Ocean Speedway

History

The track was the brainchild of retired driver Bert Moreland and a small group of others in the winter of 1959. They came up with a plan to put a 1/4 mile race track in the infield of the existing 1/2 mile horse track. The first race took place May 27, 1960 and was won by Art Eaton. Figure 8 racing was introduced to the area at the speedway in 1964 and was popular with fans and drivers. Ray Elder was one of the most notable drivers to compete at Watsonville Speedway in its early days. The track then turned to stock cars, with those such as future NASCAR driver and Daytona 500 winner Ernie Irvan competing there in the '70s. In the '80s, the NASCAR Late Model Stock Cars were the feature division and were a part of the Winston Racing Series, where drivers could compete for National and Regional points. Another NASCAR legend, Bobby Allison, raced at the track once in 1983 in the Late Models. The Grand American Modifieds made their debut in 1990. Ken Schrader, Kenny Wallace, Geoff Bodine, Ernie Irvan and his father, Vic, ran a "Race of Champions" against each other in the Modifieds in 1999 while they were in the area for the NASCAR race in Sonoma. A year later, Mike Skinner, Sterling Marlin, Jimmy Spencer, Vic Irvan, and track sponsor John Prentice competed in the second edition of the event. Super Modifieds made sporadic appearances at the speedway in the 60s and 70s. Sprint Cars also made appearances at the track on a staggered basis with local series, including the Northern Auto Racing Club (NARC) and the Golden State Challenge/King of California series. The annual Trophy Cup was held once at the speedway in 2000.

Ocean Speedway Era

Former street stock and dwarf car driver John Prentice took over operation of the track in 2006 and renamed it Ocean Speedway, in alliance with the Ocean Chevrolet and Honda dealerships located in Santa Cruz County, where he worked as the General Manager. Several years after Prentice acquired the track, a lawsuit was filed against the speedway and the fairgrounds by a neighborhood group called the Community Alliance for Fairgrounds Accountability, or CAFA, alleging the track was a nuisance due to the noise the cars produced. After being stayed three times while both parties looked for common ground, the lawsuit was dropped and races were allowed to continue with stricter sound rules and an earlier curfew. The track currently hosts a weekly 360 Sprint Car championship along with other divisions including IMCA Modifieds and SportMods, Dwarf Cars, American Stocks, and 4-cylinders, affectionately called "4-Bangers." The track also holds five "Police-N-Pursuit" races a year, in which police officers, detectives, and others from local agencies compete in retired police vehicles to raise money for Special Olympics of Northern California. Travelling series that visit the track include the NARC/King of the West 410 Sprint Cars, Civil War 360 Sprint Cars, USAC/CRA 410 Sprint Cars, USAC West Coast 360s, BCRA Midgets, and the West Coast Modified Series.

Notable drivers

Some notable drivers who have made appearances at Ocean Speedway over the years include World of Outlaws champions Steve Kinser, Sammy Swindell, Danny Lasoski, and Donny Schatz. Indianapolis 500 competitor, Bryan Clauson made his winged sprint car debut at the track in 2011. Current NASCAR drivers Kasey Kahne, Kyle Larson, and Rico Abreu, and others such as former NASCAR drivers Kraig Kinser, Brad Sweet, and Tyler Walker have also raced at the track, along with, Andy Hillenburg, Kerry Madsen, Joey Saldana, Lucas Wolfe, Dale Blaney, Johnny Herrera, Cory Kruseman, Brady Bacon, and Michael Pickens. Cole Custer won at the track in a USAC Jr. Ford Focus Midget in 2011. Ex-49er Sam Kennedy races at the track in the American Stocks on a now-and-then basis.

List of Track Champions

Track championships have been awarded since the track opened in 1960 in the Claimer division. The division was discontinued in 1964 in favor of the Sportsman class.