Ed Parker promoted Merced Speedway from 2016 until he passed away in June of last year.
Fred Ryland #7j and Kelly Wilkinson #96 are top IMCA Sport Modified championship contenders this season.
Troy Foulger #49 and Ryan Porter #14p are two of the top IMCA Modified racers.
This Saturday night is a special event at Merced Speedway. It’s the Second Annual Ed Parker Memorial race. Parker took over the promotional duties of the speedway in 2016, and during his brief time as promoter, the speedway had some of its biggest car counts ever. He passed away after suffering a heart attack in June of 2018. There will be increased purses for the four division program as well as lap money in the Main Events. Scheduled divisions will include the IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Modifieds, Hobby Stocks and Mini Stocks.
Though his time as promoter was all-too-brief, Ed managed to win the respect of the racing community due to his genuine concern over doing the right thing and giving the racers and fans the best show possible. He oversaw improvements to the racing program and would frequently go live on Facebook with updates on how things were going at the speedway. It’s been a year since we lost him, and he is still missed very much.
The IMCA Modified point race was affected during the County Fair race over a week ago when two-time champion Randy Brown was unable to transfer from a very competitive B Main. In fact, multi-time champion Paul Stone was in that same race and barely made it out. Driving the Bowers Racing Modified, point leader Troy Foulger picked up his sixth Top 5 finish in six starts, increasing his lead to 12 points over new second place runner Ryan Porter. Porter has five Top 5 finishes, but he is still in search of his first win of the season.
Second-generation racer DJ Shannon is trying to overcome some of his bad luck, but his win at the most recent race gave him two on the season and keeps him 25 points out of the lead. Shannon also has a three point advantage over Brown and a 10 point lead over Ramie Stone in a closer race for third. These five drivers are anticipated this week along with Paul Stone, Jesse James Burks, Anthony Giuliani, Cody Burke and Bob Williamson. Because this race is so special to so many people, it’s expected that the car count should reach into the high 20s or even the 30s.
The IMCA Sport Modifieds fielded 36 cars for their Fair Race and could have a car count even higher this week. They have only had three races so far, and though Fred Ryland is still looking for his first win, he holds a six point advantage over one-time winner Kelly Wilkinson in the point battle. It’s a Ryland family affair in the championship battle as Fred’s wife Patti Ryland currently holds down third in the standings, just 10 points out of the lead. While Fred Ryland is the 2015 State champion and the 2016 Merced champion, Patti has a pair of Four Banger championships at Antioch Speedway and has won a Sport Modified Main Event at that track as well. She will be looking to get the win in Merced.
Last Wednesday didn’t go quite as well as Bruce “Bubba” Nelson would have liked, and it left him feeling just a bit flustered. Despite that, he’s a reasonable 19 points out of the lead in fourth in the standings, tied with Danny Roe. The competition level in the IMCA Sport Modifieds is so tough that most of the drivers lining up to take a green in the Main Event could leave with the victory. Other drivers anticipated for this big show include current State point leader Guy Ahlwardt, Tanner Thomas, Andrew Peckham, Jarrod Mounce, Keith Brown Jr and reigning champion Jeremy Hoff.
The Hobby Stocks are also likely to see an increased field this weekend, which will keep the pressure on point leader Shannon Nelson. The wife of Bubba Nelson has a pair of victories to her credit, giving her a 21 point lead over 2016 champion Michael Shearer. A driver on the cusp of victory is Domossie Scoggins. Scoggins has been very consistent this season and is just 29 points out of the lead, four ahead of Dexter Long.
After winning the Mini Stock championship last season, Allen Neal is currently fifth in the standings and also on the cusp of getting his first win. Austin Van Hoff has had a terrible start to his season, but the strong second place finish Van Hoff earned last time shows that he could be a threat to get the win in the big show this week. Other local standouts such as Donnie Shearer, Kristie Shearer, Timmy Crews and Robbie Loquaci will be out to get the big win this week, and it’s likely that there will be some top drivers from out of town as well.
It looks like there will be a little bit more money on the line in the Mini Stocks this week, and point leader Chris Corder is hoping to get his hands on some of that prize money. Corder has three Top 5 finishes in three starts and won the most recent race. This has given him a 10 point advantage over one-time winner Lucy Falkenberg. Lee Ragsdale is the only other driver with all Top 5 finishes, but though he has won at Watsonville this year, he’s still looking for a win at his home track. He leads season-opening winner Jennifer Rodgers by six points in the battle for third. There are some new drivers helping fill the ranks in this competitive division, and drivers such as Shayla Gould, Tyler Post, Jerry Tubbs, Austin Sprague, and Shawn DePriest are hoping to get it to the winner’s circle.
If you have been procrastinating about going to a race this season, this is the one you need to check out. Not only are we remembering Ed Parker, but the racing on the quarter-mile clay oval is going to be fast and very competitive. For further information, go online to:
.