2000 North America Speedway History
Ryan Evans' First Report on the 2000 Season
Ryan Evans' Second Report on the 2000 Season
Ryan Evans' Third Report on the 2000 Season
Ryan Evans' Fourth Report on the 2000 Season
Speedway Star reports that Billy Janniro from Vallejo, California
has signed for Valsarna of Sweden for 2001 in the Swedish Elite League.
November 9, 2000 Sam Ermolenko is the rider / coach for the Hagfors based team....
I would say that Billy J. signing a Swedish contract for next season makes
it almost certain that he will also line up in the British Elite League in
2001 , most likely with Coventry , where he will team up with Greg Hancock and Billy Hamill, or Wolverhampton, again teaming up with Sam Ermolenko...
I am sure everyone will join me in saying: Good Luck, Billy!!!
Billy "The Kid" Janniro is on his way to England !
( October 25, 2000 ) Billy 'The Kid' Janniro went to England .
He's staying one week at the invitation of the Colin Pratt, Coventry team manager.
This is exactly the same way that Hamill and Hancock started their British League careers.
This is the best news I have heard for a long time.
With the current European based Americans getting older, it is time to send over some reinforcements.
I am sure everyone is with me in wishing Billy every success.
Gary Roberts - groberts@iee.org
"The Orange County Fair and Exposition Center Board of Directors have approved
a one year contract for International Speedway, Inc to continue it's popular
Speedway Motorcycle racing program in 2001." for more of this press release, see this page!
Jolly Roger Moto-Sports Park in New Hampshire
The September 23 speedway show at Jolly Roger Moto-Sports Park in
Lempster, New Hampshire drew an excellent rider turn-out (18 overall)
but Mother Nature did not cooperate. The show was rained out, but a
number of racers took to the muddy track and put on a speedway demo.
The rain date, October 7 & 8, drew only four speedway riders, and
Jolly Roger owner/promoter Marco Gagnon paid out smaller purse amounts
to these speedway participants. The original $1,000 speedway purse money
from September 23 will be rolled over to next season.
Marco is very interested in making speedway a regular part of his
program at Jolly Roger. Anyone who made the trip to his facility had to
come away impressed by the professionalism of his staff and the quality
of the track itself. Thanks again to all of the riders who made the
effort to participate...get ready for a bigger and better speedway show
at Jolly Roger next season.
Jolly Roger Moto-Sports Park in East Lempster, New Hampshire will be
making history on Saturday night, September 23, as it hosts the
first-ever speedway meeting to be staged in New England. The track is
offering a $1,000 purse to speedway competitors that night, as well as
$50 in tow money to each of the first 10 speedway riders to enter.
Jolly Roger is well known to the New England flat track community
for its professionally groomed, 1/5-mile dirt track oval. Practice will
be from 4:00 pm until 6:00 pm. The track offers all amenities, including
a full-service restaurant, Roostertails Grill.
Jolly Roger is 20 miles north of Keene, New Hampshire on Route 10
and is approximately four hours from the Southern Tier region of western
New York. Lodging is available at the Super 8 Motel in Keene.
For more information on this event, please call the Jolly Roger
Moto-Sports Park at (603) 863-0008. Interested speedway riders should
also log on to the Jolly Roger Web site, http://www.jrmoto.com, to view
pictures of this beautifully maintained, professional facility. Don't
miss out on this opportunity to be a part of speedway racing history!
Steve Peterson (yes that's Steve)
Has A Speedway Event !
( Oct. 16, 2000) A friend of mine promotes a 1/5th mile banked clay oval in Amelia, VA about
1 hour west of Richmond. On Oct 28th he is having a Flat Track Night and
usually gets 200 bikes and 1500 spectators.
He has agreed to a minimum 6 man Speedway Exhibition of probably two heats
and a scratch main. No purse but some help on gas money. It could lead to
more races next year on a special event basis.
I have talked to Ronnie Kemp and he will talk to some others in the South,
is there any one else interested from the North?
My hopes for Charlotte have fallen thru till they build a little track on
the infield of the current 3/8 mile clay oval. Even for the AMA Flat Track
Bikes the speeds were very fast.
E-mail: speterson@admin.nascar.com
From: Tim Mathewson
E-mail: tmathewson677@prodigy.net
Anyone interested in heading South for a weekend?
Steve Peterson dropped me this note about a
possible exhibition at the end of the month. This is a straight exhibition
with no purse but there will be some gas money in it. Russ and Eric are
interested in going and I will be offering them my van, so there is room for
two more riders and bikes.
