2011 Local Tracks

  STOCKTON 99 SPEEDWAY
2011 Schedule         Last race: WEEKLY RACE RECAP

09/10/11

The New Stockton 99 Speedway Media Release – 9-10-2011           

Media Relations – David Holman                                                                          

All Photos are the property of Jessica McAnelly

Jessie's Fast Photos/ www.jessiesfastphotos.com

City of Tracy Night/9-11 Memorial Put Some
Points Battles to Rest While Others Heated Up

On Saturday, September 10^th, the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series returned to action on City of Tracy Night, Brought to you by Victory Motorcycles, Plus 9-11 Memorial.  On the Race Card for the Event were the Super Stocks in Twin 40's, Bombers, Basically-4-Cylinders, Mini Cups, and NCMA Sprint Cars.  Beneath the flag of remembrance for September 11, 2001, and all that is implied by that date in our history, the 800 fans in the stands paid homage to all affected on that infamous day.  Upon conclusion of the ceremonies, the Toughest Test in the West erupted into a magnificent show of appreciation, while the racing surface took on a look of its own, which evolved into some astonishing battles of high-octane power and resolve.

The Mini Cups put on their final Points Race of the year.  Lodi’s twelve year-old driver, Jackson Ezell (15), would win the race, his second of the Season, but Scotts Valley’s Bryce Napier would take home the 2011 Crown by a tiny two points over Ezell.

As luck would have it, the Points Battle in this Division would pit Bryce Napier (03) and Jackson Ezell (15) up front and ready to put this one in the books.  Coming off turn four to the green, Napier got to the gas a quarter-inch sooner than Ezell and beat him down into turn one.  However, coming back around to lap 2, Ezell returned the favor that had been bestowed upon him a lap earlier and took the lead between turns one and two, which is a great feat in itself.  The two battled ferociously over that top property for the next nine laps with the #15 car owning it and the #03 car wanting to evict him and claim it for his own.  Unfortunately, on lap 11, the two made contact going into one, which sent both cars off on a tangent and brought with them the first yellow of the night.  On the restart, the #22 of Hunter Franklin jumped out to enjoy the lead over the next four circuits, but on lap 15, Ezell wrestled it away and Franklin had no choice but to submit to the pure power of Ezell.  Once out in the fresh air, Ezell would take it to the checkers for the extremely close Victory, his second this year.  Franklin would have to hold off a strong charge by Napier, which he did very convincingly, as he drove it onto the podium in a very strong second.  Napier, of course, would have to settle for third, but most assuredly, it was a happy third, because it brought him the lion’s share of this Season’s spoils in winning the 2011 Championship.  Congratulations to Bryce Napier for an incredible year.

Well, another crazy week for the Basically-4-Cylinder Division.  Manteca’s Dave Kong (9) owned this race from the outset all the way through to the checkers.  Unfortunately, during post-race tech, it was discovered the #9 was wearing illegal tires and was disqualified, handing the race win over to the Points Leader from Manteca, Joseph Reichmuth (6), his tenth of the year.

Dave Kong landed on pole to get this one up to speed with third generation female driver from Ceres, Samantha Williams (4), already nibbling chips of paint off the right side door on the #9.  With the green flag showing its wrinkled face, Kong got the great jump and beat the field off into turn one.  Once he secured P1, which was instantaneous, Kong not only began to chew away at the asphalt, he began to devour it in huge chunks as he raced off to another hemisphere all the way to the checkers to claim his supposed first-ever win by nearly a half-lap over his nearest competitor.  And that nearest competitor came in the form of none other than Points Leader Joseph Reichmuth, who had diligently worked his way through traffic, but simply ran out of time to do anything with Kong in this caution-free event.  Firecracker Matt Anderson (5) of Manteca, after suffering severe damage a week earlier, came back strong as he drove her onto the podium in third.  Charles Kundert, Jr. (7) of Stockton finished his night in fourth, while Stockton’s own Kelle Bobbitt (16), Mr. Consistency, rounded out the top five.  At the race’s conclusion, Kong was determined to be wearing illegal tires and was promptly set down, handing the win over to Reichmuth, his tenth on the year.  And, by virtue of his win, Reichmuth need only show up next race to clinch the 2011 Championship.  That is, of course, if the car-count remains as predicted through Season averages.

