A rare photo of Vuky on asphalt shows him at Stockton 99 Stadium in 1947. (Chini Collection)
The inaugural race at '99' was held on Tuesday night, May 27th., featuring a 12 car field of Midgets under the sanction of the United States Racing Association (USAC). A crowd of more than 8,000 people were on hand that opening night with cars parked up to one mile north and south on highway 99 (Wilson Way). Stockton Mayor Woodrow Coale and most of his city council members were on hand also, as the Greyhound bus service shuttled the huge crowds from downtown Stockton to the track. After the preliminary events were over, starter Leslie Pine dropped the green on the 25 lap feature. Billy 'The Kid' Vukovich, (above), of Fresno took control on the fifth lap and never looked back in his two cycle 'Drake', taking the win ahead of Cal Niday, Edgar Elder of Los Angeles, Frank Arrni of Hanford, and Johnny Boyd of Fresno.
(Chini Collection)
This is a color picture of the restored #1 Drake powered midget from Open Wheel Magazine, August of 1987.
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