardtop wins have gone to Reigning champion Joel Hannagan of San Jose, who is the driver to beat for the Soares Memorial plaque this week. Atwater's Mike Gillard is the current Merced Speedway Sportsman point leader and gave it a good run last time out before settling for second in the Main Event.
He could be the driver to give Hanngan his biggest challenge this week, and other drivers to watch for include Joe Shenefield of Modesto, Bob Slaney of Martinez and Dexter Long of Ballico.
The Soares Memorial race is a special night at the speedway. Without that family, who knows where Antioch Speedway would be or if it would be a thing in the city of Antioch at all. The IMCA divisions are crowd pleasers and should continue to entertain on this occasion. It's a night you won't want to miss.
The gates will open at 4:00 with the first race starting at 6:00.
Adult tickets are $20, Senior/Military $15, Kids (5-12) $15 and kids four and under free.
Article Credit: Candice Martin, Photos by Katrina Kniss
Submitted By: Wylie Wade
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