Justin Philpott handed the trophy for winning Saturday night’s SPEARS CARS Tour West Limited Pro Late Model race to a family member with instructions to give it to his grandfather at home.
Philpott is a three-time track champion at Stockton 99 Speedway, but this was his first checkered flag on the SPEARS CARS Tour West circuit. Several members of the family with Tracy roots – from grandmother Laverne down to the youngest toddlers, all flashing No. 1 signs – posed around Philpott for photos following his June 7 victory in a 75-lap grind that included six caution and two red flags.
“Whose house is it?” dad David Philpott shouted, himself a two-time season champ and household name at the 76-year-old speedway.
John Philpott was home, but there was no way grandma Laverne would miss the race.
“He puts in a lot of work to get these things ready,” Justin Philpott said of his grandpa. “Everything I learned is from my dad and my grandfather. They’re the ones that started all this. We’re trying to carry it on. I know he would have been standing on that wall, bowing his head, like Kyle Busch does.”
It was Philpott’s first race in the car and on a new set of tires. He said the familiar Philpott orange and white No. 50 was in pieces two weeks ago. There were electrical problems. The team took the machine apart and started over. It wasn’t the fastest car on the tight quarter-mile oval, but Philpott guided the racer away from trouble and put it in Victory Lane relatively unscathed.
“It takes a village,” he said. “It’s like raising a kid, but it’s a stupid racecar.”
Philpott said the car got “extremely tight” as Parker Malone of Redlands took the early lead over the 17-car field.
“I thought we had something wrong,” Philpott said.
Malone held onto the lead through three restarts as the field began to thin, and a lengthy green-flag run changed Philpott’s outlook.
“We were catching them,” he said. “They were backing up to us, so I knew we had a good shot.”
A pileup in turns 3 and 4 sent Malone to the infield for repairs – one of nine cars collected – and moved Bubba Nascimento to the front with Jace Hale of Manteca, points leader Dylan Zampa of Napa and Philpott trailing.
Malone returned to the race but got collected again and this time was done for the night following a collision in the front stretch involving Chris Monez of Modesto and Tanner Huddleston of Agoura Hills. Two other cars were also involved. Malone exited the car and was okay.
Nascimento kept his lead until an incident with Hale ended Hale’s night at the top of turn 1. Hale earlier moved inside of Nascimento and gave the No. 21 car a nudge on his way by and into the lead. They battled for the next handful of laps with Nascimento on Hale’s back left bumper until they exited turn 4 side by side. Hale got sandwiched between Nascimento and the wall as sparks sprayed the area.
Nascimento led the field through the caution period until pulling his grinding, sparking machine into the infield. He returned to the track under caution at the back of the pack, and Philpott drove the last five laps to the checkered flag.
“I saw that whole thing coming from the middle of turns 3 and 4 to the end right here,” Philpott said of the Nascimento/Hale incident. “Sometimes when you have 17, 18 yards and first to 10th (place) is a tenth and a half of a second, you’re going to have carnage. It is a battle of pacing yourself. When you race here, it’s not like a half-mile. … Stuff happens really fast here and you have to survive. We survived.”
The night also featured a big payoff.
“I was totally in shock,” Philpott said, reliving the moment after receiving the $4,000 winner’s check. “I stopped over here to take my helmet off and I’m like. ‘Did I just win the damn race?’ ”
Jacob Gomes of Manteca took the lead early and led the rest of the 100-lap SPEARS CARS Tour West Pro Late Model feature, bagging $7,500. Gomes comfortably beat Hale, the points leader, to the checkered flag for his second top five to go with a top 10 in three Pro Late Model starts this year.
“Just happy to get this done,” Gomes said.
Tanner Reif of Las Vegas, who’s second in ARCA Menards Series West points, hopped into a Legends racer and led wire to wire to capture the 35-lap MMI Legends Tour West race over a 13-car field.
Reif found the little Legends to be much different than piloting a stock car, saying, “You gotta be up on the wheel, you gotta be constantly fighting and constantly put the car on the edge.”
Earlier, Tony Hunt won another NCMA Sprint Car race, but before pulling away from the field, the Rocklin driver engaged in an entertaining lead exchange with Shauna Hogg.
Hunt passed Hogg heading into turn 1 on lap 7 but left enough room for Hogg to immediately zip by Hunt before Hunt regained the lead.
“If there’s nothing more disappointing than to get the lead and get passed, it’s to get passed again,” Hogg said.
Said Hunt, “I’m having a great time. I’m no spring chicken, but I’m having a good time and it gets my heartbeat pumping, and I go into engagement mode.”
Natalie Harper of Stockton led the entirety of the 15-lap NorCal Mini Stock race for her second victory this season.
Stockton 99 Speedway runs again next on Saturday, June 14 with Stockton Late Model action along with the Legends of 99, Pure Stock, Nor Cal Mini Stock and Grand American Modified divisions.
Admission gates open at 5 p.m. with racing at 6 p.m.
Tickets are $20 for adults ages 16-59 and $15 for juniors 11-15, seniors 60 and over and military with an ID. A family four-pack (two adults and two juniors) costs $55, and kids 10 and under are admitted free.
