4/2/2022
Ocean Speedway
CARRICK GOES TWO-IN-A-ROW WITH OCEAN SPRINTS IN WATSONVILLE
WATSONVILLE, CALIF. (April 2, 2022) – Tanner Carrick of Lincoln won his second consecutive Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo feature of 2022 on Friday night in Watsonville, leading the final 27-laps for the victory. Carrick’s win was part of a five-division show at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds dirt track.
Carrick led time trials with an 11.656 second lap, then lined up on the outside pole for the feature alongside dash winner 16-year-old Max Mittry of Redding. Carrick drove past Mittry for the lead on lap four on the backstretch and never relinquished it in heavy lapped traffic on a challenging race surface.
“We have been fast all year. These guys give me a fast car every weekend,” Carrick said. “I know our team and us can do it. I just gotta be there to do my job. Everyone has their own little part in this team. We’re trying to beat our goal last year of seven wins. We’re on a good little pace here.”
Carrick encountered lapped traffic by the fifth lap of the main event. Bud Kaeding took over second from Mittry on lap six, then Mittry’s teammate Justin Sanders of Aromas challenged for third a lap later. Sanders went around Mittry on the outside in turn two to take the position, then clamped down on Kaeding for second. Kaeding and Sanders went three-wide with traffic down the backstretch with Kaeding holding the position.
The lead for Tanner Carrick grew to 4.2 seconds, which Kaeding cut down to a car length within just three laps as they navigated the slower cars. The caution flag flew on lap 20 when Gauge Garcia of Lemoore spun to a near stop in turn three, getting tagged by Sanders and Wilton’s Ashlyn Rodriguez. Sanders replaced a flat left rear tire and rejoined the field. Garcia then flipped wildly side-over-side in turn one on the restart for a red flag.
Concord’s Joey Ancona was running fifth on the following restart but slowed before exiting on lap 26. Carrick charged ahead by 1.758 seconds over Kaeding, Mittry, Jacksonville, Oregon’s Tanner Holmes, and Rickey Sanders as the top-five finishers. Justin Sanders was credited with the Beer Optics Hard Luck Award while Carrick won the Dirt.Travel Fast Time.
Brentwood’s Blake Bower opened his championship defense in Western Midget Racing presented by Masters Design and Construction by winning his tenth career main event in the series. Upper Lake’s Brody Petrie started on the pole for the 20-lap main event for the stock production powered series alongside Santa Cruz’ Logan Mitchell in his second career start.
Petrie took the lead at the start with Bower driving quickly into second. Bower then crossed over Petrie on the backstretch to grab the lead by lap two. Washington’s Jason Sneep flipped on the backstretch for a red flag on lap six. Antioch’s Shawn Arriaga started tenth but drove up to fifth by lap 10. Bower paced the field the rest of the way while Petrie outmatched teammate Sage Bordenave of French Camp for second. Arriaga and Lodi’s Nate Wait rounded out the top-five.
2021 IMCA Modified champion Cody Burke of Salinas led all 20-laps for the feature win. A trio of race winners and champions led the way with Burke, Bobby Hogge IV of Salinas, and Jim Pettit II of Prunedale running closely. Last week’s winner Matt Hagio of Prunedale slowed on the backstretch with a flat tire to require a one lap sprint to the finish. Burke held off Hogge, Pettit, and JC Elrod as the final finishers.
Jonathan Hagio of Prunedale topped the 20-lap IMCA Sport Mod feature. Igor Gandzuk of Prunedale led the opening six laps before Hagio took over. Lapped traffic impacted the race at the halfway point, allowing Merced’s Richard Ragsdale to make a strong move on the outside in turn four. Ragsdale advanced from fifth to second in one set of corners. Gandzuk, Dennis Souza, and Fred Ryland then tangled in turn two for a caution on lap 12. Ragsdale showed his nose to Hagio on the final eight laps but Hagio took the win. Ragsdale, Ryland, Jim DiGiovanni of Morgan Hill, and Duane Bieser of Santa Cruz were the top-five finishers.
Brady Muller of Santa Cruz started the Hobby Stock main event in sixth, but after 20-laps of competition he saw the checkered flag for his first-career win. Wally Kennedy of Freedom led a closely wound pack of leaders until the caution fell on lap 15 for a flat tire on Joe Gallaher’s machine. Kennedy and Jerry Skelton of Watsonville tangled on the restart, with Skelton losing his left rear tire. Muller emerged in the lead and held off Bobby Gallaher and a hard-charging Joe Gallaher for his breakthrough win.
Ocean Speedway continues Friday April 8 with round three of the Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo plus IMCA Sport Mods, Hobby Stocks, Four Bangers, and Police-in-Pursuit.
Ocean Sprints Presented by Taco Bravo Feature – April 1, 2022 (30 Laps)
- 83T-Tanner Carrick[2]; 2. 69-Bud Kaeding[4]; 3. 2XM-Max Mittry[1]; 4. 18T-Tanner Holmes[9]; 5. 17-Rickey Sanders[7]; 6. 83V-Joel Myers[12]; 7. 2-JJ Ringo[10]; 8. 72W-Kurt Nelson[5]; 9. 28-Chase Johnson[15]; 10. 2X-Justin Sanders[3]; 11. 2L-Logan Forler[14]; 12. 38B-Blake Carrick[11]; 13. 87-Ashlyn Rodriguez[18]; 14. 50-Bryce Eames[16]; 15. 25Z-Jason Chisum[17]; 16. 6D-Josh Chisum[22]; 17. 8-Jeremy Chisum[8]; 18. 88A-Joey Ancona[6]; 19. 34B-Glenn Bryan[20]; 20. 5-Mark Chaves Jr[19]; 21. 21X-Gauge Garcia[13]; 22. 3M-Adam Kaeding[21]
Article Credit: Steven Blakesley
Submitted By: Steven Blakesley
