WATSONVILLE, Calif. — The opening night of the Pat and Jim Pettit Memorial Shootout at Ocean Speedway saw a young winner earn one of their career-best performances, with Troy Morris III claiming the 33-lap IMCA modified win.
Cale Kanke and three-time track champion Rob Gallaher also earned wins during the Friday night portion of the 12th annual event. There were 114 cars in action across the IMCA modified, sport modified and hobby stock divisions.
Morris drove around the outside of 2020 and 2021 Ocean champion Cody Burke at the start of the feature for the lead. Tim Balding stopped in turn four for a caution on lap four. Morris encountered significant lapped traffic on lap 14 with three-wide action in front of him.
It boiled over into turn one with cars bouncing all over the track. Les Friend was hit hard by Matthew Hagio, sending Hagio airborne into turn one. Both drivers were eliminated from the event. JC Elrod also had contact and later dropped out from the race on lap 21.
Future Hall of Famer Bobby Hogge IV broke free from the pack to drive from his fifth starting position into second. He attempted a crossover pass on Morris on multiple occasions in a tight battle.
Morris never surrendered, earning the significant victory.
Hogge settled for second followed by Burke. Former track champion Brian Cass was the Hard Charger with a drive from 15th to fourth, followed by Andy Obertello in fifth.Â
A late surge from Cale Kanke earned him the 23-lap IMCA sport modified win after a marathon race with red flags and caution flags. Markus Frazier led the opening lap before a caution for debris. Brent Curran went outside of him to lead lap three.
Troy Morris, Jr. spun in turn three and nearly collected Kanke, requiring an additional yellow.
The wildest moment of the night came on the restart when a three-wide collision on the front stretch swallowed up Ethan Killingsworth. He flipped wildly side over side in a tangle with Andrew Peckham and suffered hard hits from Kenny Shrader and KC Keller. Killingsworth was uninjured.
A four-car fender bender brought out a caution on the next attempt at a restart.
Kanke challenged Mark Garner for second, taking the position on the outside on lap 13. Ryan Smith slowed on the top of turn two for a yellow on lap 17. Kanke challenged Curran for the lead several times over the final six laps.
Kanke drove around Curran on the outside to lead lap 21 and Andrew Pearce followed him into second. Kanke, the 2021 Pettit Shootout winner, scored the win over Pearce, Curran, Fred Ryland and Tyler Blankenship.Â
Three-time Ocean Speedway hobby stock champion Gallaher returned to the speedway and to victory lane after a 23-lap feature. DJ Keldsen led the way from the pole position. Second-starting Taylor DeCarlo and third-starting Bobby Motts were each part of cautions in the early stages.
John Tevis stopped in turn one for a caution on lap six. Gallaher seized the opportunity to drive outside of Keldsen for the lead on lap eight. Kodie Dean hit the backstretch wall while running in the top-five on lap eight, while a multi-car spin occurred simultaneously in turn one.
Gallaher drove to a 2.883 second victory over Keldsen, Ryan Hart, Mark Cooper and Clarence Holbrook.Â
IMCA Modified Feature (33 Laps)
1. 07X-Troy Morris III[2]; 2. 2-Bobby Hogge IV[5]; 3. 20-Cody Burke[1]; 4. 55-Brian Cass[15]; 5. 29-Andy Obertello[9]; 6. 17-Nick DeCarlo[10]; 7. 49-Troy Foulger[11]; 8. 29C-Aaron Crowell[7]; 9. 4X-Anthony Slaney[16]; 10. 6-Jim Pettit II[6]; 11. 77D-Cole Dick[8]; 12. 28K-Chester Kniss[17]; 13. 50-Michael Paul Jr[13]; 14. 66-Kevin Pendergrass[20]; 15. 22G-Paul Guglielmoni[12]; 16. 7-Chris Crompe[21]; 17. 84X-JC Elrod[14]; 18. 1-Shawn Natenstedt[4]; 19. 168-Bo Crebs[3]; 20. 92-Les Friend[19]; 21. 14H-Matthew Hagio[22]; 22. 1B-Tim Balding[18]