By Gary Thomas
Stockton, CA…Justyn Cox and Bates-Hamilton Racing put a bow on the season this past Saturday in Stockton, which ultimately saw the 29-year-old bring home his first career Sprint Car Challenge Tour championship.
The title fight didn’t come without drama however, as a steering box issue late in the feature made it an ultra-close battle right down to the end.
At the conclusion of the night however, Cox ended up claiming the SCCT title by four slim points over Kaleb Montgomery.
“Winning the SCCT title has always been a goal since the inception,” Cox stated. “I’ve been the point leader before in recent years but never sealed the deal. I knew this would be one of my best shots to do it this year and I’m glad we were able to capitalize on it.”
Cox was running a smooth race around the 10th position when a broken steering box resulted in him pulling to a stop off turn two. He was unable to restart and credited with a 15th place finish, which was just good enough to pick up the Sprint Car Challenge Tour championship.
“We were on cruise control there in the main, as I knew if we finished in the top-10 it was a lock,” Cox commented. “When we broke, I really thought we lost the whole deal. That sure made it interesting at the end, but luckily, we had enough points to get it done.”
Cox becomes the fourth different driver to claim a title with the Elk Grove Ford Sprint Car Challenge Tour presented by Abreu Vineyards since it began in 2017, joining Kyle Hirst, Ryan Robinson and Andy Forsberg.
The 40th annual Tribute to Gary Patterson also showcased championship night for the NARC 410 Sprint Car Series on Saturday.
The Clarksburg driver qualified sixth overall, before running second in his heat race aboard the benefitRFP/ Lippert Construction/ Mozingo Construction/ Dan Ewart Sales/ VinylTech PVC Pipe/ Clow Valve No. 42x.
Cox started from eighth in the NARC finale and brought home a sixth-place finish after 30-laps of racing on a lightning quick surface. When all the points were tabulated, he found himself fourth in the final championship rundown.
“On the NARC side we were very consistent and made some good strides,” he elaborated. “I’m proud of the P4 effort in the points and we were not far of from third either. The 410 is something I’m working hard on to be better, and I think I’m getting a lot more comfortable with it.”
This now concludes the season for Cox and Bates-Hamilton Racing, which was highlighted by several strong runs, including the big $18,300 victory at the Dennis Roth Classic, along with a pair of point race triumphs at Placerville Speedway in August.
“All around I’m very thankful for Josh, Roger and Lori. They provided me a chance to live a dream, which is racing for a top team and getting the opportunity to compete a lot. We accomplished a couple of goals we had set, and I can’t wait to build on it and achieve more in the future.”
Cox continued looking back on the successful season for Bates-Hamilton Racing. “Our team made it through the year with minimal crashes and DNF’s and we had a healthy amount of front running finishes. That’s nothing to hold our heads down on, especially in California.”
Looking to the future he hopes to accomplish even more in 2024. “I have some goals to better myself for next year and can’t wait to get 2024 rolling. I want to give a big thank you as well to Scotty, Hayden, Drew and Rev Chip for the help on the team, along with Aly for all her help on the socials side. Finally, a big thank you to my wife Kaitlyn for toughing out a full season while pregnant and letting me go have some fun.”
BHR co-owner Joshua Bates also spoke about the season.
“I’m really proud of this team and what we were able to accomplish this season.” He continued, “We planned a very aggressive schedule, running both NARC and SCCT. We finished up with a SCCT championship and 4th with NARC and some big wins along the way. None of that would’ve been possible without the hard work and dedication of our team members- Hayden, Scotty, Drew, Matty and Aly. Everyone stepped up this season and it made my job a lot easier. Roger and I are really excited about what the future holds for this team.”
Fellow BHR co-owner Roger Hamilton gave his thoughts on the campaign as well.
“I couldn’t have said it any better than Justyn and Josh,” he commented. “We were one of only two teams to tackle the entire NARC and SCCT schedules in 2023. We asked a lot from Justyn this year, especially compared to what his schedule had been the past few seasons. He certainly delivered for the team and all our great partners. I would like to thank Dan Ewart for his unflinching support of our team since 2018. I would also like to thank Bob Nienaber, Dave Lippert and Phil Gianfortone for their support and friendship. We would not be able to compete at this level without them. Last, but certainly not least, a big thank you to my wife Lori for her continued support and all the hard work taking care of our merchandise.”
𝑩𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔-𝑯𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝑹𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒏𝒈 would like to thank BenefitRFP, Lippert Construction, Mozingo Construction, Dan Ewart Sales, VinylTech PVC Pipe, Clow Valve, Teichert Construction, Advanced Drainage Systems, Custom Pipe and Fabrication, B Scadden Design, Specified Pipe, North Bay Waterworks, SIP, Tigre, Star Pipe Products, McWane Ductile, Kaeding Performance, Kistler Engines, Maxim Racing, Sellers Race Wings, ART Enterprises, Rod Tiner Racing, Tiner-Hirst Enterprise, Vanlare Steering Repair, Arbo-Tec, Performance Powder Coating, Warehouse Paint, Justice Brothers, K1 Race Gear, Arai Helmets and Bullet Impressions for their support this season.
𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬-𝐇𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 Stockton Dirt Track Quick Recap-
Saturday November 4th:
NARC- Qualified (6th), Heat Race (2nd), A-main (6th)
SCCT- Qualified (3rd), Heat Race (3rd), A-main (15th)
𝐔𝐩𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬-
The 2023 season is now complete for Bates-Hamilton Racing
𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: B Scadden Design
Long-time partner B Scadden Design was back for a sixth season with BHR.
“Brad and I have been friends since the mid 80’s when we worked on Howard Kaeding’s car at the Fairgrounds in San Jose. He has been doing our designs, graphics, helmets, fire suits and basically anything we’ve needed since 2018. Our race cars look great because of him and the attention to detail that he provides our team.”
If you are in the market for design and graphics work, be sure and contact Brad Scadden at brad@bscaddendesign.com
𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭-
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