NARC RETURNS TO OCEAN SPEEDWAY FOR 65TH ANNUAL JOHNNY KEY CLASSIC
2025-07-29 03:37
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(7/28/25 - Andrew Kunas) Watsonville, CA ... The NARC 410 Sprint Car Series will make its final visit of the season to Ocean Speedway on Saturday, August 2nd, when the series takes part in the 65th running of the Johnny Key Classic.
The event honors a legendary driver who dominated California racing during the late 1940's and 1950's. It was 1952 where Key reportedly won an astounding 54 races in different classes of cars, and that included a 500-lap race at San Jose Speedway where he won by 18 laps. Key won numerous other races in sprint cars and midgets during his career and won several championships. Key lost his life at just 30 years of age in a midget crash in 1954 in Ohio.
The Johnny Key Classic was first run in 1954, shortly after his passing, and was won by Danny Graves. It ran for decades under different lengths and formats, but it was run in San Jose until 1999. After a hiatus, the event was brought back in 2007 at Ocean Speedway as a 360 sprint car event. In 2025, the event became a 410 sprint car event under NARC sanctioning.
Saturday's race will be the fourth for NARC at Ocean Speedway and will pay $5,000 to the winner of the 30-lap main event.
Nick Rescino leads everyone with six Johnny Key Classic victories over the years. Howard Kaeding was a four-time winner while his legendary son Brent won it twice. Other past winners of the race in its various forms include Al Pombo, Clyde Palmer, Marshall Sargent and Mike Sargent, Burt Foland, Chuck Miller, Ronnie Day, Tommy Tarlton, and more recently the likes of Rico Abreu, Justin Sanders, Buddy Kofoid, Tanner Thorson, Shane Golobic and Dominic Scelzi.
WHO TO WATCH
Former NARC champion Bud Kaeding of Campbell will be one driver fans will be keeping an eye on. While he didn't win on either night at the Howard Kaeding Classic, Bud did lead laps in the main event on the first night before a treacherous cushion bit him and sent him off the track. Kaeding knows Ocean Speedway well and will look at it as an opportunity to get back in the win column in NARC competition aboard the BK Motorsports No. 29. After mechanical issues in his heat race last Saturday at Santa Maria Speedway, Kaeding earned the Williams Roofing Hard Charger Award in the main event, moving up ten positions.
Gauge Garcia of Lemoore won last year's Johnny Key Classic, its last as a 360 event. Garcia is still hunting his first 410 victory with NARC, and it would be ironic if that first win came in the event he previously won in something different. He and the Keller Motorsports No. 2k have dealt with motor issues throughout the season but have still shown speed throughout.
D.J. Netto, another former NARC champion, has two wins on the season and took over the points lead Saturday at Santa Maria. The Hanford driver and the Netto Ag No. 88n turned in a fourth place run in Watsonville the other weekend but suffered a mechanical problem and dropped out of the feature in Santa Maria. Despite having the points lead, Netto is wanting to get back in the win column this weekend.
Also expected to compete is Harrisburg, Oregon's Tyler Thompson, who leads the NARC Rookie of the Year chase and had a podium finish at Ocean Speedway in May. Fresno drivers Caeden Steele and Mariah Ede are expected to join, along with Oroville's Sean Becker, Dominic Gordon of Clovis, Templeton's Kaleb Montgomery and John Clark from Windsor. Former track champion Kurt Nelson is a frequent participant when NARC visits his home track as well.
FAN INFO
Ocean Speedway is located on the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds in Watsonville, at 2601 E Lake Ave. Front gates open at 3:30 p.m. with racing scheduled 6:00 p.m. Also joining NARC to race on Saturday will be IMCA modifieds, IMCA sport mods and BCRA lightning sprints.
Saturday's event concludes the "Cooler Weather Tour," the recent stretch of races for NARC all scheduled along the California coast and featuring comfortable temperatures for teams and fans. After a break allowing NARC teams to go to the Knoxville Nationals in Iowa and High Limit events happening after that in California, NARC returns to action when it visits the reopening Calistoga Speedway for the Louie Vermeil Classic on Saturday and Sunday, August 30th and 31st.
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.
The NARC 410 Sprint Car Racing Series is also sponsored by Hoosier Racing Tires and Floracing.com. Associate sponsors include Automotive Racing Products (ARP), Beacon Wealth Strategies, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Bullet Impressions, Jim Allen Promotions, Kimo's Tropical Car Wash, Mettec Titanium, MyRacePass, Red Rose Transportation, Tarlton & Son, Wedg High Performance Karts, Williams Roofing, and Winters Performance Products.
2025 NARC 410 SPRINT CARS SERIES
(AFTER 19 EVENTS IN 27-RACE SERIES - 7/27/25)
DJ Netto, Hanford - 2420
Tyler Thompson, Harrisburg, OR (R) - 2413
Sean Becker, Roseville - 2405
Bud Kaeding, Campbell - 2397
Dominic Gorden, Clovis - 2374
Gauge Garcia, Lemoore - 2318
Justin Sanders, Aromas - 2312
Caeden Steele, Fresno - 2217
Mariah Ede, Fresno (R) - 2136
Dominic Scelzi, Fresno - 2020
Landon Brooks, Rio Oso - 1881
Billy Aton, Benicia - 1761
Tanner Holmes, Jacksonville, OR - 1760
Nick Parker, Tucson, AX - 1584
Shane Golobic, Fremont - 1521
John Clark, Windsor - 1471
Max Mittry, Redding - 1437
Jess Schlotfeldt, Arlington, WA - 1215
Kaleb Montgomery, Templeton - 1198
Tim Kaeding, San Jose - 1068
Upcoming Events
August 30 - Calistoga Speedway - Calistoga, CA (Louie Vermeil Classic - Night 1)
August 31 - Calistoga Speedway - Calistoga, CA (Louie Vermeil Classic - Night 2)
September 6 - Placerville Speedway - Placerville, CA
NARC 2025 Winners
March 8 - D.J. Netto at Stockton Dirt Track (Salute to Leroy Van Connett)
April 12 - Justin Sanders at Silver Dollar Speedway (Mini Gold Cup)
May 10 - D.J. Netto at Antioch Speedway (Contra Costa County Clash)
May 16 - Justin Sanders at Ocean Speedway
May 17 - Tanner Holmes (Race 1) & Caeden Steele (Race 2) at Thunderbowl Raceway (Morrie Williams Memorial)
May 31 - Dominic Gorden at Placerville Speedway (Dave Bradway Jr Memorial)
June 7 - Justin Sanders at Silver Dollar Speedway (David Tarter Memorial)
June 11 - James McFadden at Southern Oregon Speedway
June 12 - James McFadden at Douglas County Dirt Track
June 13 - Jesse Schlotfeldt at Cottage Grove Speedway
June 14 - James McFadden at Willamette Speedway
June 15 - James McFadden at Grays Harbor Raceway (Timber Cup)
June 19 - Levi Klatt at Skagit Speedway (Super Dirt Cup - Night 1)
June 20 - Justin Sanders at Skagit Speedway (Super Dirt Cup - Night 2)
June 21 - Trey Starks at Skagit Speedway (Super Dirt Cup finale)
July 12 - Tim Kaeding at Petaluma Speedway (Dave Lindt Memorial)
July 18 - Justin Sanders at Ocean Speedway (Howard Kaeding Classic - Night 1)
July 19 - Justin Sanders at Ocean Speedway (Howard Kaeding Classic - Night 2)
July 26 - at Santa Maria Speedway (Showdown at Santa Maria)