Local motor sports: Roa comes out on top in feature at Hanford’s Keller Auto Speedway

​Brody Roa of Garden Grove beat Jace Vander Weerd of Visalia in a spirited 30-lap U.S. Auto Club West Coast 360 Sprints feature Saturday night in Hanford.

Vander Weerd led the first 11 laps on the Keller Auto Speedway at Kings Fairgrounds ​three-eighths mile clay oval. Roa led the next four laps before Vander Weerd reclaimed the lead. Roa took it back for good on lap 27.

Richard Vander Weerd of Visalia was third, Danny Faria Jr. of Tipton fourth and Landon Hurst of Riverdale eighth.

​Ronnie Gardner of Corona led wire-to-wire in the companion 30-lap USAC Western States Midget feature for his fourth win in five outings this season. Fast qualifier Michael Faccinto of Hanford was second and Tyler Dolacki of Fresno was eighth.

Blake Robertson of Visalia continued his domination of the Western RaceSaver 305 Sprints division. He started 10th in the 17-car field but took the lead on lap 4 and pulled away in the 25-lap feature. Albert Pombo of Fresno was second.

Troy Patee won the Stocks main event.

King of the West sprint cars – Bud Kaeding of San Jose, driving the Oakhurst-based Williams Motorsports car, got past Cory Eliason of Kingsburg for the 25-lap victory Saturday night at Calistoga Speedway.

Eliason, back in his own car as he switches between rides this season, was the mid-race leader before Kaeding moved ahead, finishing less than a second ahead on the half-mile clay oval celebrating the start of its 79th season.

Kyle Hirst of Paradise in the Easton-based Tarlton Racing car was third. DJ Netto of Hanford was sixth and Mitchell Faccinto of Hanford was 13th after a mid-race spin.

On Friday night on the quarter-mile clay oval at Ocean Speedway in Watsonville, Shane Golobic won the 31st annual Pombo/Sargent Classic honoring legends Al Pombo of Fresno and Marshall Sargent of San Jose. Hirst was second, Kaeding sixth, Netto seventh and Faccinto 13th.

Midwest barnstormers – Carson Macedo of Lemoore, last year’s King of the West champion, finished fifth June 20 at Wayne County Speedway to highlight his time racing in Ohio. Dominic Scelzi of Fresno was 13th the same night, then posted his best finish of the tour with a ninth at the famed Eldora Speedway on Saturday night. The speedweek is eight races in nine nights, all part of the Tony Stewart-owned All Star Circuit of Champions that’s a Midwest rival to the national World of Outlaws sprint car circuit. Kyle Larson took advantage of a break in his NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule and won two races during the week.

USAC Silver Crown – Tanner Swanson of Kingsburg won Saturday’s 60-lap race on the 1.25-mile Gateway Motorsports Park track in suburban St. Louis. It was his second win of the season and fourth in his last five starts on pavement tracks in a series that alternates between pavement and dirt. Brother Kody Swanson escaped injury when the throttle on his car stuck, sending him nearly head-on into the wall, early in the race. He was credited with 11th but lost his points lead as he chases his third straight season title.

World of Outlaws – Joey Saldana of Indiana won June 22 at I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Neb., his fourth victory of the season in the Fresno-based Roth Motorsports car. Saldana is sixth in the points standings.

This story was originally published June 26, 2016 at 7:25 PM with the headline "Local motor sports: Roa comes out on top in feature at Hanford’s Keller Auto Speedway."