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Hogge, Ryland, Gallaher, Stragalinos
Open Ocean Speedway Season With Wins
Watsonville,
CA...March 11...Bobby Hogge IV opened the 63rd season of racing at
Ocean Speedway with a win Friday night. Hogge turned in a rather
dominant performance from his pole position starting spot.
Bobby Hogge IV IMCA Modified Winner Photo by Tom Sagmiller
The
race had to be restarted after a tangle eliminated Chase Aue and
Raymond Keldsen Jr. That proved to be the only slowdown of the race.
Hogge led the restart ahead of reigning State champion Jim Pettit II and
reigning track champion Cody Burke. Burke took second from Pettit on
the fourth lap, and Pettit fell back to fifth on Lap 6 as Matthew Hagio
settled into third. Hogge held a half-lap lead over Burke by the 11th
lap. Burke fell out on Lap 12 as Hagio was now second ahead of Anthony
Copeland. Pettit slipped past Copeland for third on Lap 18, but he was a
lap down as Hogge won ahead of Hagio, Pettit, Copeland, Burke, Aue and
Keldsen. Hagio won the eight lap heat race.
Fred Ryland #7j IMCA Sport Modified Winner Photo by Tom Sagmiller
Fred
Ryland won the 20 lap IMCA Sport Modified Main Event. The reigning
Antioch Speedway champion started up front. The race got a complete
restart. Ryland led past Ocean Speedway champion Jim DiGiovanni and Igor
gradzuk on the restart. Gradzuk took second from DiGiovanni on Lap 4,
only the surrender the position to Jacob Mallet Jr a lap later with
DiGiovanni third. A yellow flag waved on Lap 8 for a tangle involving TJ
Etchison III, Mike Ficklin and Gradzuk. Ryland led Mallet and Markus
Frazier on the restart. Ryland was pulling away a little bit when a
final yellow flag slowed the pace on Lap 17. Undaunted, Ryland bolted
ahead on the restart and brought it home to victory. Mallet settled for
second ahead of Frazier, DiGiovanni, Hagio, Kelly Campanile, Shayna
Nieman, Mike Ficklin, Haley Gomez and Duane Bieser. Eight lap heat race
wins went to DiGiovanni and Ryland.
A jubilant Joe Gallaher #1 wins Hobby Stock race Photo by Tom Sagmiller
Reigning
champion Joe Gallaher picked up right where he left off last season with
a 20 lap Hobby Stock Main Event win. Six-time champion Sam Kennedy
paced a lap before surrendering first to Gallaher. Jerry Skelton slipped
past Kennedy for second on Lap 3. By the 9th lap, Gallaher held a
straightaway advantage over Skelton. Kennedy moved in to challenge
Skelton for second, and he made the pass on Lap 14. Steve Remde also got
by for third. Nobody was stopping Joe Gallaher as he won by a half-lap
ahead of Kennedy. Remde was a solid third, followed by final lead lap
finisher Ryan Muller, Bobby Gallaher, Brady Muller, Norm Ayers, Skelton,
Shane Freeman and Nick Scetani. Skelton and Kennedy picked up eight lap
heat race wins.
Kenny Stragalinos #720 Mini Stock Winner Photo by Tom Sagmiller
Kenny Stragalinos won the 15
lap Mini Stock Main Event. Troy Moore jumped into the lead at the start
ahead of TJ Santos and Amaya Flowers. Santos took the lead from Moore on
the fourth lap. However, Moore regained first on Lap 7 as Stragalinos
took third from Flowers. Stragalinos was able to jump past both Santos
and Moore for the lead on Lap 8, and Flowers brought out a Lap 9 yellow
flag. Stragalinos maintained the lead over Moore and Travis Van Gilder
on the restart. A yellow flag slowed the pace on Lap 13 as Moore saw his
race come to an unfortunate end. As Stragalinos led the restart, Bill
Beardsley took second from Van Gilder. Stragalinos went on to win the
race as past champion Bill Beardsley settled for second ahead of Van
Gilder, Nicole Beardsley, Flowers, reigning champion Tony Gullo, Moore
and Santos. Moore got the win in the six lap heat race.
