2011 Local Tracks

  STOCKTON 99 SPEEDWAY
2011 Schedule         Last race: WEEKLY RACE RECAP

Media Relations – David Holman                                                                          

All Photos are the property of Jessica McAnelly

Jessie's Fast Photos/ www.jessiesfastphotos.com

The SRL Spears Southwest Tour Came to Town and Stole the Hearts of the 1500 Fans in the Stands on Jackson Rancheria Night

On Saturday, August 20^th, Jackson Rancheria Proudly Presented the SRL Spears Southwest Tour Series Late Models in 135 laps of high-powered, high-talented, super-delicious racing action.  Also on the race card for this fantastic Event were the Legends of the Pacific, Pro-4 Modifieds and the NCMA Sprint Cars.  The 1500 fans in the stands all couldn’t be wrong about how to seek out and find great entertainment to occupy their Saturday Nights.  And, there was no doubt, they came, in droves, to the right venue at the right time.  The racing was superb on this beautiful summer night and from all accounts, everyone left with their hearts drenched in undeniable excitement.

Twin #1 in the Legends of the Pacific got the show started with a bit of a twist.  Five hundred dollars was put up to challenge any driver to start from the back and win both Twins.  Needless to say, Tracy’s Gentleman Jeremy Wood (22) happily accepted and drove his hotrod through the field from P18 on the starting grid all the way through to the checkers for the amazing Victory.

This one got up to speed with Tracy’s Cody Berger (63) and San Ramon’s Jessica Walker (21) sharing front row honors and bringing the twenty car field around to greet the green.  With that certain green flag flying high in the evening sky, Walker stuck her very talented right foot to the floor and beat the pack down into turn one for the early lead.  Unfortunately, no sooner had the race begun to take shape, than did it come to an abrupt halt on lap 3, when Coto De Caza’s Austin Reed (14) spun high off turn two collecting two other racers along the way, and also collecting first a yellow, then a red.  After a brief discussion, it was determined that Luis Tyrrell (74M) of Brisbane played a very special part in the altercation and was sent directly to his new location at the end of the longest line.  On the lap 3 restart, Walker assumed her leading role out front in the clean summer air, where she held steady, despite the fact that Wood was on his way to her rear bumper, until lap 10, when there was simply too much Wood gnawing on the entirety of the #21 car and Walker had no choice but to give up that pristine vista-view in the unfettered air at P1.  Once there, Wood left little doubt as to the outcome when he began to step away from his nearest pursuers, all the way through, to finish nearly a full straightaway ahead of second.  “There were always people I looked up to coming up in racing who gave me a tremendous amount of advice to become the race car driver that I’ve become today,” said the always gracious Wood, then added, “If this little squirt (Czub) has learned anything from me, I still don’t think I deserve the credit because this kid has natural talent.”  And speaking of second, Superstar Robbie Czub (05) of Rocklin, starting from P17 on the grid, bobbed and weaved his way through the field, in convincing manner, and put his #05 Ford Coupe on the podium, one back of the leader.  Napa’s James Bickford (25B), not to be outdone, ran a masterfully impressive race of his own onto the podium in third.  After winning her first race last time at the Speedway, and after leading this one early, Walker fell off the pace, but only slightly, to finish up in fourth, while son of the Legendary SRL Star M.K. Kanke, Cale Kanke (33K) of Frazier Park, filled the number five spot quite effectively.

In the Pro-4 Modifieds, Cobb’s Chris Straka (34) grabbed the lead early on and never looked back as he drove off to the checkers in an extraordinary command performance.

