San Pablo racer features in Speedway chaos

Antioch Speedway’s May 9 card was one of those local racing nights where the story wasn’t just who won. It was how hard everyone had to survive to get there. The clay oval in Antioch produced cautions, restarts, position swings, and a Hobby Stock feature that kept changing shape until Hunter Hammett finally drove away. In the middle of that churn was San Pablo driver Maddie Motts, whose early yellow flag became part of the race’s turning point. ### What actually happened at Antioch? The headline winners were Danny Wagner in IMCA Northern SportMod, Hunter Hammett in Pacific Coast Hobby Stocks, Troy Foulger in both IMCA Stock Car and IMCA Modified, and Devon Zuffa in 600 Micro Sprints. That makes the night look straightforward. But it wasn’t. Several divisions got chopped up by cautions, and the Hobby Stock main in particular turned into an attrition-and-restart race instead of a clean run from green to checkered. (contracosta.news) ### Why was Maddie Motts part of the story? Motts wasn’t highlighted because she won. She mattered because her Lap 5 caution came right as the Pacific Coast Hobby Stocks were sorting out their early order. James East had opened in front, Aidan Ponciano was pressing, and Nicholas Garner was still in the mix. The yellow for Motts reset the field, bunched everyone back together, and helped turn the race into a sequence of fresh starts instead of one long rhythm run. (contracosta.news) ### How did the Hobby Stock race flip? After the restart, Ponciano got the lead from East. Then another caution came on Lap 7. Then three more yellows followed, with the last one on Lap 15 for Nicholas Garner. By then Ponciano had developed smoke and pitted during the caution. That was the big swing. Hammett inherited the lead, Charlie Bryant and Jewell Crandall fought over second, and Hammett had clean air at exactly the right moment. Basically, he didn’t steal the race — he stayed in position long enough for the race to come to him. (contracosta.news) ### Why does Hammett’s win matter beyond one night? Because it strengthened the points picture. Hammett’s victory was his second straight in Hobby Stocks, and after the May 9 program he still sat first in the class standings with 216 points. James Thomson was second at 204, while Maddie Motts was 10th at 104. So even though Motts’ night is remembered for the caution, she’s still very much part of the season standings rather than just a one-off mention. (contracosta.news) ### What about Wagner’s race? Wagner’s SportMod win had its own chaos. He passed Mark Garner on Lap 5, then had to manage a caution one lap later after a three-car crash in Turn 4. Another yellow came on Lap 8, and another on Lap 12. Fred Ryland eventually charged into second, Tanner Thomas grabbed third late, but Wagner kept every restart under control. That win was his first Antioch SportMod victory of 2026, his second overall win of the year, and his sixth different division with an Antioch main-event victory. (contracosta.news) ### Why was Troy Foulger’s night a big deal? Foulger doubled up again. MyRacePass shows him winning both the IMCA Modified and IMCA Stock Car features on May 9, and Antioch’s points page shows him leading both divisions afterward. In a local weekly program, that kind of double matters because it turns one strong night into a championship statement across two classes at once. ### What happens next? (contracosta.news) Antioch Speedway’s schedule lists the next event for May 30, the Larry Damitz Memorial. So the May 9 program now looks like a pressure test before the next meaningful points night — especially in Hobby Stocks, where Hammett has a cushion but not a runaway one. ### Bottom line? This was a classic short-track night — messy, stop-start, and decided as much by survival as speed. (myracepass.com) Motts’ caution was one small part of that larger chaos, but it landed in a race where every reset changed the math. (contracosta.news) (raceantiochspeedway.com)