By: Ryan Evans
Scott Brant captured the Scratch Main for the second week in a row and added the Handicap Main to complete a double main event sweep on Saturday night at Costa Mesa.
Brant got a tremendous start and trapped the field from the outside gate to take the lead in the Scratch Main Event. National Champion Chris Manchester followed Brant exiting turn two and chased him down the back straight. Brant didn't allow Manchester to get his hopes up as he steadily pulled away to take the win by a comfortable margin. Shawn McConnell finished third, Josh Larsen was fourth, and Randy DiFrancesco was fifth.
The eight-man Handicap Main proved to be a wild affair that featured two restarts. On the first attempt, DiFrancesco took the lead, but "Fast" Eddie Castro and Andy "The Enforcer" Northrup went down in turn one behind him and brought out the red flag. Both riders were sent to the penalty line for causing the restart.
On the restart, DiFrancesco took the lead again and held it throughout the first lap. Entering turn three the second time Brant and Larsen came together and both went down. Brant was up immediately, but Larsen, who had gone over the high-side, was down for several minutes. The current points leader made it to his feet, but indicated that he wasn't going to participate in the restart. However, in an effort to protect his points lead, Larsen remounted for the restart and took his place on the penalty line after being deemed the cause of the accident.
The third attempt got physical in turn one as Former Junior National Champion Bryan Yarrow and DiFrancesco clashed in turn one, which forced both off the pole. Brant was in perfect position to take advantage and he blasted under both riders to take the lead. Manchester also went by to take second. Just as he did in the Scratch Main, Brant pulled away from Manchester to take the win. Shawn McConnell finished third, Northrup was fourth, and Larsen managed to finish fifth on a bike that, after further inspection after the race, had suffered a broken frame in his crash with Brant.
In the Support Main Event, the first attempt got no further than turn one as several riders came together and left Rod Lenz on the ground. The referee ruled that it was turn one bunching and there would be a full restart. On the restart, David Lynch was first to turn one, but as he was exiting turn two he had a challenge to his lead. John Stunkard, who had started in gate five, made a run around the outside and was alongside Lynch on the back straight. Stunkard stayed wide entering turn three, but he went down in turn four. From there, Lynch was uncontested as he cruised to his third consecutive main event victory. Dave Delbridge finished second, Hideaki Ota was third, Lenz was fourth, and Stunkard was fifth.
The Support B Main Event was a battle for two laps between Mike Hernandez and Michael Novratil. On the third lap, Novratil took control of the lead and never let go as he went on to his third victory of the year. Hernandez held on to second, Kim Stevens, making her first appearance of the year, finished third, Craig Collier was fourth, Dan Wensloff finished fifth, and Monte McKeon was credited with sixth.
In Junior Division, it was Miles Calvin who went home victorious after a race-long battle with Skyler Greyson. Krystal Cramer finished third.
RESULTS Support B Consolation 155 - Kevin Templeton 10 176 - Carl Gazafy 20 102 - Jim Lavender 20 164 - Rusty Hall 20 212 - Steve Dziadus 10 105 - Michael Hernandez 20 Support B Main Event 181 - Michael Novratil 10 108 - Mike Hernandez 10 197 - Kim Stevens 10 133 - Craig Collier 20 169 - Dan Wensloff 20 107 - Monte McKeon 10 (non starter) Support Consolation 293 - Rick Valdez 10 165 - Randy Kreps 20 161 - Hector Quevedo 10 178 - Eloy Medellin 20 144 - Tom Hamilton 20 163 - Rohn Zellner 10 103 - Brent Smith 20 312 - Jimmy Steet 10 (non starter) Support Last Chance 240 - Hideaki Ota 332 - Brian Hunt 118 - Scott Tidwell (fell) 106 - Robert Fiesler (non starter) Support Main Event (restarted) 131 - David Lynch 338 - Dave Delbridge 240 - Hideaki Ota 196 - Rod Lenz 249 - John Stunkard (fell) Junior Speedway 99 - Miles Calvin 2 - Skyler Greyson 27 - Krystal Cramer Handicap Main Event (restarted) 10 - Scott Brant 40 1 - Chris Manchester 50 6 - Shawn McConnell 50 *started on the 60 166 - Andy Northrup 40 (penalty line - 60) 2 - Josh Larsen 50 (penalty line - 70) 8n - Bryan Yarrow 30 14 - Eddie Castro 40 (penalty line - 60) 12 - Randy DiFrancesco 30 Last Chance 6 - Shawn McConnell 166 - Andy Northrup 8n - Bryan Yarrow 14 - Eddie Castro Scratch Main Event 10 - Scott Brant 1 - Chris Manchester 6 - Shawn McConnell 2 - Josh Larsen 12 - Randy DiFrancesco
