Sunday afternoon, the Westcar Late Model Series will kick off its sophomore season of competition and one of the most talked about championships in west coast late model racing.
Series competitors will go 100 laps around the tricky Stockton 99 Speedway quarter-mile asphalt oval. The event will pay $2250 to win thanks to sponsorship from Eagle Fitness of Reno/Carson.
The 2005 and inaugural Westcar Late Model Series championship came down to the final race, with Byron Gonzales of Carmichael, CA edging out Melissa Davis of Santa Rosa, CA and Rookie of the Year Bobby Butler of Sacramento, CA for the title.
This season, the same type of championship drama is expected with an influx of new drivers and an all-new schedule that encompasses 10 races at four different race tracks.
Both All American Speedway in Roseville, CA and the closed Champion Motor Speedway in Carson City, NV don�t appear on the 2006 slate.
Early championship hopefuls include Michael Wendt of Lodi, CA and Kyle Cattanach of Redding, CA.
Cattanach finished second in the televised 2005 ASA Speed Truck points championship. Most notably ready to challenge Gonzales for the 2006 title is Gary Glenn of Orangevale, CA. Glenn blew two motors in 2005, and still ended the year with two wins and sixth in the series points.
Chet Danburg of Carson City, NV and Scott Chappell of Lodi, CA will also be campaigning for the championship.
The Rookie of the Year title will be chased by at least five drivers, with Katie Crome of Reno, NV, Chris Hinkle of Lodi, CA, Ted Montague of Newark, CA, Craig Swim of Elverta, CA, and Wendt all gunning for the honor.
The star-studded field for Sunday�s opener will feature more than 30 drivers from both Northern California and Northern Nevada.
Among the special entries includes John Moore of Granite Bay, CA, SRL Wild West Shootout drivers Eric Schmidt of Roseville, CA and Andy Livengood of Richmond, CA, and North State Challenge drivers C.J. Bawden of Carson City, NV and Zane Lovelace of Roseville, CA
For more information on the Westcar Late Model Series, please visit www.westcarseries.com . Time trials are expected to begin at 12 noon, with the Scott Wires Dash for Cash and the qualifying race to be held at 2 p.m. preempting the 100 lap feature. Westcar is supported in 2006 by: Scott Performance Wires, Xbox, Eagle Fitness of Reno/Carson, California Door and Frame, Sierra Racing Products, Circle Track Steering, Competition Carburetion, Jim Courage Pools, Fensler Racing, DPI, F.R.E., JME, John L. Sullivan, and Perry Racing.
Preliminary Entry List for April 2nd, Stockton 99 Speedway: * indicates rookie
05 Eric Schmidt SBC Communications Chevy Roseville, CA z2 Kyle Cattanach LaHourge Race Cars Chevy Redding, CA 1x Troy Shirk Microsoft XBOX/MSN/JME Chevy Oakley, CA *2 Michael Wendt Wendt & Sons Construction Chevy Lodi, CA 3x Chet Danburg Re/Max Darrell and Patti Page Chevy Carson City, NV 5 Scott Shade Chevy Redwood City, CA *6 Craig Swim Chevy Elverta, CA *8 Katie Crome Dydacomp . com Chevy Reno, NV 11 Christina Davis Carl�s Ready Mix Chevy Santa Rosa, CA 11x Chris Monez Chevy Stockton, CA 12 Travis Combs EMD Collision Ford Sacramento, CA 15 Scott Chappell Cardoza Transport Chevy Lodi, CA 16 Andy Livengood Chevy Richmond, CA 17 C.J. Bawden Chevy Carson City, NV *22 Chris Hinkle Paragon Pools Chevy Lodi, CA 23 Tony Flores Gypsum Drywall Supply Chevy Ripon, CA 27 John Moore JM Environmental Chevy Granite Bay, CA 32 Richie Crowell Pontiac Cottonwood, CA *34 Ted Montague Pontiac Newark, CA 35 Rich Lawlor Allen�s Tire Ford Sparks, NV 49 Jay Bradley Carquest Chevy Reno, NV 50 Gary Glenn G. Glenn Plastering Chevy Orangevale, CA 55 Zane Lovelace Chevy Roseville, CA 56 Billy Butler Tile Outlet/AB&M/Pro Plumbing Chevy Sacramento, CA 61 Shannon Mansch Performance Electrical Chevy Roseville, CA 71 Melissa Davis Carl�s Ready Mix Chevy Santa Rosa, CA 75 Chuck Glick Chevy Citrus Heights, CA 80 John Callas Marin Auto Transmissions Chevy Navato, CA 98 Byron Gonzales La Placita Mexican Food Chevy Carmichael, CA
Summary:
29 cars entered
5 rookies (Michael Wendt, Craig Swim, Katie Crome, Chris Hinkle, Ted Montague)
5 drivers from Nevada, 24 from California
2 2005 feature winners (Gary Glenn, Byron Gonzales)
