WATSONVILLE, Calif. – Justin Sanders won the 30 lap season finale for the Taco Bravo Sprint Car Series Friday at Ocean Speedway, while J.J. Ringo was crowned the series champion.
Sanders, in his yellow No. 17 North County Plastering/Andy’s Construction-sponsored car, led the entire distance after starting on the pole, beating out Brad Furr and Colby Copeland. Ringo and Joey Ancona rounded out the top-five.
Ringo and Bud Kaeding entered the season’s final race tied in the track’s 360 series points battle. Ringo, who started eighth, and Kaeding, a 10th place starter, spent most of the feature at each other’s heels. It would be Kaeding who would pass Ringo on the 26th circuit, giving him the advantage.
A lap later Kaeding, while lapping the slower car of Richard Fajardo, would run over his left rear tire coming out of the second turn, sending his black No. 69 sprint car into a series of flips, bringing out the red flag. Ringo would slip to the outside of Fajardo, avoiding the accident and safeguarding a good enough finish to claim the title.
Kaeding’s damaged car would be towed to the work area where enough repairs were made to allow him to rejoin the contest. His beat up car was no longer competitive, and he would limp around to a disappointing 13th-place finish.
A jubilant Ringo did victory donuts in the fourth turn, stalling the car. He would be pushed to the front stretch where his crew greeted him with a champagne bath even before he could exit the car.
Once out, Ringo mounted the top wing, where he did a series of fists pumps and then ran across the track to the crossover gate, where he entered the grandstands and he continued to celebrate with the fans all while still wearing his race helmet.
The finish:
Justin Sanders, Brad Furr, Colby Copeland, J.J. Ringo, Joey Ancona, John Clark, Koen Shaw, Trent Canales, Jeremy Chisum, Tristan Guardino, Jake Andreotti, Jake Hagopian, Bud Kaeding, Keith Day Jr., Evan Bonnema, Richard Fajardo, Ricky Brophy, William, Camara, Jason Chisum, Bud Foland.