From Steven Blakesley
WATSONVILLE, CALIF. (September 18, 2020) – 2019 King of the West champion DJ Netto drove to his second Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo victory of the season on Friday, taking the 30-lap feature over a 22-car field in Watsonville, Calif. The victory makes Netto only the second repeat winner during the eight rounds at the Ocean Speedway.
Washington’s JJ Hickle led time trials before Netto won the dash to earn the pole position for the feature. Points leader Bud Kaeding of San Jose led the opening lap on the outside of Netto. Netto then cut underneath Kaeding into turn three on the following lap to lead lap two.
The leaders approached lapped traffic by just the seventh lap of the race. The first caution fell on lap nine when Chase Johnson of Penngrove slowed with a problem on the right rear of his machine. He failed to return to the event.
Hickle and Redding’s Chase Majdic battled for fourth position behind the lead trio of Netto, Kaeding, and Hanford’s Mitchell Faccinto. 2019 USAC West Coast 360 champion Tristan Guardino stopped from a potential top-ten finish for a caution on lap 15 in car #15. Redding’s Max Mittry had advanced from 16th starting position to eighth by that stage of the event.
Netto never faced much scrutiny over the second half of the feature, keeping a lapped car or two between himself and Kaeding the rest of the way. Netto topped Kaeding by 2.329 seconds at the stripe followed by Faccinto, Majdic, and Hickle. The Ocean Sprints return on October 17th for the 60th running of the Johnny Key Classic.
The prelude to next weekend’s Pettit Shootout attracted great racing across the IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods, and Hobby Stocks.
In the IMCA Modifieds, Bobby Hogge IV of Salinas led the final 14 laps for the win. 2020 West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame inductee Jim Pettit II led lap one around the outside of Tim Balding. The Prunedale drivers battled for the lead with Balding taking over on lap three.
Pettit fell backwards to third on the outside, then spun for a caution on lap five. While spinning in turn three, he was hit hard by Robert Marsh of Salinas. Pettit managed to continue but Marsh was out of the race. Hogge used the restart to sweep past Balding for the lead on lap seven. Hogge, Balding, Oakley’s Troy Fougler, 2019 track champion Cody Burke, and Austin Burke were the top-five finishers.
Watsonville’s Adriane Frost took sole possession of the IMCA Sport Mod points lead with her first win of 2020 in the 20-lap event. Max Baggett of Prunedale led the first two circuits before Jim DiGiovanni grabbed hold of the lead. Baggett fell to fourth while DiGiovanni paced Frost and Atwater’s Tanner Thomas in a close duel for the win.
Frost tried low but eventually went upstairs. She went outside DiGiovanni on the backstretch and cleared him to lead lap 16. Frost then led the leaders through lapped traffic for the win. Thomas finished second followed by DiGiovanni, Santa Maria’s Markus Frazier, and Kelly Campanile of San Ramon.
Rob Gallaher of San Jose won his first Hobby Stock feature of the year by leading all 20-laps. The win was anything but easy, however. After a caution involving Ken Winland of Santa Clara, things tightened up at the front. Gallaher anchored a race long, two-by-two battle, which included points leader Joe Gallaher, Watsonville’s Jerry Skelton, and second in points Steve Remde – also of Watsonville.
The foursome finally spread out within the final five laps of the contest, with Rob Gallaher topping Skelton, Joe Gallaher, Remde, and Sam Kennedy at the finish.
Ryan McClelland of Scotts Valley went for four in the Four Banger division, as the points leader drove from the rear of the field to win his fourth feature of the year. McClelland started tenth in the 15 lapper while outside pole sitter Nate Hart of Aptos led the way early. 2019 Police-In-Pursuit champion Roy Iller battled with Hart, including a moment when Iller t-boned Hart in turn four. Hart saved it and kept the lead.
McClelland looked inside Hart to take the lead on the backstretch on lap ten. Hart, Iller, Tony Gullo, and 2019 champion Nicole Beardsley followed McClelland at the finish.
