JoJo Stearns let out a lot of emotion as he posed for pictures with family and friends and conducted interviews following a hard-earned victory in the Stockton Late Model main event Saturday night, Aug. 2 at Stockton 99 Speedway.
Stearns, of Stockton, twice stopped in mid-sentence to collect his thoughts and release some long exhales as he discussed being “in my own head before this race,” finding his focus as he strapped into the driver’s seat and then enduring several battles for position in a 14-car field before one heck of a duel with points leader Sammy Solari of Escalon in a chase for the checkered flag over the final 12 laps of the 50-lap grind.
“The car was good, but the driver was, he was off a little bit. Before the main …” Stearns said, then pausing, “… I get nervous, and I was shaking badly. It was just one of those days and kinda before the main, I just shut everything off and just focused and it got me here.”
Solari, the No. 1 qualifier at 14.604 seconds around the quarter-mile paved oval, quickly moved from row four starting position, right alongside of Stearns, into the lead on lap 11, at one point splitting Stearns and Stockton’s Roy Luft coming out of Turn 4 three wide.
Stearns spent those laps swapping the fifth and sixth spots with his brother-in-law Ty Carlson on three consecutive laps and then moved into fourth place, down to sixth and up to third – all from laps 6-11.
Solari set the pace until the yellow light flashed, but the restart turned to red when Tyler Holden, in the outside front row, spun approaching the green flag. Four cars were collected behind Holden, and Lodi’s Brandon Diede hit the wall underneath the flag stand.
Stockton veteran Greg Potts moved in front on the restart, but Solari regained the advantage on the back straight. Stearns and Carlson waged their battle for third over the next several laps, then Stearns passed Potts for second on lap 22, and the chase for Solari was on.
“Super clean racing, three wide, there was no one wrecking each other,” Stearns said, tipping his cap to the field of racers. “I just picked them off one by one and I knew if I lost a spot, I was going to be able to gain back two. Right off the gate, I knew we had a good car.”
Solari at one point maintained his edge over Stearns while lapping Lodi’s Jeana Ramos and Stockton’s Lawrence Massone on lap 31. Ramos later spun, and on the restart, Solari and Stearns ran side-by-side for two full laps before Stearns moved into the lead for good.
“I was lucky we had that caution because it was going to be hard to pass him,” Stearns said of Solari. “We had a real good battle off that restart. I couldn’t thank him enough to run me clean. Sam’s a veteran with way more laps around this track than I do. He was really respectful, giving me room, and I gave him room, and it made out for a good race.”
Stearns had to survive one later restart and another two-lap battle with Solari up front before winning his third feature of the season by .596 of a second. Carlson finished third and Potts fourth.
“We let the drivers do their thing and just kept the cars off each other,” Stearns said following his third victory this season. “It feels good after getting your butt kicked for a couple races.”
Solari, a two-time track champion, now holds a 315 to 302 edge on Stearns in the season points standings for the Stockton Late Models with three races remaining for the class.
Grand American Modified: Scott Winters of Tracy used all of lap No. 19 to work his way inside and finally around Jordon Smith for the lead and cruised the rest of the way to his second consecutive victory at Stockton 99. Winters won the caution free 40-lap feature by 2.142 seconds over Smith, who led the first 13 laps. Sacramento’s Calvin Hegje was third and Windsor’s Sam Nuno was fourth.
“These races have been going green and someone gets out front, they’re hard to run down,” said Winters, the top qualifier at 14.511 seconds. “So I can keep the pressure on and was able to get through clean and get this win.”
Winters now leads Hegje by a 163 to 153 margin in the points while Nuno sits in third with 149.
Pure Stock: Donnie Darter of Valley Springs went into the 25-lap main event with a mere three-point lead over up-and-coming Mason Beghtel of Stockton, even though Darter has won six of the last seven main events following Saturday night’s 25-lapper. Beghtel again placed second to Darter – they ran 1-2 from green flag to checkered – and made a serious push in the final laps. Darter’s winning margin was .606 of a second. Jeramy Tucker of Stockton finished third. Beghtel (16.612) nipped Darter (16.632) for the top qualifying spot.
