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McCONNELL & VENEGAS WIN @ INDUSTRY SPEEDWAY – By Tim Kennedy
Industry, CA., Jun. 24 – Shawn “Mad Dog” McConnell and Charlie “the Edge” Venegas, both veteran 500cc speedway bike racers since the 1980s, raced to their first feature victories of 2015 Wednesday night at Industry Speedway. More than 1,500 spectators attended in the Industry Hills Expo Center Grand Arena on Bert's Mega Mall Night with Coast Fabrication sponsorship. It was the fifth of 15 weeks of two-wheel racing in the track's 12th season.
Wild competition produced upset winners and several wild crashes, including a hard crash into the plywood crash-wall on the front straight near the fourth turn. Champion rider Billy Hamill was fourth in event 14--the handicapped semi---and needed to finish in the top three to transfer to the handicapped feature. He rode high and wide. On lap 4 of 6, his bike shot out from under him and slammed into the wall. The “soft”wall bent back as designed. Hamill reclined on the ground for several minutes. He rose and limped to the pits with a sore leg and back. He did not race again.
The fourth consecutive week of handicapped AND scratch heats, semis and main events provided fans with 45 races from 7:30 to 10.24 pm. Division 1, 2 and 3 500cc riders were joined by 250cc and 150cc junior riders, 50cc pee-wee riders, plus 1,000cc sidecar teams in another all-divisions night. A track-record tying ten sidecar teams races raced and a back-up No. 12 rig was in the pits for 2014 sidecar national champion--paraplegic driver Bryan Motis and his sidecar swinger Josh Bennett. The growing sidecar contingent had four female sidecar swingers, including three rookies, this week.
HANDICAPPED MAIN: The D-1 handicapped feature (event 37) had six riders start from the 0, 20, 30, 40 or 50-yard lines. When the starting gate shot up Mike Dalbey led the first four laps. From the 40 McConnell, 56, led laps 5 and 6. He edged D-1 16-year old rookie Dillon Ruml (from the 30) and his 18-year old brother Max Ruml (from the 50). Dalbey and Dalton Leedy fell separately in turn four on the final lap, rose and finished in that order. Gage Geist, 15, dropped out of P. 6 on lap 4.
SCRATCH MAIN: The D-1 scratch main (event 45) had vets McConnell and Venegas, 48, in lanes one and two and Neil Facchini, 30, and D. Ruml, 16, in lanes three and four. McConnell led the initial lap, but Venegas and P. 2 Facchini made contact at turn three. Facchini fell hard and his bike slid into the fourth turn plywood wall. He rose with a sore left shoulder and foot, but he restarted a few minutes later. Facchini used the same GM bike after a pit-man loaned him a pair of pliers to adjust his throttle cable.
Drama continued as McConnell again led the opening lap over Venegas, Facchini and Ruml. It appeared McConnell would win his second feature of the night when he slowed suddenly with a flat tire leaving turn two on lap 3. Venegas took the lead on the inside at the third turn with McConnell still second after three laps. McConnell slowed drastically on the final lap. Facchini went to the outside to avoid hitting McConnell and D. Ruml darted to the inside at turn three and finished second. Facchini placed third and McConnell limped to the finish line fourth, half a lap back.
SIDECARS: Ten sidecar teams scored points in five heats and ran a four team consolation race. The S/C main (event 43) at 10:10 had veteran teams in the inside and outside lanes. They ran one-two for two laps. Then the No. 2 Motis/Bennett rig spun out in the inside groove and collected the pressing No. 7x of Joe Jones/Tom Summers. With more than half the race completed, and with pressing time constraints, referee Dave Galvin ruled the race complete. Jones/Summers received the victory over Gerard Jackson/Dave German. Robert Curry and new swing-man David Dent (former No. 007 swinger) placed third with spinner Motis/Bennett last.
The D-1 scratch consolation race was event 44. Max Ruml led all four laps over fellow teen Gage Geist, who trailed by one length at the Tom Fox checkered flag. Buck Blair and Rocco Scopellite followed.
D-2 MAIN: Five riders raced in the D-2 500cc main. Bakersfield second generation rider Braden Sauer, 18, led all the way. He credited a new, tighter chain for improving his performance this week after he fell twice in his first outing of 2015 last week. He also won both of his heats. Stock car racer Ron Davis finished second. Joe Donaldson was third, half a lap back, after falling and remounting. The race was red-flagged on lap 2. Race leader Will McCloskey, a 23-year old Auburn first-time racer at Industry, was hit by P. 2 Nathan Siegel and both riders fell. They pushed their bikes to the pits.
D-3 MAIN: The 500cc D-3 feature (event 34) for newer 500cc riders was a thriller at the end. Steve “Beach-ball” Brown led the first three laps but drifted wide in turn four heading to the checkered flag. June 17 feature winner Lewis Hughes shot to the inside and narrowly beat Brown to the finish line. George Yates and Rick Howard trailed.
D-1 scratch semi-final races set the four-rider scratch main event field with the first two finishers in each semi advancing. Dillon Ruml led all four laps in the first semi to edge McConnell. Older brother Max was third with Buck Blair fourth. Venegas, in lane one, led all the way over Facchini in semi two. Geist and Scopellite followed.
JUNIORS: The 250cc main was a four-rider go and Michael Wells, 14, ran his best race of the year. He led every lap and beat the No. 27n of Blake Borello, 14, from Georgetown. Rookie James Blair, Buck's nephew, placed third. Jake Isaac fell hard early and parked in the infield.
