Kaeding Classic is stage for Frazier’s first feature win

Modified, Northern SportMod, Results

Fifteen-year-old Matthew Frazier was a first-time Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod feature winner on opening night of the Howard Kaeding Classic at Ocean Speedway. (Photo by Top Dawg Photos)

By Steven Blakesley

Blakesley Sports Media

WATSONVILLE, Calif. (July 12, 2024) – Opening night at Ocean Speedway’s 14th annual Howard Kaeding Classic saw Matthew Frazier collect top honors in the Friesen Performance IMCA Northern SportMod main event.

The win was the career first for Frazier, 15 years old and a sophomore-to-be at St. Joseph High School in his hometown of Santa Maria.

“It’s a pretty crazy feeling to get my first win in my second season” in the class, said Frazier, who topped the 20-lap contest over a 16-car field. “There was a lot of excitement at the end. I pretty much wanted to yell.”

Jeff Mead led the opening lap after starting third. Frazier started seventh and used a restart on lap two to advance to second. A caution on lap four allowed Frazier to challenge Mead for the lead. Frazier jumped inside to lead lap five.

Emali VanHoff and Mead battled for second place through a series of cautions in a challenging race.

Frazier got away cleanly on a green, white, checkered finish attempt which was nullified by a mechanical failure for Max Baggett. Frazier, the latest driver in his family to wheel a number 15F race car, earned the yellow checkered victory over Mead, VanHoff, Rob Gallaher and Tyler Tucker.

“I made some mistakes but the cautions came out at the right time and helped me,” Frazier said, after a post-race review with father Michael and brother Markus. “I started the season wanting to get my first win. Now we’re going to keep working to get better and race for more top five’s.”

Rookie Jacob Mallet Jr. won the Friesen Performance IMCA Modified 25-lap feature on Saturday. Todd Hermosillo led the first three laps before Mallet took over. Jim Pettit II followed him into second position as well.

Austin Burke and 2023 Pettit Shootout winner Troy Foulger collided in a bid for fifth, sparking a multi-car crash involving Ryan Porter and Markus Frazier for a caution flag on lap eight. On the restart, Andrew Peckham took an off-road path through the apron in turn two then had no steering in turn three to draw a caution.

Cautions continued to plague the event on the next attempt when Hermosillo and Foulger tangled hard on the backstretch.

Mallet paced a fast-paced final 17 circuits to win comfortably over Pettit, Porter, Fred Lind and Frazier.

Just a week after getting his career-first Friesen Performance IMCA Modified feature win, Jacob Mallet Jr. got his second, on night two of the Howard Kaeding Classic at Ocean Speedway. (Photo by Top Dawg Photos)

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