oceanspeedway Archives

Bobby Hogge Tops All-Star Modified Race At Ocean

By Steven Blakesley WATSONVILLE, Calif. (May 30, 2025) – Salinas’ Bobby Hogge topped the second round of the All-Star Challenge in the Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds at Ocean Speedway. It was his fifth win of 2025 in the Shaw Race Cars Western Region. Troy Foulger led the opening lap of the 25-lap IMCA Modified feature. Robert Marsh mounted a challenge on the high side to seize the lead on lap three. Foulger slid Marsh in turn four and the duo ran side-by-side on lap five. Hogge edged into the battling, looking to the inside of Foulger as well. The furious battling was halted when Todd Hermosillo spun in turn four. Marsh pitted with a flat left front tire as well. Hogge pounced on the restart, diving inside to lead lap eight over Foulger. Hogge accumulated a 4.2 second advantage that was nullified by Kyle Bryan stopping in turn four on lap 23. Hogge persevered over a green-white-checked finish to nab the victory, followed by Jim Pettit II and Foulger in second and third. Wagner Controls Ocean [Read More]

Pettit Prevails in Ocean Modified Feature

By Steven Blakesley WATSONVILLE, Calif. (May 16, 2025) — Hall of Famer Jim Pettit II from Prunedale captured his first Ocean Speedway Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature win of the 2025 season in the Shaw Race Cars Western Region, taking the checkers in a 25-lap main event. Jonathan Hagio jumped out to the early lead from the pole, while Pettit engaged in a spirited battle for second with Nevada Lady Eagle racer Katelynn Robertson. Pettit powered past Hagio in turn four to take the lead on lap 13. A few laps later, Hagio’s car erupted in smoke, ending his race on lap 17 and bringing out a caution. On the restart, Pettit’s machine also began to smoke, but he held strong to capture the win, with Robertson finishing second and Cody Burke third. The event was broadcast 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.

Hogge Stays Hot with Ocean Modified Win

By Gary Thomas WATSONVILLE, Calfi. (May 9, 2025) — The Friesen Performance IMCA Modified main event at Ocean Speedway saw Jonathan Hagio set the pace early on, until Jim Pettit II drove by after a restart. Bobby Hogge, in the Paul Gugliemoni provided no. 2 entry, then climbed into second and began to hound the rear of the leader. On lap 9 the duo was racing nose to tail, which then saw Pettit get turned to bring out a caution. Hogge, from Salinas, led the remaining distance to grab the win ahead of Robert Marsh and Cody Burke. Hogge’s third win of the season came at his third different track in the Shaw Race Cars Western Region. A healthy field of Karl Chevrolet IMCA Northern SportMods competed on Friday night with 19 total entries signing in. D.J. Keldsen led the opening circuit in the feature, before Trevor Clymens went by the take the point on lap 2. The SportMods put on an entertaining main event once again at Ocean, with cars running high and low. Right around [Read More]

Ryan Jr. Rallies From 10th for Ocean SportMod Victory

By Steven Blakesley WATSONVILLE, Calif. (May 2, 2025) — Tenth-starting Jason Ryan Jr. of Oakley rolled the bottom to perfection to take the Karl Chevrolet IMCA Northern SportMod 20-lap victory at Ocean Speedway. Polesitter Trent Golden withstood multiple challenges from Rob Gallaher in lapped traffic to maintain the lead throughout the event. Ryan edged forward throughout the race, then finally was in position to pounce, taking the lead on the inside on lap 14. It marked Ryan’s first triumph of 2025. Golden finished second, followed by Gallaher. The event was broadcast on IMCA TV affiliate Stars On Dirt TV. Missed the action? Catch every lap with the IMCA TV Replay Subscription for just $24.99/month. The Boone Docuseries Season 2 is now streaming exclusively on IMCA TV.

