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Photo by TDS Shots
Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo ready to kick-off the summer this Friday night June 10 with round five
By Gary Thomas
Watsonville, CA – June 6, 2016…After a couple weeks off from competition the Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo are amped up for a return to action this Friday evening in what will be round five on the season at Watsonville’s Ocean Speedway.
The Winged 360 Sprints haven’t competed at the quarter-mile since May 20 and this weekend begins a stretch of three straight Friday’s that Sprint Cars will grace the Ocean Speedway clay. The Ocean Sprints will return on June 17, before the King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series makes its first appearance of the season on June 24. That night marks the 31st annual Pombo/Sargent Classic, which will be held at the track for the second straight season.
The most recent Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo event was a thrilling contest captured by Fremont’s Shane Golobic, who earned his second win of the season at the track. Stockton’s Brad Furr came home second that night, looking very strong & aggressive in the 30-lap feature. If the 2013 Ocean Sprints champ shows that same performance this week he will be a definite contender to end up in victory lane. Furr will be looking to break a winless streak that dates back to April of last year.
Easton’s Tommy Tarlton has also shown lots of speed the last few events and will be one of the drivers looking to breakthrough this week. Tarlton, a two-time Ocean Sprints champ, finished third last time out after leading a number of laps in the feature. Penngrove youngster Buddy Kofoid continued his impressive start to the year at the last event by bringing home a fourth place finish in the main event. The 14-year-old upstart picked up a win on April 29 and will look for number two on Friday.
Reigning Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo titlist Justin Sanders will be gunning for redemption this Friday after being knocked out of contention late in the race on May 20. Sanders had battled for the lead at times, but had nowhere to go when a lapped car spun off the second corner with just a couple laps left in the race. The Watsonville driver picked up a win on May 13.
More drivers expected Friday will include Gilroy’s Kurt Nelson, Hollister’s Tony Gualda, Salinas’ Jason & Jeremy Chisum, Fresno’s Koen & Kyler Shaw, last week’s BCRA winner Dustin Golobic of Fremont, Cottonwood’s Lucas Ashe, Oakdale’s Shawn Conde, Corralitos’ Jerry Bonnema, San Jose’s Craig Frandsen & Darrell Taylor, Morgan Hill’s Jimmy Christian, Fresno’s Anthony Simone, Hayward’s Danny Malfatti, San Jose’s Nick Ringo Jr. and others. Ringo is making his season debut during a night that his father is being inducted into the San Jose Hall of Fame. A number of friends & family will be on hand from out of state for the occasion.
The front gate at Ocean Speedway will open at 4:30pm this Friday night with hot laps at 5:30pm, qualifying around 6pm and racing to follow. The pit gate will open at 2pm. Friday’s event also features the IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods, Dwarf Cars and 4-Bangers.
All seating will be general admission with adult tickets $17, seniors 65 & older $16, children 6-12 $13 and kids five and under free. A family pack featuring two adults and two kids is available for $55. 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 support. For more information on the Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo log onto www.racepmg.com
Upcoming Sprint Car events at Ocean Speedway
Friday June 10: Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo Round five
Friday June 17: Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo Round six
Friday June 24: King of the West 410 Sprint Car Series (31st Pombo/Sargent Classic)
www.sprintcarchallengetour.com
www.placervillespeedway.com
www.stocktondirttrack.com
www.thunderbowlraceway.com
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