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JUSTIN SANDERS WINS THIRD HK; CONTINUES NARC DOMINANCE AT OCEAN

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(7/19/25 - Andrew Kunas) Watsonville, CA ... Justin Sanders continued his winning ways Saturday night, getting his sixth NARC King of the West sprint car victory of the season, but it was probably one of the most special of his career as it came at the 15th Annual Howard Kaeding Classic at Ocean Speedway.

Sanders had to contend with traffic, and a determined Shane Golobic, to pick up his third career win in the event, but this year's event carried much more emotional weight as it was the first Howard Kaeding Classic without the man the race honors, as Howard had passed away earlier this year.

"Glad to get the first two HK's while HK was here, so that's pretty special and that's something I'll remember for a long time down the road," Sanders said about his first HK win without the late patriarch of the Kaeding Family in attendance.

Sanders started the pole for the 30-lap feature and led all but one lap, but it was not easy for last year's NARC champion. Sanders was challenged early by Washington state visitor Jesse Schlotfeldt, who briefly passed him only for Sanders get back by on the same lap and continue in the top spot when Schlotfeldt got into the loose clay at the top of Turn 4. Schlotfeldt then had to surrender second place and the leave the track during the next caution due his muffler coming off the car.

Sanders continued to lead, but soon traffic became a factor and Shane Golobic, the 2023 Kaeding Classic winner, went after Sanders for the lead. With 20 laps down, Golobic threw a slider in Turns 3 and 4 and made it stick, taking the lead and leading Lap 21, but Sanders returned the favor on other end of the track to regain the lead on the 22nd lap.

As the track began to take rubber, Sanders again had to contend with slower car and Golobic closed back in. Sanders struggled with slower cars, but Golobic couldn't take advantage as Sanders made late key passes around a couple of slower cars to maintain the lead at the end, taking the checkered flag aboard the Yuba Sutter Aviation-sponsored Mittry Motorsports No. 2x Fisher-powered KPC.

The win was a Howard Kaeding Classic record $10,000 to win with many sponsors pitching in and other money raising efforts adding to it, and that followed Sanders' $5,000 win in Friday's NARC race at Ocean Speedway. His 28th career NARC King of the West win tied him with Steve Kent on the all-time win list.

"Once I saw (Golobic) down there, I knew it was going to be tough," Sanders said. "Shane got a run on me and I happened to get squared up and I got a run and slid him back for $10,000. I just it ran it as hard as I could. I don't know if we had the best car tonight, but we had a good car. I wish Max Mittry and (car owner) Demo Mittry could be here (to see the win)."

Sanders praised his team for their work, and also praised everyone who showed their support for the Howard Kaeding Classic and raising more money for the teams to race for during the special weekend.

A night after getting upside down, Golobic would've liked to have won but otherwise was happy to settle for a runner-up finish aboard the NOS Energy-sponsored Matt Wood Racing No. 17w Kistler-powered KPC. Also a night after going over, Ryan Bernal bounced back himself with a podium finish aboard the NOS Energy-sponsored Josh Ford Motorsports No. 73 1Way-powered Triple X after battling with Landon Brooks, who finished fourth aboard the Lipper Construction-sponsored Bates-Hamilton Racing No. 21L Kistler-powered Maxim.

Sean Becker, who flipped upside down in his heat race earlier but still transferred out of it, finished fifth in the main event aboard the D&J Construction Rental-sponsored Bjork Construction No. 7b Shaver-powered Maxim. Kaleb Montgomery, Tyler Thompson, Tanner Carrick, Nick Parker and Dominic Scelzi rounded out the Top 10. Joey Ancona earned the Williams Roofing Hard Charger nod, coming from 22nd to finish 13th.

Sanders won the Beacon Wealth Strategies Trophy Dash to secure the pole position for the main event, with Parker starting to his outside. Heat races earlier in the evening were won by Carrick, Tim Kaeding, Golobic and Schlotfeldt. D.J. Netto won the Winters Performance Last Chance Qualifier, taking Dylan Bloomfield, Ancona and Jake Andreotti with him to the feature.

Nick Parker was the fastest in Automotive Racing Products Qualifying, pacing the 29-car field in split qualifying with a time of 10.879 seconds to best the second flight. Tanner Carrick topped the first flight of qualifying with a lap of 10.946 seconds.