Let me know if anyone is interested. I will pass along any more info when I
get it.
Motociter.com Pro-Am Flat Track Motorcycle Race at Amelia Motor
Raceway 10/28/00
Who? The finest riders in the country competing for $4,000 in the pro
class
What? Motociter.com Pro-Am Flat Track Motorcycle Race
When? Saturday, October 28, 2000 - Gates open Noon, Practice at 4:00,
Racing at 6:00
Where? Amelia Motor Raceway, Amelia, Virginia
Pro Class competes for $4,000 and $25 lead lap money (lap $ sponsored by
Departure Bike Works)
Amateur classes run for trophies
Bike entry fee: $28 first class; $20 each class thereafter
Adult Spectator: $10
Raindate: 10/29/00
For info call 804-314-0326 (visit www.motociter.com ), 804-744-5501 (visit www.ameliamotorraceway.com), or 804-561-4739 on race day
 
INDOOR EVENT in Washington State, April 21 - 22, 2000
SECOND EVENT: October 28 - 29, 2000
(Sept. 29, 2000) The track is 180 yards on the pole, 20 feet wide on the
straights and 40 feet wide in the corners. Remember $100 tow
money for the best 18 Californios who sign up and over $8000 in
prize money each night!!
Pasco is one of the Tri-Cities with a combined population of about 200,000.
It is located in southeastern Washington State near the Oregon border.
It is a straight shot up highway 97 from northern Calif.
The track is about the size of Auburn maybe a trifle narrower.
It is indoors in a near new facility with state of the art lights and sound systems.
The arena has a dirt floor and so there will no digging down to tarmac or concrete.
I will pay tow money (at least $100) to the top sixteen who sign up and we will try to
arrange a sponsor for the rooms so no one will have to pay for the Friday night at least.
It will be AMA sanctioned.
If you read the ONELIST, then you know not to expect the traditional "same old thing" from me.
I need some committments soon so I can reserve the arena.
I will run a Junior program if some show up.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION
Anyone who wants to ride contact:
Donavon Dorsey
darques@email.msn.com
Phone: 1-877-88-SHEDS
An untimely end for a talented rider
Chris Harrington, who had retired from Speedway several years ago,
died Aug. 4, 2000 after haveing knee surgery for a torn ACL from
a blood clot. He rode speedway for six years. Three and a half in first division, at all four
tracks in California from 1989 to 1995. Thats all he ever wanted to do since seeing his
frist speedway race at age 5, so he lived his dream!
From his Dad: Larry Harrington, larryharrington@mail.com.
"I knew Chris quite well." - Gary Roberts.
Frozen Ocean Motocross Park, Inc.
Saturday September 30, 2000
For those of you who have not heard, Frozen Ocean is running a "Speedway
only" event on Saturday 9-30 at 6:00pm. I don't have a lot of details other
than they are advertising it and the NSRA will be setting up the program and
scoring. We are trying to get as many people to go as possible. If you want
more info call Dave Smith 315-673-4124.
This event was initiated by Frozen Ocean not us, so we should try to make a
good showing of it. I can't say we will be real organized going in to it
but then again "speedway people are naturally unorganized".
From: Timothy Mathewson, e-mail: tmathewson677@prodigy.net
Frozen Ocean Motocross Park, Inc.
RD#2 Vanderstouw Rd., Auburn, NY 13021
PHONE: (315) 784-5517 or 784-5466
FAX: (315)784-5904
New Speedway Track, Hi-Go Raceway
(September 22, 2000) We are having a Speedway Open House at Hi-Go Raceway
in Cecil, WI. It will be on Oct. 7 and 8, 12-4 PM It's open to the public
and FREE! The pits will be open so that people can see the bikes, talk to
the riders and learn about Speedway.
This is a 220 meter kart track. It's clay with minimal banking. It is very
much like Lawrenceburg, without the wall. We have riders coming from
MI,IN,IL,WI.
Mike Mitchell, the promoter, wants to run a speedway program along with the Sunday
afternoon kart program next season. Practice days will be available too.
This is great for us as we expect it to take a little while to develop
enough riders to do a complete Speedway program. They have lights and also
run some night shows.
Cecil is on the east end of Shawano Lake which is 1/2 hr NW from Green Bay.
This area is sort of the gateway to the north woods of WI. There are plenty
of hotels in the area. The track is on Hwy 22 on the north end of Cecil.
