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JANNIRO WINS CONNOR PENHALL MEMORIAL CUP @ INDUSTRY – By Tim Kennedy
Industry, CA., May 27 – Five-time and reigning U.S National Speedway speedway champion Billy Janniro, came south from his Napa area home and won the inaugural Connor Penhall Memorial Cup in front of 3,400 spectators Wednesday night at Industry Speedway. The site is inside the covered Grand Arena at the Industry Hills Expo Center overlooking the eastern San Gabriel Valley. Janniro, the 2010, 2011, 2012 and 20 14 California State Champion, started from the inside lane and led all four laps in an event with the third largest purse of the 2015 speedway bike season.
The $10,000+ purse paid the winner more than $5,000 in cash and other awards. Those included a $500 check from Escondido Toyota, $596 as the rider share of the 50/50 cash drawing, $420 in cash for his 14 heat race points out of a possible 15 points worth $30 per point. Janniro won four of his five heats and finished second to Billy Hamill in round two. There were five rounds of heat races for all 16 Division 1 500cc riders. His awards included a Troy Lee Designs custom designed and painted helmet trophy valued at $1,500, plus tools worth $700.
The largest opening night crowd and purse in the 12th year of Wednesday night speedway racing at the eighth-mile dirt speedway was attributed to the esteem in which Bruce Penhall and his late son Connor are held. Bruce is a two-time World Speedway champion and Connor raced the No. 81 in speedway and motocross. Connor was killed at age 22 in 2012 while working as a contractor on the I-10 San Bernardino Freeway construction project. A drunk driver drove through barriers and hit him on the roadway, inflicting fatal injuries.
The Norco-based Penhall Construction firm, founded by Bruce's parents, was renamed to honor Connor's memory and devotion to the family business. It is now called Connor Concrete Cutting & Coring. Bruce and his wife Laurie, plus their sons Ryan and Devin attended. Bruce spoke to the large crowd during opening ceremonies at 7:30. He thanked attendees for honoring Connor.
HANCOCK PRESENT: Grand Marshal for the evening was three-time (2007, 2011 and 2014) World Speedway Champion Greg Hancock, from Whittier. Hancock, a five-time US National Champion, is a long-time friend and protege of Penhall. Hancock raced Tuesday night in Europe and flew to Los Angeles to attend the Connor Penhall Memorial race. He arrived at 3:00 pm and flew back to his home base in Sweden the next day to resume his busy speedway racing schedule. He spoke on the mic to the crowd about the esteem he has for the Penhalls and said, “please don't drink and drive.”
Among attendees were fellow actors from the television show “CHiPS” in which two-time World Speedway Champion Bruce played the role of a CHP officer. Larry Wilcox (Jon) and Robert Pine (Sarge) attended among the 100 Penhall guests at the VIP section beyond turn two. Others in attendance from the racing world were motocross/super-cross champions Ricky Johnson and Jeremy McGrath, off-road racing champion Sheldon Creed, Bonneville land speed record driver Danny Thompson (son of the late Mickey Thompson), open-wheel champion Wally Pankratz, track announcer Larry Huffman, past speedway champion rider/current Costa Mesa Speedway promoter Brad Oxley and his family, and racing promoter Chris Agajanian. Creed later drove his Traxxs off-road truck at speed around the dirt indoor oval.
Legendary speedway racer Bobby “Boogaloo” Schwartz, a two-time California State Champion who still races at age 58, was honored by a surprise lifetime achievement award during the 25-minute opening ceremonies. Industry Speedway Racing Director Kelly Inman presented the trophy to the surprised but grateful recipient. Popular speedway rider Eddie Castro was present and in a wheelchair after recent chemotherapy for cancer discovered in his back about six weeks ago.
Inman conducted the riders meeting in the pits about and hour before the 7:30 scheduled start of ceremonies. He explained racing would use the Grand Prix championship format. Each rider competed in five rounds of four-lap, four rider heats and compiled points on a 3-2-1-0 basis. Tie-breakers were head-to-head finishes by riders to determine the top eight point riders for the two-four rider semi-final races. (The top eight Wednesday scored 14 to seven points.) The top two finishers in each semi-final advanced to the lucrative feature. Track maintenance (dragging and watering as necessary) took place between each round.
The regular riders parade (PA introductions by announcer Bruce Flanders) one by one from the pits to the starting line infield used the usual procedure for support divisions. The 16 Division 1 riders came out seated in the back of four Toyota pickup trucks (four per truck). Following the National Anthem. Sung by Mike Miller, all riders posed with Grand Marshal Hancock and Penhall prior to the first green flag at 7:57 pm.
Janniro, 34, and Hamill, 45, finished one-two in the first semi-final. Broc Nicol, a 17-year old AMA 2012 National Champion and current rising star, won the second semi over veteran Buck Blair, who barely edged 18-year old major star Max Ruml, winner of the May 16 Costa Mesa Speedway opener. For the first time at Industry, a radio-controlled drone hovered above and followed races and recorded them. Live feeds were shown on the large color video screen beyond the third turn. Fans loved the aerial view and watched replays of incidents from unique angles.
FEATURE: The starting lineup behind the starting gate was Janniro on the pole, with Nicol, Blair and Hamill to his right in that order. The starting gate lifted at 10:34. Janniro's GM bike shot to the lead but hit a hole in the first turn and drifted up the track. Janniro's bike struck Blair's back wheel, sending both riders to the ground. Hamill led Nicol to the red flag. Janniro rose quickly without injury. Blair, who took a harder fall, remained on the ground for two minutes before rising. He walked slowly with an obvious left leg limp to his Jawa bike at turn four. He remounted and rejoined the other three riders at the starting gate.
The complete restart at 10:39 had Janniro launch into the lead on the inside at turn one. He led the first lap over Nicol, Hamill and Blair, who dropped out to the infield from turn four at the end of the initial lap. The running order remained unchanged to the checkered flag at 10:40. Janniro won by four lengths over Nicol, who held a three length advantage over Hamill. All three podium riders rode GM bikes built in Italy by Giuseppe Marzotto. Jubilant Janniro took a victory lap with the checkered flag and then performed several celebratory “donuts” near the finish line.
SUPPORT MAIN EVENTS: Sebastian “Big Daddy” Palmese, 11, won the 5-lap handicap Junior 250cc main. He started 30-yards from the starting gate and chased 14-year old Yucaipa High School freshman Sara Cords for two laps. Then Palmese made an outside pass leaving turn four and paced the final three laps on his No. 18 Jawa 250cc. Jake Isaac and Michael Wells followed.
The mini-150cc six-rider, 5-lap handicap main event was a family romp for the 10-year old Martin twins from Salinas. Alex, older by one minute according to their dad Steve, started 20-yards from the starting gate and led laps 2-5. His frequent 150cc feature winner twin, Sterling, started 30-yards from the gate and took second place at mid-race. Wearing colorful florescent orange leathers, Sterling trailed Alex by ten yards at the checkers.
The five rider pee-wee division (50cc) field main event went to Travis Horn, 7, who led every lap. Cole Ayers, 9, and Levi Leutz finished second and third respectively. Round two of the 15-event season at Industry Speedway will take place on Wednesday, June 3. All divisions will be in action, plus those wild sidecar teams racing in a clockwise direction.
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