NARC's "Cooler Weather Tour," a stretch of races occurring at tracks along the California coastline expecting to feature comfortable temperatures, continues with the series' annual visit to Santa Maria Speedway on July 26th. It concludes with the 65th Johnny Key Classic at Ocean Speedway on August 2nd.

The Northern Auto Racing Club is the premier 410 winged sprint car series in the western United States. Since 1960, the traveling organization has thrilled fans at dirt tracks up and down the West Coast and crowned a "King of the West" champion. For more information on the NARC 410 sprint car series, including race results, points standings, and upcoming events, go to www.narc410.com. You can also follow on various social media platforms.

Hoosier Racing Tires Feature (30 laps): 1. 2X-Justin Sanders[1]; 2. 17W-Shane Golobic[6]; 3. 73-Ryan Bernal[7]; 4. 21L-Landon Brooks[3]; 5. 7B-Sean Becker[12]; 6. 3-Kaleb Montgomery[13]; 7. 35KM-Tyler Thompson[8]; 8. 83T-Tanner Carrick[5]; 9. 15-Nick Parker[2]; 10. 41-Dominic Scelzi[17]; 11. 17-Colby Copeland[9]; 12. 29-Bud Kaeding[15]; 13. 88A-Joey Ancona[22]; 14. 10-Dominic Gorden[18]; 15. 88N-DJ Netto[20]; 16. 83V-Dylan Bloomfield[21]; 17. 121-Caeden Steele[11]; 18. 21-Jesse Schlotfeldt[4]; 19. 72W-Kurt Nelson[14]; 20. 12J-John Clark[19]; 21. 12-Jarrett Soares[16]; 22. 7P-Jake Andreotti[23]; 23. 10X-Jace Park[10]; 24. 0-Tim Kaeding[24]

METTEC Titanium Lap Leaders: Justin Sanders 1-20 & 22-30, Shane Golobic 21

Williams Roofing Hard Charger: 88a Joey Ancona, 22nd to 13th (+9)

Automotive Racing Products Fast Qualifier (29 cars): 15 Nick Parker, 10.879 seconds in Flight 2. Flight 1 fast time: 83t Tanner Carrick, 10.946 seconds

Brown & Miller Racing Solutions Heat 1 (8 laps): 1. 83t Tanner Carrick, 2. 17 Colby Copeland, 3. 121 Caeden Steele, 4. 3 Kaleb Montgomery, 5. 12j John Clark, 6. 88a Joey Ancona, 7. 83v Dylan Bloomfield, 8. 25z Jason Chisum. First five finishers transfer to Feature.

Kimo's Tropical Carwash Heat 2 (8 laps): 1. 0 Tim Kaeding, 2. 73 Ryan Bernal, 3. 21L Landon Brooks, 4. 29 Bud Kaeding, 5. 41 Dominic Scelzi, 6. 7p Jake Andreotti, 7. 31 Kyle Beilman. First five finishers transfer to Feature.

WEDG High Performance Karts Heat 3 (8 laps): 1. 17w Shane Golobic, 2. 35km Tyler Thompson, 3. 15 Nick Parker, 4. 72w Kurt Nelson, 5. 10 Dominic Gorden, 6. 88n D.J. Netto, 7. 2k Gauge Garcia. First five finishers transfer to Feature.

Winters Performance Heat 4 (8 laps): 1. 21 Jesse Schlotfeldt, 2. 2x Justin Sanders, 3. 10x Jace Park, 4. 7b Sean Becker, 5. 12 Jarrett Soares, 6. 34b Glenn Bryan, 7. 14 Mariah Ede. First five finishers transfer to Feature.

Beacon Wealth Strategies Raymond James Trophy Dash (6 laps): 1. 2x Justin Sanders, 2. 15 Nick Parker, 3. 21L Landon Brooks, 4. 21 Jesse Schlotfeldt, 5. 0 Tim Kaeding, 6. 83t Tanner Carrick, 7. 17w Shane Golobic. Finish determined first seven starting positions of Feature.

Winters Performance Last Chance Qualifier (10 laps): 1. 88n D.J. Netto, 2. 83v Dylan Bloomfield, 3. 88a Joey Ancona, 4. 7p Jake Andreotti, 5. 31 Kyle Beilman, 6. 25z Jason Chisum, 7. 34b Glenn Bryan, DNS - 2k Gauge Garcia,14 Mariah Ede. First four finishers transfer to Feature.