MacDougall battling Merced Speedway and the competition in Modified

John MacDougall knows first-hand how fickle the quarter-mile clay track at Merced Speedway can be.

MacDougall mastered it once this season, and it destroyed his car once.

He’ll try for a second win when the International Motor Contest Association Modified and SportMod stock cars headline the speedway’s show Saturday night.

Unlike drivers who started in go-karts and Mini Stock cars, MacDougall, 35, began his racing career in the Modified division. He has experienced the best and worst moods of the speedway, made famous by its tight turns and tough wheel-to-wheel competition.

“I had my career-worst night at Merced Speedway’s West Coast Nationals in January; my car needed some work, to say the least,” says MacDougall, who has raced the open-wheel stock cars since 2000. “Then I had my best night ever. I decided to give Merced another chance, and I won my first IMCA ever last month.”

That’s why MacDougall, who lives a mile from Antioch Speedway, would rather concentrate his effort on Merced Speedway – a couple hours down the road.

“I think the field of competition is more even at Merced Speedway,” MacDougall rationalizes. “It suits me better. It’s tough to win there, but when you win, it is quite a thrill, I can tell you that.”

MacDougall races hard and never gives up. A hydrogeologist by trade, his nature is to believe hard work will yield success.

“I’ve certainly had my hard knocks learning to drive a Modified,” MacDougall says. “It’s the challenge that makes me try even harder.”

Now he’s committed to racing at Merced and wants to make a run for the championship.

“The track is tough to drive on. With narrow straightaways, the trick is to keep the car’s momentum up to get around quickly and efficiently,” MacDougall explains. “You have to get into the corners without using your brakes to keep that momentum up.”

One rival for the championship run is Alex Wilson of Salinas. They’ve become friendly foes in the pit area.

“I wrecked in the heat race and had no parts,” MacDougall says. “I needed a tie-rod end, and Alex had one. He helped me out so I could race against him that night. That’s pretty nice when racers help each other; you don’t find that at every track.”

Merced Youth Baseball Night at the Speedway

Opening Day for the Merced Youth Baseball season will be celebrated at the speedway Saturday night. A youth baseball player will be admitted free with each adult ticket purchased.

The Merced Golden Lions Club will have a 50-50 raffle to raise funds for the baseball program. Opening Day begins at 8:30 a.m. A parade follows at 10 a.m., with games at the Merced Youth Sports Complex.

The IMCA Modified and SportMod divisions will be joined by the Hobby Stock and Mini Stock divisions Saturday night.

Merced Speedway is located inside the Merced County Fairgrounds at 900 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for senior citizens and $8 for children 6-12. A uniformed youth baseball player will be admitted free with the purchase of an adult ticket. Racing begins at 7 p.m. The grandstand opens at 5 p.m.

This story was originally published April 24, 2015 at 10:48 PM with the headline "MacDougall battling Merced Speedway and the competition in Modified."