By: Ryan Evans
Gary Hicks and Bryan Yarrow were the main event winners in front of a large crowd at Costa Mesa Saturday night.
Bobby Schwartz and Cody Brant were first to turn one in the Scratch Main, but when Brant slid up the race track in turn two Hicks made a beautiful inside move to take the lead on the back straight. Brant tried to regain the lead in turn three, but Hicks was on the precious inside line. Despite Brant's constant pressure, Hicks held on to the lead and was first to the checkered flag. Brant settled for second, Shawn McConnell was third, Schwartz finished fourth, and Dukie Ermolenko was fifth.
The 30 yard line served as the front marker for the eight-man Handicap Main Event with five riders lined across. This made the start crucial as back-yardage riders could potentially pick up several positions in turn one. It was Yarrow, who had spent the previous weekend racing in Indianapolis, who beat everyone to the first corner. From there, the 2000 Junior National Champion left everyone in his wake and ran away with the main event victory. Andy Northrup followed Yarrow the whole way to get second, McConnell was third, Brant finished fourth, and Northern California's Tommy Hedden was fifth.
The first attempt to run the Support Main Event ended in a heap in the middle of turn one. Japan's Hideaki Ota grabbed the initial lead on the restart, but Doug Benjamin took over after a lap. Scott Tidwell pressured Benjamin for two laps and it paid off when he made an inside pass entering turn one the final time. Tidwell was first to the checkered flag, John Stunkard also passed Benjamin and got second, Ota was fourth, and Chris Metoyer finished fifth.
A pair of crashes forced the Support B Main Event to be restarted twice. On the third try it was first-year rider Guy Jessup who emerged victorious after four solid laps. Phil Harmatiuk was second, Mike McCarthy finished third, Nathan Smelser was fourth, Troy McConnell finished fifth, and Tony Bracy was sixth.
RESULTS Support B Consolation (restarted) 102 - Jim Lavender 10 223 - Fred Schmitthammer 20 176 - Carl Gazafy 20 193 - Billy Swaim 10 105 - Michael Hernandez 10 (fell, remounted) 107 - Monte McKeon 20 (fell, remounted) Support B Consolation 198 - Mike Boyle 10 136 - Kim Stevens 10 212 - Steve Dziadus 20 185 - Keith Mullally 20 339 - Sam Stavros 10 244 - DeWayne Stark 10 Support B Main Event (restarted twice) 190n - Guy Jessup 20 100 - Phil Harmatiuk 20 113 - Mike McCarthy 20 188 - Nathan Smelser 10 (penalty line) 131 - Troy McConnell 20 (retired) 194 - Tony Bracy 10 (fell, excluded) Support Consolation 182 - Rudy Laurer 161 - Hector Quevedo 178 - Eloy Medellin 138 - Rich Brock (fell) Support Consolation 155n - Vince Bertolucci 117 - Billy Braden 165 - Randy Kreps 164 - Rusty Hall (fell) Support Main Event (restarted) 118 - Scott Tidwell 249 - John Stunkard 128 - Doug Benjamin 240 - Hideaki Ota 148 - Chris Metoyer Handicap Main Event 8n - Bryan Yarrow 30 166 - Andy Northrup 30 6 - Shawn McConnell 40 10 - Cody Brant 50 40n - Tommy Hedden 30 12 - Randy DiFrancesco 30 11 - Bobby Schwartz 50 139 - Shaun Harmatiuk 30 Last Chance 3 - Gary Hicks 2n - Alan Christian 166 - Andy Northrup 12 - Randy DiFrancesco Scratch Main Event 3 - Gary Hicks 10 - Cody Brant 6 - Shawn McConnell 11 - Bobby Schwartz 15 - Dukie Ermolenko
