Fast Fridays Speedway

Gold Country Fairgrounds - Auburn, CA

2001 Challenge #5 / Fan of the Week
Fast Fridays Speedway
August 10, 2001
From Alita Hartt, Eric Ryan and Ryan Evans

Division 1 Scratch Semi
Chris Manchester
Dukie Ermolenko
Mike Faria (DNF)
Ryan Fisher (Fell)

Scratch Semi
Josh Larsen
Bobby Hedden
Dustin Schroeder
Bart Bardecki (DNF)

Handicap Consi
Dustin Schroeder
Tommy Hedden
Ivan Sevart
Chris Manchester
Bryan Yarrow
Ryan Fisher

Handicap Main
Dukie Ermolenko
Bobby Hedden
Bart Bast
Mike Faria
Josh Larsen
Bart Bardecki

This handicap main may be changed due to Bobby Hedden falling before the finish line Referee had not made an official call on this one.

Scratch Consi
Mike Faria
Dustin Schroeder
Ryan Fisher and Bart Bardecki were none starters and split 3rd place.

Scratch Main
Bobby Hedden
Josh Larsen
Chris Manchester
Sam Ermolenko

Division 2 Consi
Ron Woodsford
Tom Adams
Craig Boone
Harlan Bast
Deven Defreece
Bill Dixon

Division 2 Main
Matt Browne
Robert Mellor
Kevin Feriera
Jon Curry
Mike Browne
Vince Bertolucci

Division 3 Consi
David Fonts
Kim Reeg
Mike Hooten
Kimi Valentine
Rich Mignano
LC Veale
Dean Nakatsu

Division 3 Main
Mike Achilles
Bruce Baker
Dean Blankenbiller
Bill Warnock
Randy Martin
Joe Kelly
Rick Gutzke
Greg Chacon

On to my favorite!

Juniors Division 1
Mark Carrillo
TJ Fowler
Greg Hooten Jr
Jeff Butler
JT Mabry
Alex Marcucci

Juniorss Division 2
Pete King
Paul Johnson
Amanda English
Bruce Bast
Jay Ricketts
Tom Furhman

Juniors Division 3
RJ Becerra
Ricky Felicio
Mitchell Johnson
Ronny Woodsford Jr
David Robinson
Tori Hubbert

Ryan Evans I'm sure will have more in put when he returns home. Gary should be back next week!

Alita Hartt

Fast Fridays 10 Aug 2001 commentary

Hey gang,

It was perfect weather for a grand night of Speedway racing at the Gold County Fairgrounds in Auburn California last night.  The track was in great shape, well groomed, hard, and wet on the surface.  It held up well during the night with no bad ruts or groves and only got a little dry by the end of the racing.

We saw a good group of division one riders including Larson, Manchester, Faria, Bast, the Heddens, Ermolenko, Fisher, the Polish racer Bartek Bardecki, and the return of local Dustin Schroeder.  We also saw the absence of Paul Orlandi, I assume due to his get off at the Cal Expo track championship.  I don't think Chad Felicio was riding either.

In the audience I saw injured Mark Thomas in a wheel chair with a cast on his lower left leg in good spirits.  I also saw at least twenty of my clubmates from Capital City Motorcycle Club out to support me and Speedway in general.  Too bad they didn't know I was injured; however, they weren't disappointed by the nights racing.  My notes are pretty thin so bear with me.

The first handicap heat race saw Schroeder win with good style.

The third heat race saw precision piloting by Josh Larsen for the win.  I've been watching Larson race since the American final and I think that his style of riding is excellent and very different from all the others.  He 'drives' the bike like a race car, and I can see exactly how it should be done.  As I see the corner from turn one, his approach is full on the throttle past the start finish line, wide and fast and leaned over towards the first corner.  He then shuts down the throttle completely which causes the rear end of his bike to swing ahead of the front due to compression breaking.   At the exact point on every lap with his front tire just nipping the pole before the apex of the corner he blasts open the throttle wide open, stands the bike up and dragraces the controlled slide with ever decreasing wheelspin (and increasing speed) through turn two towards turn three.  And this technique earns him many victories in division one racing.

The fourth heat saw Bobby Hedden taking his outside line with Bast in tow for first and second.

The first D2 heat saw hard riding on the inside line by Robert Melor for a rough fought victory.  One of roughest riders out there in D2 last night.

Why are the junior 250's louder than the pro's 500's?  This has always bugged
me.

