The Stockton Dirt Track in California will be reconfigured for 2024. The track will be shortened from a 4/10-mile to a ¼-mile and brought closer to the grandstands.
“I’m changing the track size because I want to change it for closer, better racing,” said promoter Tony Noceti, who has been involved in racing since 1974. “I’m relying on my experience. It will be a big, wide ¼-mile, where drivers can run from top to bottom.”
The announcement of reducing the track’s size didn’t come without critics on social media. The thick-skinned Noceti couldn’t care less.
“There are a lot of BS ideas out there [and] those people aren’t spending their money or busting their ass the way I am,” Noceti said. “This is not something that just happened. I have been working on this plan for a long time.”
The Stockton Dirt Track was originally a horse track. A well in the infield had caused problems since Noceti has run the oval for race cars.
“The well messed up the whole configuration of the track,” said Noceti. “Now the well is outside of the track. We got rid of the old horse-racing tote boards and moved the track closer to the grandstands.”
The new track will have approximately 9° of banking, with a dogleg on the backstretch.
“Don’t worry, the racing is still going to be juicy,” Noceti said. “The track is about 1/3-mile on the outside, and we moved turns three and four 150′ further south. The dogleg will help drivers get into turn three.”
The Stockton Dirt Track, with its new configuration, will open its 2024 season on April 6 with the King of the West NARC Sprints as the headliner. The World of Outlaws visits on September 6. The 7th Annual Al Miller Memorial race for IMCA modifieds and stock cars will be held on May 26. A full schedule will be released soon.
“I’m excited about the new track,” said Noceti. “The racing will be thrilling and the smaller track will help the little guys who can’t afford racing on a big track.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
