By Ben Deatherage
(10/13/23 ) Hanford, CA … Justin Sanders conquered the NARC 410 Sprint Car Series, presented by NAPA Auto Parts, at the Fourth Annual Morrie Williams Memorial at Kings Speedway. The Mittry Motorsports/Farmers Brewing #2X Maxim pilot captured the opening 20-lap feature and backed it up with a fifth-place result after starting 14th in the second inverted-field main event.
DJ Netto, driving his Netto Ag/Penny Newman Grain #88N KPC, held off a hard-charging Cole Macedo to open his 2023 NARC winning account by finishing first in the second 20-lap NAPA Auto Parts A-Main.
“I had a really fast car and could run anywhere, and I was able to carry a lot of speed,” said a triumphant Sanders after earning his second overall title, his first since 2021. “Our car was really good all night and solid. I have to thank all my guys, Demo Mittry, Hunter Brady, Joel Myers Jr., and my fiancée Brooke. We’ve run a lot of second places lately, and I couldn’t get a win here to save my life, so I’ll take this and try and carry it on.”
Dominic Scelzi led the opening stanza of the first feature in his Scelzi Motorsports/Whipple Superchargers #41 Maxim. He was run down on lap four by Justyn Cox and challenged heavily. Driving the Benefit RFP/Lippert Constructions #42X Maxim for Bates-Hamilton Racing, Cox overtook Scelzi for the top position on the fifth trip past the flag stand.
Cox took off with the lead, but lapped traffic threw a twist into things, allowing Sanders to reel in the trailblazer. Sanders would challenge on the 14th circuit but was denied, only to obtain first place position on the time by the finish line.
Cox answered with a counterattack to reclaim the coveted spot on lap sixteen. Sanders rallied to get back in front of Cox on the eighteenth lap to stay ahead the rest of the way to earn his second NARC 410 Sprint Car Series win of 2023 and the first time since the Jim Raper Memorial Super Dirt Cup at Skagit Speedway back in June. It is his 15th career series victory.
Cox finished a respectable second, while Chase Johnson put the Toyota of Marin, Walnut Creek, and Sunnyvale/Price Family Dealerships #24 Maxim across the line third. After starting eleventh, Tim Kaeding earned Williams Roofing Hardcharger honors with a fourth-place result in the Morrie and Katie Williams/Dalton’s Landscaping #0 Maxim. Wrapping up the top five was the Luxton Real Estate/David Cry General Engineering #3 Maxim, piloted by Kaleb Montgomery in fifth.
Iowa traveler Austin McCarl wound up sixth over a seventh-finishing Sean Becker. Cole Macedo charged from fourteenth to eighth while Billy Aton was behind him in ninth. Bud Kaeding completed the top ten, in tenth.
After the inversion of the finishing order of the first main event, Gauge Garcia turned some heads with a magnificent effort as the race leader in the second feature. Racing the Keller Motorsports/Monarch Ford #2K XXX, Garcia remained out front for quite some time. However, even with a long green flag run, he was eventually hunted down.
Hometown racer Netto performed the exciting pass on the fifteenth circuit. The two briefly clashed wheels, but both kept going on. Despite a late caution, which produced a late-race restart, Netto procured his seventh NARC 410 Sprint Car Series victory and his first since shattering his collarbone last October.
“It’s been a work in process trying to get back in the swing of things,” commented Netto, “We got a new car that’s different than our 360 car, and we’ve been working on it all year. I really got to thank my dad and uncle for standing behind me all these years, pushing through what happened last year, and going with the swings.”
Macedo was a close second. Garcia earned his first career NARC podium, followed by Kaeding and Sanders in fourth and fifth. Sanders was the Williams Roofing Hardcharger with a gain of nine positions and made the most passes between the two features with eleven total in aggregate.
Dylan Bloomfield was credited with sixth, and veteran racer Sean Becker ended his night seventh. Aton had another top 10 effort with his eighth-place result. At the same time, Johnson and Cox completed the rest of the highest ten finishers.
NARC championship point leader Corey Day flipped in the first NAPA Auto Parts feature but was unharmed. McCarl was the fastest driver in ARP Qualifying. Heat race victories were collected by Montgomery, Sanders, and Johnson.
