WATSONVILLE, CALIFORNIA (July 28, 2011) – The Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo will return to action this Friday night with another qualifying race for the prestigious Johnny Key Classic to be held in August with none of the major contenders for the Ocean Sprints series title currently locked into the show.
Campbell’s Tim Kaeding has won the first two Johnny Key Classic qualifying races including the Ocean Sprints vs. California Sprint Car Civil War race on July 8. 2010 King of California Kyle Larson, by virtue of his second place finish that night, is also locked into the Key. This Friday night’s winner, or highest finisher not qualified in, will earn a berth in the 51st running of the $5,000 win, 50 lap event on Saturday August 27.
Points leader Ronnie Day of Salinas leads Easton’s Tommy Tarlton by only 13 points after Tarlton came back from winning the b-main to finishing fourth in the feature. Day had his lowest finish of the season coming home ninth.
Rookie Rico Abreu is rapidly closing down on the top-two in the points thanks in large part to a third place effort in the Civil War show. The former Outlaw Kart standout finds himself just 40 points behind Day in the standings. Rounding out the cars in striking distance of the points lead is Prunedale’s Justin Sanders. Like Abreu, Sanders is winless on the year but his impressive qualifying runs have kept him in contention throughout the season.
Rounding out the top-five in the points is Tommy Laliberte who failed to finish in the Civil War feature but had a strong sixth place run in the June 24 edition of the Ocean Sprints.
With eight races in the books so far for the Ocean Sprints, Tim Kaeding has picked up three victories ahead of Bud Kaeding with two. Day, Tarlton, and Fremont’s Shane Golobic each have one win on the year, but Tarlton’s win came at the Tulare Thunderbowl. Tarlton is yet to win an Ocean Sprints race at Ocean Speedway although he picked up a win during the King of the West appearance in Watsonville on July 1.
The balance of the top-ten in the points includes “Cowboy” Craig Smith, Kurt Nelson, Kevin Pylant, Golobic, and Nick Green. Golobic started the season off racing the #121 Joe Vonschriltz entry but will again wheel the #9 Steve Osborne Motorsports car on Friday.
Laps are currently for sale for the Johnny Key Classic with interested parties urged to contact samantha@oceanspeedway.com Laps are $50 each to be paid out to the top-three cars each lap.
The Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo show this Friday night includes Ocean Modifieds, Wingless Sprints, and American Stocks also scheduled. Adult tickets are just $17 with seniors 65+ $15 and kids ages 6-12 are $12. The family pass for two adults and two children is value priced at just $50. Qualifying will get underway at 6 p.m. with fan gates opening at 4:30 p.m.
For more information on the Ocean Sprint Cars presented by Taco Bravo log onto http://www.oceansprints.com and for more on the Ocean Speedway visit http://www.oceanspeedway.com
Article Credit: Steven Blakesley / Blakesley Sports Media