Sprint Car Saturday Night

So I went to Antioch Speedway with Scott and Bill to see Bill's brother-in-law Scott Merrell win the Wingless Sprint Car points championship on Saturday night. Pretty exciting stuff. Scott had to finish in 8th place or better in order to lock up the track title. He was forced to start the race in the 10th spot, because he had won the race the week before. His closest competitor started on the pole.

My experience started off precariously, after I stepped in a pothole and severely twisted my ankle. It was one of the worst ankle sprains I’ve ever had, and I still had to hobble into the track. It was a lousy way to start the evening. As it turns out, things got a lot better.


My sprained ankle
The racing was exciting, but we were on pins and needles in the stands because we knew where Scott had to finish. He was almost taken out of the race early on when a spin in front of blocked his line on the track. Luckily he slammed on the breaks soon enough that he only tapped the other car.

Things got really interesting at the race’s midpoint, when we noticed that Scott’s left front tire appeared to be flat. A guy sitting in front of us said that he would be ok as long as the tire stayed on the rim. Sure enough, a lap later, the tire popped off the rim, so Scott was forced to pit in order to change the tire.

Luckily for him, the tire came off after another incident. With the yellow flag waving, he was able to replace the tire without losing any laps to the leaders. Scott’s white #55 sprint car appeared from the pits as the field rounded the back stretch to re-start the race.

Things started to look bleak for Scott with two laps to go. He was in ninth place and couldn’t seem to get around the 8th place car. But as luck would have it, to cars ahead of him tangled entering the last turn, allowing him to slip into 7th position.

He would cruise home in that spot, rapping up the track championship. His wife Debbie brought a cake to celebrate his accomplishment, so we all got to share in his moment in the pits after the race.


The Champ
Should you ever get a hankering for a piece of good old Americana, the Antioch Speedway is right up there on the list of can’t miss experiences. Antioch is out in BFE, so there isn’t much to do on a Saturday night. It reminds me a lot of the old San Jose Speedway. Same down home folk, watching racing on a Saturday night. As Bill put it, it like having your own piece of North Carolina right here in California.