The Street Stock’s Twin #1 race was a remarkable one, to say the least.  Rocklin’s Josh Whitfield (00) brought a rocket ship to the track and piloted it to the house, wire to wire, for his first-ever win at Stockton.

The lineup was set off qualifying, which set Josh Whitfield (00) at pole and 2010 WLM Champ “The Iceman” Chad Holman (75) of Manteca alongside for the ride.  And what a ride it was as the green flag broke through the late summer breeze, Whitfield got the holeshot going down into turn one and took full advantage of the situation, despite suffering through five restarts in the first seven laps due to yellows from early-race jitters? Finally, on the lap 7 single-file restart, the jitters were gone as well as a few race cars and this one got up to speed with Whitfield not only resuming, but presuming that position out front in the rarified air where he filled his lungs with the freshness of it all as he took it to the house for his flag to flag, very impressive, first win ever at the Speedway.  The real battle in this one was waged over that not-so-precious territory just behind the leader between Holman and the young driver from Lodi, Matt Wendt (1).  Holman had it, Wendt wanted it.  And, during the final thirty-three laps, Wendt nibbled and chewed at the rear bumper of the #75 by pulling out of his bag all the tricks he has accumulated in his young career, but the wily veteran Holman had a few tricks of his own stored up in his right foot and crossed beneath the checkers, Wendt still attached, to finish on the podium in second.  Of course, Wendt, still picking pieces of bumper and spoiler from his teeth, finished a very close and impressive run in third.  Stockton’s Ben Lewis II (22), making a rare appearance this year, brought her home in a very solid fourth, while 2009 Champ from Lodi, Jeff Ahl (31), in an even rarer appearance, brought back some good memories in finishing fifth.  Points Leader Mike Graham (93) of Hughson, after an earlier altercation, managed to come home with a seventh place finish.

Points Leader Jeremy Tucker (351) of Stockton put forth his best foot in the Bomber Division.  And, in doing so, he put on a Spectacular show for the fans as he worked his way from the back to the win, his fifth of the Season.

David Tucker (350), heir-apparent to the Stockton Tucker Clan, nabbed the pole with the heiress to another famous or infamous Stockton racing family, Kasi Lewis (028), near and dear to the right side numbers of Tucker to get this one underway.  Tucker got the great forward bite coming off four to greet the green and beat the pack down into turn one for the lead.  Once out front, Tucker appeared extremely comfortable with the view out the windshield, so he decided to keep it that way over the next twenty-one laps, going mostly unchallenged.  However, on lap 22, after working his way cleanly through the field from P12 on the starting grid, and by picking his opponents off one by one, Points Leader Jeremy Tucker (351), bounced by the elder Tucker, including some contact, for the lead, where he would bask in the fresh air and spotlight for the remainder of the race as he stepped away from the field in major increments all the way through to the stripe to pick up the victory in an astounding and extremely loud message.  The win would be Tucker’s fifth on the year and would build his Points Lead to insurmountable status, bringing the Big Trophy to the Tucker mantelpiece for the 2011 Season.  Tyler Guzman (93X) of Ceres, also starting deep on the grid, ran another fabulous race of his own in finishing second.  D. Tucker, after leading most of the race, fell back to finish on the podium in third.  Stockton’s Bobby Simpson, Jr. (816), always in the middle of the excitement, came home fourth with the #003 of Rick Roberts, from a land time forgot, rounding out the top five.

In the NCMA Sprints, Napa’s Gentleman Driver David Goodwill (3G) capped off another great night of racing in this Division by taking it to the field from shotgun all the way through the pack to Victory.

