Visitors to the Santa Cruz County Fair filled the stands of Ocean Speedway Saturday and Sunday afternoons to watch five of the speedway’s seven regular divisions battle on the quarter-mile clay oval.

Those who watched Saturday also got to witness a historic feat. Morgan Hill’s Jeff Decker became the first driver in the track’s history to record an undefeated season.

“Having an undefeated season is an awesome accomplishment,” Decker said. “Not discounting the fact that we had great competition, that really says a lot about our crew. Before and during each race, they did great work keeping us trouble-free and not having any mechanical problems all season long.”

Decker, who won his third championship in four years, was nearly tripped up by the afternoon start.

“During the week we made major changes to the car, thinking the track would go dry-slick with an afternoon race,” he said. “After we arrived, I could tell that the track-prep guys created a track that would stay pretty wet. We had to scramble resetting the chassis to our original setup.”

Decker wrestled the lead from Watsonville’s Kenny Nott on a restart on the seventh lap, then survived four more caution periods to win the 25-lap season finale. Decker also won the second heat, while Nott won the trophy dash and the first heat.

Also on Saturday, Watsonville’s Tony Oliveira won the 29th running of the Tim Wiliamson Classic, a 50-lap American Stock race. Watsonville’s Steve Taddei, Gilroy’s Al Eaton and Castroville’s Billy Nelson also led the race, but Oliveira won the race for the first time. It was also the first time a Ford car won the race.

“I got up this morning and everything went right today,” Oliveira said. “Usually that’s how the day goes for me, if it starts out right it ends up right. On my way here I thought, ‘This might be my night.’”

Oliveira started 19th, but moved up the standings quickly. He moved into fifth place on lap 10 and took second place nine laps later. He took the lead from Eaton on lap 29, but lost it on lap 23 when Eaton passed him on the inside. Eaton, however, made contact with another car, sending him out of contention. He finished 10th, while Oliveira led the final 10 laps for the win.

The rookie contenders each had bad luck while they were running in the top five. Santa Cruz’s Andrew McKenzie lost control due a flat tire on lap 13, then after working his way back to third, he blew his engine on lap 45. San Jose’s Matt Kile lost control of his car on lap 16 and eventually settled for seventh place after locking bumpers with Andrew Berweger. Aptos’ Nick Silva was a little more fortunate after his car sustained a flat tire on lap 19, as he rallied to place fourth.

Kennedy, who had to restart at the rear of the field after making contact with McKenzie, passed fellow Watsonville resident Joshua Davis for second place on lap 48. Santa Cruz’s Duffy O’Rourke placed fifth.

Berweger won the first heat and the trophy dash, while Taddei and Bill Sorg won their heats.

In Sunday’s action, series point leader Kenny Nott won the IMCA Modified feature and Salinas’ Drew Williams won a heavy-hitting 4-Banger main event.

Nott led the final 11 laps to pad his points lead over San Martin’s Michael Dalton, who won the trophy dash.

“I’m very pleased with this win,” Nott said. “It gives me a pretty good cushion going to next week’s final points race. We weren’t perfect. The car was harder to drive because we were too neutral. We came out on top because I didn’t over-drive the car. This one’s special to me because it’s the first time my youngest child has seen me race.”

Santa Maria’s Jared Domingos, 2008 champion Robert Marsh, Jerry Movrich and Watsonville’s Todd Hermosillo also held the lead in the 25-lap race. Salinas’ Cody Burke took second place and won the third heat race. Marsh and Hermosillo won their heats.

The win in the 4-Banger main event was awarded to Salinas’ Drew Williams after San Jose’s J.C. Elrod was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct. Williams also dealt with tire issues.

“I thought we were done after that flat tire,” Williams said. “Having to start at the rear left me pretty dejected. I didn’t think we had a chance. After I started passing cars, my attitude got better. I began thinking I might have a chance. When the officials told me I was the winner, I was surprised and very happy.”

Williams’ pass on Matt Sotomayor for third on the final lap put him in position to end up with the win. Hollister’s Sean Markley Jr. had taken the lead away from Elrod on a restart on lap 28, but exiting the final turn on the final lap, Elrod drove his car inside of Markley’s for a pass, but pushed Markley into the wall. Markley ended up taking fifth after continuing to the flag, and officials ruled Elroy should be placed one spot behind Markley.

Sotomayor, the points leader, finished second despite a broken exhaust and a flat tire. Al Sotamayer was third and Santa Cruz’s Paul Thorburn was fourth.

Watsonville’s Kyle Thorne walked away unhurt after his car flipped violently during a first-lap crash involving five cars.

The Chivers family of San Jose took three of the top four positions in the final destruction derby of the year. Father Tom, a 30-year veteran, took first, while older son Ryan placed second and younger son Ken was fourth. Morgan Hill’s Anthony Giuliani was third and San Jose’s Jesse Camron took fifth. Chivers won the points championship.



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