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Ocean 360 Sprint Cars presented by Taco Bravo set for Johnny Key Classic Qualifying Race # 1 this Friday June 25 at Ocean Speedway

By Gary Thomas

Watsonville, CA – June 22, 2010…After a couple weekends off the Ocean 360 Sprint Car Series presented by Taco Bravo will return to action in a big way this Friday night June 25 with the first of four qualifying races to be held for the 50^th running of the Johnny Key Classic, which will be contested on Saturday August 28 and will pay $5,000-to-win/$300-to-start the 50-lap main event.

Starting this Friday June 25 and continuing thru August 20 drivers will pre-qualify for the 50^th running of the Johnny Key Classic. This will be accomplished by taking the winner from June 25; July 16; July 30 & August 20 A-main main events and locking them into a starting spot for the Johnny Key Classic race.

After the first night of pre-qualifying if the winner of the next week event is the same, we will take the #2 finisher, until the final night of pre-qualifying. After August 20 the top two (2) DRIVERS in Ocean 360 Sprints presented by Taco Bravo Series points that have NOT secured a starting spot in the Key race will be included in the pre-qualified Key race line up.

In addition to the main event purse there will also be lap money sold for the Johnny Key Classic. The cost is $50 a lap with $25 going to the leader, $15 for second and $10 for third. For anyone that would like to purchase a lap please contact Samantha at [email protected]

During the most recent Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo event on June 4 defending Johnny Key Classic champion Tommy Tarlton became the first repeat winner in the 2010 season by recording a clean sweep of the night’s festivities. With the victory the Easton driver was also able to extend his current series point lead to 18-markers with six-events held so far and eight remaining. Tarlton is also on a streak of three fast-time efforts in a row with the Ocean 360’s behind the wheel of the his Corporate America Lending, Tachi Palace No. 21 and will look to make it back-to-back wins on Friday.

Climbing his way back to second in the standings after charging from 14^th to fourth in the main event during the previous race is Campbell’s Brent Kaeding, who will look to close the gap between himself and Tarlton this Friday night. The strong run on June 4 was also good enough to make “BK” the “Fully Charged presented by Sun Electric” hard-charger in the feature for the second event in a row with the series. Kaeding will look to build on that night in an attempt to get back to victory lane at Ocean Speedway for the first time since April 3, 2009 aboard the Al’s Roofing Supply, High Five Pizza No. 69.

Looking to rebound after a tough ending on June 4 will be Elk Grove’s Kyle Larson, who goes into Friday now sitting third in the Ocean Sprint Car Series presented by Taco Bravo standings and is 23-digits back of Tarlton for the lead. The 17-year-old had moved through the field in the feature to get up and challenge for the lead, until a spin in traffic with six-laps left relegated him to a 14^th place finish at the checkered flag during most recent event. Larson so far this year has one victory with the Ocean Sprints and will be gunning for number two on Friday at the helm of his Stadelhofer Construction, Peppermill Casino No. 99.

Clovis, CA’s Peter Murphy will be searching for his first win of the Ocean Sprints presented by Taco Bravo year this weekend, after tallying a season-best second place finish at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds track on June 4. The driver of the Buster & Ziggy Enterprise, Kiwi Transport No. 11 took the lead on lap-eight of the feature at the previous race and held it until his good friend Tarlton was able to get by with just 10-circuits left to grab the win away. Going into Friday Murphy ranks fourth in the standings and is 38-points behind the top-spot.

Completing the top-five in the Ocean 360 Sprint Car Series presented by Taco Bravo standings going into Friday night is 2000 Golden State Challenge King of California Ronnie Day of Salinas. The veteran driver of the Keith Day Trucking, El Camino Machine & Welding No. 22 qualified second fastest in the field on June 4 and brought home a ninth place finish in the main event. Day comes into the weekend sitting just seven slim markers behind Murphy for fourth in points.

Other previous race winners with the Ocean Sprints this season expected on Friday will include San Jose’s Tim Kaeding, Prunedale’s Justin Sanders and Campbell’s Bud Kaeding. “TK” captured victory in Tulare on May 22 with the series in his lone start of the year and is expected to be on hand Friday to try and qualify for the Key aboard the Roth Motorsports No. 83. The former King of California also ended last season by winning the final two events of the year at Ocean Speedway driving for car owner’s Dennis & Teresa Roth.

