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FURR FENDS OFF GOLOBIC FOR SECOND OCEAN SPRINTS WIN OF 2013
WATSONVILLE, CALIFORNIA (April 14,
2013) - Brad Furr extended his points lead in the Ocean Sprints
presented by Taco Bravo, outmatching 2012 series champion Shane Golobic
for a satisfying win on Friday night at Ocean Speedway Watsonville.
The result was a role reversal on the 2012 championship battle where
Golobic finished ahead of Furr.
The victory gives
Furr two fast-times and two wins through the first three races of the
season, driving the Price Rite Restaurant Equipment #2 entry.
Furr and Golobic
went toe-to-toe for second place for several laps, then inherited the
top two positions when Watsonville's Justin Sanders hit bad luck for
the third straight week. After going at it for the lead, Furr finally
broke free from Golobic on lap 22 to lead the final eight laps to
victory.
"Again the guys did a
really good job," Furr said. "It's tough when you're leading these
things. You gotta stick with what you think is fast. We're real
happy. (The restarts) can mess with your concentration but you just
have to stay focused."
Sanders set the Ray
Scheidt's Electric quick-time earlier in the evening, and drew a zero
pill to start from the pole. Golobic leapt up from fifth starting
position to third in the early going and by lap five Sanders already
found himself in lapped traffic.
Golobic moved past
Furr for second on lap eight and began applying the pressure on Sanders
for the lead. Golobic nearly took the lead into turn one several laps
later but Sanders shut the door.
The turning point of
the race came on lap 17 when Sanders made contact with Morgan Hill's
Nicholas Ringo and cut down a left rear tire. Despite leading 70 laps
so far in 2013, Sanders would again be unable to capture victory.
The caution period
set up a great battle for the third position, with San Jose's Ryan
Rusconi sweeping past Gilroy's Kurt Nelson and Des Monies, IA's Chris
Martin to take the position. The great move was nullifed when the
caution came out for "Cowboy" Craig Smith sliding on top of the turn
one wall, landing on all fours behind the wall.
Sanders was able to
return to the track without loosing a lap, while the battle for the
lead between Furr and Golobic intensified. After a caution for debris
on lap 20, the restart saw Nick Rescino, Jr. and Martin tangle for
fifth to bring out another yellow.
Furr made his big
move on lap 22, when he crossed over Golobic down the backstretch and
won the drag race into turn three. Furr avoided a close call with a
spinning Nick Foster, Jr. on lap 25, which spun Rusconi out of third,
and cruised to the finish in the final five laps for the win. Golobic
was second ahead of Nelson, Rusconi, and Salinas' Jason Chisum with a
career-best mark.
"Yeah it was a
pretty good race," Golobic said. "Brad is a pretty good driver and I
like racing with him. We had nothing for him but congratulations to
him. The mud on the car is actually deceiving because the track
slicked off more than we expected."
Heat races were won
by Sanders, Auburn's Andy Forsberg, and Martin. Fresno's Koen Shaw
drove from 18th to ninth to win the DDNi Hard Charger.
The Ocean Sprints
presented by Taco Bravo will take a break until returning on May 3rd.
Next Friday night at Ocean Speedway will be the first of four USAC
Sprint Car races at the track in 2013.
For more information on the Ocean Sprints log onto http://www.oceansprints.com and for more on the Ocean Speedway visit http://www.oceanspeedway.com
Ocean Speedway would
like to thank Taco Bravo, Digital Delivery Networks, Nobel
Construction, Get Som Sports, Ray Scheidt's Electric, Hoosier Tires
West, and Kaeding Performance for their support.
April 12, 2013 Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo - Watsonville, California
RAY SCHEIDT'S ELECTRIC QUALIFYING: 7 Justin Sanders 12.335
HEAT 1: 7 Justin Sanders
HEAT 2: 7c Andy Forsberg
HEAT 3: 44 Chris Martin
30 LAP FEATURE: 1) 2 Brad Furr, 2) 22 Shane
Golobic, 3) 72w Kurt Nelson, 4) 98 Ryan Rusconi, 5) 25z Jason Chisum,
6) 3t Nicholas Ringo, 7) 11 Nick Rescino, 8) 39c Carson McCarl, 9) 92
Koen Shaw, 10) 4 Nathan Washam, 11) 8 Jeremy Chisum, 12) 4x Tim
Decarlo, Jr., 13) 199 Nick Foster, Jr., 14) 4f Burt Foland, Jr., 15) 7
Justin Sanders, 16) 44 Chris Martin, 17) 96 Nick Ringo, Jr., 18) 39
Craig Smith, 19) 7c Andy Forsberg, 20) 14 Nick Green NT
LAP LEADERS: 7 Justin Sanders 1-17, 22 Shane Golobic 18-22, 2 Brad Furr 23-30
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