STOCKTON, California -- -- It was a packed house! Close to 3,000 NASCAR DODGE Weekly Series fans jumped to their feet when Stockton's Pete Anderson Jr., late in the HAVOLINE Western Late Model (WLM) 100-lap season opening main event, made an inside, aggressive move out of turn-4 that earned him a lead that he was able to maintain through to the checkered flag.
"I knew we had a good car going in," said Anderson Jr. "We gotta a good chance this year (of winning the WLM title) ."
Anderson Jr., who finished second in the WLM hunt last season, started the race several rows back. By lap-58 he had worked his way into fourth, following several collisions that knocked the likes of Turlock's Chris Monez and Stockton's Joey Stearns off of the track.
It was in lap-84 when Anderson Jr. made his move. Up until then, it looked as if Stockton's Gary Shafer Jr. was going to take the race. Anderson Jr. had been hard-pressing Shafer Jr. out of turn-4 for most of the last third of the contest. Despite some aggressive moves, Shafer Jr. was managing to hold the lead. But Anderson Jr.'s last try worked.
"My crew chief said that it looked like it was gonna rain, so I had better get a little more aggressive," said Anderson Jr. of his late race pass.
Shafer Jr. finished the race second, Modesto's Scott Masellis ended third, Manteca's Danny Guibor came in fourth and Tracy's Ryan Philpot checkered fifth.
Stockton's Kannai Scantlan won the inaugural CL BRYANT American Limited Stock Cars 30-lap main event.
"It feels great," said Scantlan, of the first win of the season. "I've won the opener out here the last three seasons."
Scantlan said that the new tires that the former Pure Stock drivers are running on made a difference in his race, and he expects that they'll make a difference as the season moves on.
"You can drive into the turns a whole lot better," said Scantlan. "It sticks the car more and we can drive three deep."
Manteca's Boyd Camper ended second, Stockton's Richard Harper finished third, Lodi's Jeff Ahl came in fourth and Stockton's David Holman checkered fifth.
In Pro-4 Trucks racing, Mark Hensley, of French Camp, landed first place.
Hensley raced in four Pro-4 Trucks events last year. To win he came in ahead of track record-setter Chris Drysdale, of Campbell.
"It feels awesome," said Hensley. "Couldn't ask for a better way to win."
Drysdale checkered second, Tim Furgurdes came in third, Lodi's Mike Curry placed fourth and Stockton's Paul Murarik rounded it out at fifth.
Winning the CALIFORNIA WELDING SUPPLY SRL WILD WEST SHOOTOUT was Elk Grove's Jason Fensler. The 100-lap win marked Fensler's 10th career 100 victory, and fourth consecutive at Stockton 99 Speedway. For a complete rundown on SRL results and action see www.supermodifiedracing.com.
Next up for NASCAR's fastest quarter-mile oval west of the Mississippi is the Saturday, April 9 third annual 100-lap Fred Gerhardt Classic USAC Ford Focus Midget race. Drivers are expected to descend on Stockton from around the country for this momentous racing event. Also on the card are the HAVOLINE WESTERN LATE MODELS and the CL BRYANT American Limited Stock Cars.
HAVOLINE WESTERN LATE MODEL 100-LAP MAIN
1. Pete Anderson Jr. (Stockton) 2. Gary Shafer Jr. (Stockton) 3. Scott Masellis (Modesto) 4. Danny Guibor (Manteca) 5. Ryan Philpot (Tracy) 6. Allison Duncan (San Rafael) 7. John Moore (Granite Bay) 8. Wes Miller (Turlock) 9. Travis Combs (Stockton) 10. Brandon Trevethan (Tracy) 11. Mark Holman (Stockton) 12. Aaron Shankel (Lodi) 13. Mike Garcia (Lodi) 14. Walt Haas (Unknown) 15. Eric Humphries (Chowchilla) 16. Joey Stearns (Stockton) 17. Danny Contessottto (Stockton) 18. Eddie Wilcox (Modesto) 19. Todd Corral (Modesto) 20. Paul Dorrity Jr. (Modesto) 21. Steve Magana (Galt) 22. Chris Monez (Turlock)
CL BRYANT AMERICAN LIMITED STOCK CARS 30-LAP MAIN EVENT
1. Kannai Scantlen (Stockton) 2. Boyd Camper (Manteca) 3. Richard Harper (Stockton) 4. Jeff Ahl (Lodi) 5. David Holman (Stockton) 6. Steve Brown (Lake Comanche) 7. Tom Dahl (Stockton) 8. Darrel Hughes (Unknown) 9. Tony Smith (Angels Camp) 10. Jason Nieto (Unknown) 11. Greg Tyler (Modesto) 12. Samantha Hasaker (Unknown) 13. Jim Vosberg (Stockton) 14. Chad Holman (Stockton) 15. Mike Brooks (Manteca) 16. Danny Snow (Stockton) 17. Scott Lutz (Lodi) 18. David Joachim (Stockton) 19. Garland Tyler (Modesto)
PRO-4 TRUCKS 30-LAP MAIN
1. Mark Hensley (French Camp) 2. Chris Drysdale (Campbell) 3. Tim Furgurdes (Stockton) 4. Mike Curry (Lodi) 5. Paul Murarik (Stockton) 6.
Nathan McNiel (Oakdale) 7. Walt Bruegger 8. Brian Hitchcock (Stockton) 9.
Danny Basto (Lodi) 10. Ron Robeck (Milpitas)
