Strmiska and David each tally eight fast times, with Strmiska topping the stats with five dash wins. Strmiska and Reed each share six feature victories, but Strmiska's eighteen main top five's and sixteen total wins give him the edge to claim his second straight title ahead of David and Reed. Boyd and Dyer also figure well in the top stats.
Marty Newell of Union City and Paul Martin make the season battle fun in the Hobby ranks as they share in the top stats. McCullom, Sal Rubio, and David Akers of Stockton give them both a hard run towards the season crown which is claimed by Martin. Bill Farren of Stockton takes the semi main Late Model title this year. Current 1977 Grand American tech official, Sonny Nabors of Lodi, begins his first of eight season's of Late Model action this year.
The decade of the 70's ends with Reed as the overall leader in five of the six categories of competition. 20 dash wins, 43 feature victories, 121 main top five finishes, 105 total wins, and 267 total top finishes. Ron Lyon stole the show in the fast time department with 50 quick trips to Reed's 36.
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(1980)
The 1980 season started on an early and tragic note as Tim Williamson of Seaside lost his life in a racing accident at Riverside Raceway on January eleventh. Driving his Camaro in the Western 300 event, he hit the outside wall in turn six and died one day short of his twenty-fourth birthday. Tim was the 1979 Winston West rookie of the year and had raced at Stockton in 1975 and 76.
Racing stories for the 1980 season reflect track speed records in both divisions. Ivan Baldwin grabbed the only Late Model record on July fifth, with a posting of 14.428, while Steve Loogman of Escalon produced two records in Hobby action. His 15.385 on May thirty-first was the best.
The Late Model championship battle was fought between Reed and Baldwin this year with Baldwin notching ten fast times, ten feature wins, and twenty-two total wins, as opposed to Reed's sixteen main top five's. With only a few events left in the season, and leading in points, Baldwin disproved the 'Ivan the terrible' name by showing that family comes first as he took a week off to attend his daughter's wedding. The missed night of action would cost him the season crown as Reed moved past him in points to notch his fifth title. (the most by any Stockton driver to date) Ron Strmiska, Ed Dyer, and Steve Holmes also made their presence known this season in the stats.
Steve Loogman made his mark in the Hobby division with seventeen fast times and six dash wins, but a division all time best mark of twenty-seven main top five finishes by Mark Whitney of Stockton in the extended season gave him the season title. Gene Newell of Hayward won six features to put him on the heavy hitter list along with Sal Rubio, and Stockton's Kevin Johnson.
Harold Maxwell of Stockton took the Late Model semi main title with the rookie of the year award falling to Tom Virgo of Turlock. Steve Holmes was voted most improved, with the Sportsman of the year award going to Reed.
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