Stockton 99 Speedway

By: Bill Poindexter

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Synopsis: Fans have seen it all in 64 years of racing at Stockton 99 Speedway. The quarter-mile bullring on the east side of this rowdy port city in Northern California has been the site for 44 divisions of racing, from the Jalopy division of the 1950s to the all-time quickest lap in speedway history, which was wheeled by Johnny Brazil, a legendary local lead foot whose hot laps in a Super Modified fire breather on the night of June 1, 1985, left a normally boisterous gathering hypnotized in jaw-dropping silence as the scoreboard logged quick time after quick time, finally dipping under 12 seconds before bottoming out at 11.899. Stockton 99 has served as a stepping stone for a future Daytona 500 champion (Ernie Irvan) and as a Saturday-night getaway for local hot shoes who saved their pennies just to keep their rods running for the one thing they loved to do on a Saturday night: race. The old track flat-lined in 2006--at the age of 60, stricken by development--but was shocked back to life in 2009 and again is hosting races in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series and the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West.