All Speedway riders are welcome to come and ride. We hope to have enough
riders so that someone is on the track at all times. This event is put on by:
MSRA
Midwest Speedway Riders Assn. Inc
The MSRA is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the promotion of the
sport of Speedway in the Midwest. The I Slide Speedway School is a division
of the MSRA. Finding suitable venues and developing riders is the primary
purpose. The MSRA will carry a liability policy protecting track owners
so that riders can practice and develop their skills at various locations
throughout the Midwest.
If someone needs more info they can call me at 920-682-8115 or e-mail to speedway75@yahoo.com - Greg Comstock
New Speedway Track, East of Lake Perris
(September 14, 2000) I talked to Bill Cody today, who told me about a new track out somewhere east of Lake Perris.
They have both a 1/4 mile and 1/8 mile tracks. There is lighting. They are open for practice
Friday 3pm to 10pm, this week, plus 9-22, 9-29, 10-6. After that they plan to have weekly races
on Friday nights. It sounds a bit out of the way, but I think the days are gone when we can
expect to find a track in a convenient-to-get-at place. Please send me an EMail if you want
more details and I can send you the PDF file for their flyer.
Gary Roberts - groberts@iee.org
Speedway Race - September 16, 2000 - Paris Speedway
The CSRA is holding an additional race date on Saturday the 16th
of September at Paris. Race time 6 p.m. Good news for spectators is the cost is FREE! We
are calling it Fan Appreciation Day as we had to cancel some meetings.
Larry will be doing his Chili thing so come on down !
Speedway Race - September 9, 2000 - Paradise Speedway Geneva, New York!
A couple of other speedway riders and I went and checked out this track tonight
(Wednesday practice night). The track is 1/4 mile clay with a wide racing groove.
Weekly show is go-carts and flat trackers. Track is running a fall series from Sept 9
thru the end of October. Promoter is interested in running speedway bikes.
All we need is riders. Call if you're interested. With New Champion closed for the season,
this will give us 2 more months of SPEEDWAY! This could be a great oppertunity
for a second track in NY!!!!
For more info, call Craig Lane at (607) 243-7692
or you can contact the track promoter: Gary Palone at (315) 789-7293.
From "Performance Cycles" cycle@linkny.com
Big Race at Lawrenceburg Motorcyle Speedway
The second annual Jim Hedrick Memorial Speedway Race is scheduled for
September 8th, 2000. Since we are only having one "big" speedway race this
season, this one has been in the works all summer. We plan on it being bigger
and better than ever! We are fortunate to have ascertained the services of Dave Havill and Duncan Luke to organize and referee the event. At present, it
looks as if ten to fifteen Canadian riders will be in attendance (most of
which are first division riders). We also have verbal commitment from several
riders from Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana. This combined with our ten
local riders, promises to make for a great race!
Track owner/promoter/speedway enthusiast Herschel Benkert has posted a
$1000.00 (U.S.) purse. Pay out will be on a per point scored basis. Of
course, the exact amount per point is impossible to post until after the
final sign up on race day.
Tow moneys will be $50.00 (U.S.) for all out of town first division riders.
Second/third division riders from out of town will receive $25.00 (U.S.)
per rider.
The race will consist of a first division and a second division/support
program. Trophies will be awarded to the top three positions in each program.
Admittence to the facility remains free to all competitors, family, friends,
and crew. There will, however, be a ten dollar sign up fee for each rider
to off set the cost incurred for the additional activities scheduled.
Dave Brant (Brant Engineering) will be on hand to conduct the technical
inspection prior to the meeting. He will also host a technical siminar on
saturday morning which will include basic bike setup/maintenance as well as
high performance tuning tips for the upper division riders - a great
opportunity offered at no additional cost to every competitor!
Basic bike/rider requirements for the event include:
* legible number plates on all three sides of bike
* working teather type kill switch
* secondary chain guard
* cabled muffler
* snell 95/dot approved helmet in good condition
Keep in mind that this is only a partial list. The safety and subsequent
admission of all bikes to this event will be left up to the descretion of Dave Brant, so be sure your equipment is in good order!
Tire rule for this event: Kenda, Barum, Mitas, Trackmaster only -no
exceptions.
Post race activities include a Cajun style bareque hosted by Morgan Hedrick
(son of Jim Hedrick). Track side camping is available, as well as several
motels within a short distance of the track.
