By Gary Thomas
Stockton, CA – May 21, 2019…For the first time in over a month the lights will flash on and exciting dirt track racing returns to the Stockton Dirt Track this Saturday May 25th in what will be the fourth annual “Jimmy Sills Classic” at the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds.
Winged 360 Sprint Cars and the POWRi-BCRA Midgets will share the card during the Memorial Day weekend showcase. The Winged 360 portion of the evening will hand out $3,000 to the winner and a guaranteed $400-to-start the feature. The main event will follow a Sprint Car Challenge Tour style paydown. On the POWRi-BCRA side of things it marks the only time this season that the always exciting Midgets will grace the Stockton clay.
This Saturday’s event honors the legendary Jimmy Sills and marks the fourth straight year that the event will be held at the Stockton Dirt Track. In his storied career Jimmy Sills tallied numerous major accomplishments including six wins at the Dirt Cup in Washington, which ranks number one all-time at the prestigious event. One of his more revered triumphs at the race came in 1980 when he ran the alphabet from the D-main to beat out the late great Gary Patterson for the victory.
In addition to that and his three USAC Silver Crown titles, the “Professor” has also scored wins at the Mini Gold Cup, the Oval Nationals, the Grand Annual Sprint Car Classic, the Jayhawk Nationals, Ohio Speedweek, the Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial, the Tribute to Gary Patterson and countless other major events. In 1983 he captured a preliminary night at the prestigious Knoxville Nationals and went on to finish fifth in the Saturday finale.
Sills was also the all-time leader in victories at the now defunct Baylands Raceway Park and throughout the years has claimed wins in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Long story short the Elverta, California resident has been one of the most respected short track racers to ever come out of the Golden State and we look forward to recognizing him this Saturday night. In 2006 Sills was bestowed one of the highest honors a driver can receive when he was inducted into the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame.
Adult tickets this Saturday May 25th at the Stockton Dirt Track will cost $20, kids 5-12 will be $15 and those four and under are free. All seating will be general admission. Online tickets are available at https://noceti-group.ticketleap.com/may-25th—jimmy-sills-classic/dates/May-25-2019_at_0400PM
The pit gate is scheduled to open at noon. The front gate opens at 4pm. Cars will hit the track around 5pm with hot laps, qualifying and racing to follow. The first heat race is scheduled for approximately 6pm. There is no muffler rule this Saturday.
Former Jimmy Sills Classic winners: 2018 (Dominic Scelzi), 2017 (Mitchell Faccinto), 2016 (Bud Kaeding).
In case you had missed the previous announcement, the Stockton Dirt Track has added a date on Saturday June 22nd, which features the fire breathing King of the West-NARC Fujitsu 410 Sprint Car Series and the Joe Hunt Magnetos Wingless Sprints. The event was previously scheduled for Calistoga Speedway, but with ongoing contract discussions the agreement was made to move the show to Stockton.
The Stockton Dirt Track is a lightning fast 4/10-mile clay oval located on the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds in Stockton, California. The physical address is 1658 S Airport Way, Stockton, CA 95206. For information on the speedway visit www.stocktondirttrack.com