By Gary Thomas
Watsonville, CA – June 22, 2015…One of the prestigious events each season with the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series is the annual Pombo/Sargent Classic, which moves to a new home this year and goes green at the Ocean Speedway in Watsonville this Friday June 26.
The Pombo/Sargent Classic honors California racing legends Al Pombo & Marshall Sargent and has been going on for nearly 30-years, originally starting at Kings Speedway in the 1980’s, before moving to Thunderbowl Raceway from 2006-’11. In 2012 the event returned to Kings Speedway, where it had been held the last few years, before now finding a new home at the Ocean Speedway in 2015 and beyond.
“It’s going to be really exciting to host the Pombo/Sargent Classic at Ocean Speedway,” said John Prentice. “I’m honored that the Pombo & Sargent families have chosen Ocean Speedway to celebrate the memory of two great families that have done so much for the sport out here. We’ve had some great racing with the King of the West Series this year and can’t wait to have the teams at Ocean Speedway for the first time this season on Friday. Going to Calistoga on Saturday with KWS & the Hunt Series will be icing on the cake. We hope all the fans are excited for what should be an outstanding weekend.”
Al Pombo began his career in the 1940’s and is credited with more than 500 main event victories, including multiple wins in the Gold Cup at West Capital Raceway, the same event that is now held at Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico. He also won five San Jose Speedway titles, seven NASCAR super-modified championships, nine titles at Kearney Bowl and six at Clovis Speedway. Pombo was a fixture at the event until his passing a few years ago.
Early in his career Marshall Sargent won a pair of San Jose titles, which included two wins in the Johnny Key Memorial. He also captured the Australian championship in 1964. A pair of crashes unfortunately cut his career short and he enjoyed retirement until his passing in 1990. His legend and memory is kept alive each year as part the Pombo/Sargent Classic and on Friday June 26 we’ll once again pay homage to a pair of legends, who helped set the foundation for the sport in our state.
After winning the most recent King of the West event at the Stockton Dirt Track a couple weeks ago, 18-year-old Dominic Scelzi sits atop the series standings by 14-points over Campbell’s Bud Kaeding & 16-markers over Lemoore’s Carson Macedo. Fremont’s Shane Golobic & Elk Grove veteran Bobby McMahan round out the top-five going into the weekend. The remainder of the top-10 is filled out by Willie Croft, Brent Kaeding, DJ Netto, Jonathan Allard and Jarrett Soares.
The Pombo/Sargent Classic is also part of a Prentice Motorsports Group Double Down Bonus Weekend, which includes the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series event the following night at Calistoga Speedway on Saturday. If a driver can sweep the KWS weekend at Ocean Speedway & Calistoga, they will go home with an extra $3,000 bonus, adding up to a $9,000 check for the two nights.
The front gate at Ocean Speedway will open at 4:30pm this Friday night with hot laps at 5:30pm, qualifying around 6pm and racing to follow. The pit booth will open at 2pm. Adult tickets for Friday night cost $25, with kids 6-12 $20. Children 5 & under are free. 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.
Tickets are on sale for the Wine Country Classic this Saturday June 27 at Calistoga Speedway and can be purchased by contacting (916) 773-7225. Adult Reserved Tickets cost $30, with Adult General Admission Tickets $25. Children 6-12 are $10 with kids 5 & under free. Hotel Info: The Sandman Inn / Santa Rosa located at 3421 Cleveland Ave. 95403. Phone Number 707-293-2100. Must Mention CALI15 / Calistoga Speedway for an $85.00 rate.
The infield pit area in Calistoga will open at 9am to allow teams to move in on Saturday, with the pit booth opening for pit pass sales at noon. Will Call & the ticket window opens at 2pm, with the front gate opening at 4pm.
The Calistoga Speedway is located on the scenic Napa County Fairgrounds in Calistoga, California at 1435 North Oak Street and has been in existence since 1937. For more information on the half-mile log onto http://www.calistogaspeedway.org
Both nights will also feature the Williams Roofing Royal Fan Pill Draw. A trivia question will be asked from the announce booth and the fan that answers correctly will pull a random number (1-22) out of a bag. The fan automatically wins $100 and if the driver wins the feature from the starting spot drawn, the driver receives a $1000 bonus. The Williams Roofing Draw is taking place at KWS events that are part of the Prentice Motorsports Group Double Down Bonus weekends.
Info on the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series can be found at http://www.racepmg.com
Upcoming KWS events
Friday June 26: Ocean Speedway (Pombo/Sargent Classic)
Saturday June 27: Calistoga Speedway (Wine Country Classic)
Saturday July 11: Ocean Speedway (5th annual Howard Kaeding Classic)
Saturday July 18: Placerville Speedway (Bullring Nationals)
Saturday July 25: Thunderbowl Raceway (2nd annual Peter Murphy Classic)