Sanders currently ranks seventh in the standings and will be looking to improve upon an 18^th place finish from June 4 in his North County Plastering No. 17. The youngster scored his second career Ocean Sprints win on May 7. Bud Kaeding was the winner during opening night and has been one of the most consistent performers this season, currently sitting ninth in points despite missing one event. The current USAC Silver Crown point leader carved his way from 15^th to sixth on June 4 at Ocean Speedway.

Other drivers expected this Friday night include Gilroy’s Eric Rossi, Visalia’s Cory Eliason, Grass Valley’s Jason Statler, Pleasanton’s Brad Furr, San Jose’s Matt Sargent, Morgan Hill’s Devon Ostheimer and Ricky Wright Jr., San Martin’s Craig Smith, Fremont’s Shane Golobic, Gilroy’s Kurt Nelson, Corralitos’ Jerry Bonnema and more.

The front gate of the Ocean Speedway will open at 4:30pm this Friday night June 25 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 $12 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

Coming up- The Ocean Sprint Car Series presented by Taco Bravo will go dark the next couple weekends, prior to gearing up for the second qualifying race for the Johnny Key Classic on July 16. The night of racing will also be the first of two Ocean Sprints vs. California Sprint Car Civil War Series events this year.

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Current Ocean Sprints point leader and defending champion Tommy Tarlton in victory lane on June 4 at the Ocean Speedway. The defending Johnny Key Classic winner will be looking for his third win of the season to try and stretch his current 18-point advantage in the Ocean Sprints standings over Brent Kaeding. Photo's by L&J Photography http://picasaweb.google.com/jmart16164?pli=1

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Johnny Key Classic Qualifying Races-

Qualifying Race 1- Friday June 25

Qualifying Race 2- Friday July 16 (Ocean vs. Civil War)

Qualifying Race 3- Friday July 30

Qualifying Race 4- Friday August 20

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In addition to the main event purse there will also be lap money sold for the Johnny Key Classic. The cost is $50 a lap with $25 going to the leader, $15 for second and $10 for third. For anyone that would like to purchase a lap please contact Samantha at [email protected]

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I am glad to see the return of the lap money; however I am disappointed to see that there is a minimum of $50 per lap. In my opinion it takes away from the potential winnings to the drivers. I can remember as a kid with $5 or $10 in your pocket and you wanted to put it on a specific lap for a specific reason you could.....the way it stands now, unless you have $50 in your pocket your not contributing to the lap money.

It shouldnt matter how much a fan has in their pocket if they want to contribute, if a fan wants to put $2 on lap two because thats his favorite number; then he should be able to do so!!!! Every dollar collected is appreciated from a drivers standpoint. Why limit the amount of contributions you can get by setting a specific cost per lap???? Do away with the cost of the lap and raise EVERY dollar you can get for these competitors......that lap money helps make every lap that much more exciting. Just my thoughts....good luck to all, and thanks again to Ocean for keeping this race alive.

i remember back when the big races of the year would come along and there would be people walking the stands with envelopes and clipboards, taking lap money contributions and recording what lap they were to go to. it didn't matter if it was for lap 20 or 2 or 100, or how much money had already been put up for each lap or how much you were putting up. there was no limit to what a lap could be worth. they wrote down a lap number and how much money they were given then added up all the money for each lap and that was how much that lap was worth. if you want to spread out the money over the top 3 positions each lap, i have no problem with that. you had multiple people putting up money for lap 7 for sargent or lap 22 for spencer, or lap 44 or 69 for martin and kaeding. you had fans contributing what they could for weeks before the event and on the night of the event, and by that time you had a good amount of lap money. on the split main event shows they would be contributing for the first half of the race right up to the green flag for the first half. then contributions would continue being accepted for the second half of the race. i am glad that lap money is going to be available and that fans are going to have a chance to contribute if they would like. i just hope ALL donations will be accepted and noted and that anyone who wants to contribute will be be able to, no matter what number they want to pick or how much money they can afford to spend or how much money has been put up for a lap or not put up for a lap so far. i hope people will be able to come up to the announce booth, or where ever, the next few weeks and contribute what money they feel they can afford on whatever number they want and their contribution will mean just as much no matter what it is. you old timers remember the bidding wars for some of the numbers! there used to be lines of people going up and down the stands to the announce booth to give money! and when people went through the stands to collect money they would shout out how much someone gave for a lap and challenge other people to match it on other laps! like i said, i am glad to see laps being available, i just hope all donations are welcome, and that donations are not stopped just because they may have gotten donations for every lap. are they saying they have 50 laps to sell at 50 buck a lap and if a lap is already bought you have to buy an open lap and when and if all the laps are sold, then no more money will be accepted? i don't know. that is why i am asking. i say collect as much money as you can! and put it where the fans want and let these guys race their asses off for whatever they can get! i even remember sending the drivers up in the stands to get lap money, and when the driver turned in the money they put it on their car number! they used to do all kinds of stuff to get the fans involved.

to indy and beyond!!

