Sixteen-year-old East Union High student and Manteca racer Jacob Gomes finished second in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Western Late Model division at the Stockton 99 Speedway on Saturday, May 30.

Points Leader Vito Ranuio ended in first, but his strongest challenge would come from young-gun sensation Gomes, as he shadowed Ranuio’s every move for the final 30 laps.

“I was blocking like a son-of-a-gun,” Ranuio said of the pressure applied by the youngster. “I knew he was there — our car wasn’t that great, but I was able to hold him off.”

In the few short weeks Gomes has been at Stockton, he has garnered many fans, who roared loudly as he crossed the finish line in second.

After a few weeks of hard wrecks and hot tempers, the ALSC/Street

Stock Division motored back onto the racing surface to try to put all the carnage in the past.

The Legends of the Pacific flexed their muscles in the first appearance of year for the scaled-down, fast-paced hot rods. In the main event, Brian Elorreaga of San Jose and Jimmie Walker of Brentwood started on the front row and brought the field to the green.

But before they could complete one lap, the first yellow of the race fell as Bill Kistenmacher of Rohnert Park broke going into turn three. Dave Ball of Stockton jumped to the front and held tight to gain the lead until Donny Darter of Manteca slipped below him on lap 17 to take the top spot, and Darter sped away to his first victory in the Legends.

“This car was made for my wife — it’s not made for me,” said Darter. “So I was happy to get out there and win this one.”