The program seemed to be changed around so my sparse notes give inaccurate reporting but one of the best races of the night after two restarts was between Bardechi, Faria and Ermolenko.  Sorry, I think it was a handicap semi race.

A D1 Handicap Semi saw Bast, Fisher, Larson, and B. Hedden all back on the 50 with Bast winning the dragrace and picking off the less handicapped riders on the inside finally with Severt.  Bast takes the win.

A D3 Heat saw Warnoch hit Bellino down the back straight causing both to fall and Bellino is hurt with the high side.  For some reason Warnoch is awarded first in the restart even though from my point of view, he should have been excluded from the race for causing the accident.  Anyway, Warnoch takes the win.

Some scratch racing for D1 sees Ermolenko and Schroeder beat Bast with a broken yellow SECO bike.  Whattssupp team SECO?  Bast is riding better than ever, now the bikes are breaking???

Good racing in D3 with Baker and Fontz battling it out Fontz falling while on the outside line remounting and still getting second.  Although he raced in the Consi not the Main.

Now for the Challenge:
Five on the line for one lap last man out.  Tommy Hedden with the gate and win, Yarrow is out. Four on the line one lap last man out. Marcucci is first and Hedden is out.   Three left with Carrillo taking position four not three. He blasts the gate and the win. Marcucci is out.  Last race two men two laps--Carrillo gets the gate from the pole, Ermolenko gives heat on the outside but bobbles on second lap into turn two and can't get past Carrillo.

D1 Scratch Semi sees Ermolenko protesting Fishers riding style and Karma comes through again with Fisher hitting the wall and Manchester and Ermolenko first and second after the restart.

D2 Main saw consistent Matt Browne take victory from squirrelly rough rider Mellor on the inside of the last corner.

D2 Juniors saw false start and second attempt saw two riders down in 3-4.  One got a rear wheel in the helmet but both were ok. P. King takes the win.  Good racing juniors.

D1 Juniors saw Hooten and Fouler from the 50 with Mark Carrillo winning and Fouler in second.

D1 Consi saw grate ride from Schroeder beating Severt.

D1 Main saw Polish Bardecki fall on back straight but racing continued for several laps with yellow flagged turn worker and bike on the back straight line finally red flag with re-start: order--Ermolenko, Bast, Hedden, Faria, Larson. I don't know who won but Bast's bike broke again and causes Hedden to fall on last turn. Word from the crowd was, and I quote: "Hey SECO, fix that piece-o-shit." end quote.

D1 Consi is match race between Faria and Schroeder. No contest for Faria.

D1 Main saw Bobby Hedden getting the gate and his line from four. Kind of sloppy riding but he eeks out the win over Larson.

I'm looking forward to riding soon. I hope to make the D3 track championship.

Wish me a speedy recovery.  Back to you Gary.

Sincerely,
Eric Ryan
D3#285

Northern California Champion Bobby "The Blaze" Hedden continued his winning ways by winning the Scratch Main Event for the second consecutive week at Auburn Friday Night.

Southern California's Josh Larsen drew the pole with Chris Manchester in gate two, Dukie Ermolenko, who also traveled from Southern California drew gate three, with Hedden on the outside. Larsen and Hedden came out together, but Hedden found traction all the way to turn one and took the lead followed by Larsen, Manchester, and Ermolenko. Larsen hounded Hedden the entire distance, but Hedden kept his bike on the pole and led all four laps for the victory. Larsen had to settle for second, Manchester finished third, and Ermolenko was fourth.

Half of the riders for the six-man Handicap Main were non-regular riders. The rider who had traveled the farthest, Bartek Bardecki of Poland, started from the 30, but was at the front of the pack. Bardecki, who was competing in the second week of a four-week stint in California, took the lead and was running fast and smooth when he found traction exiting turn two on the third lap. Bardecki's Jawa launched from underneath him and left him on his backside while the other riders scrambled to a avoid the fallen rider and his machine.

The staggered restart found Ermolenko starting at the tapes with four laps remaining. Ermolenko made the most of his starting position by opening up a comfortable lead and pulling away for the victory. On the last corner, Bart Bast had engine trouble and slowed which forced Bobby Hedden to lay his bike down allowing Faria and Larsen to finish ahead of them. The official finishing order was Hedden finishing second, Bast finishing third, Faria was fourth, Larsen was fifth, and Bardecki was sixth.

