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Bowers and Peterson Win Ignite Midget Finale at Stockton 99

STOCKTON,CA- Last Saturday night was the Halloween Bash and championship finale race for the 2012 USAC NorCal Ignite Midget series at Stockton 99 Speedway.

The division headed into round fifteen and sixteen with exciting racing action and point's leader Garrett Peterson had to work extra hard to maintain his championship. Tyler Edwards was fast right out of the box in first practice posting fastest time of 13.334 seconds.

Second practice, Peterson edged out Edwards with a fast time of 13.256 seconds. With the combination of both practice times Peterson was able to top the qualifying charts with best time over Edwards, Cole Glasson, Ricky Bowers and Sheldon Didinger the fast five. The top four qualifiers ran in the four lap trophy dash and Ricky Bowers took the early lead in the dash and never looked back claiming his first trophy dash victory.

In the first 30 lap main event the starting lineup was straight up from qualifying order setting Peterson and Edwards on the front row. Peterson took the early lead however Edwards was able to stick with him giving him a challenge for the lead. Meanwhile, as the leaders battled Bowers was quietly behind them following and watching their every move. On lap 19, Edwards jumped to the inside of Peterson and stole the lead. Troubles struck on lap 22, when Edwards and Peterson collided in turn one allowing Bowers to miss the spin and get the lead. Rookie Molly Helmuth was in fourth before the spin and jumped into second behind Bowers.

In the closing laps, both Edwards and Peterson rallied back to the lead pack but ran out of laps and Ricky Bowers ran strong to claim his first 2012 Ignite Midget victory.

Garrett Peterson edged Molly Helmuth at the line by .002 for second place, followed by Tyler Edwards and Shawn Buckley the final five. Ricky Bowers team, Ron Sutton’s Winner’s Circle, recently switched his number 42 midget to the Ignite brand ethanol racing fuel. Ricky’s victory is believed to be the first USAC win on the West Coast with ethanol fuel.

In the second main event, a full invert was drawn for the division, placing rookie youngster Cole Glasson and Christine Breckenridge on the front row. Multiple lead changes occurred in the opening laps as Glasson jumped to the early lead however his lead was short lived as Sheldon Didinger stole the top spot on lap two. An eager Edwards led lap four and the unstoppable Peterson took the lead on lap five. As Peterson was out front with clean air, Edwards had tucked in behind him to follow his every move. The divisions youngest driver, Glasson was hanging right with the leaders in third holding off veteran driver Bowers in fourth.

As the racing action settled in, drivers maintained their positions through the end of the race. Garrett Peterson cruised to a 1.447 second victory followed by Tyler Edwards, Cole Glasson, Ricky Bowers and Molly Helmuth the final five.

This concludes the 2012 USAC NorCal Ignite Midget series as Garrett Peterson is crowned the series champion. Stay tuned on the NorCal Ignite Midget Series website by visiting www.NorCalMidgets.com for the 2013 schedule and exciting new announcements. Lots of prizes and awards will be given away to the top five finishers in the 2013 championship. Prizes consists of 100 lap tests in NASCAR K&N Pro Series West stock car, NASCAR Late Model, NASCAR Modified, USAC Pavement Sprint Car, Ignite Midget and a spot in the Ron Sutton's Winner's Circle Shoot Out. The 2013 USAC NorCal Ignite Midget series will be one of the biggest awarded series for young drivers to compete for as well as the most affordable racing in California.

About USAC NorCal Ignite Midgets

How can the Star USAC Norcal Ignite Midget Series be affordable? Two races at each event for the same cost as one entry fee, set of pit passes and set of tires. The Long Blocks cost $2500 and the engines last for 3-4 years with no rebuilds. The engine cost works out to under $25 a day and tires are long lasting, thus, estimating $3100 total annual tire budget. There are many great used cars for sale in the marketplace for $10-$15,000 turn-key. Free help online can be found at www.FocusMidgetResource.com.

Star Racing Supply is the new Stockton 99 Track Vendor, with a physical store at the track offering over  500 brands of racing parts & supplies. Star Racing Supply is the official source for tires & fuel and is the USAC Ignite Midget headquarters for Northern California. Star Racing Supply offers 2 brands of Midget chassis, KPC & Spike including a full fabrication shop, plus all the parts and materials to build, race & maintain Midget race cars.

For More information on Stockton 99 Speedway visit www.stockton99.com website or call 209.466.9999. For more information about the USAC NorCal Ignite Midget series visit the website at www.NorcalMidgets.com. For details on test-n-tune days and Midget test drives, contact Ron Sutton at 916.834.8051. For new & used cars, parts or supplies visit the www.ronsutton-racetechnology.com website; The Racer's store is located at 8581 Younger Creek Drive, Sacramento, CA 95828 or call (916) 914-1284