STOCKTON — Following Saturday’s Pro Late Model feature at the 99 Speedway, both third-generation driver Hank Gaalswyk, of Ripon, and Stockton’s JoJo Stearns celebrated on the main straight.

While Gaalswyk picked up a dominating victory for his first career win, Stearns drove to a conservative sixth-place finish to claim the season championship in the division.

“We have been working our tails off for the last five years. It has been a long time coming, but we finally have Gaalswyk Racing back in victory lane,” said an emotional Gaalswyk, while surrounded by his family and team. “I hope we can take this momentum and win a championship next year.”

Stearns was quick in practice, posting the fastest time in qualifying, but an invert draw of six relegated him in the third row to start the 50-lap feature, while Gaalswyk and Galt’s Chris Monez led the 10-car field to the opening green flag.

Gaalswyk took full advantage of his front-row starting position by sliding into the lead after a prolonged three lap side-by-side battle with Monez. Gaalswyk would never look back, as he cruised to his career first victory, finishing over two seconds ahead of Monez and Modesto’s Mike Beeler in the caution free race.

“I was just waiting for the final lap, and when I saw the white flag, I started to tear up,” Gaalswyk said. “I love this place, and I am at a loss for words.”

Stearns entered the night with a 39-point lead over Gaalswyk in the season standings, and even with double points on the line, the advantage seemed almost insurmountable until Stearns encountered serious problems with the car in the main.

“We had some problems with the brakes hanging up, and it caused a vibration that bogged the car down. As soon as the race started, the brakes were instantly glowing,” Stearns explained. “I used the brake bias to switch the brakes to the rear, and that helped it a little bit.”

Although Stearns was never competitive during the race, he was able to stay out of trouble and nurse the car home in sixth to secure the Pro Late Model championship.

“It has been a great year, and it is nice to win the championship, but it definitely was not the night we had hoped for,” Stearns admitted. “It was a struggle, because I wanted to get up there and race, but with the brakes locking up, we couldn’t do much but survive and keep it in one piece. It crossed my mind that we might not be able to finish and that would have made the points really tight, but we were able to stick it out.”

Stearns will be looking to complete his championship double down next Saturday by capturing the Stockton Late Model division crown, where he currently holds a slim 338-335 point advantage on Stockton’s Larry Tankersley, the defending track champion. Stearns’ brother-in-law Ty Carlson, of Stockton, is also firmly in the mix at 331 points, but unfortunately, he will miss the final race due a prior commitment to be the best man at a friend’s wedding.

“Next week, we need the car to be perfect, because we can’t afford any problems with just a three-point lead, and it is gonna take everything we got,” Stearns said. “It sucks Ty won’t be racing, but hopefully we can get another championship.”

Tracy’s Scott Winters also entered the night with a considerable points advantage in the Grand American Modified division, needing only to start the race to wrap up the title. However, he did much better than that by going wire-to-wire in the 25-lap feature to post a no-stress victory over Meridian’s Eric Price.

“Hats off to my team. They work hard to give me a good car,” Winters said. “This is our home track, and this year we had a chance to run a bunch of races at the 99. We just love it here.”

Lining up next to his father, Bryan Jones in the 20-lap Pure Stock feature, Lodi’s Brandon Jones immediately shot to the lead and never looked back to pick up his eighth win of the season, also in wire-to-wire fashion, by more than five seconds over his over-matched dad.

“The car felt really good. We found a bunch of stuff that was wrong with the car, and we picked up a lot of speed since the last race,” Jones explained. “I’m glad my dad made it out here. It was great to go against him tonight.”

With his closest competitor, Jeremy Tucker of Stockton, failing to make the race due to a transmission failure, Jones needs only to start next Saturday’s finale to lock down the Pure Stock season championship.

Manteca’s Joe Flowers seemed to be on pace to continue the night’s theme of wire-to-wire victories after he immediately jumped out to the lead in the 20-lap Mini Stock feature. But everything suddenly changed on lap 13 when Flowers blew an engine and laid down an Exxon Valdez size oil slick all around the track, which caused a 45-minute red stoppage to clean up the mess.

With Flowers parked in the infield, Stockton’s Ethan Rumsey and season points leader Jordan Mast, of Manteca, inherited the front row when the race finally resumed. The pair fought tooth-and-nail for the lead over the final seven laps, and although Mast was able to get alongside of Rumsey on several occasions, he was never able to make the move stick, as Rumsey chalked up his fourth win of the year.

“The car was not perfect. It was sliding around everywhere. It took a lot for me to get out front and stay there,” Rumsey said. “Unfortunately, Joe couldn’t finish the race, but your car has to last to win.”

The visiting NorCal Dwarf Series, which normally competes on dirt tracks, provided the fans with edge-of-your seat action over the entire 25-lap race distance as Lincoln’s Dylan Shrum, Fairfield’s Mike Grenert, and Auburn’s Dan Geils went nose-to-tail from beginning to end.

Grenert held the early advantage, but his slight bobble coming out of Turn 2 on lap 12 was all Strum needed to slip into the lead. A couple of laps later, Grenert was punted from behind, which allowed Geils to move into second before Grenert could recover. Strum spent the remainder of the race desperately fending off the pair to take a very hard-earned win.

“I kept shoving my nose in there hoping he would overdrive it, and I was able to take advantage of it when he (Grenert) pushed a bit coming out of two,” Strum said. “These dirt tires go away quick, so the key is to be smooth and take advantage of mistakes.”

The Stockton 99 Speedway will conclude the 2024 season with a “double points” Championship Night on Saturday, Oct. 19, where champions will be crowned in the Stockton Late Models, Pure Stocks, Mini Stocks, Legends of 99, and Pro-4 Modifieds.