WATSONVILLE — Bud Kaeding sprinted to victory lane for a fourth time this season after winning the 30-lap Taco Bravo Sprint Car main event on Friday night at Ocean Speedway.
Kaeding continues to hang on as the current point leader aboard the Brent Kaeding-owned Sprint Car.
Kaeding finished second to Koen Shaw in the six-lap Trophy Dash, which gave him the outside front row starting position for the main event.
Kaeding jumped into the lead from the start, and yet, not far behind him were Shaw and Justin Sanders. Kaeding held on to the lead following an early yellow flag but Shaw made a move to get past Kaeding for first on lap six.
Shaw continued to lead the way as the leaders came up on slower traffic.
Kaeding made a move to regain the lead on lap 18. Justin Sanders followed closely into second.
Reigning champion Brad Furr took over the third position on lap 20, meanwhile Sanders saw his second place run come to an end for a yellow flag on lap 29.
Kaeding stayed in front of Furr on the restart and maintained the lead until the checkered flag.
Shaw settled for third, followed by Joel Myers, Jason Chisum, Cole Macedo, Steven Kent, Jerry Bonnema, Kurt Nelson and Jayson Bright.
Of the 22 sprint cars, Furr set the quickest time of 11.689 seconds on the quarter-mile clay oval. Landon Hurst had the second best lap time of 11.981.
Furr, Jeremy Chisum and Sanders each won their eight-lap heat race.
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IMCA Sport Modified
Kevin Johnson won his first 20-lap IMCA Sport Modified main event of the season.
Adriane Frost jumped into the early lead ahead of Justin McPherson but a yellow flag on lap three put a halt to any momentum she was gaining.
Johnson, who was in fourth at the time, jumped into second place behind Frost on the restart.
Johnson began to pressure Frost for the lead and finally made his winning move on lap seven, while Jarrod Mounce moved into second place on lap nine.
Johnson led the rest of the way just ahead of Mounce for the 1-2 finish.
Guy Ahlwardt, the current state point leader, took third place on lap 15 and stayed there until the end.
Frost settled for fourth, followed by Randy Miller, previous winner Dennis Sumonovich, McPherson, Kelly Campanile, Steven Alee and Scott Savell.
Mounce and Frost won the eight-lap heat races.
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Hobby Stock
JC Elrod edged Nick Triolo to win his third 20-lap Hobby Stock main event of the season.
Triolo slipped into second place on lap 18 and tried to take the lead, but Elrod held on to score the victory.
DJ Keldsen set the early pace ahead of two-time champion Terry Campion.
A lap three restart saw Elrod make his move into the second position and he began pressuring Keldsen for the lead.
Keldsen ran strong at the front of the pack until Elrod finally made the winning move on lap 15.
Point leader Rob Gallaher briefly took the lead from Elrod on lap 16 but then he managed to charge back ahead a lap later.
Rob Gallaher settled for third, followed by Jerry Skelton, Campion, Keldsen, Joe Gallaher and six-time champion Sam Kennedy.
The eight-lap heat race win went to Triolo.
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Mini Stock
John Grilli was victorious in the 15-lap Mini Stock main event and he picked up his third win of the season.
Grilli is the top rookie in the field this year but still trails incoming point leader and reigning champion Kate Beardsley, who finished second. Jeff Finsand placed third, followed by Nicole Beardsley, heat race winner Dakota Keldsen, Ray Bunn, Bill Beardsley and Ryan McClelland.
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Police N’ Pursuit
California Highway Patrol representative Jesse Mueller won the 15-lap Police N Pursuit main event.
In the early laps, Scotts Valley Police Department representative and point leader John Hohmann set the pace, while Mueller followed closely behind him in second.
Mueller made his winning pass on lap nine and led the rest of the way for the victory.
Hohmann settled for second, followed by California Highway Patrolman Justin Rhodes, Kyle Dorris, Roy Iler, Dan Anderson, AJ Waltrip, Adam Rikalo, Steven Fernandes and Tony Weir.
Hohmann and Rhodes each won their eight-lap heat races.
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Up next
The Ocean Speedway is set for another big two-day weekend event as the 22nd Annual Mike Cecil Memorial Race comes into town. The event begins Friday and runs until Saturday.
The Hobby Stocks will be in action along with the IMCA Modifieds and IMCA Sport Modifieds. All divisions will be racing for an increase purse. For information visit racepmg.com/oceanspeedway/.
Ocean Speedway Points Standings (as of July 26)
Taco Bravo Ocean Sprints
- Bud Kaeding — 1613
- James Ringo — 1499
- Koen Shaw— 1462
- Jeremy Chisum — 1461
- Jason Chisum — 1453
•••
IMCA Modifieds
- Cody Burke — 289
- Austin Burke — 289
- Jim Pettit II — 285
- Jeff Decker — 269
- Robert Marsh — 261
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IMCA Sport Mods
- Jarrod Mounce — 344
- Adriane Frost — 336
- Guy Ahlwardt — 308
- Justin McPherson — 306
- Max Baggett — 281
•••
Hobby Stocks
- Rob Gallaher — 307
- Joe Gallaher — 285
- Wally Kennedy — 260
- DJ Keldsen — 260
- Nick Triolo — 252
•••
Four Bangers
- Kate Beardsley — 530
- Nicole Beardsley — 529
- Bill Beardsley — 493
- John Grilli — 444
- Ryan McClelland — 436
•••
Ocean Midgets
- David Prickett — 306
- Randi Pankratz — 284
- Greg Edenholm — 211
- Jackson Dukes — 163
- Keoni Texeira — 120
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Police N’ Pursuit
- John Hohmann — 360
- Ron Iler— 322
- Steve Fernandes — 315
- Adam Rikalo — 294
- Justin Rhodes— 277
*All point standings are according to MyRacePass.com
