Shane Golovic will compete in the 13th Annual Howard Kading Classic at Watsonville’s Ocean Speedway on Saturday night. (Dawg photo at top)

WATSONVILLE — Two-time Ocean Speedway Sprint Car champion Shane Golovic won the 13th Annual Howard Kading Classic on Saturday night, winning a thrilling $6,900 prize in front of a sold-out crowd. Victory.

With his victory in the NARC 410 sprint car, Golovic joins the illustrious list of Hong Kong Classic winners at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds.

“They’re racing hard. You’re behind the wheel every lap. I have two of the best guys in the industry behind me, Cory[Day]and Justin[Sanders]so I have to go. I have to,” Golovic said. “Fortunately we were able to hold on. Towards the end of the race I was really nervous about where to go with such an aggressive driver behind me. This is definitely what I’ve been doing for years. It’s a win I wanted to win, and I’m really happy to win it in honor of Howard.”

Golovic set the fastest overall lap time in the four group high-speed qualifiers to advance through the ARP Bolt Qualifier. Then Tim Kading won the Sunny Valley Bacon Dash. Kading and Golovic won the front row with 24 starts in the 30-lap contest with a first prize of $6,900 and a start prize of $1,200.

Disaster ensued on the opening circuit when 2021 Hong Kong winner Sean Becker (Roseville) spun and clipped Sacramento’s Justin Cox (Justin Cox). Cox overturned and was rammed by numerous cars. Cox, Jeremy and Jason Chisholm have been ruled out of the fray.

Kading led the opening lap of the feature, leading the pack into traffic for the lap on lap six. Golović showed a nose at Turn 4 and took over control a few laps later on lap 10.

Clovis Day, the NARC points leader, moved up to second place and challenged Gorovic for the lead. Aromas’ Saunders, Friday night’s winner and 2022 Hong Kong winner, also took third from Kaedin.

Oakley’s Dylan Bloomfield popped the cushion at turns 1 and 2 and the red flag came out on lap 19.

Golovic made a strong restart and put Day in a battle for second place with Sanders. The battle was interrupted when Arizona’s Nick Parker spun in Turn 2 on lap 21.

The day was a lot better, and he cornered Gorovic. He attempted to slide from two car lengths away on lap 26 and collided with Gorovic on the exit of Turn 2. Saunders turned under them and tried to take a 2–1 lead. Day stopped on the backstretch to call attention. Golovic defended his lead, with Sanders starting second with four points to go. After a trip to the work area that day, we rejoined.

Golovic and Saunders criss-crossed Ocean Speedway with four laps to go, with Golovic running last at the final corner to seal the win. Sanders finished second, followed by Tim Kading, event organizer Bud Kading and two-time NARC champion Dominic Serzi of Fresno.

Western Midget Racing

Drake Edwards of Surprise, Arizona, had a driving clinic on the $1,000 Western Midget Racing feature, but was ultimately ruled out on the scales after 25 laps of the race. Friday’s winner Edwards slipped back from fifth starting position as fast heat race winner Blake Bower (Brentwood) enjoyed the race lead from pole position.

Edwards moved into third from the outside of Santa Cruz’s Logan Mitchell and passed Oakley’s Bryant Bell on lap five for second. Edwards then surged on the outside of Bower to take the lead on lap eight.

Bell slowed his pace and retired from the race on lap ten. Edwards used the outside in lap traffic to pass most of the 15 cars and eventually amassed a nine-second advantage over two-time series champion Blake Bower.

Bauer followed after Edwards crossed the stripes first. Mitchell won a long battle of races with Nate Waite for Lodi, Greg Dennett for Livermore and Adrianna Demartini for Brentwood. After Edwards got on the scale lightly, Bower was credited with his 12th victory and $1,000 in prize money at Ocean in his WMR.

IMCA modified

2022 Ocean Speedway and IMCA Modified State Champion Jim Pettit II used the outside to win the 25-lap main event. Camarillo’s Trevor Fitz controlled the race for the first nine laps, but slowed on the exit of Turn 4 to surrender the lead and issue the caution flag.

Salinas’ Robert Marsh took the lead, with Hollister’s Andy Obertero and Salinas’ Austin Burke battling for second.

Burke had a late restart on lap 13, dropping him back to fifth. Pettitte, who started eighth, revived on the outside and moved up to second on the backstretch of lap 14. He stayed on the outside and moved into the lead on lap 16.

Marsh slowed from second before getting a debris warning at turn two. Pettitte held on to the outside and held off an inside challenger, Obertero, to take the win. Timothy Alladings of Prescott Valley, Arizona finished third, followed by Brian Clarke of Bakersfield, who started 14th, and Andrew Pearce of Oakley.

hobby stock

Watsonville’s Adrian Frost thrilled the crowd with a favorite win at the 20-lap Hobby Stock Feature. Frost took the wire-to-wire lead but faced a formidable challenge late in the race from Newman’s DJ Keldsen, who started 10th.

Keldsen ran the final four laps on Frost’s left rear wheel. Frost tried to close the door on the final turn, but Keldsen plummeted outside her. Frost narrowly defeated Keldsen in an exciting finish. Friday winner Joe Gallagher finished third, followed by Watsonville’s Steve Remde and Bobby Gallagher.

if you go

taco bravo night
when: Friday, 6pm
event: Ocean Sprint, IMCA Sports Mod, Hobby Stock, Four Bangers, Police in Pursuit, South Bay Dwarf Car
where: Ocean Speedway, Watsonville
tickets: Ocean Speedway.com