WATSONVILLE, Calif. — Bud Kaeding won his second Taco Bravo 360 Sprint Car Series feature at Ocean Speedway on Friday night.Â
Kaeding, in his familiar black No. 69 Al’s Roofing Company Maxim, bested J.J. Ringo and Joey Ancona in the 30-lap affair. Rounding out the top five were Tanner Carrick and pole sitter Jodie Robinson.
Robinson and Tristan Guardino brought the 21-car field down for the green. Corey Day, who was scheduled to start eighth, did not make the call for the main event. Robinson jumped to an early lead, setting a fast pace which allowed her to catch slower traffic by lap five. The first of many caution flags came out on lap six when Adam Kaeding stopped on the top of the track in turn four.
Robinson would pick the inside spot on the double-file restart and it would be Guardino who would motor around her to take the lead in the first turn. Jason Chisum would be charged with the next caution when he stopped on the front stretch on lap seven.
Guardino would pick the bottom line on the restart but he would prove costly as he bobbled in the first turn allowing Kaeding to pass both him and Robinson. Once out front, Kaeding showed his veteran driving skills and began to stretch his lead.
That lead was negated when the caution came out after two cars, one of them Nick Ringo cut through the infield taking out a tire barrier and the restart cones in the fourth turn. Just when the race restarted the caution quickly came out as cars running towards the back of the pack got jumbled up, sending Adam Kaeding and Jeremy Chisum into a spin. The race would attempt to restart again however the track would once again go yellow as Nick Ringo stops off of turn three on lap 12.
On lap 14, Guardino would pass Robinson for the second spot but another caution would slow the race as Mitchell Faccinto and Kurt Nelson tangled in the middle of turns three and four. Faccinto would pit for a small wing repair and return to tag the rear of the field.
On the restart, Guardino would take the lead briefly but he and Kaeding entered the third turn side by side and only Kaeding would exit the corner as Guardino went for a spin bringing out yet another caution. Guardino would have to give up the second spot as Robinson would once again be alongside of Kaeding for a double file restart.
The race would go less than a half lap when Connor Danell got sideways in the second turn leaving Bradly Dillard and Guardino no room and all three cars get together. Danell suffered a flat left rear tire, Guardino had a bent small wing but Dillard was able to restart at the tail.
With the maximum of 75 caution laps reached, the race was red flagged for a fuel stop at the half way point.
The second half of the race went much smoother with no cautions. Ringo had a close call while battling Robinson for second when he ran over her rear nerf bar. Robinson’s car would lose the handle and she would fall back, first being passed by Ringo and then by Ancona.
With two laps to go, Kaeding caught traffic, allowing Ringo to get to his back bumper but that was the only threat the Campbell, California driver had.
Kaeding, always the showman, did a series of victory doughnuts at the east end of the track and then slid around backwards into victory lane.
The finish:
Bud Kaeding, J.J. Ringo, Joey Ancona, Tanner Carrick, Jodie Robinson, Zane Blanchard, Joel Myers Jr., Jake Andreotti, Koen Shaw, Nick Ringo, Kurt Nelson, Bradley Dillard, Josh Chisum, Conner Danell, Mitchell Faccinto, Tristan Guardino, Blake Carrick, Jeremy Chisum, Adam Kaeding, Jason Chisum, Ryan Delisle, Keith Day Jr.