As the NASCAR sanctioned Shell Tri-Track Challenge, presented by Paul Oil of Oakdale, CA., steams into the second half of its 10 race schedule in 2000, several drivers such as Wilton's Jason Fensler and Modesto's Steve Belletto are hoping to keep up the blistering pace they set in the first half of this season, but it is Jim Pettit II of Salinas who may be the one to watch. No one has enjoyed a more successful season up to this point than Pettit. Simply put, he has been hot, red hot and with his second Tri-Track win of the season at Stockton on July 22, he shows no signs of cooling off.
Although he is only 35 years old, Pettit is already celebrating his 20th year in auto racing this season. And what an amazing 20 years it has been. Pettit began racing at 15, an age when most other kids are starting to think about getting a learners permit. He won his first track championship in 1981 at age 16 and in 1984, at age 19, became the youngest driver ever to win the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Pacific Coast Division title. He still proudly holds that honor.
Pettit has raced on virtually every track on the West Coast, be it dirt or asphalt, in every type of car, from the Southwest Tour to open-wheel. In 1987, on the dirt at Antioch Speedway he won 17 features, including seven straight. He has amassed numerous track titles and, although he is not quite sure of the exact count, approximately 200 main event wins.
"I know I'm real close to 200. In fact, I may already have made it. We need to go back and check the record books," said Pettit recently. "I should know, 200 is a pretty important number."
Even with all of his previous achievements, Pettit may just be having the best ear of his career in 2000. He has already picked up 10 main event wins this season, including seven at Madera Speedway and three at Stockton's 99 Speedway, which surpasses his old career high of six pavement wins in a season. He also has accumulated 16 top 5's in 20 Late Model starts this season with his number 03, California Hotwood, sponsored Monte Carlo. In addition, Pettit is leading or in the hunt for seven different titles. He leads the Late Model point standings at Madera, is second in the Stockton 99 Late Model points, first in the Stockton 99 Tri-Holiday Classic standings, second in the Shell Tri-Track Challenge points and sixth in the Grand American standings at Watsonville Speedway. He is currently third overall in the latest NASCAR Pacific Coast Region standings and first in the third tier of the Exide Shortrack Weekly Racing standings as of July 23.
As good of a year as he is having, Pettit feels he could be doing even better. "We actually started out the year a little slow. We had some tires go flat and we were put into the wall a couple of times, but lately, lady luck has been on our side. We have really been on a roll," explained Pettit. "My crew is doing just a great job, busting their behinds to give me a great car week in and week out. They are doing such a great job, it's making mine easy." Pettit's success this season has not come without some controversy however. At Madera, he has had several on track altercations with defending track champion Mike Swanson of Kingsburg. Earlier this year, both were put on probation by the track for rough driving and both have made less than complimentary comments about the others driving tactics and skills on several occasions.
Tracy's David Philpott, who is second in the points at Madera, fifth at Stockton and no stranger to the winner's circle himself, enjoys racing with Pettit. "He races hard and he's here to win just like everybody else. Sometimes he can be a little rough, but that's part of racing. If you can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen. I don't have any trouble with him. If he runs into me, he knows I'll run back into him. It's sort of a mutual understanding we have," laughed Philpott.
Ironically, it may have been an incident earlier in the year, when Pettit went hard into the turn two wall at Madera while trying to pass Swanson for the lead in a race, which turned his season around.
" I was really upset about being roughed up like that and my crew chief Duane Sharp told me 'you know, if we had the car right, he never would have even been able to do that to us' and I thought about it and he was exactly right," said Pettit. "We just started working even harder after that and it got me and my guys motivated."
Can Pettit keep up his winning ways through the remainder of the season? He sure hopes so.
"We are not taking anything for granted. When you have been around as long as I have you know you are going to have good times and bad times. We are going to keep working as hard as we can and simply take one race at a time and whatever happens, happens," said Pettit optimistically. Finally, Pettit talked about what has been the toughest part of this season. "Driving home. Sometimes we don't get home until four in the morning and the crew always makes me drive the truck back while they sleep."
SHELL TRI-TRACK NOTES: Tri-Track fans are happy to see the return to the series of 1997 champion Dave Byrd of Salinas. Byrd last raced in the Tri-Track series in 1998, before moving on to try his hand at the NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Tour and other projects. Byrd is back in his old ride, the Tim Gillit owned Conti Brothers Monte Carlo, after Gillit and his driver for the past year and a half, Bob Strandwold of Modesto, parted ways a few weeks back.
Ironically, with last season's champion Burney Lamar trying his hand at USAC open wheel Midget racing and 1998 champion Mike David only running his Spec Truck this season, Byrd's appearance at Stockton on June 10 was the first by a previous series winner this season.
The June 10th race in Stockton was only the second time Byrd had been behind the wheel of a late Model Stock since his accident over a year ago at the Copper Classic in Phoenix in which he was severely burned. Byrd picked up right where he left off in that race, qualifying third and running near the lead before getting caught up in an accident which ended his evening prematurely. In round #6 at Stockton last week he finished third, behind Pettit and Modesto's Harry Belletto, despite having to battle an ill-handling car.
"Tim and the whole team are just great. I love running for them. We just jell really well," said Byrd. "It feels just like I never left, except they moved a few things around in the car I've had to get used to."
"It was nice to have a good run and let everyone know that we are back," added Byrd. "The last two years have been a disaster. It was good to show we are still fast and I think this was our chance to finally turn things around."
Although Byrd and Gillit are presently working on a race to race basis, Byrd expects to at least finish out the 2000 season with the Gillit team Several Tri-Track regulars took advantage of the break in the schedule to compete at Sears Point International Raceway in the June 24th NASCAR Southwest Featherlite Tour Snap-On Tools/AAA 200 race which runs the day before the Annual Save Mart/Kragen 350 Winston Cup race. Among those making the trek to Sears Point were Steve Belletto, Fensler, Mike Ledbetter of Ceres, Fremont's Troy Ermish, Dublin's Brandon Kraus and Modesto's Jason Wright.
For several it was their first race on a road course. Although results were mixed, there was one common opinion shared by all of them, racing on Sears Point 11-turn, twisting 1.949-mile road course was a blast.
When the dust finally cleared after 70 grueling laps on race Saturday, it was Belletto leading the way for the Tri-Trackers with an 8th place finish, just 13 seconds behind race winner Jim Inglebright of Fairfield. Ledbetter came home 11th, Ermish 19th, and Fensler 33rd, Wright 36th and Kraus 37th.
Other Tri-Track drivers also enjoyed the Sears Point experience by working on pit crews including Harry Belletto, Ken Boyd of Ceres and Pettit. "Driving and crewing are both fun, but being on the pit crew is definitely harder work," said Boyd with a smile.
Following round #6 Jason Fensler continues leads in the Tri-Track standings by a 307 to 294 point margin over Pettit. Steve Belletto moves to third with 256, Sonora's Nathan Tucker (242) and Modesto's Kevin Gottula (234) round out the top five. Fensler holds a 18 to 8 edge over Manteca's Ron Strmiska Jr. in the United Trade Bureau Qualifying Points and Gottula now leads in the Pick & Pull 'To The Front' Passing Points competition by a 35 to 26 point margin over Steve Belletto.
Race 7 and 8 of the Shell Tri-Track Challenge take place August 12 at Madera Speedway and August 19 at Altamont Raceway Park.
For more information on the Shell Tri-Track Challenge call race director Ken
Gross at (209) 668-4196 or visit the Challenge website at
www.shelltritrack.com.
