STOCKTON, Calif. – Brandon Carey, the 2016 Non-Wing champion, won his second feature of the year and placed himself into the title hunt by taking Saturday’s points race at Delta Speedway presented by Financial Center Credit Union.
The late race action was nearly as hot as the temperatures on the seventh-mile dirt oval.
Racing action started one hour later for the second consecutive weekend at the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds, due to triple digit temperatures. A hearty field of over 80 micro sprints entertained the fans despite the conditions.
Carey ran second to 2018 champion TJ Smith for nearly the entire event, except for leading lap 14. The opportunity arose on the final lap for Carey to go for the lead.
The maneuver proved in his favor for a $500 prize, while Smith was relegated to 16th in the final rundown. 2017 Super 600 champion Jake Andreotti went topless with the Non-Wing division, nabbing second place ahead of Chris Hinkle, Matt Sargent and 15th-starting Mitchel Moles.
Carey now finds himself just 27 points behind Caden Sarale, after Sarale ran 12th in the feature due to a flip.
Cody Christensen grabbed the $500 Super 600 victory, his first at Delta in 2019 and second of the season to go along with a victory at Lemoore.
Alex Panella started on the pole position and led much of the race. Nikko Panella and fast-timer Corey Day collided on lap 19 just outside the top 10, forcing Alex Panella to slow to avoid at the top of turns three and four.
He lost the lead when the caution flew.
The misfortune for the Panellas handed the control of the event to Christensen, who withstood a late challenge from points leader Caden Sarale of Stockton to get the win.
July 27 winner Travis Labat was third, followed by ninth-starting Jake Hagopian and Colton Huelsmann.
Gauge Garcia won his second straight Restricted main event by taking the $300 to win 25-lapper. Garcia started on the pole position after qualifying fourth and hitting the inversion.
Both Sage Bordenave and Nate Matherly were eliminated after the first lap of competition. The race was fast-paced from there, with Garcia up front while Jeffrey Pahule Jr. moved through the pack.
Pahule has been the passing master in 2019 across California and Saturday night was no exception as he raced forward from tenth. Pahule was up to second by lap 14, but couldn’t catch Garcia.
Garcia topped Pahule, sixth-starting Jade Avedisian, Hailey Wood, and 15th-starting Logan Trevino as the top five. Trevino’s drive salvaged a seven-point lead over Devon Courtnier, who ran 12th in the main event.
Jett Barnes persevered on a hot night to win the $200 feature for the youngest drivers at Delta Speedway. The victory was Barnes’ fourth of the season in six attempts.
He paced the final 16 laps of the main event after taking the lead from Kyle Fernandez.
Points leader Lucas Mauldin started sixth and grabbed second from Fernandez on lap 17. Colton Key and Andy Hintz rounded out the top five.