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Costa Mesa Speedway
Orange County Fairgrounds - Costa Mesa, CA
2001 25 Lap Classic
Costa Mesa Speedway
July 7, 2001
From Ryan Evans
Josh Larsen used patience and endurance to capture the Coors Light 25 Lap Classic at Costa Mesa Saturday Night.
Last week's Handicap Main Event winner, Kitt Nay, started at the tapes and led the 12-man field into turn one. Eddie Castro defied the usual strategy of hugging the pole by riding the outside throughout the first two laps. Castro took the lead entering turn one the third time and quickly lengthened his lead. Castro had a huge lead when he began experiencing bike problems and slowed dramatically. Castro's bike found life again and he held the lead until lap 14, when his bike shut down for good. Larsen, who had patiently moved through the field, assumed the lead with former 25 Lap Champion Gary Hicks on his tail. Behind Hicks were Dukie Ermolenko and 2-time 25 Lap Champion Chris Manchester. Hicks pressured Larsen for several laps before the former World Finalist pulled away and was the first to the checkered flag that ended Costa Mesa's longest speedway race. Hicks held on for second, Ermolenko was third, Manchester was fourth, Shawn McConnell was fifth, and Randy DiFrancesco, the last rider on the lead lap, was sixth. Amazingly, the entire 25 laps were completed without a single red flag.
This was Larsen's first victory in the marathon race and was a statement about his toughness as not only was he fighting exhaustion, as all the riders were, but he is still recovering from two broken fingers and a broken knuckle suffered in a crash four weeks ago.
An Olympique-style format was used to determine the 12 spots in the 25 Lap Classic. Twenty riders competed in three rounds of five-man heats. First place earned four points, second place earned three points, third place earned two points, fourth place got one point, and fifth place zero points. The first round was strictly scratch racing. First and second round winners were then handicapped 40 yards in the following round, second place finishers were handicapped 30 yards, third place finishers were handicapped 20 yards, fourth place finishers were handicapped 10 yards, and fifth place finishers started at the tapes. The top twelve point scorers from the qualifying rounds made up the field for the main event. The handicap yardage for the main event was pre-determined so the qualifying rounds had no impact on a rider's yardage in the main event.
Unlike the Olympique two weeks ago, no rider was able to record a perfect score. Gary Hicks, Bobby Schwartz, and Eddie Castro led all scoring with 10 points each. Chris Manchester scored nine points, while Josh Larsen and Dukie Ermolenko each scored eight. Shawn McConnell and Randy DiFrancesco had seven points apiece, with six-point scorers Robbie Sauer, Jim Estes, Danny Perkins, and Kitt Nay rounded out the field.
The Support Division also got a taste of marathon racing as they competed in a 12-man, 12-lap main event. Rick Valdez headed the field and was in control of the lead for three laps when a crash in turn two forced a restart. The staggered restart had Valdez starting at the tapes alongside his cousin and sponsor, Jeff Blaydes, who had moved through the field from the 30 yard line to get into second. Valdez regained the lead when the tapes went up, but Blaydes kept constant pressure on him. On lap six Blaydes took the lead while Valdez settled into second. Blaydes pulled away as he extended his lead over the last half of the race to take the win. David Lynch finished second after starting at the back of the field, John Stunkard was third, Mark Hitchcock was fourth, Mike Lupo was fifth, and Randy Kreps was sixth.
The qualification for the Support Main was different than the for the 25 Lap Classic. There were five five-man scratch heats in which the top two from each heat transferred directly to the main event while the third and fourth place finishers transferred to one of two semis. The winner from each semi transferred to the main event to complete the 12-man field.
Next week is the prestigious Fair Derby. The field will feature former winners Shawn McConnell, Bobby Schwartz, and Mike Faria. McConnell will be shooting for his third Fair Derby Championship, while Schwartz and Faria each will be vying for their fifth title. No other rider has won this race as many times as Schwartz and Faria and they will be battling for that unprecedented fifth Fair Derby victory.