Nick King (3) of Windsor nabbed the pole in this one with Kevin Barba (90), also of Windsor, already nibbling chips of paint from King’s right side door panel at the drop of the green.  Barba jumped out early only to be displaced on lap 3 by the hard charge of Neo Nuno (54), yet another driver from Windsor.  And, no sooner had Nuno wrestled the lead away, than did he have it wrestled away in a like manner on lap 5, when Chris Straka vaulted to the front of the field where he would bask in the breathable air and enjoy the beautiful night lights as he rode it out to the land of enchantment and reaped the winner’s share of the spoils in a very satisfying manner.  “I would like to thank all my sponsors and all the people who make it possible for us to be out here,” Straka said.  Greg VanCleave (13) of Santa Rosa, steady throughout the thirty laps, brought her home in a solid second.  Marty Lewis (07), also of Santa Rosa, followed the #13 to the finish line and onto the podium in third.  Barba, after showing his strength early, slipped, if only slightly, but still managed a fourth place run with Santa Rosa’s Kurt Lewis (87), starting deep in the field, rounding out the top five.

The NCMA Sprints are always a welcome sight at the Speedway because of the speed they produce.  On this night, there would be a surprise winner who came in the form of Clovis’s Justin Kawahata (15).

Concord’s Burt Silverling (77) and Sacramento’s David Dias (24) were strapped in tight to the front row to get this high-powered, fast-paced race under green flag conditions.  And so it went, with the green waving high above the speedy asphalt surface, Silverling grabbed the holeshot going off into turn one to capture the early point.  However, that lead was quickly extinguished when, on lap 4, Napa’s David Goodwill (3), as he has on several occasions this year, jetted out to that unsettled, yet much sought after, prime real estate in front of the field.  Unfortunately, on lap 13, coming off turn four, Denny Burrell (88) of Ripon and Goodwill made contact which sent both cars spinning down the frontstretch, followed closely by the yellow flag.  And, once again, both drivers were asked to take up residence at the tail end of the lineup, which handed the lead over to Justin Kawahata, who gladly accepted his new-found standing as he made the best of the opportunity by jumping out on the restart and driving off to the Glory Land for his first-ever win at Stockton.  Kawahata’s dash to the cash, however, was not as smooth as he probably would have wished, because Goodwill quickly made his way to the rear bumper of the #15 and pulled out all his ample tricks from the proverbial bag to get around the leader, but Kawahata did a magnificent job holding off the intense gnawing applied to the back of his race car.  Of course, Goodwill had to settle for what was most likely a disappointing second, while Burrell brought her back after the earlier altercation to finish on the podium in third.  Thomas Leiby (2) of Copperopolis, starting shotgun on the field, ran a marvelous race of his own in finishing fourth, while Silverling slipped back a bit, but still managed a top five finish.

In the Legends of the Pacific Twin #2, the same rules applied as in the first.  The biggest difference this time around would be Rocklin’s Robbie Czub (05) would bring home the Lion’s share of the spoils.

This one rolled out of the blocks with cousins from that famous (or infamous) Clement Clan of Stockton sharing rights to the fresh air up front: that would be Fred in the #58 at pole position and Keith in the #8, high and tight to the right.  With the green flag breaking the silence of the night sky, Fred C. would have the heavier foot as he beat the field down into turn one for the very early lead only to be overtaken on lap 3 by Austin Reed (14) of Coto De Caza who was able to breathe in that specialized air out front until lap 8 when three cars tangled high between three and four, which brought with it the first yellow of the race.  On the restart, Robbie Czub, after quickly working his way through the pack, jumped out to lay claim to that much-coveted territory where the Racing Gods of P1 dwell.  Over the next twelve circuits, Czub would prove why he is considered one of the best in this Series as he turned back every challenge with some absolutely great driving on his part, until lap 20 when winner of the first Twin, Jeremy Wood (22) had made his way up to the tail pipe of Czub, and then slid by for the lead.  Unfortunately for Wood, another yellow reared its ugly head on lap 25, and by no choice of his own, Wood had to start at P1, which gave Czub the outside momentum and, without any doubt, Czub took the opportunity to beat the field off turn two for the lead where he would ride it out for the certain Victory.  And in doing so, squashed any chance Wood had for the posted bonus on the night.  “I know it’s a bummer for Jeremy not winning the $500 bonus money,” said the very polite, young Czub, “But I had to go for the win.”  Of course, Wood held on to finish a close second in what had to be a fantastic night for him.  Tony Mangini (7) of Benicia held his course throughout the thirty-five laps and it paid-off for him with a podium finish in third.  Luis Tyrrell (74M) of Brisbane ran a steady race of his own in finishing fourth, while Frazier Park’s Cale Kanke (33) came home with his second fifth place finish of the Event.

