2011 Local Tracks

The New Stockton 99 Speedway Media Release – 5-14-2011           

Media Relations – David Holman

All Photos are the property of Jessica McAnelly

Jessie's Fast Photos/ http://jessiesfastphotos.smugmug.com

Mother Nature Took a Deep Breath and Held On Till the Racing Was
Done and Double Winner, Mike Graham, Was the Happy Recipient

On Saturday, May 14 ^th, Alamo Alarm Company Presented City of Lodi Night at the Races.  On the Agenda for the NASCAR Whelen All American Racing Series Event were the Super Stocks in Twin 40's, Grand American Modifieds, Bombers, Basically-4- Cylinders, Mini Trucks, and Mini Cups.  The action on the evening was tantamount to the Greatest Show on Earth in its mixture of the hardcore racing in Super Stocks and the finesse in handling an open-wheel monster around the tight corners on the tricky quarter-mile.  While some racers may have left the evening under the shade of disappointment due to misfortune, not one of the nearly 800 fans in the stands felt anything but pure adrenaline racing through their collective veins.

The Mini Cups took to the racing surface first out of the gate and Scotts Valley's Bryce Napier (03) made it count with a commanding performance all the way to the checkers to pick up his first win at the Speedway this year.

Whether it would have mattered or not, Napier grabbed P1 by qualifying at the head of the field earlier in the day, while Lodi's Jackson Ezell (15) would start high and to the right to get this one up to speed.  Napier got the great jump with the green flag waving and from that point onward the young driver would eat away at the asphalt until there was nothing left but the taste of Victory as he crossed beneath the checkers, going wire to wire, for the very popular win.  The real race in this one took place in the territory just behind Napier, where 2010 Champ Cody Johnston (50) of Stockton and Ezell thrilled the crowd lap after lap until, on lap 15, Johnston made a powerful move low through three and four and claimed that number two spot as his own.  Of course, Ezell would hold on to finish a very close third, while Danville's Colin Mullan (27), running a solid race of his own, finished her up in fourth.  Kyle Wininger (10) of Fremont rounded out the top five.

In the Basically-4-Cylinder Division, Manteca's Joseph Reichmuth (6) continued his winning ways, and in doing so, kept his streak alive, which has now risen to four in a row and four out of four.

This one got underway with Dan Durbin (13) of Modesto on pole and Mark Jacke (4x) of French Camp ready to go, high and tight.  And go Jacke did, beating the field down in to one where he would enjoy a taste of the good life out in the fresh air.  However, that taste was short-lived when, on lap 2, third generation driver Matt Anderson (5) of Manteca had his own plans for that coveted real estate, and so, he stole it away with a marvelous move, deep and low, through three and four.  Once out front, Anderson would bask in the fresh air which proved to be favorable as he began to pull away from his nearest competitor, who happened to be Reichmuth.  The yellow flag Anderson did not want to see reared its ugly head on lap 16 when JD Silva (56) of Modesto came sliding out of turn four in what appeared to be a solo spin.  However, upon further review, officials deemed the #4x of Jacke just may have had a hand in the incident, and for his part, Jacke was relegated to the tail-end of the longest line.  At the same time, and to the detriment of the young leader, Matt Anderson was set back two spots for jumping the start at the green flag, which handed the lead over to Reichmuth.  And so it went, on the lap 16 restart, Reichmuth made the most of his inheritance by taking it to the house in a very convincing manner for number four on the year.  "It was crazy out there having to work my way up to the front after starting last," said the very positive Reichmuth, "I had to pick them off one by one and I got up there and led it."  Despite the setback, Anderson rallied back to finish in the number two slot.   Fourth generation driver Samantha Williams (4) of Ceres, after running an extremely intelligent race where she continues to impress, brought her home on the podium in third.  Cecily Saunders (91) of Modesto, another young lady with roots entrenched deeply in racing, had a solid run in finishing fourth with Tommy Wood (28) of Hughson finishing up in the fifth position.

In the Super Stock’s Twin #1, after handling issues in several races earlier this year, Mike Graham (93) of Ceres came out of the gate with the vengeance of a man possessed as he went on to lead all forty laps to collect his second win of the young Season.

Stockton's own Rich Harper (5) owned the pole in this one by virtue of his record breaking qualifying run.  Harper blistered the quarter mile in an amazing 14.739 seconds.  Graham had an excellent lap of his own, which placed him front row, outside.  At the drop of the green, Graham got the jump down in to one where he would remain, unmolested to the checkers, for the lopsided Victory.  To call the Victory lopsided is not to say the racing was non-existent, because from second on back, these good ole boys were jockeying for position throughout the forty lap event.  Mostly, however, Graham showed extreme power and no one had anything to match what he possessed in this one.  Atwater's Jason Aguirre (45) produced his usual excitement, but he would come up one short to finish second.  Harper, after flexing his muscles early, fell off, if only slightly, to finish on the podium in third.  Garland Tyler (73) of West Modesto, always a threat, brought her home fourth while Livermore's Mark Squadrito (3) filled the number five spot.

The Super Stock Twin #2 had pretty much the same results as #1 with Mike Graham (93) winning his second on the night.  The adventure getting there this time, however, was quite a different story.

