STOCKTON 99 SPEEDWAY
2010 Schedule         Last race: Schmidt Opens 2010 with Win

The First Annual Spring Classic 100 Brought The New Season Roaring In Like A Lion

 Sam Solari (79) passes Ben Lewis II in a battle for first place in the Street Stock
Division during the Spring Classic Sunday at Stockton.

On the weekend of March 13^th and 14^th, Stockton 99 Speedway opened her doors to greet the New Season with the satisfaction of a successful first year under her belt and the hope for greater things to come in what promises to be an absolutely fantastic year of racing staring just in front of us through the windshield.  Divisions included in the event were the Western Late Models, Grand American Modified, Street Stocks, Bombers, Vintage Hardtops, Mini Trucks/Stocks and Mini Cups.

In the Western Late Model Division Tim Spurgeon (86) and 2009 WLM Champion Justin Philpott (05) of Tracy led the field to green with Spurgeon getting the holeshot and holding strong until lap 9 when Lathrop’s Zach Huffman (55) lost control coming out of four and turned it into the inside front stretch wall which brought with it the first yellow of the day.  On the lap 12 restart, Eric Schmidt (05x) of Roseville beat the field back to the line to take the lead which he would never relinquish, despite the pounding his rear bumper took throughout the remainder of the race, as he crossed the stripe ahead of the pack.  Six more yellows would plague the race, but Schmidt proved to be too strong, holding off all challengers, for the victory.  “We knew we had a good car, it was off-the-trailer good, but we hurt the motor in practice today and without the help of my crew and everyone else involved, we wouldn’t be here,” said a very happy Schmidt.  Mike Self (84) of Salt Lake City, Utah, in a damaged car, finished an impressive second with Mark Holeman (21) of Los Altos finishing third.  Trevor Schlundt (28) of Clovis battled back from earlier difficulties to finish fourth while Philpott rounded out the top five.

The Grand American Modified hit the green surface with their usual fervor with Rick Anderson (11A) and Gary Glenn (50) both of Roseville bringing this one to life from the front row.  Glen drove it hard into turn one and the lead on lap 1, but was slowed almost immediately on lap 6 when Stockton’s Larry Tankersley (96) spun between turns one and two bringing out the first yellow of the race.  On the restart, Glen once again held strong up front until lap 15 when 2009 GAM Champion Scott Winters (24) of Tracy worked his way by the #50 for the lead.  And, from that point forward, Winters was never really challenged again as he passed below the checkers to start this season as he ended last season: with a win.  “The crew did a great job with the car.  It rolled off the trailer just in really good shape,” said the always gracious Winters, “I knew if I could stay out of trouble we had a car to win this thing.  It was a great race for us.”  Glen finished a strong second with Sacramento’s Jason Philpot (15A) finishing third.  Lodi’s Mike Regelman (5A) was fourth while French Camp’s Tony Noceti (6A) made up the top five.

The Street Stocks rumbled onto the high banks to strut their stuff as only they can.  Livermore’s Mark Squadrito (31x) and Stockton’s Ben Lewis II (22) paced the field to green in this one with Lewis laying claim to that coveted real estate out front until lap 16 when Sammy Solari (79) of Escalon ducked low coming off four and wrestled the lead away.  On lap 27 the #22 of Lewis and the #70 of Dave Deni made contact between one and two with Deni slamming the wall hard which brought out first a yellow then a red to slow the action.  On the restart, Solari grabbed a huge hunk of forward bite and sped off to the checkers ahead of the rest of the field to notch his first victory of the year.  “To have a pit-crew like I’ve got and to have all the help I’ve got, that’s what it takes to get to the front,” said a very confident Solari, “We’ve been helping Lewis and he’s going to be a threat this year, and that’s what we want, we want to race side by side.”  Lewis brought her home second with Squadrito all over his bumper for third.  The #50 of Lathrop’s Matt Jones finished an impressive fourth and Deni rounded out the top five.

The Bombers were back for their second year, but it is still too early to make any predictions in this Class.  Stockton’s own Travis Tucker (350) brought the field around to greet the green with the #51 of Jeremy Tucker at his side.  Tucker (51) grabbed the early lead, but on lap 3 Tom Dahl (004) of Stockton took control of the top spot and never looked back, despite two caution periods, to capture the winner’s share of the spoils.  “That was pretty good, we’ll take it,” said the soft-spoken Dahl, “I want to thank Wade, again, from Off-Road, he helped us out a lot this morning.  We wouldn’t be here without him.”  The 2009 Bomber Champion, Ben Lewis II (22) of Stockton, held on to finish second, while Fred Rathgen (290), also of Stockton, managed a podium finish in third.  Tucker came home fourth with the #810 of Dave Grimes making up the top five.

The Mini Stocks/Mini Trucks took to the racing surface on Saturday night with the #99 of Travis Cannon and the #21 of Chris Parker bringing the field to the green.  The #27 of Rodney Oliver jumped to the early lead only to be overtaken on lap 5 by the #40 of John McCollum who would hold point to the end and cross below the checkers ahead of the pack for the victory.  The #11 of John McCollum Jr. made his way up from shotgun to finish a close second.  The #88 of Andy Blake had a podium finish in third with Oliver and Parker finishing fourth and fifth, respectively.

The Mini Cup Division also raced on Saturday and it would be the #11 of Travis Affonso beat the #00 of Michael Bettencourt to the line for the win.

Next Saturday, March 20^th, come join us for Jackson Rancheria’s Spring Fling with the always fan-favorite Enduros in 199 laps of wet and wild fun.  Also on the ticket for the event will be the Basically-4-Cylinders, Mini Stocks/Trucks and the Powder Puff.

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, and Alamo Alarm.


Freddy Rathjen (290) squeaks by as Travis Tucker spins out in the Bomber division
race Sunday at Stockton Speedway.