The flag goes up on auto racing at Merced Speedway on Sunday, July 18, 2010.

John M. Soares, the new promoter of the Merced Speedway Auto Races, has been busy making improvements at the Merced County Fair fairgrounds racetrack. He’s new to Merced but Soares isn’t new to auto racing. He’s the racing promoter at the Contra Costa County Fairgrounds in Antioch – Antioch Speedway – and comes from a family with auto racing in their blood.

Soares raced at Merced Speedway in the 1960s. “It has the best grandstands of any fairgrounds I’ve been to and it’s always been one of my favorite racetracks,” he said. “There are a lot of people who want to race here and there are many race fans in the area. I’m really looking forward to bringing back the glory days of racing here in Merced.”

One of the many changes Soares is making is reconfiguring the Merced Speedway track to a quarter-mile from a one-third mile and regrading it so it’s not flat anymore. “It’s got quite a bit of bank in it,” he said, pointing to the newly-engineered curves. “The shorter track will make for a lot better racing. The bigger the track, the more boring the race. The guys with more horsepower usually win the race, but with the short track it makes it more about the handling and the driver than the horsepower.”

Soares’ crew has also replaced the safety fence on the front straight-of-way and is sprucing up the facility. His goal is to fix up the racetrack and restore the Grandstands. He’s also bringing in a new food concession and menu for Speedway fans. “People will see a vast improvement. We want to make the Merced Speedway more family-friendly,” he said.

The plan is to open the front gate at 4 p.m., start the first race at 5 p.m. and run a show that will be big on entertainment with no lag time. “We want people in the Grandstands to have a really good time. We’ll get everybody out while the sun is still up.”

Merced County Fair CEO Tom Musser said, “We’re happy the Merced Speedway will be hosting auto races again. We know there’s a big demand for it because we’ve heard from a lot of drivers and fans who can’t wait for racing to return here.”

Soares is scheduling the races on Sundays this season to attract more racers. “I respect the other Speedways that are running races on Saturday nights. The car counts will be way up by offering racing here on Sundays.” The July 18 line-up includes mods, streets, hobby, 4bangers, Valley sport and mini trux. The racing schedule wraps up October 24.

Soares has raced oval track cars since the 1960s including racing at the Antioch Speedway. He also raced eight years in the NASCAR Winston West Grand National Series in the 1970s finishing in the top 10 in points several years. He raced late model stock cars during the 1980s and 1990s and also raced against top drivers in Australia during the winter.

His parents, John P. and Gladys Soares, promoted races at Antioch Speedway for four decades. John M. Soares has worked in motor sports since 1961, starting out helping run the racetrack and concessions. He was the track manager at Petaluma Fairgrounds Speedway from 1994-96, running races, coordinating with racers and officials, overseeing racecar rules, preparing the track and doing maintenance for every race.

He became the on-site general manager of the Antioch Speedway in 1998 when his parents won the bid to promote the Bay Area fairgrounds racetrack. Soares and his wife, Donna, later bought his parents’ interest in the track. John M. Soares has been the active president of Oval Motorsports and he and his wife are shareholders of Oval Motorsports, Inc.

For the past 13 years, Soares has done it all at Antioch Speedway, from track preparer and maintenance man to serving as general manager. The new Merced Speedway promoter and his wife have worked together in auto racing for all of their 50 years of marriage. They also have a business that sells race car parts, including the special racing muffler the couple devised to eliminate noise problems on autos racing at Antioch Speedway. Donna has worked at the Antioch Speedway and Petaluma Fairgrounds Speedway doing everything from preparing food, running the concessions stand and beer booth, working at the front ticket gate and in the pit booth. She has run the office and concessions for Oval Motorsports since she and her husband took over the Antioch Speedway in 1998.

For more race information call (209) 383-3802 or visit the track website, www.racemerced.com