SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A doubleheader is up next for the NARC King of the West Fujitsu Sprint Car Series as Ocean Speedway hosts the 35th annual Pombo-Sargent Classic this Friday.
The following night brings the 30th annual Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial Race at Placerville Speedway. The two nights marks rounds four and five of the 21 races scheduled.
Friday pays tribute to west coast racing legends, Al Pombo and Marshall Sargent. Saturday’s show honors Dave Bradway Jr., the former NARC racer who lost his life competing in 1987. Bradway was a standout competitor who routinely parked in the winner’s circle in the early to mid-80s. This season marks the first time the Bradway Jr. Memorial race will be contested at a track other than Chico’s Silver Dollar Speedway.
Saturday will prove to be a lucrative night. The feature will award $5,000 to the winner thanks to $1,000 contributions from both Sierra Foothills Wine Services and Roth Motorsports. Other contributions from the racing community will boost the pay of Carwash Mike Avilla Fast Time, lap money and more.
Both annual showcases of west coast talent are coveted staples of the California racing circuit. Winning either race etches a driver’s name in the history books next to the many greats of the sport who have claimed victory in these prestigious events.
NARC will share the card with IMCA Modifieds, IMCA Sport Mods and WMR Midgets on Friday at Ocean Speedway. On Saturday in Placerville NARC will be joined by the state’s premier winged 360 series, the Sprint Car Challenge Tour, making for a west coast winged sprint car fan’s ideal evening.
The two bullrings should provide a must-see weekend of racing. Both tracks commonly develop distinct bottom and top grooves with just enough room in a slick middle for some sensational slide jobs.
Dominic Scelzi rolls into the weekend as the points leader and defending Pombo-Sargent Classic winner. His victory in the 2019 Pombo-Sargent Classic marked the second of his series-high five wins during NARC’s last full season of competition. The 10-time NARC feature winner hopes to continue his strong start to the season. Scelzi is the only competitor who has finished in the top-5 in all three events this year.
Recent history points to the most recent series winner, Justin Sanders, as a favorite for a weekend sweep. In his last 12 series starts combined between the two tracks, Sanders boasts a 3.8 average finish. That stretch yielded eleven top-10s and four victories, including the 2018 edition of the Pombo-Sargent Classic. Sanders is also the defending winner of the Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial. If Sanders can pull off the sweep, he’ll be only the second person to win both events in the same year, the first being Brent Kaeding. The Aromas, Calif., native is prioritizing preparation ahead of the important weekend.
“It would be really good to get those two wins back to back,” Sanders said of a potential sweep. “I’ve got a pretty good balance for Watsonville and Placerville, but the thing is I don’t get to run 410s a lot at both of those tracks. So, I’ve got to take a little bit of what I’ve done with the 360 and what we’ve learned with the 410 this year already and put them both together and hopefully I can get a good balance and keep qualifying good and staying up front. It would be awesome to win both of those races and win both of them for a second time.”
The Kaeding family has won Pombo-Sargent Classics in four different decades since the event’s inception in 1986, and Bud Kaeding and Tim Kaeding will be looking to make it five. A win for Bud Kaeding would mark his fourth Pombo-Sargent triumph, while Tim hopes to match his brother’s current tally by earning his third. Tim Kaeding has his sights set on a third Bradway Jr. Memorial victory while Bud Kaeding goes for his second.
Shane Golobic will be another to watch this weekend. The 2016 and 2017 Pombo-Sargent victor has averaged a 3.7 feature finish over his last nine series starts at Ocean Speedway. The pilot of the Matt Wood Racing No. 17 also finished on the podium in two of his last three series starts in Placerville. Golobic even topped the World of Outlaws during their most recent visit to the tricky quarter-mile in September of 2019.
Expect many other potent competitors to be in pursuit of these two cherished trophies. Some other drivers expected to be in attendance for one or both events are defending series champ D.J. Netto, Andy Forsberg, Sean Becker, Iowa driver Austin McCarl, Billy Aton, Mitchell Faccinto, Willie Croft, Kenny Allen, Sean Watts, Kyle Offill and more.
The NARC King of the West Hoosier Tire format for Friday’s Pombo Sargent Classic will feature ARP Fast Time Qualifying, 10-lap heat races, a 6-lap Sunnyvalley Bacon trophy dash, and the Fujitsu 30-lap feature.
The NARC King of the West Hoosier Tire format for Saturday’s Dave Bradway Jr. Memorial will feature Carwash Mike Avilla Fast Time Qualifying, 10-lap heat races, a 6-lap Sunnyvalley Bacon Dash, a 12-lap B-Main and the Fujitsu 40-lap feature.