50 LAP MAINS AT STOCKTON TO LINSTROTH, HYLTON, GUIBOR, & BYRD
6-30-01 BY: JIM SHIELS Four action packed divisions took to the quarter-mile high banks of Stockton 99 Speedway this week with 50-lap feature wins going to Jay Linstroth of Citrus Heights in Grand American, Joe Hylton of Manteca in Pro Stock, Danny Guibor of Manteca in Pure Stock, and Dave Byrd of San Jose in his first ride in an Ultra Wheel Super Truck.
Linstroth, starting fourth on the 20-car grid, took after early leader Danny Contessotto of Stockton and was in second by lap-five. A yellow fell on lap-seven as Stockton drivers Pete Anderson Jr., and Shawn Wentzel got togeather off turn-two with Anderson ending up against the outside wall, and Wentzel with a flat front tire in turn-four.
Linstroth was primed for the restart and took the point on the next green flag lap with Jason Kerby of Stockton pulling to second. Four-time feature winner Greg Williams of Ceres slid to third on lap-11 as the field came to the second yellow on the night for a spin by Jerry Bauguess of Manteca in turn-two. Williams pulled to second on lap-13 and the laps went on the board quickly as the remaining cars fought for better positions. past two additional minor yellows on lap-33 & 35.
A major yellow fell on lap-41 as Ted Harrison of Stockton went around on the backchute and was clipped by incoming point leader Paul Henry of Big Oak Flat. Harrison was out with Henry then running lame. Robert Knittel of Lodi, the fast timer on the night, pulled to second on lap 45 but had nothing left for the leading division rookie driver Linstroth who nailed his third career win of the season. Behind Knittel came dash winner Williams, in turn followed by Steve Stacy of Stockton and Robert Miller of Gardnerville, NV.
A poor finish by Henry cost him the current point lead with Knittel now in charge by three points over Henry.
Eight yellows and two reds marred the 50-lap Pro Stock action with the first coming on lap-two as heat winner Mike Garcia of Lodi went around in turn-two. Garcia was then was clipped by Jason White of Lodi, and incoming point leader Cary Treadway of Stockton. Treadway suffered right side damage and a cut tire that took some of the steam out of the normally unbeatable defending champion. Jim Earl of Oakdale took the lead from Jerry Crawford of Stockton on lap-three with the field running smooth to lap-14 before the yellows began to fly every few laps. Earl, Mike Monez of Lodi, and Jeff Lovelace of Stockton tangled going into turn-three with Treadway gaining the lead at the flagstand, followed by Crawford and Joe Hylton. Hylton gained second on lap-18 and took the lead coming to a yellow on lap-20. Treadway retook it on lap-21, with Hylton grabbing it back on lap-22. A yellow/red condition prevailed on lap-27 as Chris Monez of Lodi tasted the wall in turns three and four and got a short ride to the infield by ambulance, slightly shaken but unhurt.
With only seven cars left, the lead went to Treadway on lap-33, and back to Hylton on lap-35 as the cars waded past the final two minor yellows to the checkered flag. Hylton picked up his second career feature victory to add to his earlier dash win. Fast Timer Treadway finished second. Crawford, White, and heat winner Earl rounded out the top five. Treadway still maintains a comfortable point lead of 78 over fellow Stockton driver Jeff Lovelace.
Pure Stock action saw the early lead going to Mike Graham of Manteca with heat winner Danny Guibor running second by lap-five. Guibor finally got Graham in lapped traffic to take the lead on lap-13 with Graham fighting back to run first on the next pass. The first of five yellows fell on lap-18 for a stall out by Semi-Main winner Tracy Bolin of Valley Springs and the restart saw Guibor once again taking charge. The remaining yellows were minor as Guibor picked up his third season victory over Jeff Ahl of Lodi, a heat winner on the night. Tom Bolin of Morgan Hill finished third ahead of heat winner Chad Holman of Stockton, and Ray Davis of Galt.
Joe Stearns of Stockton won the remaining heat and the trophy dash on the night that saw Guibor take the current season point lead away from Doug Lane of Stockton. Guibor now leads by a slim margin of four points over Ray Davis with Lane slipping to third, 12-marks behind Davis.
The Ultra Wheel Super Trucks were on hand for their second appearance of the 2001 season with local Late Model driver Dave Byrd of San Jose behind the wheel of a truck for the first time. The veteran winner of over 200 career main events in Central Valley competition proved that he could drive anything as he made a clean sweep of the night. With fast time, a dash win, and a sterling drive from dead last in the 12-truck field to the lead on lap-18, Byrd showcased his talent to the cheers of his local fans. His comment afterwards was "With the truck they gave me tonight, I would have been ashamed not to have won." Kevin O’Neil of Long Beach, Michael Sherman of Stockton, Mark Laeger of Temecula, and Dan Moore of Burbank chased Byrd to the final flag.
The track will make a quick turnaround for it’s 28th annual Firecracker 100 this coming Tuesday, July 3rd, when the action on the track for the C.L. Bryant Late Models in their second leg of the three-race California Hotwood Tri-Holiday series will be expected to be as hot as the huge aerial fireworks show on tap.