In the SPEARS SRL Southwest Tour/Jackson Rancheria 135, it may well be he didn’t have the best car, but his car had the best driver on this night when Prunedale’s Jim Pettit II (03) drove his Golden Gate Petroleum Chevrolet patiently from P9 on the starting grid to the point, late in the race, to capture his first win of the year.

Brennan Newberry (29) of Bakersfield inherited the pole, due to a seven invert, with Frazier Park’s M.K. Kanke (33) flanking him to the right to get this much-anticipated battle royal underway.  Coming off turn four with the green flag waving, the first lap lead wouldn’t have an impact on what was coming between turns three and four when Jon Wood (36) of Stuart, Virginia went spinning into the wall, which brought with it an immediate yellow and put Wood’s night to an abrupt end.  On the lap 3 restart, Newberry assumed his position at the head of the field where he held tight over the next twenty-four laps until lap 25 when Kanke made a wicked move into turn three and rode it all the way through, coming out the other side with the extremely impressive lead.  From that point, Kanke seemed to have the situation well in-hand as he appeared irreproachable, despite the fact Eric Holmes (18) of Escalon had been nibbling away at the asphalt that separated the two leaders until lap 79 when coming off turn four, a lapped car bounced off the wall and directly into the leader, which sent Kanke spinning down the frontstretch followed closely by the yellow flag and a new leader.  On the lap 82 restart, Holmes jumped out quickly and held on through lap 88 when, on a similar restart, Manteca’s Ross Strmiska (90) nudged Holmes a bit going off into turn three, which enabled the young Manteca driver to dip low and cross beneath the flagstand in full control of that prime real estate out front.  Strmiska showed great strength over the next fifteen laps as he held off all challenges, but unfortunately for Strmiska, Holmes had worked his way back to the spoiler of the #90 car and on lap 104, Holmes returned the favor, making contact with the leader in turn two and sending him up the track, which sent the sixth yellow waving against the summer breeze.  On the lap 107 restart, Jim Pettit II, after patiently taking care of his own race, and after watching leader after leader being dismissed by drivers with different agendas, gladly accepted his new-found wealth out in the rarified air in front of the pack.  And, despite a late charge by a persistent Keith Spangler (37) of Chatsworth, Pettit’s determination was obvious to everyone in attendance as he simply refused to settle for second on this night and took it to the house for his first win of the year in the Series.  “We didn’t have the best car.  We’ve been struggling all weekend, but that’s short-track racing,” said Pettit, “This is the first race we’ve won since my mom’s passing, so it’s a very emotional race for me.”  Spangler, despite the heavy pressure he applied to the leader’s rear bumper, had to settle for a close second.  Kanke, after the earlier mishap, drove back up to the podium in third.  Derek Thorn (26) of Bakersfield, fast-qualifier earlier in the day, worked his way up from the back, twice, to finish fourth, while Strmiska, after leading late-race laps, would have to settle for fifth.  The race was plagued by a total of ten caution periods, a single red, and was ran in a total time of 1:06:26.271.

Next Saturday, August 27^th, Stockton 99 Speedway goes dark for a week, only to return in September with the final three dates for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series to determine who the Champions will be in each Division this Season.

The New Stockton 99 Speedway is located at 4105 N. Wilson Way, ¼-mile west of Highway 99.  For more information on tickets and times, please contact the Speedway Office at (209)466-9999 or visit their Website at www.stockton99.com. 

The New Stockton 99 Speedway is sponsored by Jackson Rancheria Casino Hotel, California Welding Supply, Budweiser, Alamo Alarm and Stockton Hampton Inn and Suites and Lodi Holiday Express.

RESULTS

SRL

Legends #1

Legends #2

NCMA Sprints

Pro-4 Modifieds

Attn. Visitors; Rooms available at Stockton 99's New Official Hotel!