STOCKTON, California -- Michael Lewis won a USAC Sprint Car Show in Iowa Friday evening and then traveled 2000 miles to take another one in Central California Saturday evening. After flying into San Francisco and taking the 100 mile drive to Stockton 99 Speedway, Lewis arrived just in time to jump into the Western Speed Racing number 40 Team ASE Eagle for the first practice session. By the time the DuWayne Starr Sprint Classic was over, he had squeaked out a win in a torrid forty-lap war with Jeff Gardner, leading wire to wire. Josh Lakatos managed a convincing win in the companion Ford Focus Midget event as well.
There were 23 USAC Western states Sprint Cars and 15 Ford Focus Midgets in the Pit area when the action began Saturday, May 17, at Stockton 99 Speedway’s banked ¼ mile asphalt. Practice sessions saw times in the low 13 second bracket for the sprints and the low 14’s for the Spec Motor Midgets. Other than minor spins, there were no incidents during practice for either series.
First up to challenge the timing lights were the Ford Focus Midget Series Drivers. Defending Southern California Ford Dealers Champion Todd Hunsaker(16) set an automatic track record (this is the first foray into the Stockton Facility for the Focus Group) with his fast time of 13.833 seconds. Other top qualifiers were Ryan Kaplan(27) at 13.924, Bobby McGowan(15) at 13.999, Josh Lakatos(4) at 14.017, and Wayne McCormick(3) at 14.094. All fifteen cars were within a second attesting to the closeness of the year old series.
Next up were the pavement pounding 360 powered Sprints. With the track temperature rising dramatically and a dissimilar rubber problem with the local Late Model Stocks, the track was much slicker for qualifications than it had been in practice. It was apparent that the first several qualifiers were having trouble getting power to the ground. It became an advantage to have a late draw in order to adjust for the traction problems and allow the deposit of more Hoosier Rubber to the track surface. When the time sheets were turned in, Defending USAC Western States Sprint Car Series Champion Rick Hendrix(97) owned a new track record with a lap at 12.838 seconds. 2001 Champ Tony Hunt(14) was second fast at 13.027. Another previous series champion Jeff Gardner(51) was third at 13.091. Rounding out the top six (those that would be inverted for the main event start) were Jimmy Waters(24) at 13.255, Jason McCord(15) at 13.283, and visiting fireman Michael Lewis(40) at 13.302.
Head to head competition began with two Ford Focus Midget eight-lap heat races. The first lined up with J.R. Williams(74) and Jeff Gregory(8) on the front row followed by Heather Davis(44), Garratt Boyden(8B), Steve Graves(86), Wayne McCormick(3), Bobby McGowan(15), and Todd Hunsaker(16). Gregory grabbed the lead on the first lap followed by Davis while Williams dropped to third and Boyden held on to fourth. The front stayed static until lap six. However, Hunsaker and McGowan were slowly picking off cars and moving up. Boyden grabbed third from Williams on lap six and then Williams spun in turn one on the seventh circuit to bring out a yellow. The restart line-up showed Gregory leading over Davis, Boyden, Hunsaker, and McGowan. Boyden displaced Davis for second on lap seven and then grabbed the lead on a last lap pass. Finish order was Boyden, Gregory, Davis, Hunsaker, and McGowan.
The second Focus heat featured Jimmy Miller, Jr.(48), Steve Davis(77), Eric Pace(28), Ryan Pace(14), Brad Galeridge(19), Josh Lakatos(4), and Ryan Kaplan(27). Miller led the first lap from the pole followed by Ryan Pace, Davis, and Galeridge. Lakatos was quickly moving up while Miller and Davis moved back. By lap four the order was Ryan Pace, Galeridge, Lakatos, Miller and Kaplan. Kaplan assumed fourth the on lap five and Davis moved back up to fifth on lap six.. Finish order was R. Pace over Galeridge, Lakatos, Kaplan and Miller.
