WATSONVILLE, Calif. — D.J. Netto became only the second sprint car driver to repeat a win at Ocean Speedway this season when he picked up the win on Friday night.
The Hanford, Calif., native led all 30 laps of the Taco Bravo Series for the 360 sprint cars after starting on the pole.
Bud Kaeding, the series points leader, finished second, the same place he started after dogging Netto nearly the entire race. Mitchell Faccinto joined the duo early on but finished a distant third.
The event once again was held in front of empty grandstands due to COVID-19, however, there were 35 sprint cars that signed in.
Netto started on the pole for the feature next to Kaeding as a result of their 1-2 finish in the dash. It was Netto who took a slight advantage over Kaeding as the two dueled around the quarter-mile track. Faccinto soon joined in however it was Chase Johnson who would bring out the race’s first caution on lap 10.
With a clear track on the restart, it was Netto who would continue to click off the fastest laps. Chase Majdic made a bold move on J.J. Hickle that would move him into fourth. The attention was on the front two cars however as a battle between the youngster and master was forming. That would only last five laps, as Tristian Guardino would spin in the third turn and bring out a caution, only the second of the race.
On the restart, once again it was a Netto-Kaeding joust with Kaeding laying in wait for Netto to slip up. Netto ran a nearly flawless race seemingly catching lapped cars at the right place on the track but it would be Kaeding who would loose ground with only five circuits remaining when he had difficulty in lapped traffic.
Netto would pick up his second Ocean Speedway win of this season, the first being the opening night of the Howard Kaeding Classic.
The Finish:
D.J. Netto, Bud Kaeding, Mitchell Faccinto, Chase Majdic, J.J. Hickle, Kaleb Montgomery, Blake Carrick, Max Mittry, Tucker Worth, Nick Ringo, Trent Canales, Jake Andreoti, Joey Ancona, Tristan Guardino, Kurt Nelson, Jake Haulot, Jason Chisum, Jeremy Chisum, Landon Hurst, Joel Myers, Tanner Carrick, Chase Johnson