From Gary Thomas
Watsonville, CA – (September 15, 2014) – With the season winding down the Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo will return to the Ocean Speedway this Friday night for the penultimate race in the battle for the 2014 championship. It will be the first event for Winged Sprints at the track since the prestigious Johnny Key Classic back in August.
There have been 11 events held thus far with the Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo, including eight different winners throughout the course of the season. Campbell’s Brent Kaeding continues to lead the way in the wins category with three to his credit. This Friday’s showcase will also include the final Police-N-Pursuit program for the year.
The 2014 season will officially come to a close for the Ocean Sprints with championship night taking place on Friday October 10.
Fremont’s Shane Golobic goes into the final two rounds with a healthy 86-point lead in the standings, as he searches to join Brent Kaeding & Tommy Tarlton as the third two-time champion at the track with the Ocean Sprints. The 23-year-old has one victory so far in 2014 and is coming off a runner up finish at the Johnny Key Classic in August. Golobic is also leading the traveling Civil War Series points, which has its penultimate event on Saturday at the Placerville Speedway.
After recently picking up his first career World of Outlaws victory during opening night of the Gold Cup, Lemoore’s Carson Macedo will return to Ocean Speedway on Friday looking to check off a Taco Bravo win. The 18-year-old has been a model of consistency this season and ranks second in the Ocean Sprints standings, having finished among the top-five in all but two races. Macedo has been knocking on the door of victory all year at the quarter-mile.
Defending Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo champion Brad Furr of Stockton maintains the third spot in the points going into Friday. The veteran competitor and former WOO regular has scored two wins so far this season at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds facility, including opening night of the Howard Kaeding Classic in July. Furr has also set the most Ray Scheidts Electric Fast Time Awards this year, with four to his credit.
Watsonville’s Justin Sanders has been one of the hottest drivers in recent events with the Ocean Sprints and comes into Friday ranking fourth in the Taco Bravo standings. The always hard charging driver earned his best finish of the year at the track on July 25, when he came home second. Rounding out the top-five in the points is Hanford’s Mitchell Faccinto, who came home ninth at the Johnny Key Classic. Faccinto is another that’s been knocking on the door of victory lane at times this year.
Completing the top-10 in the Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo standings going into the penultimate event of the season are Salinas based brothers Jason & Jeremy Chisum, Gilroy’s Kurt Nelson, Laton’s Heath Duinkerken and Fresno’s Koen Shaw.
More possibilities for Friday evening will include three-time USAC Silver Crown Series champion Bud Kaeding from Campbell, King of the West Series Rookie of the Year contender DJ Netto of Hanford, Visalia’s Steven Tiner, Fresno’s Anthony Simone, Fremont’s Dustin Golobic, Hanford’s Collin Markle, Corralitos’ Jerry Bonnema, San Francisco’s Nick Rescino Jr, San Jose’s Wayne Katen & Nick Ringo, Hollister’s Tomas Bray Scully and more.
The front gate at the Ocean Speedway will open at 4:30pm this Friday night September 19 with hot laps at 5:15pm, qualifying around 6pm and racing to follow. All seating will be general admission with adult tickets costing $17, seniors 65 & older $16, children 6-12 $13 and kids five and under free. A family pack featuring two adults and two kids is available for $55. The Ocean Speedway is located on the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds in Watsonville, California with the physical address being 2601 East Lake Ave, Watsonville, CA 95076.
Ocean Speedway & the Ocean Sprints would like to thank Taco Bravo, High Five Pizza, Nobel Construction, Ray Scheidt’s Electric, Beer Optics, B Scadden Designs, Hoosier Tires West and Kaeding Performance for their support.
For more information on the Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo log onto http://www.oceansprints.com and for more on the Ocean Speedway check out http://www.oceanspeedway.com