Jay Juleson gets first CARS Tour West Limited Late Model win at Stockton

Jay Juleson won his first CARS Tour West Limited Late Model feature Saturday at Stockton 99 Speedway.

“Oh my gosh, it was really nerve-wracking,” Juleson said. “I knew we had a really fast car. Those last 30 to 40 laps, I was just hoping it stayed green because I knew we were really good there.”

The restarts were where things got interesting for Juleson, trading the lead with Justin Philpott just past halfway.

“The restarts are so important here,” Juleson added. “I didn’t have a very good one when he got me in three and four. Once he got the lead, I knew that was gonna be my chance to get him back. I just tried to do the same thing, got it back and ran away with it.”

Starting from the pole, the San Jose native led the field of 15 to the green flag in the 100 lap feature, but the start unraveled before the field even reached Turn 1.

Third place starter Tanner Huddleston spun the tires on the initial launch, stacking up the field behind him. Brenden Ruzbarsky, second in points Skyler Schoppe, and Daniel Devore were all caught up and spun, bringing out the first caution immediately, a reminder that things can happen quickly at Stockton.

On Lap 26, two separate incidents broke up the field.

Tanner Huddleston and Christian Bazen, running second and third, made contact off Turn 2 while working through lapped traffic. Huddleston got loose, Bazen clipped his door, and both spun, allowing Philpott to move into second.

At the same time, Schoppe spun again off Turn 4 after contact with Michael Sandoval. All drivers continued, but Schoppe’s race stayed on the back foot early.

A second caution followed on Lap 29 when Freddy Irvin spun in Turn 2, setting up the run to halfway.

Points leader Kenna Mitchell worked her way forward from a ninth-place starting spot into the top five, even making a move around the outside of Turn 2 early in the race.

At Lap 50, the caution flew for the halfway break, giving Philpott another shot at Juleson for the lead.

On the restart, Philpott slid up into Juleson’s door through Turns 3 and 4, moving him out of the groove and taking the lead after door-to-door contact.

One lap later, the caution flew again and was upgraded to a red flag.

A multi-car crash in Turn 3 collected Chris Monez, Aaron Coonfield, Shelden Cooper, Bazen, Huddleston, Devore, Irvin and Hayden Stepps.

That gave Juleson another shot and he took it.

On Lap 52, Juleson drove it back into Turns 3 and 4 and returned the contact to Philpott, sliding up into his door. Both drivers got loose on exit, but Juleson gathered it and cleared him to retake the lead.

From there, he was gone.

Mitchell and Philpott ran nose-to-tail for multiple laps in a tight fight for second. Mitchell was stronger through Turns 1 and 2, while Philpott held the advantage in 3 and 4. Mitchell kept getting runs off Turn 2 and showing a nose, but couldn’t quite get the run entering Turn 3 as Philpott maintained drive off the corner.

While they raced each other, Juleson stretched the lead to over two seconds by Lap 68 and four seconds by Lap 80.

On Lap 87, Philpott slipped in Turn 1, allowing Mitchell to break through to second, with Ruzbarsky following through to third as Philpott fell back in the running order.

Mitchell began to close, running faster lap times, but Juleson had already built too much of a lead.

Juleson drove away to secure the win, with Mitchell scoring another podium finish.

“In those last 20 laps I was hoping it would just stay green,” Mitchell said. “I had a little bit of damage, the car was struggling a little bit off the corners, so I said I’m just gonna make it to the end of the race and that’s good enough for me.”

For the points leader, the start was typical Stockton, and her focus was simply surviving the opening half.

“It was a pretty crazy race,” Mitchell said. “I started ninth and we didn’t even make it one lap before there was a caution. My rule here at Stockton is just look for the avoidance, especially starting near the middle of the field. I got caught up in a few things, but the damage wasn’t too bad. The car was struggling a little bit off the corners, but I just told myself I’m gonna make it to the end of the race and that’s good enough for me.”

Ruzbarsky finished on the final step of the podium despite running down a cylinder, recording his best finish of the season.

“We were able to maintain third place, but I was just kind of hoping for a caution,” Ruzbarsky said. “The cards didn’t play out like that, but it was a really good race. This is our best finish of the season, so I’m really proud we were able to get here and get some points under our belt.”

Huddleston recovered from early trouble to finish fourth, while Philpott fought back late to round out the top five.

CARS Tour West Limited Late Models- Impact Transportation 225
Stockton 99 Speedway
April 18, 2026

1. Jay Juleson
2. Kenna Mitchell
3. Brenden Ruzbarsky
4. Tanner Huddleston
5. Justin Philpott
6. Michael Sandoval
7. Shelden Cooper
8. Donald Witkowski
9. Chris Monez
10. Syler Schoppe
11. Christian Bazen
12. Freddy Irvin
13. Hayden Stepps
14. Aaron Coonfield
15. Daniel Devore