Hunter Gather #243 Police N Pursuit Winner Photo by Tom Sagmiller
Hunter
Gather won the 15 lap Police N Pursuit Main Event. Gather represents
Santa Cruz law enforcement. Gather jumped into the lead at the start
ahead of Scotts Valley Police Department representative John Hohmann and
Jackie Yeung. Gather held a straightaway lead over Hohmann by the ninth
lap, and Yeung fell out on Lap 12 as Pat Sullivan moved into the third
position. Gather went on to win by a straightaway advantage over
Hohmann. Eric Perez settled for third, followed by Sullivan and Yeung.
Reigning champion Roy Iler was a Main Event scratch. Gather also claimed
six lap heat race honors.
Police N Pursuit drivers on parade Photo by Tom Sagmiller
Racing continues
next Saturday with the World of Outlaws Sprint Car Tour coming to town.
The IMCA Sport Modifieds will run in support. For further information,
go to www.oceanspeedway.com.
Antioch Speedway Prepares For 62nd Season Opener
Saturday Night
Antioch,
CA...The roar of the engines will be heard from the Contra Costa County
Fairgrounds this Saturday night. Antioch Speedway will begin it's 62nd
season of continuous operation with a full slate of auto racing action.
Saturday
nights will be busy from then all the way through the end of October
with a special Thanksgiving weekend show putting a bow tie on what is
surely going to be an exciting racing season.
After
three consecutive practice events, Saturday night will see the IMCA
Modifieds anchor a show that will also include the IMCA Sport Modifieds,
IMCA Stock Cars and Hobby Stocks. The three IMCA classes will also
compete the following Saturday along with the Delta Dwarf Cars.
Other
divisions that will be seen in the regular rotation this year at
various times will include Wingless Spec Sprints, Mini Stocks and
Limited Late Models. There will also be other exciting special
attractions throughout the season.
The
IMCA Modifieds have been featured regularly at the speedway since 1990,
though it was promoters Chad and Tina Chadwick of PROmotions who
brought the IMCA banner to the Speedway in their first season at the
helm in 2020. They are currently the longest tenured class in the
lineup. The IMCA Sport Modifieds bring solid car counts as do the Hobby
Stocks, and the IMCA Stock Cars are growing rapidly as they will begin
their second championship season.
Jim
Pettit II notched the IMCA Modified championship last season as well as
the State title. Pettit, who is the all-time winningest driver in Late
Model history at the track and a Hall of Famer, is now a four-time
champion when counting his three Late Model titles. He can expect some
stiff competition this Saturday night from drivers like last season's
point runner-up Buddy Kniss and 2004 champion Aaron Crowell.
For
the second time in his career at Antioch, Fred Ryland claimed the
championship in the IMCA Sport Modifieds last year. He also retook his
position as the division's all-time Main Event win leader. Meanwhile,
three-time champion Trevor Clymens won the State title as he has his
sights set on a move up to the IMCA Modified ranks.
A
strong turnout of competitors is anticipated this Saturday night, which
could necessitate the need for Semi Main to fill up the remainder of
the Main Event field.
Larry
McKinzie Jr won a spirited duel last year with Jeff Bentancourt to
claim the Hobby Stock title. The Hobby Stocks have been featured at the
track since 1996 and at times had the strongest turnout of the night
last year. There's a mixture of drivers with some experience and
newcomers that makes for some exciting, slam bang action in this
division.
The
IMCA Stock Cars have been growing rapidly on the West Coast, so
management knew the time was right to get involved. Travis Dutra wrote
his name into the record books as the first champion in this division's
history at the track. Dutra has been a force in every division he's
competed in, which includes Mini Trucks, Dwarf Cars and Hobby Stocks,
but he knows the competition level will be higher with standouts such as
Fred Ryland and Troy Foulger on the roster this year.
