Stockton

Billy Vukovich at Stockton 99 Speedway in 1947.

Stockton 99 Speedway, Early Race. Note the goal posts in the infield, St. Mary's High School played football there!!

Track's pending closure lures drivers back out

SCOTT LINESBURGH
Record Staff Writer
Published Saturday, Sep 9, 2006

STOCKTON - Steve Holmes has been excited and nervous at the same time for the past several days.

He's nervous because 14 years is a long time between races. But he's thrilled he'll have a chance to drive at Stockton 99 Speedway one more time.

Holmes is scheduled to compete in the NASCAR Western Late Model main event as racing resumes at 6 p.m. today at Stockton 99. The track has just two programs left before it ends its 60th and final season.

The excitement and sadness has begun to build in the past few weeks. Some drivers are getting antsy about picking up one more win before the place shuts down, and others are coming back for an encore.

Holmes, 53, has not raced since 1994 but will get into Sam Solari's WLM ride at the urging of his son, Grand National and Southwest Series star Eric Holmes. Norman David of Modesto, the father of Grand National points leader Mike David, also plans to race today.

Steve Holmes was scheduled to test the car on Friday night. He admits he's not sure how this is going to work out.

"I have no great expectations, but I'd like to think I could get out there and do it," Holmes said. "It's just great to have this opportunity to do it one more time, and I plan to go out there and have fun."

While Holmes just wants a good run, former track champions such as David Philpott of Tracy are hunting for a final win. Philpott vowed to win a main event this season; he was second last week.

"Two to go," Philpott said. "I'm going to (win) one of these before we're done."

Some divisions will be done after today's program. The Pro-4 Truck and Grand American Modified drivers are not scheduled for the track's grand finale on Sept. 16. Mark Henslee of French Camp has already wrapped up his second consecutive Pro-4 Truck title and now will try to end his Stockton 99 career with a win.

"It will be nice to relax and not worry about points and just try to win the race," Henslee said. "This is it for us. You want to get that final win."

Contact reporter Scott Linesburgh at (209) 546-8281 or slinesbu@recordnet.com