2011 Local Tracks

  STOCKTON 99 SPEEDWAY
2011 Schedule         Last race: WEEKLY RACE RECAP

Mother Nature Smiled Warmly on Her Rain Date which
Produced Highly Heated Action on the Tricky Quarter-Mile

Media Relations – David Holman                                                                          

All Photos are the property of Jessica McAnelly

Jessie's Fast Photos/ www.jessiesfastphotos.com

On Saturday, July 30^th, the NASCAR Whelen All American Racing Series returned for what constituted a rain date.  On the Card for this Event was the Western Late Models in their 50 Lap Main Event, Super Stocks in Twin 30's, Bombers and the Basically 4-Cylinders.  Mother Nature finally allowed the Speedway to get this one in.  And there was no doubt it was well worth the wait as teams began to scramble to get the most out of their equipment coming down the stretch to the Championships.  The 600 fans in the stands could attest to the fact that Saturday Night Short Track racing doesn’t get much better than Stockton.  Beautiful Night! Great Racing!

The Basically-4-Cylinders got the show underway as they most often do.  And, as most often happens, the Points Leader from Manteca, Joseph Reichmuth (6) continued his dominance of the Division by capturing his sixth win in seven races.

As the Racing Gods of Fate would have it, Reichmuth nabbed the pole in this one with Dave Kong (9) of the Darter Clan flanked to the right.  With the green flag waving, Reichmuth beat the field down into turn one and quickly began to separate himself from the hard-charging pack until lap 13, when two third generation drivers, Samantha Williams (4) of Ceres and Manteca’s Firecracker Matt Anderson (5), made contact going off into turn one, which sent Anderson backwards to the wall between one and two and the first yellow of the night followed close behind.  Both drivers took up residence at the tail-end of the longest line for their part in the mishap.  On the lap 13 restart, despite the fact the field was bunched up once again, Reichmuth wasted little time in reestablishing his dominance out front and from that point forward his race took place in a different zip code than the rest of the competition as he rolled beneath the checkers, wire to wire,  to capture number six of the year.  “I wouldn’t be able to do this without my family and friends,” said the low-key Reichmuth, “I also want to thank the fans for coming out to watch us.”  French Camp’s Mark Jacke (747), with another impressive run, finished her up in second while Stockton’s own Kelle Bobbitt (61), flaunting his unwavering consistency once again, finished on the podium in third.  Firecracker Anderson, after his earlier skirmish, worked his way back to finish fourth with Hughson’s Tommy Wood (28) rounding out the top five.

The Bombers rolled out onto the racing surface with their usual bangem up point of view.  However, on this night, Stockton’s Mike Massone (007) would pull out everything from his bag of tricks and take it to the competition in an extremely clean manner for his third win on the year.

Stockton’s David Tucker (350), heir-apparent to the Tucker Clan Throne, sat on pole with the #816 of Guido Bindi, Jr., also of Stockton, ready to go, high and to the right.  Coming off turn four to the green, Bindi got to the gas a half inch quicker than did Tucker as he drove off into one with the early lead where he appeared quite stout until lap 15, when Roy Luft (043) of Stockton looped it in the middle of turn four, which brought an immediate yellow along for the ride.  On the ensuing restart, Bindi slid to the point once again, but unfortunately this time, he brought Massone with him, which, on lap 19, proved to be detrimental to Bindi’s lead as the #007 dove low in turn three and came out on the other side to lay claim to that all-important number one spot where he would be drenched with that beautiful fresh air out front until lap 24, when Bindi slowed on the track and came to rest high between turns one and two, which sent the yellow flying for the second time and ended what started as a promising day for Bindi.  On the restart, Massone knew just what do due as he grabbed a gear and drove off to a checkered/yellow finish on lap 27 due to a massive amount of carnage coming off the high side of turn four.  “It’s just a blur, really,” said the very considerate Massone, “I do remember the restarts, they were just hammer down.”  Points Leader Jeremy Tucker (351) of Stockton, after showing excessive patience throughout the race’s entirety, suddenly appeared on the radar in second.  Stockton’s Bobby Simpson (819T) had himself another solid run finishing on the podium in third while Andy Rumsey (001), also of Stockton, came home with a fourth place finish.  And yet another Stockton driver, Cindy Dueck (028) finished a very impressive fifth.

The Premier Division Super Stocks ran Twins in this Event.  Twin #1 was nothing but sweet for 2010 WLM Champ Chad Holman (75) of Manteca.  After being plagued by mechanical woes throughout the first half of the Season, Holman dominated the breathable air in this one and took it to the house for his first win of the year.