Van Hoff Scores Breakthrough SportMod Win at Ocean

By Gary Thomas WATSONVILLE, Calif. (Apr. 25, 2025) — For the second event in a row the Karl Chevrolet IMCA SportMods put on an action filled 20-lap main feature. Chowchilla’s Emali Van Hoff brought home the Ocean Speedway title last year without winning a main event, while using extreme consistency. On Friday night she was determined to check off a main event win and had some tremendous battles with Trent Golden, K.C. Keller and others. The SportMods ran high and low on the well-prepared Watsonville bullring. Van Hoff led some before falling to second but regained the lead around the halfway point. She went on to claim the big triumph over Keller and previous feature winner Bo Crebs racing the no. 168 for car owner Jerry Movrich. It was the Lady Eagle racer’s first win of 2025. The event was streamed live on IMCA TV affiliate Stars On Dirt TV. Replays are available through the IMCA TV Replay Subscription for $24.99/month. Already subscribed? Be sure to check out Season 2 of the Boone Docuseries, now streaming [Read More]

Marsh Holds Off Hogge for Modified Glory at Ocean

By Gary Thomas WATSONVILLE, Calif. (Apr. 11, 2025) — The 25-lap Friesen Performance IMCA Modified finale at Ocean Speedway featured a fantastic race that saw Robert Marsh of Salinas end up in victory lane. Jonathan Hagio took the lead at the waving of the green flag and set a fast pace over the early stages. Side-by-side racing and battles were seen all over the track during the main event. Marsh reeled in Hagio and hounded his rear before taking command on lap eight. Marsh proceeded to pull away but had to run some perfect laps towards the end as Bobby Hogge closed. The Salinas legend moved into second with six laps left and cut down a wide margin between the pair. Hogge would run out of time, however, as Marsh claimed the win by just over half a second — his first of the season in the Shaw Race Cars Western Region. Hogge and Jim Pettit II rounded out the podium. Crebs Captures Wild SportMod Main The Karl Chevrolet IMCA SportMods also provided an ultra-entertaining 20-lap [Read More]

Burke Battles from Eighth to Win IMCA Modified Opener at Ocean

By Steven Blakesley WATSONVILLE, Calif. (Mar. 28, 2025) — Cody Burke of Salinas drove from the eighth starting position to win the season opening 25-lap Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature. Robert Marsh of Salinas fended off some tough customers for the first half of the event. A caution for both Jonathan Hagio and Kyle Bryan each in separate spins, set up the key restart for Burke. Burke drove inside Marsh on the backstretch to take the lead on lap 15. Bobby Hogge followed him into second as well. Hogge hounded Burke to no avail over the final ten laps. Burke earned the victory over Hogge, Marsh, Bakersfield’s Robby Sawyer, and Prunedale’s Jim Pettit II. It is Burke’s first win of the season in the Shaw Race Cars Western Region. Wagner Slices Through Field for SportMod Triumph Baypoint’s Danny Wagner took home the win in the 20-lap Karl Chevrolet IMCA SportMod main event from a scheduled ninth starting position. Cody Bryan, Matthew Frazier, and Rob Gallaher each took turns at the lead over the first four laps. [Read More]

Obertello, Sanders sail to Pettit IMCA wins at Ocean

WATSONVILLE, Calif. (Sept. 28, 2024) – Andy Obertello has always been a fan of long races. Now he’s the winner of one. Obertello led the last 78 laps of Ocean Speedway’s of Ocean Speedway’s Pettit Memorial main event for Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, earning a career-best $3,006 payday for his efforts in the 103-lap marathon. “I’m not a rookie to these longer races. I used all the tips and tricks I’ve learned over the years. My main focus was to not overdrive late in the race,” said Obertello. “When I got to fourth I did a double take when I saw (multi-time race winner) Bobby Hogge. I knew I had something developing and I made it happen.” From Hollister and newly eligible for Fast Shafts All-Star Invitational qualifying, Obertello had run fifth in the Friday feature and started eighth in Saturday’s big show. Hogge and Friday winner Troy Foulger both time at the front before Obertello took charge. “I knew we had our work cut out for us but we had a fast car. I had [Read More]

Foulger, Shrader pace Pettit Shootout on opening night

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]

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]