SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Another season of NARC Fujitsu General Sprint Car racing will come to an end this Saturday, November 5 as Stockton Dirt Track hosts the 39th Annual Tribute to Gary Patterson.
After beginning in April, visiting 12 different tracks, and journeying to three states, the 2022 campaign will conclude with NARC’s 23rd overall trip to Stockton on a night one of the most admired racers to hail from California is honored.
Patterson, known as “The Preacher,” raced as a true outlaw in his day, venturing wherever he felt on a given weekend, and was widely respected for his talent behind the wheel. “GP” wheeled a variety of cars to victory lane at a variety of racetracks until he unfortunately passed in an accident at Calistoga Speedway in 1983. As one of the most notorious figures not only of west coast sprint car racing, but racing across the country, an event was born to honor him and approaches four decades of existence with its running this Saturday.
The night will be full of celebration as the event doubles as Triple Crown Championship Night with the Sprint Car Challenge Tour and Hunt Magnetos Wingless Sprints also capping their campaigns at the central valley three-eighths mile.
Championship Chase
Even after a DNF this past weekend in Bakersfield, a second consecutive NARC championship is all but in Dominic Scelzi’s hands. All the Fresno native needs to do Saturday is complete a qualifying lap which will guarantee him, at the least, 75 show up points and make his gap atop the standings insurmountable.
Willie Croft still firmly holds the second spot, and barring any severe misfortune at Stockton, he should finish runner-up.
In the fight for the final step on the points podium, Bud Kaeding put a little more distance between himself and Mitchell Faccinto, but the gap is still close enough where Faccinto could pass Kaeding on Saturday.
Who to Watch
The Kaeding brothers, Tim and Bud, are a threat anywhere but especially when they roll into Stockton.
In Tim’s last nine NARC starts in Stockton, he’s bagged a pair of wins, notched six top-fives, and finished no worse than eighth. One of those wins (2016) came aboard a Roth Motorsports No. 83, the same car the San Jose driver will wheel on Saturday.
Bud is also a two-time Stockton series winner, picking up victories in the same years as Tim, 2016 and 2019. The latter of those is his most recent NARC victory, so the Campbell native will look
to end the winless drought at a track that’s been good to him. Bud’s most recent podium also occurred at the three-eighths mile this past July.
Anytime a race is hosted at Stockton, Shane Golobic is guaranteed to be a contender. The Fremont native is the track’s winningest driver since it opened in 2013 with a pair of his overall victories coming in NARC competition. Back in July he nearly won another, falling just short to D.J. Netto. He’s fresh off his first series victory of the year and looks to cap the season with back-to-back triumphs.
Bill Balog is expected to make his second NARC appearance of the year and the fifth of his career. The 10-time IRA Sprints champion will wheel a Snow Racing entry. Back in 2017, the North Pole Nightmare made his NARC debut driving for Clayton Snow at none other than Stockton and earned a top-five.
Other drivers expected to compete include Max Mittry, Justin Sanders, Billy Aton, Ryan Timms, and more.