With cooler temperatures and cooler heads prevailing, on Saturday, May 23rd, California Welding Supply Co. presented the first leg of the
2009 Tri-Holiday Classic Race Series. Some absolutely great racing action took place in front of the nearly 3700 spectators who packed the stands as NASCAR Whelen All-American Western Late Models delivered 150 Laps of breath-taking excitement. Also on the agenda for the night, Grand American Modifieds rumbled for 60 Laps. The ALSC/Street Stocks laid down 60 heart-pounding Laps, and the Bombers put together
25 Laps in their usual rough-and-tumble fashion.
A high-powered soiree was in store for the fans in the stands as the NASCAR Whelen All-American Western Late Models danced around the pavement for 150 Laps of high-speed choreography. Two racing legends started on the front row of this feature event: on the pole position was Harry Belletto (74) of Modesto, and flanking him to the right was David Philpott (50) of Tracy. Philpott grabbed the early lead and pulled out to a comfortable margin over Todd Corral (16) of Modesto, before Harry Belletto, coming out of four, tangled with the lapped car of Todd Schneider (07) of Novato, on lap 19 to bring out the first caution of the night. On the restart, Philpott jumped back out to a comfortable lead over Corral until, on lap 41, the #12 of Greg Potts took over the second spot. Young Nick Belletto (15) of Modesto, would bring out the second caution on lap 46, as he spun by himself between turns three and four. After 11 laps under yellow, Philpott once again brought the field to the green with Potts applying a little more pressure, but to no avail. On lap 75, a competition yellow was thrown marking the mid-point of the race. A ten minute intermission took place as the teams were each allowed two men on the track to check tires and feed water to the drivers. The restart of the second half would flow much the same as the first with Philpott leading the way, and, on lap 109, the pace would slow once again as Schneider spun in turn two bringing out the fourth caution of the race. Ten laps would pass under yellow and on lap 119, business picked up as usual with the #50 still out front, but on lap 123, the fifth caution fell as five cars were involved in a massive wreck coming out of four. The #05 of Eric Schmidt was deemed responsible for the melee which relegated him to the tail end of the field at which time he promptly exited the race track and was done for the night. On lap 143, the second red flag of the night was thrown as Jeff Belletto (12) of Modesto, coming off turn four, ended up with the car of Carlos Vieira (51) of Atwater, sitting on his driver?s side roof. On the restart, Philpott would finish what he started by powering his way to a wire to wire victory, his second win of the season. ?I was just hoping we wouldn?t have a tire start separating or anything like that,? said Philpott of the 150 lapper, ?We?ve had a little bad luck with tires lately, but it seems to be good tonight.? Corral would hold on to finish a very strong second while Justin Philpott (05) of Tracy, finished close in third. Joey Stearns (8) of Stockton, crossed the line in fourth from an eighteenth starting spot, and Michael Wendt (2) of Lodi, finished an impressive fifth.
Earlier in the evening, the Western Late Models, due to having 26 cars show up, were forced to run a ?B? Main with the #05 of Eric Schmidt, reaching the checkers first in that one. All cars transferred to the ?A? Main.
In the Grand American Modified Division it was the third week in a row of their back-to-business-as-usual routine. These large-horsepower
sleds always add thrills and spills to an already full-featured show.
And tonight, they would not be outdone in their 60 Lap Main Event.
Rookie sensation and Points Leader, Michael Ostrowski (17), started on
pole with Modified great Wes Miller (57) of Turlock, on the outside.
Ostrowski would lead with heavy pressure from Miller, and then Scott Winters (24) of Tracy. On lap 22, Winters overtook the #17 for the lead but was slowed instantly as Larry Tankersley (96) spun in turn two right in front of the leaders causing Ostrowski to lose three spots, and Jason Philpot (15a) of Sacramento, taking advantage of the situation, moved quickly to second. Tankersley just could not hold onto his car any longer, and on lap 24, he looped it in turn four bringing out the first and only yellow of the race. On the restart, Winters would snag the number one spot and maintain a four to six car lead over Philpot for the remainder of the race as he passed below the checkers for his third victory of the year at the New Stockton 99 Speedway. ?This track is great,? Winters said, ?My car was great, but a little tight in practice. Once we loosened it up, I knew we had a rocket ship.? Philpot held on to finish second, Mike Regelman?s #5a was third, Ostrowski came home fourth, and Miller made up the top five.
The ALSC/Street Stocks powered their way back into action this week in a manner much more conducive to hard, clean racing. After a week of scorching weather and raging dispositions, cooler heads were supposed to prevail but that certainly never showed up on the track. It was great to have Richard Harper (5) of Stockton, back out at the track after a two month layoff due to an accident on opening day. He would bring the fourteen car field to the green alongside Adam Coonfield (2) of Riverbank. Coonfield took the lead on lap 1, but after heavy pressure from brother Aaron Coonfield (25), for five laps, that lead would be short-lived as the #25 slipped below the #2 between turns three and four to nab the lead only to be slowed by the first caution of the night as David Blair (0) of Stockton, performed a solo spin up high in turn two. On the restart, Coonfield (25) held tight to the top spot until lap 12 when the #50 of Zack Huffman, rode the #75 of Chad Holman, high up into the marbles in turn four causing Holman to spin in front of the field collecting Pete Anderson Sr (85) of Stockton, in the unfortunate process, and drawing the second yellow of the race. The #25 jumped to the lead on the restart, but on lap 15, Sammy Solari (79) of Salida, used the #0 car as a moving pick, trapping the #25 behind it as he easily grabbed the lead and cruised to his second win of the year. These ALSC cars are proving to be too much for the Street Stocks as the season continues to unfold. The #55 of Tony Schmidt would finish second on the night which is a great turn around for him considering the bad luck he has experienced his last few outings at Stockton. Jeff Ahl (31) of Lodi, came back to finish a strong third while Aaron Coonfield and the #42 of Brock Monroe completed the top five.
For five weeks now, when you mention Bombers, Ben Lewis is the first
name in line on the tip of the tongue. There would be no difference
this evening in the final outcome. However, for the first ten laps tonight, that good ole boy, Russell Johnson (23) of Stockton, held point quite impressively. But, on lap 11, Lewis took the top spot and sailed away to his sixth win in a row by lapping almost the entire field. ?It was good to have more laps this time, instead of 10 or 8,?
said Lewis, ?It takes a good driver and a lot of patience to keep this car up front every week.? Johnson would be the only other car to finish on the lead lap as he came across the stripes in second. The
#31 of Mike Massoni finished third while Robert Daniels (10) and Cody Lessley (4) rounded out the top five.
Next Saturday, May 30th, NASCAR Whelen All-American Western Late Models, ALSC/Street Stock, Legends of the Pacific and the Mini-Stock/Mini-Truck Division return to challenge the high-banks of Stockton 99 Speedway.
The New Stockton 99 Speedway is located at 4105 N. Wilson Way, ΒΌ-mile west of Highway 99. For more information on tickets and times, please contact the Speedway Office at (209)466-9999 or visit the website at
www.stockton99.com. And remember, The New Stockton 99 Speedway is
always Family Friendly.