“Mason’s definitely getting a hell of a lot better,” Darter said in Victory Lane. “He’s about ready to have something for me. I better go home and do some more work.”
Darter, who has experienced a variety of mechanical issues in the past few races, said his car still has a vibration problem but, “It turned good.”
Darter now leads Beghtel by a slim four-point margin (367-363) in the standings.
Nor Cal Mini Stock: Stockton’s Ethan Rumsey had a quarter-track lead not even 10 laps into the 25-lap main event, but Barrett Sugden charged ahead and was breathing on Rumsey’s back bumper at the end.
Rumsey registered his fifth triumph of the season by .247 of a second after spending the final laps weaving through lapped traffic with Stockton’s Sugden, the No. 1 qualifier (15.906), right behind him. Leilani Sprenkel of Linden placed third.
“I was definitely worried that he was going to catch up to me,” said Rumsey, the points leader. “He definitely got his car set up. I was definitely expecting him to win. I tell everybody if you want it, you gotta come out and you gotta earn it.”
Legends of 99: Kaine Betancourt of Hickman celebrated his entry to teen-hood with his first Legends of 99 victory. Betancourt, who turned 13 on Saturday, inherited the lead following a yellow flag three laps from the end and held off Kayci Phillips of Stockton by .886 of a second in the 30-lap feature.
Phillips led the first 26 laps before Antonio Gonzalez got into the back of Phillips’ machine entering Turn 3, sending Phillips into a spin. Gonzalez measured up Phillips for a few laps before making his move, ducking underneath Phillips but then appearing to back off and clipping Phillips’ back left side.
Betancourt, a two-time Bandolero champion at Madera along with a title at Stockton 99, graciously accepted his first Legends checkered flag with adult-like maturity, answering questions with, “Yes sir” and, “No sir” and thanking his sponsors, family and fans.
“I don’t even know what to say. It’s fricking awesome,” Betancourt said to a supportive crowd who applauded and cheered his interview. “I haven’t won since I’ve been in a Bando so it feels really good.”
In yet another close points battle, Phillips now holds 272 to 263 lead on Stockton’s Justin Gantt who finished the race in third.
Fast Kar Solutions Mini Modified: Patrick Geiger of Clovis recorded his third win of the season, beating Aaron Coonfield to the checkered flag by 2.67 seconds in the 30-lap main event.
Geiger sat back in the field for several laps until hitting the wall coming out of turn 4 and deciding then, “I’ve got to get to the front. I didn’t want to wreck it any more than I did,” he said in Victory Lane.
Geiger took the lead from Kyle Labrie of Easton on lap 13. Geiger’s car sustained a bent rear axle and was one of three cars that spun in the same spot. Another car nearly spun coming out of Turn 4.
The win moved Geiger to within nine points (272-263) of division leader Freddy Irvin of Modesto.
Stockton 99 is back in action Saturday, Aug. 9, with the Night of Champions Tribute to Harry Belletto Racing Stables, featuring Pro Late Models, Nor Cal Mini Stocks, NCMA-style Sprint Cars, Fast Kar Solutions Mini Modifieds and the NorCal Legend Series.
Ticket prices are $25 for adults ages 16-59, $20 for juniors 11-15, seniors 60 and over and military with an ID. A family pack (two adults, two juniors) costs $70. Kids 10 and under are free. A pit pass for all ages costs $50, and parking is free.
Stockton 99 Speedway sponsors this season include: Black Oak Casino Resort, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Shamblin Softwash and Pressure Washing, Hoosier Racing Tire, Community West Bank, Raising Cane’s, Bass Pro Shops, J. Milano Co. Hardware, Franks, N&S Tractor, Masellis Drilling, Sunoco Race Fuels, Lovotti Air, Garton Tractor, Kleen Blast and Tracy Ford.
Correspondent Dale Bosowski contributed to this report.
