Support class main 1. Paul Binnquist 2. Richard Jones 3. Jon DeVries 4. Ken Hansen 5. Bryan Thompson 6. Kon Baur Scratch Main 1. Steve"bad boy" Lucero 2. Shawn McConnell 3. Bobby"Boogaloo" Schwartz 4. Gary Hicks 5. John Aden Handicap Main 1. Steve"bad boy" Lucero 2. Andy "the Enforcer" Northrup 3. John Aden 4. Eddie Castro 5. Jake Zemke 6. Jesse Finch 7. Jason Chism 8. Steve Furman
After my 4 week visit to England it was really good to get back and watch some non-processional speedway. Oops sorry, didn't mean to offend anyone. More about my UK visit later.
The track looked terrible for the first few races. More dirt had been added and was heavily watered. The evening opened with 3 Support class qualifying heats. These must have been the slowest race times ever at Costa Mesa (they never give race times here) but some managed to find their way round fast. Others were lapped. Seeing some of the bikes after the races, many riders have some heavy duty bike cleaning to do.
Steve Lucero rode brilliantly all evening to win both main events. The commentator thought he was the first to get the double all season, but in fact Gary Hicks did it early in the season too.
John Aden who is now a very competitive rider at Costa Mesa, having not ridden here much, if at all last season, broke the tapes in the scratch main. I was told he did this more than once in recent weeks. I strongly believe that once he can avoid this mistake, he will become a Costa Mesa winner.
The start of the Handicap main was messy. This is always the last race of the evening and the show is supposed to be over by 10, so when it runs late, it certainly seems that the referee is loathe to have too many restarts. However this time, although running late, he stood for no nonsense and twice put riders back for trying to jump the start. Steve Furman started on the 30 yard line with Jake Zemke and Jesse Finch. After the premature starters had been put back twice, Steve had the 30 yard line to himself, and many of his competitors had been moved back once or twice, to give him what should have been an easier crack at victory. In the event, engine failure stopped him. Eddie Castro who was penalized twice started back around the 80 yard line and rode well to finish 4th. Andy Northrup, (an off-duty LA cop) lead most of the race till the last 50 yards, when he found excess traction, allowing Steve Lucero to get by.
More information, thanks to Tom Simrak Handicap semi #1 - 1st four go to 'handicap main' 1st Andy Northrup 2ND JESSE FINCH 3RD JAKE ZEMKE 4TH STEVE FURMAN 5TH BRAD OXLEY 6TH DONNY ODOM (DNS) HANDICAP SEMI#2 - 1st four go to 'handicap main' 1ST STEVE LUCERO 2ND EDDIE CASTO 3RD JOHN "THE ICEMAN"ADEN 4TH 161 JASON CHISM 5TH RICK PEARCE 6TH DAVID TAYLOR SCRATCH SEMI #1 - 1st two go to main - 2nd two go to 'last chance' 1ST GARY HICKS 2ND JOHN ADEN 3RD JESSE FINCH 4TH JASON CHISM SCRATCH SEMI #2 - 1st two go to main - 2nd two go to 'last chance' 1ST STEVE LUCERO 2ND SHAWN MCCONNELL 3RD EDDIE CASTRO 4TH BOBBY SCHWARTZ LAST CHANCE - 1st goes to main 1ST BOBBY SCHWARTZ 2ND EDDIE CASTRO 3RD JESSE FINCH 4TH JASON CHISM SIDECAR MAIN 1ST LEWIS/MACY 2ND CARMONT/TAILING 3RD "SIDECAR"BOB BRAYTON/WEAVER 4TH MATHERSON/COLE BECAUSE TONIGHT WAS SPONSORED BY ORANGE COUNTY HARLEY, I SHOULD LET YOU KNOW THE WINNER OF THE HARLEY MAIN 1ST PLACE...RICHARD JOHNSON