Hollister’s Howard Fergerson Jr. [wingless sprint cars] and Prunedale’s Justin Sanders [360 winged sprint cars] etched their names into the rising stars sprint car record book.
Sanders, 16, pulled off a huge upset, winning his first GLR Investments 360 winged sprint car series main event, outrunning veteran sprint car champions and chargers Evan Suggs, Bud Kaeding, Brent Kaeding and Tommy Tarlton for his first win.
“This win still seems unbelievable,” Sanders said. “Some of the best sprint car drivers in the country were all over my tail; this is such a fantastic feeling. Brent and Bud gave me some great advice on driving, how to approach the track and chassis set-ups. ... Now that I’ve beaten them, that help may not be so forthcoming.”
Scotts Valley’s Suggs, who has built a reputation as an excellent qualifier as well as a hard charger, started from pole position for the 25-lap feature.
“On almost every restart Evan went to the top of the race track,” Sanders said. “But for some reason he moved to the bottom of the track where I was running. When the car ran through some ruts, it upset the chassis. When that happened, I did all I could to be very smooth and stay on the throttle. I drove under him coming off Turn 2 and grabbed the lead.”
Taking 45 minutes to complete two laps then stopping for refueling didn’t bode well for the series. Once Sanders took the lead, the crowd remained anxious as he stayed in first after each of the seven restarts.
Sanders took the lead, the crowd remained anxious as he stayed in first after each of the seven restarts.
Bud Kaeding, Brent Kaeding and Suggs all pressured Sanders for the top spot, but each made his own small mistakes on the track to add to Sanders’ opportunity.
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