Ocean Speedway
Watsonville, California
Friday September 18, 2020
Winged 360 Sprint Cars
Qualifying:
1. 63-J.J. Hickle, 11.592
2. 37-Mitchell Faccinto, 11.608
3. 22-Ryan Bernal, 11.617
4. 88N-D.J. Netto, 11.645
5. 69-Bud Kaeding, 11.650
6. 15T-Tristan Guardino, 11.675
7. 33-Tucker Worth, 11.702
8. 3-Kaleb Montgomery, 11.703
9. 2X-Chase Majdic, 11.711
10. 38B-Blake Carrick, 11.713
11. 83T-Tanner Carrick, 11.720
12. 24-Chase Johnson, 11.757
13. 7H-Jake Haulot, 11.817
14. 25Z-Jason Chisum, 11.851
15. 5T-Trent Canales, 11.871
16. 3T-Nick Ringo, 11.872
17. 38-Colby Johnson, 11.904
18. 2XM-Max Mittry, 11.926
19. 2-James Ringo, 11.931
20. 9S-Landon Hurst, 11.952
21. 72W-Kurt Nelson, 11.961
22. 8-Jeremy Chisum, 11.996
23. 58-Jerry Bonnema, 11.997
24. 33H-Eric Humphries, 12.014
25. 46JR-Joel Myers, 12.023
26. 3M-Adam Kaeding, 12.131
27. 88A-Joey Ancona, 12.159
28. 5V-Sean Becker, 12.204
29. 01W-Ben Worth, 12.205
30. 227-Jake Andreotti, 12.245
31. 34-Ryon Nelson, 12.264
32. 87-Ashlyn Rodriguez, 12.312
33. 72JR-Chris Nelson, 12.395
DNS: 5-Mark Chaves Jr, 12.395
DNS: 12J-John Clark, 12.395
Heat Race #1:
1. 2X-Chase Majdic
2. 7H-Jake Haulot
3. 63-J.J. Hickle
4. 69-Bud Kaeding
5. 72W-Kurt Nelson
6. 01W-Ben Worth
7. 46JR-Joel Myers
8. 38-Colby Johnson
9. 72JR-Chris Nelson
Heat Race #2:
1. 38B-Blake Carrick
2. 37-Mitchell Faccinto
3. 25Z-Jason Chisum
4. 15T-Tristan Guardino
5. 227-Jake Andreotti
6. 8-Jeremy Chisum
7. 2XM-Max Mittry
8. 3M-Adam Kaeding
9. 5-Mark Chaves Jr
Heat Race #3:
1. 83T-Tanner Carrick
2. 33-Tucker Worth
3. 5T-Trent Canales
4. 88A-Joey Ancona
5. 58-Jerry Bonnema
6. 34-Ryon Nelson
7. 2-James Ringo
8. 12J-John Clark
9. 22-Ryan Bernal
Heat Race #4:
1. 3-Kaleb Montgomery
2. 88N-D.J. Netto
3. 24-Chase Johnson
4. 9S-Landon Hurst
5. 87-Ashlyn Rodriguez
6. 3T-Nick Ringo
7. 33H-Eric Humphries
8. 5V-Sean Becker
Dash:
1. 88N-D.J. Netto
2. 69-Bud Kaeding
3. 63-J.J. Hickle
4. 37-Mitchell Faccinto
5. 2X-Chase Majdic
6. 3-Kaleb Montgomery
7. 38B-Blake Carrick
8. 83T-Tanner Carrick
B-Main:
1. 3T-Nick Ringo
2. 2XM-Max Mittry
3. 72W-Kurt Nelson
4. 227-Jake Andreotti
5. 8-Jeremy Chisum
6. 46JR-Joel Myers
7. 33H-Eric Humphries
8. 34-Ryon Nelson
9. 58-Jerry Bonnema
10. 87-Ashlyn Rodriguez
11. 12J-John Clark
12. 72JR-Chris Nelson
13. 01W-Ben Worth
14. 5-Mark Chaves Jr
15. 22-Ryan Bernal
16. 38-Colby Johnson
17. 2-James Ringo
18. 3M-Adam Kaeding
19. 5V-Sean Becker
A-Main:
1. 88N-D.J. Netto
2. 69-Bud Kaeding
3. 37-Mitchell Faccinto
4. 2X-Chase Majdic
5. 63-J.J. Hickle
6. 3-Kaleb Montgomery
7. 38B-Blake Carrick
8. 2XM-Max Mittry
9. 33-Tucker Worth
10. 3T-Nick Ringo
11. 5T-Trent Canales
12. 227-Jake Andreotti
13. 88A-Joey Ancona
14. 15T-Tristan Guardino
15. 72W-Kurt Nelson
16. 7H-Jake Haulot
17. 25Z-Jason Chisum
18. 8-Jeremy Chisum
19. 9S-Landon Hurst
20. 46JR-Joel Myers
21. 83T-Tanner Carrick
22. 24-Chase Johnson