Stone hoping for local advantage in Delta-Valley Classic
As drivers from throughout the West converge on Merced Speedway this weekend for the second leg of the Fourth Annual Delta-Valley Classic, being a local will be an advantage.
If there is one driver who knows the fast way around the speedway best, it’s Winton’s Paul Stone, the track’s International Motor Contest Association (IMCA) modified stock car champion.
Stone is back from a summer-long quest to become a more knowledgeable race car driver. His travels took him from the Pacific Northwest to the Midwest, to the Dakotas and Canada. He raced 26 times at different tracks in a two-month period.
This weekend, Stone will race at Antioch and Merced Speedways in the two-day classic, which pits the best drivers of the Bay Area up against the best Valley racers, as well as challengers from the Western states.
Last Sunday, the intrepid Stone returned to win the IMCA 20-car feature event at his hometown track.
Now, he has to change his mindset in preparation for the Delta-Valley Classic.
“I’ll be totally on the defensive, I will be a little reserved in my driving,” Stone said. “The name of the game is avoiding wrecks. You don’t get to show your potential when you wreck on the first lap.”
Stone began his trek in Oregon. Then, he traveled to Kansas where he bought a new car. From there, big events in Iowa, Wisconsin, the Dakotas and Canada were on his schedule. What he learned will help him be faster in California.
“I am constantly searching for knowledge – that is why I raced at all those different tracks and why I am driving a different brand car than I drove for the last 15 years,” Stone explained. “We didn’t have to win races to be successful on the road. Success could be measured by making every big show we entered, but more importantly, success is the amount of new friends we made and the things we learned along the way.”
With smooth, dry, dirt tracks, the Midwest is known for “clean” racing. Stone made several prestigious events, outrunning hundreds of competitors. At the “Night of 10,000 Stars” in Britt, Iowa, 40 cars started the feature, three wide. Stone even made the feature event of the IMCA Supernationals, besting 240 competitors for a spot in the 33-car field.
“We raced all those events without damage to our car – that would be hard to do here in California,” he said. “You don’t have to be the fastest car and driver to win here, you have to survive and then be fast. In the Midwest, you have to have the fastest car.”
The only driver to win both legs of the Delta-Valley Classic and collect a hefty bonus is Salinas driver Bobby Hogge IV, who did it the first year of the event.
The IMCA Modified division winner will receive $2,000 at each track, and a possible $500 bonus for winning at both tracks, for a total of $4,500.
Hogge IV is looking to repeat his winning feat this year.
“It’s part of my plan – I’ll be there,” Hogge said after winning last Saturday’s feature at Antioch Speedway.
Both champions and both feature winners last weekend, Hogge IV and Stone, are preparing for a battle.
“Nothing will be easy about winning a feature in the Delta-Valley Classic,” Stone explained. “It will be tough right out of the gate with Bobby Hogge IV being there.”
For Stone, the first step was seeing his new Midwest car’s ability to win at Merced. Now the car will have to be prepared flawlessly for the weekend’s races.
“We will make sure all the parts are good,” Stone said. “Everything will be tight. Nothing can fall apart. The cars will take a beating. We have to survive.”
Full program of racing Sunday night
The season will end for the IMCA Modified and SportMod divisions with the running of the Delta-Valley Classic. While the two IMCA divisions will headline the program, Hobby Stocks, Limited Late Model Stock Cars and DwarfCars are also on the card. All divisions will race in a complete series of qualifying races and feature events.
There will also be extra money and a bonus for the IMCA SportMod division. Last week, Brentwood’s Fred Ryland won at both Antioch and Merced speedways.
“We did it last week – but can we do it two weeks in a row? There will be an element of luck,” Ryland said.
The fastest drivers in each IMCA division will draw for starting positions.
“Nevertheless, the race should be a battle,” Ryland added.
Merced Speedway is located inside the Merced County Fairgrounds, 900 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for senior citizens and $8 for children 6-12. A family four-pack of tickets admits two children and two adults for $32. Racing begins at 6 p.m. Sunday. The grandstand opens at 4:30 p.m.
This story was originally published September 24, 2015 at 5:15 PM with the headline "Stone hoping for local advantage in Delta-Valley Classic."