SRL Public Relations/Eddie Alves
Wire to Wire Win for Rick Ruzbarsky at Stockton 99 Speedway
Photos: #51 Rick Ruzbarsky & #21 Ryan Foster (Finishline), #51 Rick Ruzbarsky on the roof of his racecar, #51 Rick Ruzbarsky, and crew
Photo Credit: David Misco
Stockton,
Calif. (July 4th)— Rick Ruzbarsky became the seventh different winner
in seven races, as Davey Hamilton’s SRL Wild West Shootout roared into Stockton
99 Speedway Saturday night. Ruzbarsky led every lap en route to his first
victory since the 2002 season. “Without a doubt, this
is my biggest win.
I wanted this so bad, I
can't even explain it. I've been trying to win at Stockton for three years.
We've come close, and we finally did it.”
Anderson’s Ryan Foster finished second, followed by Eric Holmes, Tracy Bolin,
and Eric Schmidt. "I
wanted to get around him, but it's so tough to pass here," Foster said. “He's a
good driver and he did a great job."
Turlock’s Wes Miller was the twenty-seventh and final car to take a qualifying time. Miller set quick time with a lap of 13.932 seconds. Ceres Ken Boyd was the second quickest car of the evening with a lap of 13.963. Ryan Foster stopped the clock third quickest with a lap of 13.975. Escalon’s Eric Holmes was fourth and Rick Ruzbarsky fifth.
Wes Miller pulled a six out
of the deck of cards to determine the inversion for the 100 lap feature event.
Lincoln’s Phil Perry and Tracy’s Rick Ruzbarsky lined up on the front row on the
fast high-banked ¼ mile. When the green flag waived, Ruzbarsky took the lead
exiting turn two. Roseville’s Mike Mansch spun in turns one and two from his
tenth starting position on lap one. Patterson’s Aaron Days and Roseville’s
Harold Rieker Jr. spun in turn one and two on lap 12. Ruzbarsky had a three car
length lead on Perry, as Foster, Wes Miller, and Eric Schmidt followed after 20
laps. Ken Boyd and Eric Holmes passed Schmidt on lap 30, as Ruzbarsky’s lead
grew to nearly ten car lengths. After setting quick time earlier in the evening,
Wes Miller hit the wall on lap 42 and retired his car for the rest of the
evening.
At the half-way point, Ruzbarsky continued to show his dominance. Perry continued to run second, followed by Foster, Boyd and Holmes. Foster passed Perry for second heading down the backstretch on lap 58. Two laps later Troy Ermish and Ron Strmiska Jr. spun exiting turn two. Strmiska broke a part in the drive-train and retired on lap 63. Holmes followed Boyd as they made their way around Phil Perry. Perry slipped back a few positions and made contact with Jeff Anthony. Anthony suffered right front body damage, but continued. Perry spun in turn 4 to bring out a caution on lap 70.
As
the field restarted on lap 72, Eric Holmes made contact with third place Ken
Boyd. As a result, Boyd spun and went to the end of the longest line. Ruzbarsky
continued to lead, Foster ran second, Holms third, Tracy Bolin fourth and Eric
Schmidt fifth. Ruzbarsky held off two serious charges in the final few laps from
Ryan Foster, but was able to hold him off to pick up his first Sunoco Checkered
Flag of 2004. Ruzbarsky becomes the seventh different winner in seven races.
Joey Zampa finished sixth, Jeff Anthony seventh, Troy Ermish eight, Ken Boyd
ninth, and Aaron Days tenth.
“This series is built for the racers, and that’s what it’s all about. Jeff Jess and all the guys put an awesome setup under my car tonight, it was very drivable.” Ruzbarsky said.
“I feel bad for hitting Boyd. Everyone just checked up, and I got into him. He is the last guy I would want that to happen to. I have raced with him for many years.” Holmes said. “We are pretty happy with third. The car is in one piece, my crew worked real hard to get it back together, after I hit the wall in practice.”
With just four races left in the 2004 season Ruzbarsky leads Ryan Foster by 18 points (321-303). Jeff Anthony sits third, followed by Ken Boyd and Steve Belletto.
Race Leaders: Phil Perry (Start), Rick Ruzbarsky (1-100)
Average Race Speed: 53.234 MPH
Best Lap Time: 14.058 (64.020 MPH, Ryan Foster)
Margin of Victory: 0.317