Three more drivers win track titles at Ocean
BY: TONY KARIS

With three more Ocean Speedway division champions crowned Friday night, only one championship is still up for grabs.

Freedom’s Wally Kennedy won his first career American Stock title, Salinas’ Orval Zane Burke Jr. captured the Micro 600 championship by just 11 points and Gilroy’s Gilbert Toste wrapped up his second Bay Area Dwarf Car title with a convincing victory.

Kennedy won by 68 points over San Jose’s Matt Kile. He stayed relatively trouble-free during the season, completing all but a handful of laps during the 18 races.

“I’m grateful for all the energy and all the effort that was given to me by my wife and the small group of people supporting me,” Kennedy said. “I can honestly say I never started a season with hope for a title. It just evolved this year. I think having fewer mechanical problems this year was a big part of my success.”

Gilroy’s Steve Montgomery closed the year with his fifth main event win of the season. Aptos’ Nick Silva edged Santa Cruz’s Andrew McKenzie for rookie of the year. Silva was fourth in the overall standings, 10 points ahead of McKenzie.

“I’m really excited because this is the one goal I’ve had all year,” Silva said of rookie of the year. “Andrew’s a tough competitor; that also helped me. My mom and dad are the real reason for my success. My dad with his racing experience and my mom’s passionate support made all the difference.”

Kile moved ahead of Gilroy’s Al Eaton and Silva to take second in the standings. Eaton dropped to third after chasing Kennedy the entire second half of the season.

The title is still up for grabs in the GLR Investments 360 Series, which Easton’s Tommy Tarlton leads by five points over two-time champion Brent Kaeding. Kaeding’s son Tim passed him to win Friday night’s feature, with Santa Clara’s Brad Furr taking second and Kaeding taking third to trim his point deficit by two.

Sixteen-year-old Devon Ostheimer of Morgan Hill led the first six laps, then Kaeding made an inside pass and led the next 21 laps until Tim Kaeding captured the lead for good on lap 28.

“Slower traffic played a big part in catching my dad,” Tim Kaeding said. “I don’t think I could have made the win if I hadn’t caught him in traffic. He was too good with an open track. I needed the traffic to win. We will be back next week for the final race and try to make it two in a row.”

Furr passed Brent Kaeding on the final lap of the 30-lap feature to finish second. Tarlton placed fourth, while Bud Kaeding, who is Tim’s brother and is chasing his third USAC Silver Crown title, took fifth.

West Sacramento’s Kyle Harris, Prunedale’s Justin Sanders, Fremont’s Shane Golobic and Roseville’s Mike Henry won the heat races.

Toste’s win Friday night was his third this year. He ran consistently in the top five this year to win the title by 48 points over Los Banos’ Gene Pires.

“We’ve always been close every year,” Toste said. “Staying consistent is very important. These new kids coming into dwarf cars are very competitive, so winning and consistently staying in the top five gets harder every year. I’m very happy to win a second championship.”

Sixteen-year-old Shawn Jones, a former kart racer, took second in the finale and captured rookie of the year honors.

“These are the fastest cars I’ve ever driven,” Jones said. “Thanks to Gilbert Toste, I’ve learned quite a bit about how they handle and how to drive them. So far, this is the most fun I’ve ever had racing.”

Fair Oaks’ Christine Root closed the Micro 600 season with her second victory. Burke, who took second, won three features, three trophy dashes and three heat races to win the title over Morgan Hill’s Bryce Trump. Trump and Hollister’s Tom Bray won the heat races.

The GLR Investment Series, Wingless Sprint Cars and the 4-Banger division will hold their final points races of the season Friday night, weather and track conditions permitting. The Ocean Speedway season will conclude the following week with the Dwarf Car and Micro 600 Nationals.

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