Jeremy Doss, 25, of Upper Lake, continued his mastery of the Stockton 99 Speedway by capturing Saturday night’s JM Environmental WildWest Shootout 127 for the Spears Southwest Tour. The July 16 trip to victory lane was his fifth consecutive SRL Touring Series win at the historic quarter-mile oval.
After sweeping all four SRL Pro Late Model Series races held at the 99 Speedway last season and cruising to the 2021 championship with nine wins overall in 11 starts, Doss elected to race exclusively in the premier Spears Southwest Tour division for 2022.
“I really like racing here. It is exciting for the drivers and the fans,” said Doss, as he celebrated with his family and crew on the front straight. “We have worked hard on the car so this feels good. We really needed this.”
Doss started in the second row of the 17-car field just behind front row starters John Moore, of Loomis, and Dustin Ash, of Las Vegas NV and alongside of his teammate Jeff Bischofberger, of Long Beach. He remained in close contact with the leaders despite a series of cautions that continuously disrupted the pace in the early stages of the race, but he was eventually able to take advantage of one of them to nab the lead from Bischofberger on lap 64.
Although he was constantly hounded by Bischofberger and Blaine Rocha, of Oakdale, for the remainder of the race, Doss was able to hang on to the checkered flag to pick up his first win of the season along with $10,000 in first place prize money.
“You never know what is going to happen here in Stockton and I have to give credit to my spotter for helping me get through the traffic,” said Doss. “I was able to save enough for the end and I feel like that is where I have been screwing things up this season.”
It was a disappointing homecoming for Manteca’s Jacob Gomes who entered the evening with the series points lead after picking up three wins in the first five events this season. Gomes started the race from the sixth position and finished in the same spot after struggling with grip for most of the night.
“We were just a hair off all night,” admitted Gomes. “We struggled and tried to battle through it, but we got pretty used up by the end.”
Sean Hingorani, a teenage rookie driver out of Orange County, looked more like a seasoned veteran as he drove to a convincing wire-to-wire win in the Spears Pro Late Model 60-lap feature.
Hingorani set fast time in qualifying to earn the pole and then made the most of it by immediately grabbing the lead on the opening lap over a strong 21-car field that included several Stockton regulars. Hingorani never wavered as he flawlessly negotiated several restarts to finish ahead of Napa’s Logan Zampa and Tanner Reif, of Henderson, NV, to post the first victory of his young career in only his second start.
“We had a great car all race long and I can’t thank my crew enough,” said Hingorani. “We were strong on the top so I was able to choose the outer lane for the restarts and pull away.”
Saturday marked the only 99 Speedway appearance for the SRL Southwest Tour Series this season, but the Spears Pro Late Model Series will return for the Bischofberger Brawl 100 on Saturday, Oct. 1.
The B-4 main got off to a shaky start when Joe Flowers, of Manteca, got into the back of Stockton’s Barrett Sugden, causing him to spinout after he failed to fully accelerate when the green flag dropped to start the 25-lap feature.
The second attempt to start the race went more smoothly as Flowers jumped into the lead with Stockton’s Andy Rumsey and Manteca’s Josh Cross glued onto his tail. Flowers would spend most of the race fending them off to take his fourth win of the season, finishing just ahead of Cross who made a daring late race pass on Rumsey for second.
“It was a good one tonight. I got to the front and never looked back,” said Flowers, who trailed Rumsey by eight points in the B-4 season standings at the start of the evening. “And I was happy to see Josh get by Rumsey because I need all the points help I can get.”
The Bomber main quickly turned into a match race when Donnie Darter, of Valley Springs, locked horns with third generation driver Seth Holman, of Salida, for the entire 20-lap feature. Holman used a lap 11 restart to inch ahead of Darter following a lengthy side-by-side battle to take the victory and put an end to Darter’s six race winning streak.
“The restart was a rough one,” admitted Holman. “I thought he was going to get me for a second, but I was able to rub on him a bit and hold my position.”
Scottie Crawford, of Stockton, inherited the victory in the B-4 Junior main after Stockton’s Natalie Harper and Manteca’s Jayden Cross collided while fighting for the lead which resulted in the race being called three laps early.
Racing resumes at the 99 Speedway on Saturday, Aug. 6, with the Annual Night of Champions featuring a Tribute to Steve Belletto. The program will include a 100-lap race for the Stockton Late Models, along with the Bombers, B-4s and B-4 Juniors.
The Stockton Dirt Track, located at the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds, will host the Salute to NARC champion Leroy Van Conett on Saturday, July 23, with the NARC King of the West Fujitsu 410 Sprint Car Series, Tri-State Pro Stocks and California Hard Tops.
