WATSONVILLE, Calif. — Andy Obertello has always been a fan of long races.
Now he’s the winner of one.
Obertello led the last 78 laps of Ocean Speedway’s Pettit Memorial main event for Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, earning a career-best $3,006 payday for his efforts in the 103-lap marathon.
“I’m not a rookie to these longer races. I used all the tips and tricks I’ve learned over the years. My main focus was to not overdrive late in the race,” said Obertello. “When I got to fourth I did a double take when I saw (multi-time race winner) Bobby Hogge. I knew I had something developing and I made it happen.”
From Hollister and newly eligible for Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying, Obertello had run fifth in the Friday feature and started eighth in Saturday’s big show.
Hogge and Friday winner Troy Foulger both time at the front before Obertello took charge.
“I knew we had our work cut out for us but we had a fast car. I had been watching the track and formulating a plan for which lane we would run,” he said. “It was unconventional but it was working and I was passing cars. I was able to get through the corners faster than a lot of other guys.”
Tenth starting Shawn Natenstedt was the runner-up and Hogge ended in third. Cody Burke and Foulger completed the top five.
Hard charger Paul Stone started 21st and finished sixth.
The win was Obertello’s first of the season and Pettit Memorial’s first as well.
“We moved, I started a new job and our kids had a lot of activities, like swimming, soccer, T-ball, karate,” he said. “Our plan this year was 10 races as a baseline and fewer if other stuff came up.”
“We had seconds or a third in our (just three) starts earlier in the year and knew we could do better,” Obertello continued. “I was just the guy who turned the steering wheel and pressed the gas pedal. The whole team won this race, really.”
Matt Sanders went from a DNF in Friday ‘B’ feature action to the $1,006 Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod winner on Saturday at Watsonville.
He’d started that 33-lapper from 10th, was running top three by midway and took the lead following a restart just after the halfway point.
The win came during Sanders’ first-ever weekend visit to Ocean.
“It was kind of a last-minute decision to come. We know Jim (Pettit) and it’s pretty cool to be able to come to a track we’ve never been to before, be competitive and win a big race like this,” said Sanders, who counted Yreka’s rich Western SportMod Nationals among eight previous checkers this season. “To win another big race like this means a lot to us.”
Jeffrey Hudson and Matthew Hagio rounded out the top three.
Seventy-eight IMCA entries were on hand for the 14th annual Pettit Memorial. The race was streamed on IMCA.TV, an affiliate of SPEEDSPORT.TV.