WATSONVILLE, Calif. – Bud Kaeding won the 30-lap Taco Bravo 360 Sprint Car Series feature at Ocean Speedway on Friday night.
Kaeding’s familiar black No. 69 Al’s Roofing Supply/Alviso Rock Maxim took the lead just after the halfway point, after battling J.J. Ringo and Kyler Shaw.
Joey Ancona was closing on Kaeding, but had to settle for a third place finish when he gave up second after a miscue with two laps to go and turned the position over to Sean Watts.
Shaw and Kurt Nelson brought the 18-car field to Ed Entz’s green flag with Shaw jumping out into the lead. Nelson would soon have his hands full of Ringo and Kaeding.
Shaw’s lead was negated when his older brother Koen stopped off the third turn banking on the third lap bringing out the caution.
The older Shaw hopped out of the car and checked his left front wheel, the same part on the car which gave him problems on the opposite end of the track during his qualifying laps.
With a double-file restart, the younger Shaw picked the inside of Ringo. Ringo would take the lead on the fifth lap with Kaeding taking over second shortly after.
Three laps later, the leaders caught slower traffic. Right before the halfway point, Adam brought out a caution when he stopped in the fourth turn.
Art McCarthy, who had an issue with the backstretch wall during practice, jarring the car’s rear end, retired from the race at that point.
Ringo picked the inside line on the double-file restart, but it was Kaeding who powered ahead from the outside and took the lead going into the first turn.
In his haste to stay with Kaeding, Ringo pulled a tall wheelie coming out of the second turn, giving up the second spot to Ancona. On the 18th lap, it was Watts who took over third.
The next 10 laps saw leader Kaeding and the youngster Ancona maneuvering in slower traffic. On the 28th lap, Ancona had a shot at Kaeding, but got crossed up in the middle of the fourth turn, almost spinning out and giving up the second spot to Watts before he could fully recover.
With his major threat gone, Kaeding picked up his second Taco Bravo Series win of the season and celebrated by spinning out backwards in front of the still-empty grandstands due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The finish:
Bud Kaeding, Sean Watts, Joey Ancona, J.J. Ringo, Kurt Nelson, Nick Ringo, Jerry Bonnema, Bryce Eames, Jason Chisum, Kyler Shaw, Mark Chaves Jr., Jeremy Chisum, Adam Kaeding, Josh Chisum, Jacob Pacheco, Richard Fajardo, Art McCarthy Jr., Koen Shaw, Glenn Bryan.