Any
night of racing Is one you don't want to miss, but there's something
magical about an opening night. There will be brand new race cars and
new bodies on the cars and a full slate for the drivers as they set
their goals for the new season.
The
gates will open at 4:00 pm to enable you to get your favorite seat, and
ticket prices are $20 for adults, $15 for military, senior (60 and
over) and children (under 11) with children five and under free.
Racing
is scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m. and will wrap up by 10:00 p.m. To
keep up the date with the happenings at the track, go to www.antiochspeedway.com or check out the Antioch Speedway Facebook by PROmotions page.
62nd Season Of Racing At Ocean Speedway
Offered Plenty Of Excitement
Watsonville,
CA...For closing in on two decades, John Prentice has promoted Ocean
Speedway. The Taco Bravo Sprint Car class has been a featured player in
the lineup during most of those years, and last season turned out to be a
strong one for them. With some key Sprint Car events in the lineup and
some other shows that showcased the stock car classes, fans were treated
to plenty of excitement on the quarter-mile clay oval from the beginning of
the season to its conclusion.
The track
continues to host the Pombo/Sargent Classic as well as the Howard
Kaeding Classic for the Sprint Cars. The Johnny key Classic, which
started at the old San Jose Speedway many years ago, also gives the fans
a marquee show to enjoy. The track continues to honor its heritage as
they brought back Hall of Fame night last season along with introducing
the Terry Traub Tribute. The Pat and Jim Pettit Memorial Dirt Track
Shootout ended the season on a high not.
The track hosts eight different
championship divisions in its current lineup, and the 2021 Parade Of
Champions includes Bud Kaeding (Winged 360 Sprint Cars), Cody Burke
(IMCA Modifieds), Randy Miller (IMCA Sport Modifieds), Joe Gallaher
(Hobby Stocks), Blake Bower (WMR Midgets), Tony Gullo (Mini Stocks), Roy
Iler (Police N Pursuit) and Tommy Velasquez III (South Bay Dwarf Cars).
Kaeding Claims Sprint Car Championship
Because
sometimes scheduling makes even the Friday night track a challenge for
some of the top competitors to support, management has given them a
two-race throwaway rule. This keeps the championship battle close for
those
who want to commit. Justin Sanders had a banner season with roughly 20
wins on the Sprint Car circuit in California. However, he missed more
than two races, and that enabled Bud Kaeding to steal the title in the
end.
For Kaeding, it was a solid year.
He picked up 11 Top 5 finishes and three wins in his 16 starts, which
kept him 86 points ahead of Sanders in the end. Sanders had 15 starts
with 13 Top 5 finishes and nine wins. Relative newcomer Joey Ancona made
the trek from Concord to compete at Watsonville and had six Top 5
efforts to grab third in the standings by 17 tallies ahead of past
champion JJ Ringo, who had four Top 5 finishes.
Kurt
Nelson had a solid lock on fifth in the standings with three Top 5
finishes. The ever-present Jeremy Chisum had three Top 10 finishes to
end up sixth in the standings, while Keith Day Jr had three Top 5s to
end up seventh. Jason Chisum had three Top 10s of his own to put him
eighth in the standings by 17 points ahead of Koen Shaw, who had one Top
5 finish. Past USAC West Coast 360 Sprint Car champion Tristan Guardino
had two Top five 5s to end up 32 points ahead of Josh Chisum for 10th
in the final rundown.
Other drivers on the
winner's list included Dominic Scelzi and Shane Golobic with two each
and one each for Kaleb Montgomery and Sprint Car Challenge Tour champion
Ryan Robinson. The SCCT Sprint Cars got to headline the Johnny Key
Classic, and that accounted for one of the wins for Golobic as he beat
Scelzi and Robinson to the checkered flag. The track also hosted the
NARC Winged 410 Sprint Car Series for the Pombo/Sargent Classic on June
11th with Tim Kaeding getting the win ahead of Bud Kaeding and Golobic.
