Tracy Press

Tracy's racing family garners hardware, while Major League Baseball's signing season is in full swing.

While the lights at Altamont Motorsports Park and Stockton 99 Speedway have been dim and the tracks empty for months — in the case of Stockton, permanently — there were still winners in the racing world Saturday.

The two tracks doled out their 2006 season awards at a joint ceremony in Modesto, and two generations of Tracy Philpotts took home hardware.

Capping off a season in which he completed 28 out of 32 races, finishing second at Stockton’s last race and winning the trophy dash in Altamont’s season finale, 16-year-old Western Late Model rookie Justin Philpott was named Stockton 99’s Rookie of the Year.

“You couldn’t have asked for a better year,” said the Tracy High junior, who was catapulted to national attention in August when a commercial filmed for his sponsor was released on YouTube.com. “My whole life, I wanted to race there (Stockton). I got to race there, and to get Rookie of the Year is a big privilege.”

Philpott, along with his father, two-time Stockton 99 points champion David, raced double-duty nearly every weekend from May to October, running at Stockton on Saturday nights and at Altamont on Sunday. The man whose mechanical expertise kept both cars on the track was rewarded as well — 72-year-old John Philpott, David’s father, won the Craftsman Mechanic of the Year award for both tracks.

“It was a lot of work,” said Philpott, who raced alongside his sons, David and Steve, in the 1970s. “That’s all it is — a lot of work.”

Cal Poly beats Cal State Stanislaus

SAN LUIS OBISPO — Dreshawn Vance had a game-high 17 points in his home debut Monday as Cal Poly beat Division II Cal State Stanislaus, 91-72.

The junior forward came off the bench to hit six of his seven floor shots as Cal Poly lead through the whole game.

Senior forward Derek Stockalper added 16 points and seven rebounds.

Cal Poly hit 52.4 percent as a team. The Warriors (1-3) shot 36.5 percent from the field and hit just five of 26 from 3-point range.

Soriano to Cubs; Dodgers turn attention to Pierre after retaining Garciaparra

NEW YORK — Alfonso Soriano is thinking about a World Series title, something the Chicago Cubs have never brought to Wrigley Field.

Soriano’s $136 million, eight-year contract was announced Monday by the Cubs after he passed a physical, the fifth-highest contract in baseball history and the first of eight years or more since Scott Rolen’s deal with St. Louis in September 2002.

Howard wins NL MVP award

NEW YORK — Ryan Howard had a season that defied convention, one that made him only the second player voted Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player in consecutive years.

“I heard sophomore jinx this, sophomore jinx that,” he said after beating out 2005 NL MVP Albert Pujols for the award Monday. “I just prepared myself in spring training to go out and perform, stick with my game plan and have fun.”

After leading the major leagues in home runs and RBIs, Howard received 20 first-place votes and 12 seconds for 388 points in balloting by a panel of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Pujols got 12 firsts, 19 seconds and one third for 347 points.

Mets complete deal with Alou

NEW YORK — Moises Alou gives the New York Mets a proven right-handed hitter to play left field — and another aging regular.

The 40-year-old slugger finalized an $8.5 million, one-year contract on Monday with the NL East champions, who also declined their $14 million option on left-hander Tom Glavine and swapped young pitchers with the Florida Marlins in a four-player trade.

Alou’s deal includes a $7.5 million club option for 2008 with $1 million buyout. The six-time All-Star, who gets a $7.5 million salary next season, said he turned down two-year offers from other teams to join the Mets.

“The length of my contract doesn’t really matter at this point in my career,” Alou said. “I wanted to come here because this year _ I wanted to win this year.”

New York reached Game 7 of the NL championship series this year before losing to the St. Louis Cardinals, who went on to win the World Series. Glavine was a big part of that success, going 15-7 with a 3.82 ERA during the season and 2-1 with a 1.59 ERA in three playoff starts.

But he will be 41 when next season begins and is deciding between staying in New York and trying to return home to Atlanta. Earlier this month, the two-time NL Cy Young Award winner declined his $7.5 million option to stay with the Mets, who still would like to keep him.

“I really don’t anticipate anything until he gets back this weekend,” said Glavine’s agent, Gregg Clifton. “I think this really is going to be his evaluation period. By early next week, he should finish his analysis and know what he wants to do.”

When Glavine restructured his deal this year, the Mets agreed not to exercise their $14 million option if he hadn’t yet decided where he wanted to play. The move Monday _ the deadline for the team option _ was a formality.

“We hope to continue to speak with the agent, negotiate, and hopefully be able to bring Tommy back,” general manager Omar Minaya said. “We let them know ahead of time that we were going to make this move.”

Even if Glavine departs, the Mets will have plenty of veterans on the field next year. They recently re-signed 41-year-old pitcher Orlando Hernandez to a $12 million, two-year contract and retained 37-year-old second baseman Jose Valentin with a $3.8 million, one-year deal.

New York also brought in 37-year-old backup infielder Damion Easley, adding him to a bench that already includes 48-year-old Julio Franco.

All-Star catcher Paul Lo Duca will turn 35 in April, and right fielder Shawn Green is 34. Two of New York’s best players, however, are 23: David Wright and Jose Reyes.

The Mets did add a pair of young pitchers Monday, acquiring left-handers Jason Vargas and Adam Bostick from Florida for hard-throwing prospects Henry Owens and Matt Lindstrom.

Vargas and Bostick are both 23. Owens and Lindstrom are both right-handers.

Limited to 98 games last season because of ankle and back injuries, Alou hit .301 with 22 homers and 74 RBIs in 345 at-bats for San Francisco. He takes over in left field for popular veteran Cliff Floyd, hobbled by an Achilles’ tendon problem for much of the year.

“That’s the only reason why I’m back playing in ‘07. I was a little frustrated last season because of the little injuries that I had,” Alou said, adding that he’s completely healthy now. “I felt great after July. I feel good at the plate. I feel strong. I feel young.”

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