16 RACES ON TAP FOR THE 2012 OCEAN SPRINTS AT OCEAN SPEEDWAY

 WATSONVILLE, CALIFORNIA (January 25, 2012) – The Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo return in 2012 with a 16 race schedule at the Ocean Speedway quarter-mile dirt track, located on the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds.  Promoter John Prentice has crafted a schedule that sees all 16 dates in Watsonville with no traveling events planned for 2012.

 The 2012 slate opens up on Friday night March 30^th.  Among the highlights is a busy four race stint during June that ends with the first Johnny Key Classic qualifier on June 29^th.  The other three Johnny Key qualifying races will be July 20^th, July 27^th, and August 17^th.  The 52^nd Johnny Key Classic will be Saturday night August 25^th.

 The series wraps up with back-to-back Friday night shows on October 5 and October 12 to name the 2012 champion.

 A cast of strong competition will be gunning after 2011 champion Ronnie Day of Salinas, who took the Keith Day Trucking #22 to the championship on the heels of two series victories including the Johnny Key Classic last August.  The championship battle came down to the wire with 2010 champion Tommy Tarlton in the Tarlton & Sons #21 finishing second in the standings.

 Tarlton has bulked up his program for 2012, adding a #21x for Rookie of the Year contender Carson Mecedo of Lemoore.  Mecedo is a former Micro Sprint standout.

 Another driver challenging Day will be Fremont’s Shane Golobic who will drive Steve Osbrone’s #9J for the entire schedule.  Golobic ended 2011 red-hot with three consecutive victories along with his May 13^th victory at the speedway.

 Prunedale’s Justin Sanders, a consistently fast-qualifier and gasser, is expected to return for a run at the championship in the North County Plastering #17 mount.  Sanders has also announced that he will run full-time in the Civil War this season keeping the young pilot very busy in 2012.

 Returning to Ocean Speedway will be Pleasanton’s Brad Furr in the Ray Scheidt’s Electric #2.  Furr ran the King of the West in 2011 finishing tenth in the standings, with a best-finish of second in the August appearance of KWS at Watsonville.  Furr finished in the top-five in the 2010 series points making him a contender for 2012.

 Other drivers expected to race Watsonville on a regular basis include popular young driver Rico Abreu in the Abreu Vinyards #89, Orval Zane Burke of Sinas, San Jose’s Tommy Laliberte, Gilroy’s Kurt Nelson, and San Jose’s Ryan Rusconi among many others.

 The full 2012 Ocean Speedway schedule will be announced at a later time but numerous Modified, American Stock, Four Banger, Micro Sprint, and Dwarf Car races are on the schedule along with four USAC Western Sprint Car races and the return of USAC Western Midgets.

 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