Second generation driver Robbie Knittel (03) of Lodi inherited P1 with Livermore's Mark Squadrito (3), hungry for a win, glued to his right door.  Knittel showed his strength early on by grabbing the holeshot into turn one where he would hold tight until lap 9 when Lodi's Steve Fraser (54) parked his hotrod up by the wall in turn four, which gave the flagman no choice but to send the yellow high into the night sky.  On the lap 9 restart, Jason Aguirre (45) of Atwater jumped to the lead quite quickly only to be slowed four laps later when, on lap 13, Knittel lost power down the backstretch and came to rest high in turn four, which brought with it the second yellow of the race.  Once Aguirre gets out front, he's a hard one to catch, and he proved just that as he sped away on the lap 13 restart.  Unfortunately, Johnny Cardoza (32) of Manteca, looped it low between one and two ,which sent the yellow flag waving for the third time on lap 25.  Graham, at this point, had to be praising the Racing Gods for their undying support when, on the restart, he took control of that prime real estate out front where he would take it to the checkers for his second feature win on the night.  Aguirre held on to finish second.  However, during post-race inspection, Aguirre's #45 was deemed to be illegal and was promptly disqualified.  Aguirre protested and this situation is now under further review.  The decision as of this Press Release, was not final.  Rich Harper (5) of Stockton was moved up to that number two slot after the most exciting battle on the racing surface over the number three spot throughout the race's entirety.  Knittel, after the earlier mechanical woes, rallied to finish an amazing third.  West Modesto's up and coming star, Garland Tyler (73), brought her home in fourth with Stockton's Lance Butler (76) in his best race of the year to date, rounding out the top five. 

The Grand American Modifieds, with a surprise in car-count so far this year, had a surprise winner tonight who came in the form of Rocklin's Andy Field (8A).

Field got the lucky draw which landed him on pole with Victor Machado (73) of Escalon already rubbing tires as they paced the field around to greet the green.  Field jumped out to the early lead where he began to distance himself from the pack almost immediately.  Meanwhile, working his way methodically up from sixth on the starting grid, Turlock's Wes Miller (57) began his bid to nibble away at the massive lead Field had accumulated by pulling out everything in his bag of tricks that he had amassed over the past twenty years.  On lap 18, Miller had pulled close enough to make a race out of this one and that's exactly what he did.  And, as both cars came flying off turn four to the checkers, it looked as though he would hit paydirt only to be turned back at the stripe by a hair and some air after the great drive off on the outside Field produced, with much enthusiasm, to take the win, flag to flag.  "My spotter let me know right where he (Miller) was," said Field, "I'm just glad this race wasn't 31 laps."  Miller, while most likely disappointed, simply ran out of time and had to settle for a crowd-pleasing second.  Machado slipped back, but only one spot, to finish on the podium in a very solid third.  Stockton's own Larry Tankersley (96) had a strong run as well, finishing fourth with Ryan Stepps (98) of Oakdale rounding out the top five.

Jeremy Tucker of Stockton took his #351 Bomber to Victory Lane for the second week in a row.  This race was not without controversy, but fortunately, cooler heads prevailed. 

The #007 of Stockton's Mike Massone brought this one to life with Stockton's Dave Tucker (350) already chewing bits of paint off his right side door panel as the green flag fell.  Massone drove it hard off into turn one to capture the early lead only to be slowed on lap 2 when young Tyler Guzman (93x) of Ceres and the wily veteran, Bobby Simpson (819T) of Stockton, tangled up off turn two and rode each other all the way down the backstretch until they came to a sudden stop  hard into the turn three, outside wall, which brought with it first a yellow, then a lengthy red.  Both drivers were checked at the Infield Care Center and released.  Unfortunately, their cars weren't as lucky, suffering severe damage and bringing their nights to a quick end.  On the lap 2 restart, D. Tucker grabbed second gear out of turn four and jumped swiftly to the front.  However, just as swiftly, the race was slowed for the second time when Massone and D. Tucker made contact in the middle of one and two in front of the entire field, which caught the instant attention of the flagman who sent the respective flags flying.  After the mayhem was extinguished, the ensuing restart would produce yet another yellow, if only momentarily.  And finally, on the lap 4 restart, Jeremy Tucker jetted to the front and took the lead where, despite his back bumper being chewed and swallowed by the sharp teeth of Brandon Jones (247) of Lodi, J. Tucker did not relent, but not without some help from uncle D. Tucker.  From that point J. Tucker cleared the field and cleared his way to his second win in a row.  "I just want to thank all my sponsors and everyone who helps out on this car," said the laid-back young Tucker.  For his part in the on track melee, D. Tucker was awarded with the Black Flag of Death.  Jones would hold it together and go on to enjoy a Season high second place finish.  Massone, after the earlier altercations, came back strong to finish on the podium in third.  Stockton's David "Fluff" Anderson (500), starting shotgun on the field, finished in a career-best fourth place , while Tony Karsting (312) of Stockton notched his second top five of the year.

Next Saturday, May  21^st "Whelen All American Series"  presents City of Manteca Night with the Ford Focus Midgets, NCMA Sprint Cars, Pro-4 Modifieds, Powder Puff, and Enduro Series Race #2. Plus Poker Run.

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

Basically-4-Cylinders

Bombers

GAMS

Mini Trucks

Mini Cups

Super Stocks  #1

Super Stocks #2

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