WATSONVILLE, Calif. — Blake Carrick won the 30-lap Taco Bravo 360 sprint car series feature at the Ocean Speedway on Friday night.
The event marked the season opener for the coastal area track but fans were prohibited in the grandstands. Carrick led the entire distance after starting on the front row.
Bud Kaeding took the runner up spot ahead of Sean Becker, Kaleb Montgomery and Kalib Henry.
Polesitter Montgomery and Carrick brought the 22-car starting field to the green on the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds quarter-mile bullring. But the field wouldn’t make it past the second turn before a spin by Spencer Bayston would cause a shunt which included Jodie Robinson and Mitchell Faccinto.
A few feet further down the track, Joel Myers got upside down before he could get slowed down by the caution. Myers wasn’t injured but began the race’s first retire. Bayston was sent to the rear while both the other two cars sustained wing damage but restarted in their original spots.
Once again it was Carrick who would get the jump on Montgomery on the restart. After a win in the Dash put Montgomery on the pole for the feature, he proved he had a stout race car as he stayed with striking distance of the white No. 38 while holding off challenges from Kaeding. Becker would creep into the picture as he was now fourth.
The race would slow on lap 11 when Jayson Bright spun up on to the inside berm of the third turn. This time Kaeding would get around Montgomery, but the pass was negated by a caution for a John Clark and Bright tangle in the first turn before a completed lap. By rule, Kaeding was put back to the third position. On the restart, Kaeding didn’t seem as strong as the previous one but still remained ahead of Becker.
Just before the halfway point, the yellow lights would come on again. This time Jason Chisum had spun in the third turn.
The race would go to lap 16 before a caution slowed the race for a tangle on the back stretch between Jodie Robinson and Kurt Nelson. The wreck ended Nelson’s night and during the caution Bayston decided to retire having never really recovered from his early race spin.
One lap later, the race track would go red when three cars tangled in the third turn. The wreck sent Jeremy Chisum on his side while Zane Blanchard and Keith Day Jr. were also involved. Chisum’s car was up righted and he was pushed off to rejoin the race, but Blanchard’s car was pushed back to the pit area while Day’s car had to be towed back.
The field was narrowed down now to 14 cars and became a race between Carrick, Montgomery and Kaeding. Carrick took advantage of a clear track to pull away but it was the wile veteran Kaeding who was trying to figure a way around Montgomery.
Kaeding seized the moment coming to the white flag as Montgomery had difficulty in the third turn getting around a lapped car. A huge bobble not only let Kaeding past but Becker also. Carrick was ahead by a straightaway and easily took the checkered flag in a high-attrition race.
The finish:
Blake Carrick, Bud Kaeding, Sean Becker, Kaleb Montgomery, Kalib Henry, J.J. Hickle, Mitchell Faccinto, Justyn Cox, Kyle Offill, Joey Ancona, Koen Shaw, J.J. Ringo, Jeremy Chisum, Jason Chisum, Zane Blanchard, Keith Day, Jr., Jodie Robinson, Kurt Nelson, Spencer Bayston, Jayson Bright, John Clark, Joel Myers