STOCKTON, California -- Tim Smith had his best career finish in the NASCAR Grand National West Division at Stockton 99 Speedway Saturday August 14. Having previously finished fifth in the May race at Stockton, Smith and S & S had a goal to move the 33 Integrity Financial/CTX Mortage Monte Carlo into the top three. Smith did just that by finishing third and taking his first podium.
Having qualified 13, Smith gained ten spots during the Dodge Country/Havoline/NAPA Autoparts 200 by running consistently and avoiding crashes. Smith was already holding third position by the scheduled half way break and was able to maintain his position during the second segment of the race. Transmission troubles prevented Smith from keeping up with leaders Mike David and Mike Duncan on restarts, but Smith was able to run similar lap times once back up to speed.
Perhaps the scariest event of the night for Smith, and any of the racers, was the power going out rendering the track completely dark. Smith says, “All I saw was a silhouette of a car facing me so I dove down towards the infield.” Smith sustained minimal damage due to the event. NASCAR officials allowed teams to work on their cars for approximately 10 minutes to fix damage imposed on the cars due to the black out. In Smith’s opinion, he was able to fix the damage and continue the race by, “Having one of the best crews in the business.”
Smith’s next race in the Grand National West Division for S & S will be September 6 at Rocky Mountain Raceway near Salt Lake City, Utah. S & S will be shooting for another top five finish at the 3/8 mile track.
