Bakersfield’s Nathan Ward and Sacramento’s Austin Wood wrapped up sweeps of their respective divisions during Sunday’s final night of the annual Dual at Delta Speedway, presented by Valley Strong Credit Union, in Stockton. Ward extended his points lead in Restricted by winning both nights of action while Wood seized the Non-Wing points lead over the weekend with his two wins at the 1/7th mile dirt oval.
Wood was the fastest qualifier of the Non-Wing competitors by nearly two tenths of a second. Championship contenders Carsen Perkins of Red Bluff and Dalton Hill of Madera Ranchos were the winners of the ten-lap heat races.
Wood earned pole position for the 30-lap feature after a zero inversion. Action slowed early when Brent Brooks of Stockton and Mattix Salmon of Fresno tangled in turn three. On the restart, Wood broke free of the pack while 2022 champion Nikko Panella ran second while Cole Schroeder of Bozeman, Montana and Saturday winged winner Jeffrey Pahule of Brentwood battled for third.
Salmon suffered a serious flip in turn one for a red flag on lap 18. He was uninjured after the tumble. Panella crashed from second for the final caution of the race on lap 26. Wood sailed to victory followed by Pahule, Schroeder, Arizona driver Corbin Ruschenberg, and Lodi’s Ryan Holden. Wood earned $1500 for his weekend exploits with two-$500 wins and a $500 bonus courtesy of CR Wood Motorsports as the high point earner of the weekend.
Hayden Stepps of Oakdale led Restricted qualifying before 2022 champion Lucas Mauldin of Rancho Murieta and Blayden Graham of Bakersfield won the heat races.
Points leader Nathan Ward led wire-to-wire in the 25-lap affair which was completed in under seven minutes. Pleasanton’s Kellan Harper earned his best finish of the season in second place with Manteca’s Brody Rubio, Aubri Huckleberry of Visalia, and Josiah Vega of Antioch rounding out the top-five. Ward enjoyed a $900 weekend with two-$300 wins and the $300 high point bonus for the weekend.
Cole Schroeder was the top dog in winged Super 600 time trials and was the only driver with a nine second lap as well. Fresno’s Colton Key and Pahule then won during heat race competition.
Key worked his way to the inside of Rocklin’s Tucker LaCaze to take the lead on the opening circuit of the 30-lap feature. Non-Wing winner Austin Wood started at the rear of the 19-car Super 600 field after mechanical problems before qualifying.
The fast-paced action finally saw a caution fly on lap 27 for Kyle Cravotta of Livermore spinning on the front stretch. Key drove ahead of LaCaze for his first career Delta Speedway Super 600 win, worth $500. Schroeder finished third. Grass Valley’s Izaak Sharp recovered from Saturday mechanical problems to finish fourth followed by Fresno’s Raio Salmon.
Wood advanced to tenth by the checkered flag and preserved the track points lead. Pahule used his Saturday win and a sixth-place finish on Sunday to earn the $500 weekend high point bonus.
2022 Jr. Sprints champion Briggs Davis of Manteca won his eighth Jr. Sprints feature of 2023 on Sunday night. Four qualifying heat races were held with wins claimed by Alex Ranuio of Stockton, Heston Stepps of Oakdale, Saturday winner David Anderson of Clayton, and Davis.
Davis led all 20-laps of the feature for a $200 win. Anderson finished second and won the $200 high point bonus for the weekend with a pair of podium finishes. Ranuio made a great comeback from a Saturday flip to finish third on Sunday. Stepps and Rancho Murieta’s Maya Mauldin were the balance of the top-five finishers.
Delta Speedway presented by Valley Strong Credit races again on September 16 for the penultimate round of the championship series!
Delta Speedway Stockton thanks Valley Strong Credit Union, Interstate Truck Center, Pape Kenworth, Hoosier Tire, Scully’s Air, Rancho San Miguel Markets, Eagle Grit, Winner’s Bingo, Genova Bakery, Belkorp Ag, Van De Pol Petroleum, Baker Roofing, and RacingJunk for their support!
Delta Speedway Results – September 3, 2023 Dual at Delta Points Race No. 12
SUPER 600 (30 LAPS)
1. 99-Colton Key[5]; 2. 19X-Tucker LaCaze[1]; 3. 3-Cole Schroeder[4]; 4. 24S-Izaak Sharp[7]; 5. 21-Raio Salmon[9]; 6. 44X-Jeffery Pahule[8]; 7. 32A-Colton Huelsmann[6]; 8. 5-Mattix Salmon[12]; 9. 4-Jett Yantis[10]; 10. 2-Austin Wood[20]; 11. 12-Alex Panella[15]; 12. 7T-Logan Trevino[14]; 13. 19-Nate Matherly[17]; 14. 10R-Rylee Whitehouse[19]; 15. 30-Isabel Barnes[2]; 16. 55J-Jayden Huppert[11]; 17. 84-Deegan Irey[18]; 18. 15K-Kyle Cravotta[16]; 19. (DNF) 14-Drake Carter[13]; 20. (DNS) 73-Nikko Panella
NON-WING (30 LAPS)
1. 2-Austin Wood[1]; 2. 44X-Jeffery Pahule[3]; 3. 3-Cole Schroeder[4]; 4. 26-Corbin Rueschenberg[6]; 5. 37H-Ryan Holden[15]; 6. 35-Carsen Perkins[5]; 7. 4-Jett Yantis[8]; 8. 20-Dalton Hill[7]; 9. 66X-Broedy Graham[13]; 10. 27-Isabel Barnes[17]; 11. 52-Joe Silva[11]; 12. 27JR-Angel Cappas[16]; 13. (DNF) 73-Nikko Panella[2]; 14. (DNF) 4K-Khloe Cotton[9]; 15. (DNF) 5-Mattix Salmon[12]; 16. (DNF) 82-Brent Brooks[14]; 17. (DNS) 19-Tucker LaCaze
RESTRICTED (25 LAPS)
1. 95-Nathan Ward[1]; 2. 5-Kellan Harper[2]; 3. 25R-Brody Rubio[4]; 4. 10J-Aubri Huckleberry[3]; 5. 75-Josiah Vega[5]; 6. 55X-Lucas Mauldin[6]; 7. 66B-Blayden Graham[7]; 8. 98-Hayden Stepps[9]; 9. 29V-Vito Celli `[10]; 10. 10P-Peyton Whitehouse[8]; 11. 9J-Levi Osborne[11]; 12. 58C-Clay Mibach[12]; 13. 27C-Cameron Carraway[13]; 14. 09N-AJ Neilson[16]; 15. 76-TK OBrien[15]; 16. 38J-Jackson Tardiff[14]\
JR SPRINTS (20 LAPS)
1. 96-Briggs Davis[1]; 2. 3D-David Anderson[2]; 3. 117-Alex Ranuio[4]; 4. 99-Heston Stepps[3]; 5. 55X-Maya Mauldin[5]; 6. 32-James Hayashi[7]; 7. 11E-Easton Wright[6]; 8. 25DD-Samantha Dozier[8]; 9. 12-Haven Sherman[9]; 10. 55J-Jayden Carey[10]
2023 Delta Speedway Schedule (Subject to Change)
April 8 Opening Day
April 22 Race #2
May 6 Race #3
May 20 Race #4
June 23 & 24 Race #5 & 6
July 4 Speedweek**
July 8 Race #7
July 22 Race #8
July 29 Race #9
August 19 Race #10
September 2 & 3 Race #11 & 12
September 16 Race #13
October 7 Race #14
October 27 & 28 Turkey Bowl XXIV**
**Non-points races
Delta Speedway PR