Stockton Champion Philpott Plans Double Showdown Duty

Camping World Series Debut Will Come in Family-Owned Car

NASCAR PR Report

California teen Justin Philpott came of age as a NASCAR Whelen All-American Series driver in 2009, and begins building on that foundation this month.

      

Philpott, 19, of Tracy, Calif., scored his first Western Late Model feature in 2009, added three more, and won the division’s championship at Stockton 99 Speedway, a .250-mile paved oval.

      

Philpott and his family-owned team started the 2010 season with the purchase of a NASCAR Camping World Series West Toyota Camry on Jan. 2. He plans to compete for that series’ Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award this year.

      

A third-generation driver, Philpott will launch the campaign by entering the “Daytona 500 of short-track racing,” the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale (Calif.) on Saturday, Jan. 30. In addition to that headliner entry, he’ll also enter his Late Model in the track’s 75-lap NASCAR Late Model feature the night before.

      

The events will be telecast live on SPEED.

      

Justin’s dad, David Philpott, won back-to-back track championships at Stockton in 1992-93 and Justin’s older brother Ryan has made five NASCAR Camping World Series West starts in recent years. Grandfather John Philpott started racing in 1966 and is a past California state champion. John won the NASCAR Pacific Coast Region True Value Gold Wrench Award in 1995 as David’s crew chief.

      

There was never a question that Justin was going to drive race cars.

      

Now there is no questioning his success or potential.

      

“I was probably three months old when I went to Stockton 99 Speedway for the first time,” Philpott said. “With my grandfather and my dad racing, I’ve always been around the tracks.”

      

Philpott began his career in Street Stocks at Altamonte (Calif.) Speedway in 2005 and moved up to Late Models the following year. He has since raced at Madera (Calif.) Speedway and All-American Speedway in Roseville, Calif., as well.

      

In addition, he competed once in the Late Model at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale last September as part of his preparation for 2010.

      

“Irwindale is everything everyone says it is,” Philpott said of the experience. “It’s fast and smooth and with the (compound) banking, it has different grooves. It probably took me 100 laps to ‘get it,’ then it was fun.

      

“We tried different lines and setups in a trial and error kind of way. Then a couple of guys who race there regularly helped us out and the car really came to life. The biggest thing we learned was how to set the springs and shocks for Irwindale. I think that will put us ahead of the curve instead of being behind the eight-ball for Showdown weekend.

      

“Driving the Camping World Series West car there will probably be a completely different experience. Our Late Models run eight-inch-wide tires and the West car tires are 13 inches. We’ll have a lot to figure out, but we’re looking forward to it.”

      

To arrive at the cusp of the giant career step he’s taking this month, Philpott had to deal with both known and unforeseen circumstances at Stockton 99 over its 22-race season.

      

The known was that his father, David, would “take him to school” at Stockton by winning seven features to his own four. The unforeseen was the repaving of the track’s crumbling surface at midseason. Track operators Tony and Carol Noceti made the bold repaving move because repairs to the old surface became unmanageable. They reopened the track in 2009 after a two-year closure. Trenches had been dug in the surface after 2006 to keep trespassers from racing there.

      

“Dad had the best season he’s seen in 20 years, and after the track was repaved it changed every week for the first six weeks as the asphalt cured,” Philpott said. “The biggest thing was to survive all that, and when it was time to go, be able to go. We usually had 20 cars every night. Our main goal was to go for the track championship, and when you think about it, it wasn’t easy to do.”

      

Philpott is proud to say his sponsors, taXbrain and Evergreen Oil, will grow their marketing efforts as the team grows into the NASCAR Camping World Series West.

     

“They’ve helped us for five years, and we’re looking forward to the new opportunities we all have for 2010,” Philpott said.

      

Philpott is employed at the family automotive repair business, Philpott’s Garage in Tracy, Calif. His father, David, is his crew chief and grandfather John is the car chief. Crew members include Ryan Philpott, Bob Moering, Kyle Herger, Matt Philpott, Eddie Aldes and Shawn Shears.

The NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, in its seventh running, will be highlighted by the 225-lap NASCAR Camping World Series all-star race. Each race winner during the 2009 Camping World Series season is eligible for a protected starting spot, as are the 2009 champions from each of NASCAR’s six regional touring series and the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series national champion.

In addition to eligible 2009 race winners and series champions, the starting lineup will be determined through time trials, limited provisionals for NASCAR Camping World Series regulars, and the last-chance "Open" race that provides drivers one final chance to make the grid.

The 2010 NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown schedule also includes 100-lap Whelen All-American Series Super Late Model and 75-lap Late Model races.