Saturday night’s Stockton Late Model feature at the 99 Speedway on Aug. 17 turned into a family feud as Ty Carlson outlasted his brother-in-law JoJo Stearns, both of Stockton, to claim his first victory of the season.
The 50-lap main got off to an inauspicious start when Ripon’s Ethan Nascimento - the night’s fast qualifier who started alongside of Carlson from the second row following the invert draw - spun exiting Turn 2 of the opening lap and was broadsided by a couple of other cars. After some hasty repairs to peel off most of the bodywork on the right side of his car, Nascimento was able to return at the rear of the 14-car field for the restart. The second attempt to start the race was equally unsuccessful. Starting from the front row on the outside of Stearns, Stockton’s Larry Tankersley touched Stearns heading into the first corner, which caused him to drive straight into the Turn 1 wall. Luckily, Tankersley was unhurt, but the season’s points leader was done for the night before turning a single lap.
The quick demise of Tankersley and Nascimento allowed Carlson to move into the front row for the third try at starting the race and he took full advantage of his good fortune by beating Stearns off of Turn 2 to grab the early lead.
“It was a tough way to start the race, but it gave me a chance to start from the outside and I just took off,” Carlson said following the race. “I really like the outside because there is a lot of grip up top and I can get a lot of momentum coming down off the hill.”
Carlson and Stearns were in a class by themselves as they slowly moved away from the rest of the field and battled each other for the lead over the remainder of the race. Carlson was able to hold the lead and secure the victory by consistently overpowering Stearns on caution restarts and staying error-free under green.
“I tried hard to hold my line and not make any mistakes because my car was getting tight and JoJo was breathing down my neck the whole time,” Carlson said. “We both know each other’s tricks so I knew I had to keep on my toes and not mess up.”
Nascimento was able to drive his damaged car back through the field to salvage third while Stockton’s Dan Devore and Gary Shafer Jr. rounded out the top five. Despite his short night, Tankersley continues to lead the Stockton Late Model points standings as he attempts to defend his 2023 track championship, but his lead now shrinks to less than five points over both Stearns and Carlson with just two races for the class left on the 2024 schedule.
Veteran Tracy driver Scott Winters proved to be virtually untouchable as he drove to a convincing victory in the 40-lap main for the Grand American Modifieds.
Starting from the second row of the eight-car field, Winters quickly disposed of Riverbank’s Aaron Coonfield on the opening lap before setting set his sights on early race leader Calvin Hegje of Sacramento. Tracking him down like Dog the Bounty Hunter, Winters easily slipped under Hegje on lap four and cruised to the victory in the caution-free race by a two-second margin over Hegje.
“We have worked hard this year to make this a fast car, but we have come up just short,” Winters said. “We worked on it all week and when we came out (Friday night) and tested we knew we had a really fast car. I can’t thank my guys enough.”
The 25-lap NCMA Sprint Car main was also a family affair as brothers Pat Goodwill, of Rescue, and David Goodwill, of Napa, fought it out for the win. David had the early advantage, using his pole position to take the lead on the opening lap. Pat stayed right on his tail and continued to stalk his older brother as they drove away from the rest of the pack.
With just six laps to go, Pat knifed underneath his older brother to take over the top spot. He never looked back as he earned his second win of the season and bragging rights until the next race. Behind them, Rocklin’s Tony Hunt made a last-lap pass on Antioch’s Dan Gonderman to steal third.
“I’ve been following David’s car for the last couple of years now and as I have said before, he is always the guy to beat every time you come to the track,” Pat Goodwill confessed. “Fortunately, our car was just a little bit better than his tonight and we were able to get it done.”
Starting from the pole, Sonora’s Steve Ford held the lead in the early going of the 20-lap Mini Stock main. Ford would enjoy the top spot for just four laps before Stockton’s Ethan Rumsey zipped by him on the inside heading into Turn 1. Manteca’s Jordan Mast would make the same move a few laps later and attempted to chase Rumsey down, but he could never close the gap as Rumsey sailed to his second consecutive win.
The 15-lap Pro Mod feature was as close as it gets from beginning to end. Ukiah’s Mike Peterson and Mirada’s Wade Eldredge went side-by-side for the lead over the first 10 laps of the race while Lakeport’s Chris Straka desperately looked for a way to break their blockade. Eldredge finally clawed his way ahead of Peterson, but that opened the door for Straka to slip by both of them on lap 12. However, Eldredge wasn’t done as he crept back underneath of Straka on the final lap. The two went wheel to wheel to the checkered flag where Straka snatched the victory by about a six-inch margin.
The 99 Speedway will be back in action on Saturday, Sept. 7, when the Stockton Late Models, Nor Cal Mini Stocks, NCMA Sprint Cars, and Pure Stocks take on the quarter-mile oval.
Known as the “Greatest Show On Dirt” the NOS Energy Drink World Of Outlaws Sprint Car Series also returns to the Stockton Dirt Track, located at the San Joaquin Fairgrounds, on Friday, Sept. 6. For ticket information visit www.stocktondirttrack.com or call (844) DIRT-TIX.
