9/29/2024
Ocean Speedway
Andy Obertello fends off challengers for Pettit Shootout glory
Andy Obertello fends off challengers for Pettit Shootout glory
By Gary Thomas
Watsonville, CA…Hollister’s Andy Obertello hadn’t made many starts this season but made one of the biggest count, as he held off Shane Natenstedt and Bobby Hogge over the waning stages to claim the 14th Pettit Shootout at Ocean Speedway.
Fellow winners on Saturday night included Brookings, Oregon traveler Matt Sanders with the IMCA Sport Mods and Ocean Speedway champ Joe Gallaher with the Hobby Stocks. A total of 119 drivers returned to finish off the Pettit Shootout.
The big 103-lap finale for the IMCA Modifieds began with six-time Pettit winner Bobby Hogge jumping out front. The 47-year-old from Salinas looked to add event victory to his resume, but Friday winner Troy Foulger had other ideas.
Foulger, the defending Pettit Shootout champ, drove by Hogge to claim the top-spot on lap 13. After that all eyes were on Andy Obertello, who found a strong line right around the middle portion of the speedway.
Obertello climbed to third on lap 21 and second on lap 43. A couple circuits later Obertello blasted to the lead that he would never relinquish. It didn’t come easy however, as he felt intense pressure from several drivers.
Foulger’s stout then run slowed just past the lap 51 break, as he went to the work area and was forced to the rear. The final half of the contest saw Obertello have to contend with Natenstedt and Hogge, as both drivers hounded the rear of his No. 29 machine.
Natenstedt looked to have an opening several times, but Obertello ran mistake free up front en route to the checkered flag. Natenstedt and Hogge completed the podium. Rounding out the top 10 were Cody Burke, Foulger, Paul Stone, Robby Sawyer, Andrew Peckham, Albert Gill and Jim Pettit II. Foulger’s run back to the top-five from the rear was certainly a highlight during the final part of the main event.
The 33-lap IMCA Sport Modified feature provided definite thrills for the crowd on hand. Oregon traveler Matt Sanders was impressive all weekend long and capped it off by earning his first victory in the Pettit Shootout.
Local driver Matthew Hagio led the way over the early stages with drivers racing on every inch of the quarter mile behind him. Sanders had started 10th in the grid and progressively moved his way forward, climbing into contention as things wound down.
It became a multi-car dog fight with less than 10 laps left, as KC Keller took the lead on lap 26, only to have Sanders charge by on lap 27. Sanders led the final six circuits to score the triumph over fellow Oregon driver Jeffrey Hudson, who grabbed second on the last lap. Hagio, Keller and Jason Ryan Jr. comprised the top-five.
Multi-time Ocean Speedway Hobby Stock champion Joe Gallaher had tried for years to win the Pettit Shootout. On Saturday night he finally made that a reality with a dominant drive in the 23-lap finale.
Antioch’s Todd Gomez grabbed the lead at the start and held command until lap seven. Gallaher then showed his muscle and rocketed by for the lead. He went on to take the checkered flag by over a straightway back to runner up Gomez at the checkered.
Ryan Hart, Colby Quinton and Maverick Shepherd completed the top-five.
Results
Ocean Speedway
Pettit Shootout Finale
September 28, 2024
IMCA Modifieds 36 Entries
A Feature 103 Laps
- 29-Andy Obertello[8]; 2. 1-Shawn Natenstedt[10]; 3. 2-Bobby Hogge[2]; 4. 20-Cody Burke[5]; 5. 49-Troy Foulger[6]; 6. 66P-Paul Stone[21]; 7. X-Robby Sawyer[12]; 8. 75-Andrew Peckham[7]; 9. 34G-Albert Gill[13]; 10. 6-Jim Pettit II[19]; 11. 14P-Ryan Porter[16]; 12. 1B-Tim Balding[18]; 13. 51G-Gavyn Manning[1]; 14. 127-Jacob Mallet Jr[11]; 15. 7SB-Chris Crompe[20]; 16. 07X-Troy Morris III[4]; 17. 1111-Tyler Browne[14]; 18. 34J-Jeff Faulkner[22]; 19. 17-Nick DeCarlo[3]; 20. 12-Michael Scruggs[9]; 21. 22-Robert Marsh[15]; 22. 128-Keith Brown Jr[17]
IMCA Sport Mods 42 Entries
A Feature 33 Laps
- 2M-Matt Sanders[10]; 2. L87-Jeffrey Hudson[7]; 3. 14H-Matthew Hagio[4]; 4. 38-KC Keller[3]; 5. 52-Jason Ryan Jr[6]; 6. 7M-Ethan Killingsworth[9]; 7. 19K-Buddy Kniss[17]; 8. 22T-Tanner Thomas[11]; 9. 33-Cale Kanke[20]; 10. 184-Riley Jeppesen[1]; 11. 16-Jeff Mead[15]; 12. 2C-Trevor Clymens[5]; 13. 132-Brent Curran[18]; 14. 5-Jeremy Hoff[22]; 15. 99B-Paul Brown[19]; 16. 39-Steven Allee[16]; 17. 162-Cory Biggs[12]; 18. 3G-Trent Golden[13]; 19. 11D-Danny Wagner[8]; 20. 80D-Dylan Wilson[21]; 21. 188-Kenny Shrader[14]; 22. 82M-Tim Ragsdale[2]
Hobby Stocks 41 Entries
A Feature 23 Laps
- 1-Joe Gallaher[2]; 2. 38A-Todd Gomez[1]; 3. 38-Ryan Hart[8]; 4. 4Q-Colby Quinton[9]; 5. 15-Maverick Shepherd[14]; 6. 10H-Lance Hurst[13]; 7. 22-Adriane Frost[12]; 8. 69-Kodie Dean[19]; 9. 97-Austin VanHoff[17]; 10. 28K-Chester Kniss[11]; 11. 16-Lilly Mead[22]; 12. 57W-Sam Kennedy[5]; 13. 225-Aidan Ponciano[18]; 14. 7T-Trent Golden[4]; 15. 03-Dakota Keldsen[6]; 16. 13J-Casey Johnson[16]; 17. 43-Jake Archibald[21]; 18. 78-Jason Robles[3]; 19. 24-Nicholas Johnson[10]; 20. X1-Bobby Gallaher[15]; 21. X-Rob Gallaher[20]; 22. (DQ) 13-Bobby Motts[7]
Submitted By: Gary Thomas
