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Ocean 360 Sprint
Car Series presented by Taco Bravo ready to kick-off
this Friday night April 2 at Ocean Speedway
By Gary Thomas
Watsonville, CA – March 30, 2010…Following a
very successful 2009 campaign the Ocean Sprint Car
Series presented by Taco Bravo is expected to be
every bit as big and more this year and will open up
the season this Friday night at the Ocean Speedway
in Watsonville, California.
In 2010 the Ocean 360 Sprints presented by Taco
Bravo will see 15-nights of racing, with 13 of them
being contested at the Ocean Speedway and one each
at the Groppetti Automotive
Thunderbowl Raceway and the Santa Maria
Speedway. Some of the highlights on the schedule
include the 50th running of the Johnny Key Classic
on Saturday evening August 28 at Ocean Speedway, as
well as a pair of Ocean Sprints vs. California
Sprint Car Civil War Series shows, with the dates
being Friday July 16 and Friday September 24.
The Ocean Sprint Car Series presented by Taco Bravo
is coming off a banner year that saw solid car
counts each week and featured eight different
winners in 13 races. Promoter John Prentice is
excited as the season-opener approaches this
weekend, which will kick-off the fourth year of
competition for the winged 360 series. "We're really
happy to have Dennis Wuollett and Taco Bravo come on
board as the sponsor of the Ocean Sprints and it's
looking to be a great year," Prentice said. "We've
been getting the track ready the last handful of
weeks and have added new flags, banners and paint to
the facility so it should be looking nice and fresh
for the first sprint car show."
Defending Ocean Sprint Car Series champion Tommy
Tarlton is set to begin his title defense on Friday
night aboard the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino,
Tarlton & Son Inc. No. 21 sprinter. Last season saw
the Easton
driver capture four main event victories en route to
claiming his first career title at the Ocean
Speedway by just 12-points over Campbell's Brent Kaeding. Tarlton's biggest
triumph of the season came on August 29 when he took
the checkered flag at the 49th running of
the Johnny Key Classic to mark his first ever win in
the prestigious event. The veteran racer also got
his season off to a good start earlier in the month
by scoring a top-10 finish with the
World of Outlaws at
the Groppetti Automotive Thunderbowl Raceway on
March 6.
After just missing out on his third straight Taco
Bravo Ocean Sprints title last year Brent Kaeding
will look to put his name back towards the top of
the heap this season behind the wheel of his Al's
Roofing Supply, High Five Pizza No. 69 mount. "BK"
went into the final event last year just five-digits
back of the lead, but a stronger night for Tarlton
was just enough to deny him a three-peat at the
Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds bullring. The 13-time
King of California tallied one victory with the
Ocean Sprints last year and also scored seven podium
finishes. Kaeding last weekend kicked-off his year
by scoring a runner-up finish with the
Golden State
Challenge 410 Sprint Car Series in
Placerville.
Current Ocean Speedway 360 track record holder Evan
Suggs will be searching for his first career Ocean
Sprints title in 2010 after being right in the thick
of battle for much of last season, before ending the
year third in the standings. The driver of the Suggs
Racing, Riley Collins Body Shop No. 33e scored a
trio of runner-up finishes last season in
Watsonville, including the
Ocean Sprints vs. Civil War Series event in
September, which saw 41-entrants on hand during the
night. The 23-year-old Scotts
Valley
driver also led the Ocean Sprints last season
with five fast-time efforts, including the
season-finale when he re-set the track record with a
clocking of 11.617 around the quarter-mile.
Seeming to gain momentum as the season went on was
veteran Brad Furr, who ended the year fourth in the
final Taco Bravo Ocean Sprint Car standings aboard
his Ray Scheidts Electric, Brad Furr Racing No. 2
machine. The Pleasanton
driver picked-up his best finish of the season at
the penultimate of the year by scoring a second
place result to
San Jose's Tim Kaeding on
October 9. Furr also started the 2010 season in
strong fashion just a few weeks ago as he brought
home a runner-up finish at the Placerville Speedway
during the California Sprint Car Civil War Series
opener.
Rounding out the top-five in the Ocean Sprints
standings last year was Salinas racer Ronnie Day,
who also got stronger as the season went on and
finished just nine-markers back of Furr for the
fourth spot in the points. The former King of
California tallied a best finish of third last year,
which he accomplished on three separate occasions,
including the Ocean vs. Civil War show in September.
Prunedale's Justin Sanders will return to the seat
of the North County Plastering, STS Trucking No. 17
with the Ocean Sprint Cars presented by Taco Bravo
in 2010, as he looks to move his way up the
standings following a sixth place finish last year.