Sacramento’s David Dias (24) and Patterson’s Thomas Amador (7) shared front row honors to get this one rolling.  With the green flag wiggling high above the hot asphalt surface, Dias got the great jump at the line and shot out to the early lead only to be slowed on lap 4 when T. Amador and Concord’s Burt Silverling (77) made contact between one and two with both cars coming to rest high in two and bringing with them the one and only caution of the race.  On the lap 4 restart, Dias re-deposited himself in the luxury suite out front, but not without some heavy knocking at the back door by now second place runner, David Goodwill (3G), who had worked his way in an instant’s width to that position from the rear of the pack.  And much to Dias’ dismay, on lap 6, Goodwill made an unbelievable move through turns three and four by implementing an absolutely brilliant crossover on Dias and nudging him out of the way just beneath the flagstand to take up residence on that pristine property out front in the clean night air.  Once there, Goodwill, as he often does, began to ingest the asphalt at breakneck speed until there was nothing left to absorb but the checkered flag, and that he did, over a half-lap ahead of his nearest competitor to extend his Points Lead in this Touring Series with two races left on their schedule.  Ripon’s Denny Burrell (88), starting next to Goodwill on the grid, worked his way cautiously through the field to finish a distant second.  Justin Kawahata (15), a young up-and-coming star from Clovis, drove a fine race of his own onto the podium in third.  Modesto’s Ed Amador (76), with his usual consistency, brought his hotrod home in fourth, while Dias, falling off the pace a bit, still managed a fifth place run.

In Twin #2 of the Super Stocks, roles were reversed and so was the outcome with Atwater’s Jason Aguirre (45), starting on pole due to the invert, picking up his third win of the year in convincing fashion.

Jason Aguirre (45) and Lodi’s Jeff Ahl (31) inherited row number one due to the five invert off Twin #1.  Pacing the field off turn four to the green, Aguirre had the heavier foot and drove off into turn one with the lead where he would almost enjoy his fifteen minutes over the next twenty-six laps, except for the constant gnawing at his back bumper by the young driver from Lodi, Matt Wendt (1), until lap 26 when winner of the first race, Josh Whitfield (00), and Manteca’s Chad Holman (75), made contact going down into turn one, which sent Holman spinning on his wayward way and which eventually sent Whitfield to the tail-end of the longest line to join his partner in crime for his part in the first caution period of the race.  On the ensuing restart, Aguirre stepped out front once again only to be slowed two laps later on lap 28 when Whitfield had a right front go down up in turn four, which also collected a couple other cars up on the spoiler of the #00, and which also brought with it a complimentary yellow.  On the resulting restart, Aguirre barely got his feet wet out front when the third and final caution hit the night sky on lap 29 due to Wendt losing a transmission down the backstretch, and which of course, ended the great run he was having on this night.  And so it went, on the final restart on lap 29, Aguirre, who had refused to relent throughout all the attrition, kept his head square and took it to the checkers for the wire to wire win, number three on the year.  Points Leader Mike Graham (93) of Hughson, did his own ducking and dodging to make it up to finish at P2 and extend his Points Lead, not exponentially, but by a few.  Stockton’s Rich Harper (22), in a borrowed car after his car was destroyed in Race #1, showed what he was made of by driving it onto the podium in third.  Ahl, after starting up front, slipped back slightly, but still managed his second top five of the night in finishing fourth, while Holman, after the earlier skirmish with the #00, rebounded to finish fifth.  Although Graham is the Points Leader, he will have to show up and race next week due to the slight edge of fourteen points he holds over his pursuers.

Next Saturday, September 17^th, the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series returns to Live The Madness, sponsored by 51 FIFTY Energy Drink.  It will also be the Whelen All-American Series Final Points Race.  On the Docket for the Event will be the Western Late Models in 150-Laps of racing pleasure.  Also, the Super Stocks, Grand American Modifieds, Bombers and the 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-Cylinder

Bombers

Mini Cups

NCMA Sprints

#1 Super Stocks

#2 Super Stocks

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