Wagner Hustles to Late-Race SportMod Score at Ocean

By Ben Deatherage WATSONVILLE, California (Sept. 27, 2024) – Troy Foulger got the job done on the first night of the Pettit Shootout at Ocean Speedway in exciting fashion in the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified division. The defending Shootout winner got the lead late in the race, after a three-car dogfight, to score the $1,003 win and Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying eligibility. The race started thrillingly when Robby Sawyer rocketed under Paul Stone and Gavyn Manning, made it three-wide going into the first turn, and led the opening lap. After two early cautions, Manning got around Stone to move into second. But the two kept battling, which allowed Sawyer to pull away. Sawyer got out to a really good lead a couple of times, but frustratingly, all of his hard work would be erased due to a few more stoppages, which not only reset the race but also tested Sawyer’s ability to maintain his lead under pressure. On the final restart, with 14 laps to still cover, Foulger started 11th, battled hard with Stone [Read More]

By Ben Deatherage  WATSONVILLE, Calif. (April 1, 2022) – Ocean Speedway returned to racing on Friday for their third race on the campaign, with IMCA feature wins going to Cody Burke and Jonathan Hagio.  At the release of the green flag for the 20-lap IMCA Northern SportMod main, Igor Gandzuk took the reins on the opening lap and set a rapid pace but was eventually caught by the completion of the seventh circuit. The driver to catch Gandzuk was Jonathan Hagio. However, Hagio was by no means out of the proverbial woods as he got bottled up in lapped traffic that brought the entire top five into contention for the lead. Shortly after Hagio passed the last car on the lead lap, a multi-car incident, including two top-five runners, occurred on the 12th circuit. Hagio got up to speed but felt some brief heat a few circuits later. Richard Ragsdale got close to getting around Hagio, but the leader kept Ragsdale in check and scored his first win of 2022. Ragsdale was second, followed by Fred [Read More]

By Steven BlakesleyBlakesley Sports Media WATSONVILLE, Calif. (Sept. 30, 2023) – Troy Foulger completed the sweep of the Pat and Jim Pettit Memorial Shootout at Ocean Speedway in Saturday’s 103-lap finale, grabbing the 13th annual Friesen Performance IMCA Modified event in Watsonville. The victory paid $3,006 to win in the extra distance affair at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds after Foulger snared $1,003 and Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying eligibility on Friday night. “Thank you to the Pettit family for everything they do. They are a wonderful family and give us a great race,” Foulger said. “Hats off to the track crew and hopefully that was a good show for the fans. I saw (Nick DeCarlo’s) nose down there and I didn’t know what pace to set. Lapped traffic was thick so I just started sliding people. So I kind of moved my line down there in three and four and was able to get away.” Hall of Famer Jim Pettit II led the 22 starters from the pole position before Foulger took over the lead [Read More]