Following saturday morning's technical siminar, the track will be open for
practice. Instruction for D2/D3 riders will also be available.
Those planning on competing are encouraged to contact Patrick Reynolds at this
e-mail address Patrick.Reynolds@mvs.hosp.uky.edu or phone (606)293-0405. Keep in mind that we may very well
have more than sixteen first division riders in attendance. In which case,
we will conduct qualifying heats for the last 2 to 4 first divisions spots.
The sooner we hear from you, the less likely that you will have to quality.
Rider sign up will begin promptly at 5pm (est). Practice begins at 6pm with
Racing at 7pm, so come enjoy the southern hospitality that Lawrenceburg
Motorcyle Speedway has become famous for!
Aug. 13 - Josh Larsen SPEEDWAY SCHOOL at Owego, New York
Tuesday July 18, 2000 Speedvision will be part two of the Penhall interview. The show after Bike Week. 7:30 and 11pm?
Malcolm - malcomroe@thegrid.net
Updated Information on Barona Speedway
It has been redesigned in 1999 to a 1/4 mile clay oval & TT track.
We have added 4 classes for speedway bikes for 2000: Div. 1, 2, 3 & Juniors.
Race dates for 2000 are June 17, July 15, August 12, October 28 & November 4.
All info & classes can be found at : http://www.flattrack.com/outlaw/outlaw.html
FRIDAY NIGHT SPEEDWAY AT COSTA MESA!!!!
Friday night speedway racing will return to Costa Mesa next Friday, July 14.
The evening will feature speedway as well as the Bir Air Freestyle Motorcycle
Jumpers, BMX and Skateboard Ramp Riders, and the sidecars. The event will
coincide with the Opening Night of the annual Orange County Fair. The
admission for speedway is free with the fair admission.
The event is not a substitute for the annual Fair Derby, but this is an
additional racing program on top of the Fair Derby. The 29th annual Fair
Derby will be contested the following night, Saturday, July 15. So there
will be speedway on back-to-back nights at Costa Mesa next week.
This extra evening during the fair will be an excellent opportunity for
speedway to gain exposure to people who may not be familiar with the sport or
to reacquaint it with fans of the past. I will try to have additional
information regarding what type of program the speedway riders will be
competing in and any other information as soon as possible.
Ryan Evans
sideways31@aol.com
SPEEDWAY RACE
ORANGE SHOW EVENT CENTER
in SAN BERNARDINO CALIFORNIA
Thursday, July 27th 2000 at 6:30 PM.
First race is 8pm.
Speedway Divisions 1 and 2, AMA sanctioned
Presented by C & C Promotions
Promoter: Charlie Venegas
Riders or sponsors with questions phone (909) 883-1414
Speedway School in Illiois
The next I Slide Speedway School is SATURDAY OCTOBER 14, 2000 at the Jules Kart Raceway, Wilmington IL.
Limited spots available, call now! 920-682-8115
See our ad in June Cycle USA
- Greg Comstock
Jules Kart Raceway Wilmington, IL. is also open for Speedway practice
every Sunday.
"We are also working on a track here in Manitowoc. We have the land and
are going through the permit process now. It will be 200 meters, the
proper shape and surface for Speedway." - Greg, June 2000.
Write Greg for the latest information on the new track at:
roll1@tcbi.com
or,
speedway75@yahoo.com
946 No. 6 St.,
Manitowoc, Wisconsin, USA. 54220
or
Phone: (414) 682-8115 Fax: (414) 686-1058
Check out the new link on the Speedway Video Page for a web site with AMAZING MEPG Video Clips!!!
Racing Against Drugs
Gary Hesmer (1999 Canada High Points Champ.), Chris Hesmer (1998-99 Canadian Speedway Champ.),
and Kim Gregory (the SpeedwayBikes webmaster), worked with grade 1 to 6 kids in
the RCMP's London show. This was our third year involved in this program that shows that
sports motor racing is an exciting alternative to drug use.
Here are some links to find out more about this program in Canada:
http://www.t2.net/rcmp/rad.htm
http://www.safecommunities.ca/bestidea/24.htm
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/7268/rgweb6.html
http://www.oxfordcommunitypolice.on.ca/comrel.html#racing
And it the USA:
www.nyspRacingAgainstDrugs.com
Billy Hammil is No.1 in World after sensational GP Victory
6th, May 2000, Billy Wins Czech Grand Prix. For more details, see his official web site news at: BillyHammil.com
Mike Bast has been inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame!
