2019 in Review: Street Stocks

 

It would be a busy year for the Street Stock division, who would make 14 appearances from March to December.

The season opened with a newcomer to the division claiming the first night’s action. Nick Hebrank, a previous contender in the Outlaw 4 division, captured the main, but it proved to be a “good news, bad news” scenario when engine trouble developed at his next appearance that would keep him out of action for several weeks.

Thomas Pratt arrived in Victory Lane on March 23 for what would prove to be the first of two feature wins at East Bay in 2019. The third running of the division saw Tim Gay become the third different winner in as many races.

It would be awhile before there would be a new name in victory. Gay won the next four events with wins in April, May, June and August.

Visiting driver Tim Powers claimed the win in a Dirt’s 4 Racing Street Stock showdown that saw 21 drivers take the green flag for the biggest field of the year.

As the calendar turned to October, Matt Bozeman, who had parlayed steady finishes to a position of contention for the points title, finally broke through to claim a feature win for the C & M Lawn Care/DriveBarstow.com Motorsports Team.

The following week, it would be the fourth different winner in the last four shows when second generation racer Justin Rodgers came home a winner. Another new name graced the winner’s circle when the division returned in November. Mike Wilson, who had the notoriety of winning the division’s first heat event, finally shook the monkey from his back and prevailed in a feature.

Pratt would lock down his second feature two weeks later. A somewhat familiar face found his way to the promised land at the end of the month when 2018 Street Stock champion John Bradley showed winning form.

It seemed somewhat fitting that the man who won he most features would win the last one. Tim Gay sealed the victory on December 7, but it was the perfect attendance and several top 3 runs that propelled Bozeman to the title. The 2019 champion never finished below eighth place in his 14 appearances.

There were 37 different drivers who signed in to compete in Street Stock racing. The average car count for the 14 events was 12 cars for the division.

2019 Top 5 – Street Stocks

  1. Matt Bozeman (58) 566
  2. Billy Barstow (56) 530
  3. Mike Wilson (68) 474
  4. Mark Roadarmel Jr. (B75) 438
  5. Henry Burnside (31) 388