2011 Local Tracks

  STOCKTON 99 SPEEDWAY
2011 Schedule         Last race: WEEKLY RACE RECAP

The Records coverage of this event

1970's Johnny Brazil's Modified #1
Johnny Brazil in the 1960's!

Tribute to Johnny Brazil Night Came in like a Sheep, but Went Out like a Lion With The Legend, Himself, Winning #100

On Saturday, July 16^th, the NASCAR Whelen All American Racing Series returned to action to celebrate the racing career of one of the Speedway’s favorite sons in a Tribute to Johnny Brazil Night, Brought to you by Performance Electric.  On the docket for this very special event was the Western Late Models in Twin 50s, Super Stocks, Bombers, Legends of the Pacific, Vintage Super Modifieds, and the Powder Puff.  What better Tribute can be paid to a legend than for every Division to produce some legendary racing of their own with the Legend himself, Johnny Brazil, in attendance? The command performances showcased on this night would have brought even the best to their feet, and it did, along with the rest of the 1800 fans in the stands, which proved, most convincingly, Stock Car Racing isn’t just a hobby.

The Bombers got the program going and it didn’t take long for Points Leader Jeremy Tucker (351) of Stockton to make quick work of this one by winning his fourth Main Event of the year. 

Two Stockton drivers, Guido Bindi, Jr. (816) and, of course, Jeremy Tucker, were honored with the with the front row to get this one underway.  And, at the drop of the green, Tucker had the heavier right foot and beat the field down into turn one for the early lead.  However, on lap 7, Stockton’s Tony Karsting (312), apparently stricken by mechanical woes, came to rest low in turn two, which brought out the first yellow of the race.  On the restart, Tucker assumed his role out front like he owned it, and he did.  But not without a near-challenge from his Uncle David Tucker (350), also of Stockton, that came up short due to the strength J. Tucker possessed on this particular night as the #351 took it all the way to the glory land in this rather lopsided Victory, his fourth on the year.  “I didn’t plan on winning four races this year, but it sure feels good,” said the quiet-mannered young Tucker, “I want to thank everyone involved with the car and the fans for coming out to watch us do this.”  D. Tucker did manage to hold on to finish nearly a half straightaway back in second, making it a Tucker Clan one-two finish.  Bobby Simpson (819T), yet another Stockton driver, after some rough going earlier in the day, brought her home on the podium in third.  The young driver from Ceres, Tyler Guzman (93x), had another solid run finishing fourth while Bindi fell off the pace just a bit, but still finished fifth.

Next up, the Western Late Models Twin #1 brought with it a multi-time winner on the year in Lodi’s Michael Wendt (2), who actually made this racing stuff look really easy even though the opposite is certainly true.

Seaside’s Dave Byrd (78) won the pole with fast time in qualifying earlier in the day and the Points Leader from Modesto, Jeff Belletto (12x), joined him on the front row, high and to the right.  And, as he often does, Belletto grabbed the holeshot going off into turn one where he laid claim to that much-coveted real estate out front, but not without company which came in the form of one Dave Byrd, and in turn, Byrd had company feasting on his back bumper which came in the form of one Michael Wendt.  During the first half of this race, these three drivers battled over that rarified air at the front with Belletto rarely giving an inch as he held command and began to inch away while Byrd and Wendt were arguing over their own little plot of asphalt.  This appeared to be Belletto’s race to win, but unfortunately, on lap 42, the #28 of Clovis’s Trevor Schlundt came to rest high in turn two which brought with it the first yellow of the night.  During the caution period mechanical difficulties befell Belletto, which sent him to the pits and ended his race.  On the ensuing restart, Wendt jumped out quick to nab the lead, and once there, he would not be denied on this night as he drove it to the checkers for his third win of the year and second in a row.  "It certainly was a good night for us," Mike Wendt said. "We built Matt's (Wendt) car ourselves, so that's very gratifying."  Byrd, despite getting everything out of the car it had to offer, had to settle for a second place finish.  Atwater’s Carlos Vieira (51), in his best finish of the year, raced onto the podium in third with the young, second generation driver from Stockton, Colby Potts (12), finishing up in fourth.  Modesto’s Mike Beeler (6) rounded out the top five.

The Legends of the Pacific were on tap to display their talent as they always do.  This time, however, they produced a first-time winner in Jessica Walker (21) of San Ramon.  Jessica has been knocking on the door for a while.  Tonight she drove right though it for the extremely popular Victory.

As the Racing Gods would have it, the front row was occupied by two of Stockton’s own Clement Clan: Keith Clement, in his green hotrod on pole, with Cousin Fred Clement (58), already gnawing at the right side numbers of the #8.  Fred got a great jump coming off four to the green, which sent him straight to the front where he enjoyed the lead until lap 7, when Brisbane’s Luis Tyrell (74M) went spinning low in turn two bringing with him the one and only yellow of the race.  On the lap 7 restart, Walker took control of that golden piece of property out front where she would be greeted with that magnificent fresh breath of air as she inhaled it all the way to the finishline for her first-ever, very exciting win.  “It feels really good to finally win out here,” said the polite young driver.  Dylan Albiani (56) of Modesto, in a rare appearance at the Speedway, and despite mounting a brief challenge for the lead, brought her home in second while Tyrell, after recovering from the earlier incident, drove back through the field and onto the podium in third.  Napa’s James Bickford (25B) ran an impressive race of his own in finishing fourth with Tony Mangini (7) of Benicia completing the top five.

