STOCKTON, Calif. — D.J. Netto won the 30-lap Sprint Car Challenge Tour feature at the Stockton Dirt Track on Saturday night.Â
The Tribute to Roy Lee VanConnet rewarded the crowd to a photo finish as Netto narrowly beat Colby Copeland to the finish line by a slim 0.158-second advantage.
Shane Golobic used a late race pass of pole sitter Ryan Robinson to fill out the podium. Michael Faccinto in the No. 5h car rounded out the top five.
By virtue of his Dash win, Robinson led the 24-car field to the green but it would be Copeland who took the early advantage coming out of the second turn. The start was negated however as Max Mittry stopped on track with a left-rear flat. Robinson was given a second chance to remain at the front however Copeland duplicated the first start and led the opening lap.
Mittry brought out the caution again on lap nine as this time he stopped on the pit entry road off the back stretch. Corey Day was the race’s first causality and was credited with completing only one lap. Jodie Robinson pulled off the track right after the first restart and would be the second car out of the race. Mittry would also retire having completed only seven laps.
Netto had moved up to the third position after starting seventh. With a double-file restart, it would be Copeland who picked the inside position. By lap 13, Netto had gotten around Robinson whose car wasn’t as fast and his dash winning mount.
Copeland would soon encounter lapped cars but he and Netto were clearly the fastest two on the four-tenths-mile San Joaquin County Fairgrounds track. Netto was able to get to Copeland’s rear bumper several times, but the lapped traffic made a pass difficult. With laps clicking off quickly, Copeland looked to be on his way to victory.
That all changed in the final turn of the white-flag lap as Copeland came up on two lapped cars. He played it cautiously and stayed low while Netto took to the outside as the two drag raced to the checkered flag. Netto led less than a lap to claim an astonishing win.
The finish:
D.J. Netto, Colby Copeland, Shane Golobic, Ryan Robinson, Michael Faccinto, Chase Johnson, Ryan Timms, Blake Carrick, Tanner Carrick, Mitchell Faccinto, Justyn Cox, Joey Ancona, Chase Majdic, Andy Forsberg, Jake Andriotti, Sean Becker, Brett Barney, Ashlyn Rodriquez, Isaiah Vasquez, Kaleb Montgomery, Carden Sarale, Max Mittry, Jodie Robinson, Corey Day
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