I remember when this race was 200 laps then 150 then 100 laps on asphalt, then, we went to dirt. This race use to be one of the biggest races in norcal. I'm happy that Watsonville has kept this south bay tradition going. Fifty dollars a lap or not traditions must go on. Gary keep up the great job!! 2D Mike

Thanks 2D hope we'll see ya at the track sometime soon.

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i have been told all contributions to Key Race lap money will be accepted. i am not in charge but i believe gary thomas said he will give special notice to those who donate at least $50. maybe GT can clarify that for us. no matter what, the time to contribute is upon us. part of the history of the race has been the fan involvement and their contributions. GT says he will gladly take your money at the track if you bring it to the announcers booth! just bring it up and tell him what lap to put it on, then challenge the other fans to beat or match your contribution. heck, you might even get him to come to you if you hold it up and wave it at him! lol. heck i think he might even kiss your baby for it if she is single and over 18! lol. heck, it might be worth $50 bucks to make him stay away!

for you guys in the pits you can see samantha to contribute. samantha is the lady you see when you go do your pill pick.

people can contact samantha at [email protected] and GT at [email protected] and they will give you more info.

to indy and beyond!!

I understand the purpose of the lap money and I'm sure the drivers who benefit appreciate it. However, because of the lap money I hope the promoter does not lose site of his responsibility to provide a descent purse...a pay-out that does not fall off a cliff after first place

Like to see the whole main event payout.

i think you need to take that 100 bucks you got and split it between laps 1 and 21!

to indy and beyond!!

hope everybody comes out to the civil war/taco bravo deal july 16th it will be a great night of racing kyle larsons move on the first lap was worth the drive for me great job kyle... i have seen two ocean races this year,and they have had great racing/car counts in both......GT does a real nice job at the mike....

I have to agree with you. Should be a good show Taco Bravo 360s and Civil War 360 together that night should be a big car count. Gary Thomas does an excellent job on the mike. The best I've heard in a long time. I like the way he informs the fans of the drivers past history, sponsors, etc. Very professional for his first announcing job. Keep up the good work GT, just would like to hear you at other tracks we attend, Pville, Petaluma, Antioch, Silver Dollar, Tulare, Hanford and Chowchilla.

Looking forward to July 16th.

Totally agree with you Oldtimer, GT is outstanding. When he announced both nights at Santa Maria for Taco Bravo and GSC I had friends from our Bandit and USAC/CRA days asking me about him. All said they had never learned past facts about the racers before and thoroughly enjoyed GT's knowledge and enthusiasm. With Dan Simpson taking over GSC next year and George H. having a lot more responsibilities and no time for announcing it would be to GSC's benefit to have GT be our permanent/traveling announcer. Makes sense I think.

I have to agree with one of the above posts also that I too would like see the payout for the Key, from the A to the B and lap money!

Troy Hennig and Bobby Gerould make a great team at the Trophy Cup. Along with GT, 3 of the most knowledgeable sprint car announcers we have in California.

I haven't had the opportunity to listen to Gary Thomas at the race track, but I think he is the very best at public relations (for sprint cars) in the country. I am sure however that he does a good job on the mic. Keep up the great work Gary!

"Ralphie, Senor, muchas gracias por una mas cerveza"  -
Scott Daloisio @ the PAS

No doubt. All of those guys mentioned are fantastic and we're lucky to have them. Bill Sullivan is no slouch in the announcing/PR department either.

Agree with you here also, this being Gary Thomas first year in announcing at a track, you would never know it was his first. Come to Ocean and you will see what we are talking about, if I had to rank the announcers in California, Gary would be in the top 2. I hope his dedication to racing pays off one day for him.

Wow thankyou everybody you all are too kind. It means a lot.

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