Kevin Fereira was alone at the tapes for the Second Division Main and took the lead at the start. Fereira held the lead until the fourth lap when Robert Mellor passed him entering turn one. On the last lap, Matt Browne closed in on Mellor and made his move on the last corner. Mellor and Browne raced to the finish and it was Browne who crossed the line first, but only by inches. Mellor had to settle for second, Fereira was third, Jonathan Curry was fourth, Mike Browne was fifth, and Vince Bertolucci finished sixth.

Dean Blankenbiller took the lead at the start of the Third Division Main and led the first two laps. A crash on lap three brought out the red flag and forced a restart with three laps remaining. Blankenbiller assumed the lead again on the restart, but Mike Achilles passed Blankenbiller entering turn three and never looked back as he took the victory. Bruce Baker finished second, Blankenbiller was third, and Bill Warnock was fourth. Ronny Woodsford was the early leader of the

Third Division Junior Main but R.J. Becerra took the lead on the back straight and ran away with the victory. Ricky Felicio was second, Mitchell Johnson was third, Woodsford was fourth, David Robinson was fifth, and Tori Hubbert was sixth.

The Second Division Junior Main featured a great duel at the end as Pete King, the leader at the white flag, had to contend with Paul Johnson. As they entered the last corner Johnson made a move around the outside and they had to drag race to the finish. At the line, it was King by inches with Johnson, despite a great effort, getting second. Amanda English was third, Bruce Bast was fourth, Jay Ricketts was fifth, and Tom Fehrman was sixth.

Next week will be the annual 25 lap main event at Fast Friday's. Three-time Junior National Champion Ryan Fisher has won the event the past two years.

RESULTS

Third Division Junior Main Event
501 - R.J. Becerra 10
154 - Ricky Felicio 30
8 - Mitchell Johnson 30
21 - Ronny Woodsford 0
28 - David Robinson 0
00 - Tori Hubbert 0

Second Division Junior Main Event (restarted)
130 - Pete King 10
14 - Paul Johnson 20 (penalty line)
10 - Amanda English 0
366 - Bruce Bast 10
29 - Jay Ricketts 10
34 - Tom Fehrman 10 (fell)

First Division Junior Main Event
24 - Mark Carillo 20
25 - T.J. Fowler 30 (penalty line)
12 - Greg Hooten Jr 30 (penalty line)
11 - Jeff Butler 0
93 - J.T. Mabry 0
16 - Alex Marcucci 0


Third Division Consolation
322 - David Fonts 20
343 - Kim Reeg 20
311 - Mike Hooten 10
338 - Kimi Valentine 0
246 - Rich Mignano 0
359 - L.C. Veale 20
340 - Dean Nakatsu 0
279 - Ben Blankenbiller 0

Third Division Main Event (restarted)
355 - Mike Achilles 20
207 - Bruce Baker 10
231 - Dean Blankenbiller 0
301 - Bill Warnock 10
180 - Randy Martin 10 (fell)
268 - Joe Kelly 20 (retired)
124 - Rick Gutzke 10 (non starter - restart)
149 - Greg Chacon 0 (fell, excluded)

Second Division Consolation
111 - Ron Woodsford 10
911 - Tom Adams 30
200 - Craig Boone 10
82 - Harlan Bast 30
112 - Deven Defreece 0
197 - Bill Dixon 0

Second Division Main Event
211 - Matt Browne 30
236 - Robert Mellor 10
143 - Kevin Fereira 0
31 - Jonathan Curry 30
257 - Mike Browne 10
155 - Vince Bertolucci 10

Handicap Consolation
15 - Dustin Schroeder 30
40 - Tommy Hedden 40
387 - Ivan Sevart 0
130 - Chris Manchester 50
854 - Bryan Yarrow 10
6 - Ryan Fisher 50 (non starter)

Handicap Main Event (restarted)
15s - Dukie Ermolenko 40
1n - Bobby Hedden 50
87 - Bart Bast 50
9 - Mike Faria 50
4 - Josh Larsen 50
69 - Bartek Bardecki 30 (fell, excluded)

Scratch Consolation
9 - Mike Faria
15 - Dustin Schroeder
69 - Bartek Bardecki (excluded, two minutes)
6 - Ryan Fisher (non starter)

Scratch Main Event
1n - Bobby Hedden
4s - Josh Larsen
130 - Chris Manchester
15s - Dukie Ermolenko

Ryan Evans