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GLR Investments Points Battle Continues At Ocean Speedway for Round No. 9 Action
By Gary Costa
Watsonville, CA – August 10, 2009….The GLR Investments 360 Sprint Car point's battle will continue this Friday at Ocean Speedway. The event will mark only five races left for the series championship. The Friday night race will also conclude the Qualifying for the 49th Running of Johnny Key Classic.
Grass Valley's Jason Statler picked-up the 30 lap non-stop feature event that was contested on a surface that has not been seen all year. Statler piloted his DF Rios Contruction No. 00 from his sixth starting position en route to his second GLR Investments main event of the season, which also locks him into the Johnny Key. One can only speculate where Statler would be in the points if he wasn't forced to sit out some of the races earlier this year.
Also locking themselves in for the Johnny Key race on August 29 were Evan Suggs and Salinas' Ronnie Day, who came from 15th on the grid in the Werbach Motorsports No. 20 to finish fifth. Only a handful of spots remain open to become locked into the event.
Two-time Wright One Construction champion and current GLR Investments point's leader, Brent Kaeding was again at the helm of the Mike Sala/Brian Matherly No. 19, July 31. "BK" would charge from his ninth starting position to finish second in the event. Kaeding will return to the cockpit of his BK Motorsports No. 69 for the remainder of the series, while son Bud Kaeding will be back in action for the next five events.
Tommy Tarlton in the Tarlton & Son, Inc, Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino No. 21 is nipping at Kaeding's heels for the top-spot in the standings. The Easton pilot went onto finish third in the last event. Tarlton goes into the event only six tallies behind point leader Kaeding. While disappointed in his July 31 outing, Tarlton has been a threat to win each and every night.
Sitting third in the points is Evan Suggs who has been consistently fast in every event entered this season. The young pilot from Scotts Valley came from tenth in the last event working heavy lapped traffic along the way to finish fourth. Suggs is in striking distance of both Kaeding and Tarlton and he's only 12 points from Kaeding in the Suggs Racing No. 33E.
Young hot shoe, Justin Sanders is sitting fourth in the points standings. The 16-year-old has been consistent all year and is only 24 points from point leader Kaeding. The pilot of the North County Plastering No. 17 finished eighth in Round No. 8. With time running out, be rest assured that the likeable second-year pilot will be on the button.
Brad Furr has been looming in the fifth place standings for the last few events. The Pleasanton pilot pounded his way from his 18th starting spot to finish an impressive 11th in the Brad Furr Racing No. 2. The former Sprint Car traveler has been fighting off a string off bad luck with torn-up racecars, but continues his fight to move-up in the standings.
Ronnie Day sits sixth in the standings, with Morgan Hill's Ricky Wright, Jr. 18 points from Day. The Round No. 5 winner will be looking to improve on his current seventh place in the point standings piloting father Rick Wright's Wright One Construction No. 35.
San Jose pilot Jason Newton, aboard the Newton Motorsports No. 31 and Gilroy's Kurt Nelson in the Taco Bravo No. 72W have been locked in a spirited battle for eighth place point supremacy. Salinas' Keith Day is within striking distance of both drivers in his Keith Day Trucking No. 22.
Other drivers seeking the Round No. 9 GLR Investments 360 Sprint Car Series win include Grass Valley's Jason Statler, San Martin's Wes Gutierrez, Fremont's Brent Bjork, Morgan Hill's Devon Ostheimer, Visalia's Cory Eliason, Campbell's Burt Foland, Jr., Cupertino's Steve Osborne, and more.
Top-10 in GLR Investments Sprint Car Points
1. Brent Kaeding 407
2. Tommy Tarlton 401
3. Evan Suggs 395
4. Justin Sanders 383
5. Brad Furr 374
6. Ronnie Day 368
7. Ricky Wright, Jr. 350
8. Jason Newton 297
8. Kurt Nelson 297
10. Keith Day 293
49th Running Johnny Key Classic Qualifiers (14 spots available)
1. Tommy Tarlton
2. Justin Sanders
3. Brad Furr
4. Kyle Larson
5. Brent Kaeding
6. Sean Becker
7. Jason Statler
8. Evan Suggs
9. Ronnie Day
Pit gate opens at 1:00 with the front gate opening at 4:00. Racing starts at 6. Adults are $15, kids 6-12 $9, all kids under 5 free. Family $40 (2 Adults and 2 Children), Senior $12 with I.D. (65 yrs+). For more information please log onto www.oceanspeedway.com or call the speedway at (831) 476-9466
The speedway is located at 2601 East Lake Ave in Watsonville, CA
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