Ocean Speedway
October 25, 2015
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Matt Hagio, Terry Campion, and Brian Soulages win season finales; Hagio, Campion, and Luke Babcock crowned 2015 champions

by Sean Stanish
Watsonville, CA – Matt Hagio’s rookie year in the IMCA Sport Mods ended with a championship. This matched the feat done by 2012 champ, Matt Sotomayor, whose uncle Al finished second in this year’s points tally. On track, Matt Hagio of Prunedale won the eight-lap heat race by nearly four seconds over Al Sotomayor of Morgan Hill. Salinas’ Duane Bieser ran around the track for fun once again and was not officially scored. In the 15-Lap A-Main, Matt Hagio led the way from the start and quickly opened up a sizable lead over Al Sotomayor. Hagio did have one slip-up, which allowed Sotomayor by, but a mistake by Sotomayor soon after handed the lead back to Hagio. In the end, Matt Hagio took the win by one and a half seconds over Al Sotomayor, with Duane Bieser bringing up the rear in the three-car race. Matt Hagio’s margin of victory in the point’s race was 27 over Al Sotomayor. Hagio and Sotomayor were the only two drivers to compete in every IMCA Sport Mod race this season.

Santa Cruz’s Terry Campion had the cards fall his way Friday night when he came home with his third win of the season and his second American Stock title. In the first heat race, San Jose’s Robert Gallaher won over Watsonville’s George Fernandez, Gilroy’s Nick Triolo, Sean Capdepon and Ron Bonnema, both of Corralitos, completed the top five. In the second heat, Watsonville’s Sam Kennedy took the win ahead of San Jose’s Charlie Hunter, Terry Campion, Prunedale’s Jake Silva, and San Jose’s Katie Briggs who rounded out the top five. In the 20-lap main event, outside pole-sitter Terry Campion jumped out to the early lead. The first caution came out on lap three when George Fernandez spun and collected Charlie Hunter. On the restart, Terry Campion continued to lead while Sean Capdepon, Robert Gallaher, and Ron Bonnema battled for second. Gallaher gained second several laps later and set off to fight Terry Campion for the win. The battle for the lead tightened when a caution came out on lap nine for San Jose’s Jerry Supernaw, who spun in turn two. On the restart, Terry Campion was able to hold onto the lead over Robert Gallaher, with Katie Briggs now stalking them in third place. Campion and Gallaher continued to battle for the lead as the laps wound down. Meanwhile, Ron Bonnema, who had a 13-point lead entering the night, had his championship hopes diminished when he lost several positions after contact from another competitor. Terry Campion continued to lead over Robert Gallaher, with Nick Triolo in third after slipping by Katie Briggs. On the final lap, Terry Campion almost threw away the win and the championship when he climbed the backstretch wall. He was able to recover and snag the win by a car length over Robert Gallaher. Nick Triolo, Katie Briggs, and George Fernandez completed the top five. In the championship standings, Terry Campion won over Ron Bonnema by just one point. Bonnema finished back in ninth in the finale and would have won a tie-breaker. Nick Triolo, George Fernandez, and Katie Briggs were the rest of the top five. Watsonville’s Tony Oliveira, Charlie Hunter, Robert Gallaher, Santa Cruz’s Jill Merlin, and Corralitos’ Joe Willoughby completed the top ten.

It was a wild and controversial 4-Banger finale Friday evening. The night started off relatively tame, with Sean Markley Sr. of Hollister taking the first heat over Watsonville’s Samantha Roberson, San Jose’s Brian Soulages, Felton’s Kate Beardsley, and Salinas’ John Pattulo who completed the field. In heat two, Luke Babcock of Watsonville took the win ahead of Prunedale’s DJ Keldsen, Richard Keldsen, San Jose’s Erik Moody, and Felton’s Bill Beardsley. In the 20-lap feature, Samantha Roberson got out to an early lead ahead of Richard Keldsen and Kate Beardsley. Meanwhile, Luke Babcock battled from fifth on the grid and made his way up to second, but a collision with Richard Keldsen forced him to lose several positions. The first caution came out on lap three for Erik Moody when he came to a halt near the entry of the pit access road in turn one. Soon after the restart, DJ Keldsen and Luke Babcock came together in turn three, forcing both to pull off for the rest of the night. On the restart, Samantha Roberson had problems getting going off turn four, which allowed Richard Keldsen and Kate Beardsley to pass her. Before another lap could be completed, Sean Markley Sr. stopped on track with a broken tie rod. The same part broke one race ago as well. This moved Roberson back to the front ahead of Keldsen and Beardsley. The same scenario occurred on the following restart, but without the caution. Richard Keldsen led Kate Beardsley and he continued to lead until the caution flag flew once again. The order stayed the same but another yellow, this time for third-place running Samantha Roberson, shook up the field. Keldsen and Beardsley were accused of jumping the last restart and were moved back to third and fourth. This moved Brian Soulages and John Pattulo to first and second for the final restart. Soulages was able to cruise to the victory, with John Pattulo finishing second, one and a half seconds behind Soulages. Kate Beardsley finished third with Richard Keldsen and Bill Beardsley completing the top five. Luke Babcock handily won the 2015 4-Banger crown with a 63-point lead over DJ Keldsen. Sean Markley Sr. finished third in the standings and was the only driver to compete in every 4-Banger race this year.