WATSONVILLE >> Clayton’s Joey Ancona made just his second Ocean Speedway start of the season on Friday night and raced to his third career Taco Bravo Sprint Car victory.

Ancona led all but one lap in the feature race.

Other division winners included Tyler Tucker in IMCA Sport Mods, Thomas Cumming in Four Bangers and Bryant Bell in Western Midget Racing.

“We haven’t raced all that much this year, so it feels great to get a victory tonight in Watsonville,” said Ancona. “We have a lot of national races coming up out here, so we really wanted to get some laps before all that occurs. I want to thank my entire family and our sponsors for making it happen.”

Fresno’s Kyle Rasmussen took the lead on the first lap of the Ocean sprint car feature race, but Ancona slipped by for the top spot on lap two.

After that Ancona had his way with things out front, although Rasmussen stayed somewhat close over the duration of the contest. Several cautions slowed the flow, but Ancona hit his marks on every restart.

Ancona eventually crossed under the Ed Entz checkered flag to pick up the win ahead of Rasmussen, Ocean Sprints point leader Caleb Debem of Salinas, Jennifer Osborne of Geyserville and Oakdale’s Brad Dillard.

IMCA Sport Mod

The 20-lap IMCA Sport Mod finale featured some solid racing throughout the pack. Reigning Ocean Speedway champion Chuck Golden of Pittsburg set the early pace up front.

Several drivers fought for position behind him however and kept the crowd on intrigued. A lap 15 restart changed the complexion of the race when Delhi driver Tyler Tucker blasted to the outside and grabbed the lead that he would never relinquish.

Tucker went on to score his first Ocean win over Golden. Jason Ryan Jr., Chris Falkenberg and point leader Emali VanHoff rounded out the top five.

Four Banger

The Four Banger main event was all about San Jose’s Thomas Cumming, who drove away to earn his fourth victory of the season at Ocean Speedway.

Watsonville’s Joshua Silva blasted to the lead at the waving of the green flag and held command over the first few circuits. Once Cumming got by though, he never relinquished the lead. He crossed under the stripe by over two seconds over Silva. Points leader Peter Vannerus, Ken Keegan and Nicole Beardsley rounded out the top five.

Western Midget

Bryant Bell of Oakley prevailed for his fourth consecutive Ocean Speedway Western Midget Racing win. He held off Logan Mitchell of Santa Cruz for the title in the 20-lap feature.

Adam Weisberg Santa Clarita led the first 17-laps on a fast-paced Ocean Speedway fresh after track prep. Bell, the 2023 champion, San Jose’s Anthony Bruno, and Santa Cruz’s Logan Mitchell hounded Weisberg in a tight formation. All three drivers in pursuit of Weisberg were previous winners in the WMR series, which added to the pressure for the second year Midget racer.

Bruno sailed inside of Bell for second in turn three but got sideways, allowing Mitchell to seize third on lap 15.

Weisberg’s bid for his first ever WMR victory ended when his No. 15 Stealth Chassis went up in smoke, which set up a three-lap shootout between Bell and Mitchell.

Bell outfoxed Mitchell over the final three circuits on the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds dirt track for the win. He was followed by Mitchell, Bruno, Roseville’s Josh Young, and Las Vegas’ Kyle Hawse across the finish line.