Manteca teen opens All American Speedway season with comeback SPEARS CARS Tour West victory

Jace Hale, 14, of Manteca staged a convincing comeback drive to win the SPEARS CARS Tour West Pro Late Model 100-lap feature in Saturday night's 71st season opener at Roseville's All American Speedway. The victory paid $7,500 as part of the three-part Hale Construction 205 for the CARS Tour West on the one-third mile oval. Hale's win gives him a 2-0 record in the new series utilizing East Coast Pro Late Model rules in 2025. The fifth-generation stock-car racer won the pole position, starting alongside All American Speedway champion Kenna Mitchell of Loomis. Hale was slow to get away on a restart of the main event, spinning into turn one to bring out the next caution flag and rejoining the race at the back of the field. Mitchell won a brief battle with Bakersfield's Taylor Mayhew for the lead on the restart. Hale stormed through the pack quickly, however. He drove into second when action resumed following a lengthy stoppage on lap 31, diving inside of Mayhew on the restart. Hale then nudged Mitchell for the top spot in turn one to take over the lead for lap 34. Mitchell held down second before multiple challengers lined up behind her, with second through seventh position racing nose to tail on lap 63. Mayhew finally pounced to the inside, taking second on lap 64. Following a scheduled caution for 35 consecutive laps of green-flag racing, Mitchell and Bakersfield's Robby Sawyer made contact on two occasions. Mitchell and Vito Cancilla, 13, of Martinez then collided on the front stretch on lap 71, sending Cancilla spinning for a caution flag. Hale cruised ahead of a 4.3-second advantage over the final 29 laps for the checkered flag over Mayhew and Tristan Pena of San Antonio. Herzog came back to finish fourth and Cancilla was fifth. Limited Pro Late Model Former All American Speedway Super Series and Limited Pro Late Model track champion Dylan Zampa of Napa survived a SPEARS CARS Tour West Limited Pro Late Model feature full of twists of turns to win the shortened event worth $4,000 to win. Zampa's victory made up for a spin while battling for CARS Tour victory last October in Roseville. The race also kicked off the local NASCAR Limited Pro Late Model season. Parker Malone and Zampa were the front-row starters ahead of a 23-car field. The event had more than half a dozen cautions and incidents, including Jace Hale spinning out of the top five on lap 12 and Nash Youngren suffering heavy damage after spinning in turn one on the restart. Cancilla tangled with Malone for second on lap 17. Chase Burgeson used the following restart to drive into second place on the inside line. Zampa held off Burgeson for the lead, thrusting Burgeson into a battle with 2024 CARS Tour West champion Jeffrey Peterson for second. A spin for Christian Bazen in turn two set up the last chance for Burgeson with a green-white-checkered finish on lap 42. Zampa drove ahead solidly to grab his third win of the CARS Tour season. Burgeson settled for a career-best second, followed by Peterson, track champion Mitchell and Ethan Cheek. Legends Tour West Tracy's Brenden Ruzbarsky earned his third Legends Tour West 30-lap feature win with a $1,000 prize. The race was also round one for the track championship. Ruzbarsky ran wheel to wheel with Mayhew for the lead before two cautions for spins. Ruzbarsky restarted inside of Mayhew after the choose cone and capitalized, seizing the lead on lap 20. Mayhew finished, second followed by Kai Lovell, New Mexico's Sean Salazar and San Francisco's Henry Barton. Modified Tyler Wentworth claimed the 30-lap Modified season opener. Lap three was highlighted by a four-wide battle for the lead where Sacramento's Kris Price sneaked through for the lead. Wentworth challenged Price on the high side, then crossed him over in turn three on lap eight to take the top spot on lap nine. Wentworth led the final 21 laps for victory, followed by Price, Sammy Nuno of Windsor, Thomas Martin of Auburn and Bud Anderson of Carmichael. F4 John Sproule of Orangevale prevailed against a 15-car field in the F4 25-lap main event. Sproule outfoxed Lelani Sprenkel for second, then turned his sights on race leader Barret Sugden. A restart on lap eight gave Sproule the opportunity, driving on the outside line to nab the lead on lap nine. Sugden finished second with Brandon Frantz of Lincoln third. Jordan Mast and Sprenkel were the balance of the top five. Super Stock Dixon's Tim Walters won his first career Super Stock feature in a race that ended prematurely when Terry Thomas Jr. of Antelope suffered a fire in turn three. He was uninjured. Ryan Skidmore of Benicia was second with Dean Wilkins of Roseville third. Skyler Schoppe of Clovis took his debut Roseville Jr. Late Model feature win after a 25-lap contest. Schoppe won at Madera last weekend and claimed the Irwindale final race in December. The 14-year-old led Kellen Keller of Madera and Mia Wright of Reno at the finish. Kristopher Chitwood won the 15-lap Trailer Bash for $1,000. All American Speedway returns to action May 10 for the Spring NASCAR Smash featuring the SPEARS CARS Tour West Super Late Models and Limited Pro Late Models, local NASCAR championship divisions and demolition derby.