Ocean Speedway: Stone, Balding split IMCA Western Nationals races
By Tony Karis



WATSONVILLE -- The two-night, two-division, Jim Pettit & Sons-sponsored IMCA Western Nationals 30/30 Shootout and the second annual 4-Banger Nationals both resulted in split decisions.

Prunedale's Tim Balding and Winton's Paul Stone were Friday and Saturday night winners, respectively, in the IMCA Western Nationals.

Watsonville's Matt Sotomayor solidified his 4-Banger run for 2009 by sweeping Friday night's action, then finishing second in Saturday night's event to earn enough points for his first career championship.

It took three tries to get Friday night's A-feature started, but once underway, the first round of 30 laps ran non-stop. Balding led the final 20 laps and Gilroy's Jerry Movrich led the first ten.

"I'm very thankful for a non-stop race," Balding said. "It's what we really needed. We had a perfect car but with top modified drivers like Paul chasing you, we would have definitely had our hands full if a caution flag was waved."

Before the first lap was complete, a six-car crash sent Oakley's Kellen Chadwick head-on into the crash wall. Chadwick walked away, but his Mike Sargent-owned car was a total loss. The impact also split the engine block.

Movrich led the first nine laps prior to Balding's 21-lap run to the finish. Stone finished second after his win in the second "B" main event.

Salinas' Bobby Hogge IV, always a contender in open modified racing, suffered a flat tire on the second lap, ending his chance for a good finish. He was scored 13th. Movrich stayed in the hunt to finish third. Randy Brown and 2009 track champion Kenny Nott completed the top five.

Although Stone won Saturday night's $3,000 first prize, it wasn't easy, despite the caution flags. The Burke brothers of Salinas, Austin and Cody who are considered the young guns in modified racing, challenged the veterans by leading almost half of the 30-lap feature.

Nott starting on pole position led the first eight laps with older brother Cody pressing him for the lead. Cody proceeded to hold off Nott and Balding for four exciting laps. Moving in slower traffic, Cody made an inside move on Lap 12 to pass San Rafael's Mark Dehnert. He hit the left rear corner of Dehnert's car, lost control, spun 90 degrees and took out Nott and Balding. Brother Austin, running fourth at the time, took over the lead.

Austin had his hands full as he was chased by Chowchilla's Randy Brown and veteran Jimmy Lust. Austin traded the least with Brown for two laps before a caution flag regrouped the field on Lap 14. Surprisingly, the youngster held off all challengers until Stone passed him on Lap 21.

"My tires were glazing over and I was losing forward traction," Austin said. "I was doing all I could trying to keep the car smooth."

Austin finished third behind Brown and Stone. Lust finished fourth and Martinez's Nick DeCarlo passed Chadwick for fifth with two laps remaining.

Brentwood's Freddy Ryland smoked the field Saturday night, passing Sotomayor for the lead in the second round of the 4-Banger Nationals. It was all for naught, however, because he was disqualified in a post-race technical inspection for having after-market springs on his car.

The win was passed to Gilroy's Robert Gallaher, giving him his second feature win of the year. Sotomayor, with five feature wins this season, moved into second place.

First time feature winner this year, Sean Markley Jr. and Steve Leonard rounded out the top five.

Although the trophy dash was the shortest race of the evening, it was one of the more exciting races with Gilroy's Adrian DeSousa winning her first dash by passing Joe wiloughby on the final lap for the win. DeSousa has won 4-Banger features at Antioch and Chowchilla speedways. Friday night, she finished third in the main event by passing Wiloughby with two laps remaining.

In addition to Sotomayor's five feature wins, he has three trophy dash and eight heat race wins this season.

"Despite having my car claimed, this was an amazing year," Sotomayor said. "It took my whole family including my grandparents and friends to make this season a success. It's a fantastic accomplishment."

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