NAPA AUTO PART A-FEATURE 1 (20 Laps): 1. 2X-Justin Sanders [3]; 2. 42X-Justyn Cox [2]; 3. 24-Chase Johnson [4]; 4. 0-Tim Kaeding [11]; 5. 3-Kaleb Montgomery [5]; 6. 88-Austin McCarl [6]; 7. 7B-Sean Becker [10]; 8. 21T-Cole Macedo [14]; 9. 26-Billy Aton [13]; 10. 69-Bud Kaeding [7]; 11. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield [9]; 12. 121-Caeden Steele [12]; 13. 88N-DJ Netto [16]; 14. 2K-Gauge Garcia [15]; 15. 115-Nick Parker [17]; 16. 41-Dominic Scelzi [1]; 17. 10-Dominic Gorden [18]; 18. 14-Corey Day [8]
METTEC TITANIUM LAP LEADERS: Dominic Scelzi 1-4; Justyn Cox 5-14, 16-17; Justin Sanders 15, 18-20
WILLIAMS ROOFING HARD CHARGER: Tim Kaeding +7
NAPA AUTO PARTS A-FEATURE 2 (20 Laps): 1. 88N-DJ Netto [2]; 2. 21T-Cole Macedo [7]; 3. 2K-Gauge Garcia [1]; 4. 69-Bud Kaeding [5]; 5. 2X-Justin Sanders [14]; 6. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield [4]; 7. 7B-Sean Becker [8]; 8. 26-Billy Aton [6]; 9. 24-Chase Johnson [12]; 10. 42X-Justyn Cox [13]; 11. 0-Tim Kaeding [11]; 12. 88-Austin McCarl [9]; 13. 121-Caeden Steele [3]; 14. 115-Nick Parker [15]; 15. 3-Kaleb Montgomery [10]
METTEC TITANIUM LAP LEADERS: Gauge Garcia 1-14 ; D.J. Netto 15-20
WILLIAMS ROOFING HARD CHARGER: Justin Sanders +9
ARP FAST QUALIFIER (18 Cars): Austin McCarl, 13.476
BROWN AND MILLER RACING SOLUTIONS HEAT ONE (8 Laps): 1. 3-Kaleb Montgomery [2]; 2. 88-Austin McCarl [1]; 3. 69-Bud Kaeding [4]; 4. 7B-Sean Becker [3]; 5. 26-Billy Aton [6]; 6. 88N-DJ Netto [5]
KIMO’S TROPICAL CAR WASH HEAT TWO (8 Laps): 1. 2X-Justin Sanders [1]; 2. 41-Dominic Scelzi [2]; 3. 14-Corey Day [4]; 4. 0-Tim Kaeding [3]; 5. 21T-Cole Macedo [5]; 6. 115-Nick Parker [6] 1. 88N-DJ Netto [2]; 2. 21T-Cole Macedo [7]; 3. 2K-Gauge Garcia [1]; 4. 69-Bud Kaeding [5]; 5. 2X-Justin Sanders [14]; 6. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield [4]; 7. 7B-Sean Becker [8]; 8. 26-Billy Aton [6]; 9. 24-Chase Johnson [12]; 10. 42X-Justyn Cox [13]; 11. 0-Tim Kaeding [11]; 12. 88-Austin McCarl [9]; 13. 121-Caeden Steele [3]; 14. 115-Nick Parker [15]; 15. 3-Kaleb Montgomery [10]
BEACON WEALTH STRATEGIES & RAYMOND JAMES FINANCIAL HEAT THREE (8 Laps): 1. 24-Chase Johnson [1]; 2. 42X-Justyn Cox [2]; 3. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield [4]; 4. 121-Caeden Steele [3]; 5. 2K-Gauge Garcia [6]; 6. 10-Dominic Gorden [5]
SUNNYVALLEY “POWERED BY BACON” TROPHY DASH (4 Laps): 1. 41-Dominic Scelzi [1]; 2. 42X-Justyn Cox [2]; 3. 2X-Justin Sanders [4]; 4. 24-Chase Johnson [3]; 5. 3-Kaleb Montgomery [6]; 6. 88-Austin McCarl [5]