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JANNIRO WINS 4TH CALIFORNIA STATE SPEEDWAY CHAMPIONSHIP @ INDUSTRY SPEEDWAY – By Tim Kennedy
Industry, CA., Aug. 27 – Four-time AMA US National Speedway Champion/four-time US National Speedway champion Billy Janniro, 34, won his fourth California State Speedway Championship Wednesday at Industry Speedway in the Industry Hills Expo Center Grand Arena. It was the 39th running of the event that started in 1968. About 1,500 persons attended the prestigious one-night event to determine the annual California 500cc speedway bike champion. The race has been held each year since 2006 at Industry Speedway. Janniro, from Napa, won the event in 2010-12 and crashed in the feature last year when track champion Charlie Venegas won for the fourth time.
There were 39 races run from 7:30 to 10:22 pm. Riders called the heavy track “grippy” and the track crew reworked turns three and four after heat six. Later they dragged and reworked the track four times to recondition the usually slick, or smooth surface. That work made the usual rapid program go about 25 minutes longer than usual. Ten falls, from easy lay-downs and remounts to hard falls and dropouts, occurred. That was a season-high for that dubious distinction. All riders walked back to the pits. D-1 heats 31 and 32 were thrillers. Janniro won over pressing Ruml. Then Hamill passed Burmeister on lap 2 to narrowly edge him.
Sixteen first division riders raced five rounds of four rider heat races to score points on a 3-2-1-0 basis. Janniro fell in his first heat after contacting the back wheel of the leader and scored no points for that ride. He won his next four heats to tally 12 points out of a possible 15. High-point rider Max Ruml, 17, of Huntington Beach, continued his impressive season by winning his first four heats and placing a pressing second to Janniro in round five.
Billy Hamill and Tyson Burmeister scored 13 points and finished in a tie for second place in points. Venegas at 11 points, Buck Blair and Division 1 rookie Broc Nicol tied for sixth at nine points. Jason Ramirez, with eight points, completed the eight rider field for the pair of semi-final races. Only the first two finishers in each semi advanced to the main event. Lane two starter Janniro took the lead from pole starter Ruml leaving turn two on the first lap and led all four laps over Ruml, Blair and Nicol. Pole starter Hamill led every lap in the second semi and defeated outside lane starter Venegas. Burmeister and Ramirez followed.
FEATURE: The D-1 feature staged three speedway legends and rising super-star, teenage sensation Ruml. Hamill selected the pole, Janniro lane two; Ruml took the outside lane next to the plywood wall, leaving Venegas lane three. A perfect start by Janniro and Hamill had the pair even on the first lap exiting the second turn. Then outside-running Janniro took command on the backstretch and led lap 1 over Hamill, Ruml and Venegas. Ruml went to the outside in the third and fourth turns and took second from Hamill on lap 2. At the checkered flag, Janniro beat Ruml by two lengths. Hamill was three lengths in back of Ruml and Venegas trailed Hamill by five lengths. Janniro hiked his front wheel and did a wheelie before tossing the checkered flag back to the starter after his victory lap.
Ten invited 500cc Division 2 riders raced in two heats races for points scored 4-3-2-1-0. Gabe Price won both intermediate level rider heat races for the maximum eight points. The top four riders in points raced in the Invitational Final won by Ricky Richards over Harold Hartke. Lewis Hughes and Price finished third and fourth after falls, remounts and finishes half a lap back. It was rookie Richards' fourth main event victory at Industry Speedway in 2014, one in D-3 and three in D-2.
Six junior division 250cc riders also raced in two rounds of heats for points (scored 3-2-1-0). The top four in points advanced to the main event. Youth 250cc 2014 AMA National Champion Dillon Ruml, 15, won both heats and the feature on his Jawa. He also won the 2014 Junior 250cc AMA /FIM Silver Cup Championship at Industry Speedway on August 10. Sammy Ramirez, Gage Geist and Kurtis Hamill, who fell and did not finish, placed second through fourth. Courtney Crone, 13, tied Ramirez at one point each but he 'received the final starting berth based on their head-to-head finishing positions in heat races. He finished third to her fourth in round two.
In event 17, Geist, 15, and Braydan Galvin, 16, were involved in the most serious crash of the wild night of numerous falls. Their P. 1-2 bikes made contact on the backstretch during lap 2 and both riders fell hard as their bikes flipped down the track towards turn three. Both riders remained on the ground several minutes. They walked away gingerly. Galvin did not race in heat two. Geist restarted and finished second in both of his heat races and placed third with four points to make the main event.
The mini 150cc first division main went to National 150cc Champion Sebastian Palmese, 11, of Rancho Santa Margarita. He led every lap on his McDougall 150 and also won both heat races for top point honors. Alex Martin, 9, from Salinas, Slater Lightcap, 8, and Tristan Britt, 11, followed. Alex tied his fraternal twin brother Sterling, the August 10 AMA/FIM 150cc D-1 Silver Cup Champion at Industry Speedway on August 10, at two points in heat racing. Alex received the fourth and final feature starting spot based on the tiebreaker—heat to head finishes. Alex placed second in event 18 to Sterling's fourth after both youngsters also had no point fourth place rides.
The mini 150cc second division main for newer 150cc riders (including 50cc pee-wee division graduates) eliminated half of the four rider field at the starting gate. Mechanical failures left double heat race winner Keelan Venegas, 10, and Charlie Trana, 7, from Folsom, stalled a the gate. They were pushed to the infield before England's Sam Hagon, 9, and runner-up Luke Whitcomb, 8, ran four laps in that order. Trana was awarded third place during podium trophy presentations for the top three riders in all divisions. Spraying from bottles of bubbly followed by the top three in all divisions.
PIT NOTES: The 50/50 cash drawing this week produced a $1,420 collection with $710 going to the lucky spectator with the winning ticket and $710 to the D-1 feature riders. ... Attendees this week included AMA great Sammy Tanner, 75, from Fontana. Retired CRA sprint car drivers Steve Howard and Mike English also attended and sat in the grandstand near P.A announcer Bruce Flanders' booth. ... Mike Miller performed his inspirational version of the National Anthem again this week.
D-1 reserve Mike Wiley (No. 101) got into two heat races during round two. He replaced excluded riders Broc Nicol in event 8 and Tyson Talkington in event 10 after they started early and broke the starting tapes. Wiley fell in both heats and scored no points. ... The high def color video tape screen above the third turn was used extensively this week with all the crashes. It even showed in time-lapse photography how the track is built for each weekly race. Bruce Flanders taped interviews with several young riders, including Courtney Crone, were well received by spectators.
Kelly Inman, Industry Speedway Racing Director, is still working on the third Monster Energy World Speedway Invitational to get top riders from European nations. These events product crowds of 5,000 at Industry on Saturday nights when it is easier to get around on So Cal freeways. The last Saturday of December annual event may be delayed two weeks to a tentative Saturday January 10, 2015 date.
The tentative Industry Speedway racing schedule has been announced. February 20-21 is the Gumball Rally and Industry Speedway awards in the IHEC Pavillion. Opening night is Wednesday, May 27, followed by June 3, 10, 17 and 24, July 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, and the Saturday, August 8 AMA National Qualifier round. Then Wednesdays August 12, 19, and 26 (the 40th California State Speedway Championship) will conclude the season.
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