Ocean 360 Sprint Cars presented by Taco Bravo set for season-finale this Friday night October 15 at Ocean Speedway/ Tarlton looks to wrap up championship
By Gary Thomas
Watsonville, CA – October 13, 2010…A season full of great racing and close competition will come to an end for the Ocean Sprint Car Series presented by Taco Bravo this Friday with championship night set for action at the Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, California.
With 13 events in the books just one more remains in the 2010 year for the Ocean Sprints and this Friday's show will also mark the last opportunity for winged 360 sprint car teams to test and tune before the following weekend's 17th annual Trophy Cup in Tulare.
The Ocean 360 Sprint Car Series has consistently featured car counts in the upper-20's to lower-30's this season, with the field's arguably as deep as any winged sprint car entity on the West Coast and Ocean Speedway promoter John Prentice wanted to offer his thanks to everyone.
"It's been a great year for us with the 360 sprint cars at Ocean Speedway and I really want to thank everyone for their support this year," said Prentice. "Dennis Wuollet and Taco Bravo came on board this year as the title sponsor and they've been a great partner for 2010 and we look forward to having them back next season as well."
Going into Friday's finale Easton's Tommy Tarlton will be searching to put a cap on his second consecutive Ocean 360 Sprints title at the helm of his Corporate America Lending, Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino No. 21 mount. The '09 Johnny Key Classic winner will enter the weekend possessing a 28-point lead at the top of the standings and will also be gunning to tally his fifth victory of the year with the Ocean Sprints on Friday.
"We've had a really strong year at Ocean Speedway and I'd definitely like to finish off the title with a win on Friday," said the defending Ocean Sprints champion. "My guys have given me a fast car each and every week so a lot of our success is certainly because of them. This track has had some great competition since John Prentice started the 360 series and it would mean a lot if we could win this deal for the second year in a row."
Elk Grove's Kyle Larson has raced neck and neck with Tarlton all season long and comes into the final night of the Ocean Sprint Car Series presented by Taco Bravo year sitting second the point standings. The 18-year-old put on an exciting charge from 12th to second last week at Ocean Speedway and will be in search of his fourth win of the year at the track on Friday aboard the Stadelhofer Construction, Peppermill Resort-Spa-Casino-Reno No. 99x sprinter.
Coming off a heartbreaker last week third place in points Ronnie Day will be shooting to finish off the Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo year in victory lane on Friday behind the wheel of the Keith Day Trucking, Agri-Trade School No. 22 machine. The Salinas driver set fast time and led the first 20-laps in the feature last weekend, until having his strong run cut short after contacting a spun car in the fourth corner.
Just eight-markers back of Day for the third spot in the standings Campbell's Brent Kaeding goes into this weekend with momentum on his side after claiming his first initial win of the year last Friday at Ocean Speedway. The driver of the Al's Roofing Supply, High Five Pizza No. 69 had gone all season without a victory until the big triumph last week and he'll be gunning to make it back to back at the finale.
The fight for the fifth spot in points is anyone's game going into Friday's championship night with Prunedale's Justin Sanders currently holding the spot by just six-digits over Visalia's Cory Eliason.
The now 18-year-old Sanders claimed victory at the Ocean Speedway on May 7 and is coming off a solid run last weekend at the track, scoring a fourth place finish in the feature aboard the North County Plastering, B&K Trump Farms No. 17 sprint car. Despite not getting into victory lane yet this year the 19-year-old Eliason has had a very consistent and impressive campaign overall and is coming off a fifth place finish last week in the Advance Auto & Smog, MC Custom's No. 00x mount.
Completing the top-10 in the Ocean Sprint Car Series presented by Taco Bravo standings are Stockton's Brad Furr, Morgan Hill's Devon Ostheimer, Clovis' Peter Murphy and San Martins Craig Smith. Just four-markers separate Furr and Ostheimer for the seventh spot in points, with Murphy only 11-digits behind Ostheimer for eighth and Smith just five-points behind Murphy for ninth, in what is a tightly bunched four-way battle.
Other possibilities for this Friday's finale will include Fremont's Shane Golobic, San Jose's Tim Kaeding and Matt Sargent, Gilroy's Kurt Nelson and Ken Fredenburg, Fresno's Anthony Simone, Corralitos' Jerry Bonnema and more.
Top-10 in Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo standings going into Friday's finale: 1. Tommy Tarlton 735; 2. Kyle Larson 707; 3. Ronnie Day 626; 4. Brent Kaeding 618; 5. Justin Sanders 607; 6. Cory Eliason 601; 7. Brad Furr 573; 8. Devon Ostheimer 569; 9. Peter Murphy 558; 10. Craig Smith 553
Main event winners in 2010 with the Ocean Sprint Cars presented by Taco Bravo:
April 16- Bud Kaeding
April 30- Tommy Tarlton
May 7- Justin Sanders
May 14- Kyle Larson
May 22- Tim Kaeding
June 4- Tommy Tarlton
June 25- Kyle Larson
July 16- Kyle Larson
July 30- Tommy Tarlton
August 20- Tim Kaeding
August 28- Tim Kaeding
September 24- Tommy Tarlton
October 8- Brent Kaeding
October 15-???
The front gate of the Ocean Speedway will open at 4:30pm this Friday night October 15 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.
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
Tommy Tarlton goes into Friday holding a 28-point lead in the Ocean Sprint Cars presented by Taco Bravo standings and will look to finish off his second straight title while driving the Tarlton and Son Inc. No. 21 sprinter. So far this year Tarlton leads all drivers in the win category with the Ocean Sprints by claiming four victories overall. Photo by John Meirhofer of http://www.johnsracingphotos.com
- Gary Thomas on Oct 13, 2010
- Article Date: 10/13/2010