Oakdale’s Tyler Guzman brought out his new Chevy Nova “Bombers division” stock car and drove his way into a fifth starting position at the Stockton 99 Speedway, after finishing as a runner-up in the “trophy dash” on April 21.

The competition was very tough as the 2011 class champion, Bobby Simpson of Stockton quickly took the early lead in the main event. Guzman ran into handling problems, causing him to fall back into the field several positions. But, through perseverance, he slowly worked his way back into the middle of the pack. As he was continuing his slow advance toward the front, he was pushed into the wall on the back straight by one of the other cars that had lost control. This brought out the yellow caution flag and Guzman immediately was brought into the pits. After some quick repair work on his car during the caution (cars do not lose positions under caution laps), he re-entered the track in the eighth position.

His team was able to correct some of the set up problems with the car, allowing Guzman to drive the car faster and smoother around the tight quarter-mile oval. He quickly worked his way into the fifth position.

With about five laps to go, the leader, Simpson, had the rear end drive train of his car break, dropping him out of the race.

This put Guzman in the fourth position when the checkered flag waved. After some post-race technical inspections, the two cars that finished in the first and second positions were disqualified, giving Guzman a much deserved and hard fought second place finish in the “Bomber Division” 2012 season opener at Stockton 99 speedway.