With the invert out the window, and by virtue of fast time on the day, Holman would be strapped in tight to the pole position with second generation driver from Lodi, Robbie Knittel (03), already applying pressure to the right side door of the #75, not-so-patiently awaiting the drop of the green.  And when it fell, Holman was all over it as he grabbed the holeshot going off into turn one where he began to chew away at the asphalt until there wasn’t much left to race for but second place.  Unfortunately, on lap 27, the yellow Holman didn’t want to see came flying in the form of contact between two Lodi drivers, Steven Frasier (18) and Aaron Shankel (47), which slowed the race for the one and only time.  On the restart, Holman refused to be denied on this night as he grabbed that certain huge hunk of forward bite and took it to the checkers for the flag to flag victory, his first of the year.  “I’m happy to finally get the monkey off my back,” said the quiet-mannered Holman, “It feels really good to finally win again.”  Atwater’s Jason Aguirre (45) had his usual solid race, finishing her up in second with Knittel, who seems to get stronger each week, finishing on the podium in third.  Hughson’s Mike Graham (93), always there at the end, finished fourth while Stockton’s Rich Harper (5), always a picture of consistency, rounded out the top five.  Points Leader Garland Tyler (73) of Modesto finished seventh.

In the Western Late Model Division, Oakdale’s Sammy Solari (3) pulled off why might be considered an upset, but only if you’ve never seen him race.  He worked himself into position and patiently waited for his turn to come.  And come it did, his first WLM win of the year.

This one got up to speed when third generation driver Nic Belletto (15) of Modesto and Mike Beeler (6), also of Modesto, paced the field around to greet the green with Belletto grabbing the early lead only to be slowed on lap 3 when, coming out of turn four, no less than five cars tangled, including a couple major players, which sent the first yellow flag beating against the night sky.  On the lap 3 restart, Modesto’s Jeff Belletto (12x), sniffed out the lead from the outside, as he often does, over nephew Nic.  Once there, it appeared Belletto was rolling along to his fifth win of the year as he continuously pulled away, lap after powerful lap, to nearly a straightaway lead until disaster struck on lap 40 when Nic Belletto slid backwards into the peninsula at the turn three exit and hit a ton, destroying his car and bringing with it an instant red.  Nic was checked at the Infield Care Center and released.  On the lap 40 restart, Belletto didn’t get the great jump he usually does, which allowed Lodi’s Michael Wendt (2) to move low to the quarter-panel of the #12x.  Unfortunately, the hole closed as quickly as it opened causing the two leaders to make contact going into turn one and Belletto went off on a spinning tangent that caught the immediate attention of the flagman who promptly sent the yellow into the soft breeze.  Both drivers were just as promptly sent to the tail end of the field as per official request.  On the ensuing restart, Sammy Solari inherited the deed to that precious real estate out front and showed his gratitude with much pleasure as he roared off to the checkers for his first WLM win on the Season.  “We were kind of dodging everything out there just trying to buy some time,” said the always confident Solari, “You know, you always have to have a little luck in racing, the fastest car doesn’t always win.”  Seaside’s Dave Byrd (78), one of the major players caught up in the melee on lap 3, somehow created a miracle in this race by coming back to a second place finish.  Jeff Belletto, after the untimely incident earlier, made it back to the podium in third with a photo finish between himself and Byrd at the stripe.  And then there was Wendt, also involved in the earlier fracas with Belletto, who managed to bring her home in a respectable fourth while Beeler, another victim of the big one on lap 3, never gave up as he crossed the stripe in fifth.

The Super Stock Twin #2 produced a completely new story than that of #1, but not so different in its completion as Lodi’s Matt Wendt (1) went wire to wire to score his second win in as many weeks.

Because of an invert of six off the first Twin, Matt Wendt graciously accepted the number one seed and Rich Harper (5) did the same with the number two seed to get this one underway.  Wendt got the great jump at the green and got off to the early lead bringing the intense presence of Mike Graham along for the ride.  Once this race strung out, the top four were nose to tail throughout the thirty laps.  However, Wendt would be on the receiving end of the severest pressure with Graham gnawing and nibbling and chewing on the rear bumper of the #1 one machine in the perpetual motion of a hungry predator ready to pounce.  And, although Graham never relented, the young Wendt managed to keep a cool head about him and stave off each challenge as he took it to the field for the wire to wire win, his second this Season.  “I had to drive my butt off to stay in front of these guys tonight,” said the excited young driver, “I want to thank everyone who helps to make this possible.”  Of course, Graham still had his teeth buried into the bumper of Wendt’s hotrod as he crossed beneath the checkers in an extremely close second.  Jason Aguirre (45) managed his second podium finish of the night by finishing third while Chad Holman (75), not faring as well as in Twin #1, brought her home in fourth.  Harper fell off the pace, if only slightly, but still crossed the stripe to a fifth place finish.  Points Leader Garland Tyler (73) had to settle for sixth.

Next Saturday, August 6^th , the NASCAR Whelen All American Racing Series is back in action in A Tribute To The 50's presented by 51 Fifty featuring the Western Late Models in Twins (51/50 Laps), Super Stocks, Grand American Modifieds, Bombers and Basically-4-Cylinders.

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

Super Stocks #1

Super Stocks #2

WLM

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