The new inductees will be honored on July 8, 2000 in a Ceremony at the
Hall of Fame in Pickerington, Ohio.
From: Rick Newlee rickandpat@sedona.net
"National Champion Mike Bast came out and put in several perfect laps, making it
look as if he had never been away from the sport. But what really ticked people
off is that he fitted straight into the same leathers that he used 15 years ago!"
- Gary Roberts at the 1998 AMA National Championships.
Photo by Gary Roberts spring 2000.
Billy Janniro(USA) in the World Under-21 Championship
While at the Spring Classic, I talked to Dave Joiner extensively about Billy Janniro. Dave set up Billy Janniro with a factory ride with Jawa for the
World Under-21 Championship. Billy will be leaving shortly for the Czech
Republic where he will receive extensive help from the people at Jawa. He
will be getting testing/practice time at Mseno (site of the first round of
the World Under-21 Championship qualifying) and at the Jawa Factory track at
Divisov.
This can only help Billy and his quest to become America's third World
Under-21 Champion. Not only will Billy be receiving top-notch mechanical
help, but he will receive valuable practice not only at the Jawa track which
will help him adjust to the bigger tracks, but he gets to practice on the
ACTUAL track that he will be competing on. Billy can get his bike set up
specifically for that track. His first round of qualifying is scheduled for
May 1 with the top 8 qualifying for the Semi-Final at Norkoeping, Sweden on
August 5.
Ryan Evans
sideways31@aol.com
World Under 21 Mseno Race Results
# Heat Results Total
1 Sandor Fekete, HUN (6) 3 3 2 3 3 14
2 Krzysztof Cegielski, POL (16) 1 3 3 3 3 13
3 Krzysztof Stojanowski, POL (1) 3 3 1 3 1 11+3
4 Josef Franc, CZ (3) 2 2 3 2 2 11+2
5 Jernej Kolenko, SLO (7) 1 3 3 2 2 11+1
6 Pawel Duszynski, POL (15) 2 1 3 2 2 10
7 Janos Golenya, HUN (10) 3 1 1 1 3 9+3
8 Simon Stead, GB (4) 1 2 2 1 3 9+2
9 Ales Dolinar, SLO (13) 3 1 0 3 1 8
10 Andy Aplleton, GB (14) 0 2 2 1 2 7
11 Billy Janniro, USA (5) 2 0 2 0 1 5
12 Tim Brinkman, GER (12) 2 1 1 0 0 4
13 Tomas Suchanek, CZ (8) 0 E 1 2 0 3
14 Miroslav Fencl, CZ (9) E 2 T E X 2
15 Kai Hesse, D (11) 1 0 0 1 0 2
16 Petr Vacek, CZ (2) F 0 F 0 1 1
Res Jan Hlacina, CZ (17) 0 (Ht11) 1
Marek Knize, CZ DNR
Thanks to these people for the results!
Tony Skach
Gary Roberts gary_rob@ix.netcom.com
Alex Wojturski AWSPEEDWAY@msn.com
This morning I had a chat with Dave Joiner, the Auburn promoter.
During Dave's visit to the FIM conference last year, he established some
useful contacts in European Speedway, including the Chairman of Jawa.
A few weeks before last Monday's under 21 qualifier event Dave had called
this gentleman and mentioned that Billy Janniro, a young Northern Californian,
whose career so far had centered around Dave's track, was coming over to
compete in the under 21 qualifier. Whether it was the result of a subtle hint from Dave,
or generally kind natuver of the Jawa Chairman's behalf, but by the end of the
conversation he had come up with the offer of a bike, plus a senior design engineer, to maintain it.
So often Americans have qualified for events in Europe, and when they get there they have
been confronted with a track twice the size of anything they have ever seen, and the bike
that they had brought which had enabled them to win races on short American tracks, was
so underpowered compared to their other competitors that they have lost the race before they
get to the tapes. Some have got past this stage. Sam, Greg and Billy have been great world
champions and great ambassadors for our sport. But having said that, the future really does
not look as bright. A decade ago, there were nearly a dozen Americans riding in the British League.
Last year, there was barely enough to put a test match team together. The quality is still there
but not the quantity. During the offseason, a group of people involved in American Speedway,
including Greg Hancock, Josh Larsen and
Dave Joiner got together in LA to discuss what can
be done to help Americans maintain their position as a competitive force in World Speedway.
