Shearer wins a family affair in Stofle Classic at Merced Speedway

Michael Shearer of Los Banos just bought a new Hobby Stock car from Bakersfield’s Kevin Irwin with a goal to win the Ted Stofle Classic at Merced Speedway. So he changed the driver’s name on the roof of the car from Irwin to “win” and did just that Sunday night.

Shearer fought off challenges from his wife, champ Kristie Shearer, as they surged to the front of the pack in the final 39-lap segment of the Classic.

“Just kept trying to stay out in front of my wife, and that wasn’t easy – she’s fast,” Shearer said when he exited his car.

Kristie Shearer was trying hard for the win. For her, finishing second is a loss, even though she came back from a flat-tire pit stop with three laps to go.

“It was a hard race, and I would have liked to win,” she said in victory lane. “If I had to lose to someone, at least it was my husband.”

The race was run for 89 laps to coincide with the number on Stofle’s car. A rising star in NASCAR, Stofle was killed in a hunting accident 35 years ago.

Syd Finn of Atwater led most of the first 50-lap segment. He gave up the lead to Merced’s Marshall Weaver for a brief period. Weaver was soon sidelined with mechanical problems.

After the break, Tommy Bostic of Winton took the lead from Finn, who later went down a lap after being penalized for stalling to cause a caution flag.

When Bostic slowed on lap 66, Michael Shearer took the lead.

Finn un-lapped himself, then crashed on the backstretch on lap 86, bringing out another caution. Finn was able to again move up through the field and finished third.

Diaz proud to win in SportMod – Rick Diaz of Los Banos topped the 20-car starting field in the International Motor Contest Association SportMod feature during the Ted Stofle Classic program.

“This win means a lot to me. Bob Borba and the Borba Ranch were part of Ted Stofle’s success, and now they sponsor my car,” Diaz explained.

Diaz and friend Bruce “Bubba” Nelson waged side-by-side war, lap after lap, to the end of the thrilling feature. They passed each other for the lead four times.

“Racing with Bubba is always fun,” Diaz said. “We can race like that – just about touching each other’s cars, with no intentional wrecking.”

Second-place Nelson echoed Diaz’s comments.

“It’s cool to be able to race so close,” Nelson said. “I know he would never intentionally hit my car.”

Anthony Giuliani of Morgan Hill led early with Matt Hagio of Watsonville passing him for the lead. Hagio gave up the lead to Diaz with Nelson following. Hagio finished third.

Porter tops in IMCA Modified – Ryan Porter of Atwater knows the pressure of starting on the pole of a feature event.

“When I told my dad I was starting on the pole, he told me I would have only two options: win the race or give it away,” Porter said. “All the pressure was on me to stay ahead of the competition.”

Porter scored his second consecutive win with Kyle Wilson of Salinas and Karl Rose of Merced chasing him. Rose almost didn’t make the feature. His car suffered transmission failure during practice laps.

“I was ready to call it a night, but the guys from Randy Brown’s crew said they had the necessary tools to change my transmission quickly,” Rose said. “I’m glad they did.”

Mini Stock Mayor – Darren Miguel of Balico owns the Mini Stock division this season. He registered his 11th win by staying a step ahead of Kelly Campanile of San Ramon in the Ted Stofle Classic Mini Stock feature.

“Good tires and good luck are what keeps me up front,” Miguel said. “I saw Kelly over my shoulder, and she was right there to take the lead if anything went wrong.”

Merced’s Alex Odishoo finished third.

Sunday at Merced Speedway – The IMCA Modified, IMCA SportMod, Hobby Stock, Dwarf and Mini Stock classes will be on the program Sunday evening. The show begins at 6 p.m.

Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for senior citizens and $8 for children 6-12. A family four-pack admits two children and two adults for $32. The grandstand opens at 4:30 p.m.

This story was originally published July 15, 2015 at 8:34 PM with the headline "Shearer wins a family affair in Stofle Classic at Merced Speedway."