In almost a carbon copy repeat of the Sept. 7 Stockton Late Model race, JoJo Stearns once again overpowered the rest of the field for a dominating wire-to-wire victory in Saturday night’s Pro Late Model feature at the 99 Speedway on Sept. 14.
After setting the pace in qualifying, Stearns, of Stockton, elected to sit on the outside of Modesto’s Mike Beeler in the front row of the undersized seven-car field to start the 50-lap main. When the green flag dropped to start the race, Stearns immediately bolted to the lead coming out of Turn 2 on the opening lap, and while Beeler, Ripon’s Hank Gaalswyk, and Tracy’s Troy Ermish jostled with each other for the second spot, he gradually pulled away, amassing a half-lap lead by mid-race. With no one able to challenge him for the lead, Stearns slowed his pace just a bit over the final 25 laps to conserve his equipment. Thanks in part to the race going caution-free, he was able to cruise to the checkered flag by a healthy eight second margin over Ermish and Gaalswyk, who were both able to get around Beeler just after midrace.
In his quest for two track titles this season, Stearns now holds a commanding 33-point edge over Gaalswyk in the season standings for the Pro Late Model class, with only the “double points” season finale on Oct. 12 remaining on the schedule. And thanks to his win last week, Stearns also holds the lead in the Stockton Late Model division, which will conclude with a “double points” race to close out the 2024 season on Saturday, Oct. 19.
Tracy’s Scott Winters picked up his fourth win of the season in the 40-lap Grand American Modified feature. Starting from the pole, Modesto’s Adam Coonfield held the early lead as Windsor’s Sammy Nuno patiently stalked over the first 17 laps of the main. Nuno was able to finally slip under Coonfield for the lead just before a back marker spun out, bringing out a caution that would completely change the complexion of the event.
When the race resumed, a mad scramble ensued at the front of the eight-car field, which culminated in a wild wreck on the front straight after four cars unsuccessfully tried to exit Turn 4 side-by-side with Coonfield getting the worst of it. After getting tapped from behind by Sacramento’s Eric Price, his car darted to the right and climbed on top of Nuno’s front hood before careening hard into the Turn 1 wall. Fortunately, Coonfield was unhurt, but his car was done for the night.
With the front of the field now completely reshuffled for the restart, Winters, who had been running a distant fifth for most of the race, suddenly emerged out in front. He would remain there over the final laps as Nuno and Price tried in vain to chase him down.
Things went much smoother in the 35-lap Legends race where Tracy’s Branden Ruzbarsky had a relatively easy time of it as he picked up his second win of the season. Starting from the outside of the front row in a 10-car field, Ruzbarsky quickly jumped out into the lead. Despite a couple of cautions that tightened the race up, he was never seriously challenged as he cruised to the victory over brothers Wyatt and Zach Sansom, both or Linden.
After finishing runner-up to Lodi’s Brandon Jones on numerous occasions this season, Stockton’s Jeremy Tucker finally broke through to claim his first win of the season in the 25-lap Pure Stock main. Tucker grabbed the lead on the opening lap as Brian Miller, of Railroad Flats, and Jones attempted to chase him down. Jones, who has already amassed seven wins this season, would move by Miller with three laps to go, but he was never able to get close enough to Tucker to make a run on him and was forced to settle for an unfamiliar second place finish.
Patrick Geiger, of Clovis, edged Kyle Labrie by inches in a photo finish to the 25-lap, non-points paying Mini Super Toyota main, and Kaine Bettancourt beat Andrew Williams to capture the 15-lap Bandoleros race.
The Spears SRL Southwest Tour Series Late Models & Pro Late Models returns to the Stockton 99 Speedway on Saturday, Sept. 21. The program will also include the NorCal Legend Series, AAA Energy Systems Pro-4 Modifieds and NCMA Sprint Car Series.
