STOCKTON,California - Saturday night Stockton 99 Speedway hosted the round eleven and twelve of the USAC NorCal Ignite Midget Series featuring twin 30 lap main events. The division brought in many drivers from all over the United States, Georgia, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, Ohio and California and was sure to put on a great show for the fans.
Garrett Peterson has been the driver to beat all season long and the 31 machine continues to provide dominance in the morning practice sessions with fast times. Peterson topped the qualifying charts with a fast time of 13.741 seconds however Tyler Edwards has been keeping up with Peterson the last few races and nearly missed the pole position by .018 seconds. Ricky Bowers third, Sheldon Didinger fourth, Cole Glasson fifth, Molly Helmuth sixth, Spencer Hill seventh and Christine Breckenridge eighth.
The top four fast drivers were in the four lap trophy dash with Bowers and Didinger on the front row. Upon completion of lap one, all four drivers went a nail biting four wide in turn four to the line and Tyler Edwards would take the lead. Edwards held off the field and collected his third consecutive trophy dash victory.
In the first 30 lap main event the drivers started straight up from their qualifying results. Peterson and Edwards led the field to the start of the race and Peterson jumped to an early lead. As Peterson took the lead Edwards climbed on the rear tire of Peterson but this didn't budge Peterson one bit from his lead. However, Edwards fell back to third as Bowers was able to get by for second. On lap two, Edwards and Bowers put on a good show swapping positions as the two raced side by side till Edwards claimed second for good on lap three. On lap ten, Peterson checked out while Edwards, Bowers and Didinger were all nose to tail for second and youngster Cole Glasson was working on Molly Helmuth for fifth. On lap 14, Edwards broke away from the field to start picking up ground behind the leader. Spencer Hill was working on the rear bumper of JR Williams as the duo raced side by side till Hill spun in turn three bringing out the yellow. Peterson was not looking for a yellow as this brought the field back together and Peterson would have to hold off Edwards again. A single file restart for the division and Peterson would take the lead. Edwards tried to roughen up Peterson on the start however Bowers was the one to roughen up Edwards for second. On lap 17, the top two drivers broke away from the rest of the field leaving the racing action to Bowers and Didinger as the two battled for third. On lap 25, Peterson's gap began to get smaller as Edwards was quietly creeping up on his lead. The third place battle continued as Bowers dove to the inside of Didinger in turn one and they would collide and continue on. Peterson sailed to his 10th USAC Ignite Midget victory this year followed by Tyler Edwards, Sheldon Didinger, Ricky Bowers and Molly Helmuth the final five.
The division geared up for the second feature and Bowers and Helmuth started on the front row. Bowers jumped to the early lead and Didinger would follow through for second. Helmuth got hung on the outside and Edwards would pass her for third. On lap three, Peterson jumped to the inside of Edwards in turn two and came out in third setting his sights on the top two drivers. By lap seven, Peterson had passed Didinger for second and dove to the inside of Bowers for the lead on lap nine. However, tough luck for Peterson as he took over the lead a caution was thrown as Hill spun making Peterson's lead not count. A single file restart for the division as Bowers led the field to green as he had a rear full of Peterson. On lap ten, Peterson stole the lead from Bowers and by lap 12 the top three drivers began to break away from the field. Didinger and Bowers raced side by side for second and Didinger would over power Bowers for second on lap 15. By lap 20, Peterson had picked up a straightaway lead over the rest of the field and second through fifth were all nose to tail. Peterson cruised to 4.190 second victory followed by Sheldon Didinger, Ricky Bowers, Tyler Edwards and Molly Helmuth the final five.
Next up for the USAC NorCal Ignite Midget series is race number thirteen and fourteen "Fall Classic" September 8th at Stockton 99 Speedway.
For more information about the USAC NorCal Focus Midgets Series can be found at www.NorcalFocusMidgets.com. Stay up to date with the series on their facebook page by searching NorCal Focus Midgets.
About USAC NorCal Focus Midgets
How can the Star USAC Norcal Focus Midget Series be affordable? Two races at each event for the same cost as one entry fee, set of pit passes and set of tires. The Long Blocks cost $2500 and the engines last for 3-4 years with no rebuilds. The engine cost works out to under $25 a day and tires are long lasting, thus, estimating $3100 total annual tire budget. There are many great used cars for sale in the marketplace for $10-$15,000 turn-key. Free help online can be found at www.FocusMidgetResource.com.
Star Racing Supply is the new Stockton 99 Track Vendor, with a physical store at the track offering over 400 brands of racing parts & supplies. Star Racing Supply is the official source for tires & fuel and is the Focus Midget headquarters for Northern California. Star Racing Supply offers 2 brands of Focus Midget chassis, KPC & Spike including a full fabrication shop, plus all the parts and materials to build, race & maintain Midget race cars.
For More information on Stockton 99 Speedway visit www.stockton99.com website or call 209 466-9999. For more information about the USAC NorCal Focus Midget series visit the website at www.NorcalFocusMidgets.com. For details on test-n-tune days and Midget test drives, contact Ron Sutton at 916.834.8051. For new & used cars, parts or supplies visit the www.StarRacingSupply.com website; The Racer's store is located at 8581 Younger Creek Drive, Sacramento, CA 95828 or call (916) 914-1284
