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This Saturday’s 56th Johnny Key Classic will be the start of three races to go for the Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo and the final clash with the Civil War Sprint Car Series presented by Flowmaster. The winner of the A-main will walk away with $5,000 and the bragging rights of adding their name to the illustrious list of past champions. Current Civil War point leader Andy Forsberg captured last year’s event and leads the series into Saturday’s showcase. Stockton’s Brad Furr sits atop the Ocean Sprints standings going into the night.
The Johnny Key Classic originally began at the paved San Jose Speedway, following the passing of Johnny Key during a racing crash in 1954, before moving to the fairgrounds dirt track in 1978. The event had been a staple at the speedway until the closing of the dirt oval in 1999. After a number of years sitting idle, John Prentice & Ocean Speedway decided to bring the event back in 2007 and this season marks the 10th anniversary of being held at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds facility.
Already locked in for Saturday’s $500-to-win 35 Industries Dash for Cash, by way of wins during Qualifying Races are Steven Tiner, Sean Becker, Tommy Tarlton & Justin Sanders. Drivers looking to race into the event will have a few chances to do so. Saturday night’s format will feature a qualifying session that will line up those not pre-qualified into four heat races with no inversion. Each heat winner will move into the Dash and the top-3 finishers will earn a spot in the Johnny Key Classic feature event.
The remaining balance of the field will take part in the B Main, (or twin B mains depending on car count) with four transfer spots available for the feature event. Drivers that are not locked into the feature following heat races and B Main(s), will take part in a Last Chance Qualifier, with two final feature event berths up for grabs. Once the 22-car field is set a 23rd spot will be available for a past Johnny Key Classic Champion who was unable to race their way into the feature event.
The Key Classic A-main will consist of 50-laps. There will be two segments, roughly 25-laps each. At the conclusion of the first segment the cars will be stopped on the front straight in front of the grandstands. There will be a 10-minute intermission in which cars can refuel, change tires, and make whatever adjustments the crews can do on the front straight, before teams are signaled to leave the track and cars are pushed off. Cars will be lined up to resume the race in the order in which they finished the first segment.
Ocean Speedway & Taco Bravo will be hosting a Johnny Key Classic Pre-Party at the Taco Bravo located at 1950 South Bascom Avenue, Campbell, CA from 6pm to 9pm on Friday. All pre-qualified cars and other teams are welcome to come and display their race cars at the event. Help us sell 3056 Taco’s. Tickets for Saturday will also be available at the party.
Saturday night at the Ocean Speedway the front gate will open at 3:30pm, with the driver’s meeting scheduled for 4:30pm. Tickets can be purchased at http://racepmg.com/tickets/ or will be available at the entrance, along with the Taco Bravo kick-off party as noted. Adult tickets will be $22, kids $15, with children five and under free. The pit gate for competitors will open at 1pm.
The Ocean Speedway is located on the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds in Watsonville, California with the physical address being 2601 East Lake Ave, Watsonville, CA 95076.
The Ocean Sprints & Ocean Speedway is held under the management of Prentice Motorsports Group, which also operates the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series, the Civil War 360 Sprint Car Series presented by Flowmaster, the Wingless Sprint Car Series presented by Hunt Magnetos & the All Star Modified Tour.
The Ocean Sprints would like to thank Taco Bravo, High Five Pizza, Ray Scheidts Electric, Beer Optics, Hoosier Tires West, Flowmaster, Budweiser and Kaeding Performance for their season-long support.
Remaining Winged Sprint Car events at Ocean Speedway in 2016
Saturday August 20: 56th running of the Johnny Key Classic (Civil War vs Ocean Sprints)
Friday August 26: Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo
Friday September 23: Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo (Championship Night)
Friday October 7: King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series
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