The solution was the forming of Team USA. This is a buddy system, popular in American industry,
where a senior more experienced person is assigned to help the novice. In the case of new
speedway riders going to Europe, it was recognised that an experienced helper, who could
help out with the logistics, would be a means to make things easier for the rider. Since
Greg and Billy were busy with their forthcoming GP fixtures, Dave Joiner went over to
Czechoslovakia with Billy Janniro and Billy's dad Rick, where they planned to meet fellow
Northern Californian, John Cook.
They flew into Munich last Tuesday. On Wednesday they collected the bike and went to the
Pardubice track and practiced with some local riders. Billy rode a stock Jawa bike and burned
out 3 clutches. The Jawa factory mechanics put in a new clutch, adjusted the bike, put it on a
dynamometer and it was ready to roll again.
On the Friday they went to Poland and took the engine out of the US bike that Billy brought with
him, as a back up, and put it in an Antig frame loaned from Greg Hancock. The plan was to
practice at Wroclaw with John Cook, who is riding for a Polish club this season. John was
delayed in traffic, and Billy tried out the Hancock bike at the WTF Speedway club. The results
were much better.
When John Cook arrived, Billy went out again to practice. Billy had attended the John Cook Academy in Auburn 2 months earlier and John continued to help Billy out,
particularly with his starts. But the rain got heavier, and eventually they called it a day.
On the Saturday there were more practice opportunities, until 1.30 when a Junior Interleague
event took place. More work on Billy's starts, and John helped Billy improve his race line on the track.
Billy had been starting his turns too early and bringing the bike too far round, as is the style for the short
US tracks. For the longer track John showed him how to get round faster taking the turn less harshly.
At the end of the day some of the mechanics at the WTF facility decided to tear Billy's engine apart
and rebuild it for him. The junior meeting apparently did not go according to plan. The WrocWroclaw team
was last, much to the disappointment of the press and supporters.
On the Sunday it was a 6 hour drive out to the Mseno track in Czechoslovakia. At 8 am on the
Monday Billy's engine went back in the frame and was all set for the evening.
When the event finally came around, it was difficult to gauge what to expect. The Europeans
had the experience with the longer tracks, many had the experience with that track, they were
used to riding faster bikes. Billy, on the other hand, had good equipement, and had the benefit
of John Cook's guidance.
Billy's gate for his first race was good. He and one other rider were level coming out of the end
of the first turn. On the back straight the other rider gained a slight lead that he kept for the rest
of the race, so Billy finished second. A good result, on the Jawa factory bike. But the second race
did not go as well. Billy was slow out of the gate and was unable to catch up. The reason,
a slipping clutch. The Jawa's clutch had got cooked. For his third ride Billy went out on his own bike,
with the Hancock frame and the Wroclaw rebuilt engine. The first corner was close,
but by the end of it, Billy came out in second place. Despite the third place rider pushing him for
the next 2 laps, Billy held second place till the checkered flag. So 4 points from 3 rides.
Not brilliant, but impossible to qualify. But Billy was to find that the fourth race had some very
stiff competition and he was unable to make any impact on them. By this stage, it was clear
that qualifying for the next round was not going to happen. For his last race, the pressure was
off and Billy had a good race, holding third place and challenging, unsuccessfully for third at the line.
It was close, but he didn't quite make it.
So a lot of planning, a lot of preparation, a lot of expense, and a lot of experience gained,
but no qualification place.
After the races it was a 5 hour drive from Prague to Munich and back to San Francisco Airport
Tuesday night.
I am sure that everyone on this distribution was disappointed that Billy didn't qualify,
but he is still only 19, so could have another chance next year. But a lot can change in a year.
For the selection board Billy was a relatively easy choice this year, but with a lot of good new
prospects, in particular Ryan Fisher, Billy might have stiffer competition for the place for the
2001 under 21 place. Meanwhile, Dave Joiner is going to apply his influence to try and get a
place opened up for second US under 21 candidate next year.
Just another 8 days and the Auburn season starts.
I hope to see lots of you there then.
Best regards, Gary Roberts
The date of the next Canadian Speedway Racing Association meeting shown in the latest newsletter
is incorrect. It should read SATURDAY APRIL 29th, 2000.
The location is correct - Kym and Kevin Robillards home.
Sorry for the error. Hope you can all make it to the meeting.
Regards, Duncan - E-mail: luke99@idirect.com
This Saturday, April 1, is the Fast Fridays 2000 Sign Up Party.
