WATSONVILLE — Bud Kaeding won the Howard Kaeding Classic 30-lap NARC/King of the West Fujitsu Sprint Car main event Saturday night at Ocean Speedway.
The special event paid tribute to Kaeding’s grandfather, Howard Kaeding, also known as The Campbell Comet.
Howard Kaeding is a member of the San Jose Speedway Hall of Fame and one of the biggest stars in the history on the track.
Kaeding, who was aboard the Maury Williams owned sprint car, collected a $5,000 winner’s prize.
Billy Aton tried to follow up on his impressive performance at Petaluma a week earlier. He had the pole position and charged into the early lead ahead of Willie Croft.
Shane Golobic took over second place on a lap-four restart and at times pressured Aton for the lead.
However, Kaeding took over second just before a yellow flag was waved on lap 15.
On the restart, Kaeding wasted little time as he charged by Aton to take the lead. Aton held second until Golobic reclaimed the position on lap 19.
Kaeding drove a flawless race down the stretch and was not about to let a win slip away during a race dedicated to his grandfather.
Kaeding took the checkered flag ahead of Golobic, who was closely pursued by Willie Croft in third.
Justin Sanders finished fourth, followed by Colby Copeland, Jason Statler, Cole Macedo, Ryan Bernal, Jeremy Chisum and DJ Netto.
Thirty-five drivers came to compete on the fast quarter-mile clay oval. Croft set the quickest lap of 11.847 seconds, which just beat the 11.856 mark set by Mitchell Faccinto.
The drivers ran four 10 lap heat races with wins going to Aton, Jonathan Allard, Golobic and Kaeding.
Macedo had to earn his feature start by winning the 12-lap B Main event. He went flag-to-flag to win ahead of Nathan Rolfe and Kenny Allen.
Allard picked up the win in the six-lap Trophy Dash ahead of Aton.
•••
IMCA Modified
Bobby Hogge IV recorded his third 25-lap IMCA Modified main event win of the season.
Hogge led the final 10 laps and pulled away to a comfortable advantage for the victory.
Raymond Keldsen Jr. raced into the early lead with Hogge taking over second following the departure of Todd Hermosillo on lap two.
But Hogge kept the pressure on Keldsen, who was doing a good job of leading the way.
Hogge found his opening on lap 15 and slipped past Keldsen to take the lead.
Brian Cass took over second place on lap 20 and held off a late surge by Jim Pettit II to finish as the runner-up.
Nick DeCarlo also got by Keldsen, who settled for fifth, followed by Robert Marsh, Austin Burke, Cody Burke, Anthony Copeland and Jeff Decker.
Copeland, Hogge and Marsh were all winners in their eight-lap heat races.
•••
IMCA Sport Modified
Dennis Simunovich won his first 20-lap IMCA Sport Modified main event of the season.
It only took two laps before Billy Robertson surrendered the lead to Simunovich, who caught his stride and pulled away to a straightaway advantage in victory.
Bakersfield star Kevin Johnson started back in the eighth position, while Stephen Alee ran in second place for several laps.
On lap 12, Johnson passed Alee and he brought it home for a second-place finish just behind the flying Simunovich.
Jarrod Mounce finished third, followed by Robertson, Alee, Andrew Peckham, Justin McPherson, Adriane Frost, Max Baggett and Kelly Campanile.
Alee and TJ Etchison III each won their eight-lap heat race.
•••
Hobby Stock
Jerry Skelton recorded his first checkered flag finish of the season after he won the 15 lap Hobby Stock main event.
Nick Triolo had the pole and he raced into the early lead, while DJ Keldsen pursued him.
Skelton settled into third place early in the race but a lap 12 restart provided him an opportunity to leap into the lead.
Skelton led the rest of the way for the win, followed by Bobby Huckaby Sr, Triolo, Bobby Huckaby Jr, Matt Kile, Ryan Muller, DJ Keldsen, Dakota Keldsen and Domissie Scoggins.
DJ Keldsen and Kile were the eight-lap heat race winners.
•••
South Bay Dwarf Car
Ryan Amlen won his first 20-lap South Bay Dwarf Car main event of the season. He had the pole for the race and led every lap from the start.
Reigning champion Gene “Punky” Pires held the second position, while Joe Barkett was behind him running in third.
The top-3 competitors ran closely and Barkett moved around Pires for second on lap 16. But it was Amlen who held on for the victory as he took the checkered flag ahead of Barkett and Pires.
Jimmy Damron placed fourth, followed by Bobby Johnson, Tom Van Tuyl, Mack Aceves, Eddy Claessen, Keith Costas and Mike Ferrell.
Johnson and Barkett won their eight-lap heat races.
•••
Up Next
The Taco Bravo Sprint Cars return to action Friday night along with the IMCA Sport Modifieds, Hobby Stocks, Four Bangers and the Police N’ Pursuit events. For information, go to www.racepmg.com.
Ocean Speedway Points Standings (as of July 19)
Taco Bravo Ocean Sprints
- Bud Kaeding — 1255
- James Ringo — 1188
- Brad Furr — 1182
- Jeremy Chisum — 1155
- Jake Andreotti — 1144
•••
IMCA Modifieds
- Cody Burke — 256
- Austin Burke — 255
- Jim Pettit II — 247
- Jeff Decker — 238
- Robert Marsh — 226
•••
IMCA Sport Mods
- Guy Ahlwardt — 270
- Jarrod Mounce — 267
- Adriane Frost — 266
- Justin McPherson — 238
- Max Baggett — 219
•••
Hobby Stocks
- Rob Gallaher — 218
- Joe Gallaher — 204
- Wally Kennedy — 179
- DJ Keldsen — 173
- Nick Triolo — 153
•••
Four Bangers
- Kate Beardsley — 500
- Nicole Beardsley — 500
- Bill Beardsley — 466
- John Grilli — 411
- Ryan McClelland — 405
•••
Ocean Midgets
- David Prickett — 255
- Randi Pankratz — 227
- Jackson Dukes — 163
- Greg Edenholm — 157
- Jessica Swanson — 106
•••
Police N’ Pursuit
- John Hohmann — 300
- Ron Iler— 269
- Steve Fernandes — 266
- Adam Rikalo — 243
- Tony Weir — 223
*All point standings are according to MyRacePass.com
