PETERSEN MEDIA
Paul Trevino photo
Watsonville, CA)- Saturday night at the Ocean Speedway, Andy Forsberg held off challenges from a pair of young hot shoes early in the race, and then fended off a pair of veteran drivers late to lead all 50-laps and claim the Johnny Key Classic title.
As the 50-lap feature came to life, it was Andy Forsberg getting the jump over fellow front row starter, Shane Golobic, as the field fanned out on the extremely slick ¼ mile oval.
With Forsberg setting a strong pace out front, Golobic and Jonathan Allard would continue to chase after him, as the first nine-laps went caution free. The race would then get into a vicious cycle of yellow flag stoppages from this point, though Bud Kaeding and Cory Eliason were able to take care of numerous restarts as they quickly were near the top five from the back of the pack.
The green flag action during the first segment would continue to be exciting however, as the battle up front would heat up between Forsberg, Justin Sanders, and Allard as the first segment drew to a close.
A lap 23 caution, would set up a restart saw Allard jump into the second spot, and make a serious run at the race leader as rubber began to go down on speedway. Allard would close in on Forsberg only to see the scheduled caution fly on lap 25, allowing crews to make any adjustments they saw necessary in a 10-minute period.
Kicking the second 25-lap segment off, Forsberg would drive away from the field, as Bud Kaeding would take over the second spot, and Cory Eliason and Greg DeCaires would move into the top-five.
Forsberg would continue to set a strong pace up front as the track continued to take rubber, but it would not be easy as Bud Kaeding would hang right with him late in the race.
Kaeding would get close enough to show Forsberg a wheel in turns one and two, but the veteran driver would make the adjustment and move down, and go on to claim his first ever Johnny Key Classic.
“I can’t believe this,” Andy Forsberg said in victory lane. “Back before the internet I would read Racing Wheels, and always read about this race and always wanted to win it. To come out, and lead all 50-lap is very cool, and I am very happy to do this for my team.”
Bud Kaeding would finish second from his 17th starting spot, Jonathan Allard third, Eliason fourth from 13th, Shane Golobic fifth, Justin Sanders sixth, Greg DeCaires seventh, Mitchell Faccinto eighth, Brent Kaeding ninth, and Carson Macedo would rebound from an issue in the first segment to round out the Top-10.
Aside from the five drivers that were locked into the feature event, 30 additional cars would check in looking to race their way into the feature event, and it was Mitchell Faccinto kicking things off by setting quick time during time trials.
Heat race wins went to Faccinto, Brad Furr, Kyle Hirst, and Steven Tiner. Twin B Mains were used on this night and DJ Netto and Bud Kaeding picked up wins in those two races, while Jerry Bonnema won the Last Chance Qualifier.
ON TAP: The Civil War Series presented by Flowmaster is now set to open the Gold Cup Race of Champions on Wednesday September 9th at the Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico, CA.
WINNERS: Shane Golobic (March 20th, Marysville Raceway), Bradley Terrell (March 28th, Petaluma Speedway), Sean Becker (April 11th, Calistoga Speedway), Andy Forsberg (May 23rd Marysville Raceway), Jonathan Allard (May 24th Silver Dollar Speedway), Greg DeCaires (May 30th Placerville Speedway), Jonathan Allard (June 20th, Petaluma Speedway), Justin Sanders (July 10th, Ocean Speedway), Carson Macedo (August 8th, Placerville Speedway), Andy Forsberg (August 29th Ocean Speedway)
STAY CONNECTED: Keep up with the Civil War Series Presented By Flowmaster, and find complete results and point standings by clicking over to www.racepmg.com, ‘Liking’ www.facebook.com/civilwarsprints, or following us on twitter at www.twitter.com/civilwarsprints. For more information on Flowmaster, please visit www.flowmastermufflers.com.
CIVIL WAR SERIES PRESENTED BY FLOWMASTER- Founded in 1991 as the North-South Series, the Civil War Sprint Car Series was born in 1993 giving 360ci Sprint Cars in California a sanctioning body. What started as just a handful of races at three different tracks has evolved into quite the series. In 2015, the Civil War Sprint Car Series will host 14 events at 8 different tracks around California.