The Powder Puff race had an unusually small car-count, nonetheless, the ladies managed to bring some excitement to the forefront.  Not-so-surprisingly, when the dust settled and the dealing was done, every competitor finished on the lead lap with Cindy Dueck (028) of Stockton taking home top honors this time around.  The #819T of Stockton’s LuLu Simpson brought her home neck-n-neck with Dueck, but Dueck got the nod.  Bryde Tucker (819), another Stockton driver finished on the podium in third while French Camp’s Rhoda Haines (077) finished up in fourth.

The Super Stocks also produced a first-time winner in Lodi’s Matt Wendt (1).  And, to be sure, the younger Wendt went out there and took it to the field with a fantastic car on the night.  Older brother Michael won the first WLM Twin, so this was a very exciting night for these two young drivers.

Points Leader Garland Tyler (73) of Modesto inherited the pole due to the six invert with Atwater’s Jason Aguirre (45) already nibbling chips off the right side paint as both drivers paced the field around to greet the green.  Aguirre took full advantage of the high line and grabbed a huge hunk of forward bite that vaulted him into the lead.  Once out front, Aguirre began to chew away at the asphalt until he found himself with what seemed to be an insurmountable lead.  Unfortunately for Aguirre, Wendt had pulled into the number two position and began to close the gap that, at one point, was a full straightaway separation between first and second until lap 25, when Manteca’s Johnny Cardoza (32) looped it up to the outside wall between one and two, which caused a brief pause by the flagman, who then sent the only yellow of the race flying high in the summer sky.  On the ensuing restart, Aguirre assumed what would be an extremely brief lead when Wendt drove it hard into turn three with both cars making contact in a battle of wills and one lap later, we had a new leader: the #1 of Matt Wendt.  From that point, Wendt took it to the checkers for a sensational first-ever win.  “The car was on rails tonight, we finally got the car figured out and I used every bit of it to get the win last night,” said the very excited young driver from Lodi, “It felt awesome to get my first win, it was totally unexpected because we haven’t been able to figure this car out this whole season. Winning on the same night as my brother was very cool because we got to share the spot light together!”  2010 Champ, Sammy Solari (79) from parts unknown, starting deep on the grid, worked his way patiently through to a second place finish.  Stockton’s own Rich Harper (5), after some bad luck last time out, came from just as deep to finish on the podium in third.  Mike Graham (93) of Hughson, starting even deeper on the grid, was able to manage a strong run in finishing fourth while Ben Lewis (22) of Stockton rounded out the top five.

In the Vintage Super Modifieds, one of the Greatest Legends of All Time, Johnny Brazil (1) of Manteca, in a borrowed car, had the crowd on their collective feet as he crossed below the checkers for the Victory.  It would be his 100^th win in a long and storied career at Stockton.

L.D. Nix (61) of Fresno, grabbed the pole in this one with Miles Humphries (77) of Bass Lake nipping at his right side door.  Nix and Humphries would mix it up over the first few laps, swapping the lead back and forth until lap 5, when Brazil drove into the picture, and the lead followed shortly thereafter.  From that point forward, Brazil would display his driving skills and took the race all the way to Victory Lane for his 100^th career win at Stockton.  "I had to wait a while to get it," the 77 year old Brazil said of the win. "It was fun to come out here and quite a night for me."  Everett Edlund (10) of Caruthers, despite a strong challenge for the lead with two laps to go, would have to settle for second on this very special night.  David Barrett (9) of Fresno brought her home on the podium in a comfortable third with Danny Green (5), also of Fresno, and after mounting a challenge of his own early on, crossed the line with a fourth place finish.  Madera’s Ray Lasswell (44) put forth a strong effort and was rewarded with fifth to complete the top five.

In the second Western Late Model Twin, whether it was a surprise or not is up for debate, but the Points Leader from Modesto, Jeff Belletto (12x), made a strong statement by starting shotgun on the field and working his way through to his fourth win of the year.

This one got underway with Trevor Schlundt (28) of Clovis and Modesto’s Mike Beeler (6) strapped in tight and sitting on the front row.  With the green flag flapping high above the racing surface, Schlundt got the great jump and beat the pack down into turn one to become sole owner of that prized property at the head of the field.  Once there, he would bask in the glow from the lights above as he breathed in, lap after wonderful lap, of that rare air that is known to only the lucky few who find themselves out front and pulling away.  In the meantime, on lap 18, the points battle was heating up on the track when Belletto and Seaside Great Dave Byrd (78), got side by side fighting over that almost precious real estate in third.  Byrd had it, Belletto took it.  When Belletto finally took second from Beeler on lap 26, Schlundt was over a half straightaway ahead.  Unfortunately for Schlundt, Belletto had the fresher tires after problems in Twin #1, and the #12x began to chew away at that well-established lead until, on lap 37, Belletto drove low and squeezed by the young driver from Clovis where he would drive away to the checkers for the astonishing win, his fourth on the year.  Considering the problems Schlundt encountered last time out, he was more than likely pleased with the outcome this time around in finishing second.  Byrd held on to finish on the podium with a very consistent run in third.  Winner of the first Twin, Michael Wendt (2) of Lodi came home reasonably well in fourth while Beeler fell off the pace just a bit, but still brought home a top five.

Next Saturday, July 23^rd, the Speedway will be vacant of any sign of racing.  However, we will not go dark because there will be a different kind of entertainment that will come in the form of a South-of-the-Border Special called Charreada.  This is an Old Mexico Rodeo Competition steeped in tradition and history.  If you consider curiosity an asset, you might want to let it get the best of you on this one and come on out and check it out.

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, Alamo Alarm and Stockton Hampton Inn and Suites and Lodi Holiday Express.

RESULTS

Legends of the Pacific

Bombers

Powder Puff

Super Stocks

WLM #1

WLM #2

Attn. Visitors; Rooms available at Stockton 99's New Official Hotel!