It starts at 12 midday and goes on for a couple of hours. There will be
entry forms available.
It is a pot luck so it would be appreaciated if everyone brings
something, but nobody will be turned away.
There will be Junior Speedway riders meeting at 11.30.
Location, Fast Fridays, Auburn Fairgrounds, California.
- Gary Roberts
The promoter of the Reno-Fernley
Raceway is interested in putting on some races if riders are willing to show
up and race. ( 3/8 MILE CLAY OVAL )
Anything is possible from a 8 race series to just some
exhibition races. Please check out reno-fernleyraceway if your a fan or a racer, and e-mail them that you want to see
speedway racing at their facility.
Rogersx3@aol.com
From: "Vicki Finch" EMAIL Vickie
Racing in Sunny San Diego, CA. this Sunday March 12th. Gates open at
8:00am, practice at 10:00am, racing at 11:30am. 1/4 mile clay oval
for Division 1 & Division 2 Speedway Bikes. Come join the Class "C"
guys on their Flat Track bikes for a great day of racing. All
Speedway Bikes welcome. Division 1-80% payback. All info & classes
are listed at www.flattrack.com/outlaw/outlaw.html San Diego fans
love Speedway Bikes, so come race with us and have a great time. Show
us Flat Track guys how it's really done!
Champion Speedway
Announces a SPRING CLASSIC on May 28, 2000! A Sunday race! Admission $7.00
California Speedway Rider Charlie Venegas is the 2000 World Indoor ICE Champion!
Canadian Nick Fafard finished second place in the event, held
March 4th in Bakersfield, CA. Nick also finished second place in the Points Championship for the series. Anthony Barlow from England finished first in points.
Auburn AMA NATIONAL SPEEDWAY CHAMPIONSHIP has been moved to
September 29th, 2000. See the other changes an the Fast Friday's Page .
Starting in 2000, the Dukie Ermolenko Speedway Academy!
Check out the Duke's classes ( for all levels of riders! ) at Ken Maely's Track!
SPEEDWAY WinAmp Skin
The popular player of midi, wav, and mpg3 files can be customized with your own
'dashboard' or 'skin'. Here is a SPEEDWAY skin developed by Doug Gregory for SpeedwayBikes.com!
Bob Richards wins the Colorado Ice Championship
Costa Mesa Speedway is CLOSING
A Cycle News Report
See the Cycle News web site for more...
( Feb. 16, 2000 )
It ain't over till it's over
Some Southern California motorsports fans might liken it to hearing that a
member of the family has been diagnosed with a terminal illness.
After running for 32 consecutive seasons, it appears as though the Orange
County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, California, is likely to close its doors at
the end of the 2000 season. The weekly races, which began in 1969 and have
been a motorsports tradition in Orange County and Southern California, are on
a course to go the way of the dinosaur, the do-do bird and other hallowed So
Cal facilities, such as Orange County International Raceway in Irvine, Ascot
Park in Gardena, and Inland Motorcycle Speedway in San Bernardino. Just like
those tracks, this appears to have been brought on by economic factors.
"Under the terms of our current agreement with the fairgrounds, we cannot
afford to run events at Costa Mesa beyond this next season," International
Speedway's Brad Oxley said. "What it comes down to is that a lot of
improvements need to be made to the existing arena at a substantial cost to
us, but we have been unable to secure a three- or five-year lease that would
allow us to amortize those costs, and we are not going to run our operation
into the ground by spending the money to improve the facility under the terms
of a one-year contract. There is still hope that our current status with the
fairgrounds may change, but it is really slim. We may try to find another
facility to continue promoting speedway, but it probably won't be in Orange
County. I don't know if anybody else has any plans [to promote speedway.]
"We feel terrible that it has come to this, and that we have only been able
to give our riders, fans, sponsors and businesses who depend on the speedway
just nine months notice," Oxley said. "My family and I are in tears over the
situation."
Just the same, Oxley says that International Speedway plans to pull out all
of the stops for the 2000 racing season.
"We are not going to dwell on the negative. Instead, we plan to make a huge
noise," Oxley said. "We are not pulling in the sails and giving up. We plan
to blow the roof off the place for 20 weeks, and that means more advertising
and promotion than ever. We know that our riders are going to be pulling out
all the stops to be the last guy to win the Spring Classic, or the last guy
to win the Jack Milne Cup, or the Fair Derby or the U.S. National
Championship. The gloves are coming off. We have been up front with our
sponsors and supporters about our situation, and they have stepped up to the
plate big time to help us ensure that if this is going to be our last season,
it's going to be our best season."