The Junior 150cc started six of the seven riders and young dynamo “Speedway Charlie Trana, 8, from Folsom, rode a strong race and easily won his first feature at Industry. Slater Lightcap, Andrew Russell, Dakota Shockley, Luke Whitcomb, and 9-year old Rachel Schnakenberg finished in P. 2-6 on the lead lap. Her sister Skylar, 16, did not start.
Six pee-wee riders rode Honda or Yamaha 50cc bikes. They ran their main (event 38) with five riders starting from the gate and usual winner Travis Horn, 7, 50-yards back at turn four. Richard Stephens led the first two laps. Levi Lentz, 6, led the final two laps over runner-up Stephens. Gunner Haggard, 6, edged fourth place Horn, who encountered difficultly passing two-wide competitors. Charli LaMere, sister of Haggard, was fifth. Newcomer Gavin Dryfka, 4, was sixth, a lap down.
Speedway bike racing will return to Jim Naylor's Ventura Raceway next Saturday, June 27 in the “Commotion by the Ocean” for promoter Steve Evans. It is the second of four point races for the AMA National Speedway Championship. “Fast Eddie” Castro, who is currently undergoing chemotherapy, will be the grand marshal. He resides in nearby Ojai. The next Industry Speedway weekly race on July 1 is called the “Salute to Our Military Night”. All racing divisions will compete.
PIT NOTES:
Junior 250cc rider Sebastian Palmese, 11, was absent this week because he was on a family vacation at Lake Havasu. He called to the Industry track and said he was watching the races via Internet and was sunburned. ... Courtney Crone, 14, was a Junior speedway racer until January 2015. She and her dad Jack attended Industry Speedway this week and watched from the grandstand instead of the pits. ... D-2 rider Rick Valdez (No. 293) was back racing for the first time since he crashed through the fourth turn plywood wall on June 3.
“Speedway Charlie” Trana loves to race his 150cc junior division No. 66 at Industry. This week he won both of his heats and led every lap of the feature impressively. He is a future star in upper divisions. ... Blake Borello also came south on I-5 this week to get more racing than his home track in Auburn can provide. ... Robert Curry raced his No. 31n 500cc bike in D-2 races with finishes of fourth and second. He also drove his Suzuki 1,000cc No. 31 sidecar. Laurie, his ex-wife/sidecar swinger, was not available. Veteran swing-man David Dent replaced her as the rig counter-balance in the turns. The No. 911 1,000cc Ducati “ate its clutch” racing Wednesday reportedly.
Davey Shaw (D-2 500cc No. 145) made his first start of 2015 this week. The U.S. Navy sea-bee raced out of Port Hueneme (Ventura Country). He spent the last year on duty in Okinawa and returned recently. He retired last Friday after 20-years in the USN. The E-6 first class petty officer now lives in Ventura and will receive his DD-214 honorable discharge soon. Davey looked racy on his first night back on two-wheels. He finished second in both of his heat races.
Braydan Sauer graduated this week from Centennial High in Bakersfield and plans to enroll at Orange Coast Junior College in Costa Mesa to study engineering. He won both of his heats and led his first Industry main all four laps. His dad Brad finished second in the D-1 consolation race. Braydan said his speedway racer uncle Robbie has been out of racing recovering from meningitis, valley fever and a bad case of arthritis. He said Robbie, who last race in 2012, might return to speedway racing this year.
Will McCloskey, 23, lives in Auburn and races at Fast Fridays in his hometown. He will turn 24 on July 9. He said he has heard a lot of good things about and always wanted to race at Industry. On June 24, with no practice, Will rode his No. 150n Jawa impressively to victory in his first heat and second in his second heat. Will was leading the D-2 feature when the P. 2 rider's front wheel hit his back wheel, sending both riders sprawling. Unhurt, they pushed their bikes to the pits. Will is known as “The Farmer” because he wears distinctive farmer-like overalls/leathers. He proudly displays that nickname on the back of his racing bib.
Hayley Perrault, 17, was in P. 2 in her first D-2 heat race Wednesday on lap 2. The P. 3 rider ran into her bike in turn two; she fell hard and remained on the ground several minutes. The crasher was excluded and sent to the pits. Crashee Hayley restarted and finished second. She also placed second in her next heat. Track announcer Bruce Flanders said Hayley wants to enroll at the University of New Mexico and study nuclear engineering. Last summer she raced speedway at six tracks in Europe where female riders are not as common as in the USA.
Sidecars: The Industry Speedway-record tying field of ten had four female sidecar “swingers” this week. All four, including food server Ashley Gibbons on No. 1965, are rookies. Following are facts about the newest “swingers” with their rig number:
> Dana Catone (No. 101) is a 23-year old Chino Hills resident and Cal Poly Pomona University 2014 graduate with a B.S. Business Management degree. She works as a project engineer for TRS Construction, of Brea. She loves her job on a pre-fabricated building project and is the only female in her job capacity. Her relatively small size is not a problem in her job among men, nor in her sidecar racing with No. 101 driver Kevin Holman.
> Andrea Fraser, (No. 33) is a 27-year old Wilmington resident. She works as a sales associate. June 24 was her first race at Industry after making her debut weeks ago at Costa Mesa Speedway. She got into sidecar racing because of her boyfriend--(No. 33 driver is Rick Garcia). Her boyfriend Adam Duckett built the No. 33 rig and is sidelined because he cracked a rib racing recently in Auburn.
> Niki Davis, 35, of Westminster, is the wife of racer Charlie Davis. She got into racing through him. She rode the No. 44 sidecar driven by veteran Jeff Medberry.
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