MESERAULL VICTORIOUS IN STOCKTON MIDGET CHALLENGE

By Floyd Busby

STOCKTON, CA., JULY 17: Thomas Meseraull overcame a winless season to claim victory in the Bay Cities Racing Association Midget feature at the Stockton "99" Speedway after six "near-miss" second -place finishes. He was so thrilled with the victory that he celebrated with a 360-degree "Nextel Cup Moment" burnout spin before pulling up to the finish line to receive his laurels.

As the fastest qualifier, Meseraull pulled the eight pill for the main event inversion, putting himself in the eighth starting spot
in the 18-car field.

Greg Dennett, fresh from his win the previous weekend, started from the pole in the 3D Racing Wirth Chevy/Beast and jumped into the lead over Garratt Boyden, John Sarale and Brad Gard as visiting WMRA driver Brad Curtis pitted after one lap with problems sustained from his earlier heat race accident. By the second round Meseraull pulled the Bill Ferrari Brayton Ford/Beast into fifth, then displaced Gard for fourth on the next lap. Working on Sarale, Meseraull passed the Arata/Sarale Chevy/Beast for third on the fifth circuit and set out after the leading duo.

On the 11th lap Meseraull dropped to the inside of Boyden's Esslinger/Beast as they exited the fourth turn and led the lap by inches, immediately pressuring Dennett for the lead.

Able to put the Ferrari machine most anywhere on the paved quarter-mile oval, Meseraull out maneuvered Dennett for the lead on the 13th lap. One lap later Boyden made his mark over Dennett to take second, then Gard moved his Borghesani Gaerte Chevy/Beast by Dennett for third on the next lap as Sarale pitted.

Meseraull was in total command and left the bickering for his pursuers. Gard, challenging Boyden, took second on the 18th circuit, but immediately lost it back, then again took second with an outside pass exiting the fourth turn for his final claim on second.

Pete Davis brought his Esslinger/Beast into the fray and challenged Dennett for fifth, making good his claim on the 21st round as rookie Scott Pierovich came into the picture, pressuring Dennett to take fifth on the 22nd lap aboard the former Nationals winning Tomassi Wirth Mopar/Beast that they had just purchased. Pierovich moved up one more notch with a pass of Davis on the 25th round, then battled Boyden for the remainder of the feature.

Meseraull crossed the line in the rapid, under-seven-minute caution-free 30-lapper, over rookies Gard, Boyden and Pierovich, followed by Davis, Michael Hubert III, Dennett, Eric Mostin and Floyd Alvis on the leading lap with Jim Silva and Cliff Servetti finishing one lap down.

Meseraull topped the field in qualifying. Tim Joyce took the first heat race over Silva and Steve Roza.

The second heat garnered two red flags. At the drop of the green the front row starting cars of Pete Davis and Greg Dennett made contact. Dennett's car shot into the wall just past the starting line and overturned, skidding inverted against the concrete barrier and finally arching to a stop upright at the beginning of the first turn. Both Dennett and the 3D Racing machine were unharmed and he was allowed to restart at the rear after an inspection. Upon the restart, the John Sarale car bounded toward the wall exiting the turn for the green. Visiting WMRA standout Brad Curtis darted to the inside, but
Sarale's machine shot inward and caught Curtis' right rear wheel, sending the Wirth Mopar/Beast nose-first into the concrete wall at speed. The car inverted and, much like Dennett's ride, he rode the wall, but for more than 100-feet, before aching onto the groove of the track and snapping upright. Curtis was uninjured, but his car received notable damage. Brian Gard went on the win the heat over Boyden and Meseraull.

Michael Hubert III, 16-year-old rookie third generation driver, won the trophy dash.

Eleven BCRA vintage division Midgets were on hand, entertaining the crowd with exhibition races. Retired 69-year-old
BCRA driver Norm Rapp drove the Baia Offy to the win.

The BCRA Midgets take the next weekend off for the annual BCRA Johnny Baldwin Golf Classic on Sunday the 25th (Info on website at BCRAracing.com). Racing resumes on July 31 at the Twin Cities Speedway in Marysville, then Santa Maria the following Saturday.

SUMMARY:
QUAL.: 1. Thomas Meseraull, #69 Ferrari 13.537; 2. Brad Curtis, #12W Curtis 13.545; 3. Michael Hubert III, #56 Hubert 13.600; 4. Brian Gard, #57 Borghesani 13.652; 5. John Sarale, #32 Arata/Sarale 13.661; 6. Garratt Boyden, #42 Boyden 13.716; 7. Floyd Alvis, #18 Alvis 13.795; 8. Greg Dennett, #47 3D Racing 13. 873; 9. Pete Davis, #00 Davis 13.894; 10. Steve Roza, #20 Roza 13.906; 11. Rob Lindsey, #23X Lindsey 13.926; 12. Cliff Servetti, #83 Custom Engine 13.930; 13. Eric Mostin, #12 Mostin 14.042; 14. Scott Pierovich, #35 Pierovich 14.138; 15. Jim Silva, #19 Chandler 14.146; 16. Tim Joyce, #99 Segur 14.400; 17. Ryan Kaplan, #21X Kaplan 15.500; 18. Eddie Abrew, #25 Abrew N/T.

HEAT-1: Joyce, Silva, Roza, Lindsey, Pierovich, Mostin, Servetti, Kaplan, Abrew.
HEAT-2: Gard, Boyden, Meseraull, Hubert, Alvis, Sarale, Dennett, Curtis, Davis.

DASH: Hubert, Gard, Meseraull, Sarale

MAIN: Thomas Meseraull, Brian Gard, Garratt Boyden, Scott Pierovich, Pete Davis, Michael Hubert III, Greg Dennett, Eric Mostin, Floyd Alvis, Jim Silva, Cliff Servetti, Steve Roza, John Sarale, Eddie Abrew, Ryan Kaplan, Rob Lindsey, Brad Curtis, Tim Joyce. Time: 6:52.46.
LAP LEADERS: 1-12 Dennett, 13-30 Meseraull