The Spring Classic, which has traditionally opened the California speedway
season, is scheduled for April 8. The regular season opener is scheduled for
April 29.
cn
INDOOR EVENT Proposed for Pennsylvania>
( Jan. 24, 2000 ) We are organizing a speedway show for an INDOOR short track event in
Hanover, PA. on Feb. 18. East Coast rider Eric Sherwood called the promoter
and got the go ahead and so far it looks like we have 10 or 12 riders
comitted. it. Looks like we should have a good bunch of riders to go.
Warren, Tommy, Cam, Russ, Kelvin and I just to name a few. Should be
interesting.
I should have more info this weekend. Anyone interested in riding can call
Eric at 607-785-8230. Sign up is $40. and I think you have to pre register.
Timothy Mathewson
tmathewson677@prodigy.net
More info: http://www.motoramaassoc.com
We are in the very formative stages of this venture and still have to sign one rider but let me tempt you.
$100 tow/start money to anyone from over 500 miles away.
A room for the Friday night of the races
A meal at a great Mexican restaurant.
Each heat will be sponsored with $150 prize money paid $75, $50 and $25 for 1,2,3.
At least $1000 purse for each event in both the Speedway and Class C for total of $4000.
Additional money for match races.
Friday night all scratch racing, Saturday night all handicap racing, Both speedway and class C
All Class C riders will ride 600 cc Rotaxs or equivalent.
The track will be some type of cushion surface.
The guaranteed purse is in the bank. Today!
The 600 race will be all Pro and feature several AMA National Numbers from the Northwest.
The event will be AMA sanctioned and insured.
Any Questions?
Donavon
dorseyd@gte.net
The 2000 Race Calendar has arrived!!
Cal Expo, Fast Fridays and Costa Mesa tentative schedules are listed.
Got some great SPEEDWAY video ?
Both SPEEDVISION and ADRENALINE TV (Outdoor Life Network),
are asking for EXTREME sports action video
to show on their TV shows.
Send your home made Speedway Videos to:
"OUCH Takes"
AdrenalineTV
4599 Forestview Drive
Northbrook, IL 60062-1007
email: duke@adrenalinetv.com
1-888-881-3853
and / or
SPEEDVISION
Two Stamford Plaza,
281 Tresser Blvd.
Stamford CT 06901 USA
December AMA Meeting Report
Includes mention of the 2000 AMA National Speedway Championships may be broadcast on the SPEEDVISION channel!
See the Fast Fridays Speedway CLEANUP for 2000 PAGE !!!!
Fast Fridays Speedway Racing Annual Awards Ceremony
Everyone is invited to the Fast Fridays Speedway Racing Annual Awards Ceremony
and Crab Feed. It is to honor the top riders in each division for 1999. All
racers, families, fans, sponsors and guests are welcome.
Date: Saturday Jan 22, 2000
Time: Doors Open @6.30pm, Crab Feed Dinner starts @7.30pm.
Place: Gold Country Fairgrounds Sierra Building in Auburn.
There will be a raffle for many great prizes, to benefit our Junior Speedway
Program.
Tickets are available from Affordable RV at 1070 Hwy 49, Auburn. Alternatively
you can mail in your order, giving your name, and number of tickets needed
making checks payable to:
Fast Fridays
PO Box 37
Weimar, CA 95736
and pick the tickets up at the door, or you can call in to Fast Fridays at (530)
878 RACE with a Master Card or Visa number.
Prices:
Adults $20.00 each, Children 6-12 $9.00 each, Children under 6 free.
Tickets are limited and no bookings can be taken after January 19.
Winter Millennium Series at Barona Speedway in San Diego, CA
From: Vicki Finch vikoutlaw@aol.com
The Outlaw Dirt Tracker Club is promoting a Winter Millennium Series at Barona Speedway
in San Diego, CA. We will be racing on a 1/4 mile clay oval. I am trying to find out if
Speedway riders would like to come and race with us. I know the fans here in San Diego
love Speedway bikes and I would like to incorporate them into our series. The series race
dates are: Jan. 22, Feb. 5 & 19, March 4 & 18 & April 8, 2000. We will have
Novice, Sportsman, Vintage & Pro classes for Flat Track Motorcycles & Quads. I
f any of you are interested in racing in San Diego please e-mail me for more information.
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