Open Wheel Ace Returns to Stockcar Roots for SRL Wild West Shootout at Stockton

Bakersfield, CA – Eric Humphries will return to The New Stockton 99 Speedway in a Late Model for the first time in 16 years, on July 16th. Humphries once raced in the Western Late Model Division at the historic ¼-mile, scoring multiple wins. Some will remember his white #32 with light blue numbers. After many years on both the asphalt and dirt in a 410 Sprint Car, he will jump behind the wheel of the Garcia Racing Spears Srl Southwest Tour Series Super Late Model. He will be looking to pick up where he left off with his Gunslingers Sprint Car Series victory at Stockton in 2018. It will be a reunion of sorts with car owner Mike Garcia, after the pair raced against each other at Stockton, in addition to Humphries victory in a Garcia Racing Modified in 2010.

“Eric, myself, and his family have been friends for 20 years”, team owner Mike Garcia recalled. “Eric and I raced against each other when I drove at Stockton 99 in the Late Models. This will be pretty cool, as a reunion of sorts, since he, me, John Moore, and Eric Schmidt all raced against each other at Stockton, back in 2003 and 2004. Eric’s last stock car start came driving a Modified for me in 2010, which he won in his first time out. He runs a lot of 410 King of the Wing Sprint Car stuff, so speed is no issue. We spoke a bit last year about getting him in the car, and it just didn’t work out, schedule-wise. Now that we have multiple cars, it makes it easier. We are really looking forward to him running with us, and we hope to do more in the future.”

Humphries recalled his reaction to the offer to get behind the wheel of the Garcia Racing Super Late Model, for the “JM Environmental Inc. Wild West Shootout Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap 127 presented by 51 FIFTY LTM.”.

“I got a call a week and a half ago saying “hey, do you want to go racing in Stockton? The last time I was there was with the King of the Wings, in Sprint Car stuff. I said, why not, that is where I cut my teeth. If the opportunity arises, I don’t care if it is a lawn mower, Stockcar or Sprint car or whatever it is, I’m ready to go. I’m looking forward to getting back to my home roots, and I’m excited to do it.”

Humphries began his racing career at Stockton 99 Speedway, before moving on to the open wheel side of racing, most of which was Sprint Car racing on both asphalt and dirt. He has mainly raced with the Harvest Supply Inc. Group, who will be one his main sponsors for his SRL debut. This is the group that gave Humphries the opportunity to run with USAC, and Davey Hamilton’s King of the Wing Series. He has been travelling to both the East and West Coasts with the group, as well as running the dirt tracks on the West Coast with his family-owned team.

For 2022, Humphries has decided to run predominantly on the West Coast on the dirt, due to tire issues, gas prices, and high travel expenses. His past successes include three championships and six wins in the King of the Wing National Sprint Car Shootout, three wins in the Auto Value Bumper to Bumper Super Sprint Series, two wins in the Orchex Western Sprintcar Series, a win in the NSRA Sprint Series, and a win in the California Supermodified Series.

Humphries is excited to return to where his racing career began, as he recalled some of the drivers he competed against back in the mid 2000’s.

“I remember running with the Belletto’s, Dave Byrd, and the Schaffer’s”, the three-time King of the Wing National Sprint Car Shootout Champion stated. “Me being at that age and running Late Models at Stockton, at that age was great. I grew up watching races there, but it was another thing running around on the track with those guys. Now that I look back at it, a lot of those names aren’t around anymore (driving), but a lot of them are still in the industry.”

Humphries may have not competed in stockcars for quite some time, but he has kept track of the teams in the SRL, and he knows competing against them will be a formidable task.

“I know there a lot of new names out there, in the SRL Series. I stay informed with the series and see what is going on, checking on things. I keep track of who is who and what is what. It will be a tall order going into Stockton and being able to run top-five. There is good competition, good cars, and good teams. I will be humbled to go in and run with those guys. As racers we want to go in and win, but I’m gonna have to go back and do my homework to recall how to run a stockcar again.”

Humpries continued, “The expectation is always high, but the reality is that there are some good guys out there. Those guys have been running the series the last few years and they know their stuff. They understand what is going on. I am a rookie going into this deal, so I gotta put my boots down to the ground and figure out what works and what doesn’t. I have great confidence in the Garcia Group, so I am excited.”

One of the biggest challenges for Humphries will have nothing to do with his driving skills, but his ability to communicate to his team, about what he needs in the car to be a success.

“I think the biggest things for me is the terminology”, Humphries stated. “Coming in from the dirt side of things, on the open wheel side, it will be important to talk to the Crew Chief, Car Chief, and whoever is making the final call to say, “this is what I want” and to make sure I get their terminology right. The driver can only do so much, and the Crew Chief can only do so much, and it takes both of them to make it happen. I feel good about the Garcia Program and the last time we were together we won a Modified race at Shasta Speedway.”

Although his wife and parents have seen Humpries in a stockcar at Stockton 99 Speedway, it will be a first for his kids, who are looking forward to the opportunity.

“I’m excited because my youngest and oldest kids have never got to see me run in a stockcar before”, the 2004 Stockton 99 Speedway Rookie-of-the-Year explained. “So, they are very much a part of being at the track with me on the open wheel side of things, both dirt and pavement. I pointed out a picture of the old #32 car we used to run. I said, “hey do you want to see dad run one of those?”. I told them the other day that we are going to run one of those. They said we want to be there for every moment. I’m excited that my family, my mom and dad, my brother, my wife, and kids will be able to go back to where we cut our teeth at back in the early 2000’s.”

The Garcia Racing Team is sponsored by Hixco Industrial Supply, STR Race Cars, David’s Racing Products, and Allpro Coatings.

Admission Gates open at 5:00 pm. Qualifying for the SPEARS SRL Pro Late Model Series presented by Sigma Performance Services will begin at 5:15 pm with the SPEARS Southwest Tour Series following. Opening Ceremonies are up next with the Main Events for the Jr. B4 Cylinders, Bombers, SPEARS SRL Pro Late Model Series – “51FIFTY 60 presented by SPS”, B4 Cylinders and SPEARS Southwest Tour Series – JM Environmental Inc. Wild West Shootout “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap 127 presented by 51FIFTY” following.

For those unable to attend, catch all the action LIVE at www.SpearsRacing.TV. The event will also air on MAVTV at a time and date to be announced later.

Celebrating its twenty-second season in 2022, the SPEARS Southwest Tour Series is a regional stock car series competing on paved ovals in the southwestern portion of the U.S. “The SPEARS Southwest Tour Series…Where the Champions Race”.