Nick DeCarlo scored an impressive victory in the eighth annual Pat & Jim Pettit Memorial Shootout Race on Sept. 29 at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville.
DeCarlo led all 38 laps of the IMCA Modified feature to pocket $3,003 in winnings.
The memorial lap prior to the main event was dedicated to the Pettit family, which is mourning the passing of Jim Pettit Sr. Pettit supported racing at Watsonville for many years as a sponsor of race cars and racing events.
DeCarlo had a front row spot for the main event, and set the pace at the start ahead of Brian Pearce. But Troy Foulger moved around Pearce for second on lap four.
State point leader Shane DeVolder settled into third, but lost the spot to a Turn-2 pass by Bobby Hogge IV on lap 14.
The final 31 laps of the race ran without a yellow flag.
Foulger made a last-turn attempt to get by on the inside of DeCarlo, but DeCarlo prevailed at the checkered flag.
Hogge settled for third, followed by DeVolder, Ryan McDaniel, Jim Pettit II, Clint Reichenbach, Kellen Chadwick, Andy Obertello and Darrell Hughes II.
There were 57 IMCA Modifieds on hand for the show, and they ran eight eight-lap heat races with the top two transferring into the Main Event.
DeVolder, Jeff Decker, Foulger, Brian Cass, Robert Marsh, DeCarlo, Pearce and Danny Wagner won the heats.
The rest of the drivers were split into three 12-lap B Mains with only the top two drivers getting transfers into the big money main event.
Ryan Porter won the first B Main ahead of Chris Crompe and Bobby Motts Jr.
Obertello won the second B Main ahead of McDaniel and Tim Balding.
Chadwick won the final B Main ahead of Hughes and Austin Burke.
SPORT MODIFIEDS
Brent Curran won the 26-lap IMCA Sport Modified Main Event.
The win earned him a $1,003 payday.
Aaron Crowell led in the early goings ahead of point leader Jim DiGiovanni.
Curran finally made a pass on the backstretch on lap eight to take over second, and he made a low pass in Turn 4 of the 13th lap to grab the lead from Crowell.
Kevin Johnson finished runner-up ahead of Brian Cooper, Andrew Peckham, K.C. Keller, Crowell, DiGiovanni, Chris Falkenberg, Les Friend and Fred Ryland.
There were 37 IMCA Sport Modifieds, and they ran six eight-lap heat races.
Wins went to Falkenberg, Tanner Thomas, Keith Brown Jr., Cooper, Friend and Nick Tucker.
The top three finishers in each heat race earned main event starting berths.
The remainder of the field ran one of the two 12-lap B Mains.
Only the top two would transfer from there, and Peckham won the first B Main ahead of Cale Kanke and Charlie Hunter.
Anthony Giuliani outran Ryland and Justin McPherson to win the second B Main.
AMERICAN STOCKS
Billy Nelson won an exciting 26-lap American Stock Main Event.
The three-time champion collected $503 for his win after a thrilling late-race battle with J.C. Elrod.
Multi-time champion Sam Kennedy paced the field for four laps before an inside pass on the front stretch gained point leader Matt Kile the lead.
Nelson made an inside move around Kennedy for second on lap six, and began to pressure Kile before making his pass on the inside in Turn 4 on lap 10.
Nelson seemed to have things in hand, but Elrod moved into second on lap 23.
Elrod made an outside pass on the backstretch on the 24th lap to take the lead from Nelson, but drove into the marbles exiting the final turn, allowing Nelson and Rob Gallaher to race by for the top two positions.
Elrod settled for third, followed by Kile, Joe Willoughby, Bobby Huckaby Sr., Kennedy, Austin Van Hoff, Jack Van Hoff and Chris McCabe.
The American Stocks had 30 cars, and ran four qualifying heat races with the top four transferring into the feature.
Winners of those eight-lap races included Cameron Swank, Kile, Kennedy and Adriane Frost.
The rest of the field ran a 12-lap B Main with the top six transferring into the main event.
D.J. Keldsen led flag to flag to win the race, followed by Mike Calhoun, Kodie Dean, Austin Van Hoff and Kristie Shearer.
UP NEXT
Friday night will be Championship Night at Ocean Speedway.
The final race of the season will feature the Taco Bravo Sprint Cars, IMCA Sport Modifieds, American Stocks and South Bay Dwarf Cars.
FRIDAY’S RESULTS
Hogge IV made an impressive drive from deep in the pack to win the Friday night portion of the Jim & Pat Pettit Memorial Shootout Race.
Hogge pocketed $1,003 for his impressive drive from 16th to first in the 33-lap IMCA Modified Main Event.
Hogge started moving on lap 23. He made an outside pass on the backstretch on lap 25 to take second from Troy Foulger, and hounded DeCarlo until finally moving by on the outside on lap 29 to gain the lead.
DeCarlo settled for second, followed by Foulger, Pettit II, Hughes II, Cass, Cody Burke, Albert Gill, Anthony Copeland and Todd Hermosillo.
There were 55 IMCA Modifieds in the pits, and the six eight-lap heat race wins went to Bobby Montalvo, Obertello, Hermosillo, D.J. Shannon, DeCarlo and Cass.
The top three drivers transferred directly into the main event, while the rest of the field had to run one of the two 12-lap B Mains to earn a starting spot.
Only the top two finishers would make it into the main event, and Hughes won the first B Main ahead of Gill and Jeff Decker.
Alex Wilson won the second B Main ahead of Kellen Chadwick and Austin Burke.
SPORT MODIFIEDS (Friday)
Johnson won the 23-lap IMCA Sport Modified Main Event.
Guy Ahlwardt led following a lap-16 restart, but Johnson made a pass on the outside in Turn 4 to take second from Cody Parker, and worked the outside line to get around Ahlwardt in Turn 4 of lap 21.
Johnson led the final two laps for the win. Ahlwardt, K.C. Keller, Peckham, Ryland, Parker, Crowell, Giuliani, Tucker and Curran followed in that order.
There were 34 IMCA Sport Modifieds in action, and eight-lap heat race wins went to Gomez, Peckham, Ahlwardt, Cooper, Johnson and Giuliani.
The top three finishers in the heats made it into the main event, while everybody else had to run the 12-lap B Main to try to make their way into the show.
Ryland won that race ahead of Mike Medel, Chase Thomas and Curran.
AMERICAN STOCKS (Friday)
Two-time reigning American Stock champion Gallaher won the 23-lap American Stock Main Event.
Gallaher began to make his move during the final five laps of the race, slipping past Terry Campion on the backstretch on lap 18 for second. Two laps later, Gallaher made a pass on the backstretch and took the lead from Ryland.
Gallaher went on to score the victory, as Ryland settled for second. Billy Nelson finished third, followed by Campion, point leader Kile, Bruce Nelson, Kennedy, Calhoun, Huckaby Sr. and Kevin Joaquin.
The 34-car field ran four eight-lap heat races, and Campion, Ryland, Vernon Silva and Elrod all scored wins.
The top four finishers of the heat races made it into the main event, while everybody else had to run the 12-lap B Main.
Bruce Nelson won that race, followed by Huckaby, Dakota Keldsen and Calhoun.