SUPPORT RESULTS
Qualifying Races
5 (heat): M.Hitchcock, Blaydes, Hampel, Boyle, Kump (fell)
6 (heat): Lynch, Fiesler, Metoyer, Kreps, Quevedo
7 (heat): M.Lupo, Laurer, P.Harmatiuk, Baichtal, Newlee (retired)
12 (heat): P.Williams, Barrett, Delbridge, Rossano, Stevens
13 (heat): Stunkard, Valdez, Medellin, Green, Vandermeulen, Zellner (non starter)
20 (semi): Kreps, Metoyer, Hampel, Boyle, Medellin
21 (semi): Barrett, P.Harmatiuk, Rossano, Green, Baichtal (fell, remounted)
Support 12 Lap Main Event
173 - Jeff Blaydes 30
131 - David Lynch 40
249 - John Stunkard 10
177 - Mark Hitchcock 30
162 - >Mike Lupo 20
165 - Randy Kreps 0
106 - Robert Fiesler 20
182 - Rudy Laurer 30
239 - Philip Williams 10
300 - Bentley Barrett 30
293 - Rick Valdez 0
338 - Dave Delbridge 10
FIRST DIVISION RESULTS
QUALIFYING SCORES 1 2 3 T
3 - Gary Hicks 4 3 3 10
4 - Josh Larsen 3 1 4 8
6 - Shawn McConnell E 4 3 7
11 - Bobby Schwartz 4 2 4 10
12 - Randy DiFrancesco 2 4 1 7
14 - Eddie Castro 3 3 4 10
15 - Dukie Ermolenko 4 2 2 8
17 - Robbie Sauer 3 1 2 6
21 - Brad Sauer 3 2 0 5
23 - Mark Adams 0 4 1 5
56 - Jim Estes 1 3 2 6
114 - Paul Hitchcock (res.) 0 0 0 0
130 - Chris Manchester 4 2 3 9
139 - Shaun Harmatiuk 0 4 0 4
189 - Danny Perkins 2 3 1 6
200 - Gerry Duttweiler 1 0 2 3
216 - Kitt Nay 1 1 4 6
223 - Bobby Krips 2 1 1 4
230 - Doug Greyson 2 R 3 5
243 - Sean McDougall 1 0 0 1
316 - John DeFries N N - 0
RACE RESULTS
1: Schwartz, B.Sauer, Greyson, Duttweiler, McConnell (engine failure)
2: Manchester, Larsen, Perkins, McDougall, P.Hitchcock, DeFries (non starter)
3: Hicks, R.Sauer, Krips, Nay, Adams (fell, remounted)
4: Ermolenko, Castro, DiFrancesco, Estes, S.Harmatiuk (fell, remounted)
8: DiFrancesco (20), Castro (30), Schwartz (40), R.Sauer (30), Hitchcock (0),
DeFries (0) (non starter)
9: McConnell (0), Estes (10), Manchester (40), Nay (10), Duttweiler (10)
10: S.Harmatiuk (0), Hicks (40), B.Sauer (30), Larsen (30), McDougall (10)
11: Adams (0), Perkins (20), Ermolenko (40), Krips (20), Greyson (20) (retired)
15: Schwartz (20), Manchester (20), Estes (30), Krips (10), P.Hitchcock (0)
16: Nay (10), Hicks (30), Ermolenko (20), DiFrancesco (40), B.Sauer (20)
17: Castro (30), McConnell (40), Duttweiler (0), Perkins (30), S.Harmatiuk (40)
18: Larsen (10), Greyson (0), R.Sauer (10), Adams (40), McDougall (0)
Coors Light 25 Lap Classic
4 - Josh Larsen 50
3 - Gary Hicks 60
15 - Dukie Ermolenko 40
130 - Chris Manchester 60
6 - Shawn McConnell 60
12 - Randy DiFrancesco 50
11 - Bobby Schwartz 60 (started from the 70)
17 - Robbie Sauer 20
56 - Jim Estes 30
189 - Danny Perkins 20
14 - Eddie Castro 40
216 - Kitt Nay 0
FORMER WINNERS
1990 - Bobby Schwartz (16 laps @ Glen Helen) 1996 - Brad Oxley
1991 - Chris Manchester (20 laps) 1997 - Brad Oxley
1992 - Chris Manchester 1998 - Shawn McConnell
1993 - Lance King 1999 - Brad Oxley
1994 - Gary Hicks 2000 - Charlie Venegas
1995 - Brad Oxley
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