CALLOUETTE WINS FIRST EVER AT STOCKTON 99

    (STOCKTON, CA-July 9, 2000)-After three "could a been, should a been or would a been" non-wins, Barry Callouette of Benicia finally made it to the winner's circle Saturday night at NASCAR-sanctioned Stockton 99 Speedway. To do so, Callouette had to hold off Pacific Coast Region front runner and Stockton point leader Mark Welch of Orangevale.
    Callouette started fifth in the 21-car field that saw Sam Solari of Salida lead the first 13 go-rounds. Welch, who started seventh, and was seeking his 11th win in 13 starts actually passed Callouette early on and was fourth by lap-six. However, a bobble by Welch enabled Callouette to gain third on lap-nine. The eventual winner passed Doug Henry of Antioch for second on lap-13 and moved past Solari on the next pass.
    Welch came to third on lap-18, then passed Solari for second as the 30-lapper's only yellow was displayed on lap-22. Although he was second on the re-start, Welch was third on the track with the down car of Turlock's Dave Davis sandwiched between Welch and Callouette. The two front runners pulled away over the final laps as Solari, Henry and Robert Knittel of Lodi occupied the top-five spots.
    Solari and Knittel dropped back as Welch unsuccessfully tried to get past Callouette. At the checkered, Henry was still third with fast timer Tony Silva of Sacramento fourth and Danny Contessotto of Stockton fifth. Callouette, who became just the third different Grand Am winner-Welch (10) and Silva (2)--was elated afterward: "It's taken me five years to beat that guy."
    The victory also moved Callouette into the top-five in the season point standings. Welch leads Silva by 60 (682-622) with Contessotto third, Knittel fourth and Callouette fifth.
    Cary Treadway continued his romp in Stockton's new Pro Stock division. The Stockton driver registered his seventh fast time and ninth feature win in 12 events. However, this one did not come easy.
    Doyal Moen of Modesto was the early leader of the 11-car field. A spin off turn-two on the 11th lap enabled Lodi's Jason White to move in front. On the subsequent re-start, fellow Lodi pilot Scott Chappell moved into second and kept reminding White of his presence with gentle taps of the leader's rear bumper. Meanwhile, Treadway--who started 10th--had worked his way to third.
    White eliminated himself with a solo spin on lap-20. On the re-start, it was Chappell, with Treadway, Ed Cullom of Lockeford and Joe Hylton of Manteca second, third and fourth. In an effort to move up, Hylton spun on lap-28 setting up a green, white, checkered finish. Coming to the green, Chappell bobbled enabling both Treadway and Cullom to make the pass. At the checkered,
Chappell was third with two more Lodi driver's-Mike Monez and Mike Garcia-completing the top-five.   
    Treadway's season point lead is now 83 (675-592) over Chappell with Hylton another 20 back in third.
    After qualifying for the first time since 1998, a 35-car I.B. Benedict Pure Stock field was reduced to 20 for their 30-lap feature. Starting outside on the front row, Gary Shafer, Jr. of Stockton led early with Chad Holman of Stockton coming to second on lap-three. A yellow on lap-five ended up causing problems for the racing Guibor brothers of Manteca. While Danny sat in turn-four, brother Guy got turned sideways in the same area. Both went to the pit area and had to start over again from the back of the pack.
    Doug Lane of Stockton was third on lap-seven, with Mike Graham of Manteca sliding to fourth a lap later. Graham moved to third on lap-12 and second on lap-15 to take up the battle against Shafer. A lap-16 re-start had a top five of Shafer, Graham, Holman, Lane and Joe Stearns of Stockton.
    Arron Shankel of Lodi became a new force over the next five laps. While Shafer and Graham battled at the front, Shankel moved to third on lap-21. One lap later, Shafer and Graham got hooked up off turn-two and Shankel took advantage to run trouble free to his third career win and first of this season. He was followed to the checkered flag by the fast-closing Guibor's-Danny and Guy-with two Stockton drivers, Jeff Lovelace and Chris Mays, fourth and fifth.
    Guy Guibor leads the season point standings over brother Danny by 19 (666-647) with Tracy Bolin of Valley Springs third (611). Bolin--in spite of setting a new Pure Stock qualfiying record of 17.168--had a tough night, finishing 16th.
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    Legends-five-eight's scale model 1938 to 1940 Chevrolet, Dodge and Ford coupes and sedans-will join Stockton 99 Speedway's NASCAR-sanctioned racing program Saturday, July 15, as part of "EasyCare Night at the Races." EasyCare-one of the nation's leaders in vehicle service contracts--is a major sponsor of the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series.
    Ticket gates for the four-division racing program that will also include Grand American Modifieds, Pro Stocks and I.B. Benedict Pure Stocks will open at 3:00 p.m. with qualifying set for 5:00 and green flag racing at 6:00.
    Adult tickets are $12, eight for seniors over 65 and teens 13-to-17, four for children six-to-12 with those under six getting in free.
    Stockton 99 Speedway is located at 4105 N. Wilson Way, a quarter-mile west of Highway 99.

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