The series returned for the Howard Kaeding Classic on July 17th with the
win going Sean Becker ahead of Tanner Carrick and Mitchell Faccinto.
Faccinto won the last NARC appearance of the year in August
ahead of Robinson and Scelzi.
The other
interesting thing to note is that the Watsonville Sprint Car show needed
a B Main on just about every occasion throughout the year.
Burke Beats Pettit for IMCA Modified Championship
The
IMCA Modifieds once again had a knockdown, drag out fight to find out
who the champion would be. It was decided prior to the season to not
count the Pat and Jim Pettit Memorial Dirt Track Shootout among the
point races, and the lack of that race's inclusion may have ultimately
cost Pettit the triple crown and grand slam as he had won the Antioch,
Merced and State championships. Pettit had been battling fiercely with
Cody Burke and JC Elrod for the lead throughout the season. With Austin
Burke also in the mix, only 9 points separated the Top 4 competitors in
the end.
Cody Burke ended up with another
championship on the strength of eight Top 5 finishes in his 12
starts and one victory. Pettit matched him with eight Top 5 finishes and
led the field with four victories. Elrod had seven Top 5s with Austin
Burke three points behind him on the strength of six Top 5s. The steady
Raymond Keldsen Jr ended up fifth in the standings with six Top 10
finishes. Kyle Bryan matched him in Top 10 finishes and trailed him by
just 11 points in the end.
Bobby Hogge IV
matched Pettit in the win column with four out of his six Top 5s.
Following Hogge was Matthew Hagio in eighth with two Top 5 efforts. Andy
Obertello returned to action on occasion and ended up with three Top 5
finishes and one win. Steve Pemberton had one Top 5 finish to secure
10th in the final rundown.
Other drivers to
pick up wins throughout the season included past Antioch champion Carl
Berendsen II and Rick Diaz. Notable wins include Rick Diaz picking up a
victory at the second night of the Howard Kaeding Classic ahead of
Matthew Hagio and Troy Foulger. Pettit got the win on Terry Traub
Tribute night ahead of Andy Obertello and Austin Burke. On the second
night of the Pat and Jim Pettit Memorial Dirt Track shootout, Hogge
outran Pettit and Diaz for the $3,006 victory.
Miller Gets The Glory In IMCA Sport Modifieds
For
years, when you think Miller, chances are you're thinking Robert
Miller. In IMCA Sport Modified competition, Randy Miller has become a
force. Robert's brother set his sights on the IMCA Sport Modified
championship, and only State champion Trevor Clymens proved to be any
kind of threat. In the end, Miller was just a little too quick as he won
the title by 19 points.
Clymens had never
chased points at Watsonville before, but he was a three-time Antioch
title winner and a definite threat to Miller's goals. However, Miller
led the division with 12 Top 5 finishes in his 16 starts, including
three wins. Clymens didn't do too badly with nine Top 5 efforts, and he
was never threatened for second. Duane Bieser managed to win a good
battle with Antioch champion Fred Ryland for third, beating Ryland by
just 19 tallies on the strength of his two Top 5 efforts. Ryland made 13
appearances, but seven of those were wins out of his 11 Top 5 finishes,
giving him a slim eight-point advantage over the next driver.
Fifth
place went to Max Baggett, who had one Top 5 five. Baggett beat Cody
Bryan by 11 points as Bryan also had one Top 5. Seventh place went to
incoming champion Adriane Frost, who had six Top 5 efforts. Charlie
Hunter had four Top 10s to end up eighth ahead of past champion Jim
DiGiovanni and Kelly Campanile, both of whom had three Top 5 finishes.
Other
drivers on the winner's list in the well-supported division included
Jonathan Hagio, Richard Ragsdale, Tyler Bannister and Dennis Simunovich.