The 17-year-old scored a big victory this past May
at Ocean Speedway holding off Brent Kaeding to earn
his first career sprint car win and also ended the
season just eight scant digits out of the top-five
in points.
After claiming his first sprint car win at Ocean
Speedway last season young Ricky Wright Jr. will
return this year looking to carry the momentum into
2010 aboard the Wright One Construction,
Red Line Oil No. 35.
The Morgan
Hill
racer won the feature on June 5 of last season also
holding off Brent Kaeding and ended the year seventh
in the final Ocean Sprints standings.
Other than Tarlton and Tim
Kaeding the only other driver to score
multiple wins last year with the Ocean Sprints was Grass
Valley's Jason Statler,
as the former King of California tallied victories
on April 17 and July 31 at the helm of his DF Rios
Construction, YAK Graphics No. 00. In his career the
"Big Guy" has captured five main event wins at Ocean
Speedway; including his first ever sprint car
victory, which came in 1992. Statler is also coming
off a sixth place finish last weekend during the
Golden State Challenge season-opener in Placerville.
Campbell's Bud
Kaeding was one of the strongest performers with the
Ocean Sprints last season scoring seven top-5
finishes in just eight starts aboard the
Sala/Matherly Racing, M&M Powder Coaters No. 19.
Despite not winning with the Ocean Sprints in 2009
the 30-year-old did capture a GSC 410 victory at the
Ocean Speedway last August. The three-time &
defending Silver Crown Series champ will be back in
action this year competing in select events that
don't conflict with his USAC schedule. One of
Kaeding's finest runs last year came at the Johnny
Key Classic where he traded slide jobs with eventual
winner Tarlton for the lead late in the race, before
finishing runner-up at the checkered.
Defending Golden State Challenge Series Rookie of
the Year Kyle Larson
of Elk Grove is scheduled to be on hand this Friday
behind the wheel of the Stadelhofer Construction,
Peppermill Resort Spa & Casino No. 99 machine. The
17-year-old won a GSC main event at the Ocean
Speedway on May 29 of last year and also captured
victory at the Ocean vs. Civil War event in July
after setting fast-time to begin the night. In
addition to those Larson also brought home a third
place finish at the Johnny Key Classic after
battling wheel-to-wheel for the lead with Tarlton
over the early to middle stages of the 50-lapper.
Former two-time California Sprint Car Civil War
Series champion Mike Henry will make the haul to
Watsonville
this Friday to compete with the Ocean Sprints
presented by Taco Bravo aboard his GT Promotions,
Corvette Care No. 18 mount. Last season the Sacramento driver set fast-time and led all
30-laps of the feature to claim victory during the
September 25 Ocean Sprints vs. Civil War event at
Ocean Speedway. Henry last year also finished fifth
in the final Civil War standings with two victories
in his first year driving for car owners Rudy & Bev
Warrington.
Other drivers expected to be in action this Friday
with the Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo will
include Lucas Oil ASCS
National Series Rookie of the Year contender
Justyn Cox of Clarksburg, Fremont's Shane Golobic,
Clovis' Peter Murphy, Gilroy's Kurt Nelson and Eric
Rossi, San Martin's Craig Smith, Visalia's Cory
Eliason, Corralitos' Jerry Bonnema, Tracy's Steve
Osborne, Benicia's Billy Aton, Morgan Hill's Devon
Ostheimer, San Jose's Matt Sargent, Lodi's Shawn
Wright and more.
The front gate will open at 4:30pm this Friday night
April 2 with hot laps at 5:15 and racing scheduled
to get underway at 6. All seating will be general
admission with adult tickets costing $16, children
6-12 $11 and kids five and under free. A family pack
featuring two adults and two kids is available for
$40 and seniors 65 and older with id will be $14.
The Ocean Speedway is located on the Santa Cruz
County Fairgrounds in
Watsonville,
California.
For more information on the Ocean Sprint Cars
presented by Taco Bravo log onto
http://www.oceansprints.com
and for more on the Ocean Speedway visit
http://www.oceanspeedway.com
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Defending Taco Bravo Ocean Sprint Car Series
champion Tommy Tarlton will look to kick-off his
title defense in victory lane on Friday night aboard
the Tachi Palace, Tarlton & Son Inc, Corporate
America Lending No. 21. The
Easton
driver last season led the Ocean Sprints with four
main event victories, including the 49th
running of the Johnny Key Classic in August. Tarlton
earlier this month also scored a top-10 finish with
the World of Outlaws in
Tulare.
Photo by John Meirhofer of
http://www.johnsracingphotos.com
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