Nick Rescino Jr. scores first USAC win in 100-lap Starr Classic - By Bobby Gerould. September 11, 2005. Stockton, CA…The happiest man in Northern California on Sunday may have been sprint car driver Nick Rescino Jr. The San Franciscan was downright giddy following his 100-lap victory in the DuWayne Starr Classic at Stockton 99 Speedway Sunday evening. The race was the third leg of the USAC Western Sprint Car Stockton Triple Crown. "This is a dream come true!" exalted Rescino post-race. "To win a USAC race against this competition is huge for our team."
The 2004 CASA champion started third in the 20-car field. He gained the lead of the race with a low groove, turn-one, pass of Jason McCord on lap 14. Rescino's Bayshore Racing Engines #11 suffered a punctured right rear tire that led to some frantic moments for the team during a red flag period with 40 laps remaining.
"We plugged the tire during the red and they told me they thought it would hold up". The tire did hold up but that wasn't the only drama for the Rescino camp. With 13 laps to go, Michael Trimble reeled in the leader and was mounting a serious challenge. The event climaxed in turn three on lap 94 when Trimble took a shot at an open hole on the lowest part of the track. Trimble's #15 could not clear Rescino's #11 and the two cars touched. Both drivers did a nice job to quickly 'gather it up' and continue on racing.
Of the attempted pass, Rescino said, "Trimble did what he had to do, and it wasn't anything that I wouldn't have done myself."
Trimble settled for second for the second straight Stockton race. The 19 year-old from San Jose, CA. started seventh and is clearly reaching his best form of the 2005 season. McCord, of Anderson, Indiana finished third driving for Mike McClish in the #4b. Jeff Gardner, the 1998 USAC Western Sprint Car champion, was fourth followed by Shauna Hogg who started 14th. Hogg was named the Weld Racing Hard Charger of the event for her efforts in passing nine cars.
The top ten was filled out by Destiney Hays, Cody Veenstra, Robert Beck, Mike Murgoitio, and Jessica Helberg. Visiting World of Outlaws superstar Donny Schatz finished eleventh after starting 16th in his USAC Western Sprint Car debut driving for Ted Finkenbinder.
Points leader Kody Swanson suffered a poor result with a mechanical issue on his family #75. Swanson finished 20th. Defending series champion Tony Hunt also had bad luck, getting caught up in a front chute tangle on lap 60 that led to a DNF. Brian McClish, the most recent winner in the Triple Crown series at Stockton, lost precious laps, and positions when a hood scoop became detached resulting in an extended pit stay. He was scored 13th at the checkered flag.
Tim Barber, the winner of leg two of the Triple Crown, paced time-trials turning the quarter-mile paved oval in 13.328 seconds. Barber was running third on lap 71 of the feature when his machine failed forcing him to the pits. The next USAC Western Sprint Car race is scheduled for October 1, 2005 at Madera Speedway in Madera, CA. Swanson will take a 17 point lead over Murgoitio to the event.
VALVOLINE USAC WESTERN SPRINT CAR SERIES RACE RESULTS: September 11, 2005 - Stockton, California - Stockton 99 Speedway - "DuWayne Starr Classic"
QUALIFICATIONS: 1. Tim Barber, 14, Pierson-13.328; 2. Kody Swanson, 75, Swanson-13.387; 3. Tony Hunt, 94, Kaiser-13.437; 4. Nick Rescino Jr., 11, Rescino-13.471; 5. Jason McCord, 4B, McClish-13.547; 6. Brian McClish, 04, McClish-13.558; 7. Michael Trimble, 15, CTR-13.614; 8. Jeff Gardner, 51, Gardner-13.626; 9. Destiney Hays, 28, Hays-13.663; 10. Brad Bumgarner, 88, Bumgarner-13.714; 11. Trevor Cummins, 17, Cummins-13.716; 12. Brian Geiszler, 44, Geiszler-13.763; 13. Robert Beck, 03, Beck-13.785; 14. Shauna Hogg, 5, Hogg-13.824; 15. Cody Veenstra, 07, Veenstra-13.824; 16. Donny Schatz, 3F, Finkenbinder-13.839; 17. Mike Murgoitio, 80, Murgoitio-13.845; 18. Jessica Helberg, 4, Helberg-13.947; 19. Matt DeMartini, 6, Carr-13.973; 20. Chuck Maddox, 23, Maddox-14.002.
FEATURE: (100 laps) 1. Nick Rescino Jr., 2. Michael Trimble, 3. Jason McCord, 4. Jeff Gardner, 5. Shauna Hogg, 6. Destiney Hays, 7. Cody Veenstra, 8. Robert Beck, 9. Mike Murgoitio, 10. Jessica Helberg, 11. Donny Schatz, 12. Trevor Cummins, 13. Brian McClish, 14. Brian Geiszler, 15. Tim Barber, 16. Matt DeMartini, 17. Chuck Maddox, 18. Brad Bumgarner, 19. Tony Hunt, 20. Kody Swanson. NT -----------------------------
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-13 McCord, Laps 14-100 Rescino.
NEW USAC WESTERN SPRINT CAR STANDINGS: 1-Swanson-534; 2-Murgoitio-517; 3-Hunt-501; 4-Barber-500; 5-Veenstra-438; 6-McClish-431; 7-Trimble-420; 8-Bumgarner-343; 9-Hogg-336; 10-Chris Petersen-304.
NEXT USAC WESTERN SPRINT CAR RACE: October 1 - Madera (CA) Speedway