Cale Kanke picked up a pair of wins in his only visits. Miller scored a
notable win on Pombo/Sargent Classic night ahead of Simunovich and
Clymens. They were also there on the opening night of the Howard Kaeding
Classic as Miller won that race ahead of past champion Jarrod Mounce
and Clymens. The win on the second night of the Pat and Jim Pettit
Memorial Shootout was worth $1,006, and Kanke grabbed the glory ahead of
Ryland and Todd Gomez.
Another Championship For Joe Gallaher In Hobby Stock Action
Joe
Gallaher has come into his own in the Hobby Stock division, and he
backed up his previous championship with another one in what turned out
to be a very impressive performance. Only Jerry Skelton came close in
the Terry Traub Tribute car, but he was 97 points back.
Joe
Gallaher made 19 starts, 15 of which were Top 5 finishes and four that
were victories. Skelton had one win out of his 11 Top 5 finishes, giving
him a 24 point advantage over Norman Ayers for second. Ayers had a
win out of his 9 Top 5 finishes, easily enabling him to be a lock for
third in the standings. Three-time champion Rob Gallaher picked up five
wins out of 10 Top 5 finishes, and he only made 11 starts.
Sixth
in the standings went to Ryan Muller, who had six Top 5 efforts and
beat rookie Bobby Gallaher by just nine points. The younger Gallaher had
nine Top 10 finishes as the top rookie in the field. Brady Muller ended
up with two Top 5 finishes for seventh in the standings, beating
Adriane Frost by 19 markers. Frost had six Top 5 finishes. Past champion
Terry Campion had one win out of three Top 5 finishes, and ageless
veteran Tony Oliveira had four Top 5s in his Ford powered race car to
secure 10th in the final breakdown.
Past
champion Billy Nelson scored four wins and proved to be very difficult
to beat in special occasion races. Other winners included Quentin
Harris, Chad Ragsdale, Joe Willoughby and Austin Van Hoff. The Hobby
Stocks ran support for both nights of the Howard Kaeding Classic. The
win on the first night went to Nelson ahead of Rob Gallaher and
Ragsdale. A night later, it was Van Hoff winning ahead of Frost and Joe
Gallaher. The Hobby Stocks also supported both nights of the Johnny Key
Classic. The win in the first night went to Ayers ahead of Frost and
Skelton. A night later, Willoughby won the race ahead of Ryan Hart and
Skelton.
The Mike Cecil Memorial race was
replaced by the Terry Traub Tribute race, and Nelson got to win on that
occasion ahead of Dylan Wilson and six-time champion Sam Kennedy.
Kennedy gave it a valiant effort in his quest for the $506 prize at the Pat
and Jim Pettit Pettit Dirt Track Shootout. However, Nelson scored a
slightly controversial win ahead of Kennedy and Campion.
Bower Wins WMR Midgets Championship At Watsonville
The
Western Midget Racing group is growing strong, and one of the reasons
this division is even out there is because Ocean Speedway gave them some
of their first dates. The Friday night venue remains an important part
of their schedule. Blake Bower wrapped up the overall championship, but
he also brought home the championship trophy at Watsonville.
In
his eight starts, Bower picked up six Top 5 finishes and three wins,
giving him a 54 point advantage over Megan Moorehead. A past Hobby
Stock racer, Moorehead had five Top 5 finishes to beat incoming champion
David Prickett by just 10 markers. Prickett had three wins to his
credit out of six Top 5 finishes. Winged Sprint Car star Shawn Arriaga
picked up two Top 5 finishes to grab fourth in the standings. Like
Arriaga, Cameron Beard and DJ Freitas each had a pair of Top 5
finishes to end up fifth and sixth, respectively.
Seventh in the standings went to Sage
Boardenave, who had one win as his only Top 5 finish. Each with one Top
5 finish of their own, Brody Petrie, Antonia Biscacci and Kala Kelinoi
rounded out the Top 10 in the standings. Bryant Bell was the other
feature winner.
