Points leader Dave Byrd, #9, of Pacific Grove led the first 92 laps of the 100-lap Tri-Holiday Classic, then ended up nose first in the wall. Byrd, a five-time winner this year, was no happy camper afterward, and his car caught fire.

Guy Guibor, a former Pure Stock champ at the track, then appeared headed to his first Late Model victory before tangling with John Moore, #27, on lap 97, a spark-filled crash that resulted in Moore's front wheels resting on Guibor's hood -- halfway along the frontstretch. Guibor wasn't exactly pleased either.

Left standing when the smoke cleared was Stockton's Danny Contessotto, #97, a former Grand American Modified track champ who took his first checkered flag in Late Model.

Contessotto finished fourth in the B main and drew the final transfer to the big race.

"We started last in the main and ended up first. But I'll take it," said Contessotto, who told his crew late in the race, "We might back into one guys."

There was considerable confusion involving car No. 61, because there were two of them. Guibor, of Manteca, drives car No. 61, and he was in the hunt throughout the race. Shannon Mansch of Roseville, an occasional visitor to the track, drives car No. 61m.

Byrd and Mansch battled for several laps. Mansch was trying to regain a lap lost earlier in the race. Byrd saw 61 on the leader board, but he didn't know which 61. He thought -- thought, being the key word -- the 61 car was a lap down, but he wasn't sure, so he wasn't about to back down.

"It's all unofficial, so you can't let up, and we couldn't get an answer," Byrd said. "She just pile-drived me and never lifted. Some yahoo from out of town pile-drives me and ends our season. We're toast."

Mansch hit Byrd coming out of turn two, and Byrd slammed the wall front first. The car was demolished, and it caught fire.

"He's a clean racer. I hate to see that happen to anyone," Mansch said. "He probably should have let me have my lap back."

Defending track champion Jason Philpot of Sacramento held off a threat by Scott Winters of Tracy on the 30th and final lap to record his first main-event victory of the season.

Winters moved inside of Philpot in turn two on the final lap, and they went side by side down the backstretch and into turn three. Philpot had the advantage by the front wheel coming out of turn four and hung on to register his ninth career win.

Cameron, the defending race champion, passed third-place finisher David Gilliland, #88, of Riverside on lap 87 and closed in on Mike Duncan, #9, with about 20 laps remaining. Duncan, who went into the race tied with Scott Gaylord for the points lead, set the pace in qualifying at 14.093 seconds around the quarter-mile paved oval and led 142 laps

As the leaders caught up to lapped traffic for the last time in the race, Duncan was held up by Bobby Hillis of Phoenix, Ariz., and Cameron slipped by. Cameron faced more lapped traffic but blew by Daryl Harr of St. Albert, Alberta, and Jack Sellers of Sacramento on the way to his first victory this season and the ninth of his career.

"We've had a couple bad ones in a row, but we're back baby," Cameron said.

Tavo (C.T.) Hellmund of Mexico City was fourth and Tim Smith of Roseville fifth.

Mike David, #2, of Modesto finished eighth. Third at Stockton 99 each of the last two years, David and defending series champ Scott Lynch of Burley, Idaho, became tangled early in the race and spun. David made his way through the 22-car field to fifth before being passed by Smith, and he crashed into the wall on the final lap.

John Moore of Granite Bay, after finishing sixth in the Western Late Model Tri-Holiday Classic 100-lapper, drove to a seventh-place finish as Cameron's teammate.