The first 8-lapper for the Sprints was paced by Marvin Mitchell(68) followed by Tony Iacobitti(31), Greg Taylor(47), and Michael Newman(9). The field was rounded out by Shauna Hogg(5), Tyler McQuarrie(3), Jimmy Waters(24), and Rick Hendrix(97). Iacobitti, Newman, and McQuarrie stormed around the outside on the lap one when Mitchell bogged the entire inside row. Taylor and Hogg rounded out the top five. The top five stayed static as Mitchell headed for the pits on lap four. Finish order remained the same and fast runners Waters and Hendrix missed transfer slots and were relegated to the semi.
Lined up for second heat were Supermodifed regular Eric Silsby(72) in his first Sprint Car attempt, Brian McClish(04), Anthony Simone(10), Amy Barnes(12), Brad Bumgarner(88), Jason McCord(15), and Tony Hunt(14). McClish grabbed the lead from the outside and was followed to the line by Simone, Bumgarner, Hunt and Barnes. Hunt took third from Bumgarner on lap three. McCord moved into the top five on lap four and then displaced Bumgarner for fourth on lap seven. Hunt managed a last lap pass on Simone for second making the finish order McClish, Hunt, Simone, McCord, and Bumgarner.
The final heat included Bobby Bankson(43), Craig Deaver(15X), Chuck Maddox, Jr.(23), Randy DuBois(79), Scott Hansen(33), Michael Lewis(40), and Jeff Gardner(51). The yellow flew before completion of a lap when Bankson and Hansen tangled in turn three. Restart order was Maddox, Deaver, Gardner, DuBois, Bankson, Lewis, and Hansen. Maddox led the first lap over Gardner, Deaver, Lewis and DuBois. Lewis passed Deaver on lap 3 and Hansen moved up fifth on the same lap. Gardner grabbed the lead on lap five and Lewis displaced Maddox for second on six. Deaver grabbed third on the seventh circuit and Hansen moved to fourth with a last lap pass. Finishing order was Gardner, Lewis, Deaver, Hansen, and Maddox.
The Sprint Car Semi lined up with Rick Hendrix and Jimmy Waters on the front row followed by Amy Barnes, Randy DuBois, Eric Silsby, Bobby Bankson, and Marvin Mitchell. The outside row had an advantage on the start and all passing was done on the first lap of the ten scheduled. Waters grabbed the point followed by Hendrix, DuBois, Barnes and Bankson. Eric Silsby brought out a yellow on lap six when he missed the pit entrance and stalled in turn one. Finish order showed Waters leading over Hendrix, DuBois, Barnes, and Bankson. Mitchell and Silsby ended the night on the trailer.
The first feature event spotlighted the Ford Focus Midgets. The front of the field included Ryan Pace(14), Brad Galeridge(19), Josh Lakatos(4), Bobby McGowan(15), Ryan Kaplan(27) and Todd Hunsaker(16). They were followed by Garrett Boyden(8B), Heather Davis(44), Steve Davis(77), Jeff Gregory(8), Wayne McCormick(3), and Jimmy Miller(48). The remainder of the field included Steve Graves(86), Eric Pace(28), and J.R. Williams(74). The first four lined out in order at the green with Josh Lakatos taking fifth. Williams stalled on lap three for a yellow. Restart order was R. Pace, Galeridge, Lokatos, Hunsaker, McGowan, Kaplan, and Boyden. The order was static until another caution flew on lap 7 for a turn three spin by McCormick. On the restart, McCormick tangled with E. Pace and the yellow rag flew again. McCormick exited on the hook. When the field finally completed lap seven. Lakatos grabbed second from Galeridge and then hijacked the lead on lap 9. Order at half-way(10 laps) was Lakatos over Galeridge, R. Pace, Hunsaker, and McGowan. On lap 11, Hunsaker grabbed third, Kaplan moved up to fourth, and Boyden took fifth. The yellow again flew on lap seventeen for a turn one spin by Galeridge. Restart order showed Lakatos leading Hunsaker, Kaplan, Boyden and Steve Davis. And that was the extent of the passing at the front. Top ten at the finish were Lakatos, Hunsaker, Kaplan, Boyden, Davis, McGowan, Graves, R. Pace, Gregory, and Miller.