Gullo Grabs Mini Stocks Honors
Tony
Gullo has been coming on strong in recent seasons, but he finally got
over the hump to win the Mini Stock division championship. As is usually the
case at Watsonville, to win the Mini Stock championship, you have to
beat a Beardsley. In this case, Gullo had to hold off past champion Kate
Beardsley to get the job done. He beat her by just 13 markers.
Gullo
had nine Top 5 finishes in his 12 starts, including four wins. Kate Beardsley had a solid
season with 11 Top 5 finishes of her own, including two victories. While
it wasn't good enough to overtake Gullo, she did hold off her sister
Nicole Beardsley, who settled for third with 11 Top 5 efforts. With one
win to his credit, Travis Van Gilder fell just one point short of
overtaking Nicole Beardsley for third. He did have six Top 5 finishes,
and that kept him ahead of fifth place finisher and past champion Bill
Beardsley, who had eight Top 5 finishes.
Richard
Mitchell had some impressive moments during the season, and the six Top
5
finishes and three wins he had kept him sixth in the final breakdown.
Joseph Marsh ended up seventh in the
standings with four Top 10
finishes. TJ Santos and Nick Scetani, each had one Top 5 finish, but
Scetani had a win. Forest Movrich had one Top 5 finish to end up 10th
in the final breakdown. DJ Keldsen was the other Main Event winner.
Iler Beats The Field In Police N Pursuit Competition
The
speedway also offers Police N Pursuit racing, which is sort of a public
outreach program that brings the law enforcement officers from
various cities together with the community. They also manage to raise
money throughout the year for the Special Olympics. They had seven
events during the year, and Roy Iler managed to win a close battle
between himself, Nate Graham and John Hohmann. Iler represents the San
Benito County Sheriff's Office, Graham represents Santa Cruz law
enforcement and Hohmann is a member of the Scotts Valley Police
Department.
Iler had six Top 5 finishes,
including three wins. Graham had five Top 5 finishes and matched Iler in
victories. Hohmann had six Top 5 finishes to end up third. Pat
Sullivan had a good year with four Top 5 finishes to end up fourth, 15
points ahead of Tony Weir, who had seven Top 10 finishes. Fernando Telez
ended up sixth in the standings with one Top 5 effort. Jackie Yeung had
six Top 5 finishes, beating AJ Waltrip by four points for seventh.
Waltrip had one win out of his five Top 5 finishes. Eric Perez had one
Top 5, and Ryan Luke had three Top 10s to end up 10th in the final
breakdown.
Velasquez Scores South Bay Dwarf Car Championship
With
the Dwarf Car programs in decline in Southern California, Camarillo's Tommy
Velasquez III was a regular at Ocean Speedway. At times, he proved to be
unbeatable, and he became the newest champion of the group.
Tommy
Velasquez III did get some competition from incoming Antioch Delta
Dwarf Car champion Travis Day, but he would prevail by three points in
the end. Velasquez led the field with six wins and a trio of runner-up
finishes. Day didn't get a win, but he did earn four third place
finishes. Meanwhile, past champion Mark Biscardi had a solid hold on
third with a pair of victories and a runner-up finish as his best
showings.
Fourth place Eric Weisler had a
runner-up finish as his best effort, and Barry Waddell had a season high
fourth. Eddie Claessen ended up sixth with a season high fifth place
finish. Next came one-time fifth place finisher Dan Zuger, Keith Costas, past champion Gene "Punky" Pires and
Trafton Chandler. Pires had a season high third place finish as he ran a
limited schedule. Chandler had a pair of fourth place finishes. Past
champions Shawn Jones and Terre Rothweller each had a victory.
2021
was a great season at Ocean Speedway that offered a little something
for everybody. The racing program has been going on strong since the
first season in 1960, and it's showing no signs of going away anytime
soon. The coming season will have even more excitement to enjoy at the
Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds racing facility. For further information,
go to www.oceanspeedway.com.
