STOCKTON, California -- As one of the oldest raceways in the Western United States, Stockton 99 Speedway located in Stockton, California, is celebrating its 58th year of racing.
This legendary quarter mile track is considered to be one of the toughest tracks in the United States. Just like Darlington located in South Carolina, it has an extremely difficult layout, with turns one and two completely flat, and three and four banked at 14 degrees. It makes driving around this track one of the most challenging experiences that a driver will face.
“You can be sure that teams will be adding extra support to their fenders and doors on the right side of the car for protection from hitting the walls coming out of the corners, which is a certainty at Stockton,” said Rip Michels, driver of the No. 12 Stock Building Supply/LADCO Racing/Victory Circle Chevrolet.
Rip and the team will be competing this Saturday night at the legendary Stockton 99 Speedway in the NASCAR AutoZone Southwest Elite Division Series race. Last year Rip scored his first top five in his inaugural visit to Stockton by finishing fourth.
“This is a tough old track. You have to use a lot of finesse getting into turns one and two, while you can drive the car in really deep in turns three and four. You have to race the track, if you don’t, the track will come out and bite you. I think it is one of the coolest tracks I have every seen, let alone raced on. When I think of the great drivers like Ernie Irvan and the late Ivan Baldwin who came from this track, it is just really neat to race here,” commented Rip.
Rip currently sits 18th in points, 180 out of first place. The team’s fourth race of the season will be at Mesa Marin Raceway, located in Bakersfield, California on May 14, 2005.
For more information about Rip Michels and his sponsors, please visit www.ripmichels.com