The Duwayne Starr Sprint Classic lined up 20 Sprint Cars for 40 laps of motorized warfare. Michael Lewis(40) started on the pole followed by fellow Indianan Jason McCord(15), Jimmy Waters(24), Jeff Gardner(51), Tony Hunt(14), and Rick Hendrix(97). Behind the invert were Tyler McQuarrie(3), Brad Bumgarner(88), Scott Hansen(33), Shauna Hogg(5), Amy Barnes(12), Randy DuBois(79), Michael Newman(9) and Anthony Simone(10). Filling the back of the field were Chuck Maddox, Jr.(23), Greg Taylor(47), Brian McClish(04), Craig Deaver(15X), Tony Iacobitti(31), and Bobby Bankson(43). Lewis out powered McCord off four to take the lead at the start and led lap one over McCord, Gardner, Waters, Hendrix, and Hunt. Gardner took second on lap four and began a thirty six lap battle with Lewis that would bring the crowd to their feet several times. The first yellow came out on lap 10 for a turn four spin by McQuarrie that also caught up Hogg and Bumgarner. Hogg changed a flat on the yellow, while Bumgarner and McQuarrie both had their mounts checked over. All three lined up at the rear of the restart order. On the restart, Lewis gained a little breathing room, but Gardner closed back up to challenge again within a lap and half. Gardner kept going into turn three very hard on the outside of Lewis, but Lewis was getting both power and traction off the bottom to hang onto the lead. The yellow again flew on lap 19 when Iacobitti brushed the front stretch wall and came to a stop in turn one. The green flew again at the start of lap 19. At lap twenty, the order was Lewis, Gardner, McCord, Waters, and Hendrix. Rounding out the top ten were Hunt, Hansen, Simone, Newman, and Taylor.
The second half of the feature showcased more of the torrid battle between Gardner and Lewis. Gardner tried both high and low and although he could get beside Lewis, he couldn’t get the nose out in front of the Western Speed Machine. Gardner even tried a few love taps on Lewis’s rear nerf bar, but couldn’t displace the Orange Machine. The Caution Lights flashed again on lap 30 when Taylor spun down the front straight. The restart order at the front remained the same, but the guys who had been saving tires started to move up in the last ten laps. Scott Hansen got by Tony Hunt on Lap 32 only to collide with Hendrix on the backstretch of lap 35. Restart order was Lewis, Gardner, McCord, Waters, Hunt, McClish, Simone, and Newman. After the green, the yellow flew again on lap 36 when Barnes, McQuarrie and Deaver tangled on the backstretch. The last four laps saw no passing at the front, but not for lack of trying. Gardner made two runs at Lewis and McClish tried several times to get by Hunt while Simone kept nipping at McClish. Finishing order showed Michael Lewis leading over Jeff Gardner, Jason, McCord, Jimmy Waters, and Tony Hunt. McClish, Simone, Newman, Bumgarner, and Hogg rounded out the top ten.
The Western Speed Racing Team seems to very tough to beat this year. The team ran three races last year in USAC Western States competition with Jason Leffler suffering a DNF at Tucson and then Tony Stewart dominating at Irwindale and Las Vegas. This year, they have run Stewart and Leffler at Madera with Tony going wire to wire and now Michael Lewis has given the team another exciting win at the Stockton Bullring. With Tony Stewart returning to the cockpit of the number 20 car at Madera on June 19, it is still going to be tough to beat them. Back home in the Agribusiness Capitol of the World, I am the Racing widow’s Husband.
