Watsonville, CA – May 18, 2014…National Sprint Car Hall of Famer Brent Kaeding continued his torrid pace to begin the year and held off a furious charge from Mitchell Faccinto & Carson Macedo over the closing lap…s to claim a thrilling victory on Friday night at Ocean Speedway.
Kaeding has now won main events during all three of his Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo starts of the season aboard his famed Al’s Roofing Supply/ Kaeding Performance No. 69 machine. The Campbell, CA veteran battled tooth and nail with Brad Furr over a number of laps, before taking the lead on lap 19 that he would not relinquish. It didn’t come easy for him however, as Faccinto and Macedo applied heavy pressure over the closing circuits.
“That one took awhile to get going, but turned out to be a great race so I hope all you fans up there enjoyed,” Kaeding commented. “It was a lot of fun racing with Brad Furr for the lead and then holding off these kids behind was tough to do. It’s been pretty special to have a start to the season like we’ve had and I can’t thank this whole team enough for their support and hard work.”
The 30-lap feature came to the line with Hanford’s Mitchell Faccinto and defending Ocean Sprints champ Brad Furr of Stockton on the front row. When flagman Ed Entz waved the green it was Faccinto jumping into the lead, but things were slowed down early on with a number of yellows and reds plaguing things. One of the wildest incidents occurred when Faccinto, Steven Tiner and Bud Kaeding had an intense double file restart at the front of the field, which resulted in both Tiner and Kaeding being knocked out of contention on lap two.
After going back green Furr would make a great move to claim the lead on lap-three and put the Price Rite Restaurant Equipment No. 2 out front. Brent Kaeding at that time found the high-side to his liking and was able to take over second on lap-seven. Despite the inordinate amount of cautions during the main event, fans were treated to some of the best racing seen all season with Furr, Kaeding and Fremont’s Shane Golobic going at it towards the front.
“BK” ran the top in very aggressive fashion and hounded Furr for a number of laps, as the duo put on a tremendous show for the crowd on hand. Kaeding relentlessly pounded the cushion and with 19-laps down finally got the run he needed to rocket into the lead. Lemoore’s Carson Macedo was then making his presence known, as he took third from Golobic on lap 19 and then second from Furr on lap 23. The driver of the WFO Apparel/ Tarlton & Son No. 21x then closed in on Kaeding and gave him everything he could handle over the closing laps.
With just a couple circuits remaining Faccinto, who had fallen back to fifth at one point, found new life and drove the top-side to perfection looking to get by both Macedo and Kaeding for the lead. With the white flag in the air it was anyone’s race and as the lead trio rounded turn four for the final time it was Kaeding narrowly beating out Faccinto by 0.131 seconds for victory. Macedo came home in third and was just 0.687 seconds back of Kaeding, in what was a thrilling finish at the line.
For Faccinto it marked his career best Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo finish and came at the helm of the Western Metal Company/ TSG Recycling No. 37 mount. “That was definitely an exciting race at the end and I thought I’d have something for Brent that last lap, but it just didn’t happen. I’m happy with getting a second tonight and can’t complain finishing behind a guy like Brent. I really want to thank my whole team for giving me the opportunity. We’ll come back next time and try to get a win.”
Macedo’s third place finish was his best of the Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo season, following finishes of fourth during each of the three rounds. “That was a pretty fun race tonight and I’m excited to be up here on the podium. I want to congratulate Brent on getting another win and Mitchell for doing a great job to get second. I really wanted to get a win for Tommy and Melissa Tarlton, but we’ll get one soon. Having my guys say I drove like Tommy tonight was pretty cool and I definitely want to thank them for giving me a great car.”
Salinas’ Jeremy Chisum battled forward and did a great job to earn his best Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo finish of the season in fourth, while Furr rounded out the top-five. The top-10 was completed by Golobic, Salinas’ Jason Chisum, Laton’s Heath Duinkerken, High Five Pizza Hard Charger Award winner Nick Rescino Jr. and Roseville’s Colby Copeland. Full results are available at www.oceanspeedway.com
The three ten-lap heat races were captured during the night by Steven Tiner, Brent Kaeding and Furr, while Bud Kaeding earned the Ray Scheidts Electric Fast Time Award. Hollister’s Tomas Bray Scully went home with the Beer Optics Hard Luck Award after getting upside down on the first lap of the feature.
The Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo will return to the Ocean Speedway on Friday May 30 for round number five on the season.