By: Ryan Evans
Scott Brant used a great start to take the lead and win the Scratch Main at Costa Mesa on Saturday night.
Brant drew the outside for the main event and it looked to be a bad omen when he and Eddie Castro collided in turn one and brought both riders to the ground. The referee ordered a complete restart. When they lined up again, Castro was antsy and was penalized for moving at the start. On the third attempt Brant trapped the field from the outside to take the lead. He was followed closely by Josh Larsen throughout the four-lap race, but Brant wasn't about to relinquish the lead and he was first to the checkered flag. Larsen finished second, Shawn McConnell was third, Bobby Schwartz was fourth, and Eddie Castro was fifth.
John DeFries began his first Handicap Main at Costa Mesa from the front of the field. DeFries held the lead for one lap before falling inexplicably as he entered turn one. This brought out the red flag and forced a restart. This left last week's winner, 2000 Junior National Champion Bryan Yarrow, at the front of the field. Yarrow was pursued by Dukie Ermolenko, but he wouldn't allow him to get within striking distance. Yarrow kept a comfortable lead for all seven laps and cruised to his third Costa Mesa Handicap Main victory of the year. Ermolenko held on to second, McConnell was third, Larsen was fourth, and Brant was fifth.
The most entertainment of the night was found in the Support Main, although a lot of the entertainment wasn't during the race. On the first start, David Lynch and John Stunkard, who are battling for the season points title, entered turn one together, made contact, and Stunkard went down. Lynch was ruled the cause of the restart and was penalized. Lynch vehemently pleaded his case, but had to take his place on the penalty line.
The second attempt ended when Rudy Laurer went down, which forced Stunkard to take evasive action and he went down in turn two in the process. At first, it appeared as though the referee Bryan Galvin was going to penalize Stunkard, but upon realizing that Laurer had gone down first, he penalized Laurer. Once Lynch realized that Stunkard wasn't being penalized, he voiced his opinion again. When the argument ended, Lynch decided to throw dirt on the referee by spinning his tire on the infield. The ref then threw Lynch out of the race and all of the fun really began. Lynch immediately jumped off his machine and went to chest-to-chest with Galvin and there was quite a heated exchange. Several people came over to restrain Lynch, but that didn't stop him from attempting to charge into the ref's box. Finally, order was restored and Lynch was escorted off the track.
The third attempt saw Billy Braden get the best start and he held the lead until he got to turn four of the third lap and he went down. At the same time that Braden went down, Stunkard went down in turn three, but it was unrelated to Braden's mishap. This left Rod Lenz to take the lead and he took the win. Stunkard remounted to take second, Braden was credited with third, Laurer was fourth, and Lynch was fifth.
Eloy Medellin put together four smooth laps and was able to outrun last week's winner, Steve Murray, to the finish line. DeWayne Stark was third, Mark Baldwin finished fourth, Steve Dziadus was fifth, and Bryan Baichtal was credited with sixth.
Miles Calvin assumed the lead on the first lap when he passed Jason Ramirez and he ran away with the Junior Main Event victory. Krystal Cramer finished second, Dario Galvin was third, Ramirez was fourth, and Skyler Greyson was fifth.
This Saturday brings the return of the Freestyle Motocross Jumpers to the world famous bullring. The Freestyle Jumpers always attract a standing room only crowd and display all of their innovative tricks. It is strongly suggested that anyone attending get there early.
RESULTS Support B Consolation 102 - Jim Lavender 10 227 - Mark Robertson 10 Support B Consolation 103 - Brent Smith 20 107 - Monte McKeon 20 176 - Carl Gazafy 10 169 - Dan Wensloff 10 126 - Doug Lupo 20 197 - Kim Stevens 20 Support B Main Event (restarted) 178 - Eloy Medellin 20 214 - Steve Murray 10 244 - DeWayne Stark 10 115 - Mark Baldwin 10 212 - Steve Dziadus 10 112 - Bryan Baichtal 20 (fell) Support Consolation 161 - Hector Quevedo 296 - Tom Rossano 174 - Tomasz Hampel Support Consolation 240 - Hideaki Ota 163 - Rohn Zellner 133 - Craig Collier (tape penalty) 118 - Scott Tidwell (fell) Support Consolation 338 - Dave Delbridge 165 - Randy Kreps 180 - Malcolm Roe 228 - Shane Kump Support Last Chance (restarted twice) 196 - Rod Lenz 269 - Ed Martinez 106 - Robert Fiesler 293 - Rick Valdez (fell, excluded) Support Main Event (restarted twice) 196 - Rod Lenz 249 - John Stunkard (fell, remounted) 117 - Billy Braden (fell) 182 - Rudy Laurer (excluded) 131 - David Lynch (excluded) Junior Main Event 99 - Miles Calvin 10 27 - Krystal Cramer 10 5 - Dario Galvin 10 66 - Jason Ramirez 0 2 - Skyler Greyson 10 (retired) Handicap Main Event 8n - Bryan Yarrow 20 15 - Dukie Ermolenko 30 6 - Shawn McConnell 40 2 - Josh Larsen 50 10 - Scott Brant 50 14 - Eddie Castro 40 316 - John DeFries 10 (fell, remounted) 166 - Andy Northrup 30 (non starter) Last Chance 6 - Shawn McConnell 12 - Randy DiFrancesco 15 - Dukie Ermolenko 166 - Andy Northrup (engine failure) Scratch Main Event 10 - Scott Brant 2 - Josh Larsen 6 - Shawn McConnell 11 - Bobby Schwartz 14 - Eddie Castro (tape penalty) (fell, remounted)
