Pettit Powers to Late-Race Modified Win at Ocean

Modified, News, Northern SportMod, Results

Jim Pettit II of Prunedale, Calif. celebrates in victory lane at Ocean Speedway after winning the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature. The win marked his second Shaw Race Cars Western Region triumph of the season, both coming at the Watsonville oval. (Photo by Top Dawg Photos)

By Steven Blakesley

WATSONVILLE, Calif. (Jun. 20, 2025) —  Jim Pettit II of Prunedale soared around the outside of Cody Burke with two laps remaining to win the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature at Ocean Speedway — his second Shaw Race Cars Western Region victory of the season, both at the track. Burke led the action from the pole position. Dustin Canale spun to set up a restart on just the first lap of competition. An accordion effect on the restart caught out Bobby Hogge and Todd Hermosillo, requiring another caution to separate the two vehicles.

Cole Szlauko spun from third on lap 17, erasing a 1.6 second lead for Burke over Pettit and setting up a three-lap shootout. Pettit took full advantage, driving to the top side to lead lap 19. Burke battled back on the bottom in turn four coming to the checkered flag to no avail. Pettit scored the win followed by Burke and Jonathan Hagio.

Wagner Outduels Golden for Sixth SportMod Victory of ‘25

The Karl Chevrolet IMCA Northern SportMod 20-lap feature was claimed by points leader Danny Wagner of Bay Point. Trent Golden led the opening circuit over the 18-car field. A hard crash involving multiple cars on the front stretch stopped the race, ending the night for Max Baggett, Trevor Clymens, and David Crocker.

Wagner navigated through the chaos to challenge Golden, leading lap eight with a slide job in turn four. Golden answered back to lead lap ten. Golden got sideways in lapped traffic, allowing Wagner to make the decisive pass on lap 12. Wagner led the final eight laps to earn his fourth win at Ocean Speedway and sixth overall in 2025, followed by Steven Allee and Trevor Clymens.

The event was broadcast live on IMCA TV affiliate Stars On Dirt TV. Catch every lap again with the IMCA TV Replay Subscription, available for just $24.99/month. And don’t miss Season 2 of the Boone Docuseries, now streaming exclusively on IMCA TV.

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Results

Ryland tames Ocean Speedway for second straight week

By Ben Deatherage WATSONVILLE, Calif. (April 9) – The Karl Kustoms IMCA Northern Sport Mods made their second appearance of the 2021 season at Ocean Speedway Friday evening.  On the opening start of the main event, Billy Robertson was the first to pace the field.  A caution on the second lap bunched the field up, preventing Robertson from building a large lead. On the restart, Fred Ryland maneuvered his way to the front and was the leader of the third circuit.  Once the Brentwood veteran obtained the top place position, Ryland began to check out from the rest of the pack. However, Ryland was not able to construct too large of a lead as an additional five stoppages occurred, which also took out the factor of lapped traffic.  Despite the slowdowns and restarts, Ryland, who started eight,h won his fifth Karl Kustoms Northern SportMod feature of the new season.   Randy Miller was the runner-up with third place going to Jim DiGiovanni.  Adriane Frost placed fourth while Trevor Clymens wound up fifth.

Modified

Champions crowed in exciting finale at Ocean

By Steven Blakesley Blakesley Sports Media WATSONVILLE, Calif. (Aug. 23, 2024) – Ocean Speedway in Watsonville concluded its 2024 IMCA Speedway Motors Weekly Racing point season Friday night at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds on an exciting night on the dirt. Jim Pettit wrapped up back-to-back Friesen Performance IMCA Modified titles while 18-year-old Emali VanHoff claimed her first Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod championship. The Modifieds had an outstanding quality field for a 25-lap feature. Robert Marsh went through the middle down the backstretch to lead lap one after starting third. Marsh then spun in turn two, sparking a chain reaction crash. Fred Lind flipped side over side wildly to draw a red flag. Lind was uninjured. Bobby Hogge drove into the lead on lap seven with former champ Cody Burke and Pettit in pursuit in second and third. A series of cautions over the next 10 laps kept the field in close quarters. Hogge survived an onslaught of challenges from Burke and Pettit to score the championship finale win over Pettit, Burke, eighth-starting Jacob Mallet [Read More]

Northern SportMod

Keller collects Friday checkers at Ocean

By Steven Blakesley Blakesley Sports Media WATSONVILLE, Calif. (July 19, 2024) – Kc Keller prevailed over a strong field of Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMods to claim Friday’s 20-lap feature at Ocean Speedway. “I had a little baby girl in February, she’s five months old now. It was going to be kind of a lot (to keep racing),” Keller said. “But my son has taken a huge interest this year. So we took the car off the market and as long as he’s going with me and the rest family, we’re going to keep going.” Keller snagged the pole position against a 19-car starting grid. The first caution fell on lap five when Brian Baggett spun in turn two. On the restart, Steven Allee pedaled a bit from second to fourth. Bo Crebs crashed in turn four with front end up damage for the next caution on lap seven. Cody Bryan pitted with a right front flat tire as well. Matt Hagio and Rob Gallaher, the fourth row starters, went head-to-head in a back and forth [Read More]