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HOT AND HEAVY OCEAN SPRINTS POINTS BATTLE RESUMES
FRIDAY
7/27/2010 - Series press release
 Easton,
California’s Tommy Tarlton will bring a five-point
lead over the red-hot Kyle Larson of Elk Grove
into the Ocean Speedway this Friday night July
30, during what will be the ninth race of the
season for the Ocean Sprint Car Series presented
by Taco Bravo.
This Friday’s event will mark the third of four
qualifying races for the 50th running
of the $5,000-to-win/$300-to-start Johnny Key
Classic, with Larson and Salinas, CA’s Ronnie Day
being the first two drivers to lock into the show
that will be held on Saturday August 28.
In addition to the main event purse there is also
lap money continuing to be sold for the Johnny Key
Classic. The cost is $50 a lap with $25 going to
the leader, $15 for second and $10 for third. For
anyone that would like to purchase a lap please
contact Gary at
gary7n@sbcglobal.net or
Samantha at
samantha@oceanspeedway.com or
simply see us at the track on Friday.
Including this weekend there will be six races
remaining in the 2010 Ocean Sprints presented by
Taco Bravo season and for the second year in a row
the point race is anybody’s game with two of
Northern & Central California’s finest fighting it
out at the top of the standings.
After taking the point lead during the second
round of action in April, Tarlton now finds
himself only a handful of digits up on Larson,
with the duo also being the only drivers that have
scored multiple wins this year with the Ocean
Sprints. Whereas Tarlton is coming off a couple of
less than hoped for outings, Larson goes into
Friday night with momentum on his side having
captured three of the last four main events at
Ocean Speedway, including the Ocean Sprints vs.
Civil War show two Friday’s ago.
Just three races back Tarlton had held a 23-point
edge over Larson, who had sat third in the
standings at the time, but a couple night’s of
tough luck for the driver of the Corporate America
Lending No. 21 have resulted in finishes of 11th
and eighth respectively during the last two
events. Taking full advantage of those nights the
17-year-old Larson claimed victory in each of
those two races to help cut the point margin down
drastically and put him in position to challenge
for the title aboard his Stadelhofer Construction
No. 99x mount.
Larson also comes into the weekend tied with
Chico’s Jonathan Allard as the winningest winged
sprint car driver in Nor Cal this season,
following his eighth main event victory of the
year last Saturday night with the Golden State
Challenge 410 Series in Marysville. It was also
good enough to put him into the series point lead
as he attempts to become youngest King of
California ever. Tarlton likewise has also had a
successful season with GSC, claiming nine top-five
finishes in nine starts with the series, which
will invade Ocean Speedway on Saturday August 7.
Campbell’s Brent Kaeding goes into this
Friday night third in the Ocean Sprint Car Series
presented by Taco Bravo standings and will be
looking to rebound after bad luck has left him
with finishes outside the top-10 during the most
recent two events. The driver of the Al’s Roofing
Supply No. 69 sits 23-points out of the lead.
Former King of California Ronnie Day has moved to
fourth in the standings and will also be gunning
for his first win of the year on Friday aboard the
Keith Day Trucking No. 22. The Salinas driver
brought home an Ocean Speedway season-best finish
of second at the last event on July 16.
Currently tied for the fifth spot in the Ocean
Sprints presented by Taco Bravo points are
Visalia’s Cory Eliason and Clovis, CA’s Peter
Murphy. Eliason has been one of the hottest
drivers as of late at the Santa Cruz County
Fairgrounds quarter-mile having finished among the
top-four in each of the last four nights of racing
at the track behind the wheel of his Advance Auto
& Smog No. 00x. Murphy however, will be looking to
regroup this Friday after a tough night during the
Ocean vs. Civil War event on July 16, where he
finished 16th in the b-main aboard the
Buster & Ziggy Enterprise No. 11 sprinter.
Rounding out the top-10 in the standings going the
ninth race of the year are Pleasanton’s Brad Furr,
who finished third on July 16, Prunedale’s Justin
Sanders, Campbell’s Bud Kaeding and Gilroy’s Eric
Rossi. Other possibilities to be on hand this
Friday will include Grass Valley’s Jason Statler,
Scotts Valley’s Evan Suggs, Fremont’s Shane
Golobic, Morgan Hill’s Devon Ostheimer & Ricky
Wright Jr., San Jose’s Matt Sargent, San Martin’s
Craig Smith, Corralitos’ Jerry Bonnema, Gilroy’s
Kurt Nelson and more.
The front gate of the Ocean Speedway will open at
4:30pm this Friday night July 30 with hot laps at
5:45, qualifying around 6 and racing to follow.
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 $45 and
seniors 65 and older with id will be $14. The
Ocean Speedway is located on the Santa Cruz County
Fairgrounds in Watsonville, California.
Johnny Key Classic Qualifying
Procedure:
Starting Friday June 25 and continuing thru August
20 drivers will pre-qualify for the 50th
running of the Johnny Key Classic. This will be
accomplished by taking the winner from June
25(Kyle Larson); July 16(2nd place
finisher Ronnie Day); July 30 & August 20 A-main
main events and locking them into a starting spot
for the Johnny Key Classic race.
After the first night of pre-qualifying if the
winner of the next week event is the same, we will
take the #2 finisher, until the final night of
pre-qualifying. After August 20 the top two (2)
DRIVERS in Ocean 360 Sprints presented by Taco
Bravo Series points that have NOT secured a
starting spot in the Key race will be included in
the pre-qualified Key race line up.
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
Coming up- Following this week’s event the next
Ocean Sprint Car Series presented by Taco Bravo
show will be held on Friday night August 20, which
also be the final qualifying race for the 50th
Johnny Key Classic.
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