By Gary Thomas
Watsonville, CA – July 13, 2015…The busy summer of events at Ocean Speedway continues this Friday July 17 with round number 11 for the Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo. It also marks the first of three Johnny Key Classic Qualifying races at the quarter-mile clay oval.
So far there have been three Key Qualifiers held with the Civil War 360 Sprint Car Series presented by Flowmaster. Drivers already earning lock in spots have been Auburn’s Andy Forsberg on May 23 in Marysville, Elk Grove’s Greg Decaires on May 30 in Placerville and Chico’s Jonathan Allard on June 20 in Petaluma.
The three qualifiers with the Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo take place this Friday July 17, July 24 and August 21. During the qualifying races, only the race winner will lock into the 24-car Johnny Key Classic feature. This year there will be no series point leader lock in position. The 55th running of the Key Classic takes place on Saturday August 29 at the Ocean Speedway in Watsonville.
Justin Sanders continued to be a blazing inferno last week by racing to his fifth victory of the year on opening night of the Howard Kaeding Classic. The Watsonville based driver stretched his lead to 54-markers going into this Friday, where he looks to lock his way into the Johnny Key Classic.
The 22-year-old has finished on the podium in all but two Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo events this season. Overall Sanders has claimed 10 main event wins between Ocean Speedway & Marysville Raceway in 2015, as he looks to bring home both track titles.
Stockton’s Brad Furr led early in the going last week and comes into Friday sitting 54-markers behind Sanders. The past Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo champion ultimately finished fourth in the feature during opening night of the HK Classic.
Fremont’s Shane Golobic grabbed the lead from Furr last Friday on lap-nine, before surrendering it to Sander’s on a lap-17 restart. The two-time & reigning Ocean Sprints champ ranks third in the points despite missing one event. His runner up last week marked the seventh podium he has scored in 9 Taco Bravo starts this year.
Going into the Friday’s round the top-10 in points is rounded out by Salinas brother’s Jeremy & Jason Chisum, Fremont’s Dustin Golobic, Gilroy’s Kurt Neslon, Hayward’s Danny Malfatti, Morgan Hills Nicholas Ringo and Fresno’s Koen Shaw. Just 17-points separate Jason Chisum, D Golobic and Nelson for the fifth spot in the standings.
More drivers expected Friday will include Lemoore’s Carson Macedo, Fresno’s Kyler Shaw, Corralitos’ Jerry Bonnema, Gilroy’s Ken Fredenburg, Tracy’s Austin Liggett, Coarsegold’s Scott Parker and others.
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 gate will open at 2pm. All seating will be general admission with adult tickets $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.
A-main winners so far this year: Justin Sanders (5), Shane Golobic & Tommy Tarlton (2), Brad Furr (1)
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, Ray Scheidts Electric, Beer Optics, Hoosier Tires West, Bullet Proof Energy Drink, Flowmaster and Kaeding Performance for their support. For more information on the Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo log onto www.racepmg.com